Agenda and draft minutes

Members are asked to declare any interest and the nature of that interest which they may have in any of the items under consideration at this meeting.

There were no declarations of interest made by Members.

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 30 November 2023.

The minutes of the meeting held on 30 November 2023 were agreed and signed by the Chairman.

To receive communications from the Chairman of the Council.

The Chairman welcomed Kate Ironside, Senior Lecturer in Journalism & Media from the University of Northampton, who was in attendance with some of her students to observe the meeting.

The Chairman noted the retirement of Vice Lord Lieutenant Morcea Walker and thanked her for her dedication, vitality and commitment.

The Chairman welcomed Councillor Carl Squires, who had been elected to serve East Hunsbury & Shelfleys ward on 8^th February.

The Chairman announced that nominations were open for the Alderman scheme; a number of nominations had already been made and Members were welcome to make more. There would be an extraordinary Council meeting prior to the annual meeting, specifically for the making of Aldermen.

(1)  Receipt of Petitions (if any) from Local Government Electors for the District

(2)  Statements (if any) from the Public

1)    There were no requests to present petitions.

2)    The Chairman advised of 3 requests to address Council.

Dave Pearson, on behalf of Clean Air Northamptonshire, addressed Council in relation to Item 8. He commented that Public Health England estimated that 102 people died each year in Northampton due to air pollution. He noted that the Council appointed an air quality officer only after DEFRA began a disciplinary process against the Council, stating that it was only protecting residents when threatened with legal action and ministerial sanction.

Tina Matthew, on behalf of the 1000 Voices Campaign, addressed Council in relation to Item 8. She commented that the budget made little reference to investment and action on cleaning Northampton’s air and stated that the Council’s inaction continued to affect the county’s worst-off residents.

Councillor Jane Birch, on behalf of Northampton Town Council, addressed Council in relation to Item 8. She voiced concern around the proposals to lease, rent, sell off and repurpose important heritage buildings in Northampton. Councillor Birch advised that millions of pounds spent on regeneration would mean nothing if residents did not feel like the town was theirs, and the Guildhall was a major symbol of the town. She urged the Council not to terminate its lease with the Town Council and enter negotiations with it instead.

The Chairman thanked the members of the public for their contributions.

Councillor Kilbride presented the report which sought Council’s consideration of the proposals of the Democracy and Standards Committee in relation to updates to the Constitution.

Councillor Hinch seconded the report.

Council debated the report and made the following comments:

·       The updated were a rational and logical next step towards not having to stand while sitting and removed a burden from people with disabilities, hidden and not.

·       Some felt that the Democracy and Standards Committee should be taken out of the political balance calculations.

RESOLVED:

Council approved the recommendations of the Democracy and Standards Committee relating to updates to the Constitution as set out in Section 5 and delegates power to the Monitoring Officer to make these changes and any consequential changes to the Constitution.

Councillor Kilbride presented the report which asked Council to review the changes to the political balance of the Council and approve changes to the membership of committees.

Councillor Grant seconded the report.

Council debated the report and made the following comments:

·       Members congratulated Councillor Squires on his election.

RESOLVED:

Council:

a)    Noted the change to the distribution of seats held by political groups on the Council and determined the allocation of seats on committees to the groups as listed in Section 5 of the report;

b)    Noted the appointment of members to the committees listed in Section 5 of the report in accordance with the wishes expressed by the political groups to which the seats have been allocated.

Councillor Longley presented the report which set out the Final Budget for 2023-24 and Medium-Term Financial Plan for West Northamptonshire Council. The report incorporated feedback from the budget consultation, relevant public consultations, and the scrutiny process. He gave his thanks to staff who had contributed to the budget and highlighted the salient points within the report.

Councillor Parker seconded the report.

Councillor Holland-Delamere proposed an amendment to the budget. He recognised the constraints due to a decade of underfunding by central government and noted that for the past 3 years the Council had been dependent on contingencies to ensure the budget remained balanced. He stated that the budget contained limited preventative transformation and lacked imagination.

