Archived decisions
297 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Ellis and Mrs West.
298 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
All Members who believed they had a personal or prejudicial interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting were asked to declare that interest and, having regard to the circumstances described in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the County Council's Code of Conduct, to consider whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with paragraph 12 of the Code. The declaration should be made at the time of the relevant debate.
299 MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting of the County Council held on 15 May 2008 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
300 DEPUTATIONS
The Council suspended Standing Order 21 to allow 1 hour and fifteen minutes for deputations, to allow two requests to make a deputation that were received out of time, and to allow one of these to be made by an elected representative. Thirteen deputations opposing proposals in the Draft Minerals Plan were made by the following:
· Chris Huhne MP
· Mr E Broadbent of Hamble
· Mr M Badcock of Burley Street
· Mr M Cox of Hythe
· Miss J Dajka of Hamble
· Mr J McKenna of Hamble
· Mr M Nicholson of Hamble
· Mr Leonard-Williams on behalf of Mrs P Hynd of Hamble
· Mr T McWilliam of Hamble
· Emma Westmacott of Hamble
· Mr M Denton of Hamble
· Mr M Hearnden of Catisfield
· Maria Hutchings of West End
301 CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS
The Chairman reported his and the Vice Chairman's involvement in the civic affairs of Hampshire since the previous meeting including four royal visits. Other engagements had included the opening of two local radio stations, visits to Sparsholt College, the River Hamble, the Newbury festival, Zulu dancing at Danebury Ring, the opening of the Sentinel Housing Association's sheltered scheme at Hartley Wintney, Russian ice ballet at Aldershot, the youth games at Aldershot, the Veteran's Day parade at Andover, West Sussex County Council's Pallant House Gallery and Chichester Theatre, The Aviary Children's Centre in Eastleigh, hosting a visit to The Castle, to the Hampshire Record Office and to the Winchester Discovery Centre by Hampshire civic leaders and attending the Adjutant General Corps Freedom Parade. So far in July the Chairman had been very pleased to host a concert by the Hampshire Music Service as part of the Winchester Festival and had attended the Mayor of Fareham's civic service. The Vice Chairman had deputised for the Chairman at Enterprise Challenge 2008 awards presentations, Winchester Business Excellence awards presentations, Age Concern Hampshire's half yearly meeting, Beating the Retreat at Worthy Down near Winchester, Hampshire Music Service's Recorder Jamboree in Fareham and Southampton Airport's recent community and stakeholder conference.
Lastly, and with deep regret, the Chairman reported the passing of two Honorary Aldermen - Sue Bartlet (a former Chairman of the County Council) and Ken Bulmer. Councillor Thornber, the Leader of the County Council and Councillors Collett and Jo Kelly, the Minority Group Leaders, each spoke in tribute to the exceptional and outstanding contribution made by these former County Councillors to public life both during their periods in office and upon their retirement from the County Council. Members stood in silence as a mark of respect to their memories.
302 LEADER'S REPORT
The Leader reported his intention, with the family's agreement, to celebrate the life of the late Honorary Alderman Sue Bartlet in September in The Great Hall.
He also reported the success of Conference Hampshire (CONVENUS) on its fifth birthday, having grown from 130 venues to some 250 now and concluded by informing the Council that he had received correspondence from South Central Strategic Health Authority announcing that they intended to begin consultation in August regarding the issue of fluoridation of water supplies to the City of Southampton. This would impact on a significant number of residents living in Eastleigh and the New Forest and accordingly he had asked the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee to consider the matter and to report to the County Council in November.
303 HAMPSHIRE MINERALS PLAN
The Leader of the Council introduced the report of the Cabinet (Item 9 in the Minute Book) and, in doing so, made a revised recommendation as follows:-
"That the Hampshire Minerals Plan ("the Plan"):
(a) shall provide for 1.82 million tonnes per annum of sand and gravel, subject to the Council agreeing in due course a revision to Policy S8 in the Core Strategy to ensure conformity with the Plan;
(b) subject to recommendation (c), be approved for publication, consultation on its soundness and subsequent submission to the Secretary of State in accordance with Regulations 27 - 30 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Development)(England) Regulations 2004 as amended
and further
(c) that the Director of Environment, in consultation with the Executive Member for Environment, be authorised to:
(i) review and, so far as necessary amend, the provisions in the Plan relating to depots and wharves to give effect to the recent court judgment, and
(ii) pursue and bring forward for consideration by the Council a revision to Policy S8 in the Core Strategy, to ensure conformity with the Plan; and
(iii) finalise the Plan prior to submission and supporting documents, provided that these do not change the overall direction, shape and emphasis of the document, and do not raise any new issues."
