Special Council Meeting 25-02-14 by Michael Chizlett

Bournemouth Borough Council Special Council Meeting – 25/02/14 COMMENTS MADE AT A SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING OF BOURNEMOUTH BOROUGH COUNCIL ON THE 25TH FEBRUARY 2014. THIS DOCUMENT FOLLOWS THE HANSARD MODEL. WHILE EVERY EFFORT HAS BEEN MADE TO ENSURE ITS ACCURACY THE FOLLOWING IS NOT AN EXACT TRANSCRIPT. THIS DOCUMENT WAS NOT PRODUCED IN AFFLIATION BOURNEMOUTH BOROUGH COUNCIL AND IS NOT AN OFFICIAL RECORD OF THE MEETING. THIS DOCUMENT IS PUBLISHED FOR THE BENEFIT OF BOURNEMOUTH RESIDENTS AND WAS WRITTEN BY MICHAEL CHIZLETT (ATTENDING) IN ASSOCIATION WITH BOURNEMOUTH LIBERAL DEMOCRATS. PRELIMINARY NOTICES UNDER AGENDA ITEM 1 The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: Agenda item 2 apologies. Chief Executive could you read out the apologies please. Tony Williams, Chief Executive: Thank you Mr. Mayor. Apologies have been received from Councillors: Adams, Chapman, Maine, West, Wakefield, Whittaker and Wilson. The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: I think I speak for everyone in the chamber about the illness of both Cllr West and Whittaker and I’m sure that we’ll wish them a speedy recovery and we shall ask the officers to pass that on please. Item 3 declarations of interests, Chief Executive please. Tony Williams, Chief Executive: Thank you Mr Mayor. All members of the council have previously been granted a dispensation by the Monitoring Officer to take part in the debate about and to vote on the council’s budget and tax proposals. We have one additional declaration from Cllr Montrose with reference to agenda item 7 on the grounds that she is a private provider of social care contracted by the council. The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: Thank you. Agenda item 4 there are no public questions. Agenda item 5 there are no deputations. Agenda item 6 there are no petitions. Agenda item 7 – to receive a report on yellow pages to deal with matters arising thereof and requiring the approval of the council. Cllr John Beesley I call upon you please to move the document’s recommendations from the Special Cabinet Meeting held on the 19th February as amended by the chief finance officer’s reports 1 and 2. And Council do I have your permission for Councillor John Beesley, Leader of the Council, to make the statement.

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Special Council Meeting – 25/02/14 Council: [Murmur in the affirmative] The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: Cllr Beesley Cllr John Beesley, Leader of the Council: Thank you Mr. Mayor. I present the minutes of the special Cabinet meeting held on the 19th February and ask that they be received and adopted and in so doing Mr. Mayor I would ask council to note a minor amendment of £2,000 to the budget since the cabinet on the 19 th February this is because in bringing forward the Cabinet’s budget’s proposals the planning assumption that was made that the Fire Service Precept would increase by 1.99% in the event the Fire Service actually approved an increase of 1.93% the relevant updates have been made and all figures finalised accordingly in the special full council meeting papers. [Should be noted that Cllr Beesly’s written statement is available on the Bournemouth Borough Council Website at: http://www.bournemouth.gov.uk/CouncilDemocracy/Councillors/CouncillorCo mmitteeMeeting/Council/2014/02/25/Reports/Leaders-Budget-Statement-1415.pdf ] Mr Mayor I’m pleased to propose the 2014/15 budget to the council. I’ve made sure on this occasion that all members have got a paper copy in front of them so that they can follow the detail of the budget. For the fourth year running there will be no increase in council tax bills in Bournemouth. This has been made possible by a proposal to reduce the council’s share of the bill for council tax by 0.4% on top of the 0.7% reduction this year, making a total of cut of Bournemouth Council tax of 1.1% for the two years. The financial cost of the council’s base budget is a further £300,000 in addition to the £500,000 for this cost in the current year. We’ve done this to compensate by the increases levied by the Police and Fire authorities. The Government have been very clear that they expect that council’s as well as the police and fire authorities to take the council tax freeze grants and do everything possible to ensure that council tax bills are not increased. It has been very disappointing that there have again been increases in the precepts levied by the police crime commissioner and the fire authority in Dorset, this time by 1.96% and 1.93% respectively. This means that over the two years 2013 to 2015 the police will increase their precept by 4% and fire by 10.3% that is by taking into taken the accumulated amount between the two years and inflation linked. I’ve studied the financial proposals of both the police and fire authority and can see no justification at all for any increase and cannot understand why they are not both taking up council tax freeze grant from the government. I would like to thank those Bournemouth members who have done their upmost to hold both proposals to account in the best interests of tax payers across Dorset. Through Bournemouth Council ensuring that council tax bills will remain frozen for the fourth year in a row, we can be sure that this will be a welcome support to many

