Agenda and minutes

You are invited to verbally declare any registerable and/or non-registerable interests in matters appearing on the agenda, and the nature of that interest.

You are also invited to disclose any dispensation from the requirement to declare any registerable and/or non-registerable interests that have been granted to you in respect of any matters appearing on the agenda.

The Chair reminded all Members of the Council about the position with regard to interests in Council meetings of the Council that dealt with the Budget proposals.

In relation to a Registerable Personal Interest held where a Member had been appointed by the Authority to an outside body or bodies, dispensations had been granted to allow them to participate and vote at any meeting. Where Members had been granted such dispensations, they were not required to declare these registerable personal interests or the grant of dispensations at this meeting.

A list of the appointments to the Authority’s Outside Bodies and dispensations granted to Members in respect to appointments had been circulated to all Members.

Members who had any further interests were invited to declare them.

The following additional declarations of interest were made in relation to the item below (Minute C96/21):

Item 3 – 2021-2025 Financial Planning and Budget Process: Elected Mayor and Cabinet Budget and Council Tax Requirement Resolution for 2021/22

Councillor T Brady - non-registerable personal interest – received support through the pandemic from the Business Factory.

Councillor C Burdis – non-registerable personal interest – family member is employed by the Authority and would withdraw from the meeting.

Councillor B Burdis – non-registerable personal interest – family member is employed by the Authority and would withdraw from the meeting.

Councillor K Clark – registerable personal interest - employed by an organisation that receives funding from the Authority.

Councillor J Cruddas – non- registerable personal interest – family member is employed by North Tyneside Partner Engie and registerable personal interest – employed by an organisation that receives funding from the Authority.

Councillor C Davis – non-registerable personal interest – family member is employed by the Authority.

Councillor D Drummond – non-registerable personal interest – and is employed by the Tyne & Wear Fire Authority and a family member is employed by North Tyneside Citizens Advice Bureau.

Councillor J Harrison – registerable personal interest - a public governor on Northumbria NHS Foundation and indicated would withdraw from the meeting.

Councillor G Madden - non-registerable personal interest – family member is employed by the Authority.

Councillor M Madden - non-registerable personal interest – family member is employed by the Authority.

Councillor T Mulvenna - non-registerable personal interest – family member is employed by the Authority.

Councillor A Newman - non-registerable personal interest – family member is employed by North Tyneside Partner Engie.

Councillor P Oliver - non-registerable personal interest – family member receives support provided by the Authority.

Councillor M Rankin - non-registerable personal interest – family member is employed by the Authority.

Councillor W Samuel - non-registerable personal interest – family member is employed by the Authority.

Councillor M Thirlaway - non-registerable personal interest – family member is employed by the Authority and works for a company that has contracts with the Authority.

To receive a report on the Elected Mayor and Cabinet’s Proposals for the 2021/22 General Fund Revenue Budget, Council Tax Requirement and Council Tax Level, the 2021-2026 Investment Plan and the Treasury Management Strategy Annual Investment Strategy for

2021/22 and to consider any objections.

(Councillor JLL Harrison withdrew from the meeting and took no part in the discussion or voting on this item).

The Chair explained the procedure for the meeting and indicated that she would first request Councillor Glindon to move the Elected Mayor and Cabinet Proposals. Once those proposals were seconded, Members would then have the opportunity to ask questions relating to matters of principle.

The report of the Head of Resources (Chief Financial Officer) had been circulated to all Members of the Council.

The report set out the Elected Mayor and Cabinet’s proposals for the 2021/22 General Fund Revenue Budget, Council Tax Requirement and Council Tax level, the 2021-2026 Investment Plan and the Treasury Management Strategy and Annual Investment Strategy for 2021/22.

The following additional documents had been also circulated to all Members of the Council:

·         Notification of Final Amendments made under Delegated Authority of the Mayor

·         Conservative Group Notice of Objection

·         List of the Authority’s appointments to outside bodies and dispensations granted

In relation to the Conservative Group Notice of Objection, a letter signed by the Head of Resources and the Head of Law and Governance had been circulated to all Members in the light of the statutory duty of the Section 151 Officer to report on the robustness of estimates and adequacy of reserves under section 25 of The Local Government Act 2003. In regard to this requirement the Section 151 Officer had considered the risks in relation to the financial position of the Authority at this point in time and also in the medium term.

In the light of the risks to the Authority identified by the Section 151 Officer, as outlined in the letter, and in the professional view of the Section 151 Officer when addressing her duty to report on the robustness of estimates and adequacy of reserves, the Notice of Objection from the Conservative Group presented an additional significant risk to the Authority’s financial position by failing to take the opportunity to increase Council Tax resulting in the use of reserves. In the view of the Section 151 Officer, should such an Alternative Budget Proposal ultimately be adopted as the Authority’s budget for 2021/22, this brought into question the financial sustainability of the Authority.

Counsel’s advice, which had also been circulated to all Members, was that any objection that was presented as an alternative budget proposal must take into account the longer term financial planning requirements of the Authority and not just propose a budget that was balanced for the forthcoming financial year. In addition when full Council received any objection to the Cabinet’s proposals and the Section 151 Officer, in exercising their professional judgement, considered that the objection, although providing a balance budget for one year, did not provide robust estimates or adequate reserves for the longer term, this was a matter on which advice to full Council should properly be given.

It was moved by Councillor R Glindon and seconded by Councillor B Pickard that:

Council agree:

(a)     the recommendations and delegations set  ...  view the full minutes text for item C96/20