Winchester City Borough Council Council Meeting

Proposed by Councillor Cutler.

Seconded by Councillor Horrill and unanimously resolved that Councillor Clear be elected the Mayor of Winchester for the remainder of the current Municipal Year 2022/23.

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Clear be elected the Mayor of Winchester for the remainder of the current Municipal Year 2022/23

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the Ordinary meeting of the Council held on 18 January 2023 be approved and adopted.

Councillors Tod, Lumby, Porter and Warwick declared personal (but not prejudicial) interests in relation to agenda items which may relate to Hampshire County Council matters due to their role as County Councillors.

Councillor Thompson declared a personal (but not prejudicial) interest in respect of the recommended minute of Cabinet held 9 February 2023 regarding the General Fund Budget 2023/24 (Report CAB3388 refers) due to her role as a board member of the Hampshire Cultural Trust.  She remained in the room but would take no part in any debate or decision in connection with recommendation 3 (c) of the report.

Councillor Scott declared a personal (but not prejudicial) interest in respect of the recommended minute of Cabinet held 9 February 2023 regarding Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Budget 2023/24 (Report CAB3387 refers), as was a tenant of the Council.

As it was one year since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Mayor paid tribute to the Ukrainian community and their hosts in the Winchester district.  There was to be a moment’s silence on Friday 24 February at 11am, a candle lit vigil in Abbey Gardens and the Ukrainian flag would also fly from the Guildhall and the clock face lit in yellow and blue.

The Mayor then sent her condolences to the people of Turkey and Syria following the recent earthquake which had taken so many lives and had displaced communities.

Before reporting on forthcoming charity events, the Mayor welcomed Simon Hendey, who had recently started at the council as a Strategic Director.  The Mayor then concluded her announcements by advising that those nominated for an annual Mayor of Winchester’s Community Award would shortly receive their invitation to attend the ceremony on Tuesday 14 March. 

The Leader then made several announcements.

In summary, the Leader also referred to the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine. He thanked hosts for welcoming refugees into their homes and also officers and volunteers for their support.  Finally, the Leader paid tribute to the Ukrainian families who were now valued members of the community. 

The Leader than referred to the recent failures in water supplies across some southern parts of the district.  He advised that he was working with Leaders from other affected authorities to send a joint response to Southern Water concerning the failure of their systems and also their support to those affected.  The Leader referred to the forthcoming meeting of the Health & Environment Policy Committee, at which representatives of Southern Water would be attending – in line with the council’s motion regarding waste water pollution.  A follow-up meeting with Southern Water was to be arranged to cover the issues raised following the most recent water outage.

The Leader then updated Council on the latest position regarding Hampshire County Council’s ‘county deal’. He reported that district councils had requested that they be represented in negotiations alongside Portsmouth, Southampton and the Isle of Wight unitary councils, who had also separately highlighted interest in a more southern deal to include Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council and based more on a Solent geography. 

The Leader also advised that the council would continue to work with other Partnership for South Hampshire authorities on a joint response to planning issues, including the government’s NPPF consultation and also regarding ‘urban uplift’ to the standard method calculation for housing targets.

The Leader then reported that he had recently spent time with the Winchester City Neighbourhood Policing Team and he thanked them for their professionalism and commitment to work for our city and its residents, despite all the challenges they face every day.

Finally the Leader advised that he had recently also thanked those who worked to keep the city centre clean.  He had also spent time with the council’s street scene officer and also the team who have been jet-washing the High Street and who had also worked with the council and the Business Improvement District to remove graffiti.  He had also taken the opportunity to thank a colleague from ID Verde who was litter-picking the High Street. 

The Chief Executive announced apologies for the meeting.

Three written questions had been received from members of the public who attended the meeting to present their questions. Supplementary questions were also asked.  The questions received and their response were subsequently set out on the council’s website.

Councillor Tod (Leader & Cabinet Member for Asset Management) moved that the Recommendation for Council be approved and adopted (seconded by Councillor Ferguson, Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Community and Housing).

*It was noted that there was a typographical error in the Recommendation for Council.  As per the title and introduction to the item, Council was to delegate authority to the Electoral Registration Officer (not Electoral Returning Officer) to appoint Deputy Electoral Registration Officers (not Deputy Electoral Returning Officers).

