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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Westminster Council House, 97-113 Marylebone Road, London, NW1 5PT

Contact: Janis Best, Committee and Councillor Support Manager  Email:  jbest@westminster.gov.uk Tel: 07971 920521

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Appointment of Relief Chairman

To appoint a relief Chairman.

Minutes:

1.1          Motion moved by the Lord Mayor and seconded by Councillor Paul Swaddle, that Councillor Angela Harvey be elected as Relief Chairman.

 

1.2      Motion put, and on a show of hands, declared CARRIED.

 

2.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 203 KB

To sign the Minutes of the Meeting of the Council meeting held on 19 January 2022

Minutes:

2.1      The minutes of the proceedings at the Council meeting held on Wednesday 19 January 2022 were, with the assent of the Members present, signed by the Lord Mayor as a true record of the proceedings.

 

3.

Declarations of Interest

To receive declarations by Members and Officers of the existence and nature of any pecuniary interests or any other significant interest in matters on this agenda.

 

Minutes:

3.1      There were no declarations of interest.

 

4.

Cabinet Report pdf icon PDF 344 KB

To receive and consider the following Cabinet report:

17 February 2022

 

Appendix 1:

Medium Financial Plan 2022-23 to 2024-25

 

Report

 

Appendix 1

 

Appendix 2

 

Appendix 3

 

Appendix 4

 

Appendix 5

 

Appendix 6

 

Appendix 7

 

 

Appendix 2:

Capital Strategy 2022-23 to 2026-27

 

Report

 

Appendix A

 

 

 

Appendix 3:

Housing Revenue Account Business Plan 2022-23

 

Report and Appendices 1 to 5

 

Appendix 4:

Treasury Management Strategy 2022-23 to 2026-27

 

Report and Appendices 1 to 4

 

Appendix 5:

Integrated Investment Framework 2022-23

 

Report and Appendices A to C

 

Appendix 6:

Pay Policy 2022-23

 

Report

 

Appendix 1

 

Minutes:

4.1      The report of the Cabinet on 17 February 2022 was submitted.

 

4.2      Following debate, to which Councillor Robathan replied, the Lord Mayor put the following amendments to the recommendations in paragraph 1 of the Cabinet report moved by Councillor Adam Hug and seconded by Councillor David Boothroyd to a vote. A recorded vote was then taken:

 

Amendment 1 - Paragraph 1: Text of amendment (1) to be moved by Councillor Adam Hug and seconded by Councillor David Boothroyd

 

Add an additional paragraph after the end of paragraph 9, which reads “That the Council commits to a target of reducing spending on Temporary and Agency Staff by at least £1.5m over existing plans during the course of 2022/23 and instructs officers to prepare the 2023/24 budget on a basis of freezing Council Tax for a Band D property at £468.54 for general needs purposes.

 

Vote 1 – Amendment 1

 

For amendment one: Councillors Barraclough, Boothroyd, Toki, Noble, Hug, Bush, Lewis, Less, Roca, McKie, Butler-Thalassis, Taouzzale, Liza Begum, McAllister and Talukder.

 

Against amendment one: Councillors Swaddle, Mitchell, Scarborough, Mohindra, Spencer, Robathan, Glen, Beddoe, Adams, Caplan, Gassanly, Green, Rigby, Dean, Short, Payne, Hall, Glanz, Wilkinson, Barnes, Flight, Elcho, Burbridge, Acton, Shearer, Devenish, Murphy, Bott, Hitchcock, Arzymanow, David Harvey, Angela Harvey, Chalkley, Rowley and Cox.

 

Absence or not voting: The Lord Mayor and Councillors Nickie Aiken, Rita Begum, Margot Bright, Maggie Carman, Paul Dimoldenberg, Peter Freeman, Louise Hyams, Papya Qureshi and Judith Warner.

 

4.3      The Lord Mayor declared Amendment one to be LOST.

 

Amendment 2 - Paragraph 1: Text of amendment (2) to be moved by Councillor Adam Hug and seconded by Councillor David Boothroyd

 

Add an additional paragraph after the end of paragraph 14, which reads “That the Council resolves to take further steps to improve the budgeting process, contribute to savings and safeguard community priorities, including:

 

a)              Commencing a zero-based budgeting review in the new term of the council, ensuring every penny spent by the council is directed towards local community needs.

 

b)              Establishing a ‘critical friends board’ of independent local government experts who have not previously worked at Westminster, to seek new savings and tackle waste.

 

c)        Beginning a trial of participatory budgeting, so that residents can be more involved in the process of deciding council spending priorities in their area.

 

Vote 2 – Amendment 2

 

For amendment two: Councillors Barraclough, Boothroyd, Toki, Noble, Hug, Bush, Lewis, Less, Roca, McKie, Butler-Thalassis, Taouzzale, Liza Begum, McAllister and Talukder.

 

Against amendment two: Councillors Swaddle, Mitchell, Scarborough, Mohindra, Spencer, Robathan, Glen, Beddoe, Adams, Caplan, Gassanly, Green, Rigby, Dean, Short, Payne, Hall, Glanz, Wilkinson, Barnes, Flight, Elcho, Burbridge, Acton, Shearer, Devenish, Murphy, Bott, Hitchcock, Arzymanow, David Harvey, Angela Harvey, Chalkley, Rowley and Cox.

 

Absence or not voting: The Lord Mayor and Councillors Nickie Aiken, Rita Begum, Margot Bright, Maggie Carman, Paul Dimoldenberg, Peter Freeman, Louise Hyams, Papya Qureshi and Judith Warner.

 

4.4      The Lord Mayor declared Amendment two to be LOST.

 

4.5      The Lord Mayor then put the recommendations in paragraph 1  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

Audit and Performance Committee Report: 16 February 2022 pdf icon PDF 110 KB

To receive and consider the following Committee report: 16 February 2022

 

Minutes:

Appointment of External Auditors for 2022/23 Onwards

 

5.1      The Lord Mayor put the recommendations in paragraph 1 of the Audit and Performance Committee report to the vote and on a show of hands declared the recommendations adopted.

 

           RESOLVED:

 

1)             That the Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA) invitation to ‘opt in’ to the sector-led option for the appointment of external auditors for the five financial years commencing on 1 April 2023 be approved; and

 

2)             That authority be delegated to the Executive Director of Finance and Resources to respond to the invitation and take the necessary steps to finalise the appointment itself following the PSAA procurement process.

 

6.

General Purposes Committee Report: 22 February 2022 pdf icon PDF 106 KB

To receive and consider the following Committee report:

22 February 2022

 

Members’ Allowances Scheme 2022 – 2023

 

Minutes:

Members’ Allowances Scheme 2022-2023

 

6.1      The Lord Mayor put the recommendations in paragraph 1 of the General Purposes Committee report to the vote and on a show of hands declared the recommendations adopted.

 

           RESOLVED:

 

1)        That the Members’ Allowances Scheme for 2022-2023 be approved with effect from 1 April 2022.

 

2)        That the Members’ Allowances (Basis and SRA) for 2022-2023 be agreed in line with any salary increase for Council staff that may be agreed by the National Joint Council for Local Government Services.