Meeting Details

The Chair

The Chair paid tribute to Kay Yule who resigned as being a Councillor and passed away after a short illness in December 2024. The Deputy Leader, Councillor Paul Ashton also paid a moving tribute to Kay Yule, offering condolences to her friends and family. The Deputy Leader stated there would be a memorial service on 16 May 2025.

 Councillor Byatt and Councillor Jepson offered condolences to Kay Yule’s family and friends on behalf of both the Labour and Conservative groups.

 The Chief Executive also paid tribute to Kay Yule referencing her knowledge and passion for Woodbridge and the work she did as a Councillor.

 The Chair noted the recent resignation of Councillor Deborah Dean.

 The Chair attended the following engagements since the last Full Council meeting:

• Bungay Town Dinner on 29 November at Bungay Community Centre
• First meeting of the East Suffolk Youth Council on 9 December in the Conference Room at Riverside.

The Chair, Councillor Dr Speca welcomed the Chair of the Independent Remuneration Panel who would be presenting agenda item 12.

The Vice-Chair

 The Vice Chair attended the following engagements since the last Full Council meeting:

•  St Johns Ambulance Annual Awards Ceremony on 30 November at St Johns Ambulance building in Ipswich

• Mayor of Ipswich’s Festive afternoon in Christchurch Mansion on 1 December at Christchurch Mansion, Ipswich

• West Suffolk Council’s Civic Carol Service on 2 December at St Edmundsbury Cathedral

• SCC Chairman’s Civic Carol Service on 12 December at St Mary Le Tower Church in Ipswich

•  The Bishop of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich and the Reverend Canon Jutta Bruek’s Christmas Drinks Party on 13 December at the Bishops House in Ipswich.

•  Mayor of Felixstowe’s Christmas Carol Service on 19 December at Felixstowe Methodist Church

 The Leader

 With effect from 13th December 2024 the following changes had been made:

• Councillor Mark Packard was the Chair of the Local Plan Working Group and would also take the lead role for Coastal Partnership East. The Councillor would also take a place on the Cycling, Walking and Wheeling Working Group and finally a place on the Ipswich Strategic Planning Area Board

• Councillor Bennett was now on the CIL working group 

• The Deputy Leader would take the place on the Benacre and Kessingland Flood Project and the Southwold to Walberswick Project Board

• Councillor Molyneux would take the place on the Kyson (River Deben) Fairways Committee.

The Cabinet

 There were no announcements from Cabinet Members.

 The Chief Executive 

 The Chief Executive paid tribute to Mike Wood, Payables Receivables and Insurance Manager who recently passed away. Condolences were given to Mike’s friends and family.

Clerk’s note: It was noted that Councillor Lawson had attended Full Council on 25 September 2024, CMIS would be updated to reflect the Councillor attended the meeting.

On the proposition of Councillor Thomspon seconded by Councillor Daly it was unanimously

RESOVLED

That the minutes of the meeting held on 22 January 2025 be agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair. 

Question 1 from Councillor Janet Craig to Councillor Jan Candy, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Community Health: 

 In October this year Healthwatch Suffolk produced a Report entitled ‘Tackling Poverty Together’. Based on a two-year project, the Report was delivered in co-production with people with lived experience of financial hardship, alongside leaders across the public and private sector.

The Report states it was vital that to create positive change, voices of those that experience poverty must be included. It was inspired by similar models across the nation known as ‘Poverty Truth Commissions’ that challenge a traditional approach led by professionals, leaders and front-line workers, and shifts the dynamic to ensure community partners share power and insights, to create solutions together.

Where new ideas have been identified by this innovative approach, can we investigate further whether any of the Recommendations from the Report can be adopted in East Suffolk and  feedback any positive outcomes as a result? 

Councillor Jan Candy, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Community Health:

 I am pleased to confirm that East Suffolk Council was a civic partner of the Tackling Poverty Together project and officers participated in a series of events and workshops, working with Healthwatch Suffolk to co-produce solutions to some of the challenges identified by those with lived experience of poverty.

Question 2 from Councillor Peter Byatt to Councillor Caroline Topping, Leader of the Council:

Following a freedom of information request, a recent LGA report noted that Councils had approved at least 731 staff requests to work from abroad in 2023.

