Agenda and minutes

The Lord Mayor welcomed all attendees to the meeting and outlined the emergency evacuation process.

Apologies for absence were heard from Councillors Lesley Alexander, Ali, Bailes, Denyer, English, Hartley, Jama, O’Rourke and Stone.

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.

None received.

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

Councillor Brown indicated that his name should be removed from the list of declarations of interest at the January meeting.

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

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Full Council held on the 11 January 2021 be confirmed as correct record and signed by the Lord Mayor, subject to the removal of Councillor Brown’s name.

To note any announcements from the Lord Mayor

The Lord Mayor informed Full Council of the sad death of former Conservative Councillor Alderman Margaret Stamper and former Bristol City Councillor Roderick Davidson.  Condolences were sent to their families and friends and a minute’s silence was observed.

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 Friday 11^th 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.

6.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 (which were also referred to the Mayor for his consideration and information):

The Full Council considered a report setting out the Mayor’s 2022-2023 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 be suspended, noting that the procedure to be followed at this meeting is at variance with the Council’s standing orders.

The Mayor introduced the budget report.

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

The leaders of each party group, Cllrs Pearce, Mack, Weston, Clark and Hopkins each responded to the budget proposals.

Councillors Dyer and Gollop presented comments on behalf of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board and Resources Scrutiny Commission.

The Mayor responded to the points raised.

Full Council then considered and debated each of the proposed budget amendments as follows:

Amendment No.1 - Knowle Community Party Budget Amendment

Capital Loan to Jubilee Pool, reduction in Corporate Contingencies.

Councillor Hopkins moved the amendment, seconded by Councillor Davies.

Following debate, upon being put to the vote on both elements of the amendment, the amendment was CARRIED.

Vote 1 - 33 members voting for, 20 against and 6 abstentions.

Amendment No.2 - Liberal Democrat Group Budget Amendment

Investment in parks, investment in cycling and walking infrastructure, SEND capital investment, capital finance raised through additional borrowing, reduction in funding to the Mayor’s Office, reduction in PR and Consultation, fund Occupational Therapist to speed up assessments for those seeking Disable Facilities Grant, investment in Front Garden Tree Scheme, increase in Capital financing to pay for children’s play, parks and transport.

Councillor Brown moved the motion, seconded by Councillor Clark.

Following debate, upon being put to the vote the amendment was LOST with 24 members voting for, 27 against and 8 abstentions.

Amendment No.3 - Green Group Amendment

Establish at least one Residents Parking Scheme, prudential borrowing to finance at least one Residents Parking Scheme, increase number of civil enforcement officers to enforce parking regulations, additional school streets, establish at least one Residents Parking Scheme, cost of servicing capital finance implications of new Residents Parking Scheme.

Councillor Wilcox moved the motion, seconded by Councillor Fitzjohn.

Following debate, upon being put to the vote the amendment was CARRIED unanimously with 59 members voting for.

ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned for ten minutes.

Amendment No.4 - Green Group Amendment

Return the Twinning Officer to full time, reduce the One City office budget if needed to pay for the cost of maintaining Twinning Officer, reduce Mayor’s Office budget, reduce the Comms/PR budget avoiding cuts to staffing if possible, increase public toilet provision in the city.

Councillor Bartle moved the motion, seconded by Councillor Hance.

Following debate, upon being put to the vote the amendment was CARRIED with 38 members voting for, 19 against and 1 abstentions.

Amendment No.5 – Conservative Group Amendment

Reduction in funding to the Mayor’s Office, reduction in PR & Consultation, reduce Operational Reserve, remove provision for Mayoral Commission Reserve, remove residual investment in a Brussels  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.