RESOLVED:

That the appointment of Deputy Electoral Registration Officers be delegated to the Electoral Registration Officer, subject to them holding satisfactory qualifications and experience as required.

Councillor Ferguson (Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Community and Housing) moved that the recommended minute of Cabinet be approved and adopted (seconded by Councillor Learney, Cabinet Member for the Climate Emergency).

Council proceeded to ask questions and debate the matters in the recommended minute of Cabinet and the report.

RESOLVED:

That the recommended minute of Cabinet held 9 February 2023 (as follows) be approved and adopted:

1.            That the 2023/24 Housing Revenue Account budget be approved, as detailed in Appendices 1 and 2 to the report.

2.            That the 10-year indicative HRA capital programme be approved, as set out in Appendices 3 and 4 to the report.

3.            That capital expenditure in 2023/24 of £9.530m for the Maintenance, Improvement and Renewal programme be approved as detailed in Appendix 3 of the report, in accordance with Financial Procedure Rule 7.4.

4.            That the proposed budget in 2023-24 for new homes of £20.518m be approved as detailed in Appendix 4 of the report, subject to individual scheme approvals.

5.            That the proposed indicative funding for the HRA Capital Programme be approved as detailed in Appendix 5 of the report.

6.            That the HRA Financial Plan operating account extract, including annual working balances, be noted as detailed in Appendix 6 of the report. 

7.            That the proposal to fund £0.400m for the new initiatives detailed in section 13.1 of the report be supported, which includes funding for additional staff resources to support the actions identified and the creation of a new disrepairs claims budget of £0.100m.

8.            That it be agreed to continue the provision of the Welfare Support budget of £0.215m and to refocus this on measures to support vulnerable tenants to maintain their tenancies during this period of unprecedented cost pressures.

9.            That a rent increase of 7% from April 2023 for Social and Affordable housing within the HRA for existing tenants be approved.

10.         That a cap on the average overall increase for tenant service charges in 2023-24 of 7% be approved.

11.         That in recognition of the Cost-of-Living crisis, a discretionary 7% cap on the annual rent increase for Shared Owners be approved, in line with the increase in social and affordable rents to existing tenants as opposed to 13.1% increase that would have been applied.

12.         That in principle to the HRA funding approximately £3.5m from the unallocated New Homes budget be approved, in order to meet any grant requirements to acquire 17 properties in accordance with the Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF) grant conditions, as detailed in Section 19.5 of the report.

Councillor Ferguson left meeting before consideration of this agenda item.

Council noted a typographical error in Recommendation 1 of Report CAB3388 and the recommended minute of Cabinet.  Council was to agree the level of General Fund Budget for 2023/24, as opposed to 2022/23 as stated.

Councillor Power (Cabinet Member for Finance and Value) moved that the recommended minute of Cabinet be approved and adopted (seconded by Councillor Tod, Leader & Cabinet Member for Asset Management).

Council proceeded to ask questions and debate the matters in the recommended minute of Cabinet and the report.

AMENDMENT – Moved by Councillor Godfrey and seconded by Councillor Bolton:

Add new recommendation (12) to read:

That the Council takes immediate steps to address the climate emergency and the cost of living crisis by:

1. Employing five additional fixed term Scale 5 Climate Advisor posts for two years at a total cost of £500k, funded by the Major Investment Reserve.
2. An additional one-off budget of £250k in 2023/24 in order to support insulation and energy saving projects, funded by the Major Investment Reserve.
3. Four additional fixed term Scale 5 Business Advisor posts for two years at a total cost of £400k, funded by the Major Investment Reserve.
4. Reduce the District fees and charges by £70k to the benefit of those residents that need our services.
5. Increase the baseline Vacancy Management Savings target by £70k by increasing the time and volume of vacant posts.
6. An 8% one-off Council Tax reduction for those required to pay council tax in this coming year, spread equally across the council tax bands at a cost of £630k plus £50,000 for additional administration and postage costs.  This gives a total cost of £680k, to be funded by the Major Investment Reserve.

Council continued to debate the original motion, before the Mayor called for an adjournment to the meeting to allow for informal discussion of the Amendment to take place within the groups.

Upon its reconvening, Council proceeded to debate the matters in the Amendment. 

At conclusion of debate, Councillor Power was invited to exercise her right of reply before Council voted on the Amendment.

AMENDMENT LOST.

