Agenda item

To provide an overview of the government’s requirement for plans for local government reorganisation to be developed in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire; to outline the work undertaken to respond to the requirements; and to note the content and intention to submit an interim plan for the area of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, in line with government requirements.

Members considered a report which provided an overview of the government’s requirement for plans for local government reorganisation to be developed in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. The report outlined the work undertaken to respond to the requirements and noted the content and intention to submit an interim plan for the area of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, in line with government requirements.

 

The original recommendation was as follows:

 

1.       That Council notes the content and intention to submit the interim plan for local government reorganisation in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire to government by 21 March 2025.

2.       That Council consider the statement of risks and concerns set out in appendix 4 and agree to endorse or amend this to accompany the submission of the interim plan on behalf of Broxtowe.

3.       Provide delegated authority to the Deputy Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer to set aside an earmarked reserve of £150,000 or more from an anticipated General Fund underspend in 2024/25 for the purposes of funding the cost of Local Government Reorganisation in the event of central government capacity funding being delayed and/or not sufficient. 

 

Councillor M Radulovic MBE stated an intention to move a number of amendments throughout the meeting and it was agreed that each would be debated in turn. The following motion was proposed by Councillor M Radulovic MBE an seconded by Councillor G Marshall.

 

“This Council notes the content and the intention to submit the interim plan for local government reorganisation in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire by 21 March 2025.”

 

On being put to the meeting, the motion was carried.

 

The following amendment was proposed by Councillor M Radulovic MBE and seconded by Councillor G Marshall.

 

“This Council cannot support a merger with a new Council which encompasses the current City Council boundary which is in a dire financial position and disadvantages Broxtowe residents and ignores their concerns and wishes, making it impossible to have the frank and open discussions essential to forming a successful long-term plan based on service delivery.”

 

Members debated the amendment and stated a reluctance to forward any proposals which involved a merger with Nottingham City Council, which it was stated had been subject to poor performance and mismanagement. Local Government Reform was not in the government’s manifesto prior to the general election and it was stated that the City Council wished to reduce its debts by using this Council’s assets. At this point in the debate Councillor D K Watts presented a petition on behalf of several hundred residents who had expressed their opposition to proposed plans for local government reorganisation.

It was stated that this Council should be an equitable partner in any discussions and it was essential that this Council was viewed equally.

 

Furthermore, Broxtowe was a distinct community which should remain as such, this was evidenced by a survey which had been undertaken which suggested that residents had strongly expressed that they wished to remain associated with this Authority. Residents and Members were proud of this Council and wished to remain part of it.

 

Further statements were also expressed that reorganisation would enable the residents of Broxtowe to receive a greater share of finance that it had not had previously, moreover, all councils would be merged rather than ‘taken over’ and this would be an opportunity to share the good work of Broxtowe with the wider community.

 

Councillor M Radulovic MBE called for a recorded vote which was supported by at least four other Members. The voting was as follows:

 

For	Against	Abstain
L A Ball BEM		D Bagshaw
R E Bofinger		P Bales
M Brown		A Cooper
R Bullock		H J Faccio
G Bunn		W Mee
C Carr		E Winfield
S J Carr
H Crosby
T A Cullen
S Dannheimer
K A Harlow
G S Hills
H G Khaled MBE
A Kingdon
H Land
D L MacRae
R D MacRae
G Marshall
J W McGrath
J M Owen
P J Owen
S Paterson
M Radulovic MBE
H E Skinner
P A Smith
V C Smith
A W G A Stockwell
C M Tideswell
D K Watts
E Williamson

 

On being put to the meeting, the amendment was carried.

 

The following amendment was proposed by Councillor M Radulovic MBE and seconded by Councillor G Marshall.

 

“That Council considers the statement of risks and concerns set out in appendix 4 and agrees to endorse this to accompany submission of an interim plan on behalf of Broxtowe.”

 

It was proposed by Councillor P J Owen that the word ‘endorse’ be replaced with ‘note’. Both Councillors Radulovic and Marshall agreed to accept the amendment.

 

Members stated that there were concerns over the amount of homelessness in the City and the risks were not mitigated within the report. The number of risks and concerns showed how rushed the reorganisation was.

 

On being put to the meeting, the amendment was carried.

 

The following amendment was proposed by Councillor M Radulovic MBE and seconded by Councillor G Marshall.

 

“Any future reorganisation should be based on community needs and service delivery rather than plugging shortfalls in local government financing. Any process should empower local communities to share their voice and should not be confined to a narrow suite of options.”

 

It was proposed by Councillor P J Owen and seconded by Councillor A G W A Stockwell that the following amendment be considered:

 

“That Council endorses option 2 in the event of Local Government Reorganisation going ahead.”

