Agenda item

Notice of Motion

Meeting of South Hams Council, Thursday, 6th December, 2018 10.00 am (Item 47/18)

to consider the following motions received (if any) in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10.1;

(a) By Cllrs Wright and Pearce

‘This Authority urges the Government to consider the removal of 100% Business Rate Relief on the letting of self-catering holiday homes. The Government’s present approach has a serious financial impact on local authorities with a high volume of Holiday Home Lettings. This Authority should continue lobbying to have the Relief removed.’

(b) By Cllrs Birch and Brazil

‘This Council welcomes the consultation being undertaken by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in respect of the review of tax rules for second-homes and resolves to respond by the closing date on 16 January 2019.

In making its response, the Council will include the following:

At a time when local authorities in Devon are struggling to maintain public services and balance their budgets, a vast sum of money is lost each year due to a tax loophole available to owners of second homes and/or holiday lets in the county.

If the owners of second homes declare that they make their property available for holiday accommodation for at least 140 days out of the year, they don’t have to pay Council Tax and can be registered for Business Rates instead.

In the event of the rateable value on the property being less than £12,000, the owners are exempt from paying both Business Rates and Council Tax.

Records show that there are 1,358 business rated properties in the South Hams that fall into the category of holiday lets or second-homes. If the owners of each property paid their full share of Council Tax, a total of £2.47 million would flow into SHDC, Devon County Council and the Emergency Services, such as Fire and Police. SHDC’s share of the total would be around £223,000.

In order to close this tax loophole and, in recognition of the local government services provided for the benefit of the occupants of holiday lets or second homes, this Council calls upon the government to introduce legislation requiring such properties to pay 100% Council Tax.’

‘This Council:

- Welcomes the steps taken in Parliament to encourage more women and a greater diversity of people to become involves in politics;

- Recognises the importance of Councillors on South Hams District Council coming from a wide diversity of backgrounds; and

- Accepts that the present low level of the allowances made to Councillors could act as a barrier to some groups, of people deciding to stand for election.

Therefore, from May 2019, the Basic Allowance given to Councillors will be set at £10,000 per year, rising annually by the Retail Price Index.

(NOTE. that an alternative recommendation that I would also accept is for an additional allowance of up to £5,000 per year to be provided on top of the existing allowance (rising in line with the Retail Price Index) to Councillors who self-certify that their annual income including the allowance remains below £18,000 per year AND they have unencumbered assets of less than £100,000.’

(d) By Cllrs Green and Hodgson

‘It has been recognised that at present SHDC Officers do not have the capacity to monitor the implementation of environmental mitigation measures that are specified as conditions in planning approvals. The requirement for mitigation measures being put in place is often fundamental to Councillors giving approval for developments and there is concern that, without a significant increase in monitoring, many mitigation measures will not be implemented. Therefore, the Council will recruit a full-time Officer to be responsible for checking on the implementation of environmental mitigation conditions specified in planning approvals and helping to enforce compliance.’

(e) By Cllrs Hodgson and Green

‘This Council notes that:

1. Humans have already caused irreversible climate change, the impacts of which are being felt around the world. Global temperatures have already increased by 1 degree Celsius from pre-industrial levels. Atmospheric CO2 levels are above 400 parts per million (ppm). This far exceeds the 350ppm deemed to be a safe level for humanity;

2. In order to reduce the chance of runaway Global Warming and limit the effects of Climate Breakdown, it is imperative that we as a species reduce our CO2eq (carbon equivalent) emissions from their current 6.5 tonnes per person per year to less than 2 tonnes as soon as possible^{^[i]};

3. Individuals cannot be expected to make this reduction on their own. Society needs to change its laws, taxation, infrastructure, etc., to make low carbon living easier and the new norm;

4. Carbon emissions result from both production and consumption;

5. South Hams District Council has already shown foresight and leadership when it comes to addressing the issue of climate change and has recognised this in its strategies, actions plans, public statements and advice to businesses, residents and parish councils;

6. Unfortunately, our current plans and actions are not enough. The world is on track to overshoot the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 degrees Celsius limit before 2050;^{^[ii]}