Following summing up by the proposer and the seconder of the substantive motion (which was the Recommended Minute of Cabinet) in accordance with legislative requirements on recorded votes at Budget meetings, a recorded vote was first taken regarding Recommendations 1 – 6 of the Recommended Minute of Cabinet.

The following Members voted in favour of Recommendations 1 – 6 of the Recommended Minute of Cabinet:

Councillors Achwal, Batho, Becker, Clear, Cook, Cramoysan, Craske, Cutler, Edwards, Evans, Gordon-Smith, Laming, Learney, Lumby, Porter, Power, Rutter, Scott, Small, Thompson, Tippett-Cooper, Tod, Wallace, Westwood, Williams.

The following Members voted against Recommendations 1 – 6 of the Recommended Minute of Cabinet:

None.

The following Members abstained from voting on Recommendations 1 – 6 of the Recommended Minute of Cabinet:

Councillors Bolton, Brook, Cunningham, Godfrey, Horrill, Isaacs, Kurn, Miller, Pearson, Read, Warwick.

RESOLVED:

That the recommended minute of Cabinet held 9 February 2023 (Recommendations 1 - 6) be approved and adopted:

1.          That the level of General Fund Budget for 2023/24 be agreed, and recommend the summary as shown in Appendix A of the report.

2.         That the creation of and transfers to reserves (detailed in section 13.13 of the report) be approved to support the delivery of the key priorities in the Council Plan, including:

a.     Greener Faster (£250k)

b.     Future of Waste (£500k)

c.      Pride in Place (£150k)

d.     Digital Transformation (£400k)

e.     Regeneration (£300k)

f.       Cost of Living/Living Well (£170k)

g.     Transitional Reserve (additional £230k)

3.         That the Pride in Place investment proposals set out in section 13.5 of the report be supported, including:

a.     To increase the regeneration budget by £130k per annum to provide capacity to deliver the council’s regeneration programme.

b.     To increase the Town Forum bus shelter replacement programme by £10k per annum from 2023/24

c.      To freeze the proposed grant funding reductions to Hampshire Cultural Trust and maintain pre-2022/23 funding levels until the end of 2024/25, at a cost of £43k per annum.

d.     Extend the current one-off budget funding street scene works under the Pride in Place priority by £50k per annum

e.     Increase the tree works budget by £78k per annum to fund ongoing essential works to the Council’s trees across the district

f.       Increase the Natural Environment and Recreation Team budget by £23k per annum to fund a tree officer post to manage the council’s trees.

4.         That the proposed increase to the salary budget of £175k per annum to fund all grades being uplifted by one increment on the existing pay scales be approved, in accordance with Appendix G of the report, to give Winchester a more competitive market position for recruitment and retention of staff.

5.         That a discretionary 7% cap for 2023/24 on the annual increase in rent for Partnered Home Purchase scheme property owners be approved, in line with the increase in social and affordable rents to existing tenants in the HRA.

6.         That the sum of £1,186,879 be treated as Special Expenses under Section 35 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 in respect of the Winchester Town area as set out in section 16 and Appendix D of the report.

In accordance with legislative requirements on recorded votes at Budget meetings, a recorded vote was then taken regarding Recommendations 7 – 11 of the Recommended Minute of Cabinet.

The following Members voted in favour of Recommendations 7 – 11 of the Recommended Minute of Cabinet:

Councillors Achwal, Batho, Becker, Bolton, Brook, Clear, Cook, Cramoysan, Craske, Cunningham, Cutler, Edwards, Evans, Godfrey, Gordon-Smith, Horrill, Isaacs, Kurn, Laming, Learney, Lumby, Miller, Pearson, Porter, Power, Read, Rutter, Scott, Small, Thompson, Tippett-Cooper, Tod, Wallace, Warwick, Westwood, Williams.

The following Members voted against Recommendations 7 – 11 of the Recommended Minute of Cabinet:

None.

The following Members abstained from voting on Recommendations 7 – 11 of the Recommended Minute of Cabinet:

None.

RESOLVED:

That the recommended minute of Cabinet held 9 February 2023 (Recommendations 7 - 11) be approved and adopted:

7.   That the Council Tax for the Special Expenses in the Winchester Town area at Band D for 2023/24 be increased by 5.5% to £80.93, an increase of £4.22.