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Special Council Meeting – 25/02/14 working people during these continuing difficult times as well as to many retired people who are struggling on their pensions. I’m pleased to report that we are again in a position to take the government’s council tax freeze grant this year despite the cumulative impact that this will have on the base budget in future years. This pressure will amount to a further 5% reduction in funding by the end of 2014/15 equivalent to a local loss of funding of £3.6 million. In addition to the freeze in council tax the other good news for residents in Bournemouth is that despite the severe austerity measures being taken by the government and by many other councils up and down the country again it will not be necessary to consider cutting frontline services in Bournemouth. This will be particularly welcome in the present economic climate where the elderly, the vulnerable and struggling families need support from the council as never before. Mr Mayor the message is clear, once again, we don’t need to cut services next year and we don’t plan to cut services in future years. We’ve worked hard to ensure that the Bournemouth Council is in a stable financial position. Due to careful financial planning and despite receiving much less government grant funding year on year in each of the last five years we’ve been able to achieve a balanced budget. In turn our financial success as a council supports residents and the local economy in Bournemouth. Our achievement has been despite the substantial year on year cuts made by the government in our core revenue funding since 2010/11. This means a further reduction of almost £7.4 million or 10.6% to spend on local services for residents in 2014/15 and yet another cut in our grant proposed by the government in 2015/16 of a further £9.7 million or another 15%. That amounts to nearly £39 million removed from Bournemouth’s income in a very few short years, a total loss of 47% overall that’s 3% more than the average for all councils and far more than the 28% originally promised by the government in setting out its comprehensive spending review plans in 2010. Yet many councils and precept authorities face a far greater financial challenge arising from government grant cuts, in many cases due to their delay in commencing an efficiency and transformation programme as radical as that adopted by this council. So much so that some are increasing council tax to almost the 2% ceiling allowed by the government and refusing the government’s freeze grant because they maintain that they will not be able to balance their budgets when these time limited support grants run out in future years. Bournemouth is not in the same position due to the financial strategy we have been following since 2007 to ensure long-term budget sustainability. Mr Mayor in 2007 the council embarked on a program of efficiencies founded on three aims: 1. Achieving financial and budget stability through prudent and rigorous financial management and control, 2. Driving out substantial savings and efficiencies by thoroughly reviewing the costs and effectiveness of all services, and 3. Reducing waste bureaucracy and red tape wherever we find it.

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Special Council Meeting – 25/02/14 This work has led to savings of nearly £37 million since 2007 with a further £34 million scheduled over the next 3 years. I’m delighted to say that this means that we are on track to reach our target of £326 million of savings and efficiencies by 2020/21 as planned. This has ensured that the council is able to sustain the current level and quality of the services that it provides for all residents. Of course it also allows us to prudently build general reserves and balances over time, ensuring that the council can manage its financial strategy over the medium term. At the same time this has ensured that the council could remain confident in its ability to successfully deliver an ambitious programme for the town despite the demanding financial times. Thanks largely to this ongoing work we will continue to invest additional resources in areas that are important to residents such as tackling antisocial behaviour, cleaning up our streets and neighbourhoods, improving roads and pavements, and supporting jobs and the local economy. I am pleased to be able to announce that in addition to the base budget funding of 2014/15 the following will also be included: 

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Road rescue fund of £1 million to continue tackling the urgent repair of potholes and other damage caused by the severity of this past winter, as well as further resourcing of the successful smarter streets campaign; The recession fund of £500,000 to continue to give support to initiatives which will help stimulate growth and jobs in the local economy; The community action fund of some £290,000 to continue to fund additional measures to combat anti-social behaviour and other priorities in the local community; and also of course, The local improvement fund of some £81,000 for members to spend in their wards on the small things that matter to local residents, A further £9,000 will be made available to support events to commemorate the start of WW1

Mr Mayor having built a strong foundation we’ve successfully brought forward the second phase in our financial strategy during 2013/14 this has enabled us to buck the national trend and to continue to safeguard priority services without increasing the costs to local council tax payers again this year. The exception to this is where services have been provided at less than cost or below the charges made by other councils to people who can afford to pay enough to cover the cost of the service. Most service users will of course be unaffected. 

Secure the early delivery of the council’s strategic housing ambitions growth in terms of building council housing through investment from the housing revenue account or through market housing in the private sector especially that which is a portal to first-time buyers.

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Special Council Meeting – 25/02/14 

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Facilitate growth and investment in the town to support economic development and regeneration and to support the private sector in creating sustainable employment. Drive forward the council’s commitment to improving the quality of life in the most deprived areas of Bournemouth, especially in Boscombe and West Howe, over a shorter timescale than was previously planned. To ensure the delivery of further organisational change within the council, driving out further savings and efficiencies wherever possible. To gain the best overall value for money and added value possible from the council’s existing partnerships with BHlive, Bournemouth2026, the Bournemouth Development Company and Mouchel. And finally to look to diversify the council’s revenue base to secure alternative sources of funding to better support the budget position in future years.

Mr Mayor this is an exciting and ambitious plan for economic growth and substantial inward investment to deliver our housing and regeneration plans for the town. It clearly demonstrates our understanding of the hugely positive role that can and should be played by local councils in driving recovery and shaping community regeneration in the absence of private sector growth and expansion in these continuing difficult economic times. The need for councils to act in this way to support economic recovery fully respects and reflects the government’s agenda. The government and other key agencies has repeatedly demonstrated their confidence in the ability of this council to deliver, investing more than £45 million over the past 18 months in important new schemes in services such as waste and recycling, public transport and highways and of course tourism. In taking forward our financial strategy we’ve been very keen to think innovatively about how you do things differently and benefit from the creation of new income streams to offset the large losses in government funding and the reduced value of council tax receipts through inflation. We’re focussed on doing this to ensure that the council can better serve Bournemouth residents and allow us to provide the services they depend on now and in the future. With this in mind we created the Bournemouth Group in 2013/14 which provides a new structure within which to operate a series of council owned companies. These will be able to act commercially to the benefit of the town unencumbered by the trading restrictions otherwise imposed on the council as a provider of public services. This new freedom to act will allow us to generate revenues that will go to support the future costs of public services that might otherwise fall as an increased burden solely on our council tax payers. The first company to be created within the group is the Bournemouth Community Finance company. The council committed £15 million to support the development of this initiative when setting the budget last year. The company will provide accessible mortgages to first-time buyers as well as loans to small businesses and local entrepreneurs who need help to get started but can’t get the finance they need from the banking sector at this time. The company will begin lending in April this year and Page 5 of 25

