Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Beresford, Haywood, Metcalfe, Mear, and Monk

Members and officers must declare any disclosable pecuniary interests in relation to any business on the agenda. Declarations should also be made at any stage such an interest becomes apparent during the meeting.

If in doubt contact the Legal or Democratic Services representative for this meeting.

The Chairman announced that the Monitoring Officer had granted a dispensation to all Members who may have a disclosable pecuniary interest in relation to item 12 the setting of the Council Tax, in accordance with section 33 of the Localism Act 2011.It was also noted that all West Sussex County Councillors declared personal interests in this item

To receive any questions from members of the public addressed to Members of the Executive in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11. There is up to 5 minutes for each question, one supplementary question may be asked arising from the original question.

Questions must relate to any matter the Council has power or which affects the District except no questions may be asked on

a)    A specific planning or licensing application

b)    A specific staffing appointment or appeal or Standards determination

Public question time will last up to 30 minute; questions will be taken in order of receipt. The deadline for submissions is Tuesday 18 February at 12 noon.

Questions to be submitted to democratic.services@adur-worthing.gov.uk

A Member of the Public asked the following question: Page 71 of the recent JSC meeting indicates a reduction in the joint parks budget of £159,130. In Adur flower beds have disappeared, and I am advised that cuts will be made in the Allotment budget. Most of the Adur allotment sites have 'Overseers' who reduce costs considerably but can more reductions be justified? The member of the public was told that the joint parks budget covered a wide range of areas of service, including our cemeteries and the crematorium in Worthing as well as our parks and open spaces across both Adur and Worthing. The majority of this reduction comes from removing budgets for posts no longer required, primarily in Worthing. While the reduction to the Adur parks and open spaces budget was relatively small (£1,920). The reduction in cemeteries budget related to attracting additional income. Over the coming year the parks and open spaces team was looking at ways to improve efficiency, procuring services and generating income. There was no significant reduction planned in Adur’s allotments budget. A small saving is anticipated through the continued allotment self management programme, which results in the Council no longer charging allotment holders.

A Member of the public asked the following question: My question concerns the Motion on Notice regarding the Local Electricity Bill tabled by Councillor Neil Parkin (Agenda Item 12 and Annex A). Councillor Parkin’s Motion should be supported. If it is enacted the Bill, which should receive cross-party support, would be a significant step forward in achieving viability for local sustainable electricity supply companies, helping to overcome the prohibitive costs currently faced by small businesses interested in becoming involved in this field. The Council’s lead in installing photovoltaic arrays on civic buildings is commendable, but I believe the Council’s role needs to extend beyond action on its own buildings and landholdings. What steps will the Council take to encourage other potential contributors to sign up to the necessity for local electricity provision, and please outline what steps the Council, and indeed other organisations in Adur, will take to encourage a strong local groundswell of support for the Local Electricity Bill? The member of the public was told that the Council could only adopt measures which it has direct control over, therefore the adopted motion had to be limited in scope.  Nor was the motion the only means we are pursuing with our communities to improve how they use energy. Support of the Local Electricity Bill also lined-up with the commitment to become carbon-neutral following the declaration of a Climate Emergency last July. The Councils had adopted its Carbon Neutral Plan to provide a clear pathway to achieve that goal. Nevertheless, the resident was right on initiatives that will help our communities to address Climate Change need support from across the community. The Council was committed to working across the Council’s properties and partners, to increase local renewable energy production. As part of UK100 Cities the Councils had committed to  ...  view the full minutes text for item c/49/19-20

To approve the minutes of the meeting of the Council on 19 December 2019, copies of which have been previously circulated.

Resolved: that the minutes of the meeting held on 18 December 2019 be approved as a correct record and be signed by the Chairman.

The Chairman gave an update to the Council on events that he had attended since the last Council meeting.

The Leader of the Council announced the upcoming departure of the Director for Communities and Policy Officer and thanked them for their Service.

The Leader of the opposition announced that the vacant position on the Joint Senior Staff Committee would be taken up by him (Councillor Lee Cowen).

To consider any items the Chairman has agreed are urgent

There were no items

To consider recommendations to the Council, details of which are set out in the attached items as 7a – 7h.  Full reports are available on the website as listed below:

A) Adur Homes Responsive Repair Policy

The Leader announced that given miscommunication with the Adur Consultative Forum he proposed that the matter be delayed until the next council meeting to allow for further consultation with the Adur Consultative Forum, which was seconded. On a vote the delay was approved by the Council.

Resolved: that the matter be postponed until the next Council meeting to allow for further consultation with the Adur Consultative Forum.