8.   That the surplus balance on the Council Tax Collection Fund for distribution to this Council, calculated in January 2023 of £39,724.63, be approved.

9.   That the level of Council Tax at Band D for City Council services for 2023/24 be increased to £155.29, an increase of £4.00 reflecting an average Council tax increase of 2.65%

10.                That the new Council Tax Reduction scheme income bands be approved (set out in Appendix E of the report) that ensure claimants continue to receive the same level of support after the increase in Universal Credit from April 2023.

11.                That the distribution of the Government’s £150,512 Council Tax Support Fund through a reduction to Council Tax balances be approved, in line with the Government’s guidance and additional local criteria, detailed in paragraph 17 of the report.

Council Tax for the City of Winchester for the year commencing 1 April 2023.

In accordance with legislative requirements on recorded votes at Budget Meetings, a recorded vote was taken regarding the Council Tax Resolutions (1 – 7) as set out on pages 105 – 111 of the agenda pack.

The following Members voted in favour of the Council Tax Resolutions (1 -7):

Councillors Achwal, Batho, Becker, Bolton, Brook, Clear, Cook, Cramoysan, Craske, Cunningham, Cutler, Edwards, Evans, Godfrey, Gordon-Smith, Horrill, Isaacs, Kurn, Laming, Learney, Lumby, Miller, Pearson, Porter, Power, Read, Rutter, Scott, Small, Thompson, Tippett-Cooper, Tod, Wallace, Warwick, Westwood, Williams.

The following Members voted against the Council Tax Resolutions (1 -7):

None.

The following Members abstained from voting on the Council Tax Resolutions (1 -7):

None.

RESOLVED:

1.      That any expenses incurred by the Council in performing in a part of its area a function performed elsewhere in its area by a Parish Council/Town Council/Parish Meeting shall not be treated as special expenses for the purposes of Section 35 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, except in the case of the following special items relating to the non-parished area the aggregate amount of which is £1,186,879 (Appendix D to report CAB3388 refers) and which is shown within the total of special items at paragraph 4(e) below:-

        (a)    Magdalen Hill and West Hill Cemeteries;

        (b)    Allotments;

        (c)    Town centre Christmas lighting;

        (d)    Footway lighting;

        (e)    Bus shelter maintenance;

         (f)    Grants for community facilities in the Town and Vision Delivery (“parish” element);

(g)     Recreation Grounds & Open Spaces (except Abbey Gardens, Riverside Walks, the Weirs and St Giles Hill);

(h)     Neighbourhood Services;

(i)     Public Conveniences

(j)       Theatre Royal

(k)     Maintenance work to Council Owned Bridges

(l)       Night Bus Contribution

(m)   St Maurice’s Covert

(n)     Neighbourhood Plans

(o)     Community Infrastructure

(p)     Administration of the Town Forum

2.         That it be noted that the Head of Revenues, in consultation with the   Corporate Head of Finance calculated the Council Tax Base for 2023/24 at

(a)   £52,626.87

being the amount calculated by the Council for the whole Council area, in accordance with Section 31B(1) (Item T) of the Local Government Act 1992, as amended (the “Act”), as its Council Tax base for the year.

(b) for dwellings in those parts of its area to which a Parish/Town precept relates as in the attached Annex 1.

3.      Calculate that the Council Tax requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2023/24 (excluding Parish Precepts) is £9,359,306.

4.      That the following amounts be now calculated by the Council for the year 2023/24 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Act:

(a)    £113,709,959

being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2) of the Act taking into account all precepts issued to it by Parish Councils.

(b)    £100,305,678

being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act.

(c)    £13,404,281

being the amount by which the aggregate at 4(a) above exceeds the aggregate at 4(b) above, calculated by the Council in accordance with Section 31A(4) of the Act, as its Council Tax requirement for the year. (Item R in the formula in Section 31B of the Act).

(d)    £254.70

being the amount at 4(c) above (Item R), all divided by Item T (2(a) above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31B(1) of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year (including Parish Precepts).

(e)    £5,231,854

being the aggregate amount of all special items referred to in Section 34(1) of the Act (as per the attached Annex 2 on page 111 of the agenda pack)

(f)     £155.29

being the amount at 4(d) above less the result given by dividing the amount at 4(e) above by Item T (2(a) above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34(2) of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which no special item relates.

