Agenda item
Report of the Cabinet Meeting of 9th February 2011
To consider the proposals of the Mayor and Executive in relation to the Council’s Budget and Council Tax 2011/12.
The Budget Council Meeting Document Pack is circulated with this agenda. The pack includes the report of the Cabinet Meeting of 9th February 2011; the Budget Motion from the Cabinet Member for Resources; the report of the Corporate Director, Resources as submitted to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Cabinet; and supporting documents updated in accordance with the Cabinet’s recommendations.
For ease of reference an index to the items contained in the Budget Council Meeting Document Pack is attached.
Decision:
The Mayor introduced, and Councillor Alibor Choudhury moved, the budget proposals of the Mayor and Executive. Councillor Rabina Khan seconded the proposals.
Three amendments were tabled and moved as follows:-
(i) Amendment proposed by Councillor Helal Abbas and seconded by Councillor David Edgar;
(ii) Amendment proposed by Councillor David Snowdon and seconded by Councillor Zara Davis; and
(iii) Amendment proposed by Councillor Stephanie Eaton and seconded by Councillor Fozol Miah.
The Mayor indicated that he was willing to accept in its entirety the amendment proposed by Councillor Eaton and varied his motion accordingly.
Following debate, the amendment proposed by Councillor Helal Abbas was put to a recorded vote and was carried.
The amendment proposed by Councillor Snowdon was then put to the vote and was defeated.
Finally, the substantive motion (as amended) was put to a recorded vote and was carried as set out at Appendix A.
The Service Head, Democratic Services then advised Members that as the Council had agreed budget proposals that were different from the Mayor’s proposals, the statutory dispute resolution process would come into operation. The Council was required to inform the Mayor of their objection to his budget proposals and set a period of at least 5 working days, starting on the day after the meeting, within which the Mayor and Executive could reconsider their proposals in the light of that objection and resubmit them for consideration at a further meeting of the Council.
The Chair informed Members that this further meeting would be held on Tuesday 8th March 2011.
DECISION
That the Mayor and Executive be informed of the Council’s objection to their budget proposals as set out in the attached substantive motion (as amended) and be requested to reconsider their budget proposals in the light of that objection and within a period of 5 working days, commencing on Thursday 24th February, submit any revised proposals for consideration at a further Council meeting in accordance with the Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules.
(Action by: Chris Naylor, Corporate Director, Resources & John S. Williams, Service Head, Democratic Services)
Minutes:
Mayor Lutfur Rahman introduced his budget proposals. He stated that the £30M of cuts necessary in the forthcoming financial year had been found without closing libraries or children’s centres, or increasing school dinner prices. Homes would be built to rent and Tower Hamlets Homes had that day gained a two star rating and the borough had secured £100M in decent homes funding. In relation to crime and policing the Mayor had met with the Borough Commander to put together a proposal that will combine some of our dedicated policing resources with extra funding from the GLA that will enable the borough to employ 21 more Police officers.
Councillor Alibor Choudhury MOVED the budget proposals of the Mayor and Executive. He placed on record his thanks to Councillors and Officers for their months of intensive work on the budget. 28% of the Council’s grant had been cut by Central Government and the Council had been forced to find £71M of cuts over three years with 42% in 2011/12. Councillor Choudhury considered that the proposals represented a progressive budget to enable the Council to continue to be one of the best performing Councils in London.
Councillor Rabina Khan SECONDED the motion and addressed the Council in support of it.
Councillor Helal Abbas then MOVED and Councillor David Edgar SECONDED a tabled amendment as attached at Appendix A.
Councillor David Snowdon the MOVED and Councillor Zara Davis SECONDED a further tabled amendment as attached at Appendix B.
Councillor Stephanie Eaton then MOVED and Councillor Fozol Miah SECONDED a further tabled amendment as attached at Appendix C.
Adjournment
Following debate, the Chair of Council announced that the meeting would adjourn to allow the Mayor to consider the amendments that had been proposed. (9.10pm)
At 9.30pm the meeting resumed its business and the Mayor’s response to the amendments was tabled.
The Mayor indicated that he was willing to accept in its entirety the amendment moved by Councillor Stephanie Eaton and Councillor Fozol Miah and in accordance with Procedure Rule 15.8.1 altered his motion accordingly.