B) Council Tax Support Schemes for 2020/21

The Leader introduced the issue to the Council and moved the recommendation which was seconded

On a vote the recommendations were approved

Resolved:

That the Council Tax Support scheme for Adur District Council in respect of working age customers for 2020/21

a)    should be based upon the scheme for 2019/20 with no restrictions; and

b)    no other changes should be made beyond necessary technical amendments required to keep the scheme consistent with the national rules in respect of Housing Benefit

C) Council Tax “long-term empty” premium and discounts

The Leader introduced the recommendation to the Council and answered questions about long-term empty properties.

The Council debated the matter and on a vote the recommendations were approved

Resolved:

a)    that the “long-term empty premium” should be increased in accordance with the maximum figures detailed in paragraph 3.5;

b)    that a discretionary policy should not be introduced;

c)    that the local discount in respect of unoccupied properties undergoing structural alterations should be abolished with effect from 1 April 2020;

d)    that the local discount in respect of unoccupied and unfurnished properties should be abolished with effect from 1 April 2020.

D) Review of the Code of Conduct for Members

The Chairman of the Joint Governance Committee introduced the recommendations to the Council. The recommendations were approved, seconded, debated and on a vote were approved.

   Resolved: that the revised Code of Conduct for Members be adopted.

F) Delivering our Housing Strategy - Adur and Worthing Councils’ Housing Allocations Policies

The Leader introduced the recommendation to the council and moved the recommendation which was seconded.

The Council debated the recommendation, in particular consultation on the strategy.

On a vote the recommendation was approved

Resolved: that the Adur District Council Housing Allocation Policy be approved and adopted;

G) Joint Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Annual Investment Strategy 2020/21 to 2022/23, Adur District Council and Worthing Borough Council

The Leader of introduced the recommendation to the Council which was seconded, voted upon and approved.

Resolved: the Prudential Indicators and Limits, and MRP Statements be approved and adopted

H) Adur Homes Development Programme - Albion Street and Cecil Norris House

The Leader of introduced the recommendation to the Council which was seconded, voted upon and approved.

Resolved: that Adur District Council release a budget of £2.8m to fund the Albion Street development funded by prudential borrowing;

To receive a report from the Leader. The report contains executive decisions since the last Council meeting.

There is up to 15 minutes for Executive Members to make any statements on the report.

There is up to 15 minutes for Executive Members to respond to questions on the report; these questions will not be the same as any asked under ‘Members Questions under Council Procedure Rule 12’    

Before the Council was a report by the Director of Communities, a copy of which had been circulated to all members, a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of these minutes as item 9

The report before members set out the decisions made by the Executive since the last meeting of Council.

A Member asked about the food services plan and whether there was sufficient staffing to meet recent changes in regulation. The Executive member for Health and Wellbeing confirmed that there was sufficient staffing.

Members question time will last up to 30 minutes, questions will be taken in order of receipt, in rotation from each political group on the Council. The deadline for submission of questions is Tuesday 18 February at 12 noon. Questions to be submitted to democratic.services@adur-worthing.gov.uk

Questions received can be asked of the following:

a)    The Chairman

b)    A Member of the Executive

c)    The Chairman of any Committee

d)    The Councils representative on any outside body

Questions cannot be asked on the following

a)    A specific planning or licensing application

b)    A specific staffing appointment, appeal or Standards determination

No questions had been provided in advance

To receive from the Proper Officer, the Director for Communities, the schedule of meetings for the Council and other meetings in the next Municipal Year. A copy of the schedule is attached as item 10.

The Council is invited to formally approve the dates for its meetings and to note the proposed meeting dates for Committees.

Before the Council was the schedule of meetings for 2020/21. The Council was asked to formally approve the schedule. The schedule was proposed, seconded and approved

Resolved: that the schedule of meetings for 20/21 for Adur District Council be approved  

The council are asked to suspend Council Procedure rules where they conflict with the budget procedure rules in accordance with paragraph 7.2 of the budget procedure rules.

The Council was asked to suspend Council Procedure rules where they conflicted with the budget procedure rules in accordance with paragraph 7.2 of the budget procedure rules.

Resolved: that the Council procedure rules be suspended where they conflicted with the budget procedure rules in accordance with paragraph 7.2 of the budget procedure rules

To consider and set the Council Tax for 2020/21

A separate budget pack produced by the Director for Digital and Resources will be circulated as item 12, the recommendation from the Executive is detailed at item 7e is considered as part of this item.