7. The IPCC’s Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius, published last month, describes the enormous harm that a 2 degrees Celsius rise is likely to cause compared to a 1.5 degrees Celsius, and told us that limiting Global Warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius may still be possible with ambitious action from national and sub-national authorities, civil society, the private sector, indigenous peoples and local communities;^{^[iii]}

8. Local Authorities around the world are responding by declaring a ‘Climate Emergency’ and committing resources to address this emergency.^{^[iv]}

This Council believes that:

1. All governments (national, regional and local) have a duty to limit the negative impacts of Climate Breakdown, and local governments that recognize this should not wait for their national governments to change their policies. It is important for the residents of Devon and the UK that counties commit to carbon neutrality as quickly as possible;

2. Local Authorities are uniquely placed to lead the world in reducing carbon emissions;^{^[v]}

3. The consequences of global temperature rising above 1.5 degrees Celsius are so severe that preventing this from happening must be humanity’s number one priority; and,

4. Bold climate action can deliver economic benefits in terms of new jobs, economic savings and market opportunities (as well as improved well-being for people worldwide).

This Council calls on the Leader to:

1. Declare a ‘Climate Emergency’;

2. Pledge to make the district of South Hams carbon neutral by 2030, taking into account both production and consumption emissions (scope 1,2,3);^{^[vi]}

3. Call on Westminster to provide the powers and resources to make the 2030 target possible;

4. Work with other governments (both within the UK and internationally) to determine and implement best practice methods to limit Global Warming to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius;

5. Continue to work with partners across the county and region to deliver this new goal through all relevant strategies and plans;

6. Report to Full Council within six months with the actions the Council will take to address this emergency.

References:

[1] Fossil CO2 & GHG emissions of all world countries, 2017 http://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu/overview.php?v=CO2andGHG1970-2016&dst=GHGpc

2 World Resources Institute: https://www.wri.org/blog/2018/10/8-things-you-need-know-about-ipcc-15-c-report

3 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sr15/

4 For example Bristol and Manchester City Councils: https://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/3066475/bristol-and-manchester-unveil-fresh-plans-to-tackle-climate-emergency

Also US cities, Berkley: https://www.theclimatemobilization.org/blog/2018/4/25/hoboken-resolves-to-mobilize And the C40 cities: https://www.c40.org/other/deadline

5ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, provides many examples of good practice, models and toolkits for Climate Change Adaptation and Urban Resilience: http://iclei-europe.org/topics/climate-change-adaptation-urban-resilience/

6 Scope 1,2 and 3 of the Greenhouse Gas protocol explained: https://www.carbontrust.com/resources/faqs/services/scope-3-indirect-carbon-emissions

(f) By Cllrs Green and Hodgson

‘This Council will write to Sarah Wollaston MP and the Secretary of State for Work & Pensions requesting that the roll-out of Universal Credit is paused whilst amendments are made.

Without the needed vital changes, it is highly likely that Universal Credit will have a significant detrimental impact on many residents & families in the South Hams, including those with severe disabilities.

The recent Secretary of State for Work & Pensions, Esther McVey, acknowledged that many people would be financially worse off as a result of their existing benefits being consolidated into one payment.’

Minutes:

47/18

It was noted that six motions had been received in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10.

At this stage, the Chairman informed that, due to the close linkages between published motions (a) and (b), he had exercised his discretion to permit these to be combined into one joint motion.

(a) By Cllrs Wright and Birch & Pearce and Brazil

Furthermore, this Council welcomes the consultation being undertaken by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in respect of the review of tax rules for second-homes and resolves to respond by the closing date on 16 January 2019.

In making its response, the Council will include the following:

In the event of the rateable value on the property being less than £12,000, the owners are exempt from paying both Business Rates and Council Tax.

In their respective introductions, the proposers made reference to:-

- the current arrangements resulting in a loophole that was being exploited in a number of instances and was costing local authorities an extensive amount of money in lost Council Tax revenue. It was hoped that this loophole would be closed following the current consultation exercise;

- the South Hams having the highest concentration of second homes in the United Kingdom; and

- there currently being no requirement for owners of second homes to provide evidence that their property was available for holiday accommodation for at least 140 days each year.