What is this Council’s view on staff working from abroad?

Response from Councillor Caroline Topping, Leader of the Council:

As a rule, access to our network is not permitted from outside the United Kingdom.  However, in exceptional circumstances, we may allow such a request and the process for considering these is referenced in Section 4 of the Council’s ICT Security Policy and requires the approval of the Head of Digital, Programme Management and Customer Services.

Whilst we encourage and enable a flexible approach to working, with the ability to log on to the network from any location, several considerations need to be taken into account when any request to work outside the United Kingdom is received.  These mainly revolve around the country concerned and which countries will be passed through in terms of border security in order to get to the destination country.  Where approval is granted, the user will be made aware of the implications of using our equipment abroad.

In 2023, the Council received five requests to work abroad which were all approved.  Two of these requests were for permanent remote working and three were short term requests to have access to check emails whilst on holiday in relation to important and specific work related matters.  In relation to the two permanent remote workers, the requests were approved given that they were hard to fill roles with the postholders having very specific expertise that the Council would benefit from.

For requests to carry out full time duties from abroad, there is a checklist of things to cover which includes a variation to the contract of employment where necessary.  In addition, we have also produced guidance to help managers support long distance employees in their team.

Supplementary Question from Councillor Byatt to the Leader. Councillor Topping

 Could there be certainty there was no risk to Council systems being hacked. 

Local business owner, David runs a SME in Felixstowe, he anticipates that as a result of the increase in National Insurance contributions he will have to find an additional £32,000 a year. David is not alone - he perhaps represents the average SME in East Suffolk.

What measures are in place to increase the footfall in our towns for local businesses and maintain consistency? How regularly are initiatives to support economic development being monitored against expenditure and outcomes?

The current administration understandably put the environment at the heart of their priorities. How can they reassure business owners that they will respond accordingly to the rapid changes and measures introduced by the current government? 

Response from Councillor Caroline Topping, Leader of the Council:

This administration has four themes at the heart of its Strategic Plan, in addition to Environmental Impact, Thriving Economy, Sustainable Housing and Tackling Inequalities make up our priority areas. The administration also fully understands the current difficult economic circumstance, particularly as they relate to SMEs within our district. As a result, we have a broad range of programmes to support East Suffolk businesses and high streets.

 Examples of such interventions include:

• funding for the countywide Growth Hub which provides a full range of business support for SMEs

• energy efficiency grants demonstrating that protecting the environment and supporting business is not mutually exclusive

• financial support for start-up businesses

• rural business investment programme

In addition to these direct business support measures, ESC’s Cabinet recently approved £420k to support a new Town Development Programme which will work with local businesses and stakeholders to enhance the vitality and increase footfall in all our town centres.

We are also delivering a number of transformational projects in Lowestoft high street and seafront, which will boost footfall in the town. In Felixstowe we have just embarked on the Seafront Development Strategy, which will guide £4m of capital investment into the visitor economy, boosting footfall and benefitting local businesses, many of them SMEs. In Leiston we continue to work with local partners to support the town centre masterplan priorities alongside SZC investment, again aimed at increasing the attractiveness of the town centre which will increase footfall.

We are also exploring how beneficial the government’s new High Street Rental Auctions policy could be in tackling vacant units in our town centres.

The Thriving Economy theme in Our Direction 2028 demonstrates the seriousness with which this administration views supporting SMEs and our high streets. The plan has priorities directly addressing these issues and key performance indicators which continuously measure the vitality of our town centres so that we can adapt our comprehensive programme to any chanting trends.

Supplementary question from Councillor Jepson to the Leader, Councillor Topping.

 Businesses paying business rates

 Q3 2023/24 13042

 Q3 2024/25 12885

 Business supported by Economic Development 23/24 1104, 24/25 635

 Does the reduction in businesses and the reduced engagement (no fault attached to Economic Development) pose a threat to our financial position when trying to deliver support to existing businesses and attracting new businesses.

Response from the Leader, Councillor Topping.

 A response to the question would be circulated within 20 days or prior to the next Full Council meeting. 

