Issue - meetings

To consider the reports of the Cabinet dated:

·         18 December 2018; and

·         6 February 2019

The recommendations were agreed.

Cllr Mrs Thorne disclosed a pecuniary interest in item 6 (Housing Revenue Account Budget and Housing Public Sector Capital Expenditure Programme 2019/20) of the report of Cabinet dated 6 February 2019 on the grounds that she rented a council garage.  She had been granted a dispensation which allowed her to speak and to vote on the matter.

The Leader of the Council, as Chairman of the Cabinet, presented the reports of the meetings held on 18 December 2018 and 6 February 2019.

Item 7 (6 February 2019) – Medium Term Financial Plan and Annual Budget 2019/20

The Chairman moved that Standing Order 47.6 be suspended to allow the Leader of the Council and the Leader of the Opposition Group to exceed the time limit for making their speeches.  The motion was seconded and carried.

The Chairman ruled that in accordance with Standing Order 47.11 he would allow more than one amendment be proposed and discussed at the same time.

The Leader of the Council made the statement on the Administration’s proposed budget, attached as Appendix 1 to these minutes, which was accompanied by some photographs.

The Deputy Leader of the Council seconded the recommendation.

The Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group then made a statement, attached as Appendix 2 to these minutes.

Members discussed the Cabinet’s budget proposals together with the statement made by the Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group.

Some members commented that the Liberal Democrat Leader in his speech had repeated what had been said in previous years, adding nothing new or substantive.  No alternative budget had been proposed and therefore it was not possible to know how the proposals would be financed.

The Leader of the Liberal Democrat party had raised the issue of the health and leisure centres in his budget speech, and he considered that the partnership approach was “privatisation”.  Some members however, pointed out that a Liberal Democrat member had been involved in the Task and Finish Group which had considered options for the future of the leisure centres.  The partnership approach had been fully agreed by the Liberal Democrat member as the best and most efficient approach for residents of the New Forest.

Members spoke in support of the work of the Police and Crime Commissioner who had committed to deliver an additional 210 front line officers across Hampshire.

The Leader of the Council commended the budget to the Council.

The motion was put to the vote.  A recorded vote was taken on the budget recommended by the Cabinet.  The outcome was:

Members voting for:               58

Members voting against:        2

Abstentions:                            1

Details are shown in Appendix 3 to these minutes.

The motion was carried.

RESOLVED:

That the reports of the Cabinet dated 18 December 2018 and 6 February 2019 be received and the recommendations adopted.