Agenda item

It was moved by Councillor Jackie Kirk, seconded by Councillor Donald Nannestad and

 

RESOLVED that Council Procedure Rule 17.4 regarding the content and length of speeches be suspended to allow the Leader of the Council and the Leader of the Opposition unlimited time to speak on Minute 56a. 

 

Councillor Ric Metcalfe, Leader of the Council, proposed the recommendations contained within the report, as detailed on page 18 of the agenda pack, in relation to the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2022-2027 and budget.

 

He reflected on the events of recent years, particularly focusing on the impact of Covid-19 on the Council, combined with a number of measures the Council had to undertake due to the restrictions imposed at different stages throughout the pandemic, all of which had led to significant costs and a drop in many traditional sources of income for the Council.  The City Council was very well financially managed and due to its excellent financial stewardship had been able to stabilise the position and rebuild its finances for a sustainable future in line with continuing to support the Council’s vision.  Reference was made to the continued uncertainty faced by the labour market and its associated supply issues, which was impacting on many sectors. 

 

Reference was made to the longstanding uncertainty with regards to local government financing, where the Council had achieved £10 million of revenue savings over a period of ten years.  It had been hoped that the Levelling Up White Paper would address inequality within Lincoln, however, this had not been included. Similarly, the Council was awaiting detail on the Shared Prosperity Fund.  However, the Leader was pleased to highlight the successful projects which had received funding via the Lincoln Town Deal Fund.  Councillor Metcalfe took this opportunity, however, to remind Council that there were lots of financial challenges ahead owing to the ongoing uncertainty in funding.

 

An increase of 1.89% in council tax was proposed, which averaged approximately 7-8p per week.  It was highlighted that 14% of the total council tax bill for the City of Lincoln was attributable to the City Council, with the remainder going to Lincolnshire County Council and the Police and Crime Commissioner.

 

Councillor Donald Nannestad, Deputy Leader of the Council, seconded the proposition and reiterated the points made in relation to the reduction in government funding and the ongoing financial challenges faced by the Council, as a result of this reduced funding and also Covid-19.

 

The Mayor, having received notice of the Leader of the Opposition’s intention to propose a number of amendments, permitted that more than one amendment may be discussed and debated at once to facilitate the proper and efficient conduct of the Council’s business in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 17.6(b). She reported, however, that each amendment would be voted upon separately.

 

Councillor Thomas Dyer, Leader of the Opposition, proposed the following amendments to the Medium Term Financial Strategy, which were seconded by Councillor Christopher Reid, Deputy Leader of the Opposition:

 

Amendment 1 - the increasing of Enforcement Fines:

 

(a)  Littering - Amendment to page 127 of the agenda pack.  Appendix 7. Delete £75 proposed fine for littering and insert £100.

(b)  Dog Fouling – Amendment to page 127 of the agenda pack. Appendix 7. Delete £50 proposed fine for Dog Fouling and insert £100.

(c)  Breach of Community Protection – Amendment to page 127 of the agenda pack. Appendix 7. Delete £75 proposed fine for Breaching of Community Protection and insert £100.

(d)  Breach of a Public Space Protection Order – Amendment to page 127 of the agenda pack. Appendix 7. Delete £75 proposed fine for Breach of a Public Space Protection Order and insert £100.

(e)  Breach of S46 Notice (Presentation of Waste) – Amendment to page 127 of the agenda pack. Appendix 7. Delete £75 proposed fine for Breach of S46 Notice (Presentation of Waste) and insert £100.

 

Amendment 2 - freeze all parking charges until undertaking a full car parking review:

 

(a)   Delete all proposed charges for 22/23 and insert all current rates on pages 138, 139 & 140 of the council agenda budget pack.

 

Amendment 3 - introduce 1 hour’s free parking at the Lincoln Central Car Park until the outcome of the parking review:

 

(a)   Delete charges for 1-hour parking at the Lincoln Central Car Park on page 139 of the council agenda budget pack and replace with “£0 until outcome of parking review”.