Question 4 from Councillor Myles Scrancher to Councillor Sally Noble, Cabinet Member with responsibility for the Environment:

In July 2019, this Council declared a climate emergency, consequently a cross-party Environment Task Group was established to action steps to meet the Council’s challenge of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

What are East Suffolk Council’s current carbon emissions and what are the administrations largest planned initiatives to reduce carbon emissions as a means of reaching carbon neutrality by 2030?

Response from  Councillor Sally Noble, Cabinet Member with responsibility for the Environment:

In 2023/24 total quantified emissions, at 4358 tCO2e, were down by 1706 tonnes of CO2e, or a decrease of 28.1%, from the previous year.  Over the period 2016/17 to 2023/24, the council’s quantified emissions overall have reduced by 51.4%.  The latest Annual Greenhouse Gas report will be published in February 2025 and the ESC KPI dashboard will be updated with this data.  

The largest three components of the Council’s greenhouse gas emissions are our Leisure Centres, Fleet and Retirement Living Schemes. We are awaiting the outcome of our government bid for funding to deliver the next phase of our leisure centre decarbonisation programme. Our heavy fleet has largely transitioned Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) and our light fleet is in the process of transitioning to both HVO and electric, with HVO being replaced by electric for all vehicles in the longer term as the technology and charging infrastructure improves. 

This year, the council will be creating an updated net zero plan that outlines in detail the next phase of work towards the 2030 net zero target, alongside how this will be funded and resourced

Supplementary question from Councillor Scrancher to Councillor Noble

 Councillor Scrancher followed up with the supplementary question, could you advise how much carbon was forecast to be saved under each of the initiatives discussed, by the end of the Council term in May 2027.

Response from Councillor Noble.

 A response to the question would be circulated within 20 days or prior to the next Full Council meeting.

 Question 5 from Councillor Letitia Smith to Councillor David Beavan, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Housing: 

 In January 2023, this Council agreed to support Discretionary Disabled Facilities (DDFG) & Repair Adaptations Funding (RAF) grants - non means tested grants with a maximum amount of £500 -£15,000 & £15,000 - £30,000. The full cost of the necessary adaptation works, up to this figure will be covered by the grant, irrespective of the applicant’s income and capital resources.

 Councillor Beavan, please provide the following:

a) The figures for the numbers of applications received for each non means tested grant scheme per year 2023/2024 and a breakdown of the areas in which residents live in East Suffolk to make sure the money is available across the Council area.

b) How many applications have been made in full for DDFG & RAF, what percentage have been accepted each per year and of that total how many fully completed in that timescale?

Response from Councillor David Beavan, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Housing:

In response to A) In 2023/2024 - 334 applications were received for disabled adaptations and 6 for disabled repairs. The total funding committed was £2,367,743.

 In response to B) No applications were refused in 23/24 and 260 cases were completed, including some carried forward from the previous year’s approvals.

 A breakdown by parish is available, the ward of Charlton Colville had 7. 

How does ESC effectively monitor properties that have been updated, If properties that have been updated and sold, is there a system in place where the Council can get back some of the grant funding money. 

Question 6 from Councillor Letitia Smith to Councillor David Beavan, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Housing:

It is this Council's desire to improve and grow the economic and social wellbeing of East Suffolk as a district.

At November’s Full Council meeting, we asked Cllr Beavan whether the list of Assets held by us as a Council had been fully investigated for economic development opportunities. He confirmed that he was aware that this work had been carried out by the Assets Team and no opportunities had been detected.

Councillor Beavan, please explain in more detail how this work was approached by the Asset team with your involvement and highlight how their conclusion was reached.

Response from Councillor David Beavan, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Housing:

The assets team undertakes a process of continual asset review and primarily focuses on assets where there is a change of tenancy and tenure. As and when tenancies come to an end the assets team will analyse the potential opportunity for the council in the vacant asset. This can include considering re letting, repurposing or disposal and has resulted in several successful lettings and disposals over the last financial year. Periodically the assets team reviews the Council’s untenanted landholdings with the same approach and identifies those suitable for re purposing, redevelopment or disposal. That the council has over 3000 individual assets, of which approximately 300 are leased and this process therefore is undertaken on a phased approach spanning a considerable period of time.

