Agenda and minutes

Venue: Webcasting - Virtual. View directions

Contact: Marcus Prouse Email: m.prouse@somersetwestandtaunton.gov.uk and Clare Rendell Email: c.rendell@somersetwestandtaunton.gov.uk 

Webcast: View the webcast

Items
No. Item

116.

Apologies

117.

Declarations of Interest

    To receive and note any declarations of disclosable pecuniary or prejudicial or personal interests in respect of any matters included on the agenda for consideration at this meeting.

     

    (The personal interests of Councillors and Clerks of Somerset County Council, Town or Parish Councils and other Local Authorities will automatically be recorded in the minutes.)

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Members present at the meeting declared the following personal interests in their capacity as a Councillor or Clerk of a County, Town or Parish Council or any other Local Authority:-

     

    Name

    Minute No.

    Description of Interest

    Reason

    Action Taken

    Cllr L Baker

    All Items

    Cheddon Fitzpaine & Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr M Barr

    All Items

    Wellington

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr M Blaker

    All Items

    Wiveliscombe

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr C Booth

    All Items

    Wellington and Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr N Cavill

    All Items

    West Monkton

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr S Coles

    All Items

    SCC & Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr H Davies

    All Items

    SCC

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr C Ellis

    All Items

    Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr A Govier

    All Items

    SCC & Wellington

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr Mrs Hill

    All Items

    Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr J Hunt

    All Items

    SCC & Bishop’s Hull

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr R Lees

    All Items

    Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr S Lees

    All Items

    Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr L Lisgo

    All Items

    Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr M Lithgow

    All Items

    Wellington

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr J Lloyd

    All Items

    Wellington & Sampford Arundel

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr A Milne

    All Items

    Porlock

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr C Morgan

    All Items

    Stogursey

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr S Nicholls

    All Items

    Comeytrowe

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr C Palmer

    All Items

    Minehead

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr D Perry

    All Items

    Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr M Peters

    All Items

    Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr P Pilkington

    All Items

    Timberscombe

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr H Prior-Sankey

    All Items

    SCC & Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr M Rigby

    All Items

    SCC & Bishops Lydeard

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr F Smith

    All Items

    Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr F Smith-Roberts

    All Items

    Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr V Stock-Williams

    All Items

    Wellington

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr N Thwaites

    All Items

    Dulverton

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr R Tully

    All Items

    West Monkton

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr A Wedderkopp

    All Items

    SCC & Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr D Wedderkopp

    All Items

    Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr B Weston

    All Items

    Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr L Whetlor

    All Items

    Watchet

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr G Wren

    All Items

    Clerk to Milverton PC

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

     

118.

Public Participation - To receive only in relation to the business for which the Extraordinary Meeting has been called any questions, statements or petitions from the public in accordance with Council Procedure Rules 14,15 and 16

    The Chair to advise the Committee of any items on which members of the public have requested to speak and advise those members of the public present of the details of the Council’s public participation scheme.

     

    For those members of the public who have submitted any questions or statements, please note, a three minute time limit applies to each speaker and you will be asked to speak before Councillors debate the issue.

     

    Temporary measures during the Coronavirus Pandemic

    Due to the Government guidance on measures to reduce the transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19), we will holding meetings in a virtual manner which will be live webcast on our website. Members of the public will still be able to register to speak and ask questions, which will then be read out by the Governance and Democracy Case Manager during Public Question Time and will either be answered by the Chair of the Committee, or the relevant Portfolio Holder, or be followed up with a written response.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Mr Alan Debenham submitted the following questions:-

    1.  In the recent Commons debate on the Local Government Settlement, the MHCLG Minister, Luke Hall MP, said that this year’s settlement was very generous in that overall it involved a 4.5% increase in real terms compared with last year and local residents would much benefit. 