 

This would help assist the High Street and local businesses recover from the financial implications of Covid-19.

 

Amendment 4 - offering more effective virtual tenancy at our managed workspace:

 

(a)   Delete the £304 charge on page 137 of the agenda pack, appendix 7 and insert “£216” (£18 per month excluding VAT).

(b)   The City of Lincoln Council also agrees to fully review the virtual tenancy offering and align it with other operators within Lincolnshire.

 

This would help assist smaller businesses to start up.

 

Amendment 5 - the Council to fund four Police and Community Support Officers (PCSOs) to directly support policing operations within our neighbourhoods and to support special constable recruitment within Lincoln:

 

(a)   Insert an additional recommendation within items 13, of the council agenda pack to fund four PCSOs at a cost of £30,000pa per PCSO.

(b)   Insert a 25% council tax discount (as per the Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner’s request) within the recommendation section of the council agenda pack.

 

Amendment 6 - allocate £35,000 from the Mayoral Car fund and Vision 2025 fund for more public seating provision within our parks and recreational areas:

 

(a)  Allocate the full £27,100 from the Mayoral Car reserve plus an additional £7,900 from the vision 2025 fund to provide more public seating provision throughout Lincoln.

 

Amendment 7 - end the Neighbourhood working scheme, to fund the above priorities:

 

(a)  The Council recommends that it now winds down the Neighbourhood working scheme, to fund other priorities and assist with the Council reprofiling its budget, should the above amendments be implemented.

 

During the discussion on the proposed amendments, the following points were noted:

 

·         It was suggested that any amendments were circulated at an earlier stage in the budget setting process to enable thorough consideration.  In response, it was advised that the amendments had been circulated with 24 hours’ notice.

·         It was commented that a large proportion of council tax income was attributed to the Police and Crime Commissioner and therefore any funding for additional PCSOs should be funded via this source of income, alternatively the Police and Crime Commissioner could approach the County Council.

·         The City Council had sustained significant budget cuts over a period of ten years.

·         There was a need to review and increase certain enforcement fines, particularly for dog fouling, as it was having a negative impact on the City. 

 

Councillor Ric Metcalfe, using his right to reply, advised that he would not be in support of any of the amendments as they had not been properly costed and would therefore negatively impact on the Council’s budget.  The total cost of the proposed amendments was £487k, of which the full funding of those amendments had not been set out as part of the amendments. 

 

It was highlighted that should the Council freeze car park income, it would cost circa £105k for the next twelve months, with an additional cost of circa £240k should the Council provide the first hour of parking free of charge, the funding of these amounts had not been factored into the amendments.  With regards to the funding of the four PCSOs, this would cost the Council circa £120k per year and the Council had no responsibility for policing. 

 

Having been proposed and seconded, each amendment was voted upon individually.  In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 19.7, a recorded vote was taken for each amendment, the results of which were as follows:

 

Amendment 1:

 

For (8)	Against (18)	Abstention
Councillor Alan Briggs	Councillor Bill Bilton
Councillor Thomas Dyer	Councillor Chris Burke
Councillor Matthew Fido	Councillor Sue Burke
Councillor Bill Mara	Councillor Bob Bushell
Councillor Chris Reid	Councillor Liz Bushell
Councillor Clare Smalley	Councillor Gary Hewson
Councillor Hilton Spratt	Councillor Jackie Kirk
Councillor Mark Storer	Councillor Roseanne Kirk
	Councillor Jane Loffhagen
	Councillor Rebecca Longbottom
	Councillor Helena Mair
	Councillor Ric Metcalfe
	Councillor Neil Murray
	Councillor Donald Nannestad
	Councillor Lucinda Preston
	Councillor Pat Vaughan
	Councillor Loraine Woolley
	Councillor Calum Watt

 

Amendment 2:

 