Supplementary question from Councillor Smith to Councillor Beavan

 The asset register was on the Forward Plan with a proposal for work to be completed by winter 2025. Would it be possible to have an update halfway through the year 

Response from Councillor Beavan and Councillor Ashton.

Councillor Aston responded that the asset team was producing an asset strategy which would be going to Cabinet. All assets would be considered including housing options. There would be consideration to land which had potential for development.

Councillor Beavan added that finding land was a focus of the Housing team, there was work to consider land available for purchase – if necessary, using compulsory purchase orders, if passed by central government. The team was looking at small sites for modular buildings and church land. Councillor Beavan requested members to let the team know if there was any opportunities available.

 Question 7 from Councillor Colin Hedgley to Councillor Caroline Topping, Leader of the Council:

I watched the last Full Council meeting via YouTube from home due to illness.

I noted that ten others were also watching. Further investigation highlighted that very few also watched a committee meeting.

Could you provide me with the average audience figures for 2024 for: -

1. The Full Council meetings.

2. Other Committee meetings.

Additionally, what are the annual costs, if any, of providing all YouTube coverage for East Suffolk Council meetings in total.

Response from Councillor Caroline Topping, Leader of the Council:

 In 2024 we had a total of 8647 views of committee videos, an average of 112 per committee. Live viewing figures are available for three months. For the last three months of 2024 there were a total of 147 live views – an average of 7 per meeting. The most watched committee meetings are Full Council (average of 237 viewers) followed by the two area planning committees (average of 151 viewers).

There is no cost for the Council’s YouTube channel.  

We pay support and maintenance for the kit which was instigated because of the reliance on streaming/broadcasting council meetings at a cost of £9,750 per year.

The Leader encouraged members to advertise meetings through their networks.

Question 8 from Councillor Paul Ashdown to Councillor Caroline Topping, Leader of the Council: 

 A councillor from Blundeston Parish Council would like to know why East Suffolk Council chose to pay for a flyer advising every household of the Christmas and New Year waste collections and on the same day have a magazine delivered which had the same flyer as a back cover?

Running both seems like an unnecessary expense and a questionable use of taxpayer’s money.

What was the cost of producing and distributing the additional flyers? 

Response from Councillor Caroline Topping, Leader of the Council:

This year, due to the way the bank holidays fell over Christmas, the decision to pull some collections forward was made so that some residents were not inconvenienced by having collections up to 4 days later than usual.  When collections are put back, residents simply leave their bins out to ensure they are emptied, however when collections are pulled forwards, they are unable to do this.  In order to reduce the number of complaints and service disruption to residents we were advised by the communications team to send a flyer out as well as the advert on the back of the magazine to ensure that the message was seen by as many people as possible.  The cost of printing 120,000 copies of the leaflet was £1,331 excluding VAT.  Delivery of the leaflet was free as this is part of our contract with East Suffolk Services Ltd (ESSL).

This approach resulted in only two complaints being recorded for a lack of prior notification of bin changes. As the decision was planned well in advance of the changes, ESSL staffing and Suffolk Waste Partnership disposal arrangements were also easier to confirm.

The Leader confirmed that printing the extra leaflet ensured that residents got the information as the magazine at can sometimes be delayed. 

Would there be sufficient notification of the new household waste collections to ensure people are aware of what bins are being collected and when.

Response from Councillor Topping and Councillor Ashton

There was ongoing work with the IT team exploring options for having an app that residents could use to find out what bins were being collected and on what day. There were aspirations for an app to provide reporting options also. 

There would be a suite of communications from the communications team to support the roll out of the new collections, with an inclusive approach on a variety of platforms to reach as many people as possible.

The Chair introduced the Chair and Vice Chair of East Suffolk’s Youth Council (ESYC).

The ESYC Chair and Vice Chair addressed Members and provided an update from the first Youth Council meeting.

The ESYC Chair and ESYC Vice Chair expressed their gratitude to the Council for working to set up the Youth Council and providing the opportunity for them to act as Youth Councillors and attend Full Council Meetings. They both believed the voice of young people was important and should be listened to. Referring to the motion passed at the December meeting of the East Suffolk Youth Council,  the ESYC Chair gave an example of the Council social media platforms being less formal and more engaging for young people. The ESYC Chair concluded to state that they were excited, hoped they would do a good job, and make the Councillors from East Suffolk Council proud. 

