Agenda item

Report of the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Community Safety

The Monitoring Officer gave assurance that each Member of Council (if declaring an interest as residents of the District, as Parish Councillors or County Councillors) had an automatic dispensation to remain in the meeting and speak and vote on the item. The Chair asked Members to indicate if they had an interest to declare in this particular fashion, and all Members indicated that they did.

The Monitoring Officer reminded Members that votes on budget and Council Tax setting items would be done via recorded vote as set out by the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014.

Members were also reminded by the Monitoring Officer that Members in arrears of Council Tax by more than 2 months must not vote in decisions on or which might affect budget calculations, and must disclose at the meeting that this restriction applies to them.  A failure to comply with these requirements was a criminal offence under Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

Councillor Clive Moesby (Portfolio Holder - Finance and Community Safety) presented a report to Members recommending the approval of the Levels of Council Tax for the 2021/2022 financial year. The report recommended that demand on the Collection Fund for this Council should be £4,103,006, and because the Council had now received all of the Parish Precept demands which totalled £3,294,344, together meant the total demand on the Collection Fund in 2021/22 would be £7,397,350.

He explained that in order to calculate the Council Tax requirement for Bolsover District Council at the relevant bands, the demand of Derbyshire County Council, the Police Authority, the Fire Authority and local Parish Councils had been taken into account in the report.

Councillor Clive Moesby moved the recommendations in the report (6.1 to 6.2) to approve Council Tax for 2021/2022 as set out in the report, and to allow the officers in paragraph 1.6 to undertake the identified duties in accordance with section 223 of the Local Government Act 1972, and delegate to the Council’s Chief Financial Officer the authority to authorise any amendments to the list of named officers that may prove necessary during the course of the financial year. This was seconded by Councillor Steve Fritchley (Leader of the Council).

For the motion – 30

(Councillors Derek Adams, Rose Bowler, Dexter Bullock, Tracey Cannon, Anne Clarke, Nick Clarke, Jim Clifton, Tricia Clough, Paul Cooper, David Dixon, Maxine Dixon, Mary Dooley, David Downes, Steve Fritchley, Ray Heffer, Natalie Hoy, Andrew Joesbury, Chris Kane, Tom Kirkham, Duncan McGregor, Clive Moesby, Tom Munro, Evonne Parkin, Graham Parkin, Sandra Peake, Peter Roberts, Liz Smyth, Rita Turner, Deborah Watson and Jen Wilson.)

Against the motion – 1

(Councillor Allan Bailey.)

Abstentions – 0

On being put to a recorded vote it was RESOLVED that:

(i)  Council formally approves the Council Tax for the Financial Year 2021/22 as set out in this report.

(ii) Council authorises the officers as set out in section 1.6 above to undertake the identified duties in accordance with section 223 of the Local Government Act 1972, and delegates to the Council’s Chief Financial Officer the authority to authorise any amendments to the list of named officers that may prove necessary during the course of the financial year.

(Section 151 Officer)