Please note that members will be asked to suspend normal council procedure rules for this item. Use of the Council’s budget procedure rules are followed for this item https://www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/media/media,151697,en.pdf 

The Leader of the Council introduced the budget and setting of the council tax to members and made the following speech which is summarised as follows:

·         The Leader was proud of the work of the council in the previous year;

·         The administration did not duck from hard decisions given the financial challenges facing the council;

·         The move to fortnightly collections had resulted in a rise in recycling rates and a reduction in residual waste;

·         The Executive, Chairman and Officer were thanked for their work of the past year;

·         Despite the financial pressures faced by the Council the Council still delivered quality services to the community;

·         The budget was the first with platforms:going further in mind and careful financial management would allow for investment in more than 150 services, building economy and homes and protecting an environment;

·         Over the previous year Focus house had opened, a development that head provided benefits to the local economy including 450 jobs in a council owned premises, money being spent locally;

·         The Council was looking to use assets smarter. The Council was looking to build Council housing on Council housing on Council owned land. The Council had secured £10m to create 540 affordable homes and was investing in staff and skills to make sure that benefits were shared broadly across the community;

·         71 households had been prevented from becoming homeless and the council had also introduced the ‘opening doors scheme’ as well as investing in Council-owned temporary and emergency accommodation.

·         The budget included £5.6m to improve and repair Adur Homes properties which would be supported by a 2.7% increase in rents which would be the first increase in four years. The rise was vital to ensure the councils could ensure quality and safety for Adur Homes residents;

·         The Council had declared a climate emergency making a commitment to be carbon neutral by 2030. A solid plan had been developed and the authority was working hard to reduce its carbon footprint and use of plastic. This included 11 tonnes of CO2 emissions being offset by the installation of solar panels. The Councils were investigating further where solar panels could also be installed;

·         The budget proposed to spend £325k to support efforts to be carbon neutral by 2030 which included taking on more staff;

·         The Councils were ambitious despite the difficult financial situation. This was reflected in the fact that the Councils had been short listed by the LGC as Council of the year.

The Leader of the main opposition made a speech that is summarised as follows:

·         The Leader of the main opposition thanked officers for their hard work;

·         There were serious questions to be had on the way that councils were funded. As council tax was not based on income it meant that the poorest paid more proportionally as the richest;

·         Local services had been reduced and tax payer were paying more to get less;

·         Central government passed the burden and blame onto local government as well as other authorities such as West Sussex had  ...  view the full minutes text for item c/58/19-20

To consider a report by the Director for Commuities, copy attached as item 13

Before the Council was a Motion received from Councillor Neil Parkin and seconded by Councillor Angus Dunn

The Council:

? is committed to 100 percent clean energy across Adur/Worthing (through signing UK100 Cities pledge) working towards carbon neutrality by 2030.

? has installed large solar photovoltaic arrays on civic buildings and plans to install more in the future. However, the current regulatory environment makes the costs of providing the power generated to our local communities prohibitive.

? recognises that using the Council’s estate could:

? provide affordable clean energy directly to our community,

? reduce the community’s carbon footprint and supports transition away from fossil fuels,

? increase opportunities for investment in renewable energy,

? provide an additional source of revenue to invest in local services and

? reduce the cost of providing locally generated energy to the national electricity network

? recognises that:

? the high costs involved in selling locally generated renewable electricity to local customers creates barriers for local renewable electricity generators, and

? reducing these costs would create significant opportunities to provide locally generated renewable electricity directly to local people, businesses and organisations.

? resolves to support the Local Electricity Bill, currently supported by a cross-party group of 115 MPs, which (if made law) would make the setup and running costs of selling renewable electricity to local customers proportionate by establishing a Right to Local Supply; and

? further resolves for the Chief Executive to write to local MPs, asking them to support the Local Electricity Bill.

Members debated the motion and an on a vote the motion was carried

Resolved:

The Council:

? is committed to 100 percent clean energy across Adur/Worthing (through signing UK100 Cities pledge) working towards carbon neutrality by 2030.

? has installed large solar photovoltaic arrays on civic buildings and plans to install more in the future. However, the current regulatory environment makes the costs of providing the power generated to our local communities prohibitive.

? recognises that using the Council’s estate could:

? provide affordable clean energy directly to our community,

? reduce the community’s carbon footprint and supports transition away from fossil fuels,

? increase opportunities for investment in renewable energy,

? provide an additional source of revenue to invest in local services and

? reduce the cost of providing locally generated energy to the national electricity network

? recognises that:

? the high costs involved in selling locally generated renewable electricity to local customers creates barriers for local renewable electricity generators, and

? reducing these costs would create significant opportunities to provide locally generated renewable electricity directly to local people, businesses and organisations.

? resolves to support the Local Electricity Bill, currently supported by a cross-party group of 115 MPs, which (if made law) would make the setup and running costs of selling renewable electricity to local customers proportionate by establishing a Right to Local Supply; and

? further resolves for the Chief Executive to write to local MPs, asking them to support the Local Electricity Bill.