Members congratulated the Youth Councillors and thanked them for attending the meeting.

Both the ESYC Chair and ESYC Vice Chair thanked Members for their time and were looking forward to working together with their fellow Youth Councillors. 

The following motion has been received from East Suffolk Youth Council in pursuance of paragraph 31.2 of the Council procedure rules.

Youth Support and Safety Motion

This Council notes that:

Young people are the future of our community, and they deserve to have their mental health and wellbeing prioritised.

The current generation of young people is one of the first to be impacted by constant exposure to social media, excessive use of which has been linked to increased stress, anxiety, self-harm, eating disorders and poor progress at school amongst other factors.

The current generation of young people has also had to contend with the
COVID-19 pandemic during key years of education, which has resulted in 88% of young people feeling that loneliness made their mental health worse during this time.

The promotion and accessibility of youth groups, activities and resources in
East Suffolk could be improved.

A particular area for improvement is mental health services for young people outside of the school environment. Having teachers as the only point of contact when discussing mental health can present challenges, as safeguarding duties may necessitate personal information being relayed to parents or guardians. There is a real need for external and confidential mental health services to be made available.

This Council resolves to:

 Call on East Suffolk Council to:

Develop a specific communication strategy aimed at informing and supporting young people

Add a dedicated youth section to the East Suffolk Council website which promotes youth events, groups, entertainment and opportunities.

Use Community Partnerships to promote youth events, groups, entertainment and opportunities.

Engage youth more directly and effectively on social media with posts aimed at helping young people understand what provision, support and opportunities are made for them, and using social media trends, sounds, videos and the like.

Create an engaging Youth Well Minds booklet, both physical and digital, to circulate around schools signposting mental health support available, including relevant services external to the school eg. Papyrus and Samaritans.

Support the accessibility of affordable social opportunities for young people, such as by exploring transport options with existing providers.

Advocate for mental health awareness education and the presence of confidential mental health support in schools.

The Chair advised that for all or any part of a Youth Council motion to be taken forward for Full Councill consideration, a Councillor would need to propose the motion as read by the Youth Council or provide additional or alternative text in words of the proposers choosing.

The Chair confirmed that it would become a Full Council Motion as pursuant to paragraph 31.1 Council Procedure Rules.

Councillor Jepson congratulated the Chair and Vice Chair on their eloquent contribution and asked about associated costs.

Councillor Topping invited the Chair and Vice Chair to work with the Strategic Communications and Marketing Manager, regarding making the website and social media channels more accessible to young people.

Councillor Graham announced that at the last Community Partnership Board they agreed to allocate £46,000 to support Youth Council initiatives.

Councillor Whitelock extended her thanks to the Youth Councillors and the team who had facilitated the Youth Council. She highlighted cuts to youth provision funding and the effects on local youth-based activities and clubs.

Councillor Byatt thanked Councillor Graham and the Community Partnership board for agreeing the funding. He welcomed that the Youth Council had made mental health the first thing they wanted to look at. Sometimes teachers were in a difficult position so having someone objective and independent would help. The young people have come forward and said what matters. He stressed the importance of getting the trust of young and recognised they should be part of the democratic system.

Councillor Byatt proposed the Youth Council motion as read to be considered as a substantive motion by Full Council. The Councillor encouraged members to support the motion.

The proposal was seconded by Councillor Folley, who reserved the right to speak.

Councillor Ashton thanked and congratulated the Chair and Vice Chair. He welcomed their input to help improve the website and hoped there could be a youth section added to it. He was aware of the issues of living rurally, noting transport and youth clubs in particular. The importance of mental health was noted and how important it was to have youth clubs and activities run by trained people. He expressed his support for the motion.

Promoting Voter Engagement and Extension of the Franchise 

Proposer: Cllr Katie Graham
Seconder: Cllr Seamus Bennett

This Council notes that:

All residents of East Suffolk, regardless of their nationality, bring significant value to our district.

