Agenda and minutes

The Mayor reported that former City and County Councillor John Plant had recently passed away. Members took this opportunity to pay tribute to his memory.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 30 November 2020 be confirmed.

Please note that, in accordance with the Members' Code of Conduct, when declaring interests members must disclose the existence and nature of the interest, and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI) or personal and/or pecuniary.

Councillor Ralph Toofany declared a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest with regard to the agenda item titled 'Allotment Fees and Charges'.

Reason: He was a user of the allotment service. He left the meeting during the consideration of this item.

No questions were received.

No questions were received.

Councillor Gary Hewson proposed the following motion:

“This Council notes that Britain is experiencing the worst recession for over 300 years and has the fifth highest number of deaths in the world due to Covid-19. The failure of this Conservative government to contain the virus has caused too many deaths and worsened the economic impact.

The alarm bells on the devastating impacts on people’s lives of this unfolding economic disaster are growing louder.

The effects are being felt in the city of Lincoln, especially among households already in low paid employment, with one in four children in the city in households below 60% of the national average household income, and having increasingly to resort to Food Banks in the city to survive.

The Council, along with its partners has been working hard to protect our residents from the worst effects of the pandemic, playing an active role in public health measures, together with action to support our communities, and to help our businesses survive.

The Council believes that further levels of unemployment and hardship are not inevitable if urgent action is taken now to avert the worst effects of the pandemic. This must include further action from government, to include the following measures:

·            An increase in Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) to £320 a week, the level of          the current living wage, and make it available to all workers so people          can afford too self-isolate. The current £96 a week is a fifth of average         weekly earnings and 2 million who earn less than £120 a week are            not even entitled to that. Even while the vaccine is being rolled out         people will still need to self-isolate toprevent the virus spreading.

·            An improvement to furlough arrangements so that no one is pai  ...  view the full minutes text for item 76.

It was proposed, seconded and RESOLVED that Council:

(1)          Notes the consultation responses relating to the Localised Council Tax Support Scheme for 2021/22.

(2)          Notes the proposed options to the core element of the Council Tax Support Scheme for 2020/21, as set out in section 6 and paragraph 6.5 of the report, and agrees setting a capital reduction rate of £6,000.

(3)          Agrees the proposed change to the Council Tax technical premium as set out in section 6 paragraph 6.6 of the report, that from 1 April 2021 any property empty over ten years will receive a premium of 300%, incurring a 400% charge.

(4)          Approves the continuation of the £20,000 Exceptional Hardship Fund for 2021/22 to top up Council Tax Support awards in appropriate cases.

(5)          Does not support, at this time, the request from the Police and Crime Commissioner to implement a Council Tax exemption for Special Constables.

It was proposed, seconded and RESOLVED:

That Council:

(1)          Notes that there are no special items as defined in Section 35 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (as amended) applicable to any part or parts of the City of Lincoln local authority area.

(2)          Approves the Chief Finance Officers’ calculation of the Council Tax Base for the financial year commencing 1 April 2021 and ending 31 March 2022, as set out in Appendix B of this report.

(3)          Approves, in accordance with the Chief Finance Officers’ calculation, and pursuant to the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) Regulations 1992 (as amended), that the Council Tax Base for the 2021/22 financial year is 24,372.38.

This item is scheduled for consideration at the meeting of the Executive on 18 January 2021, which is subsequent to the publication date of this agenda. A copy of the report to the Executive is therefore included as part of the agenda pack for this meeting.

It was proposed, seconded and RESOLVED that Council:

(1)          Approves the basis of rent calculation for changes to individual Council house rents as set out in the report, which represents an increase in the average calculated 52-week Council house net rent in 2021/22 of 1.5% for social housing rents (£1.05 per week) and affordable rents (£1.61 per week) increase per property.

(2)          Approves a 3% increase in Council garage rents for 2021/22 in accordance with the proposal set out in the report.

This item is scheduled for consideration at the meeting of the Executive on 18 January 2021, which is subsequent to the publication date of this agenda. A copy of the report to the Executive is therefore included as part of the agenda pack for this meeting.

Councillor Ralph Toofany left the meeting during consideration of this item further to his declaration of a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest.

Councillor Ric Metcalfe proposed the recommendations set out in the report, which was seconded by Councillor Donald Nannestad.

Councillor Thomas Dyer, reflecting on the current circumstances, said that vulnerable people in particular had been dependant on their own entertainment, with allotments being a key aspect of that for many people in the city. He therefore questioned the timing of a proposed increase, but welcomed the fact that a years’ notice would be provided to allotment holders. He asked whether the Council could look into the possibility of introducing a concession for old age pensioners.

Councillor Bob Bushell reminded Council that the allotment service was very heavily subsidised even taking into account the proposed increase in fees and charges. He recognised the importance of allotments which was why the Council had recently invested approximately £1 million to improve security, access to water and the introduction of a new site. Councillor Bushell was content with a concession being offered on a means tested benefit system as opposed to age and made the point that income generated by allotment fees and charges would be reinvested into the allotment service. He was also confident, even taking into account an increase in fees and charges, that users of the service would continue to consider it as good value.

Councillor Christopher Reid was concerned that elderly users of the service who would not qualify for a concession rate under the means tested benefit system would see their current concession removed as well as having to pay an increased fee. He would therefore wish to see a concession for old aged pensioners.

Councillor Ric Metcalfe reiterated that the Council understood the value of allotments, particularly at times such as those the country was facing in the current circumstances, which was why such a significant capital investment was made in the service. He reported, however, that the Council’s finances were in a very serious state and contributions from the majority of the authority’s budgets was required in order to address this. In reviewing this against the allotment service, given the recent investment and importance of the service, it did not seem appropriate to cut the service. A better approach was therefore proposed whereby service users paid a bit more for the service in order that full provision in the city could be maintained. Councillor Metcalfe reported that, even with the increase in fees and charges, the cost of the service was still £67,000 per year. He added that low income groups would be protected but was of the opinion that age alone should not act as a proxy for low income.

Having been proposed and seconded and being put to the vote it was RESOLVED that changes to the fees and charges for allotments be approved, with effect from the annual billing in 2022 and new leases thereafter, and that these be based on:

·                     removal of the 50%  ...  view the full minutes text for item 78.