Council minutes - Wednesday 11 March 2009

Minutes of the Special Council meeting held on Wednesday 11 March

Present at the meeting:

The Mayor (Councillor R Winkworth)
The Deputy Mayor (Councillor M Aldred)
Councillor Mrs K Aldred
Councillor K Anderson
Councillor N D Ash
Councillor Miss J Atherton
Councillor J B Baldwin
Councillor J S Birch
Councillor Mrs A M L Bland
Councillor R M Bleakley
Councillor B Bowen
Councillor N A Bradbury
Councillor G M Bretherton
Councillor R Brierley
Councillor H L Cadman
Councillor W Carney
Councillor R Clayton
Doctor Councillor C M Cottam
Councillor Mrs P Cullen
Councillor K Cunliffe
Councillor S Dawber
Councillor M A Dewhurst
Councillor Mrs S Dewhurst
Councillor J Eccles-Churton
Councillor S F Ell
Councillor B J Fagan
Councillor Mrs D Fairhurst
Councillor G W Fairhurst
Councillor S J Greensmith
Councillor T W Halliwell
Councillor J D Hodgkinson
Councillor Ms P L Holland
Councillor Mrs J Hurst
Councillor M Klieve
Councillor Mrs Y Klieve
Councillor P A Liptrot
Councillor Mrs S Loudon
Councillor B Merry
Councillor D T Molyneux
Councillor J Moodie
Councillor J D O’Brien
Councillor Mrs J M Peet
Councillor Mrs J Prescott
Councillor P Prescott
Councillor C Ready
Councillor C Rigby
Councillor W Rotherham
Councillor E Russon
Councillor Mrs E Smethurst
Councillor P R C Smith
Councillor R T Splaine
Councillor C Sweeney
Councillor J Talbot
Councillor P Thompson
Councillor Mrs A Turnock
Councillor F B Walker
Councillor Mrs M J Whiteside
Councillor G Wilkes
Councillor W J Wilkes
Councillor M W Winstanley

76 Apologies for Absence: Councillors S C Barnes, Mrs J Beswick, Mrs B Bourne, R J Derricutt, J Ellis, Ms L E Fagan, G A Fairhurst, J N Grundy, J Haley, J Hilton, E N Houlton, K W McManus, J Miller, P A Tushingham and N R Whittingham.

77 Mayor’s communications: (a) Illness of Councillor Mrs B Bourne: The Mayor informed Members of the illness of Councillor Mrs B Bourne which had prevented her from attending meetings.

Resolved: The Council extends to Councillor Bourne best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery to health.

(b) Children in Care Council: The Mayor informed Members that the Children in Care Council had made a request to attend the next Council meeting to present a DVD to Members on the work they do and offer Members an opportunity to ask questions. The Mayor proposed that as the Council was corporate parents to children in care, this request should be accommodated and in doing so the next Council meeting would commence at 6:30pm to meet this request.

Resolved: The Council agrees

that the meeting of the Council to be held on on 29 April 2009 will commence at 6:30pm for the purpose of receiving a DVD presentation by the Children in Care Council;
rule of procedure 1.1(iii) is suspended to allow the normal meeting of the Council fixed for 29 April to be held following the DVD presentation.

78 Suspension of policy and budget framework procedure rules: It was moved by the Mayor that the provisions of the budget and policy framework procedure rules when considering the following item, that normally required the item to be considered by Cabinet before Council, be suspended for the duration of this meeting:-

On the motion being put to the vote, the Mayor declared it carried and it was:

Resolved: Provisions of the budget and policy framework procedure rules are suspended for the duration of this meeting to permit the following item to be considered:-

79 Suspension of rules of debate 11.4: It was moved by Councillor P R C Smith and seconded by Councillor D T Molyneux:-

rules of debate 11.4 of the Constitution are suspended to permit a Member to speak for 15 minutes when proposing a motion, 10 minutes when seconding a motion, 10 minutes for opposition leaders or their representatives to respond to a motion, 5 minutes for any other member to respond to a motion and 10 minutes when replying to a debate on a motion he/she has proposed or proposing an amendment, when considering the following items:-

