None were made

None were made

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 5 February 2014 were agreed as a correct record.

Order of Business – Part 4A, Paragraph 3.3 of the Constitution

·     receive a presentation of the Budget/Council Tax report from the relevant

·     officers

·     officers to respond to questions from members via the Mayor

·     to receive remarks from the Cabinet on the report

·     Council to debate the report and take any motions or amendments

·     Please Note – Following a change in recent legislation, all decisions relating to either the substantive budget motion/proposal or any amendments to it, will have to be taken via a recorded vote (Roll Call).

At the invitation of The Mayor, the Monitoring Officer addressed the Council and explained that following a recent change in legislation, which had come into force on 28 February 2014, all Budget related decisions including proposed amendments, required the recording in the minutes of the names of those who voted for or against the decision or who abstained from voting. To accommodate that, a ‘Roll Call’ would be used for each of the votes relating to the substantive budget motion or any amendments to it.

The Mayor invited the Director of Corporate Services to present the Business Plan 2014-18 to the Council and responded to any questions from Members on the proposals.

The Leader of the Council then addressed the Business Plan 2014-18. Councillor Stephen Alambritis moved the recommendations as detailed in the report (reproduced below) whilst making his budget speech to Council. A copy of which is appended to the minutes as Appendix A.

That the Council agrees the Business Plan 2014-18 including:-

·         the General Fund Budget;

·         the Council Tax Strategy for 2014/15 equating to a Band D Council Tax of £1,102.25, which means that Merton qualifies for Council Tax Freeze Grant;

·         the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for 2014-2018;

·         the Capital Investment Programme (as detailed in Annex 1 to the Capital Strategy);

·         the Capital Strategy (Section 1: Part A of the Business Plan)

·         the Treasury Management Strategy (Section 1: Part A of the Business Plan), including the detailed recommendations in that Section , incorporating the Prudential Indicators.

as set out in the report, and agrees the formal resolutions as set out in Appendix 1 to the report.

Councillor Mark Betteridge formally seconded the recommendations.

The Mayor then invited in turn the four oppositions Group Leaders to respond to the Budget proposal and the Business Plan.

The Leader of the Conservative Group, Councillor Oonagh Moulton addressed the meeting and her speech is attached to the minutes, as Appendix B.

The Leader of UKIP and the Merton Coalition, Councillor Suzanne Evans, addressed the meeting and her speech is attached to the minutes, as Appendix C.

The Leader of the Merton Park Ward Independent Residents Group, Councillor Peter Southgate, addressed the meeting and his speech is attached to the minutes, as Appendix D.

The Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, Councillor Iain Dysart, addressed the meeting and his speech is attached to the minutes, as Appendix E

Members of the Cabinet were then invited to address the meeting. The following took that opportunity:

·     The Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Mark Allison

·     The Cabinet Member for Education, Councillor Martin Whelton

·     The Cabinet Member forEnvironmental Cleanliness and Parking, Councillor Judy Saunders

·     The Cabinet Member for Environmental Sustainability and Regeneration, Councillor Andrew Judge

The Mayor then invited any Councillors to move proposed amendments to the Business Plan.

·       Councillor Suzanne Grocott moved the Conservative Amendment, (which can be found as Agenda Item 4a to the report), which was seconded by Councillor David Williams

·       Councillor Richard Hilton moved the UKIP Amendment, (which can be found  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.