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Special Council Meeting – 25/02/14 this imitative will help to create greater movement in the housing market to the benefit of residents and the local economy as a whole. It will also allow us to make a real difference in how we are able to support young people leaving our schools and universities who want to live and work in Bournemouth and add to the economic vibrancy and well-being of the town in future years. I’m delighted that we’ve been able to make such speedy progress and I expect us to be in a position to bring forward other companies which are now in the initial planning stages just as quickly through 2014/15. In addition we are bringing forward our new strategic public/private partnership with legal and general property with total investment of up to £300 million. The first program of work worth some £25 million was approved by cabinet in December and is about to be implemented. The initial program will see a further 100 affordable homes being built over the next 2 years as well as helping us to address increasing demands for specialist dementia care by financing the development of a new purpose built 60 bed care facility in Kinson. Again investment of this type will help the council to better serve its community and to enable us to become more selfsufficiency financially reducing our exposure to future government funding cuts and easing the burden for local council tax payers. Mr Mayor this budget also makes substantial provision, yet again, for the most vulnerable in our community. Over the last three years we have provided an additional £14.5 million for adults and children’s services over and above the base budget, a further £2.5 million will be allocated for children’s social care in 2014/15. This means that approximately 64% of the council’s entire budget next year will be used to meet the costs of those statutory demand based services for adults and children, and that’s up from about 60% this current year. These are very necessary but costly services which the council must shoulder in the absence of any national funding solutions to the burgeoning adult social care problems we face nationally and particularly here in Bournemouth. In addition we recognise that welfare reform, universal credit and the imposition of the government’s local council tax reduction scheme may cause hardship for some. Although there is no direct requirement for the council to do so we set aside £1 million to establish a local welfare assistance fund to provide targeted relief in 2013/14 as needed. Based on our experience of actual take up during the current year and being mindful of competing and pressing financial priorities we are making provision for this of £750,000 to able to meet demand in 2014/15. However we will provide further support should it be required on the introduction of universal credit through the deployment of the welfare reform reserve of £500,000. Mr Mayor very few authorities are able to act in this way at this time. We’re committed to ensuring that we support the most vulnerable members of our local community to the very best of our ability, particularly in the areas of housing and homelessness that might follow from the change to a system of Universal Credit. We will continue to work closely with third sector providers, such as the local credit unions, and provide practical support and advice to those who are struggling the most with these

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Special Council Meeting – 25/02/14 changes being made by the government. There remain many uncertainties ahead but Bournemouth is well placed to address them. The transfer of public health duties to local government from April 2013 has gone well but the growing numbers of elderly people and the care they need are a pressing and expensive concern here in Bournemouth. The Better Together programme, one of only two programmes nationally to receive such a high level of government support will help us to mitigate further pressures. But this issue will remain a pressing matter of concern for all in local government for the foreseeable future. The number of children being taken into care in Bournemouth has further increased to 280 in 2013/14 and as I have announced there will be an additional allocation of £2.5 million in 2014/15 to reflect this increase in demand, however high unit costs mean that even a slight increase in numbers can cause a significant financial pressure in the system. We’ve put in place a robust risk mitigation strategy to manage the potential financial impact of numbers increasing further during 2014/15 but clearly this remains a matter of certain and will be kept under very close review. We know that public finances will remain under extreme pressure for the foreseeable future and the council expects further cuts in government funding of up to £10 million next year as a result. Our current forecast for the next three years anticipates a cumulative resourcing gap of £40 million by the end of 2016/17 as things stand. However we need not be daunted by the challenge that this represents. The council has a proven track record of managing through adversity and balancing its financial position year on year. This year we have achieved even more and will be able to make a small but important financial contribution back to the tax payer which will be welcome to all those struggling to make ends meet in these continuing difficult times for many local residents. Mr Mayor the budget I’m presenting to the council today is financially sound, protects frontline services, supports those residents most in need of our local community: the elderly the vulnerable and children here in Bournemouth and recognises the financial strain affecting many families. Looking to the future the ongoing rolling out of our financial strategy means that we are now able to go further create the potential for substantial and sustainable growth in the town to the benefit of all our residents over the next few years. Mr Mayor I commend this budget to the council. Cllr Ben Grower, Labour Leader: Mr Mayor, can I please seek your guidance on a procedural matter? My group put in two amendments to the cabinet meeting and were advised by Democratic Services that these should move on to the next stage, to the budget report. There are, in fact, two errors on the papers that have been put before members. The move by Cllr Baxter should now refer to paragraph 10(b) and not 2(a). The move by myself has left out the words: ‘that the council recognises’. It just says ‘recognises’ it should be ‘that the council recognises’. My apologies for not being able to attend the meeting prior to council Mr Mayor.

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Special Council Meeting – 25/02/14 The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: Say again Cllr Grower, could you explain again your changes in your one… where are you? Cllr Ben Grower, Labour Leader: It should be ‘that the council recognises’ not ‘recognises’ it doesn’t make sense. It should be ‘that the council recognises’. And Cllr Baxter’s move should say 10(b) not 2(a). The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: Thank you. Cllr Baxter, I believe that you wish to propose an amendment to the cabinet recommendations. Cllr Ben Grower, Labour Leader: Are we on item 7 or item 8, or are we doing them together? The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: We are on item 7 …. [inaudible]… are you ok Cllr Grower? Cllr Ben Grower, Labour Leader: [inaudible] The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: Cllr Baxter Cllr Beryl Baxter (Labour): Thank you Mr Mayor. Over many months I’ve dealt with extreme hardship cases. Do any of us know how we would manage on £5 a week needed to cover food and heating? Not possible. So even an increase of £4.17 per week, and I am referring to the increase in tenants rent, on average. Based on what I’ve highlighted causes stress levels and anxiety. Coupled with that, facing the prospect of having to move because of having one or two more rooms than you need… [inaudible]. The Council has provided support for many families via the Local Welfare Assistance Fund however there are many people who despite living in challenging circumstances, are too proud to come forward and ask for help or wait until the 11 th hour of need, and I know that. Under the HRA, projected for the 31st March next year, there will be a surplus of £1.96 million. And again, whilst this is earmarked for the building of new properties this could be reduced to help vulnerable people in austere times. I’m going to give a couple of examples Mr Mayor. Under the Housing Renter Account, for example a one bedroom flat in Turbury Park the increase will be £4.79 per week, that is actually an increase of 7.2%, that’s well over the rate of inflation. And if we look at perhaps maybe a three bedroom house, which is going to cost, again, £10 per week more that’s an increase of 10.4% but the parity between the one bedroom flat at 7.2 increase over the three bedroom house of 10.4. I don’t somehow think Mr Mayor that that’s equitable and that’s why I’m highlighting the fact that even a rent increase of £4.79 per week for somebody… based on what I’ve highlighted, that example… I wanted to bring that to the attention of council. Thank you. The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: Thank you councillor. Can I just check that councillors do have in front of them the wording of the amendment? Do they?

