Agenda and minutes

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

Apologies for absence were heard from Councillors Cole, Fitzjohn and Jama.

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 members declared an interest as trustees of Lord Mayor’s Chapel Trust: Cllr Geoff Gollop, Cllr Jos Clark, Cllr Chris Davies, Cllr Lesley Alexander.

The following members declared an interest as members of the Avon Fire Authority: Cllr Brenda Massey, Cllr Amal Ali, Cllr Richard Eddy, Cllr Paul Goggin, Cllr Yassin Mohmud, Cllr Steve Smith, Cllr Andrew Varney and Cllr David Wilcox.

Cllr Asher Craig declared an interest as a member of the Police and Crime Panel.

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

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

RESOLVED That the minutes of the meeting of the Full Council held on the 10 January 2023 be confirmed as correct record and signed by the Lord Mayor.

To note any announcements from the Lord Mayor

Full Council noted the sad news that former Councillor Roy Tallis (Cabot Ward 1999-2005) had recently passed away. Councillors Clark and Hopkins spoke in his memory.

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

The Full Council considered a report setting out the Mayor’s 2023-2024 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 Edwards, Pearce, 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.

ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned for 30 minutes to resolve technical issues with IT equipment.

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

Amendment No.1 - Knowle Community Party Budget Amendment

1.1 Loan to Jubilee Pool for capital investment.

1.2 Reduce Capital Contingency to facilitate loan.

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 REJECTED (24 FOR, 41 AGAINST, 1 ABSTENTION)

Amendment No.3 - Knowle Community Party Budget Amendment

3.1 Revenue grant to Jubilee Pool to facilitate public health benefits in the community.

3.2 Draw down from the public health reserve - fixed value.

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 REJECTED (22 FOR, 43 AGAINST, 2 ABSTENTIONS)

Amendment No.2 - Knowle Community Party Budget Amendment

2.1 Parks and open spaces development in Knowle and Windmill Hill wards.

2.2 Earmark Parks and Open Spaces Capital Receipt.

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 (63 FOR, 0 AGAINST, 0 ABSTENTIONS)

Amendment No.4 – Green Party Budget Amendment

4.1 The design and business case development of a Liveable Neighbourhood scheme in the BS3 area of South Bristol.

4.2 Allocate of Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood Funding to the design and Business Case development.

Councillor Dyer moved the amendment, seconded by Councillor Plowden.

Following debate, upon being put to the vote on both elements of the amendment, the amendment was CARRIED (66 FOR, 0 AGAINST, 0 ABSTENTIONS)

Amendment No.5 – Green Party Budget Amendment

5.1 Use or repurpose currently unallocated Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) receipts.

5.2 Use of strategic CIL to create a strategic capital fund for Parks and Green Spaces.

5.3 Use of strategic CIL to create a strategic capital fund for G&R Transport budget to

deal with rising city population and greater pressures.

Councillor Fodor moved the amendment, seconded by Councillor McAllister.

Following debate, upon being put to the vote on both elements of the amendment, the amendment was CARRIED (66  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.