Agenda and minutes

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

Please complete the Declarations of Interests card available at the meeting and return it to the Democratic Services Officer before leaving the meeting.

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 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 C1/23):

Item 3 – 2023-2027 Financial Planning and Budget Process: Elected Mayor and Cabinet Budget and Council Tax Requirement Resolution for 2023/24.

Councillor L Bones - non-registerable personal interest – family member is employed by the Authority.

Councillor K Clark – Registerable personal interest – Director and employee of Justice Prince CIC, an organisation that receives funding from the Authority and indicated would withdraw from the meeting.

Councillor J Cruddas – Registerable personal interest - Director and employee of Justice Prince CIC, an organisation that receives funding from the Authority and indicated would withdraw from the meeting.

Councillor D Cox – non-registerable personal interest – family member receives Adult Social Care

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

Councillor D Drummond – registerable personal interest – is employed by the Tyne & Wear Fire Authority

Councillor P Earley - registerable personal interest – is a trustee of North Tyneside Carers Centre which receives funding from the Council.

Councillor V Jamieson – registerable personal interest – is a trustee of Walking With Charity.

Councillor F Lott - non-registerable personal interest – family member is employed by the Authority.

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

Councillor G Madden – registerable personal interest as manager of Memorial Hall in Wallsend and non-registerable personal interest - family member is employed by the Authority.

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

Councillor P Oliver – non-registerable personal interest – family member receives adult social care. 

To consider and seek approval on the Elected Mayor and Cabinet’s, 2023/24 General Fund Revenue Budget, Council Tax Requirement and Council Tax Level, the 2023-2028 Investment Plan, the Treasury Management Strategy, Annual Investment Statement for 2023/24 and to consider any objections.

(Councillors K Clark and J Cruddas 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 M Rankin 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 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

It was moved by Councillor M Rankin and seconded by Councillor C Johnson that Council:

(a)      Agree the recommendations and delegations set down in paragraph 1.5.24 of this report in relation to the 2023/24 General Fund Revenue Account Budget, the 2023/24 Council Tax Requirement and Council Tax Level for 2023/24, being the Elected Mayor and Cabinet’s Budget and Council Tax Requirement Resolution.

(b)      Agree the Elected Mayor and Cabinet’s proposals for the 2023-2028 Investment Plan, including the Capital Investment Strategy and proposed prudential indicators for 2023-2027, previously agreed at Cabinet on 30 January 2023, attached in the General Fund Annex 1, Appendix D (i), (iii) and (iv) of Appendix A to this report;

(c)      Agree to the administrative change which will make it easier for new Universal Credit (UC) claimants to claim Council Tax Support using information from the Department for Work and Pensions, Annex 1, Section 3.1.6; and

(d)      Agree the Elected Mayor and Cabinet’s proposals for the Treasury Management Strategy, Annual Investment Statement for 2023/24, attached in the General Fund Annex 1, Appendix E (i), (ii) of Appendix A to this report.

2023/24 Council Tax Requirement Resolution

1.     The recommended Budgets of the Authority be approved as noted below, subject to the variations listed in paragraphs 2 and 3 below and noting the estimated allocation of £197.763m in Dedicated Schools Grant, for 2023/24:

2.     The following levies be included in the Budget Requirement:

2.     The contingency be set as follows:

4.     Note that at its meeting held on 23 January 2023, Cabinet agreed the Council Tax base for 2023/24 for the whole Authority area as 62,692 (Item T), in the Formula in Section 31B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (the “Act”) and the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (England) Regulations 2012.

5.     Agree that the Council Tax Requirement for the Authority’s own purposes for 2023/24 is £116,052,296(as set down in paragraph 1.5.23, Table 4).

6.     Agrees that the following amounts now calculated by the Authority for the year 2023/24 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Local  ...  view the full minutes text for item C79/22