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Special Council Meeting – 25/02/14 Council: [Murmur in the affirmative] Cllr Ben Grower, Labour Leader: I’d like to formally second and reserve my right to speak. The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: Thank you councillor. Leader I call on you to respond to the proposed amendment. Cllr John Beesley, Leader of the Council: Thank you Mr Mayor. I’m surprised by this coming from the Labour Group as I had always hoped and expected that there would support what we’re attempting to do for housing in Bournemouth in understanding that success will be driven by fairness for all Bournemouth’s residents whether they are council tenants or those paying rent to private sector landlords. Mr Mayor, however putting that aside, the government’s rent restructuring policy requires local authorities to increase rents by a set formula each year. This convergence criteria which was introduced by the last Labour government, a policy with which I agree, goes some way towards trying to apply greater equity with the private rented sector. In applying this formula however some rents would have increased by as much £17 per week. The main reason that some council tenant’s rents can increase more than the average £4 per week is that their actual rent is much lower than the target rent. Meaning that they are paying too low a rent compared to other council tenants in similar properties. The council is proposing to cap the maximum increase at £10 per week thus reducing the impact on the very few tenants of increases above £10 per week. In terms of the number of people affected Mr Mayor 133 tenants out of a total of 5,107 tenants are affected of which half are either on partial or full housing benefit. It should be noted that it is likely that some of the remaining tenants would be able to claim housing benefit as their rent increases and so the amount of tenants affected are probably even fewer. So to put that numerically the very most amount of people to be affected would be 66 tenants out of over 5,000 and I believe that actually with further tenants becoming eligible for housing benefit that that number would fall yet further. The council’s financial inclusion team can assist tenants increase their weekly income where they may require assistance in accessing the relevant welfare benefits available. Furthermore the council has been extremely proactive in ensuring that those who are vulnerable, whether or not they are council tenants, can access support through the hardship fund, the welfare assistance fund and discretionary housing payments, for the coming year, Mr Mayor, that amounts to as much as £1.25 million. The real test of whether there is hardship amongst council tenants of course is the take up of applications to the hardship fund. Across all tenures, whether they were public housing or private sector, this amounted to just £25,000 to date for the current year out of a total fund of £¼ million. In the private sector there is some 22,000 household tenancies, rent had escalated by 35% over the past five years and if there is real hardship it is most likely to be amongst those tenants where average rents are very much higher anyway than Bournemouth council housing rents. By way of example Mr Mayor, just really to put a couple of figures out, they happen to about similar size

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Special Council Meeting – 25/02/14 properties to those floated by the mover, if we look at a one bedroom property if they’re paying a social rate that will be £74.07, the average private sector rent will be £127.61. For a three bedroom property, which I think the mover referred to, council rate: £97.00; average private sector rent £268.00 Mr Mayor. I think that that is inequitable and I think that what we’re doing is fair and reasonable and in compliance with government policy. Cllr Baxter referred to a number of percentages, well our rents are increasing by 5.3%, the average for those of our statistical neighbours is 7.2%, and in Southampton it is as high as 7% - that is of course a Labour controlled authority. I therefore do not accept that the increase in the council housing rent will cause severe hardship to many of our tenants, quite the reverse Mr Mayor, indeed the fact is that the figures just don’t support the argument. I would urge the council to vote against the move as being unnecessary and out of touch with both what has been done and what is continuing to be done to support all those residents who would otherwise be facing great hardship during these economically difficult times. Thank you Mr. Mayor. The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: Thank you Leader. I now call any member of the council who wishes to speak to the proposed amendment. Cllr Anderson please. Cllr Mark Anderson (Conservative): Thank you Mr Mayor. The leader has, I think, said quite eloquently said a lot of what I intended to speak about. He has made a point that he thinks that it is equitable that we look at having a convergence of policy where the social housing in the borough has the same rent level. I think the fact that that was introduced by the Labour party which I suspect that the Bournemouth Labour Group conveniently forgot was based on a green paper that the Labour Party produced in 2000 and I’d quite like to quote a couple of pieces of information about it. The Housing Minister Sally Keatland … [inaudible] … in December 2001 said: “our policy and rent construction is part of the government’s wider housing agenda the aim is to achieve a closer gap between the rents of different social housing and as my honourable friend said to pave the way for a greater choice of social housing tenants.” I think that is a very good idea, it’s a very equitable way of doing it. Another quote I had here was from Caroline Flint, now I don’t actually agree with Caroline Flint she goes on to say that the inflation procedure was going to be finished in 2011/12 and she was looking at increasing that so it actually finished in 2016/17 which the Housing Tenant’s Association was very appreciative of. I should also talk about the Housing Spare Room Subsidy. It’s the removal of the Housing Spare Room Subsidy. Interestingly enough there are ¼ million homes where people are overcrowded and I think that by removing the spare room subsidy we are helping people move from overcrowded conditions into rooms where they have better space for their children and the rest of their family. Thank you Mr Mayor. The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: Cllr Greene Cllr Nicola Greene, Deputy Leader of the Council: Thank you Mr Mayor. In addition to the support which is available for many of our families explained by the Page 10 of 25

