Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Ashberry, Chivers, Parkin, Powell, Bob Sandall, Susan Sandall, Shorrock, Judy Stevens and Turner.

Members are asked to disclose any interests in matters for consideration at the meeting.

No interests were disclosed.

                                                                                                               (Attached)

It was proposed and seconded that the minutes from the meeting held on 13 December 2012 be agreed as a correct record. This was put to the vote and carried.

                                                                                                                  (Attached)

The Council noted the Chairman’s engagements.

Report number HOF225 of the Leader of the Council, the Resources and Assets Portfolio Holder and the Good Housing Portfolio Holder.                                                   (Attached)

DECISION:

The Council resolves:

PART A

In relation to the General Fund (Revenue)

a.    to approve the original base estimate for 2013/14 and indicative base estimates for 2014/15 and 2015/16 and to set a General Fund budget requirement of £14.068M for 2013/14 (inclusive of special expenses) including the additional items listed at Appendix B and the savings listed at Appendix C as detailed in the summary at Appendix A page 1;

b.    to approve a Council Tax increase of £5 (for a Band D equivalent) for 2013/14 (including special expense areas) at Appendix A page 2;

c.    to approve increases in Fees and Charges for 2013/14 as set out at Appendix D

In relation to the Housing Revenue Account (HRA)

d.    to set dwelling rent increases in accordance with Government guideline rent providing an average rent of £74.32 (and an average rental increase of 4.57% or £3.24 per week)

e.    to set an increase in garage rents of 2.6%

f.     to increase service charges by 2.6% 

g.    to approve the Housing Revenue Account for the year 2013/14 (including the  items at Appendix E in the report) and indicative years 2014/15 and 2015/16 shown at Appendix F

In relation to Capital and investment Programmes

h.    to approve the General Fund Capital programme for 2013/14 to 2017/18 detailed at Appendix G page 1

i.      to approve the indicative Housing Investment programme for 2013/14 to 2017/18 detailed at Appendix G page 2

j.      to approve the Capital Financing statement detailed at Appendix G page 3

In relation to the Reserves and balances

k.    To approve the use of the reserves as detailed at Appendix H

With reference to both the recent national publicity concerning the statue of Baroness Thatcher and its possible location and the article in today’s Grantham Journal could the officers of the authority be asked to revise the existing plans to commemorate Baroness Thatcher and report back to Cabinet.

 Management and prudential indicators

l.      to approve the Treasury Management Strategy provided at Appendix I;

Pay Policy Statement

m.  to approve the pay policy statement shown at Appendix J

PART B

That the Council, in accordance with the requirements set out in paragraphs 32 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (the “Act”) adopts the following formal recommendations:-

1)    That the following amounts be calculated by the Council for the year 2013/14 in accordance with Sections 32 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (as amended)

                          a)           £83,806,000 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 32 (2) (a) to (e) of the Act (including special expense and parish precepts).

b)              £68,455,000 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 32 (3) (a) to (c) of the Act.

c)               £15,351,000 being the amount by which the aggregate at a) above exceeds the aggregate at b) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 32(4) of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 65.

Report number HOF222 of Head of Finance.                                  (Attached)

Decision:

1.    Council approves the updated Contract and Procurement Procedure Rules in relation to supporting local suppliers up to the contract value of £25,000

2.    Council approves the definition of local supplier as: ‘suppliers whose trading premises are located within Lincolnshire and/or a 20 mile radius of the county of Lincolnshire’s boundary’

The Head of Finance summarised report number HOF222 on the updating of the Contract and Procurement Procedure Rules. The proposed revisions had been considered by the Governance and Audit Committee at its meeting on 6 December 2012 at which members endorsed an initiative to support local suppliers. For contracts with a value of up to £25,000, seeking a quote from a local supplier (a supplier in Lincolnshire or within 20 miles of its border) would become part of the procurement specification.

The recommendations in the report were proposed and seconded. The Governance and Audit Committee were thanked for their deliberations and recommendations. On being put to the vote, the motion was carried.

From Councillor Mrs Linda Neal

Members have before them a copy of a letter from the End Fuel Poverty Coalition and a copy of the proposed commitment. Fuel poverty is a growing issue and recent energy price rises could force many more households into fuel poverty. Energy efficiency improvements to homes are the most effective means to take people out of fuel poverty in the medium to long term. £4 billion will be raised each year for the next 15 years from the European Emissions Trading Scheme and the Carbon Floor Price. The funding from carbon taxes could potentially take 9 out of 10 fuel poor households out of fuel poverty if spent on improving the energy efficiency standards of their homes.

Taking into account the content of the letter and the commitment, this Council is asked to resolve to:

• Support the End Fuel Poverty Coalition’s local authority fuel poverty commitment
• Support the Energy Bill Revolution’s campaign call for carbon taxes to be spent on reducing fuel poverty.

Decision:

That this Council supports the motion:

Members have before them a copy of a letter from the End Fuel Poverty Coalition and a copy of the proposed commitment. Fuel poverty is a growing issue and recent energy price rises could force many more households into fuel poverty. Energy efficiency improvements to homes are the most effective means to take people out of fuel poverty in the medium to long term. £4 billion will be raised each year for the next 15 years from the European Emissions Trading Scheme and the Carbon Floor Price. The funding from carbon taxes could potentially take 9 out of 10 fuel poor households out of fuel poverty if spent on improving the energy efficiency standards on their homes.

Taking into account the content of the letter and the commitment, this Council resolves to:

·         Support the End Fuel Poverty Coalition’s local authority fuel poverty commitment

·         Support the Energy Bill Revolution’s campaign call for carbon taxes to be spent on reducing fuel poverty

Councillor Mrs Linda Neal proposed the motion:

Members have before them a copy of a letter from the End Fuel Poverty Coalition and a copy of the proposed commitment. Fuel poverty is a growing issue and recent energy price rises could force many more households into fuel poverty. Energy efficiency improvements to homes are the most effective means to take people out of fuel poverty in the medium to long term. £4 billion will be raised each year for the next 15 years from the European Emissions Trading Scheme and the Carbon Floor Price. The funding from carbon taxes could potentially take 9 out of 10 fuel poor households out of fuel poverty if spent on improving the energy efficiency standards on their homes.

Taking into account the content of the letter and the commitment, this Council resolves to:

·         Support the End Fuel Poverty Coalition’s local authority fuel poverty commitment

·         Support the Energy Bill Revolution’s campaign call for carbon taxes to be spent on reducing fuel poverty

Councillor Mrs Neal commended the motion to all members and asked for their support. In seconding the motion, the Good Housing for All Portfolio Holder reminded members of the Council’s previous and future spending commitment in respect of improving energy efficiency and noted that the motion aligned with Council priorities. The motion was put to the vote and carried.

The meeting was closed at 16:16.