The Labour budget amendments were modest but aimed to set the scene for a future bolder approach to improve services. The proposals included a modular housing pilot scheme to alleviate the Council’s housing shortage, employing more Neighbourhood Wardens, piloting innovative transport schemes, introducing no-idling zones and investing in new traffic management systems, and launching a “Play Streets” scheme.

Councillor Purser seconded the amendment and commented that the amendment would allow the Council to deliver social housing at a much faster rate than previously.

Council debated the amendment and made the following comments:

·       It was noted that the Cabinet had recently approved a contract to assist in enforcing environmental crimes in the area; it was suggested that Neighbourhood Wardens were more effective at working with residents to deal with the root issues behind environmental crime.

·       Public transport was not fit for purpose, particularly for vulnerable residents; the 3rd Labour amendment would allow more people to be able to use active transport.

·       Investment in the latest technology was needed to clear congested school runs and rush hour backlogs.

·       The Clean Air and Climate Change Summit later in year was sure to highlight issues and it was hoped that collaborative working would lead to an action plan.

·       Schools were being asked to fill a gap in services; Covid should not be used as an excuse for a lack of services, according to Ofsted. £5,000 for play equipment would support early childhood development.

·       Children regularly saw litter and vermin during their walks to school across the town. The Children’s Trust were having to fill the gap where the Council failed to provide a service.

·       Capital spending on modular housing was something that the administration was already committed to.

·       The pilot housing scheme would not be eligible for Homes England funding.

·       Legislation prevented wardens being used as a means of generating income so the 2^nd Labour amendment could not be supported by the administration.

·       The amendments seemed to be pre-empting the outcomes of the Bus Strategy and Bus Service Improvement Plan; an integration strategy was currently being worked on and it was suggested that Members wait for the outcomes of these.

·       Regarding the 4^th Labour amendment, it was suggested that a piece of work be done to see where “no idling zones” had been successful elsewhere.

·       The Labour  ...  view the full minutes text for item 171.

Councillor Longley presented a report which set out the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Final Budget 2024-25 and Medium-Term Financial Plan for West Northamptonshire Council and sought Council’s approval of the HRA revenue and capital budget 2024-25 and sought to set out the future years’ projections to 2028-29.

Councillor A Brown seconded the report.

Council debated the report and made the following comments:

·       The increase would be immense for some residents. However, the recommendations would be supported, or the Council would not be able to borrow to buy additional council houses.

·       Members looked forward to upcoming work on modular houses.

·       A new regulatory regime was coming in and would be focusing on damp and mould issues, repairs, tenancy satisfaction, etc.

At the conclusion of the debate, there voted for the amendments:

Councillors Addison, Alwahabi, Ashraf, Bagot-Webb, Baker, Bambridge, Barrett, Barter, Beardsworth, Chowdhury, Bignell, Bowen, Brown, Chantler, Choudary, Clarke, Cole, Connolly, Cribbin, Davenport, Dyball, J Gilford, Golby, Grant, Hallam, Haque, Harris, Hawes, Herring, Hibbert, Hill, Hinch, Holland-Delamere, Hughes, Irving-Swift, James, Jolley, Joyce, Kilbride, Lane, Larratt, Lister, Longley, Manners, Matten, Meredith, Morgan, Nunn, Parker, Pritchard, Purser, Randall, J Roberts, Sargeant, González De Savage, Z Smith, Solesbury-Timms, Squires, Stevenson, Stone, Sturges-Alex, Tarasiewicz, Warren.

There abstained:

Councillors Clark, McCord.

