Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber - Civic Centre, St Peter's Square, Wolverhampton WV1 1SH

Contact: Jaswinder Kaur  01902 550320 or Email: jaswinder.kaur@wolverhampton.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for absence

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Harbans Singh Bagri.

 

2.

Declarations of interest

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The following Councillors declared the interests detailed below in respect of agenda item 7 Housing Revenue Account business plan (including 2017/18 budget rents and service charges).

 

Councillor

Interest

Reason

Payal Bedi-Chadha

Disclosable non-pecuniary

Landlord who lets a property to Wolverhampton Homes

 

Ian Claymore

Disclosable non-pecuniary

 

Council tenant

 

Linda Leach

Disclosable non-pecuniary

Leaseholder

 

Anwen Muston

Disclosable non-pecuniary

Member of the board of Wolverhampton Homes

 

Peter O’Neil

Disclosable non-pecuniary

Council tenant

 

Rita Potter

Disclosable non-pecuniary

Member of the board of

Wolverhampton Homes

 

Paul Singh

Disclosable non-pecuniary

Member of the board of Wolverhampton Homes

 

Tersaim Singh

Disclosable non-pecuniary

Member of the board of Wolverhampton Homes

Daniel Richard Warren

Disclosable non-pecuniary

Member of the board of Wolverhampton Homes

 

 

3.

Minutes of previous meeting pdf icon PDF 120 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Mayor proposed, the Leader seconded, and it was resolved:

 

          That the minutes of the previous meeting, held on 1 February, be agreed as a correct record and signed accordingly by the Mayor.

 

4.

Communications

[To receive the Mayor’s announcements]

Additional documents:

Minutes:

1.       Rev. Tony Kinch, former Superintendent Methodist Minister and former Mayor’s Chaplain

 

The Mayor announced that it was with great sadness that we had learned of the death of, Reverend Tony Kinch. The Mayor extended the Council’s sincere condolences to the family.

 

2.       Eva Beatrice Mitchell, (Beattie).

 

The Mayor announced that it was with great sadness that we had learned of the death of, former Mayoress, Beattie Mitchell, on the 26 January 2017, aged 97 years. The Mayor extended the Council’s sincere condolences to the family.

 

3.       Tahnie Martin

The Mayor announced that he was deeply shocked by the terrible tragedy that took place in Dudley Street, as Storm Doris hit our City Centre. Tahnie Martin lost her life after being hit by falling debris right in the heart of our city centre.  The Mayor had written to Tahnie’s family to express our condolences. The Mayor extended the Council’s sincere condolences to the family.

 

The Council stood in silent tribute to Rev. Tony Kinch, Beattie Mitchell and Tahnie Martin.

 

5.

Budget pdf icon PDF 81 KB

[To consider and determine the Council’s budgetary provisions for the forthcoming

municipal year:

 

  • Capital Programme 2016/17 to 2020/21 quarter three review and 2017/18 to 2021/22 budget strategy
  • Treasury Management Strategy 2017/18
  • 2017/18 Budget and Medium Term Financial Strategy 2017/18 – 2019/20
  • Council Tax Formal Resolutions]

 

Additional documents:

Decision:

1.     That the revised medium term General Fund capital programme of £314.5 million, an increase of £14.5 million from the previously approved programme, reflecting the latest projected expenditure for the medium term be approved.

 

2.     That the additional resources for twelve new and eight existing General Fund projects totalling £14.5 million be approved.

 

3.     That the authorised borrowing limit for 2017/18 as required under Section 3(1) of the Local Government Act 2003 be set at £1,024.1 million (PI 5, appendix C) be approved.

 

4.     That the Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2017/18 as set out in appendix A to the Cabinet report be approved.

 

5.     That the Annual Investment Strategy 2017/18 as set out in appendix B to the Cabinet report be approved.

 

6.     That the Prudential and Treasury Management Indicators as set out in appendix C to the Cabinet report be approved.

 

7.     That the Annual Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Statement setting out the method used to calculate MRP for 2017/18 onwards as set out in appendix D to the Cabinet report be approved.