Policy and budget framework: - (a) The Council's Revenue and Capital Budget Framework 2009/10 including Prudential Indicators, Collection Fund estimates, Council Tax Calculations for 2009/10 and Medium Term Plan 2009/10 to 2011/12;

(b) Housing Revenue Account capital and revenue estimates 2009/10; and

On the motion being put to the vote, the Mayor declared it carried and it was:

Resolved: The Council agrees that rules of debate 11.4 of the Constitution are suspended to permit a Member to speak for 15 minutes when proposing a motion, 10 minutes when seconding a motion, 10 minutes for opposition leaders or their representatives to respond to a motion, 5 minutes for any other member to respond to a motion and 10 minutes when replying to a debate on a motion he/she has proposed or proposing an amendment when considering the following items:-

(b) Housing Revenue Account capital and revenue estimates 2009/10.

80 Policy and budget framework: (a) The Council's Revenue and Capital Budget Framework 2009/10 including Prudential Indicators, Collection Fund estimates, Council Tax Calculations for 2009/10 and Medium Term Plan 2009/10 to 2011/12: The Council considered a report, which had been considered by Cabinet (minute 230 of February 2009 refers) and the decision of the Cabinet thereon as set out in minutes 12, 14 and 15 of a joint meeting held with the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 23 February 2009. The reports and the minutes of the joint meeting had been circulated to all Members of the Council. In particular, the Council noted that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had considered the Cabinet’s proposals at the joint meeting and had accepted them.

Resolved: (1) The Council approves the proposals set out in the report now submitted as part of the budget framework;

(2) The estimated capital expenditure in the three years 2009/10 to 2011/12 is determined at £114,062,200, £82,256,400 and £49,273,100 respectively.

(3) The estimated capital financing requirement for the three years 2009/10 to 2011/12 is determined at £456,619,000, £457,077,000 and £448,901,000 on 31 March of each respective year.

(4) The estimated ratios of capital financing costs to net revenue streams is set for the three years 2009/10 to 2011/12 at 8.52%, 8.47% and 8.22% for the respective years for non-Housing Revenue Account services and at 22.58%, 21.72% and 21.14% for the respective years for the Housing Revenue Account.

(5) The Council notes that the proposed capital expenditure programme will have the estimated year on year incremental impact on Council Tax for the three years 2009/10 to 2011/12 of £26.52, £29.10 and £27.82 respectively and that the proposed expenditure and its financing is estimated to have no incremental impact on rent levels.

(6) The external debt is limited by setting the following parameters for the three years 2009/10 to 2011/12:-

(i) An operational boundary of £389,155,000 £397,389,000 and £415,117,000 respectively;

(ii) An authorised limit of £408,600,000, £417,300.000 and £435,900,000 respectively;

(iii) A fixed rate exposure limit of £389,155,000, £397,389,000 and £415,117,000 respectively; and

(iv) A variable rate exposure limit of £10,000,000 each year.

(7) The Council will continue with its policy to borrow only at fixed rates of interest.

(8) The Council determines the following maturity structure for new borrowing in 2009/10:-

	Lower limit	Upper limit
	%	%
10 Years and above	50	100
5 years and within 10 years	0	50
24 months and within 5 years	0	50
12 months and within 24 months	0	0
Under 12 months	0	0

(9) The Council will not invest for periods of longer than 364 days.

(10) The Revenue Estimates in accordance with the summary now submitted for the year 2009/10 (Appendix 'A').

(11) The Council notes that, under delegated authority, the Service Director – Corporate Services, Business Support Services has calculated the following amounts for the year 2009/10 in accordance with regulation 3 of the Local Authorities (Calculation of Tax Base) Regulations 1992 made under Section 33 (5) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992:-

(a) 95,775 being the amount calculated by the Council, in accordance with regulation 3 of the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) Regulations 1992, as its Council Tax base for the year.

