Agenda and draft minutes

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

Apologies for absence were heard from Councillors Don Alexander, Bartle, Bennett, Davies, English and Parsons.

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 last Full Council meeting on 20 February 2024 as a correct record.

On the motion of the Lord Mayor, seconded by the Deputy Lord Mayor, it was

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Full Council held on the 20^th February 2024 be confirmed as correct record and signed by the Lord Mayor.

To note any announcements from the Lord Mayor

Full Council noted the recent passing of former Councillor Jane Painter, who served Brislington West from 1994 to 1997 and Knowle from 1999 to 2003.

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 Monday 26 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 statement (which was also referred to the Mayor for his consideration and information):

Full Council at the first budget meeting held on 20 February 2024 voted against the amended budget, resolving to refer proposals back to the Mayor.

Under the Policy and Budget Framework procedure rules, the Monitoring Officer shall as soon as practicably possible summons a Second Council meeting to consider the Mayors proposals following this referral.

The Mayor will have 5 working days beginning on the day after the date of the Council decision, within which the Mayor may: (i) accept the budget as now amended; or (ii) submit alternative proposals to the Council; or (iii) resubmit his/her proposals and provide written reason why.

The Full Council considered a report setting out the Mayor’s 2024-2025 altered 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 altered budget report.

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

The leaders of each party group, Councillors Edwards, Renhard, Weston, Clark and Hopkins each responded to the budget proposals.

There was a round of debate and it was:

RESOLVED that Full Council NOTED

a) The report from Overview and Scrutiny Management Board (OSMB) and/or the Resources Scrutiny Commission that will be published separately.

b) The budget consultation process that was followed and feedback as outlined in Section 18 and Appendix 6.

c) The categorisation of earmarked reserves and provisions set out in Section 15.

d) That the budget consultation feedback and equality impact assessments have been taken into consideration and have informed the final budget proposals.

e) The feedback provided by Bristol Schools Forum for Cabinet and Council, for consideration in making final decisions on the Dedicated Schools Budget for 2024/25 as set out in Appendix 14.

f) The Section 25 Statement of the Chief Finance Officer (s151 Officer) on the robustness of the budget and adequacy of reserves as set out in Section 17.

RESOLVED that Full Council APPROVED recommendations G to O (32 For, 19 Against, 10 Abstentions)

g) Subject to (h) below, the Bristol City Council levels of Council Tax increase of 4.99%; which includes 2% precept to support Adult Social Care, noting the precepts of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset and the Avon Fire Authority.

h) In relation to determination of Council Tax, in the event that  Avon Fire Authority has not set its precept by 20 February, Full Council agrees to constitute  a subcommittee of the  Council, with membership to be agreed, and to delegate authority to the committee to note the precept subsequently set by Avon Fire Authority and approve the calculations for determining the Council Tax requirement for the year 2024/25 (the levels of council tax as set out in recommendation g) to be outlined in an updated Appendix 11 and in accordance with the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

i) The Council’s General Fund net revenue budget for the year 2024/25 as £530.1 million and expenditure allocations as set out in Appendix 1; subject to any budget amendments properly notified to and approved by the council in line with the Constitution.

j) That supplementary estimates be approved as part of the Budget 2024/25 Report in the case that they are required to meet Q3/P8 2023/24 full year forecast spending requirements (see Appendix 15)

k) The council’s capital budget and programme for the years 2024/25 – 2033/34, totalling £2.7 billion for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.