Agenda and minutes

99.1   Apologies were received from Mr Baldwin, Mr Barrett-Miles, Mrs Bennett, Mrs Brunsdon, Mr Buckland, Mr Fitzjohn, Mr McDonald, Mrs Mullins and Mrs Russell.  Mr Markwell left at 2.50 p.m., Mr Bradbury at 3.00 p.m. and Lt Col Barton (with prior apology) and Dr O’Kelly at 3.55 p.m.

Members are asked to disclose any pecuniary or personal interests in matters appearing on the agenda.

100.1 Members declared interests as set out at Appendix 1.

The Council is asked to confirm the minutes of the ordinary meeting of the County Council held on 14 December 2018.

101.1It was agreed that the minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of the County Council held on 14 December 2018 (pages 7 to 30) be approved as a correct record.

The Council is asked to consider and approve the draft Medium Term Financial Strategy 2019/20 to 2022/23, the draft revenue budget for 2019/20, the draft Capital Strategy 2019/20 to 2023/24 and the draft Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2019/20 in the light of report by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources.  Annex 1, the budget pack and portfolio budget pages, have been printed separately and are enclosed with the agenda.

102.1The Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources moved the report on the Draft Medium Term Financial Strategy 2019/20 to 2022/23, Draft Revenue Budget 2019/20, Draft Capital Strategy 2019/20 to 2023/24 and Draft Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2019/20.  Members also had before them a statement from the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources on a number of changes to the revenue budget which had arisen due to a number of late notifications, together with corresponding revisions to the recommendations in the report and to Appendix 1 of Annex 1, which had been circulated.

102.2An amendment was moved by Dr Walsh and seconded by Mrs Millson.

‘This amendment to the draft budget moves that the County Council restores proposed funding cuts to essential rural and urban bus services and preventative spending on the County Council's Public Health agenda.  This amendment would allow ongoing protection for the bus subsidy budget and £200,000 of the deplorable central government cut in Public Health funding.  It would also make good the remainder of the Public Health cut for 2019/20.  In addition the amendment protects Housing support in 2019/20 which would allow time for District and Borough partners to implement new partnership arrangements.

102.3The amendment was put to a recorded vote under Standing Order 3.36.

(a)     For the amendment – 12

Dr Dennis, Mr Jones, Ms Lord, Mrs Millson, Dr O’Kelly, Mr Oppler, Mr  Oxlade, Mr Purchese, Mr Quinn, Mrs Smith, Mr Smytherman and Dr Walsh.

(b)     Against the amendment - 40

Mr Acraman, Lt Cdr Atkins, Mr Barling, Lt Col Barton, Mr Boram, Mr Burrett, Mr Catchpole, Mr Cloake, Mr Crow, Mrs Duncton, Mr Edwards, Mr Elkins, Ms Flynn, Ms Goldsmith, Mrs Hall, Mr High, Mr Hillier, Mr Hunt, Mrs Jones, Mrs Jupp, Mr Jupp, Ms Kennard, Mrs Kitchen, Mr Lanzer, Mr Marshall, Mr Mitchell, Mr Montyn, Mr R J Oakley, Mr S J Oakley, Mr Parikh, Mr Patel, Mrs Pendleton, Mr Petts, Mrs Purnell, Mr Simmons, Mr Turner, Mrs Urquhart, Mr Waight, Mr Whittington and Mr Wickremaratchi.

(c)     Abstentions – 6

Mrs Arculus, Mr Barnard, Mr Bradford, Mrs Dennis, Mr Lea and Mrs Sparkes.

102.4The amendment was lost.

102.5Labour amendment A (Supporting people not cuts – (One-off changes to the budget)) was moved by Mr Jones and seconded by Mr Oxlade.

‘This proposed amendment protects vulnerable adults by reversing the cuts affecting the homeless, working age adults with learning difficulties and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 102.

To consider the following motion, notice of which was given on 18 January 2019 by Dr Walsh.  Note: This motion will be referred to the Cabinet Member for Adults and Health for consideration and will not be debated at the meeting on 15 February.

‘The Council notes the vital role played by Public Health, including our hugely successful vaccination and immunisation programmes, support for those wanting to stop smoking, and otherwise helping West Sussex residents to lead healthier lives by avoiding diseases and unplanned pregnancies; and notes with grave concern the announcement of a further £85m cut to the Public Health Budget, as one of 12 ministerial statements published by the Government on the last day of the 2018 parliamentary term before Christmas, only weeks after the Secretary of State for Health described ‘prevention’ as his priority.

The Council further notes the comments of the Health Foundation, who described these cuts as a false economy and who have calculated that an additional £3bn a year is required to reverse the impact of the Government’s cuts to the Public Health Grant to date and have called for this increased budget to be allocated according to need; and the warnings from the King’s Fund that such cuts could put pressure on councils to cut non-statutory sexual health prevention services, which could lead to more sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies.