In relation to the amendment moved by Councillor David Edgar and Councillor Helal Abbas, the Mayor stated that he would be happy to support all of the elements except those relating to:-
1. The Junior Youth Service, as this proposal had been dealt with under the amendment proposed by Councillor Stephanie Eaton and Councillor Fozol Miah and their solution achieved the same result and was cheaper;
2. East End Life – The Mayor was happy to commit to a saving of at least £200,000 but any decision on the frequency and format of any future Council publication should be based on the decision of the ongoing review as officers had pointed out the risks of making this decision without detailed costings of all possible solutions; and
3. Policing – Councillor Edgar’s proposal was unacceptable as it cut across ongoing negotiations between the Council and the Police around recently announced GLA funding for police officers. These negotiations would enable the Council to deliver 21 extra Police officers without any need to cut THEOs.
In relation to the amendment moved by Councillor David Snowdon and Councillor Zara Davis, the Mayor stated that he would not be accepting any part of the amendment as he did not feel that it reflected the needs of the borough.
Following points of clarification on a number of matters to which, at the invitation of the Chair, Corporate Directors provided Members with information, the Chair of Council announced that the meeting would again adjourn, to allow Members to consider the Mayor’s response to the amendments and his revised motion. (9.45pm)
The meeting resumed business at 10.02pm.
At this point the Chair of Council stated that someone in the public gallery had threatened a member of staff and he asked that person to leave the meeting.
Following a continuing disturbance in the public gallery the Chair again adjourned the meeting and in accordance with Procedure Rule 24.2, ordered the public gallery to be cleared. (10.12pm).
The meeting resumed business at 10.18pm.
Councillor David Edgar advised the meeting that the Labour Group were not satisfied with the Mayor’s response and accordingly would not be varying their tabled amendment. Councillor Edgar sought further information on aspects of the Mayor’s proposals and the officer advice.
Following debate, the amendment moved by Councillor David Edgar and Councillor Helal Abbas was put to the vote.
At this point more than 10 Members rose to request a recorded vote.
Before the recorded vote commenced, Members sought clarification about the procedure for moving a further amendment or varying a tabled amendment. The Assistant Chief Executive (Legal Services) advised that Members had an opportunity during the debate to change their amendment. The Section 151 Officer had confirmed that the amendments being voted upon were not inconsistent and it was now too late to do so as the meeting was moving to the vote.
The recorded vote was then taken on the amendment moved by Councillor Edgar and Members indicated their votes as follows:-
For the amendment (29 Councillors):
Councillor Helal Abbas
Councillor Kabir Ahmed
Councillor Khales Uddin Ahmed
Councillor Rofique Uddin Ahmed
Councillor Shahed Ali
Councillor Mizanur Chaudhury
Councillor David Edgar
Councillor Marc Francis
Councillor Judith Gardiner
Councillor Carlo Gibbs
Councillor Shafiqul Haque
Councillor Carli Harper-Penman
Councillor Sirajul Islam
Councillor Ann Jackson
Councillor Denise Jones
Councillor Anwar Khan
Councillor Shiria Khatun
Councillor Anna Lynch
Councillor Ahmed Omer
Councillor Lesley Pavitt
Councillor Joshua Peck
Councillor Zenith Rahman
Councillor Rachael Saunders
Councillor Bill Turner
Councillor Helal Uddin
Councillor Kosru Uddin
Councillor Abdal Ullah
Councillor Amy Whitelock
Councillor Motin Uz-Zaman
Against the amendment (0 Councillors)
Abstained (19 Councillors):
Councillor Peter Golds
Councillor Ohid Ahmed
Councillor Shelina Aktar
Councillor Timothy Archer
Councillor Craig Aston
Councillor Lutfa Begum
Councillor Alibor Choudhury
Councillor Zara Davis
Councillor Stephanie Eaton
Councillor Dr. Emma Jones
Councillor Aminur Khan
Councillor Rabina Khan
Councillor Rania Khan
Councillor Fozol Miah
Councillor Harun Miah
Councillor Maium Miah
Councillor Oliur Rahman
Councillor David Snowdon
Councillor Gloria Thienel
The amendment was therefore carried.