 

8.     That the Treasury Management Policy Statement and Treasury Management Practices as set out in appendix F to the Cabinet report be approved.

 

9.     That authority continues to be delegated to the Director of Finance to amend the Treasury Management Policy and Practices and any corresponding changes required to the Treasury Management Strategy, the Prudential and Treasury Management Indicators, the Investment Strategy and the Annual MRP Statement to ensure they remain aligned. Any amendments will be reported to the Cabinet Member for Resources and Cabinet (Resources) Panel as appropriate.

 

  1. That the net budget requirement for 2017/18 of £216.2 million for General Fund services (paragraph 13.4 of the Cabinet report) be approved.

 

  1. That the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2017/18 to 2019/20 as detailed in Table 6 and the budget preparation parameters underpinning the MTFS as detailed in Appendix A to the Cabinet report be approved.

 

  1. That the budget allocation for Adult Social Care outlined in the report in accordance with the Minimum Funding Level for Adult Social Care (section 11.0 of the Cabinet report) be approved.

 

  1. That a Council Tax for Council services in 2017/18 of £1,481.12 for a Band D property, being an increase of 3.99% on 2016/17 levels, which incorporates the 2% increase in relation to Adult Social Care (paragraph 7.3 of the Cabinet report) be approved.

 

  1. That work starts on developing budget reductions for 2018/19 and progress be reported to Cabinet in July 2017 (paragraph 13.5 of the Cabinet report) be approved.

 

  1. That it be noted that the Council Tax base for the year 2017/18 is calculated at 61,397.45 (Item T in the formula in Section 31B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (the “Act”), as reported to Cabinet on 18 January 2017.

 

  1. Calculate that the Council Tax requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2017/18 is £90,937,000.

 

  1. That the following amounts be calculated for the year 2017/18 in accordance with Sections 30 to 36 of the Local  ...  view the full decision text for item 5.

Minutes:

Councillor Roger Lawrence presented the annual capital budget, treasury management strategy and revenue budget and statutory formal Council Tax resolution. He went on to outline the content of the report, drawing Councillors attention to the challenges that the Council faced.

 

Councillor Roger Lawrence proposed and Councillor Andrew Johnson seconded the recommendations.

 

Councillor Wendy Thompson provided the principle speech in response to the budget report.

 

Council commended the work of the Finance Team.

 

Upon being put to the meeting, and a division been required, voting thereon was as follows:

 

 

For = 47

Councillors

 

Angus

Gwinnett

O’Neill

Banger

Hardacre

Page

M Bateman

Hodgkiss

Potter

P Bateman

Inston

Reynolds

Bedi-Chadha

Jaspal (J)

Rowley (John)

Bilson

Jaspal (M)

Rowley (Judith)

Bolshaw

Johnson

Russell

Brackenridge

Kaur

Samuels

Brookfield (I)

Koussoukama

Siarkiewicz

Brookfield (P)

Lawrence

Simkins

Claymore

Leach

Singh (T)

Collingswood

Malcolm

Sweet

Darke

Mattu

Sweetman

Evans (S)

Miles

Waite

Evans (V)

Moran

Warren

Gibson

Muston

 

 

 

 

 

Abstain = 10

Councillors

 

Haynes

Singh (P)

Yardley

Mills

Singh (U)

Findlay

Patten

Thompson

 

Photay

Wynne

 

 

 

Resolved:

 

1.     That the revised medium term General Fund capital programme of £314.5 million, an increase of £14.5 million from the previously approved programme, reflecting the latest projected expenditure for the medium term be approved.

 

2.     That the additional resources for twelve new and eight existing General Fund projects totalling £14.5 million be approved.

 

3.     That the authorised borrowing limit for 2017/18 as required under Section 3(1) of the Local Government Act 2003 be set at £1,024.1 million (PI 5, appendix C) be approved.

 

4.     That the Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2017/18 as set out in appendix A to the Cabinet report be approved.

 

5.     That the Annual Investment Strategy 2017/18 as set out in appendix B to the Cabinet report be approved.

 

6.     That the Prudential and Treasury Management Indicators as set out in appendix C to the Cabinet report be approved.