For (8)	Against (18)	Abstention
Councillor Alan Briggs	Councillor Bill Bilton
Councillor Thomas Dyer	Councillor Chris Burke
Councillor Matthew Fido	Councillor Sue Burke
Councillor Bill Mara	Councillor Bob Bushell
Councillor Chris Reid	Councillor Liz Bushell
Councillor Clare Smalley	Councillor Gary Hewson
Councillor Hilton Spratt	Councillor Jackie Kirk
Councillor Mark Storer	Councillor Roseanne Kirk
	Councillor Jane Loffhagen
	Councillor Rebecca Longbottom
	Councillor Helena Mair
	Councillor Ric Metcalfe
	Councillor Neil Murray
	Councillor Donald Nannestad
	Councillor Lucinda Preston
	Councillor Pat Vaughan
	Councillor Loraine Woolley
	Councillor Calum Watt

Amendment 3:

 

For (7)	Against (18)	Abstention (1)
Councillor Alan Briggs	Councillor Bill Bilton	Councillor Clare Smalley
Councillor Thomas Dyer	Councillor Chris Burke
Councillor Matthew Fido	Councillor Sue Burke
Councillor Bill Mara	Councillor Bob Bushell
Councillor Chris Reid	Councillor Liz Bushell
Councillor Hilton Spratt	Councillor Gary Hewson
Councillor Mark Storer	Councillor Jackie Kirk
	Councillor Roseanne Kirk
	Councillor Jane Loffhagen
	Councillor Rebecca Longbottom
	Councillor Helena Mair
	Councillor Ric Metcalfe
	Councillor Neil Murray
	Councillor Donald Nannestad
	Councillor Lucinda Preston
	Councillor Pat Vaughan
	Councillor Loraine Woolley
	Councillor Calum Watt

 

Amendment 4:

 

For (8)	Against (18)	Abstention
Councillor Alan Briggs	Councillor Bill Bilton
Councillor Thomas Dyer	Councillor Chris Burke
Councillor Matthew Fido	Councillor Sue Burke
Councillor Bill Mara	Councillor Bob Bushell
Councillor Chris Reid	Councillor Liz Bushell
Councillor Clare Smalley	Councillor Gary Hewson
Councillor Hilton Spratt	Councillor Jackie Kirk
Councillor Mark Storer	Councillor Roseanne Kirk
	Councillor Jane Loffhagen
	Councillor Rebecca Longbottom
	Councillor Helena Mair
	Councillor Ric Metcalfe
	Councillor Neil Murray
	Councillor Donald Nannestad
	Councillor Lucinda Preston
	Councillor Pat Vaughan
	Councillor Loraine Woolley
	Councillor Calum Watt

 

Amendment 5:

 

For (7)	Against (19)	Abstention
Councillor Alan Briggs	Councillor Bill Bilton
Councillor Thomas Dyer	Councillor Chris Burke
Councillor Matthew Fido	Councillor Sue Burke
Councillor Bill Mara	Councillor Bob Bushell
Councillor Chris Reid	Councillor Liz Bushell
Councillor Hilton Spratt	Councillor Gary Hewson
Councillor Mark Storer	Councillor Jackie Kirk
	Councillor Roseanne Kirk
	Councillor Jane Loffhagen
	Councillor Rebecca Longbottom
	Councillor Helena Mair
	Councillor Ric Metcalfe
	Councillor Neil Murray
	Councillor Donald Nannestad
	Councillor Lucinda Preston
	Councillor Clare Smalley
	Councillor Pat Vaughan
	Councillor Loraine Woolley
	Councillor Calum Watt

 

Amendment 6:

 

For (8)	Against (18)	Abstention
Councillor Alan Briggs	Councillor Bill Bilton
Councillor Thomas Dyer	Councillor Chris Burke
Councillor Matthew Fido	Councillor Sue Burke
Councillor Bill Mara	Councillor Bob Bushell
Councillor Chris Reid	Councillor Liz Bushell
Councillor Clare Smalley	Councillor Gary Hewson
Councillor Hilton Spratt	Councillor Jackie Kirk
Councillor Mark Storer	Councillor Roseanne Kirk
	Councillor Jane Loffhagen
	Councillor Rebecca Longbottom
	Councillor Helena Mair
	Councillor Ric Metcalfe
	Councillor Neil Murray
	Councillor Donald Nannestad
	Councillor Lucinda Preston
	Councillor Pat Vaughan
	Councillor Loraine Woolley
	Councillor Calum Watt