The amendment moved by Councillor David Snowdon and Councillor Zara Davis was then put to the vote and was defeated.
Finally, the substantive motion as amended was put to the vote.
At this point more than 10 Members rose to request a recorded vote. A recorded vote was therefore taken on the substantive motion and Members indicated their votes as follows:-
For the amendment (32 Councillors):
Councillor Helal Abbas
Councillor Kabir Ahmed
Councillor Khales Uddin Ahmed
Councillor Rofique Uddin Ahmed
Councillor Shahed Ali
Councillor Mizanur Chaudhury
Councillor Stephanie Eaton
Councillor David Edgar
Councillor Marc Francis
Councillor Judith Gardiner
Councillor Carlo Gibbs
Councillor Shafiqul Haque
Councillor Carli Harper-Penman
Councillor Sirajul Islam
Councillor Ann Jackson
Councillor Denise Jones
Councillor Anwar Khan
Councillor Shiria Khatun
Councillor Anna Lynch
Councillor Fozol Miah
Councillor Harun Miah
Councillor Ahmed Omer
Councillor Lesley Pavitt
Councillor Joshua Peck
Councillor Zenith Rahman
Councillor Rachael Saunders
Councillor Bill Turner
Councillor Helal Uddin
Councillor Kosru Uddin
Councillor Abdal Ullah
Councillor Amy Whitelock
Councillor Motin Uz-Zaman
Against the amendment (0 Councillors)
Abstained (16 Councillors):
Councillor Peter Golds
Councillor Ohid Ahmed
Councillor Shelina Aktar
Councillor Timothy Archer
Councillor Craig Aston
Councillor Lutfa Begum
Councillor Alibor Choudhury
Councillor Zara Davis
Councillor Dr. Emma Jones
Councillor Aminur Khan
Councillor Rabina Khan
Councillor Rania Khan
Councillor Maium Miah
Councillor Oliur Rahman
Councillor David Snowdon
Councillor Gloria Thienel
The substantive motion as amended was therefore carried as follows:-
A. This Council notes that:
1. The scale of the cuts imposed on public services, families and individuals by the Conservative-led government and their Liberal Democrat partners
2. Tower Hamlets Council is facing cuts of £72million over the next three years.
3. The decision of the Cabinet under the previous Labour administration that the priority in responding to the government’s cuts be protecting the delivery of frontline services by reducing layers of management, cutting agency staff, tougher deals with suppliers, using fewer buildings, and other measures.
4. Nonetheless the government has granted Tower Hamlets a special transition grant of £4.143 million.
5. The government has also introduced a pupil premium which will be worth approximately £9 million to support the education of the most deprived children in the Borough.
6. The government has also increased the ability of the Council to manage its finances efficiently and effectively with the removal of ring-fenced budgets.
7. Tower Hamlets Homes has been granted £95.4 million to improve the Borough’s council housing stock.
8. The Mayor has stated his intention to review East End Life by May 2011.
9. Under the previous Labour administration the Council wasted funds on publicity photographs by millionaire fashion photographer Rankin; held a Senior Management Team awayday in a hotel in Greenwich; paid for expensive celebrity guest speakers at staff awards ceremonies; and presided over an inflated communications department.
B. This Council believes:
1. The government is cutting too fast and too deeply with damaging consequences for the people of Tower Hamlets
C. This Council notes that the proposals put forward by the Mayor and Cabinet will ensure that:
1. Every children’s centre will remain open.
2. Out-of-school hours activities will remain available for every child.
3. Homecare services for eligible residents will continue to be free; and Tower Hamlets will be the only local authority in the country to provide these services free.
4. Resident parking permits, visitor Scratch cards and short stay parking charges will be frozen at 2010/11 levels.
5. There will be no reductions to concessions at leisure centres and no increases above the rate of inflation in ‘on the door’ pay and play charges for sports and leisure facilities.
6. There will be no increases above the rate of inflation for hire of premises run by the arts and events team, e.g. for the Brady Centre.