The following documents (marked Item 9(a)-(e) respectively in the Minute Book) had also been circulated to members before the meeting to supplement the report of the Cabinet:
(a) List of correspondence received.
(b) List of deputations made to the Cabinet on 23 June, 2008.
(c) Minutes of the Environment and Transportation Sub-Committee meeting held on 17 June, 2008 detailing the outcome of its consideration of the Minerals Plan.
(d) Letter dated 7 July, 2008 from Burgess Salmon on behalf of New Milton Sand and Ballast Limited to all members of the County Council.
(e) Copy of e-mail dated 7 July, 2008 on behalf of the Raymond Brown Group.
Given the complexity of the issues, the Leader sought and obtained the Council's agreement to suspend Standing Order 7 to allow the Director of Environment and the Head of the County Council's Legal Practice to address the meeting.
The Chief Executive reassured the County Council that discussions had taken place with Counsel and that there was no impediment to the County Council making a decision in accordance with the replacement recommendation presented by the Leader of the Council. The Director of Environment explained the purpose of the plan, some key technical points and the procedural context within which the County Council was being asked to make a decision, namely to approve the plan for the purpose of public consultation followed by consideration, in the light of that consultation, by a Government appointed inspector. The Head of the Legal Practice gave advice to Members in relation to the declaration of interests and procedures in relation to personal and prejudicial interests.
Councillor P.A. Heath thereupon declared a personal and prejudicial interest due to his employment and left the meeting.
The following Members declared personal interests:
Councillor Mrs. Dickens - possible family connection.
Councillor Weeks - employment.
Councillor Bryant - Chairman of River Hamble Harbour Board.
Councillor Allgood - involvement in South Downs National Park planning guidelines.
Councillor Bailey - member of River Hamble Management Committee and Hamble River User.
Councillor Cooper - close connection through work colleague.
Councillor Carew - Ecologist.
In order to allow a full presentation of the Cabinet's report, the Leader sought and obtained the Council's agreement to suspend Standing Order 23 so that he might exceed the normal 7 minute time limit for his presentation of the Cabinet's proposals. He thanked the officers for their advice and guidance in relation to the proposals now submitted. He drew particular attention to the County Council's duty to plan, to the majority of representations received having concerned Hamble, Warsash and New Milton, the implications for the Hampshire community of the absence of a minerals plan and consultation on minerals extraction volumes being undertaken by the Government and the South East England Regional Assembly.
The Cabinet had been diligent in formulating and presenting its recommendations and most had visited each of the sites in the draft plan. The Leader understood the concerns of local people who might be affected by minerals extraction and he reassured the meeting that the County Council would do its utmost to manage noise, dust, traffic and similar side effects so as to minimise adverse impacts and that it was the County Council's aim to restore sites so that the legacy was an improvement on what had existed before. He reassured the Council that approval of the plan at this meeting was not the end of the process and that, following the next consultation, the Government's Inspector could make changes. He and the Cabinet were satisfied that the proposals in relation to the extraction of 1.82 million tonnes per annum of sand and gravel as recommended was sufficient to meet foreseeable demand and in the best interests of the people of Hampshire.
The Leader concluded with regret that Mr. Huhne had chosen to end his deputation by questioning the probity of the County Council's Administration in relation to land at Hamble identified in the draft plan which was owned by Persimmon Homes, a company which was known to have made financial contributions to the Conservative Party at national level. The Leader indicated that he was minded to take advice on the issue.
To make the position abundantly clear he deleted the words "with no landfill pending determination as to the long-term use of the site." from the text in the Plan concerning the land in question - area 7 (inset map 20) Hamble Airfield. The Executive Member for Environment informed the Council that, in the course of consultation leading to preparation of the draft plan Persimmon Homes Limited had submitted a representation to the County Council. He also confirmed that there had been no communication with the company by the County Council.
