Agenda

Venue: Council Chamber, Council Offices, Foster Avenue, Beeston NG9 1AB

Contact: Email: committees@broxtowe.gov.uk 

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

To receive apologies and to be notified of the attendance of substitutes.

2.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST pdf icon PDF 400 KB

Members are requested to declare the existence and nature of any disclosable pecuniary interest and/or other interest in any item on the agenda.

Additional documents:

3.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 340 KB

Full Council is asked to confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 2023.

4.

MINUTES OF FREEMAN AND ALDERMAN COUNCIL pdf icon PDF 118 KB

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Freeman and Alderman Council on 24 January 2024.

5.

REFERENCES

5.1

Independent Remuneration Panel pdf icon PDF 116 KB

24 January 2024

Pay Award and Review of Allowances

 

There was concern that the consistent rejection of recommendations to increase Member allowances were eroding the base of the allowance and causing the Council to fall behind other authorities in terms of remuneration for members.  There was concern that since 2015 the only increases in allowances had been a 2% rise in 2020 and 2% in 2022.

 

Discussion progressed on to the possibility of a review to address the new system of governance, the change this had made to roles and how this related to workloads for Councillors.  It was agreed that allowances for subsistence and travel would form a vital part of the review. 

 

There was also a discussion regarding the Business Manager role and whether this should be extended to each political group.  It was noted that to be officially recognised, a Political Group has to have at least three Members and that the Business Manager provided an essential administrative function, in particular, ensuring the attendance of Members at meetings, including the arrangement of substitutes.

 

A debate ensued about the real concern that the Panel had, that in ignoring previous recommendations, allowances for Members had been continually lowered in real terms and were no longer reflective of the valuable service provided by Councillors.  The Panel wished to emphasise that higher figures than the figure of 4% recommended by Officers had been discussed and seriously considered. 

 

          Recommended to Council that:

1.       An increase of 4% be applied to Member’s allowances

2.       A review be conducted to consider the roles and responsibilities of Councillors and for these to be benchmarked with other local authorities.

3.       The Business Manager role be extended to apply to all recognised political groups.

Additional documents:

6.

PAY POLICY STATEMENT - 2024/25 pdf icon PDF 194 KB

To enable Full Council to see and approve the Pay Policy for 2024/25.

 

Additional documents:

7.

ATTENDANCE AT MEETINGS

The Local Government Act 1972 states that when a Councillor fails to attend any meeting for six consecutive months from the date of their last attendance, then, subject to certain exceptions, they cease to be a Member of the authority, unless the Council accepts a reason for the failure to attend before the six months expires. Councillor S A Bagshaw is currently unable to attend Council meetings and in the circumstances, it is put before Members to consider a dispensation under Section 85 (1) of the Local Government Act 1972 for the period of six months from 6 March 2024 before which forfeiture applies.

 

Council is asked to CONSIDER a dispensation for Councillor S A Bagshaw for a period of six months from the date of this meeting and RESOLVE accordingly.

8.

AMENDMENTS TO THE LIBERTY LEISURE LTD BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Council is asked to NOTE the resignation of Mr Jamie Bennett from the Liberty Leisure LTD Board of Directors.

9.

APPROVAL OF THE REVENUE AND CAPITAL BUDGETS, CAPITAL STRATEGY, TREASURY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY, INVESTMENTS STRATEGY, MEDIUM TERM GENERAL FUND FINANCIAL STRATEGY AND TO FIX THE COUNCIL TAX FOR THE YEAR COMMENCING 1 APRIL 2024 pdf icon PDF 237 KB

To approve the capital and revenue budget proposals together with the Capital Strategy, Prudential Indicators, Treasury Management Strategy, Investment Strategy and General Fund Medium Term Financial Strategy and to approve the Business Plans.

 

(Members should note that, in accordance with the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment Regulations 2014, there will be a recorded vote on this item).