7. Fees and charges will remain the same for street and market traders for 2011/12 for the third successive year.
8. Council tax will not increase in 2011/2012
D. This Council:
1. Supports the goals of the Mayor and Cabinet to protect front line services, and minimise job losses.
2. Supports the Mayor and Cabinet’s approach to General Fund reserves, recognising that it is prudent to place additional resources in the General Fund reserves due to strategic financial risks.
3. Confirms that young people, employment and housing are among this Council’s highest priorities.
E. This Council agrees the budget proposals put forward by the Independent Mayor subject to the following amendments:-
1. To use previously unallocated capital funding of £2.9 million pounds in order to increase social housing, and release the following ‘earmarked’ reserves for the immediate benefit of the Borough:
Single status reserve £1 million
Chief Executive’s reserve £0.7 million
This comprises a total of £4.6 million to be put to immediate use in major funding initiatives to reflect the Council’s priorities of young people, employment and housing.
F. This Council resolves:
1. To apply £1.04million to support apprenticeships, leadership training and new graduate employment initiatives over 3 years. That the Corporate Directors of Development and Renewal and Children’s Services bring forward proposals to be included the Mayor’s forthcoming employment strategy.
A total of £1.04 million to develop apprenticeships, leadership training and new graduate employment initiatives in the borough.
2. To allocate £3.5 million of capital to increase affordable housing in the Borough. Measures to include but not limited to:
· knock-through of apartments to provide larger family sized accommodation – number to be determined by demand, suitability of site, and cost.
· Leaseholder buy-backs
· Development of new housing schemes (see below at 4.)
A total of £3.5 million to increase the supply of affordable housing in the Borough.
3. To make available the site at 585 - 593 Commercial Road E1 0HJ for development with the aim of maximizing the provision of high quality social rented housing
· The practice of removing and storing illegally parked vehicles at the car pound on 585 - 593 Commercial Road is to be discontinued.Therefore, the site will no longer be required for that use, and the land is available for development. The value of the land is approximately £5 million. Subject to planning permission and with the support of a development partner, making the site available for redevelopment provides an opportunity for substantial numbers of new homes in the Borough.
Approx £5.0 million land value to develop high quality social housing to provide a maximum number of social rented homes on the site of the former car pound at 585 - 593 Commercial Road.
4. To delete the following savings:
2011/12
£’000
AHWB/1 Housing Link 252
CE/2 Democratic Services 243
CSF/5 Extended schools services 753
_____
1,248
5. To replace with the following savings:
AHWB/1 – Housing link provides an important service for
people with a mental health problems who are going
through a housing crisis and who may be
at risk of homelessness or tenancy breakdown.
Maintain this service with a 25% reduction in funding
and a requirement to work with the Council including the
Supporting People team to review caseloads, costs
and the interaction with other services. £78k
CE/2 – Support to the Mayor and Councillors – in order to
allow Councillors to represent effectively residents
and others who raise issues with them, the following
support be maintained – responses to enquiries to be
sent to the resident concerned; enquiries to
housing associations, the police and others to continue;
“Streetline” enquiries to continue to be dealt with
whenever the response to the telephone helpline is
not satisfactory; surgeries to be supported at the
same level. Councillors to continue to receive paper
copies of agendas for committees where they request
them in order to scrutinize effectively on behalf of
residents the decisions and work of the Council and
the Mayor. £82k
CE/2 – In recognition of the cuts being made across the
Council’s budget, freeze the Councillor’s Basic
Allowances and Mayor’s salary at the current level
for 2011/12; cut Special Responsibility Allowances
by 5%; provide suitable transport for civic and
ceremonial functions within London only for the
sole use of the Chair and Deputy Chair of Council.
CE/2 – In recognition of the substantial contributions that
local residents make to the life of the borough and
the desirability of publicly recognizing this, maintain
a Civic Awards scheme but combine it with the
Mayor’s Community Safety Awards and limit any
refreshments at the ceremony to those funded
by sponsorship.
The above give a non-staff saving of £82,000.
CE/2 – Support to the Mayor and Councillors – recognizing
the full access to the resources of the Council that
the Mayor has and the need to balance appropriately
the level of support to the Mayor and Executive with
that available to other 46 councillors, cap the cost of
staff support to the Mayor and Executive to £271,000.
