Agenda and minutes

Multicultural society

The Lord Mayor referred to both Leicester and the country as a whole being a multicultural society. He also noted that the leader of the country was a non-white person and he congratulated him on being the first. He felt that this represented a significant signal of the liberal and open nature of society and showed that there were opportunities for all. He also felt that the Prime Minister, as a proud and open Hindu, showed great tolerance and openness within the country.

Retiring Councillors

The Lord Mayor paid tribute to those Councillors who had indicated that they were stepping down at the forthcoming election. He thanked them for their service to the city.

Lord Mayor engagements

The Lord Mayor informed Council about a number of engagements which he had attended recently.

He referred to his charity for the year, the Sickle Cell Society, and in support of that charity, he attended the blood donor centre and was given a tour of the facilities. He noted that there was a shortage of blood and encouraged people to donate.

He also undertook visits to a number of other engagements, including:

·         The YMCA – where he learnt about the service they provided for the homeless.

·         Leicester University graduation - where he met the new Chancellor, Maggie Aderin-Pocock.

·         Schools – to raise awareness of Sickle Cell and promoted a competition that was being run.

·         Scouts presentation evening.

·         Jane Tomlinson fun run – where the Lord Mayor started the race.

·         Holocaust Memorial day – where the Lord Mayor took part in eye opening conversations, and heard disturbing details in presentations.

·         Honoured Citizens awards – to recognise volunteers for their contributions.

·         Launch of the racial literacy programme – a programme for improving diversity awareness in city shools, for which the city should be proud.

Dates for diaries

The Lord Mayor mentioned the following events which Members were encouraged to attend.

‘What Makes Leicester great’ – 18^th March, Mercure Grand Hotel. An event which would be highlighting things which made Leicester stand up above other cities in the country. Celebrating things like the discovery of DNA, the Space Centre and sporting clubs.

Charity event at Leicester City Football Club on 29^th March highlighting issues around Prostate Cancer which particularly affected men of colour.

Sponsored walk on 14^th April. A sponsored walk to raise funds for charity had been organised by Leicester City in the Community but this was also supported by the, city’s cricket,  basketball and rugby clubs. He encouraged Members and their friends to take part.

War in Ukraine

The Lord Mayor referred to ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the importance this had in relation to Europe’s democracy. He encouraged Members to bear in mind any Ukrainians in our city and provide support where possible.

Volunteers

The Lord Mayor reflected that through visits to many community events, he had seen how well the city is supported by volunteers and how they operated ‘below the radar’ without receiving due praise and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57.

The Lord Mayor invited the Monitoring Officer to make a statement in relation to declarations for the budget meeting.

The Monitoring Officer reminded Members that there was no requirement to declare any interests already on their registers. He noted that Members had been contacted in advance of the meeting regarding interests. Some Members had made contact and updated their registers accordingly. He further noted it was a judgement for Members to make regarding declaration of interests, particularly if Members had a pecuniary or prejudicial or other interest which would require a Member to declare and leave the meeting. He also explained about Section 106 of the Local Government and Finance Act 1992 requirements regarding the need for voting Members to not be more than 2 months or more in arrears of Council tax payments as this could be a criminal offence. He further outlined details of a dispensation which, following consultation with the Standards Committee, he could grant to elected Members who were Council tenants or had family Members or close associates who were Council tenants to enable them to remain and participate and vote on the General Fund Revenue Budget and Housing Revenue Account proposals. The names of those Members benefiting from the dispensation must be identified and recording in the minutes. 

The following members sought and were granted a dispensation:

Cllr Aldred

Cllr Aqbany

Cllr Cank

Cllr Halford

Cllr Nangreave

Cllr Thalukdar

Cllr Westley

There were no statements.

Council is asked to approve the recommendations set out on page 1.

Moved by Councillor Cutkelvin, seconded by the City Mayor and carried:

That Council:

a)  Thanks, the Tenants’ and Leaseholders’ Forum, Housing Scrutiny Commission, Overview Select Committee and others who have commented on our draft Housing Revenue Account budget. The comments of the Housing Scrutiny Commission and Overview Select Committee were included in the report.

b)  Notes the comments made in the Assistant City Mayor, Education and Housing’s formal recommendation to Council notice published on 21 February 2023 and attached as Appendix A to the script and made available prior to the meeting; and

c)  Approves the recommendations for the Housing Revenue Account Budget (including Capital Programme) for 2023/24 in paragraph 3 of the report at Appendix 4-A in the agenda pack, including the Assistant City Mayor Education and Housing’s recommendations, as attached to the script and made available prior to the meeting.