    The opposition strongly refuted this by saying that Local Councils generally were having to take a serious hit over inadequate funding for the Covid-19 emergency, whilst still suffering from real terms cuts of up to 40% over the past decade through severe Tory austerity cuts, and including still the much diminished Revenue Support for 2021/22.  The so-called 4.5% real terms increases were achieved only by loading them onto very regressive Council Tax, with nearly all Councils – including this one, plus the County Council and Police – making local residents, especially the struggling poor, pay another 5% more for the same or less services, with inflation running at about 1.5% in both RPI and CPI.

    What was the Leader’s response to this damning critique of the government’s  and this Council’s position as the overall charging authority, albeit increasing its 9% part of the total Council Tax bill by only 3% in contrast to the County Council’s 5% increase as the bulk ( 80%+) tax demander and the Police’s usual exorbitant percentage increase?

    2. Many people, certainly as I do, very much welcomed the Council’s really positive move to at last return to the pre-Thatcher days of building Council houses and flats to rent at affordable rates, with recent completion of the quality big renovation building scheme at Creechbarrow in Taunton and the excellent progress made in the even bigger similar scheme in Taunton North.  What had been done - if it could be under Tory mania for private ownership and Council asset sell-offs under the lure of discounted prices - to prevent all those desperately needed socially rented properties from quickly disappearing into the hands of greedy speculators?

    3.  Whether or not there were to be County Council elections next May still seemed to be unknown for Somerset West and Taunton residents when everywhere else were definitely having elections.  Why did this remain unknown when time was fast running out for proper preparation for County elections and what was the very latest position known to the Electoral Returning Officer?

    Signed: Alan Debenham

     

    The Portfolio Holder for Corporate Resources gave the following response:-

    I would like to thank Mr Debenham for his comments and questions.

    For the first part it had been well reported, and discussed many times in our council meetings, that core funding for local government had been gradually and significantly reduced over the last decade. This trend was expected to continue. The Executive was recommending that the Somerset West and Taunton’s council tax rate was increased by 3% per year, which was £5 on a Band D property, and which would increase our income for services by £280,000. This would make a valuable contribution to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 118.

119.

To receive any communications or announcements from the Chair of the Council

120.

To receive any communications or announcements from the Leader of the Council

121.

To receive only in relation to the business for which the Extraordinary Meeting has been called any questions from Councillors in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13

122.

General Fund Revenue Budget and Capital Estimates 2021-22 pdf icon PDF 495 KB

    This matter is the responsibility of Executive Councillor for Corporate Resources, Councillor Ross Henley.

     

    The purpose of this report is to provide Members with information required for Full Council to approve the proposed revenue budget estimates and capital programme for 2021/22, and to approve its proposed Council Tax rate for 2021/22.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    During the discussion, the following points were raised:-

    ·       The Portfolio Holder for Corporate Resources proposed a further recommendation to add two one-off budgets into the budget proposals:-

    -      The first was for £100,000 towards further tree planting across the district; and

    -      The second was for £100,000 towards a Community Enhancement Fund to help support the community across Somerset West and Taunton following the impact of the Covid Pandemic.

    Both were seconded by the Leader and became part of the substantive motion.

    ·       Councillors were pleased that Somerset County Council had taken back the Park and Ride and that the funds reserved for that service could be spent on the additional recommendations.

    ·       Concern was raised on the section that included the Watchet East Quay Development Loan and councillors queried why Somerset West and Taunton (SWT) were borrowing funds for a private company and what happened if they couldn’t pay back the loan and requested an explanation.

    The Portfolio Holder for Corporate Resources clarified that the existing budget was originally approved by West Somerset Council, and provided a ‘last resort’ funding option to the developer if they were unsuccessful in fully funding the works from other sources. At this stage no loan had been provided, and was unlikely to be needed as the developer had been very successful in obtaining other funding, but it was sensible to retain the facility in case it was needed to complete the development as it moved through to completion. If a request for loan finance was forthcoming it would be subject to the usual due diligence at the time. He further explained that this was separate to the £5m of grant funding awarded to the developer from the Coastal Communities Fund for the project. Whilst this was not Council funds, the grant was administered by the Council as the accountable body, to reimburse the developer based on actual costs incurred.