 

Members debated the amendment and it was stated that Councillors must accept that the reorganisation would take place and that Councils would be merged. It was important for Members to state what they did not want to take place.

 

It was further stated that the amendment could not be supported as it would agree with the abolition of this Council. Broxtowe had worked hard to be in good financial order and this had not been the example at the City. It was stated that Officers are a positive influence rather than negative. Previous examples of merged councils had not been successful.

 

Councillor A G W A Stockwell called for a recorded vote which was supported by at least four other Members. The voting was as follows:

For	Against	Abstain
L A Ball BEM	D Bagshaw
M Brown	P Bales
H Crosby	R E Bofinger
G S Hills	R Bullock
H G Khaled MBE	G Bunn
J M Owen	C Carr
P J Owen	S J Carr
A W G A Stockwell	A Cooper
	T A Cullen
	S Dannheimer
	H J Faccio
	K A Harlow
	A Kingdon
	H Land
	D L MacRae
	R D MacRae
	G Marshall
	J W McGrath
	W Mee
	S Paterson
	M Radulovic MBE
	H E Skinner
	P A Smith
	V C Smith
	C M Tideswell
	D K Watts
	E Williamson
	E Winfield

 

On being put to the meeting, the amendment proposed by Councillor P J Owen and seconded by Councillor A G W A Stockwell was defeated.

 

Following a brief adjournment, the meeting returned to consider the amendment proposed by Councillor M Radulovic MBE and seconded by Councillor G Marshall.

 

Councillor M Radulovic MBE called for a recorded vote which was supported by at least four other Members. The voting was as follows:

 

For	Against	Abstain
D Bagshaw	L A Ball BEM
P Bales	M Brown
R E Bofinger	H Crosby
R Bullock	G S Hills
G Bunn	H G Khaled MBE
C Carr	J M Owen
S J Carr	P J Owen
A Cooper	A W G A Stockwell
T A Cullen
S Dannheimer
H J Faccio
K A Harlow
A Kingdon
H Land
D L MacRae
R D MacRae
G Marshall
J W McGrath
W Mee
S Paterson
M Radulovic MBE
H E Skinner
P A Smith
V C Smith
C M Tideswell
D K Watts
E Williamson
E Winfield

 

On being put to the meeting, the amendment was carried.

 

The following amendment was proposed by Councillor M Radulovic MBE and seconded by Councillor G Marshall.

 

“This Council calls upon the government to suspend the Local Government Review proposals in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire pending the financial stabilisation of Nottingham City Council which will allow a full democratic consultation with the residents of Broxtowe to take place.”

 

It was proposed by Councillor P J Owen and seconded by Councillor A G W A Stockwell that the following amendment be considered:

 

“That Council seeks to support its endorsement of option 2 by carrying out a full public consultation exercise.”

 

Members debated the amendment and on being put to the meeting, the amendment proposed by Councillor P J Owen and seconded by Councillor A G W A Stockwell was defeated.

 

Members then voted on the amendment proposed by Councillor M Radulovic MBE and seconded by Councillor G Marshall, on being put to the meeting the amendment was carried.

 

The following motion was proposed by Councillor M Radulovic MBE and seconded by Councillor G Marshall as it was part of the original recommendations included within the report considered by Council.

 

“This Council provides delegated authority to the Deputy Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer to set aside an earmarked reserve of £150,000 or more from an anticipated General Fund underspend in 2024/25 for the purposes of funding the cost of Local Government Reorganisation in the event of central government capacity funding being delayed and/or not sufficient.”

 

On being put to the meeting, the motion was defeated.

 

RESOLVED that:

1.               This Council notes the content and the intention to submit the interim plan for local government reorganisation in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire by 21 March 2025.

2.               This Council cannot support a merger with a new Council which encompasses the current City Council boundary which is in a dire financial position and disadvantages Broxtowe residents and ignores their concerns and wishes, making it impossible to have the frank and open discussions essential to forming a successful long-term plan based on service delivery.

3.               That Council considers the statement of risks and concerns set out in appendix 4 and agrees to note this to accompany submission of an interim plan on behalf of Broxtowe.

4.               Any future reorganisation should be based on community needs and service delivery rather than plugging shortfalls in local government financing. Any process should empower local communities to share their voice and should not be confined to a narrow suite of options.

5.               This Council calls upon the government to suspend the Local Government Review proposals in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire pending the financial stabilisation of Nottingham City Council which will allow a full democratic consultation with the residents of Broxtowe to take place.

6.               This Council rejects providing delegated authority to the Deputy Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer to set aside an earmarked reserve of £150,000 or more from an anticipated General Fund underspend in 2024/25 for the purposes of funding the cost of Local Government Reorganisation in the event of central government capacity funding being delayed and/or not sufficient.