Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Colin Hitchins.

There were no declarations of interest.

A minor correction was made to Appendix A, page 1, where “embers” should have read “members.”

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 12^th December 2022 be confirmed.

With the agreement of the Mayor, Councillor Shaun Slator made the following personal statement –

“Thank you, Madam Mayor, for this opportunity to put forward my public apology. I would like to apologise unreservedly to Council colleagues and to the public for a tweet that I sent in December in response to a news article about an alleged rape. My aim was to highlight the issue of the exploitation of women in Plumstead where I lived for a number of years. However, I recognise it can be read very differently. As soon as this was brought to my attention it was the case I deleted the tweet. It was not my intention to cause any hurt or offence and I apologise whole-heartedly for that which was caused.

I am not ashamed to admit that I am fallible and I have made a mistake. I now understand that with the privilege afforded me as a councillor to better serve my community comes a responsibility to reflect more deeply on what I say and post online. To this end I have de-activated my Twitter and enrolled on a course regarding interacting online and equality and inclusion. I am grateful to be able to take important learnings from this incident and be a better councillor going forwards. I apologise unreservedly for my mistake and pledge to be better going forwards as I continue to serve my community.”

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, questions that are not specific to reports on the agenda must have been received in writing 10 working days before the date of the meeting – by 13^th February 2023. 

Questions specifically on reports on the agenda should be received within two working days of the normal publication date of the agenda.  Please ensure that questions specifically on reports on the agenda are received by the Democratic Services Team by 5pm on Tuesday 21^st February 2023.

(a) Questions from members of the public for oral reply.

(b) Questions from members of the public for written reply.

(c) Questions from members of the Council for oral reply.

(d) Questions from members of the Council for written reply. 

Eight questions had been received from a member of the public for oral reply. The questions, with the answers given, are set out in Appendix A to these minutes.

Thirteen questions had been received from members of the public for written reply. The questions, with the answers given, are set out in Appendix B to these minutes.

Fourteen questions had been received from members of the Council for oral reply. The questions, with the replies given, are set out in Appendix C to these minutes.

Four questions had been received from members of the Council for written reply. The questions, with the answers given, are set out in Appendix D to these minutes.

At the request of Councillors Alisa Igoe and Simon Jeal, the Portfolio Holder for Children, Education and Families, Councillor Kate Lymer, made a statement on the announcement by the Mayor of London that he would fund free school meals for all primary school children in 2023/24.

The Portfolio Holder stated –

“In the request for a statement, Councillors opposite state that the Mayor is funding free meals. The Mayor, in fact, is not funding them – hard working Londoners and businesses are. The answer, for Labour politicians, is always to keep giving away free stuff, which is not, in fact, free. The answer should be to not take as much money from people in the first place. Sadiq Khan will be raising his precept by 9.74% this coming year. That is an extra £58m he will be taking from all Londoners. When Boris was Mayor, he did not raise his precept once in eight years. In real terms, Boris gave Londoners a tax cut. Sadiq Khan’s precept will have risen by an eye-watering 57% since he was elected. If he wants to help people with the cost of living he should stop taxing them to the hilt. He says he wants to encourage people onto public transport. Strange, then, that he thinks the way to do that is by raising fares by 6% this next year in order to compensate for his own financial mis-management of TfL and despite the Government bailing him out to the tune of over £6bn. If he wants to help people with the cost of living he could stop putting up transport costs, especially as in his last manifesto he said he would freeze them. If he wants to help people with the cost of living he would not be ignoring consultations and pushing on with a pointless ULEZ scheme which punishes the poorest people in and around London for having the audacity to own a car in a semi-rural area, damaging and bankrupting businesses along the way. So, although this money will come from unexpected business rate income this money is still part of the Mayor of London’s gigantic tax collection pot. If he dd not want to pass it on to Londoners as a reduction of his precept this money could have been spent on other things which are actually part of his remit such as tackling serious youth violence, or, if not, at the very least he could have had a more targeted approach to who receives a free school meal. We now find ourselves in a situation where the least well-off Londoners are not just paying for the lunches of the children of the middle classes but also the least well-off are now paying for the lunches of children of millionaires. The Councillors opposite in the request for a statement describe the announcement as excellent. I personally do not see how that can be described as an excellent outcome in any way whatsoever. This has the potential to result in anyone,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 67.