In the ensuing debate, the following points were raised:-

(a) To be consistent and fair to all, the view was expressed that all property owners should pay Council Tax as opposed to Business Rates;

(b) It was noted that there was ministerial support for this loophole being closed and Members hoped that local MPs would also write to the Minister to express their support. Members also felt that the Local Government Association and the District Councils Network should be encouraged to lobby the Government during this consultation exercise;

(c) Whilst supporting the motion, a Member hoped that this would be the first step towards local authorities being able to charge second home owners more than 100% Council Tax.

It was then:

RESOLVED

That this Authority urges the Government to consider the removal of 100% Business Rate Relief on the letting of self-catering holiday homes. The Government’s present approach has a serious financial impact on local authorities with a high volume of Holiday Home Lettings. This Authority should continue lobbying to have the Relief removed.

In making its response, the Council will include the following:

In the event of the rateable value on the property being less than £12,000, the owners are exempt from paying both Business Rates and Council Tax.

(b) By Cllrs Green and Hodgson

‘This Council:

- Welcomes the steps taken in Parliament to encourage more women and a greater diversity of people to become involved in politics;

- Recognises the importance of Councillors on South Hams District Council coming from a wide diversity of backgrounds; and

- Accepts that the present low level of the allowances made to Councillors could act as a barrier to some groups of people deciding to stand for election.

Therefore, from May 2019, the Basic Allowance given to Councillors will be set at £10,000 per year, rising annually by the Retail Price Index.

In support of his motion, the proposer highlighted that the current Basic Allowance (£5,151 per annum) was a barrier to prospective candidates standing for election and he hoped that this proposal would overcome this hurdle.

During the ensuing debate, reference was made to:-

(i) the public perception. Whilst recognising the sentiments of the motion, a number of Members felt that, particularly in the current difficult financial climate, the approval of such a drastic increase in the Basic Allowance would convey totally the wrong message to the residents and communities of the South Hams;

(ii) an annual Basic Allowance of £10,000. Some Members expressed the view that an increase to £10,000 would still not be sufficient to enable for the vast majority of potential candidates to consider a change in their circumstances (e.g. leaving full-time employment). In addition, other Members cited examples of other local authorities that had a larger Basic Allowance yet still had a similar demographic of elected Members to South Hams District Council. As a consequence, these Members felt that the focus should be on the culture, attitudes and behaviours of elected Members as opposed to the remuneration that they were entitled to claim;

(iii) the role of the Independent Remuneration Panel. Having been informed that any such increase in Basic Allowance would first require the views of the Independent Remuneration Panel to be sought, the proposer and seconder amended their motion to read as follows:

‘This Council:

- Welcomes the steps taken in Parliament to encourage more women and a greater diversity of people to become involved in politics;

- Recognises the importance of Councillors on South Hams District Council coming from a wide diversity of backgrounds; and

- Accepts that the present low level of the allowances made to Councillors could act as a barrier to some groups of people deciding to stand for election.

Therefore, the Independent Remuneration Panel should be convened to consider a proposal whereby from May 2019, the Basic Allowance given to Councillors will be set at £10,000 per year, rising annually by the Retail Price Index.

When put to the vote, this motion was declared LOST.

(c) By Cllrs Green and Hodgson

In his introduction, the proposer highlighted that he had tabled this motion to reflect the public concerns that he had been made aware of whereby there was a perception that those conditions related to environmental mitigation measures were not being monitored or checked.

During the debate, particular reference was made to:-

(i) the role of Members. A Member was of the view that it was part of his roles and responsibilities (and indeed the wider membership) to monitor the compliance of conditions within his local Ward. Another Member disputed this viewpoint and stated that conditions that related to environmental mitigation measures was a particularly specialised area of work that should be the ultimate responsibility of a dedicated officer resource;

(ii) funding any increase to the Council’s staffing establishment. Whilst there was a great deal of sympathy for the motion, there was also general recognition that this meeting was not the appropriate Forum to approve an increase to the Council’s staffing establishment. It was therefore concluded that the joint Overview and Scrutiny Panel / Development Management Committee budget consultation meeting (that was also scheduled to consider a Development Management Service Review) on 24 January 2019 would be the appropriate meeting for this matter to be debated.

The proposer and seconder of the motion put forward an amendment to reflect this point that, when put to the vote, was declared CARRIED.

