Agenda and minutes

The Lord Mayor welcomed all attendees to the meeting and issued the safety information.

It was noted that the Mayor had tendered his apologies for this meeting due to illness, so Councillor Craig Cheney would be deputising.

Apologies for absence were heard from Mayor Marvin Rees and Councillors Ali, Morris, Quartley, Stafford-Townsend and Wye.

To note any declarations of interest from the Councillors.  They are asked to indicate the relevant agenda item, the nature of the interest and in particular whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest.

Any declarations of interest made at the meeting which is not on the register of interests should be notified to the Monitoring Officer for inclusion.

The following councillors declared an interest in the Golden Motion because they are landlords or tenants in the private rental sector:

Breckels, Brown, Clark, Classick, Dudd, Edwards, Geater, Gollop, Goodman, Goulandris, Hance, Hathway, Hussain, Mack, Plowden and Stone.

The following councillors declared an interest in agenda item 10 due to their involvement with the Avon Fire Authority:

Eddy, Goggin, Massey, Mohamud, Varney and Wilcox.

To agree the minutes of following previous meetings as a correct record:

13 December 2022 Extraordinary Full Council

13 December 2022 Full Council

On the motion of the Lord Mayor, seconded by Councillor Hance, it was

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the Full Council meeting and the Extraordinary Full Council meeting to grant Freedom of the City to the Bristol Bus Boycott organisers held on the 13th December 2022 be agreed as a correct record and signed by the Lord Mayor.

To note any announcements from the Lord Mayor

Full Council noted that Bristol resident Mike Alden has been honoured with the “Unsung Hero Award” at the 2022 Sports Personality of the Year and was given a round of applause.

Public forum items can be about any matter the Council is responsible for or which directly affects the city. Submissions will be treated in order of receipt and as many people shall be called upon as is possible within the time allowed within the meeting (normally 30 minutes).

Further rules can be found within our Council Procedure Rules within the Constitution.

Please note that the following deadlines apply to this meeting:

a. Public petitions and statements: Petitions and written statements must be received by 12 noon on Friday 6 January 2023 at latest. One written statement per member of the public is permitted.

b. Public questions: Written public questions must be received by 5pm on Wednesday 4 January 2022 at latest. A maximum of 2 questions per member of the public is permitted. Questions should be addressed to the Mayor or relevant Cabinet Member.

Public forum items should be e-mailed to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk

Full Council received and noted the following statements, which were also referred to the Mayor for his consideration and information.

Within the time available, statements 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 09, 11, 13, 16, 17, 23 and 24 were presented by individuals at the meeting.

Public Questions

Full Council noted that the following questions had been submitted:

Within the time available, the Deputy Mayor responded verbally to questions 01, 02, 03, 06, 07 and 13 also responding to supplementary questions.

Please note: Up to 10 minutes is allowed for this item.

Petitions notified by Councillors can be about any matter the Council is responsible for or which directly affects the city. The deadline for the notification of petitions to this meeting is 12 noon on Monday 9 January 2023.

Full Council received and noted the following petitions:

Petition CP01 – Parks Funding – petition presented by Councillor Gary Hopkins

Petition CP02 – Stop the Cuts to Brislington Buses – petition presented by Councillor Tim Rippington

Recommendation

That Full Council debates the petition and refers it to the Mayor / relevant Cabinet member for a formal response.

Full Council considered a report of the Director – Legal and Democratic Services setting out details of a petition ‘No more building on green spaces in the city of Bristol.’ The petition had reached the 3,500 signature threshold to qualify for a Full Council debate.

Nasim Dumont, a petition organiser, was invited by the Lord Mayor to present the objectives of the petition.

Full Council debated the petition.

Following the debate it was:

RESOLVED:

That the petition and the comments from the debate be noted and referred to the Mayor for response

Recommendation

1. Agree, in accordance with the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (England) Regulations 2012, the amount calculated by Bristol City Council as its Council Tax base for the financial year 2023/24 shall be 129,654

Full Council considered a report on the Council Tax Base for 2023/24.

Councillor Craig Cheney moved the report and the recommendations therein. Councillor Fabian Breckels seconded the report.

Following the debate, there was a vote (60 For, 0 Against, 0 Abstain) and it was:

RESOLVED Agreed, in accordance with the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (England) Regulations 2012, the amount calculated by Bristol City Council as its Council Tax base for the financial year 2023/24 shall be 129,654.

Recommendation

1. That an estimated surplus as at 31 March 2023 on the Council Tax element of the Collection Fund of £1.960m be declared for 2022/23 and shared between this Council, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset and the Avon Fire and Rescue Service in proportion to their 2022/23 precepts on the Collection Fund.