(b) Part of the Council's area

Parish of Shevington 3,292
Parish of Haigh 290

being the amounts calculated by the Council, in accordance with regulation 6 of the Regulations, as the amounts of its Council Tax base for the year for those dwellings in those areas to which one or more special items relate.

(12) The following amounts are now calculated by the Council for the year 2009/10 in accordance with Sections 32 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992:-

(a) £747,604,050 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 (Appendix ‘B’)

(b) £507,660,903 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 (Appendix ‘B’)

(c) £239,943,147 being the amount by which the aggregate at 3 (c) above less the amount at 3 (d) above, all divided by the amount at 2 (a) above" with "12 (c) above less the amount at 12 (d) above, all divided by the amount at 11 (a) above, in accordance with Section 32 (4) of the Act, being its budget requirement for the year (Appendix ‘B’)

(d) £129,030,901 being the aggregate of the sums which the Council estimates will be payable for the year into its General Fund in respect of redistributed non-domestic rates and revenue support grant. (Appendix ‘A’)

(e) £1,158.05 being the amount at 3 (c) above less the amount at 3 (d) above, all divided by the amount at 2(a) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 33 (1) of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year (Appendix ‘C’).

(f) £79,500 being the aggregate of all special items referred to Section 34 (1) of the Act (see Appendix ‘A’)

(g) £1,157.22 being the amount at 3(e) above less the result given by dividing the amount at 3(f) above by the amount at 2(a) above" with "12(e) above less the result given by dividing the amount at 12(f) above by the amount at 11(a) above, in accordance with Section 34 (2) of the Act, as the basic amount of Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which no special item relates (see Appendix ‘C’)

(h) Part of the Council's area

Parish of Shevington £1,180.21
Parish of Haigh £1,170.32

being the amounts given by adding to the amount at 12 (g) above the amounts of the special items relating to dwellings in those parts of the Council's area mentioned above divided in each case by the amount at at 11 (b) above, calculated by the Council in accordance with Section 34 (3) of the Act, as the basic amounts of its Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of the area to which one or more special items relates.

(i) Valuation Bands

Valuation Bands	Parish of Shevington	Parish of HaighAll other parts of the Council's area	All other parts of the Council's area
	£ p.	£.p	£ p

A	786.80	780.21	771.48
B	917.94	910.24	900.06
C	1049.07	1040.28	1028.64
D	1180.21	1170.32	1157.22
E	1442.47	1430.39	1414.38
F	1704.74	1690.46	1671.54
G	1967.01	1950.53	1928.70
H	2360.42	2340.64	2314.44

being the amounts given by multiplying the amounts at 12(g) and 12(h) above by the number which, in the proportion set out in Section 5(1) of the Act, is applicable to dwellings listed in a particular valuation band divided by the number which in that proportion is applicable to dwellings listed in valuation band D, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 36(1) of the Act, as the amounts to be taken into account for the year in respect of categories of dwellings listed in different valuation bands.

(13) It is noted for the year 2009/10 the Greater Manchester Police Authority and the Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Authority have stated the following amounts in precepts issued to the Council, in accordance with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, for each of the categories of dwellings shown below:-

Valuation Bands	Greater Manchester Police Authority	Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Authority
	£ p	£ p

A	89.51	34.24
B	104.42	39.95
C	119.34	45.66
D	134.26	51.37
E	164.10	62.78
F	193.93	74.20
G	223.77	85.61
H	268.52	102.74

(14) Having calculated the aggregate in each case of the amounts at 12(i) above and 13 above, the Council, in accordance with Section 30 (2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, sets the following amounts of Council Tax for the year 2009/10 for each of the categories of dwellings shown below:-

Valuation Bands	Parish of Shevington	Parish of Haigh	All other parts of the Council's area
	£ p	£ p	£ p

A	910.55	903.96	895.23
B	1062.31	1054.61	1044.43
C	1214.07	1205.28	1193.64
D	1365.84	1355.95	1342.85
E	1669.35	1657.27	1641.26
F	1972.87	1958.59	1939.67
G	2276.39	2259.91	2238.08
H	2731.68	2711.90	2685.70

(15) That the Revenue Estimates, Collection Fund Estimates and Council Tax Calculations for 2009/10 as now submitted be approved and incorporated into the Budget Framework.