This Council believes that our Public Health team perform vital work to help keep the residents of West Sussex healthy and to avoid more costly admissions to hospitals and other interventions by our NHS, and that this should be properly funded by central government.

The Council resolves to:

(1)      Thank our Director of Public Health and her team for the great work they do across West Sussex despite continued financial challenges;

(2)      Condemn the timing just before the Christmas break to ‘sneak out’ announcements such as this;

(3)      Call on the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Adults and Health to consider carefully how best to implement the required cuts to services which will result from continued government cuts to the budget; and

(4)      Ask the Leader and Cabinet Member to write to the Secretary of State for Health, calling on the Government to deliver increased investment in Public Health and to support a sustainable health and social care system by taking a ‘prevention first’ approach, and fair and equitable funding for West Sussex.’

103.1The following motion was moved by Dr Walsh and seconded by Dr O’Kelly:

‘The Council notes the vital role played by Public Health, including our hugely successful vaccination and immunisation programmes, support for those wanting to stop smoking, and otherwise helping West Sussex residents to lead healthier lives by avoiding diseases and unplanned pregnancies; and notes with grave concern the announcement of a further £85m cut to the Public Health Budget, as one of 12 ministerial statements published by the Government on the last day of the 2018 parliamentary term before Christmas, only weeks after the Secretary of State for Health described ‘prevention’ as his priority.

The Council further notes the comments of the Health Foundation, who described these cuts as a false economy and who have calculated that an additional £3bn a year is required to reverse the impact of the Government’s cuts to the Public Health Grant to date and have called for this increased budget to be allocated according to need; and the warnings from the King’s Fund that such cuts could put pressure on councils to cut non-statutory sexual health prevention services, which could lead to more sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies.

This Council believes that our Public Health team perform vital work to help keep the residents of West Sussex healthy and to avoid more costly admissions to hospitals and other interventions by our NHS, and that this should be properly funded by central government.

The Council resolves to:

(1)     Thank our Director of Public Health and her team for the great work they do across West Sussex despite continued financial challenges;

(2)     Condemn the timing just before the Christmas break to ‘sneak out’ announcements such as this;

(3)     Call on the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Adults and Health to consider carefully how best to implement the required cuts to services which will result from continued government cuts to the budget; and

(4)     Ask the Leader and Cabinet Member to write to the Secretary of State for Health, calling on the Government to deliver increased investment in Public Health and to support a sustainable health and social care system by taking a ‘prevention first’ approach, and fair and equitable funding for West Sussex.’

103.2The motion was referred to the Cabinet Member for Adults and Health for consideration.

To consider the following motion, notice of which was given on 28 January by Mr Jones.  Note: This motion will be referred to the Cabinet Member for Environment for consideration and will not be debated at the meeting on 15 February.

‘This Council notes that humans have caused climate change, the impacts of which are being felt around the world.  Global temperatures have already increased by 1 degree Celsius from pre-industrial levels.  Atmospheric CO₂ levels are above 400 parts per million (ppm).  This far exceeds the 350 ppm deemed to be a safe level for humanity.  In order to reduce the chance of runaway Global Warming and limit the effects of Climate Breakdown, it is imperative that all countries should reduce our carbon equivalent (CO₂eq) emissions from their current 6.5 tonnes per person per year to less than 2 tonnes as soon as possible.  Councils around the world are responding by declaring a ‘Climate Emergency’ and committing resources to address this.

This Council believes that all governments (national, regional and local) have a duty to limit the negative impacts of Climate Breakdown, and local governments that recognise this should not wait for their national governments to change their policies.  It is important for the residents of West Sussex and the UK that cities commit to carbon neutrality as quickly as possible.

Councils like West Sussex are uniquely placed to lead the world in reducing carbon emissions – for example because of their capacity for local energy generation, such as running our own solar farms and promoting solar energy take up among local organisations and residents, supporting the greater use of electric powered vehicles both in the private and public sector and for personal use, and investing further in public transport.

West Sussex is already suffering from flooding problems, and a significant proportion of its population and a large number of its settlements are based in coastal areas which would potentially be devastated by a rise in sea levels caused by continual global warming.  The consequences of global temperature rising above 1.5°C are so severe that preventing this from happening must be a number one priority, and bold climate action can deliver economic benefits in terms of new jobs, economic savings and market opportunities (as well as improved well-being for people worldwide).

This Council therefore calls on the Cabinet to:

(1)      Declare a ‘Climate Emergency’;

(2)      Pledge to attempt to make West Sussex carbon neutral by 2030, taking into account both production and consumption emissions;

(3)      Call on the Government to provide the powers and resources to make the 2030 target possible;

(4)      Work with other councils to determine and implement best practice methods to limit Global Warming to less than 1.5°C;

(5)      Continue to work with partners across the county and region to deliver this new goal through all relevant strategies and plans;

(6)      Set up a Task and Finish Group to look into the matter in greater detail;

(7)      Consider whether it would be advisable  ...  view the full agenda text for item 104.