 

7.     That the Annual Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Statement setting out the method used to calculate MRP for 2017/18 onwards as set out in appendix D to the Cabinet report be approved.

 

8.     That the Treasury Management Policy Statement and Treasury Management Practices as set out in appendix F to the Cabinet report be approved.

 

 

9.     That authority continues to be delegated to the Director of Finance to amend the Treasury Management Policy and Practices and any corresponding changes required to the Treasury Management Strategy, the Prudential and Treasury Management Indicators, the Investment Strategy and the Annual MRP Statement to ensure they remain aligned. Any amendments will be reported to the Cabinet Member for Resources and Cabinet (Resources) Panel as appropriate.

 

  1. That the net budget requirement for 2017/18 of £216.2 million for General Fund services (paragraph 13.4 of the Cabinet report) be approved.

 

  1. That the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2017/18 to 2019/20 as detailed in Table 6 and the budget preparation parameters underpinning the MTFS as detailed in Appendix A to the Cabinet report be approved.

 

  1. That the budget allocation for Adult Social Care outlined in the report  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

Senior Pay Policy Statement 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 pdf icon PDF 55 KB

[To approve the Senior Pay Policy Statement]

Additional documents:

Decision:

1.     That the Senior Pay Policy for 2016 - 2017 be approved for immediate publication.

 

2.     That the Senior Pay Policy for 2017 - 2018 be approved for publication by 31 March 2017 in line with the Localism Act 2011.

 

Minutes:

Having declared an interest Keith Ireland, Mark Taylor, Linda Sanders, Julien Kramer, Tracey Christie, Ross Cook, Claire Nye, Ian Fegan and Colin Parr left the meeting and took no part in the consideration of this item.

 

Councillor Milkinder Jaspal presented the Senior Pay Policy Statement 2016/2017 and 2017/2018, which had been compiled to comply with the requirements of section 38 (1) of the Localism Act 2011. All annual pay awards were set in line with nationally negotiated rates.

 

Councillor Milkinder Jaspal proposed and Councillor Roger Lawrence seconded the recommendations.

 

Councillor Paul Singh asked whether any employees had been re-employed following receipt of a redundancy packages due to the staff reductions made as a result of budget cuts.

 

Councillor Milkinder Jaspal confirmed that two employees had been reemployed and agreed to provide a response in writing on the pay scale to Councillor Paul Singh.

 

Resolved:

 

1.     That the Senior Pay Policy for 2016 - 2017 be approved for immediate publication.

 

2.     That the Senior Pay Policy for 2017 - 2018 be approved for publication by 31 March 2017 in line with the Localism Act 2011.

 

 

7.

Wolverhampton Homes Annual Delivery Plan 2017/2018 pdf icon PDF 68 KB

[To approve the Wolverhampton Homes Annual Delivery 2017/2018]

Additional documents:

Decision:

That the Wolverhampton Homes Annual Delivery Plan 2017/18 be approved.

 

Minutes:

Councillor Peter Bilson presented the Wolverhampton Homes Annual Delivery Plan 2017/2018. The plan detailed how Wolverhampton Homes would manage and maintain Council owned properties for the financial year 2017-18, the revenue, capital and staffing resources available to deliver the services and Wolverhampton Homes’ contribution to meeting the wider strategic objectives of the Council and City Strategy and the Corporate Plan. The Delivery Plan Monitoring Group had considered and agreed the Plan and recommendations.

 

Councillor Peter Bilson proposed and Councillor Zee Russell seconded the recommednations.

 

Councillor Wendy Thompson highlighted the tenants frustration by the service received from Wolverhampton Homes and the impact of the closure of Housing Offices on tenants.

 

Councillor Peter Bilson responded that the City of Wolverhampton Council was subject to significant budget cuts and therefore the way in which services would be delivered would change. More digital interactions had been put into place but acknowledged at times face to face interactions was required.

 

Resolved:

 

That the Wolverhampton Homes Annual Delivery Plan 2017/18 be approved.