Council is asked to approve the recommendations set out on page 71.

The City Mayor submitted his proposed budget for 2023/24. The report contained details of the financial pressures facing the Council, the proposed budget strategy including assessments of risk, and impact and consultation outcomes.

Details of the City Mayor’s Recommendation of General Fund Revenue Budget 2023/24 and the General Fund Revenue Budget and Council Tax 2023/24 – Formal Resolutions were circulated to members prior to the meeting and are attached to these minutes.

Moved by the City Mayor, seconded by Councillor Cassidy:

“That Council

a)  Thanks scrutiny committees who have commented on our draft budget, the comments were attached to the report;

b)  Notes the comments made in the City Mayor’s formal Recommendation to Council Notice published on 21 February 2023 and attached as Appendix B to the script, made available at the meeting an attached to these minutes;

c)  Approves the recommendations set out in section 3.1 of the report ‘General Fund Revenue Budget 2023/24’ without amendment; and

d)  Approve the formal resolutions for the General Fund Budget 2023/24, including the City Mayor’s recommendations, which are attached as Appendix C to the script, made available at the meeting and attached to these minutes.

The Lord Mayor put the motion to the vote.

It was noted that under the requirements of The Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendments) Regulations 2014 the names of the Councillors voting for or against the proposition or abstaining would be recorded by the City Barrister and Monitoring Officer and included in the minutes of the meeting.

For the motion:

Councillors Aldred, Ali, Barton, Batool, Cank, Cassidy, Chamund, Clair, Clarke, Cole, Cutkelvin, Dawood, Dempster, Fonseca, Gee, Halford, Joshi, Khan, Kitterick, Malik, Master, Moore, Myers, Nangreave, Pantling, Patel, Pickering, Rahman, Rae Bhatia, Kaur Saini, Singh Johal, Singh Sandhu, Solanki, Soulsby, Thalukdar, Valand, Waddington, Westley, Whittle, Willmott

Against the motion:

Councillors Bajaj, Broadwell, Crewe, Modhwadia, O’Donnell, Porter

The Lord Mayor declared the motion carried.

Council is asked to approve the recommendations set out on page 135.

A report was considered which sought approval of a Capital Programme for the Council for the period 2023/24. Details were included within the report of the resources position and proposed projects. The report had been considered at a meeting of the Overview Select Committee on 9^th February 2023 and attached at Appendix 4-C2 of the report in the agenda pack.

Moved by the City Mayor, seconded by Councillor Cassidy and carried:

That Council:

a)  Thanks the Overview Select Committee for their comments on our draft budget, which were attached the report in the agenda pack.

b)  Notes the comments made in the City Mayor’s Recommendation to Council Notice published on 21 February 2023 and attached as Appendix D to the script, made available prior to the meeting and attached to these minutes;

c)  Approve the recommendations for the Capital Programme 2023/24 in paragraph 2 of the report at Appendix 4-C1 in the agenda pack, including the City Mayor’s recommendations, which were attached as Appendix D to the script, made available prior to the meeting and attached to these minutes.

Council is asked to approve the Treasury Management Strategy 2023/24 (page 173) subject to any comments made by the Overview Select Committee at its meeting held on 9 February 2023 and attached at Appendix 4-D1 on page 197.

Moved by the City Mayor, seconded by Councillor Cassidy, and carried:

“That Councilnotes the comments of the Overview Select Committee at its meeting held on 9 February 2023 attached to the report and approves the Treasury Management Strategy 2023/24, which includes the Annual Treasury Investment Strategy at Appendix B of the report to become effective as soon as it approved.”

Council is asked to approve the Investment Strategy 2023/24 (page 199) subject to any comments made by the Overview Select Committee at its meeting held on 9 February 2023 and attached at Appendix 4-E1 on page 209.

That Council notes the comments of the Overview Select Committee at its meeting held on 9 February 2023 and attached to the report and approves the Investment Strategy 2023/24.

There being no other business, the Lord Mayor declared the meeting closed.