It was then:

RESOLVED

It has been recognised that at present SHDC Officers do not have the capacity to monitor the implementation of environmental mitigation measures that are specified as conditions in planning approvals. The requirement for mitigation measures being put in place is often fundamental to Councillors giving approval for developments and there is concern that, without a significant increase in monitoring, many mitigation measures will not be implemented.

Therefore, as part of the 2019/20 draft Budget Setting process, the joint Overview and Scrutiny Panel / Development Management Committee meeting on 24 January 2019 will give consideration to a proposal to recruit a full-time Officer to be responsible for checking on the implementation of environmental mitigation conditions specified in planning approvals and helping to enforce compliance.

(d) By Cllrs Hodgson and Green

‘This Council notes that:

3. Individuals cannot be expected to make this reduction on their own. Society needs to change its laws, taxation, infrastructure, etc., to make low carbon living easier and the new norm;

4. Carbon emissions result from both production and consumption;

6. Unfortunately, our current plans and actions are not enough. The world is on track to overshoot the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 degrees Celsius limit before 2050;

8. Local Authorities around the world are responding by declaring a ‘Climate Emergency’ and committing resources to address this emergency.

This Council believes that:

2. Local Authorities are uniquely placed to lead the world in reducing carbon emissions;

3. The consequences of global temperature rising above 1.5 degrees Celsius are so severe that preventing this from happening must be humanity’s number one priority; and

4. Bold climate action can deliver economic benefits in terms of new jobs, economic savings and market opportunities (as well as improved well-being for people worldwide).

Full Council calls on the Leader to:

1. Declare a ‘Climate Emergency’;

2. Pledge to make the district of South Hams carbon neutral by 2030, taking into account both production and consumption emissions (scope 1,2,3);

3. Call on Westminster to provide the powers and resources to make the 2030 target possible;

4. Work with other governments (both within the UK and internationally) to determine and implement best practice methods to limit Global Warming to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius;

5. Continue to work with partners across the county and region to deliver this new goal through all relevant strategies and plans;

6. Report to Full Council within six months with the actions the Council will take to address this emergency.

In introducing the motion, the proposer advised that similarly worded motions had already obtained the support of other local authorities including Manchester City Council and Bristol City Council. In addition, the motion had also been approved at a recent meeting of Totnes Town Council. In stating that it was now time to recognise the urgency of the situation, the proposer hoped that the Council would be able to support her motion.

During the debate, the following points were raised:-

- In stating that the climate had always changed, some Members were of the view that there was a need for further rigour and scientific examination to be carried out before they would be minded to support any such motion;

- The Leader felt there to be little point in the Council approving this motion without the support of other neighbouring local authorities. Therefore, whilst he was not minded to support the motion at this time, he did give a commitment to gauge the views of his colleagues at the Devon Districts Forum meeting in January 2019;

- It was felt that climate change should not be looked at in isolation and some Members emphasised the importance (and relevance) of other factors such as population growth.

When put to the vote, the motion was declared LOST.

(e) By Cllrs Green and Hodgson

‘This Council will write to Gary Streeter MP and Sarah Wollaston MP and the Secretary of State for Work & Pensions requesting that the roll-out of Universal Credit is paused whilst amendments are made.

In his introduction, the proposer advised that he had received a great deal of correspondence from constituents who were suffering as a direct consequence of the roll-out of Universal Credit. As a consequence, it was the intention of the motion to call for a pause to the roll-out as quickly as was practically possible.

In discussion, reference was made to:-

(i) the recently appointed Secretary of State for Works & Pensions. The Leader informed that the newly appointed Secretary of State had already indicated that she would be listening carefully to concerns over Universal Credit. As a result, the Leader felt that the Secretary of State should be given the opportunity to carry out this task;

(ii) the workload of Council officers. Whilst the support offered to residents by Council officers was felt to be superb, some concerns were raised that these officers could be swamped by the additional workload. The Group Manager – Customer First and Support Services confirmed that, since officers were already dealing with the impact of full service roll-out in the South Hams, there would be no additional impact or change if it was to be now paused;

(iii) consideration of a new Council Policy. In an attempt to mitigate the negative impact of these new measures, it was noted that a new Policy would be presented to Members for approval in due course.

When put to the vote, the motion was declared LOST.