Agenda item

To consider a procedural alteration proposed by the Cross-Party Council Working Group on the work of the Council and its councillors.

The Council had before it a proposed procedural alteration proposed by the cross-party Council Working Group (CWG) in relation to lateness of budget amendments being moved during the debate of the budget.

The Council Working Group therefore proposed the following amendments with immediate effect so that paragraph 2.5 of the Budget and Policy Framework rules would read as follows:

'To ensure that the obligations contained in Section 25 of the Local Government Act 2003 are fulfilled and to allow prior consideration by all Groups, alternative budget, Council Tax proposals, or proposed amendments to the budget recommended on behalf of the executive must be lodged with the Chief Executive by noon 5 working days prior to the meeting scheduled to determine the budget and Council Tax precept (i.e. by the Thursday preceding the Council meeting on Thursday).  The Chief Executive will ensure that all such proposals for alternative budget, Council tax precept or amendments to the recommended budget are passed to the Chief Financial Officer and all Group Leaders as soon as practicable after receipt.   This provision is without prejudice to the rights of the executive to accept, partially adopt any such proposals or alter its recommendations in the light of them at the budget Council meeting itself, provided the Chief Financial Officer is able to comply with his statutory obligations. The Chairman of Council may also permit an amendment to be moved which has not met the above requirements if he or she considers there are urgent or exceptional circumstances which justify this.'

In the ensuing debate, the following principal points were raised:

·         The proposed procedural alteration was one small part of the work of the Working Group and did not bear any relation to the intention of the Notice of Motion approved by Council in January 2016

·         This proposal allowed the administration time to consider amendments and alterations to budget proposals and discuss them with opposition groups. Under the current system there was often insufficient time to consider and adopt sensible last-minute amendments, and this sought to improve the process. If no agreement could be reached under the proposed arrangements then it would always be possible to debate and decide the proposed amendment at the Council meeting itself

·         The problem with this proposal was its timing so near to the next budget-setting Council meeting. The new Council should be given the opportunity to discuss the matter

·         There was no complete consensus at the Working Group to support this proposal and there was not cross-party agreement in the debate. The proposal would not give opposition groups sufficient time to provide meaningful amendments after consultation with officers. The proposal should be referred back to the Working Group to reconsider and provide a consensual proposal

·         Until now, members of the controlling group had been denied the opportunity of scrutinising the budget proposals put forward by the opposition groups. This proposal would allow proper scrutiny of all budget proposals for the benefit of Council taxpayers

·         This proposal would deny members of the public the opportunity to put forward suggestions through their local councillor which could lead to a proposed amendment to the budget  

·         Similar proposals had been adopted at some districts without problem      

·         This proposal allowed opposition groups the opportunity to have their proposed alternative budgets or amendments fully costed by officers, increasing the possibility that they could be adopted by Council. This proposed alteration at this meeting would allow the process to be adopted in time for the consideration of the budget at the next Council meeting in February 2017.

RESOLVED that the procedural alteration proposed by the cross-party Council Working Group in relation to the deadline for both alternative budgets and budget amendments as set out above and in the report be approved.