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Special Council Meeting – 25/02/14 leader I am somewhat disappointed by the Cllr Baxter’s suggestion that we don’t apply the surplus of £1.96 million to investment in building new council homes. I suggest, frankly, that this might not go down so very well with the 3,500 families and single people who are on our waiting list and who are presently struggling with exactly those rents in the private sector which the leader has referred to. The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: Cllr Grower would you like to respond? Cllr Ben Grower, Labour Leader: Thank you Mr Mayor. First of all could I say to Cllr Beesley please don’t think that the Labour Group don’t support social housing in this town. We have done more than our fair share and I think Cllr Lawton [Cabinet member for Housing] will agree we have been very supportive since he was the cabinet member and his predecessors. So we have always actively supported the provision of social housing in this town and it would really be not fair to say that we haven’t. The problem with what the leader has said in his reply it is statistically only for those who are going to be on the maximum increase. The fact is overall there is going to be an average of 5.4% increase so it is going to affect the majority of our tenants. And although this law was brought in by the previous Labour government things do change. The financial situation of most of our tenants has seriously changed since that time and this sort of increase on top of the bedroom tax and council tax they are having to pay will cause severe hardship to many of the families, that is a fact. It is also a fact that we can increase it below the statutory figure there’s nothing that says that we can’t and there will be possibly some penalties but if we are a caring landlord and we do care about our tenants and we do care about the conditions they live in and we know that they have had reduced other benefits or they have lost income or had their wages frozen. They are going to suffer severe hardship no matter what sort of statistics you bring up about the people at the top of the level so if you think we should be a caring council then you should support this move. At least recognise the fact, we’re not saying that you can’t then do it, we’re saying that you should at least have the guts to say that it will cause severe hardship to many of our tenants. The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: Thank you Cllr Grower. Cllr Baxter would you like to reply to the debate? Cllr Beryl Baxter (Labour): Well yes Mr Mayor, and again I’ve listened to all the comments from the other side of the house and I find it quite shameful really what the Tory government are doing which is really biting into the people the Labour Group represent on Bournemouth Borough Council and we will continue to do that and I hope that you will support this amendment because of what Cllr Grower said, and that is that yes we are a caring borough council and we particularly are going to stand up for our residents. The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: Leader of the Council I call on you to reply to the Labour comments on the proposed amendment.

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Special Council Meeting – 25/02/14 Cllr John Beesley, Leader of the Council: Well thank you Mr Mayor. I listened carefully to both the mover and the seconder and unsurprisingly I don’t agree with them. I think that, although I’ve put out one or two statistics, these are statistics that bear out the facts and the fact is that we are doing what we are required to do but we would probably want to do this because we think it is in the best interests of those on the waiting list as well as those who are currently tenants. Certainly any increase in costs are unwelcome in anybody’s life but the fact is that the divergence of rents between the public sector and the private rented sector has grown despite the convergence criteria and that needs to be addressed and that disparity means that a lot of the benefits are available, some of which are provided by this council, are getting much greater take up, unsurprisingly, by those who are in the private rented accommodation. I think I mentioned actually the lack of take up that there has been of the hardship fund, in this current year £25,000 out of a fund of £250,000. Now if what Cllr Grower is saying is correct then there must be an awful lot of people who fit the criteria to claim from the hardship fund are not doing so because the logic is that that funding is available and if those people have not got a lot of benefits to support them and they still have a void which they require to fill in their finances that is the route down which to go and we as a council have in addition to that, through the welfare support that we have provided given another avenue to help those vulnerable people. So let nobody say that this administration has not dealt with those issues the very best they can in these very difficult times and I think it’s a bit rich for the mover to describe this administration as shameful in that respect when we’ve done probably more than any other council I can think of to support vulnerable people in our community. So Mr Mayor I don’t accept that these measures are going to cause ‘severe hardship’, those words I take it were measured, I don’t accept that. We are a caring landlord, we’ve demonstrated that in spades and I think the point that the deputy leader made in response to the mover with regard to the projected surplus of £1.96 million in the Housing Revenue Account in the coming year is absolutely right. We’ve been getting on providing the capital required to address the council waiting list we’ve been building council housing for the last five years we’re going to continue to do so and help those people get out of the private rented sector and into council housing that they can afford. I recommend that we oppose the motion. The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: Chief Executive can I ask you now please to take a recorded vote on the amendment. Tony Williams, Chief Executive: Thank you Mr Mayor. Would all those members in favour of Cllr Baxter’s amendment vote for.

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Michael Chizlett

Special Council Meeting – 25/02/14

Councillor Mayor, Cllr Dr Rodney Cooper Deputy Mayor, Cllr Phillip Stanley Watts Cllr Ben Grower Cllr Anne Rey Cllr Stephen Chappel Cllr Michael Filer Cllr David Smith Cllr Malcolm Davies Cllr Anne Filer Cllr John Beesley Cllr Barry Goldbart Cllr Sue Levell Cllr Beryl Baxter Cllr Lynda Price Cllr John Trickett Cllr Christopher Rochester Cllr David Kelsey Cllr Eddie Coope Cllr Jane Montrose Cllr Carol Ainge Cllr Mark Anderson Cllr Nicola Greene Cllr Linda Bailey Cllr Sue Anderson Cllr Beverly Dunlop Cllr Ian Lancashire Cllr Michael Weinhonig Cllr Dereck Borthwick Cllr Robert Lawton Cllr Allister Russell Cllr Andrew Morgan Cllr Cheryl Johnson Cllr Dennis Gritt Cllr Rae Stollard Cllr Mike Greene Cllr Amedeo Angiolini Cllr Mark Battistini Cllr Johann Edward Cllr Theo Stratton Cllr Lawrence Williams Cllr Roger Marley Cllr Susan Phillips Cllr Jane Kelly Cllr Blair Crawford Cllr David D’Orton-Gibson Cllr Gill Seymour Cllr Patrick Oakley