Any new appointments to be subject to the Council’s
redeployment procedures. The above give a staff
saving, including that to the committee section,
of £230,000. £230k
CSF/5 – The Junior Youth Service provides valued after
school childcare for the children of many working and
non-working parents. This service to be continued in
at least eight schools for working and non-working
parents at the current level of charges. The Council
to agree with schools whether this service is provided
directly by the Council or school-run provision is
subsidized by the Council, the aim being to maximize
the number of places provided. The funding for this
provision to be £406,000. £347k
LEAN/2 – Make a further saving of £60,000 from the senior
staff budget in Communications and reallocate the
funding to the adventure play facilities (CLC/4) at
Bartlett Park and Whitehorse Road to increase by
£60,000 the amount available to commission
provision from the third sector.
East End Life – in line with the Government’s Local
Authority Publicity Code to reduce publication to
quarterly with a saving of £200,000. £200k
Community Safety – add 17 police officers – one per
ward – to the Safer Neighbourhood Teams, meeting
with local residents at Ward Panels, to replace the
current team of Tower Hamlets Enforcement Officers
with effect from 1 July at a net saving in 2011/12 of
£25,000 and a net saving in 2012/13 of £180,000. £25k
Reduce the contribution to reserves by £286,000
G. This Council notes:
that as a result of these proposals the Tower Hamlets Council Tax at Band D for 2011/12 will remain at £885.52 and the Local Priorities Capital Programme for 2010/11 - 2013/14 will increase to £50.990m.
H. That the Council Resolves: -
General Fund Revenue Budget Requirement and Council Tax 2011/2012
1. To agree a total Budget Requirement for Tower Hamlets in 2011/12 of £310,960,000;
2. To agree a Council Tax for Tower Hamlets in 2011/12 of £885.52 at Band D;
a) Resulting in a Council Tax for all other band taxpayers, before any discounts, and excluding the GLA precept, as set out in the Table below:-
BAND |
PROPERTY VALUE |
RATIO TO BAND D |
LBTH COUNCIL TAX FOR EACH BAND |
|
|
FROM |
TO |
|
£ |
A |
0 |
40,000 |
6/9 |
£590.35 |
B |
40,001 |
52,000 |
7/9 |
£688.74 |
C |
52,001 |
68,000 |
8/9 |
£787.13 |
D |
68,001 |
88,000 |
9/9 |
£885.52 |
E |
88,001 |
120,000 |
11/9 |
£1,082.30 |
F |
120,001 |
160,000 |
13/9 |
£1,279.08 |
G |
160,001 |
320,000 |
15/9 |
£1,475.87 |
H |
320,001 |
and over |
18/9 |
£1,771.04 |
3. To agree that for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in 2011/12:-
(a) The Council Tax for Band D taxpayers, before any discounts, and including the GLA precept, shall be £1,195.34 as shown below: -.
|
£ (Band D, No Discounts) |
LBTH |
885.52 |
GLA |
309.82 |
Total |
1,195.34 |
(b) The Council Tax for taxpayers in all other bands, before any discounts, and including the GLA precept, shall be as detailed in the table below: -
BAND |
PROPERTY VALUE |
RATIO TO BAND D |
LBTH |
GLA |
TOTAL |
||
FROM |
TO |
£ |
£ |
£ |
|||
A |
0 |
40,000 |
6/9 |
£590.35 |
£206.55 |
£796.90 |
|
B |
40,001 |
52,000 |
7/9 |
£688.74 |
£240.97 |
£929.71 |
|
C |
52,001 |
68,000 |
8/9 |
£787.13 |
£275.40 |
£1,062.53 |
|
D |
68,001 |
88,000 |
9/9 |
£885.52 |
£309.82 |
£1,195.34 |
|
E |
88,001 |
120,000 |
11/9 |
£1,082.30 |
£378.67 |
£1,460.97 |
|
F |
120,001 |
160,000 |
13/9 |
£1,279.08 |
£447.52 |
£1,726.60 |
|
G |
160,001 |
320,000 |
15/9 |
£1,475.87 |
£516.37 |
£1,992.24 |
|
H |
320,001 |
and over |
18/9 |
£1,771.04 |
£619.64 |
£2,390.68 |
4 To approve the statutory calculations of this Authority’s total Budget requirement in 2011/12, detailed in Appendix A to this motion, undertaken by the Chief Financial Officer in accordance with the requirements of Sections 32 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.
