Agenda and minutes

a)  The Lord Mayor reminded those present that the meeting was to be webcast.

b)  The Lord Mayor informed Council that Councillor Graham Latty was now back home following his recent operation.

c)  The Lord Mayor informed Council that this would be the last Council meeting attended by Alan Gay, Deputy Chief Executive before his retirement.

Councillors Blake, Wakefield, Andrew Carter, Golton, Finnigan, D Blackburn and M Dobson paid tribute to Alan Gay and thanked him for the support and advice he had given to all political groups of the Council over many years.    

To approve the minutes of the Council Meetings held on 11^th January 2017.

It was moved by Councillor Ogilvie, seconded by Councillor Buckley and

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meetings held on 11^th January 2017 be approved.

To receive any declarations of interest from Members.

There were no declarations of interests.

To receive such communications as the Lord Mayor, the Leader,  Members of the Executive Board or the Chief Executive consider appropriate.

There were no communications.

It was moved by Councillor Ogilvie, seconded by Councillor Buckley and

RESOLVED –

a)  That Council Procedure Rule 14.6(b) be suspended in respect of the Budget item to allow Councillor Andrew Carter to move and Councillor J Procter to second amendments 1 to 12 en bloc ,to allow Councillor Golton to move and Councillor Campbell to second amendments 13 to 14 en bloc, and to allow Councillor D Blackburn to move and Councillor A Blackburn to second amendments 16 to 17 en bloc.

b)  That Council Procedure Rule 14.1 be suspended in respect of the Budget item and to agree;

(i)  that time limits will not be imposed on budget speeches of Group Leaders in the budget debate.

(ii)  that a member contributing to the budget debate can do so for up to 5 minutes.

(iii)  that a member seconding the budget motion or budget amendments can do so for up to 5 minutes.

(iv)  that when summing up on the budget  motion the Leader of Council can do so for up to 15 minutes.

c)  That Council Procedure Rule 3.3 be suspended in respect of the Minutes and to agree that consideration of the Executive Board minutes will continue up to 4.45pm at which point the Leader of Council or the relevant Executive Member will sum up for up to 10 minutes. 

To note the report of the City Solicitor setting out amendments made to the Leader’s executive arrangements which reflect the new organisational structure developed by the Head of Paid Service.

It was moved by Councillor Blake, seconded by Councillor Ogilvie and

RESOLVED – That the report of the City Solicitor on amendments to the Executive Arrangements be noted.

To consider the report of the Deputy Chief Executive presenting the Best Council Plan 2017/18 for Council’s consideration and approval following the Executive Board’s recommendation on 8th February.

It was moved by Councillor J Lewis, seconded by Councillor Ogilvie and

RESOLVED – That the Best Council Plan 2017-18 appended to the report be adopted and to note that further development and graphic design work would take place prior to its publication at the end of March 2017.

To consider the report of the Director of City Development recommending that Council grant authority to the Inspector to recommend any necessary Modifications to the Aire Valley Leeds Area Action Plan (AVLAAP).  This is a procedural matter to reflect statutory requirements.

It was moved by Councillor R Lewis, seconded by Councillor Ogilvie and

RESOLVED – That authority be granted to the independent inspector appointed to hold the Public Examination in order to recommend modifications to the Submission Draft Aire Valley Leeds Area Action Plan, pursuant to Section 20 (7C) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, as amended.

To consider the report of the City Solicitor setting out recommendations from the General Purposes Committee on 1 February 2017 in respect of constitutional amendments.

It was moved by Councillor Blake, seconded by Councillor Ogilvie and

RESOLVED -

a)  That with effect from 1^st April 2017 the Director of Communities and  Environment be appointed as the Deputy Electoral Registration Officer.

b)  That with effect from 1^st April 2017 the Chief Officer (Financial Services) be appointed as the Council’s S151 Officer;

c)  To note that the Chief Officer (Financial Services) will designate a deputy and communicate details to Members before taking up the S151 responsibilities on 1^st April;

d)  That the amendments listed below be approved:-

·  Part 2 - Article 12 (Appendix A)

·  Part 2 – Article 15 (Appendix B)

·  Part 3 – Section 1 – Local Choice Functions (Appendix C)

·  Part 3 – Section 2A – Functions of the Full Council (Appendix D)