Report CSD23033

Before the start of this item Councillor Nicholas Bennett declared an interest as a member of the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority.

It was moved by Councillor Nicholas Bennett and seconded by Cllr Colin Smith that Council Procedure Rules be varied at this meeting to allow for one debate on each report covering the original motion, any amendments and where necessary the substantive motion. This was accepted by the Members present. 

The Director of Finance reported that there were no changes to the final Mayoral precept accepted by the London Assembly on 23^th February 2023.

Since the last meeting of the Executive, there had been further changes on levies and the final position was shown in recommendation 2.1 (e) below.

Members were requested to note that the 2023/24 budget included the impact of the recommended 2023/24 pay award, the supplementary 2022/23 award to meet inflationary pressures and the proposed increase for merited rewards that was reported to Executive on 18^th January 2023 and was subject to full Council approval (agenda item 10).

It was important to note that the 2023/24 Central Contingency sum included costs not yet allocated to Portfolio budgets at this stage.  Therefore, there would be further changes to the Central Contingency to reflect allocations to individual Portfolio budgets prior to publication of the Financial Control Budget.

The above changes would require the following proposed amendments to be made to the recommendations of the Executive:

“Amended Recommendation (2.1)

(b)  Approves the draft revenue budgets (as in Appendix 2) for 2023/24 to include the following updated changes in (d) and (e):

(d)  Approves a revised Central Contingency sum of £17,560k to reflect the

  changes in (e);

(e)  Approves the following provisions for levies for inclusion in the budget for 2023/24:

(f)  Notes the final position on the GLA precept, as accepted by the London Assembly on 23^rd February 2023;

(g)  Sets a 4.99% increase in Bromley’s council tax for 2023/24 compared with 2022/23 (2.99% general increase plus 2% Adult Social Care Precept) and a 9.7% increase in the GLA precept.

Amended Recommendation (2.2)

Council Tax 2023/24 – Statutory Calculations and Resolutions (as amended by the Localism Act 2011).

Subject to 2.1 (a) to (k) above, if the formal Council Tax Resolution as detailed

below is approved, the total Band D Council Tax will be as follows:

(#)  in line with the 2022/23 Council Tax Referendum Principles, the % increase applied is based on an authority’s “relevant basic amount of Council Tax” (£1,341.13 for Bromley) – see paragraph 6 below. 

Amended Recommendation (2.3):

(3)  That the following amounts be calculated for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 68.

Report CSD23032

A motion to approve the Council Tax Support Scheme 2023/24, increasing the Discretionary Hardship Fund to £225 per annum and noting that from 2023/24 the Scheme will only be revised to incorporate any changes required by legislation and/or as a result of the annual uprating of benefits – public consultation will only be undertaken in future years when a fundamental change to the scheme is proposed - was moved by Councillor Christopher Marlow, seconded by councillor Colin Smith and CARRIED.

Report CSD23034

The following amendment was moved by Councillor Jeremy Adams and seconded by Councillor Simon Jeal.

“Additional Recommendation:

(v)  agree a supplementary capital estimate of £15,275k for the period 2023/24 to 2026/27 to be funded by £400k from the Growth Fund earmarked reserve and £14,950k by sourcing a partner to acquire a 49% interest in the Direct Line building.”

On being put to the vote, the amendment was LOST.

The following amendment was moved by Councillor Julie Ireland and seconded by Councillor Chloe-Jane Ross.

“Additional Recommendation:

(v)  to make a provision of up to £1m to help community groups purchase Community House and the Public Halls and reduce the equivalent provision in the capital programme.”

On being put to the vote, the amendment was LOST.

The following amendment was moved by Councillor Mark Smith and seconded by Councillor Alison Stammers.

“Additional Recommendation:

(v)  agree that officers bring forward the development work of Chislehurst Library to be undertaken in 2023/24 (costs of £1m), rather than in 2024/25 as assumed in the latest Capital Programme.” 

On being put to the vote, the amendment was LOST.