    ·       Concern was raised on recommendation 2.8 and that the whole of the SWT area should charge the same for its car parks.

    The Portfolio Holder for Planning and Transportation agreed that it was a good point and he was aware of the anomaly.  He advised that all parking provided within the SWT area was currently being reviewed and that he would report back with the outcome of the review.

    ·       Concern was raised that the 2020/21 budget did not match the outturn report and that it appeared that the commercial investment had ‘plugged’ the gap.  Further concern was raised that they could not calculate how the budget had been balanced and believed it was not sustainable for the future years.

    The Portfolio Holder for Corporate Resources advised that council budgets were different to those for a private company.  The Section 151 Officer had given sign off on a robust budget and would not have if he didn’t believe that was the case.  Section 17 of the report gave further details on why the budget was deemed robust.

    ·       Councillors were pleased to see that there had been no  ...  view the full minutes text for item 122.

123.

HRA Revenue and Capital Budget Setting 2021/22 including Dwelling Rent Setting 21/22 and 30-Year Business Plan Review pdf icon PDF 897 KB

    This matter is the responsibility of Executive Councillor for Housing, Councillor Francesca Smith.

     

    This report updates Members on the proposed Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Annual Revenue Budget and Capital Programme for 2021/22, the proposed Rent Setting for 2021/22 and an update on the 30-Year Business Plan Review.   

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    During the discussion, the following points were raised:-

    ·       Councillors were pleased to see that a 30 year plan had been included and also the amount of homes planned to be built in that time.

    ·       Councillors were pleased with the money used to invest in homes within the whole of the SWT area.

    ·       Councillors were pleased to see that apprenticeships had been included in the scheme.

    ·       Concern was raised on the use of retro-fitting for heating and insulation in the current housing stock.

    The Portfolio Holder for Housing agreed that retro-fitting was an important part of the work carried out on the existing housing stock and that they would investigate zero carbon and other options for the work.

    ·       The Leader of the Council fully supported the recommendations as it was not just about money, it supported tenants and local residents and helped provide better homes.

    ·       Councillors thanked the Portfolio Holder for Housing and the Housing Team for their hard work.

     

    In accordance with Standing Order 18(2)(i), the Chair called for a recorded vote to be taken and recorded in the Minutes.

     

    The recommendations, which are detailed below, were put and were CARRIED with forty-six Councillors in favour and seven abstaining:-

     

    Resolved that Full Council:-

    2.1.1     Approved the HRA Annual Revenue Budget for 2021/22;

    2.1.2     Approved the increase of 1.5% (CPI+1%) to Dwelling Rents for 2021/22;

    2.1.3     Approved the HRA Capital Programme for 2021/22;

    2.1.4     Noted the reviewed and updated assumptions in the 2021 HRA 30-Year Business Plan; and

    2.1.5      Approved the minimum operational balance on HRA general reserves at £2m. 

     

    Those voting FOR the MOTION: Councillors I Aldridge, B Allen, L Baker, M Blaker, C Booth, S Buller, S Coles, D Darch, H Davies, C Ellis, H Farbahi, E Firmin, A Govier, R Habgood, J Hassall, R Henley, Mrs M Hill, M Kravis, R Lees, S Lees, L Lisgo, M Lithgow, J Lloyd, D Mansell, C Morgan, S Nicholls, C Palmer, D Perry, M Peters, P Pilkington, H Prior-Sankey, A Pritchard, M Rigby, F Smith, F Smith-Roberts, P Stone, A Sully, N Thwaites, R Tully, S Wakefield, A Wedderkopp, D Wedderkopp, B Weston, K Wheatley, L Whetlor and G Wren.

     

    Those ABSTAINING from voting: Councillors M Barr, N Cavill, A Hadley, A Milne, S Pugsley, V Stock-Williams and A Trollope-Bellew.