Agenda and minutes

To sign the Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 1 December 2022.

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Full Council meeting held on 1 December 2022 be approved as a correct record and signed.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Elbourne, Humphreys, Sachdeva and Thompson.

To receive any declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider any urgent business.

There was no urgent business.

To consider any questions received from members of the public under Council Procedure Rule 2.14.

Jemma De Vincenzo asked a question about the regulation and maintenance of property standards for social housing within the borough. A response was given by Councillor Caroline Neame, Executive Member for Housing and Support.

Note: For more information on responses to Council questions, please see this page on the Council’s website:

https://reigate-banstead.moderngov.co.uk/ecCatDisplay.aspx?sch=doc&cat=13798

To consider any questions received from Members of the Council under Council Procedure Rule 2.15.

7 questions on notice were asked, and responses were given as follows:

Note: For more information on responses to Council questions, please see this page on the Council’s website:

https://reigate-banstead.moderngov.co.uk/ecCatDisplay.aspx?sch=doc&cat=13797

To receive and consider the recommendations of the Council’s Executive, Committees and Sub-Committees, including:

Executive meeting held on 15 December 2023:

·       Minute 50 – Treasury Management Strategy Mid-Year Report 2022/23

Related Committee agenda, reports and minutes are available here.

Executive meeting held on 26 January 2023:

·       Minute 57 – Budget & Capital Programme 2023/24

Related Committee agenda, reports and minutes are available here.

·       Minute 58 – Council Tax 2023/24

Related Committee agenda, reports and minutes are available here.

·       Minute 61 – Calendar of Meetings 2023/24

Related Committee agenda, reports and minutes are available here.

The Council received recommendations arising from the Executive meetings held on 15 December 2022 and 26 January 2023, relating to:

(i)           Treasury Management Mid-Year Report 2022/23 (Executive minute 50);

(ii)          Budget and Capital Programme 2023/24 (Executive minute 57);

(iii)        Council Tax setting 2023/24 (Executive minute 58); and,

(iv)        Calendar of Meetings for 2023/24 (Executive minute 61).

(i)           Minute 50, Treasury Mid-Year Report 2022/23

RESOLVED that the recommendations of the Executive, from its meeting on 15 December 2022, in respect of minute 50 (Treasury Management Mid-Year Report 2022/23) be adopted.

(ii)          Minute 57, Budget and Capital Programme 2023/24

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Brunt, moved the recommendations and in doing so commended the work of the officers and Members who contributed to it, including the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Budget Scrutiny Panel.

The Deputy Leader & Executive Member for Finance and Governance, Councillor Schofield, seconded the original recommendations, and reserved the right to speak.

Members’ discussion of the original recommendations of the Executive on 26^th January 2023  included the following considerations:

·         The Budget Scrutiny Panel concluded that the revenue budget savings, the additional income and the cost increases were achievable, realistic and based on sound financial practices and reasonable assumptions.

·         The revenue and capital budget proposals for 2023/24 sought net service budget growth of £0.271m to reflect unavoidable growth (e.g. inflation, legislative change or increased demand on services) of £0.442m, funding risks relating to property voids and energy cost pressures of £1.35m, and planned investment in the Council’s IT Strategy of £0.493m. This growth was offset by the proposed savings of £0.828m and additional income generation of £1.186m. Further income was expected to be generated from the 2023/24 municipal year as a result of the completion of the Rise development in Marketfield Way.

·         Although the proposed savings were not expected to have a significant impact on service scope or quality, some reductions were proposed in the grants and funding to voluntary organisations. There was concern about the impact on residents of reducing funding for voluntary organisations.

·         A Government settlement in December 2022 provided a new minimum funding guarantee to provide an extra 5% in core spending power, plus increased new homes bonus. The net result has been a £1.9m reduction in the use of earmarked reserves to balance the budget. Earmarked reserves of £0.5m was allocated to support the IT Strategy, and £0.5m to fund the net deficit on Housing Benefit Subsidy where government grant funding did not meet the Council’s legal obligations.

·         In relation to the council tax and business rates, with higher collection rates than anticipated during the pandemic, it had been possible to release surpluses from the Collection Fund accounts. Council tax setting for 2023/24 was recommended to increase by 2.99%, however acknowledging that the 1% increase in Council Tax was not anticipated when drafting the budget, and recognising the ongoing financial challenges facing residents, the Council had established an ‘Economic Pressures Reserve’ of £0.150m to provide extra discretionary support to those who  ...  view the full minutes text for item 62.

