Agenda and minutes

The Lord Mayor welcomed all attendees to the meeting, and made a safety announcement in relation to the fire/emergency evacuation procedure.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Radford.

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.

Councillor Kent declared that a member of his family had an Education Health Care Plan.

Councillor Brain declared that his brother was a consultant for Bristol City Council.

Councillor Stevens, Breckels, Threlfall and Brook all declared that their partners work for Bristol City Council.

To agree the minutes of the previous meeting as a correct record.

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

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Full Council held on the 14^th January 2020 be confirmed as correct record and signed by the Lord Mayor.

To note any announcements from the Lord Mayor

Honorary Alderman Spud Murphy

The Lord Mayor informed Full Council of the recent death of former Bristol City Councillor and Honorary Alderman Albert Edward Murphy, known to many as Spud Murphy.  Condolences were sent to his family and a minutes silence was observed.

The Lord Mayor’s Chain of Office

The Lord Mayor informed Full Council of the theft of cash and civic ceremonial jewellery, including the Lord Mayor’s chain of office.  Anyone with information was encouraged to call 101 quoting reference number 5220044814.

Under the Council’s constitution, there is no provision for public forum at the Budget Council meeting. However, in consultation with the Mayor and other party group leaders, the Lord Mayor has determined that public petitions and written statements will be accepted for this meeting on the following basis:

1. Petitions and statements for this meeting must be about the budget/reports included on the agenda.

2. The wording of all petitions and all written statements must be submitted by the deadline of 12 noon on Thursday 20th February. Petition details / written statements should be sent to: democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk

3. Questions are not permitted on this occasion.

4. Details of all petitions and statements submitted will be sent to the Lord Mayor, Mayor and all councillors as soon as possible after the above deadline.

5. At the meeting, the Lord Mayor will permit a brief opportunity for petitions to be presented at the start of the meeting (up to 1 minute for each petition), to allow petitioners to formally present their petitions and to confirm the final number of signatures. The Lord Mayor will ask Full Council to receive and formally note all petitions and written statements received.

Public petitions:

There were no public petitions received.

Public statements:

The Full Council received and noted the following statements:

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 24 February 2020.

The Full Council received and noted the following petitions:

The Full Council considered a report setting out the Mayor’s 2020-21 budget recommendations.

The Lord Mayor drew members’ attention to the budget procedure to be followed.

At this point, on the motion of the Lord Mayor, it was

RESOLVED:

That the relevant standing orders (policy and budget framework procedure rules) be suspended, noting that the procedure to be followed at this meeting is at variance with the Council’s standing orders.

The Mayor moved the budget report.

Councillor Cheney, Deputy Mayor for Finance, Governance and Performance seconded the report.

Councillor Gollop raised a point of order (CPR13.12) drawing attention to a new item on the Cabinet agenda on 4^th March, which could impact on the budget as proposed.  He sought assurances from the Section 151 Officer and the Monitoring Officer that Full Council were able to proceed with a lawful budget, and those assurances were provided.  Councillor Gollop reiterated his concerns, which were echoed by Councillor Hopkins on behalf of the Liberal Democrat Group.  Their concerns were noted.

The leaders of each party group, Cllrs Hickman, Councillor Weston, Councillor Combley and Councillor Hopkins each responded to the budget proposals.

Councillor Negus raised a point of Personal Explanation (CPR13.13) requesting permission to respond to Councillor Hickman’s comments within her speech.  The Lord Mayor ruled that time had elapsed and the meeting would move on.

Councillor Gollop presented comments on behalf of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board and Councillor Clarke on behalf of the Resources Scrutiny Commission.

The Mayor then responded to the points raised.

ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 3.45pm and reconvened at 4.00pm

On the meeting being reconvened, the Full Council then (under section 5 of the procedure) considered and debated each of the proposed budget amendments, as follows:

Liberal Democrat Group Budget Amendment

Revenue - Youth Card for Bristol Buses, Bus Support, SEND Support, External Communications and Mayor's Office

Capital - SEND Schools, East Bristol Pool, Parks and Play Space, Community Infrastructure Levy and Capital Contingency

Councillor Kent moved amendment no. 1 (revenue and capital)

Councillor Carey seconded the amendment.

Following debate, upon being put to the vote, both elements of the amendment were LOST.

Vote 1 revenue – 31 members voting for the amendment, 36 against, with 1 abstention.

Vote 2 capital – 31 members voting for the amendment, 35 against, with 1 abstention.

Green Group Budget Amendment

Revenue – Upskilling Estates Staff, HRA Reserve, Workplace parking levy plan, Project Management - Regeneration

Capital - Community Infrastructure Levy, Cycling and Walking Projects, HRA Reserve, Retrofitting energy improvements, Congestion Charging, Reduce Capital Contingency, Highways Infrastructure, Climate Change Reserve, Transport Improvements

Councillor Denyer moved amendment no. 2 (revenue and capital)

Councillor Fodor seconded the amendment.

Councillor Shah raised a point of order (CPR13.12) to confirm that he referred to legal advice in his speech rather than officer advice.  His comment was noted.

Following debate, upon being put to the vote, the amendment ‘revenue’ was CARRIED.

Vote 3 revenue – 55 members voting for the amendment, 13  ...  view the full minutes text for item 426.