5 To approve the Capital Programme, Treasury Management Strategy, and Investment Strategy as set out in the Document Pack, subject to the amendments agreed above.
I. That the Council further resolves:
1. To carry out reviews of the impact of the following savings proposals on service users (involving their families, advocates and friends where appropriate) and report to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and full Council by the end of October 2011 in time for the results of the reviews to influence the budget setting process for 2012/13:
· Promoting independence and reducing demand for domiciliary care through reablement
· Better use of supported housing
· Modernising learning disability day services
· Redesign and integration of early years and children’s centres management.
2. To ensure that the equalities impact assessments for the impact of the budget savings are kept under review and updated and that the proposed Fairness Commission includes cross party representatives and reports in time for its conclusions to influence the budget setting process for 2012/13.
Outcome of the meeting
The Service Head, Democratic Services then advised Members that as the Council had agreed budget proposals that were different from the Mayor’s proposals, the statutory dispute resolution process would come into operation. The Council was required to inform the Mayor of their objection to his budget proposals and set a period of at least 5 working days, starting on the day after the meeting, within which the Mayor and Executive could reconsider their proposals in the light of that objection and resubmit them for consideration at a further meeting of the Council.
The Chair of Council informed Members that this further meeting would be held on Tuesday 8th March 2011.
RESOLVED
That the Mayor and Executive be informed of the Council’s objection to their budget proposals as set out in the substantive motion (as amended) above and be requested to reconsider their budget proposals in the light of that objection and within a period of 5 working days, commencing on Thursday 24th February, submit any revised proposals for consideration at a further Council meeting in accordance with the Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules.
Supporting documents:
-
Covering Report - Budget, item 5.1
PDF 54 KB
-
Budget Document Pack Index, item 5.1
PDF 49 KB
-
Budget Pack - Report of Cabinet 090211 to Council, item 5.1
PDF 107 KB
-
Budget Pack Annex 1 Budget Motion inc Appx A, item 5.1
PDF 95 KB
-
Budget Pack Annex 2 Report of CD Resources, item 5.1
PDF 216 KB
- Budget Pack Annex 2 Appx A Provisional Base, item 5.1 HTM 56 KB
- Budget Pack Annex 2 Appx B Summary Growth Risks, item 5.1 HTM 67 KB
- Budget Pack Annex 2 Appx C MTFP, item 5.1 HTM 68 KB
-
Budget Pack Annex 2 Appx D1 - Savings Summary, item 5.1
PDF 15 KB
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Budget Pack Annex 2 Appx D2 - Savings Detail, item 5.1
PDF 6 MB
-
Budget Pack Annex 2 Appx E Strat and Corp Risks, item 5.1
PDF 105 KB
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Budget Pack Annex 2 Appx F Reserves and Balances, item 5.1
PDF 84 KB
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Budget Pack Annex 2 Appx G GF Balances, item 5.1
PDF 46 KB
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Budget Pack Annex 2 Appx H Consultation, item 5.1
PDF 76 KB
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Budget Pack Annex 2 Appx I OSC comments, item 5.1
PDF 59 KB
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Budget Pack Annex 3 Capital Programme report, item 5.1
PDF 159 KB
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Budget Pack Annex 3 Appx 1 Cap Prog, item 5.1
PDF 35 KB
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Budget Pack Annex 3 Appx 2 LPP, item 5.1
PDF 19 KB
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Budget Pack Annex 4 Treasury Management inc Appxs, item 5.1
PDF 183 KB
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Tabled amendments - cover sheet 23 02 11, item 5.1
PDF 40 KB
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Amendment Labour, item 5.1
PDF 160 KB
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Amendment Labour - officer comments, item 5.1
PDF 370 KB
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Amendment Conservative, item 5.1
PDF 209 KB
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Amendment Conservative - officer comments, item 5.1
PDF 906 KB
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Amendment Cllrs Eaton, Miah, item 5.1
PDF 156 KB
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Amendment Cllrs Eaton, Miah - officer comments, item 5.1
PDF 209 KB