A motion to (i) approve the new schemes and other changes to the programme identified in the report, (ii) approve the refinancing of the Council’s existing Housing Schemes through long-term borrowing of £49.2m, (iii) approve the use of up to £10m of earmarked revenue reserves to support funding of the Council’s capital programme and (iv) agree that all new and existing Housing Schemes should be funded by long term borrowing, was moved by Councillor Christopher Marlow, seconded by Councillor Colin Smith and CARRIED.

Report CSD23036

A motion to note the Treasury Management performance report for the third quarter of 2022/23 and agree to adopt the Treasury Management Statement and Annual Investment Strategy for 2023/24 including (i) the Prudential Indicators for the period 2023/24 to 2025/26, (ii) the Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) policy statement and (iii) revised minimum credit ratings for Housing Associations (BBB+) and Corporate Bonds (BBB+) was moved by Councillor Christopher Marlow, seconded by Councillor Colin Smith and CARRIED.

Report CSD23011

The following amendment was moved by Councillor Rebecca Wiffen and seconded by Councillor Josh King -

“Replace the text of recommendation (1) (iii): An additional £200k towards Merited Rewards, for 2023/24, bringing the total to £400k for rewarding staff for exceptional performance;

With:

(iii) An increase to Merited Rewards, for 2023/24, to a total of £220k, allocating £180k to provide an additional pay increase to the Council’s lowest paid staff- including ensuring that salaries of all staff are increased to the London Living Wage or more.”

On being put to the vote the amendment was LOST.

A motion to approve (i) a flat 2% pay increase for all staff (excluding teachers who are covered by a separate statutory pay negotiating process) in response to the unexpected spiralling inflation post the 2022/3 pay award agreed by full Council; the increase would be effective from 1st April 2023; (ii) a flat 5.75% pay increase for all staff (excluding teachers who are covered by a separate statutory pay negotiating process) for 2023/24; (iii) an additional £200k towards Merited Rewards, for 2023/24, bringing the total to £400k for rewarding staff for exceptional performance; (iv) that the Trade Unions’ pay claim for staff be rejected (see paragraph 3.12 of the report and attached appendices) and to note that, as in the previous years since coming out of the nationally/regionally negotiated frameworks, Bromley staff will receive the 2023/24 pay increase in time for the April pay, was moved by Councillor Christopher Marlow, seconded by Councillor Pauline Tunnicliffe and CARRIED.

Report CSD23012

The following amendment was moved by Councillor Josh King and seconded by Councillor Rebecca Wiffen -

“Add the following words to the end of the recommendation:

‘subject to the following change.

Section 5 

5.4 London Living Wage

The Council believes all staff should be paid a real Living Wage, to guarantee that all of our staff, as a minimum, earn enough to reflect the current cost of living and what a household needs to get by, rather than be paid in reference to a percentage of median earnings. 

The Council therefore ensures that no member of staff is paid less than the hourly London Living Wage rate- calculated independently by the Living Wage Foundation. For 2023/2024 this hourly rate is £11.95.”

On being put to the vote the amendment was LOST.

A motion to approve the 2023/24 Pay Policy Statement as recommended was moved by Councillor Christopher Marlow, seconded by Councillor Pauline Tunnicliffe and CARRIED.

Report CSD23013

The following amendment was moved by Councillor Tony McPartlan and seconded by Councillor Alisa Igoe -

“(1) The Council has considered the proposed Members Allowances Scheme 2023/24 and the Mayoral and Deputy Mayoral Allowances and recommends that allowances are retained amended from 1^st April 2023, subject to the following changes:

1.  The basic allowance should be increased by 4.5% to £11,905.69;

2.  An increased allowance for the Chairmen of Audit and Risk Management Committee and Pensions Committee (bringing these posts into line with PDS Chairmen.);

3.  The allowance for Executive Assistants shall be removed;

4.  No other changes to allowances shall be paid;

5.  That the saving of £61k against the cost of the Conservative Party’s proposals be allocated to the Council’s Welfare Fund.”

On being put to the vote the amendment was LOST.