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Michael Chizlett

Special Council Meeting – 25/02/14

The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: The amendment is not carried I think that is clear. Cllr Grower I understand that you wish to propose an amendment to the cabinet recommendation. Cllr Ben Grower, Labour Leader: Thank you Mr Mayor, it refers to the second part of the report of the medium term financial plan in the budget for next year. I wish to refer to the paragraph no.12… if you’re looking at the cabinet minutes: “that the council recognises that the proposed changes to staff terms and conditions of employment and that this, if agreed, will enable the council to make no increase in council tax for 2014/15”. Mr Mayor the leader of the council has spent a lot of time and energy in recent weeks to explain the budget and its strategy to members of the council. He’s told us about many new and indeed exciting innovations and I compliment him and the chief financial officer on making them. These have become necessary because the government has reduced our funding 3% more than the average for all councils as the leader has said. I think Mr Mayor that Eric Pickles is under some illusion that we are in fact a Labour Council in Bournemouth and that is why we are being treated so badly by his staff, perhaps he just needs to wait a few more years. However the picture is not that simple indeed in the savings that are being implemented to achieve a ‘no increase’ in council tax scenario it is proposed to change the staff’s terms and conditions. These changes have still to be agreed with the staff, if agreed, an annual saving will be made of £400,000. But it will be at the cost of jobs and conditions many of which will not only affect our staff but will also affect the service that this council delivers or will not be able to deliver in the future. These changes include all overtime to be paid at normal hourly rates with no enhancement, no over-time for working on bank holidays other than Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Night-work between 10pm and 6am at normal working rate plus only 15%, no extra payment for shift work, no extra payment for split duties, no extra payment for working unsociable hours; these are just some of the proposed changes and if staff refuse to agree they will be sacked and offered new contracts incorporating the changes. Is this really the way in which our longserving and dedicated work force should be treated. It will of course be the option of staff not to work overtime or unsociable hours, not to work that little bit extra without due compensation and it is the public who will then see their services reduced. Mr Mayor this council is once again not putting up the council tax, it is indeed actually reducing it as it is absorbing the increase in the Police and Fire Precepts. Absorbing these increases will cost the council approximately £300,000, and therefore it is quite easy to see that it is the staff who are paying for this saving in changing their pay, terms and conditions. Instead of this administration taking all the credit for no tax increase we should be telling everyone that it is the staff who are making a large and important sacrifice. It is their families who will bear the brunt of Page 14 of 25

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Special Council Meeting – 25/02/14 lower wage packets and there are 55 that have already been made redundant since last April and an estimated 80 will be made redundant in the coming year. In the letter sent out to staff they have been told that a consultation will take place until the 17th March, after which they will be told their new terms and conditions of employment and if they do not accept them they will be given notice of termination of their employment with the council and a re-engagement letter incorporating the changes, failure to accept re-engagement will mean that they will no longer be employees of the council. This is not consultation it is a fate accompli. Never mind about the service you have given to the town, never mind about your families, never mind about your jobs, all we care is that we don’t pass on the increase in Police and Fire Precepts just encase the public think we are putting up council tax in a year before the local elections. Mr Mayor it is essential that we acknowledge our staff, pay and treat them fairly and honestly, and that the public are aware that we are intending to do what we are intending to do and we do not try to cover this up by saying that we have been so good in our house-keeping and that our staff and their families have made no sacrifices to enable the rest of the town to save a few pence in council tax next year. The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: Thank you Cllr Grower. Cllr Rey I believe you wish to second the amendment. Cllr Anne Rey (Independent): Thank you Mr Mayor. Yes Mr Mayor, I formally second the move and reserve my right to speak. Thank you. The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: Leader of the Council, I call on you to respond to the amendment please. Cllr John Beesley, Leader of the Council: Thank you Mr Mayor. Well a very eloquent speech from Cllr Grower in moving, the only problem is that it is not supported by the facts; he’s simply wrong. In bringing forward our budget this year we’ve had to solve an £18 million resourcing gap as a result of lost revenue, forgone taxation and an almost halving in government grant. The medium term financial plan includes an identified saving of £400,000 in 2014/15 to be achieved by the modernisation of our pay and remuneration arrangements as a council. So there we are so Cllr Grower is suggesting that the £18 million gap that we filled is going to be paid for by the staff and we’ve made a provision in the budget of £400,000 for savings in order to get further on in our modernisation of pay and remuneration. This represents just a mere 2% of the total amount achieved in bringing forward a balanced budget for the council’s approval this evening. It has not been included as a short term measure to balance a short-term budget problem as Cllr Grower’s amendment implies nor, might I add, would anyone, anyone who understands how the overall budget is actually constructed, no one would believe that is a simple matter of hypothecation. This is not how it works as Cllr Grower knows only too well. Whilst I believe that it is entirely possible to achieve some small savings on the total cost of premium payments, the payments that Cllr Grower was referring to, the Page 15 of 25

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Special Council Meeting – 25/02/14 budget anticipates just £400,000 from an overall spend of £1.8 million on premium payments. I have no fixed expectations as to how or what will change as we are currently in consultation with both the unions and the work force regarding the proposal as a whole. I shall be listening very carefully to the outcome of our consultation work as I wish to ensure that we do the right thing, for the right reasons and at the right time both for the council tax payers at Bournemouth and our employees. This is vital work, why on Earth would we wish to penalise the hard working and loyal work-force of the council. What we want to do is to strengthen the ability of the council to continue to provide excellent services. That is why we are all working so hard to ensure that the council’s services all provide the best value for money for the tax-payer and that our work-force remains competitive in the wider market-place in the future. That is how you protect jobs and provide a future that is secure for staff. Mr. Mayor, unlike many many other councils up and down this country Bournemouth Council is not being asked to agree a budget that would see the cutting of hundreds or indeed thousands of jobs nor the erosion of the services it provides to the residents of Bournemouth. Far from it, this is a budget for growth and delivery. In bringing it forward this administration has worked tirelessly to ensure that it respects and values its greatest asset, our staff. It is for that reason that we have chosen to minimize staff cuts, where it is possible, and to protect and sustain the services we provide for the town. To suggest otherwise is scaremongering with people’s jobs simply to try to make a political point based entirely on speculation and ignoring the facts. Perhaps Cllr Grower will grudgingly acknowledge that with this administration safeguarding so very many council jobs through carefully planning and soundly based finance, while also delivering a cut in our own share of council tax thus ensuring council tax payers in Bournemouth yet again see no increases in their council tax bills, is a huge achievement and one which he can join in commending to this council for their approval. Mr. Mayor similar to the previous attempt by the Labour Group I urge the council to vote against the move as being totally unnecessary and out of touch with the solid achievements brought forward in this budget. Thank you Mr. Mayor. The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: Thank you leader. Would any other members of the council like to speak to this? Cllr Greene. Cllr Mike Greene (Conservative): Thank you Mr. Mayor. I wasn’t intending to speak on this, primarily because I didn’t really know what the amendment meant as it was written. But after hearing the proposer’s speech I think we can see exactly what it means. He is asking us to, for the sake of taking out one line in a very substantial budget which has involved very substantial savings, to go to all of Bournemouth Council’s tax payers and say ‘we are going to give you an increased bill this year’. That is what this amendment is about. He talks about us not being prepared to do so because it is the year before the election. I don’t think I heard him say the same last

