Agenda and draft minutes

It was noted that apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Mrs Parvin.

The following Substitute Member was noted:

Councillor Ash for Councillor Mrs Parvin.

There were no Visiting Members.

There were no disclosures by Members or Officers.

There were no disclosures of lobbying.

RESOLVED: That the items on Part II of the agenda be taken in private as proposed.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting held on 21 November 2014 be approved as a correct record and signed.

The Head of Finance and Resources introduced a report setting out the information available on the Tax Base as at 6 October 2014 for Council Tax purposes. The report identified potential changes to that Tax Base which could be expected in the forthcoming year and recommended the Tax Base for 2015-16 as 56974.3.

In response to questions Members were informed that:

·  Band D is taken to be the Council Tax Base rate, with other bands proportionally higher or lower as measured in ninths.

·  With unemployment rates falling there was an expectation that claims for Council Tax Support would also decrease.

·  The in-year collection rate for Council Tax was on average 97%, but arrears continued to be pursued into subsequent years, making the long term non-collection rate 1%.

RESOLVED:

1.  That in accordance with the Local Authority (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (England) Regulations 2012, the amount calculated by this Authority as its Council Tax Base for the year 2015-16 shall be 56974.3.

2.  That in accordance with the Local Authority (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (England) Regulations 2012, the amount calculated  by this Authority as the Council Tax Base for each Parish area as identified in Appendix B to the report of the Director of Regeneration and Communities for the year 2015-16 be approved.

The Group considered the report of the Head of Policy and Communications concerning the appointment of an Independent Member to serve on the Joint Independent Remuneration Panel, and setting out details of the recent appointment of a representative from the Chamber of Commerce.

The Group was asked to consider the application received, interview the candidate and appoint an Independent Member.

In order to consider the information contained in the exempt appendix to the report of the Head of Policy and Communications (the application form and reference), and interview the candidate in private, the Group:

RESOLVED: That the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business because of the likely disclosure of exempt information for the reason specified having applied the Public Interest Test:-

Having considered the information contained in the application form and reference, and interviewed the candidate, the Group:

RESOLVED: That Mr Stephen Golding be appointed as an Independent Member of the Joint Independent Remuneration Panel until 7 December 2017.

10.01 a.m. to 10.51 a.m.