·  Part 3 – Section 2B – Scrutiny Board Terms of Reference (Appendices E1-E6)

·  Part 3 – Section 2C – Officer Delegation Scheme (Council (non-executive) Functions):

o  General Delegations (Appendix F)

o  Chief Executive (Appendix G)

o  Director of Resources and Housing (Appendix H)

o  Chief Officer (Financial Services) (Appendix I)

o  City Solicitor (Appendix J)

o  Director of Communities and Environment (Appendix K)

o  Director of City Development (Appendix L)

o  Chief Planning Officer (Appendix M)

o  Director of Children and Families (Appendix N)

o  note the removal of Deputy Chief Executive, Assistant Chief Executive (Citizens and Communities), and Director of Environment and Housing from the Officer Delegation Scheme (Council (non executive) Functions.)

To consider the report of the Deputy Chief Executive setting out recommendations from the Corporate Governance & Audit Committee on 27 January 2017 to Full Council in respect of the Procurement of an External  Auditor.

It was moved by Councillor P Grahame, seconded by Councillor Ogilvie and

RESOLVED – That in line with the recommendations of the Corporate Governance and Audit committee at its meeting on the 27^th January 2017, and based on the evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of the three options, that the option to join the LGA established sector-led body for the appointment of external auditors following the close of the 2017/18 accounts be approved.

To consider the report of the City Solicitor on appointments.

It was moved by Councillor Ogilvie, seconded by Councillor Buckley and

RESOLVED – That the report of the City Solicitor on appointments be approved, namely that Councillor Cohen replace Councillor Lamb on Scrutiny Board (Children’s Services), that Councillor Buckley replace Councillor Cohen on Scrutiny Board (City Development), that Councillor Harrand replace Councillor Cohen on Scrutiny Board (Strategy and Resources) and  Councillor Selby replace Councillor C Dobson on Member Management Committee.

i)  Revenue Budget

a)  To agree that the revenue budget for 2017/18 totalling £492.67m as detailed in the submitted report be approved. This means that the Leeds element of the council tax for 2017/18 will increase by 1.99% plus the adult social care precept of 3%. This excludes the police and fire precepts which will be incorporated into a further report to be submitted to Council on the 22nd February 2017.

b)  To agree grants totalling £75k be allocated to parishes.

c)  To approve the strategy at appendix 9 in respect of the flexible use of capital receipts.

d)  To agree with respect to the Housing Revenue Account, that the following be approved:

(i)  a reduction of 1% in dwelling rents in non-Private Finance Initiative areas.

(ii)  an increase of 2% in dwelling rents in PFI areas.

(iii)  an increase of 5% in garage rents.

(iv)  an increase of 2% in district heating charges.

(v)  that service charges for multi-storey flats are increased by £2 per week.

(vi)  that service charges for low/medium rise properties are increased by £1 per week.

(vii)  that the charge for tenants who benefit from the sheltered support service currently paying £2 a week be increased to £4 per week.

ii)  Council Tax 

1  That it be noted that at the meeting on 11^th January 2017, Council agreed the following amounts for the year 2017/18, in accordance with regulations made under Sections 31B(3) and 34(4) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992:-

a)  221,937.7 being the amount calculated by the Council, in accordance with Regulation 3 of the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) Regulations 1992 (as amended) as its council tax base for the year.

b)

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 dwellings in those parts of its area to which one or more special items relate.

2  That the following amounts be now calculated by the Council for the year 2017/18 in accordance with Sections 31A to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992:-

a) £2,026,508,157  being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2)(a) to (f) of the Act.

b)£1,741,446,197  being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3)(a) to (d) of the Act.

c)£285,061,960  being the amount by which the aggregate at 2(a) above exceeds the aggregate at 2(b) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31A(4) of the Act, as its council tax requirement for the year.

d) £1,284.423330  being the amount at 2(c) above, divided by the amount at 1(a) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31B(1) of the Act, as the basic amount of its council tax for the year.

e)  £1,825,244.00  being the aggregate amount of all special items referred to in Section  ...  view the full agenda text for item 92.