To receive any statement from the Leader of the Council, Members of the Executive, Chairmen of Committees or the Managing Director.

The Council received a statement from Councillor Biggs, Executive Member for Planning Policy and Place Delivery, about a statutory public consultation by Natural England in relation to the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

The consultation run for 14 weeks, starting on 7^th March 2023. The Council was a statutory consultee under Section 83 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, however Natural England had extended the consultation to other stakeholders, including local parish councils, partnership members, businesses, landowners, community organisations, recreational interest groups, and the wider public.

Further details would follow about how the public could participate in the consultation, such as webinars, stakeholder events and in-person drop-in sessions at accessible venues hosted by Natural England.

Councillor Biggs also updated the Council about ‘The Rise’, a new commercial and residential development in central Redhill, which was nearing completion and was expected to open on 15^th March 2023. The development included a variety of leisure facilities including a cinema, shops, restaurants, and bars.

To receive and approve the Pay Policy Statement for 2023/24.

The Managing Director presented the report on the adoption of the Pay Policy Statement for 2023/24 in accordance with the requirements of the Localism Act 2011.

The statement set out the Council’s existing approach to pay and included details of the highest and lowest earners and the relationship between the two.

The pay policy statement was required to be approved by the Council in advance of the following financial year and, to ensure transparency, it was required to be published on the Council’s website.

The statement reaffirmed the Council’s ongoing commitment to paying a fair and Real Living Wage to all employees and workers, above national minimum wage levels.

The recommendation set out in the report was moved by Councillor Lewanski, as Chair of the Employment Committee, and seconded by Councillor Schofield.

RESOLVED that the Pay Policy Statement for 2023/24 be approved.

To receive the report and recommendations of the Independent Renumeration Panel.

The report of the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) and Parish Remuneration Panel (PRP) set out recommendations for the Members’ Allowances Schemes for Reigate and Banstead Borough Council; and, Horley Town Council and Salfords and Sidlow Parish Council respectively.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Brunt, moved an amendment to recommendations 1 and 3 of the IRP’s report, which sought to lower the increase to the basic allowance proposed by the IRP to 2.99%, in line with Council Tax increase adopted for 2023/24, and to freeze the Leader’s special responsibility allowance with no increase from the 2022/23 rate.

RESOLVED to adopt the amended recommendations within the officer’s report.

To receive a report from the Monitoring Office to update the Constitution to remove references to the Governance Task Group, which has delivered it work programme and is no longer required.

RESOLVED to adopt the recommendations within the officer’s report.

To receive any announcements by the Leader of the Council.

RESOLVED to adopt the recommendations within the officer’s report.

To receive any announcements from the Mayor.

The Mayor gave thanks to Andy Nash and his team at the Belfry Shopping Centre in Redhill. Over the festive season the shopping centre had facilitated fundraising opportunities for numerous local charities and helped them to raise thousands of pounds.

The annual Poppy Appeal for Remembrance Day in November raised £18,000 in donations to support the Mayor’s charities (SASH and The Include Project). The event was held at the Belfry Centre in Redhill and was supported by many other local charities including Stripey Stork, Renewed Hope, Autism All Stars, The Lucy Rayner Trust, Home Start, The Orpheus Centre Trust, Active Prospects, Sight for Surrey and The Children’s Trust.

The Mayor also congratulated the cast, staff, and the volunteers for the Cinderella Pantomime performance and production at the Harlequin Theatre in Redhill, which raised £2,157.80 for the Mayor’s chosen charities.

Friday 27 January marked Holocaust Memorial Day. The Mayor lit a candle in memory of all those killed in the holocaust and other genocides in Bosnia, Cambodia, Darfur and Rwanda.

The Mayor attended a business guild event held at the Town Hall during the previous evening and commended the work of the borough’s Business Guilds in promoting the borough’s towns as vibrant places to live and work, including organising events such as the Christmas Fayre and Town Christmas Lights in Reigate.

The Mayor sought support on behalf of SASH, which supported East Surrey Hospital, for a project to repair some of the old benches on the hospital grounds which were in poor condition, and in doing so, called for people with DIY skills who would be able to refurbish some of these benches to get in touch with the Mayor’s Office for further details.