A motion to approve the Members Allowances Scheme 2023/24 and the Mayoral and Deputy Mayoral Allowances for 2023/24 based on the proposals supported by General Purposes and Licensing Committee from the Conservative group for most allowances to be increased by 7.75% (rounded up as necessary) with increased allowances for the Deputy Leader, the Chairmen of Pensions Committee and Audit and Risk Management Committee and various Vice-Chairman roles, but removing the proposal to delete the allowance for the leader of the second largest minority group, was moved by Councillor Pauline Tunnicliffe, seconded by Councillor Mike Botting and CARRIED. 

Report CSD230014

A motion to receive and note the SACRE Annual Report 2021/22 was moved by Councillor David Jefferys, seconded by Councillor Robert Evans and CARRIED.

Report CSD23035

A motion to note the decisions made by the Executive and approve a supplementary capital estimate of £3,959k to cover construction price inflation since November 2021, when the project was originally added to the capital programme, and an increased contingency allowance, was moved by Councillor Yvonne Bear, seconded by Councillor Tony Owen and CARRIED.  

(A)  Comments made by Cllr Slator

The following motion was moved by Councillor Kathy Bance MBE and seconded by Councillor Simon Jeal:

“On 31 December 2022 Councillor Shaun Slator tweeted "more likely that it's a punter that didn't pay" in response to a news article entitled "Woman raped in Plumstead park in early hours".

The Council considers this comment to be misogynistic and perpetuates a negative perception of rape victims.

The Council's Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy sets out the support services provided to victims of sexual violence. Such comments by an elected member of the Council undermine it and risks victims of rape feeling unable to access such services if they feel the Council's representatives are prejudiced against them. 

While the Council's Monitoring Officer and the Independent Person have concluded that the Councillors' Code of Conduct is not engaged and therefore under the relevant legal requirements no Standard Committee investigation can take place, this Council unequivocally condemns Cllr Slator's comments and considers they are unacceptable for a member of this Council to have made.

On 31 December 2022 Councillor Shaun Slator tweeted “more likely that it’s a punter that didn’t pay “ in response to a news article entitled “Woman raped in Plumstead park in early hours.”

While the Council’s Monitoring Officer and the Independent Person have concluded that the Councillors’ Code of Conduct is not engaged and therefore under the relevant legal requirements no Standards Committee investigation can take place, this Council unequivocally condemns Cllr Slator’s comments and considers that they are unacceptable for a member of this Council to have made.

It also be noted that Cllr Slator was suspended from the Conservative Group on Bromley Council on 5^th January 2023 for said comments, and will remain thus, until such time as he attends Full Council to make an unreserved apology for his actions including an undertaking not to repeat similar assertions in future and also attend appropriate training or voluntary work, as deemed appropriate by the Administration.”

The following amended version of the motion was moved by Councillor Colin Smith and seconded by Councillor Michael Tickner –

“On 31 December 2022 Councillor Shaun Slator tweeted “more likely that it’s a punter that didn’t pay” in response to a news article entitled “Woman raped in Plumstead park in early hours.”

While the Council’s Monitoring Officer and the Independent Person have concluded that the Councillors Code of Conduct is not engaged and therefore under the relevant legal requirements no Standards Committee investigation can take place, this Council unequivocally condemns Cllr Slator’s comments and considers they are unacceptable for a member of this Council to have made.

It also be noted that Cllr Slator was suspended from the Conservative Group on Bromley Council on 5^th January 2023 for said comments, and will remain thus, until such time as he attends Full Council to make an unreserved apology for his actions, including an undertaking not to repeat similar assertions in future and also attend appropriate training  ...  view the full minutes text for item 77.

The Mayor thanked Members who attended the Holocaust Memorial Day in January, the Whisky Tasting Evening and the Ukraine Remembrance Service.

The Mayor advised Members about her Charity Dinner at the Honourable Artillery Company on 6^th April and reminded them to buy their Fly a Spitfire Prize Draw tickets – the draw would be on 21^st April.

RESOLVED that the Press and public be excluded during consideration of the item of business referred to below as it is likely in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings that if members of the Press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information.

The following summary

refers to matters involving exempt information

A motion to note the Part 2 information relating to the West Wickham Library and Housing Project was recommended by the Executive was moved by Cllr Yvonne Bear, seconded by Cllr Tony Owen and CARRIED.