Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

A member with a disclosable pecuniary interest or a prejudicial interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered:

(i) must disclose the interest at the start of the meeting or when the interest becomes apparent, and

(ii) may not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter and must withdraw from the meeting room.

A member who discloses at a meeting a disclosable pecuniary interest which is not registered in the Register of Members’ Interests or the subject of a pending notification must notify the Monitoring Officer of the interest within 28 days of the disclosure.

Disclosable pecuniary interests, personal interests and prejudicial interests are defined at Paragraphs 5-7 and Appendix A of the Members’ Code of Conduct

There were no declaration of interests.

Chair of Overview and Scrutiny has further agreed that the call-in procedure shall not apply to this urgent decision. This is because the decision is urgent and any delay in implementation caused by the call-in procedure would seriously prejudice the Council's or the public's interests due to the fact that this is a National emergency and the Council must ensure that it is in the best possible place to continue to provide services, particularly in relation to support to the vulnerable, address public health issues, and act as an agent for the Government. These decisions will ensure that funding and support gets to individuals and businesses in the most expedient way. Accordingly, the Chair of Overview and Scrutiny Committee has agreed that the decision is both reasonable in all circumstances, and that it should be treated as a matter of urgency. This is in accordance with Part 4, Section H, and Paragraph 18 (a) and (b) of the Council Constitution.

The Leader considered the attached report which set out the Council’s proposed financial interventions and measures identified at this date in order to respond to the Covid-19 crisis in the most expedient way.

In considering the report, the Leader noted the potential for government to change its position on the funding of free schools during the Easter period . However, until a firm position was reached, it was prudent to be cautious and continue to include this support which the report set out.

A small anomaly at table 2, in relation to the incorrect referencing of the borough, concerning small business grant, was noticed and agreed that this be rectified. This did not change the information contained in the report nor the recommendations.

Having considered the report and appendices, the Leader:

RESOLVED

1.    To note the interim reporting here on the financial implications to date of the Covid-19 crisis.

2.    To note the receipt of £8.094m Covid-19 Government emergency response grant.

3.    To approve that this grant funding be used to establish an Emergency Response Contingency in the Council’s General Fund budget, and that authorisation process for its application be as proposed in para 6.3.2.

4.    To note that the financial impact of the crisis on the Council’s net expenditure, as described in para 6.3.4, is expected to be considerably higher that this initial Government emergency grant funding.

5.    To note, in light of the emergency situation, and the statement of assurance from Rt. Honourable Robert Jenrick (Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government), that the Council has, and will continue to, incur the additional emergency related essential expenditures required to fulfil its role.

6.    To note that the additional emergency response costs will be reported to, monitored by and reported on by the Director of Finance and Lead Member for Finance and Strategic Regeneration.

7.    To note that, notwithstanding the additional grant and the Secretary of State’s statement regarding further government grant, Covid-19 must be expected to have a significant net financial impact on the Council in the short, medium and long term and that the Council will need to address these implications.

8.    To approve the approach to both in year income collection and debt management as set out in sections 6.5 – 6.9 which balances the requirement for amounts due to be paid with an appropriate approach to collection during the period severely impacted by the Covid-19 virus.

9.    To approve the proposed changes to the existing Policy for the Award of Discretionary Reductions in Council Tax Liability under Section 13A(1)(c) Local Government Finance Act 1992, as described in paras 6.9.15 – 6.9.23 and in Appendix 1.

10. To approve the establishment of a new Covid-19 response Capital Contingency (General Fund) budget via:

11. a virement of £1m from the approved capital programme contingency

12. £4m from various existing capital budgets under existing delegated powers (paras 6.11.3 – 6.22.4)

13. To note the risk that some or any use of the Covid-19 Capital Contingency budget  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.