Under the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 14.9 leave of Council was given for Councillor Blake to alter the motion in her name having now received the West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Authority precept, the Wetherby Town Council precept and the anticipated precept from Ledston Parish Council by altering 10(ii) Council Tax by altering figures at (ii) 2 a to f, the alteration of tabulations at (ii) 2 g and  h, (ii) 3 and (ii) 4, the alteration of paragraph (ii) 3 by the deletion of the words ‘are expected to issue’ and replace with ‘have issued’ by the alteration of paragraph (ii) 4 by the deletion of the words ‘subject to the’ and replace with ‘having received’ and by the inclusion of any amendments that are agreed by Full Council.

The altered paragraph(s)/table(s) are contained in the resolution below.

i)  Revenue Budget

a)  To agree that the revenue budget for 2017/18 totalling £492.67m as detailed in the submitted report be approved, with the Leeds element of the council tax for 2017/18 increasing by 1.99% plus the adult social care precept of 3%. This excludes the police and fire precepts which will be incorporated into a further report to be submitted to Council on the 22nd February 2017.

b)  To agree grants totalling £75k be allocated to parishes.

c)  To approve the strategy at appendix 9 in respect of the flexible use of capital receipts.

d)  To agree with respect to the Housing Revenue Account, that the following be approved:

(i)  a reduction of 1% in dwelling rents in non-Private Finance Initiative areas.

(ii)  an increase of 2% in dwelling rents in PFI areas.

(iii)  an increase of 5% in garage rents.

(iv)  an increase of 2% in district heating charges.

(v)  that service charges for multi-storey flats are increased by £2 per week.

(vi)  that service charges for low/medium rise properties are increased by £1 per week.

(vii)  that the charge for tenants who benefit from the sheltered support service currently paying £2 a week be increased to £4 per week.

ii)  Council Tax 

1  That it be noted that at the meeting on 11^th January 2017, Council agreed the

following amounts for the year 2017/18, in accordance with regulations made under Sections 31B(3) and 34(4) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992:-

a)  221,937.7 being the amount calculated by the Council, in accordance with Regulation 3 of the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) Regulations 1992 (as amended) as its council tax base for the year.

b)

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 dwellings in those parts of its area to which one or more special items relate.

2  That the following amounts be now calculated by the Council for the year 2017/18 in accordance with Sections 31A to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992:-

a) £2,026,520,564  being the aggregate of the amounts  ...  view the full minutes text for item 92.

To receive the minutes in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 2.2(i).

The Lord Mayor informed Council that there was no time available to debate the Executive Board minutes.

Councillor Blake moved that the minutes be received in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 2.2(i), seconded by Councillor Ogilvie.

An amendment was moved by Councillor Campbell, seconded by Councillor J Bentley

To add the following at the end of item 11:

To ask the Executive Board to reconsider the decision in relation to the ‘Leeds Site Allocations Plan Submission Draft Stage (including advertisement of pre-submission changes to the Plan)’, contained in minute 148 of the Executive Board minutes of 8th February 2017.

Upon being put to the vote the amendment (reference back) was declared lost and upon being put to the vote it was

RESOLVED - That the minutes be received in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 2.2(i).

On the requisition of Councillor Campbell, seconded by Councillor J Bentley the voting on the amendment (reference back) was recorded as follows;

YES – 33

B Anderson, C Anderson, J Bentley, S Bentley, A Blackburn, D Blackburn, Buckley, Campbell, Amanda Carter, Andrew Carter, Chapman, Cleasby, Cohen, Collins,  Downes, Elliott, Finnigan, Flynn, Gettings, Golton, Harrand, Lamb, P Latty, Lay, Leadley, J Procter, Robinson, Stephenson, Varley, Wadsworth, Wilford, Wilkinson and Wood.

NO – 58

Akhtar, Arif, Blake, Bruce, Charlwood, Congreve, Coulson, Coupar, Davey, Dawson, C Dobson, Dowson, Dunn, Gabriel, Garthwaite, P Grahame, R Grahame, Groves, C Gruen, P Gruen, Hamilton, Harland, Hayden, Heselwood, A Hussain, G Hussain, Hyde, Illingworth, Iqbal, Jarosz, Khan, J Lewis, R Lewis, Lyons, Macniven, Maqsood, J McKenna, S McKenna, Mulherin, Nagle, Nash, Ogilvie, Pryor, Rafique, Ragan, Renshaw, Ritchie, Selby, Smart, Sobel, E Taylor, Towler, Truswell, Tunnicliffe, Venner, Wakefield, Walshaw and Yeadon.

ABSTAIN – 2

M Dobson and Field