2. That an estimated deficit as at 31 March 2023 on the Non-Domestic Rates (NDR) element of the Collection Fund, net of grants, of £3.358m be declared for 2022/23 and shared between this Council, Avon Fire and Rescue Service and the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) in proportion to the appropriate year demands (Bristol 95%, WECA 4%, Avon Fire and Rescue Service 1%).

Full Council considered a report on the Collection Fund Surplus / Deficit for 2022/23.

Councillor Craig Cheney moved the report and the recommendations therein. Councillor Zoe Goodman seconded the report.

Following the debate, there was a vote (60 For, 0 Against, 0 Abstain) and it was:

RESOLVED

1. That an estimated surplus as at 31 March 2023 on the Council Tax element of the Collection Fund of £1.960m be declared for 2022/23 and shared between this Council, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset and the Avon Fire and Rescue Service in proportion to their 2022/23 precepts on the Collection Fund.

2. That an estimated deficit as at 31 March 2023 on the Non-Domestic Rates (NDR) element of the Collection Fund, net of grants, of £3.358m be declared for 2022/23 and shared between this Council, Avon Fire and Rescue Service and the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) in proportion to the appropriate year demands (Bristol 95%, WECA 4%, Avon Fire and Rescue Service 1%).

Recommendation

That Full Council considers the recommendation from the Independent Remuneration Panel regarding Members’ allowances (as set out in Appendix 1).

Full Council considered a report on the Recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel.

The Lord Mayor moved the report and the recommendations therein. The Deputy Lord Mayor seconded the report.

There was no debate and it was:

RESOLVED Full Council considered the recommendations from the Independent Remuneration Panel and approved the scheme as proposed.

Note:

Under the Council’s constitution, 30 minutes are available for the consideration of motions. In practice, this realistically means that there is usually only time for one, or possibly two motions to be considered.

With the agreement of the Lord Mayor, motion 1 below will be considered at this meeting, and motion 2 is likely to be considered, subject to time.

Details of other motions submitted, (which, due to time constraints, are very unlikely to be considered at this meeting) are also set out for information.

Altered Golden Motion: Private Sector Housing

Councillor Tom Renhard moved the following motion:

This council notes:

• Privately rented homes in Bristol make up around 30% of the total housing stock.

• The cost of privately renting a property in Bristol has increased by over 50% in ten years.

• 40% of council homes have been transferred to the private rented sector through right-to-buy. The UK Housing Review 2022 branding right-to-buy as a ‘strategic failure.’

• Increasingly unaffordable rents risks driving key workers further out of the city.

• The current demand for rented properties at affordable prices has led to an increased power imbalance between tenants and landlords, resulting in tenants being warier to ask for repairs in fear of eviction, and the rising prevalence of ‘bidding wars’ - where letting agents encourage private renters to outbid one another for a property. This clearly has negative effect for renters, particularly low-income households.

• The Labour administration’s work so far to support private renters, including the roll out of landlord licensing schemes, stamping out illegal ‘no DSS’ discrimination, the Renters’ Summit, and the Living Rent Commission – which is exploring the options for rent controls within Bristol.

This council believes:

• Housing should be regarded first and foremost as homes rather than investment assets.

• Rent controls are needed in Bristol to stop homes in the private rented sector becoming increasingly unaffordable.

• Effective rent controls should be equitable, proportionate, and data-driven.

• Landlord Licensing schemes are an effective tool to improve conditions in the private rented sector. These schemes should be expanded city-wide.

• Further action is needed to protect private renters and ensure their homes are not in poor condition.

• Private renters are less likely to complain about problems with their homes if they face a threat of losing it as a result. Therefore, Government should bring forward the legislation it pledged to outlaw no fault evictions immediately.

• The Renters Reform White Paper should be strengthened. The Renters’ Reform Coalition’s ‘Safe, secure and affordable homes for all: A renters’ blueprint for reform’ should be the basis for reforms to the Private Rented Sector.

• Right-to-buy should not be expanded to the include housing associations, as was included in the 2022 Queen’s Speech – which outlines a government’s legislative agenda.

This council resolves to:

• Bring the findings of the Living Rent Commission to Full Council and commit to implementing its results. Should the Commission recommend a form of rent control, this council should use its resources to lobby the Government for permission to introduce rent controls in Bristol.

• Ask officers to consider serving improvement notices on homes with severe hazards to prevent landlords from serving Section 21 notices and enable Rent Repayment Orders if the landlord fails to comply. Council officers should also seek to serve more improvement notices for excess cold in homes that fail Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards, and help private renters claim back rent through rent repayment orders when they are  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.