Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Apthorp, Afzal-Khan, Richardson, and Morton

Councillors Patel, Quigley, Rosenberg, and Rowbottom joined the meeting remotely. They did not speak or vote on the decision reports.

If a Councillor has a disclosable pecuniary interest in a particular item, whether or not it is entered in the Authority’s register of interests, or any other significant interest which they consider should be declared in the public interest, they should declare the existence and, unless it is a sensitive interest as defined in the Member Code of Conduct, the nature of the interest at the commencement of the consideration of that item or as soon as it becomes apparent.

At meetings where members of the public are allowed to be in attendance and speak, any Councillor with a disclosable pecuniary interest or other significant interest may also make representations, give evidence or answer questions about the matter.  The Councillor must then withdraw immediately from the meeting before the matter is discussed and any vote taken.

Where Members of the public are not allowed to be in attendance and speak, then the Councillor with a disclosable pecuniary interest should withdraw from the meeting whilst the matter is under consideration. Councillors who have declared other significant interests should also withdraw from the meeting if they consider their continued participation in the matter would not be reasonable in the circumstances and may give rise to a perception of a conflict of interest.

Councillors are not obliged to withdraw from the meeting where a dispensation to that effect has been obtained from the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 18 January 2023.

7.07pm – The minutes of the Council meeting held on 18 January 2023 were agreed as an accurate record.

Bush Theatre “Theatre of the Year” Award and 50^th Anniversary

The Deputy Mayor noted that The Bush Theatre had been named “Theatre of the Year” at the recent Stage Awards 2023 held at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. The awards celebrated excellence in British theatre across the whole of the UK. 2023 also marked the 50th anniversary of the Bush Theatre’s opening. The Deputy Mayor said the Council was proud to support our local cultural industry and congratulated the staff for achieving this prestigious award.

Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

The Deputy Mayor noted that the 24^th of February 2023 marked the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. She said the Council supported the people of Ukraine and remembered those who had died, been injured, and displaced by this brutal war.

Speeches marking the anniversary were made by the Leader of the Council, Councillor Stephen Cowan, and the Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Victoria Brocklebank-Fowler.

The Council then observed a minute of silence in their memory.

The Leader/relevant Cabinet Member to reply to questions submitted by members of the public.

The Deputy Mayor thanked the residents who submitted questions. Questions 1, 3, 4, 6, and 8 were addressed in the meeting. The Deputy Mayor explained that any questions not addressed in the meeting would receive written responses. All questions and responses can be found in Appendix 1.

This report sets the following:

·       Council tax levels

·       Investment to safeguard services

·       Proposals for efficiencies in the delivery of services

·       Fees and charges (with the majority being frozen)

·       Budget risks

·       Reserves and balances

·       Equalities Impact Assessments

7.35pm – The report and recommendations were formally moved for adoption by the Leader of the Council, Councillor Stephen Cowan.

In accordance with Council convention, the Leader of the Council, Councillor Stephen Cowan, and the Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Victoria Brocklebank-Fowler, were given unlimited time to speak on the Budget report.

Speeches on the report were also made by Councillors Bora Kwon, Rebecca Harvey, and Rowan Ree (for the Administration) – and Councillors Adronie Alford, Amanda Lloyd-Harris, and Jose Afonso (for the Opposition).

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Stephen Cowan, then made a speech winding up the debate.

The report and recommendations were put to the vote and a roll call was undertaken, in accordance with Council convention when voting on the budget:

FOR                        32

AGAINST                9

NOT VOTING         1

The recommendations were declared CARRIED.

9.19pm – RESOLVED:

That Full Council, for the reasons set out in the report and appendices, agreed:

1. To increase the Hammersmith & Fulham element of Council Tax by 2.99% as modelled by the government in its spending power calculations for local government

2. To apply the Adult Social Care precept levy of 2% as modelled bythe government in its spending power calculations for local government.

3. To set the council’s own total net expenditure budget for 2023/24 at £132.627m

4. To approve£10.651m of new investment on key services for residents.

5. To approve fees and charges, as set out in paragraph 10, including freezing charges in adult social care, children’s services, and general fund housing.

6. To note the budget projections to 2026/27 made by the Director of Finance in consultation with the Strategic Leadership Team.

7. To note the statement of the Director of Finance, under Section 25 of the Local Government Act 2003, regarding the adequacy of reserves and robustness of estimates (paragraph 37).

8. To approve the reserves strategy and realignment of reserves as set out in Appendix J and Appendix K.

9. To require all Directors to report on their projected financial position compared to their revenue estimates in accordance with the Corporate Revenue Monitoring Report timetable.

10. To authorise Directors to implement their service spending plans for 2023/24 in accordance with the recommendations within this report, the council's Standing Orders, Financial Regulations, relevant Schemes of Delegation and undertake any further consultation required regarding the Equalities Impact Assessment.