RESOLVED:

Council approved:

a)    The HRA revenue budget for 2024-25 of £65.49m.

b)    An average maximum rent increase of 7.7% per dwelling, in line with the legislation and the government’s amended national rent standard, to take effect from 1 April 2024.

c)     An average maximum increase of 7.7% in garage rents and commuter surcharges to take effect from 1 April 2024.

d)    An average increase of 7.7% in tenants and leaseholders service charges with effect from 1 April 2024.

e)    The HRA capital programme for 2024-25, noting the future year estimated commitments, and proposed sources of finance.

f)      The total management fee of £84.441m for NPH to deliver the HRA and General Fund services in scope (including capital programme) for 2024-25.

g)    The setting of the working balance at £6m, with the assessed minimum level of £5m informed by the outcome of the latest financial risk assessment.

h)    That authority be delegated to the Executive Director of Finance in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance to transfer monies to/from earmarked reserves and the working balance, should that become necessary during the financial year.

i)       That authority be given to the Executive Director of Finance to update the prudential indicators in the Treasury Management Strategy reported to Council.

j)       That authority be delegated to the Executive Director of Finance in consultation with the portfolio holder for Finance to amend the capital programme for 2024-25 going forward so that it accurately reflects issues such as slippage on current year projects that will need to be added to the programme, any amendments made to existing capital programmes, adjustments to accommodate any future use of capital receipts policy, and for any other reason where the capital programme needs to be adjusted.

Councillor Longley presented a report which detailed the calculations for the amounts of Council Tax for West Northamptonshire Council for the financial year 2024-2025.

Councillor Nunn seconded the report.

Council debated the report and made the following comments:

·       Labour would be reluctantly supporting; this was a large increase, people wanted to see more for their money.

·       Clarification was requested around empty homes and how much the Council was charging.

·       Some Members felt that some services would be pushed out to parishes and precepts increased.

At the conclusion of the debate, there voted for the recommendations:

Councillors Addison, Alwahabi, Ashraf, Bagot-Webb, Baker, Bambridge, Barrett, Barter, Beardsworth, Chowdhury, Bignell, Bowen, A Brown, Chantler, Chauhan, Choudary, Clarke, Cole, Connolly, Cribbin, Davenport, Dyball, J Gilford, Golby, Grant, Hallam, Haque, Harris, Hawes, Herring, Hibbert, Hill, Hinch, Holland-Delamere, Hughes, Irving-Swift, James, Jolley, Joyce, Kilbride, Lane, Larratt, Lister, Longley, Manners, Matten, Meredith, Morgan, Nunn, Parker, Pritchard, Purser, Randall, J Roberts, Sargeant, González De Savage, D Smith, Z Smith, Solesbury-Timms, Squires, Stevenson, Stone, Sturges-Alex, Tarasiewicz, Warren.

There abstained:

Councillors Clark, McCord.

RESOLVED:

Council:

a)    Noted that the Cabinet agreed the Council Tax Base for 2024-2025 on 13 February 2024:

·       For the whole Council area as 142,664.6 (item T in the formula in Section 31B of the Local Government Finance Act 1991, as amended (the “Act”) and;

·       For dwellings in those parts of its area to which a Parish Precept relates as shown in Appendix B of the report.

b)    Approved the Council Tax requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2024-2025 (excluding Parish Precepts but including Special Expenses) as £253,693,325.

c)     Approved the additional Council Tax Resolutions as set out in Appendix A of the report.

d)    Noted that Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has issued precepts to the Council in accordance with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 for each category of dwelling in the Council’s area as shown in the table at 6.2 of the report.

e)    Approved that, in accordance with Sections 30 and 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the amounts shown in Appendix D of the report as the amounts of Council Tax for the year 2024-2025 for each part of its area and for each category of dwellings.

f)      Noted Appendix E of the report which set out in detail how the charge was made up for each town and parish council area and by Council Tax band.

g)    Noted that the Council’s basic amount of Council Tax for 2024-2025 was not deemed to be excessive in accordance with principles approved under Section 52ZB Local Government Finance Act 1992.

h)     

The Chairman to advise whether they have agreed to any items of urgent business being admitted to the agenda.

None.