In East Suffolk, 1146 non-UK citizens resident in our district are un-enfranchised for Local Elections.

One in six usual residents of England and Wales were born outside the UK, approximately 10 million people.

Scotland and Wales have extended the franchise to allow all residents with lawful immigration status to vote.

16 local authorities across England have passed motions asking for the right to vote to be extended to all residents in local elections.

Currently, the different rules on who can vote in which election causes confusion amongst voters.

Across the UK, potentially as many as 8 million people are not correctly registered at their current address. This matters because it increases the chances that people will think they are registered when they are not and therefore be unable to vote come election day. 
 

This Council resolves to:

 Write to the Minister of State at the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government and the relevant shadow frontbencher requesting that the franchise for local elections be extended to all qualifying foreign nationals in England and Northern Ireland in line with eligibility criteria in Scotland and Wales.

Write to the relevant Ministers of State and shadow frontbenchers requesting that voting rights for British Citizens living abroad are secured through negotiating voting agreements with countries currently not yet covered by agreements.

Deliver training to councillors on the changes brought by the Elections Act so that all residents can be accurately informed about their voting rights.

Work collaboratively with voluntary sector organisations in our local authority to reach residents about voter eligibility rules and how to vote.

Continue promoting voter registration and photo ID requirements to residents at citizenship ceremonies, events, and other communication channels.

Councillor Graham introduced the motion and reported that over 1 million residents in England and Northern Ireland do not have the right to vote in any election because of where they were born. They live, work, study and pay taxes in the UK.  According to recent data, in East Suffolk there are 1146 residents who are excluded from voting in local election. Eligibility to vote was not straight forward, with variances across the United Kingdom.

 Councillor Graham wanted the Council to urge government through passing the motion, to implement a fairer approach and a simpler system and a levelling up of voter rights in local communities. The Councillor would like to see increased enfranchisement and voter participation for foreign born residents in East Suffolk and across the country in alignment with Scotland and Wales and the 19 other nations who support the principle of resident-based voting rights. 

Councillor Daly supported the motion and that all residents should be part of democratic process.

Councillor Byatt added that it would be beneficial to have some additional detail as the intentions of the letters was not clear. The Councillor recognised it was an important issue.

Councillor Lynch indicated he would not be able to support the motion which would include ‘all residents’ that could impact on those incarcerated, which was not something he could agree with.

Councillor Ashton added that there would be weight in several councils making the same point, which could have more impact and would be worth doing. Prior to Brexit EU residents automatically received voting rights in this country, the same was true for British residents living in Europe (for local elections). There had been reciprocal agreements in some countries. Commonwealth residents have reciprocal voting rights.

Councillor Candy believed the motion was about inclusion.

Councillor Pitchers supported the idea of the motion but would have liked to have seen more detail on the motion.

Councillor Gandy added that consideration should be given to the wording of the motion regarding training.

Councillor Deacon stated that he did not think the wording of the motion provided enough detail.

Councillor Smith-Lyte believed the motion represented both inclusion and fairness.

Councillor Graham concluded that the motion was about lobbying government for a better system and did not think there was anything to be lost in progressing the motion and believed there was plenty to gain.

The motion was passed by majority vote

Councillor Caroline Topping, Leader of the Council introduced report ES-2236 which related to the Calendar of Meetings for 2025-2026.

The Calendar of Meetings provided the framework for the democratic and decision-making processes that would underpin the delivery of the key priorities identified within the Council’s East Suffolk Strategic Plan.

The Chair of the Council / Chair of the Committees have the power to call additional or ‘Extraordinary’ meetings when required, to accommodate urgent or unscheduled items of business or to change a meeting date to reflect unexpected circumstances eg bad weather. 

The Calendar would be published on the Council’s website via CMIS. The meeting papers for Full Council, Cabinet and the Committees were also available to view on the website.

The meeting dates for the Community Partnerships and the Community Partnership Board would be populated as soon as was practicable and then with Members.

The report also sought approval to move the Annual Council meeting from Wednesday 28th May 2025 to Wednesday 21st May 2025. This was due to the Suffolk Show taking place on Wednesday 28th and Thursday 29th May 2025.

