Issue - meetings

To consider the recommendations from the Corporate Policy Committee.

Note: The appendices for the Medium-Term Financial Strategy report have been circulated as a separate document to all members of the Council. Members are asked to bring these to the meeting and use this version of the documents when the item is considered at the meeting.

The Corporate Policy Committee, at its meeting on 10 February 2022, had considered a report on the Medium-Term Financial Strategy for Cheshire East Council for 2022-26.

The Corporate Policy Committee had recommended to Council the items in Appendix A to the report, subject to the two following recommendations:

a.    the Highways and Transport Committee be asked to carry out an immediate and major review of the local and national funding of expenditure of Cheshire East Highways, and that this leads to decisions or recommendations to enhance services and value for money to local residents; and

b.    the Capital Programme, on page 218 of the MTFS agenda pack, be amended to provide the Managing and Maintaining Highways expenditure is increased to £6m in each of 2023/24 and 2024/25 instead of £4m in each year.  To balance this amendment, the borrowing costs be funded from correlated savings over the three-year period, achieved from the revenue budget allocated to pot holes repairs.

The recommendations were proposed and seconded, and during the debate an amendment was proposed.

Amendment

To include an item in the Capital Programme, on Page 218 of the MTFS agenda pack, for B5077/B5078 North Junction, Alsager. The cost is £400,000 fully funded from External Contributions.

The amendment was moved and seconded.  The mover and seconder of the recommendations from Corporate Policy Committee to Council agreed to accept the amendment and therefore the amendment became part of the substantive proposition.

Following debate on the substantive recommendations, these were put to the vote, and in accordance with legislation, a recorded vote was carried out with the following results:

FOR

Councillors Q Abel, S Akers Smith, L Anderson, J Barber, L Braithwaite, J Bratherton, S Brookfield, C Browne, C Bulman, B Burkhill, P Butterill, S Carter, S Corcoran, L Crane, D Edwardes, B Evans, H Faddes, A Farrell, K Flavell, R Fletcher, M Goldsmith, S Handley, A Harewood, S Hogben, M Houston, D Jefferay, L Jeuda, I Macfarlane, N Mannion, A Moran, R Moreton, D Muprhy, C Naismith, J Nicholas, J Parry, B Puddicombe, J Rhodes, J Smith, A Stott, M Warren and P Williams.

AGAINST

Councillors M Asquith, R Bailey, M Beanland, M Benson, D Brown, J Clowes, S Davies, T Dean, S Edgar, JP Findlow, A Gage, S Gardiner, L Gilbert, A Gregory, P Groves, G Hayes, S Holland, A Kolker, C Leach, K Parkinson, P Redstone, J Saunders, M Sewart, M Simon, L Smetham, D Stockton, L Wardlaw, J Weathertill and N Wylie.

NOT VOTING

Councillor D Marren, A Martin, B Murphy, S Pochin and L Roberts.

The motion was declared carried with 41 votes for, 29 against and 5 not voting.

RESOLVED: 

That Council

1          notes the Report of the Council’s Chief Finance Officer (Section 151 Officer), contained within the MTFS Report, regarding the robustness of estimates and level of reserves held by the Council based on these budget proposals (Appendix C to the report, Report from the Section 151 Officer).

That Council, having given due regard to the report  ...  view the full minutes text for item 65