11. Set the council’s element of Council Tax for 2023/24 for each category of dwelling, as outlined in the table below and in full in Appendix A and calculated in accordance with Sections 31A to 49B of the Localism Act 2011.

This report presents the Council’s four-year Capital Programme for the period 2023 to 2027.

9.19pm – The report and recommendations were moved for adoption by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Reform, Councillor Rowan Ree.

Speeches on the report were made by Councillors Andrew Jones, Rowan Ree, Paul Alexander (who made his maiden speech), Florian Chevoppe-Verdier, Frances Umeh, and Max Schmid (for the Administration) – and Councillors Adrian Pascu-Tulbure and Andrew Dinsmore (for the Opposition).

The report and recommendations were then put to the vote:

FOR                        32

AGAINST                9

NOT VOTING             0

The recommendations were declared CARRIED.

9.54pm – RESOLVED:

That Full Council agreed:

1. To approve the four-year General Fund Capital Programme budget at £123.6m for the period 2023/24-2026/27 (presented in Table 2 and Appendix 1).

2. To approve the continuation of rolling programmes for 2023/24 funded from the Council’s mainstream resources. For financial modelling purposes, these programmes are assumed to continue at the same level until 2026/27:

3. To delegate approval of the detailed programmes for use of the rolling programmes, in recommendation 2, to the relevant SLT Director in consultation with the Director of Finance and relevant Lead Cabinet Member.

4. To approve the four-year Housing (HRA) Capital Programme at £383.2m for the period 2023/24-2026/27 as set out in Table 5 and Appendix 1.

5. To delegate authority to the Director of Finance in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Reform to approve the potential use of up to £4.3m of capital receipts under the Government’s Flexible Use of Capital Receipts provisions for funding of Invest to Save schemes in 2023/24 and 2024/25 (as identified in Appendix 4) and potential match-funding opportunities.

6. To approve the Capital Strategy 2023/24, as set out in Appendix 3.

7. To approve the annual Minimum Revenue Provision policy statement for 2023/24, as set out in Appendix 5.

8. To note the existing mainstream funded schemes previously approved, but now reprofiled to 2023/24 and future years as detailed in Table 3.

This report sets out the Council’s proposed Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Annual Investment Strategy for 2023/24 and seeks authority for the Director of Finance to deliver the treasury management activities as set out in the report.

9.54pm – The report and recommendations were moved for adoption by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Reform, Councillor Rowan Ree.

Speeches on the report were made by Councillor Rowan Ree and Jacolyn Daly (for the Administration) – and Councillor Adrian Pascu-Tulbure (for the Opposition).

The Guillotine fell at 10.03pm and the report and recommendations were put to the vote:

FOR                        32

AGAINST                0

NOT VOTING             9

The recommendations were declared CARRIED.

10.03pm – RESOLVED:

Full Council agreed that:

1. Approval is given to the future borrowing and investment strategies as outlined in this report.

2. The Director of Finance, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Reform, be delegated authority to manage the Council’s cash flow, borrowing and investments in 2023/24 in line with this report.

3. In relation to the Council’s overall borrowing for the financial year, to approve the Prudential Indicators as set out in this report and the revised Annual Investment Strategy set out in Appendix E.

The Council is required to prepare a pay policy statement for each financial year that sets out the Council’s approach to recognising and rewarding its employees in a fair, consistent, and equitable manner.

10.03pm – The Guillotine had fallen so the report and recommendations were taken as moved and put to the vote:

FOR                        32

AGAINST                0

NOT VOTING             9

The recommendations were declared CARRIED.

10.03pm – RESOLVED:

1. That Full Council approved the pay policy statement for 2023/24 as set out in Appendix 1 of the report.

2. That Full Council noted the benchmarking of the Council’s median pay multiple against the average of other Inner London Boroughs contained in section 2.5 of the report.

This report performs the statutory annual review of Members’ allowances for the 2023/24 financial year. The annual review takes into account the recommendations made in the Independent Panel report on the renumeration of councillors (January 2022).

10.03pm – The Guillotine had fallen so the report and recommendations were taken as moved and put to the vote:

FOR                        32

AGAINST                0

NOT VOTING             9

The recommendations were declared CARRIED.

10.03pm – RESOLVED:

1. That the recommendations of the Independent Panel on the remuneration of Councillors in London (January 2022) be noted.

2. That the Members’ Allowances Scheme 2023/24 as set out in the report and attached as Appendix 1, be approved.

3. That changes for 2023/24 to Members’ Allowances are made in line with any changes to the national local government pay award, be approved.

This report asks Council to approve changes to the Council’s Constitution.

10.04pm – The Guillotine had fallen so the report and recommendations were taken as moved and put to the vote:

FOR                        UNANIMOUS

AGAINST                0

NOT VOTING         0

The recommendations were declared CARRIED.

10.04pm – RESOLVED:

1. That Full Council approved the revisions to the Constitution listed in the report.