On the proposition of Councillor Topping, seconded by Councillor Ashton it was unanimously 

RESOLVED

That Full Council:

1. Approved the Calendar of Meetings for the 2025/2026 Municipal Year attached as Appendix A of this report.

2. Agreed to move the Annual Council meeting from Wednesday 28th May 2025 to Wednesday 21st May 2025.

Councillor Caroline Topping, Leader of the Council introduced report ES-2245 which related to Independent Renumeration Panel. The Leader introduced Tricia Bernard-Hector from the panel who presented the report.

A Members Allowances Scheme (MAS) must be produced in accordance with the requirements of the Local Authorities (Members Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003 and it is required to be adopted by Full Council.

In October 2024, appointments were made to a new Independent Remuneration Panel (IPR) to make recommendations on the MAS.

Three Panel Members were appointed - Tricia Bernard-Hector, Sue Putters and Sandra Cox.  They are completely independent of the Council and their report is impartial.  The recommendations that they have made have been brought to Full Council for consideration.

The Members Allowances Scheme included the Basic Allowance paid to all Councillors, as well as Special Responsibility Allowances (SRAs) for those undertaking additional duties. The review covered travel expenses, subsistence allowances, dependent carers’ allowances, and allowances for co-opted members.

The Panel were also asked to consider a potential allowance for Town and Parish Councillors in the East Suffolk District. A report containing the recommendations for Parish and Town Council allowance can be found in Appendix D.


Recommendations on the Basic Allowance

 After considering increases of 5%, 7%, and 10%, we recommend a 7% increase to the Basic Allowance. The proposal was to increase the Basic Allowance to £9,379 per annum, which equated to £2.10 per constituent.

In addition, the panel recommended that the Basic Allowance remain index linked to Officers’ pay/allowances, such that any annual increase applied to Officers’ pay/allowances would be similarly applied to Members’ Allowances. 

Special Responsibility Allowances (SRAs)

SRAs were calculated as multipliers of the Basic Allowance, any increase in the Basic Allowance automatically affects SRAs. The panel considered each position of responsibility in turn and concluded that most of the multipliers for each Special Responsibility Allowance were appropriate and did not need to be amended, with the exception of the following proposed changes:

• Licensing Committee: The Chair, Vice Chair, and Members of the Licensing Committee should receive the same allowances as their counterparts on the Planning Committees, due to the significant number of Licensing Sub-Committee meetings.

•  Overview and Scrutiny Committee: Members of this committee should receive an SRA given the frequency of their meetings, training sessions, and the complexity of their work.

• Audit and Governance Committee: Members of this committee should also receive an SRA, reflecting the complexity of their work, although they only meet quarterly.

Expenses

Minor adjustments to travel and subsistence allowances were proposed. Recognising the challenges faced by those with caring responsibilities, it was recommended to increasing the allowance for specialist care of dependents from £20 to £30 per hour and the childcare allowance from £10 to £15 per hour. 

Cost Implications of recommended changes

 The current cost of the Members’ Allowances Scheme was £716,194.08 which was comprised of £482,154.20 for the Basic Allowance and £234,039.88 for the Special Responsibility Allowances.   

Under the proposed recommendations for the Members Allowance Scheme, the maximum total costs would be £865,562.33.  It comprised £515,485.00 for the Basic Allowance and £349,717.33 for the Special Responsibility Allowances.

However, factoring in the 25% cap on second SRAs and no payment for three or more SRAs, the actual costs of the proposed Members Allowances Scheme, was £782,848.43 equating to an overall increase of £66,654.35.

The panel recognised the work and long hours done by Councillors but there was an element of voluntary work to the role and the basic allowance was not meant to be the equivalent of a full-time salary.

 Councillor Jepson added that a number of Councillors had childcare or caring responsibilities. He felt there was a strong sense of duty to represent communities amongst his colleagues and believed the work carried out by members demonstrated value for money.

 Councillor Byatt outlined the work outside of meetings which was required, including reading meeting papers or speaking with officers to prepare for meetings. The Councillor implored the press to consider the information that is published in the media.

 The Leader thanked the IRP for their work and recognised the time and hours that Members put into their roles.