104.1The following motion was moved by Mr Jones and seconded by Mr Oxlade:

‘This Council notes that humans have caused climate change, the impacts of which are being felt around the world.  Global temperatures have already increased by 1 degree Celsius from pre-industrial levels.  Atmospheric CO₂ levels are above 400 parts per million (ppm).  This far exceeds the 350 ppm deemed to be a safe level for humanity.  In order to reduce the chance of runaway Global Warming and limit the effects of Climate Breakdown, it is imperative that all countries should reduce our carbon equivalent (CO₂eq) emissions from their current 6.5 tonnes per person per year to less than 2 tonnes as soon as possible.  Councils around the world are responding by declaring a ‘Climate Emergency’ and committing resources to address this.

This Council believes that all governments (national, regional and local) have a duty to limit the negative impacts of Climate Breakdown, and local governments that recognise this should not wait for their national governments to change their policies.  It is important for the residents of West Sussex and the UK that cities commit to carbon neutrality as quickly as possible.

Councils like West Sussex are uniquely placed to lead the world in reducing carbon emissions – for example because of their capacity for local energy generation, such as running our own solar farms and promoting solar energy take up among local organisations and residents, supporting the greater use of electric powered vehicles both in the private and public sector and for personal use, and investing further in public transport.

West Sussex is already suffering from flooding problems, and a significant proportion of its population and a large number of its settlements are based in coastal areas which would potentially be devastated by a rise in sea levels caused by continual global warming.  The consequences of global temperature rising above 1.5°C are so severe that preventing this from happening must be a number one priority, and bold climate action can deliver economic benefits in terms of new jobs, economic savings and market opportunities (as well as improved well-being for people worldwide).

This Council therefore calls on the Cabinet to:

(1)     Declare a ‘Climate Emergency’;

(2)     Pledge to attempt to make West Sussex carbon neutral by 2030, taking into account both production and consumption emissions;

(3)     Call on the Government to provide the powers and resources to make the 2030 target possible;

(4)     Work with other councils to determine and implement best practice methods to limit Global Warming to less than 1.5°C;

(5)     Continue to work with partners across the county and region to deliver this new goal through all relevant strategies and plans;

(6)     Set up a Task and Finish Group to look into the matter in greater detail;

(7)     Consider whether it would be advisable to take into account climate change impacts, when considering planning applications, or taking part in consultations, commenting on reports, plans and reviews put to the Council; and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 104.

The Council is asked to approve the Pay Policy Statement 2019/20, in the light of a report from the Governance Committee.

105.1 The Council considered changes to the Pay Policy Statement 2019/20 in the light of a report from the Governance Committee (pages 147 to 158).

105.2 Resolved –

          That the proposed revisions to the Pay Policy Statement, as set out at Appendix 1 to the report, be approved.

The Council is asked to consider changes to the governance of the Capital Programme, in the light of a report by the Governance Committee.

106.1The Council considered changes to the governance of the Capital Programme, in the light of a report from the Governance Committee (pages 159 to 162).

106.2 Resolved –

          That changes for clarification of the governance of the capital programme, as set out in the report, be approved.

The Council is asked to consider a proposal to ensure representation of a political group at a Select Committee meeting, in the light of a report by the Governance Committee.

107.1The Council considered a proposal to ensure representation of a political group at a Select Committee meeting in the light of a report by the Governance Committee (pages 163 to 166).

107.2Resolved –

          That a system of formal substitutes be introduced for select committees, with one named member per political group for each committee, to be adopted with immediate effect, and that the required changes to the Constitution, as set out at Appendix 1 to the report, be approved.

The Council is asked to consider any proposed changes by the Groups to appointments together with any appointments arising from item 9, substitutes on select committees.  Any proposals will be circulated and changes will take effect from the end of the meeting.

108.1 The Council approved appointments as set out below.

The Council is asked to note urgent action taken under regulation 11 of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012.

109.1 The report of urgent action taken under regulation 11 of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 (pages 167 and 168) was noted.

Questions to the Leader and Cabinet Members on matters contained within the Cabinet report, written questions and any other questions relevant to their portfolios.  Members may also ask questions of the Leader on anything that is currently relevant to the County Council.  The report covers relevant Council business or developments in respect of portfolios arising since the meeting of the Council on 14 December 2018.  A supplementary report may be published.

(2 hours is allocated for Question Time)

110.1Members asked questions of members of the Cabinet on matters relevant to their portfolios and asked questions of chairmen, as set out at Appendix 3.  This included questions on those matters contained within the Cabinet report (pages 169 to 172) and written questions and answers pursuant to Standing Order 2.38 (set out at Appendix 2).