Agenda and minutes

The Lord Mayor welcomed all attendees to the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Bowden-Jones, English and Khan.

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 Clive Stevens declared the disclosable pecuniary interest that he had written a book of his experiences in local government.  He did not intend to withdraw.

Please note: public forum business is permitted for this Extraordinary Full Council meeting provided that it relates to the business for which the meeting has been arranged (ie. the items on the meeting agenda).

Please note that the following deadlines apply to this meeting:

a.      Public Questions – written questions must be received by 5pm on Thursday 19^th November.  A maximum of two questions is permitted.  Questions should be addressed to the Mayor or Cabinet Member.

b.      Public Petitions and Statements – petitions and written statements must be received by 12 noon on Tuesday 24^th November.  One written statement per person is permitted.

c.       Members of the public who wish to present their public forum in person during the video conference meeting must register their interest by 12 noon on Monday 23^rd November.

Further information about the rules around public forum can be found in our Constitution (particularly the Council Procedure Rules and Virtual Meeting Procedure Rules), and the public information sheet attached to this agenda.

Public forum correspondence and items must be emailed to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk

There were no public petitions submitted to the meeting.

Public statements:

The Full Council received and noted the following statements (which were also referred to the Mayor for his consideration/information):

PS01, PS02, PS03 and PS04 were presented at the meeting.

Public questions:

The Full Council noted that the following questions had been submitted by members of the public and members of Council.

Within the time available, the Mayor responded verbally to all the questions submitted also responding to supplementary questions.

Council believes joint working is important as a council and that the West of England Combined Authority offers a body through which Government will engage and invest in our region and allow the local authorities to work together better and more effectively.

Council believes the decision of North Somerset to not join previously weakened the body and its ability to attract additional funds and powers. We welcome the application by North Somerset to join WECA.

Council believes together we will be a stronger region able to access additional funding and that the sum and parts will jointly benefit.

Council calls on the Mayor and Chief Executive to publish the statutory consultation on North Somerset joining WECA as required within the joint arrangement and ask for this consultation to be published no later than 27th November.

Additionally Council calls on the Bristol Mayor to reverse his opposition to the expansion of WECA, noting that if he considers inadequate any negotiated additional funding associated with a proposed expansion of WECA, then he still has the authority to exercise his veto at a later date.

Councillor Hopkins moved the following motion:

Council believes joint working is important as a council and that the West of England Combined Authority offers a body through which Government will engage and invest in our region and allow the local authorities to work together better and more effectively.

Council believes the decision of North Somerset to not join previously weakened the body and its ability to attract additional funds and powers.  We welcome the application by North Somerset to join WECA.

Council believes together we will be a stronger region able to access additional funding and that the sum and parts will jointly benefit.

Council calls on the Mayor and Chief Executive to publish the statutory consultation on North Somerset joining WECA as required within the joint arrangement and ask for this consultation to be published no later than 27th November.

Additionally Council calls on the Bristol Mayor to reverse his opposition to the expansion of WECA, noting that if he considers inadequate any negotiated additional funding associated with a proposed expansion of WECA, then he still has the authority to exercise his veto at a later date.

The motion was seconded by Councillor Steve Smith.

Councillor Threlfall moved the following amendment:

That the motion be amended to read as follows:

Council believes joint working is important and that the West of England Combined Authority offers a body through which Government can engage and invest in our region and enables the local authorities to work together better and more effectively across the wider Greater Bristol economic area.

Council believes the decision of North Somerset to not join previously weakened the body and its ability to attract additional funds and powers. We welcome application by North Somerset to join WECA which could strengthen WECA and the regional economy removing the existing complicated 3+1 governance.

Council notes that all constituent authorities support – in principle – the expansion of WECA to include North Somerset. Council believes together we will be a stronger region able to access additional funding and that the sum and parts will jointly benefit. Council notes that Mayor Rees has stated that a challenge to this progress is due to a lack of financial detail from Westminster on a new devolution deal and clear governance arrangements.

Council calls on the Mayor and Chief Executive to meet urgently with other WECA authority leaders to agree a financial settlement, review the methodology for distributing WECA funds and a clear governance arrangement and publish the statutory consultation on North Somerset joining WECA

Additionally Council calls on the Bristol Mayor to reiterate his support for the expansion of WECA.

The amendment was seconded by Councillor Hickman.

Following debate, upon being put to the vote, the amendment was CARRIED (42 voting for, 21 against, with 1 abstentions)

Following debate on the motion on the table (as amended), the Lord Mayor then invited Councillor Hopkins to speak, as mover of the original motion.

Following final remarks, upon being put to the vote, the amended motion  ...  view the full minutes text for item 63.