Agenda, decisions and minutes
Venue: The Council Chamber, 1st Floor, Town Hall, Mulberry Place, 5 Clove Crescent, London, E14 2BG
Contact: John S Williams, Service Head, Democratic Services Tel: 020 7364 4204, E-mail: johns.williams@towerhamlets.gov.uk
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APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE To receive any apologies for absence. Decision: No apologies for absence were received.
Minutes: No apologies for absence were received.
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST To note any declarations of interest made by Members, including those restricting Members from voting on the questions detailed in Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act, 1992. See attached note from the Chief Executive.
Decision: Please see minutes.
Minutes: Members declared interests in items included on the agenda for the meeting as follows:-
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TO RECEIVE ANNOUNCEMENTS (IF ANY) FROM THE SPEAKER OF COUNCIL OR THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE Decision: No announcements were made at the meeting.
Minutes: No announcements were made at the meeting.
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TO RECEIVE ANY PETITIONS The Council’s Constitution provides for the Budget Council Meeting to receive a maximum of three petitions, which must relate to the Council’s budget or the setting of the Council Tax.
The deadline for submission of petitions for this meeting is Noon on Thursday 16th February 2012. Any valid petitions that are received by the deadline will be notified to Members before the meeting. Decision: No petitions were received at the meeting.
Minutes: No petitions were received at the meeting.
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BUDGET AND COUNCIL TAX 2012/13 Additional documents:
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Report of the Cabinet Meeting of 8th February 2012 To consider the proposals of the Mayor and Executive in relation to the Council’s Budget and Council Tax 2012/13.
The Budget 2012/13 Document Pack was circulated to all Councillors prior to the Cabinet Meeting on 8th February 2012. The pack includes:-
Members are asked to bring their copy of the Document Pack with them to the Council Meeting. The pack is also available on the Council’s Website at http://moderngov.towerhamlets.gov.uk/mgConvert2Pdf.aspx?ID=6615&T=9
The above documents were considered at the Cabinet meeting on 8th February 2012. At that meeting, the Mayor agreed a number of amendments to his draft budget proposals. In accordance with the Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules, the amended proposals were subsequently considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 13th February.
The comments of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee have been submitted to the Mayor for his consideration. A supplementary agenda pack will therefore follow, to include the report of the Cabinet Meeting of 8th February 2012 setting out the Mayor’s revised budget proposals; the comments of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (13th February); the Budget Motion from the Cabinet Member for Resources; and updated appendices setting out details of the Medium Term Financial Plan 2012/15. Additional documents: Decision: Mayor Lutfur Rahman introduced, and Councillor Alibor Choudhury moved, the revised budget proposals of the Mayor and Executive. Councillor Ohid Ahmed seconded the proposals.
Three amendments were tabled and moved as follows:
(i) Amendment proposed by Councillor Anwar Khan and seconded by Councillor Carlo Gibbs;
(ii) Amendment proposed by Councillor David Snowdon and seconded by Councillor Zara Davis;
(iii) Amendment proposed by Councillor Kabir Ahmed and seconded by Councillor Maium Miah.
Following debate Councillor Alibor Choudhury moved, and Councillor Ohid seconded, a further amendment without notice on the subject of (i) Special Responsibility Allowances; and (ii) Events in Parks.
The Speaker adjourned the meeting at 9.10 p.m. so that officers’ advice could be sought. The meeting reconvened at 9.30 p.m.
Following the adjournment, the Monitoring Officer advised the Council that the part of the proposed amendment that related to Events in Parks was an executive matter and therefore out of scope for the Council meeting. The proposal in relation to Special Responsibility Allowances was in order but represented a new amendment which could only be accepted for debate by a majority vote of the Council. The Speaker then put to the vote the proposal that section (i) of Councillor Choudhury’s amendment be accepted for debate and this was defeated.
Following further debate, the Speaker adjourned the meeting at 9.35 p.m. at the request of the Mayor, to enable consideration of the tabled amendments. The meeting reconvened at 9.50 p.m.
Following the adjournment the Mayor amended his budget proposals (i) by accepting in full the amendment proposed by Councillors Kabir Ahmed and Maium Miah; and (ii) by accepting some elements of the amendment proposed by Councillors Anwar Khan and Carlo Gibbs. The full list of changes accepted by the Mayor is attached at Appendix 1 to this Decision Sheet.
In relation to the some other elements of the amendment proposed by Councillors Anwar Khan and Carlo Gibbs, which the Mayor was not able to include in his revised budget proposal, he nevertheless indicated further that he intended to:-
Minutes: Mayor Lutfur Rahman introduced his Executive’s revised budget proposals as set out in the report of the Cabinet meeting on 8th February 2012, which was circulated to Members in the supplementary agenda. The Mayor commented that his main priority was to protect the Borough and the most vulnerable sections of the community from the Government’s cuts agenda and to give value for money. He intended to continue the provision of free home care for the elderly; maintain youth centre provision; ensure that no libraries or youth facilities were closed and protect lower-waged staff. The proposals would also protect the level of voluntary sector grants and would ensure that Council Tax would be frozen for the third year in succession.
The Mayor thanked those Members who had contributed to the development of his budget proposals and/or proposed the amendments that he had agreed to incorporate at the Cabinet meeting.
Councillor Alibor Choudhury MOVED, and Councillor Ohid Ahmed SECONDED, the budget proposals of the Mayor and Executive.
Three budget amendments were tabled and moved in accordance with Procedure Rule 2A.8 as follows:
(i) Amendment MOVED by Councillor Anwar Khan and SECONDED by Councillor Carlo Gibbs as set out at Annex A to these minutes;
(ii) Amendment MOVED by Councillor David Snowdon and SECONDED by Councillor Zara Davis as set out at Annex B to these minutes;
(iii) Amendment MOVED by Councillor Kabir Ahmed and SECONDED by Councillor Maium Miah as set out at Annex C to these minutes.
Following debate on the Mayor’s proposals and the above amendments, Councillor Alibor Choudhury MOVED, and Councillor Ohid Ahmed SECONDED, a further amendment without notice proposing additional savings and income opportunities as follows:-
“This Council Notes:
1. On SRAs: a) There are currently two levels of SRA for the leaders of groups with over 6 Councillors: The leader of a group with 6 members receives £5,531 p.a., whilst the leader of a group with 7 or more councillors receives £10,174 p.a. (These arrangements do not include the leader of the majority group, who received an SRA at the same level as a Cabinet Member.). b) Currently there is only 1 group in Council with over 6 Councillors. c) That the leader of this group’s current SRA is £10,174 p.a. over and above the basic allowance of £10,065. d) This is higher than the recommended level by the Independent Panel on the Remuneration of Councillors in London or £2,368 to £8,852 p.a. e) This is far higher than in comparative boroughs Lewisham and Newham, where the SRA is £5,275 and £3,621 p.a..
2. On Events in Parks: a) Currently all our large scale events are held in Victoria Park. b) There are currently no events held in Millwall Park, despite it being one of the largest parks in the borough.
This Council believes:
1. On SRAs: a) The two tiered system is unnecessary and not supported by the Independent Panel’s recommendation. b) In a year in which ... view the full minutes text for item 5.1 |