(Councillors T W Halliwell, F B Walker, Mrs M J Whiteside and M W Winstanley declared a personal and non prejudicial interest in this item because they are Board Members of Wigan and Leigh Housing appointed by the Council. Councillor M W Winstanley declared a personal and non prejudicial interest in this item because he is a School Governor at Orrell Holgate and Orrell Newfold Community Primary Schools. Councillor C Ready declared a personal and non prejudicial interest in this item because of his employment with Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive. Councillor G W Fairhurst declared a personal and non prejudicial interest in this item due to his employment as a financial consultant).

(b) Housing Revenue Account (HRA) capital and revenue estimates 2009/10: The Council considered a report and the decision of the Cabinet thereon as set out in minute 13 of a joint meeting held with the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 23 February 2009. Both the report and the minutes of the joint meeting had been circulated to all Members of the Council. In particular, the Council noted that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had considered the Cabinet’s proposals at the joint meeting and had accepted them.

Resolved: The Council:-

approves the Housing Revenue Account revenue estimates for 2009/10;
approves the Housing Revenue Account capital estimates for 2009/10;
approves the ALMO management fee for 2009/10 as £15,332,418 and incorporates it into the budget framework;
confirms the use of £250,000 of capital allowance to fund regeneration work of HRA stock;
confirms the use of capital receipts from disposal of cleared sites to fund any demolition costs;
confirms the use for HRA capital purposes of the amount retained locally from right to buy receipts in respect of reimbursement of capital expenditure on sold properties;
grants budget release for the 2009/10 HRA capital programme;
appoints Wigan and Leigh Housing to manage the HRA capital programme;
delegates to Wigan and Leigh Housing the power to manage the timing of the elements of the programme to match the available resources; and
delegates to Wigan and Leigh Housing the choice of minor programmes in the light of resources available when the 2008/09 out-turn is known.

(Councillors T W Halliwell, F B Walker Mrs M J Whiteside and M W Winstanley declared a personal and non prejudicial interest in this item because they are Board Members of Wigan and Leigh Housing appointed by the Council. Councillor M W Winstanley declared a personal and non prejudicial interest in this item because he is a School Governor at Orrell Holgate and Orrell Newfold Community Primary Schools. Councillor C Ready declared a personal and non prejudicial interest in this item because of his employment with Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive. Councillor G W Fairhurst declared a personal and non prejudicial interest in this item due to his employment as a financial consultant.)

(c) Proposed changes to the tenancy agreement for Council tenants: The Council considered a report and the decision of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee thereon as set out in minute 146 on 9 March 2009. Both the report and the minutes of the meeting had been circulated to all Members of the Council. In particular, the Council noted that the recent decision by the Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP (Minister of State for Housing and Planning), that if authorities were prepared to revisit the level of rents set and reduce them then there would be the option to bid for additional subsidy. The national average guideline would be halved from 6.2 to 3.1 percent, therefore the subsidy position of authorities would be changed for those Councils who reduce the actual average increase in rents for 2009/10 in line with the new national average.

Resolved: The Council:-

approves the amended dwelling rent increase of 3.1% for 2009/10;
approves the garage rent increase of 3.1% for 2009/10;
approves that all service charges (with the exception of the charges in sheltered wardens scheme) increase by 3.1% for 2009/10;
agrees that a variation notice be issued to all tenants to inform of changes to the terms of the Tenancy Agreement as outlined in appendix B of the report, including any amendments discussed and agreed at Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 9 March 2009;
approves the difference between the previously approved increase of 4.95% and the new increase of 3.1% be written off as non collectable for the period for which 4.95% would have applied prior to the implementation of the 3.1% increase;
authorises officer to submit an application to the Government for additional subsidy; and
agrees the amendments to the secure and introductory arrangements, which had previously been agreed by Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 9 March 2009, as set out in the report now submitted.

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March 2009

Council minutes - Wednesday 11 March 2009

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