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Special Council Meeting – 25/02/14 year when we froze council tax two years before election, the year before when it was three years before the election, or four years before. In each case this administration has frozen council tax to the benefit of all of Bournemouth’s Council Tax paying residents. This council has an excellent relationship with its employees and we’re rewarded by seeing excellent performance from those employees as I think everyone will have seen particularly over the recent floods and storms etc. our employees go beyond and above the call of their contract obligations. I have every confidence that the consultation that the leader spoke about earlier will take place sensibly and we will continue to have those excellent relationships. And I am very disappointed that, certainly in the case of the proposer, I think it is unlikely in the case of the seconder, but in the case of the proposer that this is a political attempt to drive a wedge between ourselves and those excellent employees and I very much hope that it fails. The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: Cllr Rey Cllr Anne Rey (Independent): Thank you Mr. Mayor. Yes, in seconding the move I’m not making any political speeches because all I care about, and I’m sure that everyone sitting in here tonight cares about, is our staff in whatever department they work in. But as Cllr Grower has said year on year we are asking them to do more for the same money or even less. And with this actual overtime and the weekend working if that goes, and if it goes, that they make the difference whether that family, or the bread winner, actually goes onto benefits, and that is actually happening. When you go along and listen to the unions at the elected member engagement group that we have at times we get a completely different story, and I’m sure Cllr Beesley you’ll acknowledge that, and that’s why that panel is still very important to be able to listen to the union members who represent the staff. And our staff, as you well know, especially over the last two months, have done over and beyond their call of duty and they’ve still got a long way to go, especially along the sea front. So in the spirit of the move I am looking at it from the staff’s point of view that they cannot carry on and on and on with this no raise and the fact that this could affect with their staying with Bournemouth Council, especially where you’ve worked in a council where you’ve had double time for Saturday and Sundays. I know it’s a hard world out there but this could definitely make the difference whether a member of staff has to take up benefits. Especially, let me point out, the cleansing staff the people who go and do our streets every night, our sea front staff, they do a fantastic job, for not much pay. So I’m coming in from a humane point of view, the fact that we’ve got to support our staff, we don’t want to lose any more staff because of this particular area. It is nothing to do with elections it’s the fact that we’ve got to support them and been seen to be supporting them. And as I say going to our elected member engagement group, you do get a different vision from the unions that come along to that and they represent the staff. Can I just mention one thing, I know Cllr Beesley in the previous debate did mention about the opposition not agreeing with certain things. Can I just remind Cllr Beesley

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Special Council Meeting – 25/02/14 that when you were in opposition you were very very good at putting the other side over when you were in opposition. So please that’s what we’re here for. We don’t often get debates Mr. Mayor and it’s a pleasure tonight that we’ve at least got some debate going. But I hope that you will support our move tonight for the staff really. Thank you Mr. Mayor. The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: Thank you Cllr Rey. Cllr Grower would you like to reply to the debates? Cllr Ben Grower, Labour Leader: Thank you Mr. Mayor. One thing that has come out is that I hope Cllr Beesley has learnt something from this debate. That is that he should listen to the speech by the proposer before he writes his speech answering it. He didn’t listen to what I was saying and had already written and made up his mind what he was going to reply to. The problem is that he replied to things that I never even mentioned. It is not about the proportion of this cut to the overall savings that the council has made. I have no problem with that. I, in fact, complimented you on many of the savings in the budget and how you’ve managed to balance the budget. That is not a problem, I think you’ve done extremely well under the circumstances, it’s under the circumstances that your government has placed upon you but you’ve still done extremely well. But perhaps next time you will wait until you have heard what I said before you write your reply. As for Cllr Greene, well that’s very interesting. Once again he doesn’t listen to what I’ve said he only heard what he thought he wanted to hear. I haven’t proposed to take this £400,000 saving out of the budget, that’s not there. The move is to recognise what we are doing to the staff. I’m not proposing any financial alteration to the budget at all, I hope he now understands that. The reason for the council to support this is simply that you are acknowledging what the members of staff are going to have to put with next year if these new terms and conditions are forced upon them. It is not about driving a wedge between the council and the staff, it is about rebuilding the confidence between the members of staff and the council and I think the members of staff will welcome this move and would welcome any support or any acknowledgement that the council gave them in knowing that they are going to have to have these changes in their terms and conditions forced upon them. The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: Thank you Cllr Grower. Leader of the Council can I ask you to reply to the debate please on the proposed amendment. Cllr John Beesley, Leader of the Council: Thank you Mr. Mayor. Well I thought I had listened to the mover but a little bit like his move obviously his ambiguity was a little bit of a burden. I did my best but I’m sorry if I made several more points than he wanted me to make. This issue is about what are called premium payments. As I said earlier we are out for consultation and I will listen and I hear what is being said but to try to hypothecate at the cost of a freeze in council tax, indeed reducing the council’s share against