 

Amendment 7:

 

For (7)	Against (18)	Abstention (1)
Councillor Alan Briggs	Councillor Bill Bilton	Councillor Clare Smalley
Councillor Thomas Dyer	Councillor Chris Burke
Councillor Matthew Fido	Councillor Sue Burke
Councillor Bill Mara	Councillor Bob Bushell
Councillor Chris Reid	Councillor Liz Bushell
Councillor Hilton Spratt	Councillor Gary Hewson
Councillor Mark Storer	Councillor Jackie Kirk
	Councillor Roseanne Kirk
	Councillor Jane Loffhagen
	Councillor Rebecca Longbottom
	Councillor Helena Mair
	Councillor Ric Metcalfe
	Councillor Neil Murray
	Councillor Donald Nannestad
	Councillor Lucinda Preston
	Councillor Pat Vaughan
	Councillor Loraine Woolley
	Councillor Calum Watt

 

Amendments 1 to 7 were therefore declared lost.

 

Returning to debate on the original motion, Councillor Chris Reid proposed the following amendment:

 

The full reopening of the West Gate Toilet facilities – reversing the decision taken earlier this financial year:

 

(a)   Council to recommend that the West Gate Toilet facilities are reopened.

 

In proposing the amendment Councillor Reid highlighted the significant opposition to the Executive’s original decision, both by members of the public and local businesses.  Councillor Reid pleaded with the Council to accept it had made the wrong decision and not to let pride stand in the way of correcting it. Councillor Mark Storer seconded the proposal but reserved his right to speak.

 

During a debate on the amendment, the following points were noted:

 

·         This reduction in service had been made following years of budget cuts suffered by the City Council. 

·         It was confirmed that the West Gate facilities were open to disabled users 24/7 and they would be open to all users during paid events. It was also highlighted that there were other facilities available for use close by, including at Castle Hill.

 

Councillor Mark Storer, who had reserved his right to speak, advised that this should be about ensuring the right level of service is available to members of the public, local businesses and the visiting economy.  By having these facilities closed, it sent out the wrong message. 

 

Councillor Ric Metcalfe reiterated the Council’s current financial challenges and that difficult decisions had to be made.  It was also reiterated that there were other public facilities within walking distance of the West Gate facilities.

 

Having been proposed and seconded, the amendment was voted upon. In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 19.7, a recorded vote was taken, the result of which was as follows:

 

For (8)	Against (18)	Abstention
Councillor Briggs	Councillor Bilton
Councillor Thomas Dyer	Councillor Chris Burke
Councillor Matthew Fido	Councillor Sue Burke
Councillor Bill Mara	Councillor Bob Bushell
Councillor Chris Reid	Councillor Liz Bushell
Councillor Clare Smalley	Councillor Gary Hewson
Councillor Hilton Spratt	Councillor Jackie Kirk
Councillor Mark Storer	Councillor Roseanne Kirk
	Councillor Jane Loffhagen
	Councillor Rebecca Longbottom
	Councillor Helena Mair
	Councillor Ric Metcalfe
	Councillor Neil Murray
	Councillor Donald Nannestad
	Councillor Lucinda Preston
	Councillor Pat Vaughan
	Councillor Loraine Woolley
	Councillor Calum Watt

 

The amendment was declared lost.

 

Returning to debate on the original motion, Councillor Clare Smalley proposed the following amendment:

 

That £20,000 from the Corporate Repairs and Maintenance Reserve (Carry Forwards – Appendix 6 – Page 67) be allocated for a Bus Shelter Improvement Programme, to repair, replace or install bus shelters across the City of Lincoln. 