 On the proposition of Councillor Topping, seconded by Councillor Langdon-Morris it was unanimously

RESOLVED

That Full Council:

1. Noted the contents of the Report of the Independent Remuneration Panel as contained in Appendix A.

2. Approved the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel for a new Members’ Allowances Scheme for East Suffolk, as set out in Appendix B.

3. Noted the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel for Town and Parish Councils which are paying, or decide to pay, their Councillors allowances, as set out in Appendix D.

Councillor Noble introduced report ES/2237 which related to the authorisation to proceed with the purchase of food waste collection vehicles. East Suffolk Council had a Statutory Duty under Simpler Recycling legislation to introduce a weekly food waste collection service by the end of March 2026. To facilitate this, the Council needed to purchase a fleet of 7.5t collection vehicles and containers in the form of external containers and internal caddies. The bins were subject to separate procurement processes, but the paper sought approval to proceed with the procurement and purchase of the vehicle fleet.

Councillor Folley asked if it was better to rent the vehicles due to the uncertainty around devolution. Councillor Noble said they had looked at the possibility and referred to Councillor Ashton. He explained that regardless of reorganisation, councils would still be responsible for collecting waste so lorries were needed. 

Councillor Byatt asked if they had looked at buying with other Councils to achieve economy of scale. Councillor Ashton said they were looking for opportunities with other councils but they needed to get on with what Full Council has already approved for waste collection. He confirmed that officers were looking at the costs.

Councillor Noble concurred that the Council needed to proceed with the work to prepare for Simpler Recycling.

On the proposition of Councillor Noble, seconded by Councillor Byatt it was unanimously

RESOLVED

That Full Council approved:

1. A supplementary capital budget of £1.767m in 2025/26 to purchase vehicles for the new food waste collection service, and to be funded from New Burdens funding.

2. The purchase of vehicles for the food waste collection service. That Full Council delegates authority to the Strategic Director with responsibility for Corporate Services, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, to enter into a contract for the purchase of the vehicles from the successful bidder after a procurement process pursuant with the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules and Public Contract Regulations 2015.

Councillor Beavan introduced report ES/2235 which related to Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Rent and Service Charge setting for 2025/26.

The Housing Revenue Account relied on rents and charges to pay for housing services, which needed to be kept with inflation.  Social rents were below local housing allowances.

 Councillor Gandy acknowledged that arrears were decreasing but asked, bearing in mind the Council was raising rents and there was a cost-of-living crisis and there are arrears, has an assessment of affordability of these rents been carried out. How much did it cost the Council to recoup the arrears.

Councillor Beavan responded that the arrears were going down, there were officers who supported people with budgeting and the local housing allowance was more than the East Suffolk Council’s rent. Universal credit was also an option for people who required it and there were discretionary housing benefits available.

Councillor Beavan would come back to Councillor Gandy regarding the cost of recouping arrears.

Councillor Jepson noted that it was a normal fee for social housing rent to be increased by and the additional income would go to towards improving the Council’s housing. The Councillor commented that the papers provided for consideration were detailed.

Councillor Beavan concluded that the 1% convergence was needed. Social rents were 50-60% below market rents. In order to be able to build houses the Council needed to have rental income.

Councillor Rumble had declared a DPI for the agenda item. The Councillor stepped out of the room and did not participate in the debate of vote.

 On the proposition of Councillor Beavan, seconded by Councillor it was unanimously 

RESOLVED

That Full Council approved the following:

1. Proposed rent increase of 2.7% In line with the Rent Standard September 2024 CPI of 1.7% + 1%.

2. Service charges and associated fees for 2025/26 at Appendix A

 3. Rent and Service Charges to be charged over a 50-week period unless being used for Temporary Accommodation when a 52-week period will be applied

Full Council received report ES-2244, which was presented by Councillor Topping, Leader of the Council, and provided individual Cabinet Members' reports of their areas of responsibility, as well as reports from those Members appointed to represent East Suffolk Council on Outside Bodies.  The Leader stated that the written reports could be taken as read and she invited relevant questions on their contents.

There were no questions for Cabinet Members.  

On the proposition of Councillor Speca, seconded by Councillor Fisher it was unanimously

RESOLVED

It was recommended that under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.