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Special Council Meeting – 25/02/14 other parts of the council’s budget with future savings to be made is just not the right way to go about looking at the detail of the budget. We all know that the budget is a much bigger issue than just that. My pre-occupation is not just about the trade unions it is about making sure that we do what is in the best interests of Bournemouth residents, Bournemouth Council Tax payers and all staff. The trade unions represent very few of those staff. I will listen to all staff but I do meet with the trade unions on a regular basis. Of course our staff are valued we know that they are and I would have thought that would have been evidenced over the last several years that they are valued extremely highly here in Bournemouth, moral is relatively high and if I need to evidence anything at all it is about the level of redundancies suffered here in Bournemouth compared to many many other local authorities. Just to pluck a couple out of the air if I may. If we look at Southampton, last year 200 job loses, in the coming year another 277 staff expected to be cut. Here in Bournemouth, well last year compulsory and voluntary redundancies combined: 55; and the potential for redundancies in the coming year: 50. And I suspect that most of those… Cllr Ben Grower, Labour Leader: Mr Mayor, that is misleading it is 80. I have had the figures confirmed to me this morning by the officer. It is 80. I had an email this afternoon confirming that it at 80. The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: Excuse me please. [Mayor conferring with council officer] The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: I have been informed that it is anything up to 80 but that it is likely to be 50. That is the information that I have been given. Cllr John Beesley, Leader of the Council: Thank you Mr. Mayor I am glad to be vindicated yet again. If we look at Portsmouth last year 130 posts have been axed in the coming year another 200. If we look at Bristol, for example, 325 last year and at stake are another 1000 jobs this year. The message Mr. Mayor is that we do look after our staff, we do value them, it is more than about pay it is about conditions as well but it is also about job security and managing the workforce so we don’t have to go through a process of lots of compulsory redundancies. We’ve made sure that that hasn’t happened in Bournemouth we will make sure it doesn’t happen in Bournemouth and I think that the staff value that and value it very highly but we’ve got other priorities to balance up aswell. So Mr. Mayor I would ask council to regret this move and support the budget as it is currently stated. Thank you Mr. Mayor. The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: Thank you leader. Chief Executive can I ask you now to take a recorded vote please on the proposed amendment. Tony Williams, Chief Executive: Thank you Mr Mayor. Would all members in favour of Cllr Grower’s amendment please vote for.

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Special Council Meeting – 25/02/14

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Special Council Meeting – 25/02/14 The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: The amendment is not carried. Cllr Ben Grower, Labour Leader: Mr. Mayor could I make a point of explanation in fairness to the officer that I just referred to, I think it would only be fair. The email actually said, and I really do want to be fair to an officer, it says: “current estimated potential redundancies in 2014/15 c.80” it doesn’t say ‘though it will probably be as low as 50.’ I would read that as being around 80. I thought it was only fair to say. The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: Thank you councillor. Cllr John Beesley, Leader of the Council: Mr Mayor may I respond to that in one sentence please. The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: Go ahead. Cllr John Beesley, Leader of the Council: Thank you Mr. Mayor. I too saw that email and I checked the figures which is why I stated 50 because that was the likely figure and so therefore obviously I stand by the figure that was later given verbally. The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: Apparently there is a new law that has come in today and under this we now have to take a recorded vote. I shall simply read to you: “Members of the council under regulation 2 of the Local Authorities Standing Orders (England) (Amendment) Regulation 2014 - votes takes at key budget meetings must now be recorded in the minutes” I shall therefore ask the Chief Executive to take a recorded vote please on the recommendations of the Special Cabinet Meeting held on the 19th February 2014 as amended by the Chief Finance Officer. Tony Williams, Chief Executive: Thank you Mr. Mayor. Would all those members in favour of the recommendations vote for.

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Special Council Meeting – 25/02/14 Councillor Mayor, Cllr Dr Rodney Cooper Deputy Mayor, Cllr Phillip Stanley Watts Cllr Ben Grower Cllr Anne Rey Cllr Stephen Chappel Cllr Michael Filer Cllr David Smith Cllr Malcolm Davies Cllr Anne Filer Cllr John Beesley Cllr Barry Goldbart Cllr Sue Levell Cllr Beryl Baxter Cllr Lynda Price Cllr John Trickett Cllr Christopher Rochester Cllr David Kelsey Cllr Eddie Coope Cllr Jane Montrose Cllr Carol Ainge Cllr Mark Anderson Cllr Nicola Greene Cllr Linda Bailey Cllr Sue Anderson Cllr Beverly Dunlop Cllr Ian Lancashire Cllr Michael Weinhonig Cllr Dereck Borthwick Cllr Robert Lawton Cllr Allister Russell Cllr Andrew Morgan Cllr Cheryl Johnson Cllr Dennis Gritt Cllr Rae Stollard Cllr Mike Greene Cllr Amedeo Angiolini Cllr Mark Battistini Cllr Johann Edward Cllr Theo Stratton Cllr Lawrence Williams Cllr Roger Marley Cllr Susan Phillips Cllr Jane Kelly Cllr Blair Crawford Cllr David D’Orton-Gibson Cllr Gill Seymour Cllr Patrick Oakley

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Special Council Meeting â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 25/02/14 The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: I think it is quite clear that it has been carried. Agenda item 8 to consider the report by the Executive Director of Finance on the Council Tax for 2014/15. Cllr John Beesley I understand that you wish to formally move the adoption of the recommendations. Cllr John Beesley, Leader of the Council: Thank you Mr Mayor I rise to formally move for the adoption of the recommendations set out in the report. The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: And is there a seconder? Cllr Nicola Greene, Deputy Leader of the Council: Thank you Mr. Mayor I rise to support that. The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: Is there anyone who wishes to speak? No? Chief Executive please now take a recorded vote on the recommendations set out in the report of the Chief Finance Officer. Tony Williams, Chief Executive: Thank you Mr. Mayor. Would all those members in favour of the recommendations please vote for.

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Special Council Meeting – 25/02/14 The Mayor, Cllr Dr. Rodney Cooper: Thank you. Clearly that recommendation has been carried with no one voting against. Agenda item 9 there are no questions. Normally there wouldn’t be any further notices but I have been asked to simply mention that Cllr David Kelsey will be doing a 5km run on Sunday for men’s prostate cancer research and all donation / sponsorships will be welcome. Thank you. END OF MEETING

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