 

That the planned use of earmarked reserves in 2022/23 in the General Fund (Appendix 1 Page 50) be increased from £4,966,830, by £20,000 to increase the contribution from balances to £4,986,930, which would offset the expenditure incurred.

 

Councillor Alan Briggs seconded the proposal and reserved his right to speak.

 

During the debate on the amendment, the following points were noted:

 

·         It was highlighted that this amendment would be more appropriately funded by Lincolnshire County Council, as the highways authority.  The level of reserves held by the county council was also commented upon.

·         It was commented that those bus shelters owned by the City Council should be maintained to a high standard.  It was also noted that there were some bus shelters owned by a third party within the City.

 

Councillor Metcalfe advised that the only reason as to why the City Council had any involvement in bus shelters was as a result of a legacy agreement with the County Council, as highways authority, thus the City Council had been left with the shelters, despite the agreement long ago coming to an end.  However, the City Council did not receive any funding to maintain bus shelters.  It was therefore considered more appropriate to be funded by the County Council.

 

Having been proposed and seconded, the amendment was voted upon. In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 19.7, a recorded vote was taken, the result of which was as follows:

 

For (8)	Against (18)	Abstention
Councillor Briggs	Councillor Bilton
Councillor Thomas Dyer	Councillor Chris Burke
Councillor Matthew Fido	Councillor Sue Burke
Councillor Bill Mara	Councillor Bob Bushell
Councillor Chris Reid	Councillor Liz Bushell
Councillor Clare Smalley	Councillor Gary Hewson
Councillor Hilton Spratt	Councillor Jackie Kirk
Councillor Mark Storer	Councillor Roseanne Kirk
	Councillor Jane Loffhagen
	Councillor Rebecca Longbottom
	Councillor Helena Mair
	Councillor Ric Metcalfe
	Councillor Neil Murray
	Councillor Donald Nannestad
	Councillor Lucinda Preston
	Councillor Pat Vaughan
	Councillor Loraine Woolley
	Councillor Calum Watt

 

The amendment was declared lost.

 

Council returned to the original motion.

 

Having been proposed and seconded, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 19.7, a recorded vote was taken, the result of which was as follows:

 

For (18)	Against (8)	Abstention
Councillor Bill Bilton	Councillor Alan Briggs
Councillor Chris Burke	Councillor Thomas Dyer
Councillor Sue Burke	Councillor Matthew Fido
Councillor Bob Bushell	Councillor Bill Mara
Councillor Liz Bushell	Councillor Chris Reid
Councillor Gary Hewson	Councillor Clare Smalley
Councillor Jackie Kirk	Councillor Hilton Spratt
Councillor Roseanne Kirk	Councillor Mark Storer
Councillor Jane Loffhagen
Councillor Rebecca Longbottom
Councillor Helena Mair
Councillor Ric Metcalfe
Councillor Neil Murray
Councillor Donald Nannestad
Councillor Lucinda Preston
Councillor Pat Vaughan
Councillor Loraine Woolley
Councillor Calum Watt

 

The motion was declared carried.

 

 It was therefore RESOLVED that the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2022-2027 and the Capital Strategy 2022-2027, including the following elements, be approved:

 

·         The Council was member of the Lincolnshire Business Rates Pool in 2022/23.

 

·         The General Fund Revenue Forecast 2022/23-2026/27, as shown in Appendix 1 to the report, and the main basis on which this budget has been calculated (as set out in paragraph 4 of the report).

 

·         The General Investment Programme 2022/23-2026/27, as shown in Appendix 2 to the report, and the main basis on which the programme had been calculated (as set out in paragraph 6).

 

·         The Housing Revenue Account Forecast 2022/23-2026/27, as shown in Appendix 3 to the report, and the main basis on which this budget had been calculated (as set out in paragraph 5).

 

·         The Housing Investment Programme 2022/23-2026/27, as shown in Appendix 4, and the main basis on which the programme had been calculated (as set out in paragraph 7).