5.   That it be noted for the year 2023/24, Hampshire County Council and the Police and Crime Commissioner - Hampshire have stated, and the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority has recommended the following amounts in precepts issued to the Council, in accordance with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, for each of the categories of dwellings shown below:

Precepting                                       Precept

Authority                                           Amount

Hampshire County          

Council (HCC)                                  £76,848,387

Police and Crime Commissioner 

– Hampshire (PCCH)                       £13,233,553

Hampshire Fire and                       £4,232,779

Rescue Authority (HFRA)

         Valuation             HCC             PCCH            HFRA

         Bands

6.      That the Council, in accordance with Sections 30 and 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the aggregate amounts shown in columns 2-9 of Annex 2 (on page 111 of the agenda pack) as the amounts of Council Tax for 2023/24 for each part of its area and for each of the categories of dwellings shown.

7.   That the Council determines that the Council’s basic amount of Council Tax for 2023/24 is not excessive in accordance with principles approved under Section 52ZB of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

Councillor Power (Cabinet Member for Finance and Value) moved that the recommended minute of Cabinet be approved and adopted (seconded by Councillor Tod, Leader & Cabinet Member for Asset Management).

Council proceeded to ask questions and debate the matters in the recommended minute of Cabinet and the report.

RESOLVED:

That the recommended minute of Cabinet held 9 February 2023 (as follows) be approved and adopted:

1.            The Capital Investment Strategy be approved including:

a)    the Capital Programme and Capital Programme Financing (Appendices A and B to the report);

b)    the Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Policy Statement (Appendix E);

c)    the Flexible Use of Capital Receipts Strategy (Appendix G); and

d)    the prudential indicators detailed in the report and Appendix F.

Councillor Power (Cabinet Member for Finance and Value) moved that the recommended minute of Cabinet be approved and adopted (seconded by Councillor Cutler).

Council proceeded to ask questions and debate the matters in the recommended minute of Cabinet and the report.

RESOLVED:

That the recommended minute of Cabinet held 9 February 2023 (as follows) be approved and adopted:

1.            That the Treasury Management Strategy Statement which includes the Annual Treasury Investment Strategy for 2023/24 (and the remainder of 2022/23) be approved;

2.            That authority is delegated to the Section 151 Officer to manage the council’s high yielding investments portfolio and long-term borrowing according to the Treasury Management Strategy Statement as appropriate; and

3.            That authority be delegated to the Section 151 Officer, who in turn discharges this function to Hampshire County Council’s Director of Corporate Operations, as agreed in the Service Level Agreement, to manage all council investments (other than the high yield portfolio) and short-term borrowing according to the Treasury Management Strategy Statement as appropriate.

RESOLVED:

1.               That for the Scrutiny Committee –

(i)         Councillor Godfrey to replace Councillor Cook. Councillor Miller to replace Councillor Godfrey as a deputy member.

2.               That for the Health and Environment Policy Committee –

(i)         Councillor Bolton to replace Councillor Cook. Councillor Brook to replace Councillor Bolton as a deputy member.

(ii)        Councillor Williams to replace Councillor Clear.  Councillor Cutler to replace Councillor Williams as a deputy member.

3.               That for Licensing and Regulation Committee -

(i)         Councillor Read to replace Councillor McLean.

(ii)        Councillor Clear to no longer be a deputy member.

4.               That for the Planning Committee -

(i)         Councillor Cunningham to replace Councillor McLean. Councillor Horrill to replace Councillor Cunningham as a deputy member.

(ii)        Councillor Brook to replace Councillor Cook as a deputy member.

(iii)       Councillor Achwal to replace Councillor Clear. Councillor Cutler to replace Councillor Achwal as a deputy member.

5.               That for the Joint West of Waterlooville Planning Committee

(i)         Councillor Pearson to replace Councillor McLean.

(ii)        Councillor Rutter to replace Councillor Clear. Councillor Westwood to replace Councillor Rutter as a deputy member.

6.               That for the Business and Housing Policy Committee -

(i)         Councillor Horrill to replace Councillor Scott.  Councillor Kurn to replace Councillor Horrill as a deputy member.

20 written questions had been received of which 18 were heard at the meeting along with associated supplementary questions, when asked.  All questions are set out in full on the council’s website, together with responses from the relevant Cabinet Member. 

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Cunningham be appointed Vice Chairperson for the meeting.