Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies were received from Cllrs Beckley, Nicholas Bennett, Fortune and Norrie.

Apologies were received from Councillors Jane Beckley, Nicholas Bennett, Peter Fortune and Gordon Norrie. Apologies for lateness were received from Councillor Samaris Huntington-Thresher.

Declarations of interest were made by Councillors McBride and Owen.

Declarations of interest were made in relation to the first motion by Councillors David McBride, as he was a member of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, and Tony Owen, as his daughter and son in law were both teachers in local schools.

Minutes confirmed.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 24^th February 2014 confirmed.

One petition considered from the Stop the Bedroom Tax Campaign – Council agreed to take no further action.

Report CSD14063

A petition was received from the Stop the Bedroom Tax Campaign calling on the Council to use all its powers to ensure that no Bromley resident would face eviction of forced relocation as a result of the bedroom tax or the benefit cap limit. Paula Peters addressed the meeting in support of the petition.

A motion that an independent review of the impact of the benefits changes on Bromley residents be carried out and reported to Executive and Resources PDS Committee and Council was moved by Councillor Peter Fookes and seconded by Councillor John Getgood. This motion was LOST.  

A motion to take no further action on the petition was proposed by Councillor Stephen Carr and seconded by Councillor Colin Smith. This motion was CARRIED.

(Councillors John Getgood and Tom Papworth requested that their votes against the motion be recorded.)

Questions must be received by 5pm on Tuesday 8^th April 2014.

Eleven questions had been received and would receive written answers.

Eleven questions had been received from members of the public. The questions and answers are set out in Appendix A to these minutes.

Nine questions were dealt with.

Nine questions had been received. The questions and answers are set out in Appendix B to these minutes.

Answers to sixteen questions were tabled.

Sixteen questions had been received for written reply. The questions and answers were circulated at the meeting and are attached as Appendix C to these minutes.

No statements were made.

No statements were made.

Agreed as recommended that (i) £1.7m be set aside as an earmarked reserve to ensure the support of key health and social care initiatives, and (ii) NHS funding to support social care totalling £1,936k be set aside as an earmarked reserve.

Report CSD14066

The Mayor reminded members that amended recommendations had been circulated as follows –

(1)  That Council agrees that a sum of £1.7m be set aside as an earmarked reserve to ensure the support of key health and social care initiatives.

(2)  That Council agrees to set aside NHS funding to support social care totalling £1,936k as an earmarked reserve. 

A motion to approve the amended recommendations was moved by Councillor Stephen Carr, seconded by Councillor Graham Arthur and CARRIED.

Agreed as recommended to adopt additional wording in the Constitution requiring a recorded vote on Budget and Council Tax setting matters and where required by law.    

Report CSD14064

A motion to approve additional wording in the Constitution requiring a recorded vote on Budget and Council Tax setting matters and where required by law was moved by Councillor Tony Owen, seconded by Councillor Russell Mellor and CARRIED. 

The annual PDS report was received as recommended.

Report CSD14065

A motion to receive the annual Policy Development and Scrutiny report was moved by Councillor Eric Bosshard, seconded by Councillor Russell Mellor and CARRIED.

This report was considered as an urgent item.

Council confirmed that the Glebe School expansion project be added to the Capital Programme with a total project value of £4.8m.

Report CSD14069

A motion to consider this report as a matter of urgency, as a delay until the next ordinary meeting of the Council would make it very difficult to provide the additional accommodation at the school before the start of the September 2015 school term, was moved by the Mayor, seconded by Councillor Stephen Carr and CARRIED.  

A motion to confirm that the Glebe School expansion project be added to the Capital Programme with a total project value of £4.8m was moved by Councillor Stephen Carr, seconded by Councillor Stephen Wells and CARRIED.

Two motions were received as follows –

(1) Strike Action in Schools (Moved by Councillor Michael Tickner and seconded by Councillor Neil Reddin)

“This Council welcomes the news that only 3 out of all 94 schools in Bromley Borough had to be closed on 26^th March due to strike action by NUT teachers.  On behalf of the Borough’s children and parents, the Council records its thanks to the vast majority of teachers and other staff who worked normally on that day, thus putting our children’s education first.”  

An amendment moved by Councillor John Getgood and seconded by Councillor Peter Fookes was lost. The substantive motion was carried.

(2) Housing (Moved by Councillor Peter Fookes and seconded by Councillor Katherine Bance MBE)

“This Council calls on the Executive to come up with proposals to resolve the housing crisis in this borough.” 

The motion was lost.

Two motions had been received as follows –

(A) Strike Action in Schools

The following motion was moved by Councillor Michael Tickner and seconded by Councillor Neil Reddin -

“This Council welcomes the news that only 3 out of all 94 schools in Bromley Borough had to be closed on 26^th March due to strike action by NUT teachers.  On behalf of the Borough’s children and parents, the Council records its thanks to the vast majority of teachers and other staff who worked normally on that day, thus putting our children’s education first.”  

The following amendment moved by Councillor John Getgood and seconded by Councillor Peter Fookes -

That the second sentence above be deleted and replaced with the following –

“This council calls on the Secretary of State to recognise the commitment shown by teachers to our children’s education and urges him to take measures to resolve this dispute as quickly as possible, thus relieving our hard working and dedicated teachers of this unfortunate and unnecessary conflict of interest.” 

On being put to the vote this amendment was LOST.

The original motion was CARRIED.

(B) Housing

The following motion was moved by Councillor Peter Fookes and seconded by Councillor Katherine Bance MBE -

“This Council calls on the Executive to come up with proposals to resolve the housing crisis in this borough.” 

The motion was LOST.

The Mayor made the following announcements –

·  Cllr Roxy Fawthrop was congratulated on her engagement.

·  The Mayor thanked Bromley Youth Music Trust for their recent fundraising events.

·  The charity event at Mings had been very successful.

·  The final charity dinner of the year was at the Aqua Bar and Grill on 20^th May – tickets were still available from the Mayor’s Office.

·  The reception for Retiring Members would be on 3^rd June at 7pm.  

The Mayor led members in congratulating Councillor Roxy Fawthrop on her engagement to Mr James Ryan.

The Mayor made the following announcements –

·  Thanking Bromley Youth Music Trust for their recent concerts on behalf of his charity in February and March.

·  The charity event at Mings the previous week had been very successful.

·  The final charity dinner of the year was at the Aqua Bar and Grill on 20^th May – tickets were still available from the Mayor’s Office.

·  The reception for Retiring Councillors would be on 3^rd June at 7pm. 

The Mayor concluded the meeting, which was the final full Council meeting before the election, by thanking those Members who were stepping down, or who might not be successful in the election, for their loyal and committed service to the borough.