In the course of a full debate, 5 amendments were proposed and seconded. The meeting agreed that site specific amendments would be considered separately and consequently the first, second, fourth and fifth amendments were dealt with initially followed by Councillor Collett's amendment, the third in sequence of submission. The amendments were dealt with as follows:-
Councillor House, seconded by Councillor Blampied, moved the following amendment:
"That Hamble Airfield is deleted from the Minerals Plan as a mineral extraction site."
The amendment proposed by Councillor House was put to the meeting and, pursuant to Standing Order 24, a recorded vote was called for. Voting was as follows:-
Supporting the amendment:
Councillors Bailey, Blampied, Broadhurst, Bryant, Buckley, Carew, Collett, Cooper, Dash, Davies-Dear, Dickens, Dowden, Dunsdon, Gill, Gurden, Harrison, House, Hughes, Ludlow, Mason, Payne, Peskett, Porter, Price, Roling, Simpson, Weeks.
Total: 27
Opposing the amendment:
Councillors: Allgood, Banks, Beagley, Byrom, Cartwright, Chapman, Clarke, Davidovitz, Devereux, Edgar, Edwards, Evans A, Evans K, Frankum, Gale, Gillett, Glen, Heron, Hindson, Hockley, Hutcheson, James, Kelly, Kendal, Kimber, Kirk, Knight, Leversha, Maxwell, McIntosh, McNair Scott, Neal, Perry, Reid, Rice, Snaith, Still, Thornber, Tucker, Wheale, Woodhall, Woodward, Wright.
Total: 43
Abstention:
Councillor Kemp-Gee.
Total: 1
The amendment was lost.
Councillor Simpson, seconded by Councillor Collett, proposed the following amendment:
"(a) Remove Busta triangle from the plan (Busta is known as the Eversley Common quarry extension). It was proposed Preferred Area 9 (pPA9), which was figure 56 in Appendix 1 of the draft plan. It is now Area 1 of Policy M1 on Page 17 which is shown on inset Map 2 in Appendix 1.
(b) For the avoidance of doubt, HR042 referring to Warren Heath at Bramshill is not a strategic aggregate recycling facility."
Following reassurance by the Leader of the Council in relation to the status of the Warren Heath facility, Councillor Simpson withdrew (b) of his amendment.
The revised amendment proposed by Councillor Simpson was put to the meeting and, pursuant to Standing Order 24, a recorded vote was called for. Voting was as follows:-
Supporting the amendment:
Councillors Bailey, Blampied, Broadhurst, Buckley, Carew, Collett, Cooper, Dash, Davies-Dear, Dickens, Dowden, Dunsdon, Gill, Gurden, Harrison, House, Hughes, Ludlow, Mason, Payne, Peskett, Porter, Price, Roling, Simpson, Weeks.
Total: 26
Opposing the amendment:
Councillors: Allgood, Banks, Beagley, Bryant, Byrom, Cartwright, Chapman, Clarke, Davidovitz, Devereux, Edgar, Edwards, Evans A, Evans K, Frankum, Gale, Gillett, Glen, Heron, Hindson, Hockley, Hutcheson, James, Kendal, Kimber, Kirk, Knight, Leversha, Maxwell, McIntosh, McNair Scott, Neal, Perry, Reid, Rice, Snaith, Still, Thornber, Tucker, Wheale, Woodhall, Woodward, Wright.
Total: 43
Abstention:
Councillors Kelly and Kemp-Gee.
Total: 2
The amendment was lost.
Councillor Dash, seconded by Councillor Dunsdon, proposed the following amendment:
"That Forest Lodge Farm is deleted from the Minerals Plan as a mineral extraction site."
The amendment proposed by Councillor Dash was put to the meeting and, pursuant to Standing Order 24, a recorded vote was called for. Voting was as follows:
Supporting the amendment:
Councillors Bailey, Blampied, Broadhurst, Buckley, Carew, Collett, Cooper, Dash, Davies-Dear, Dickens, Dowden, Dunsdon, Gill, Gurden, Harrison, House, Hughes, Ludlow, Mason, Payne, Peskett, Porter, Price, Roling, Simpson, Weeks.
Total: 26
Opposing the amendment:
Councillors: Allgood, Banks, Beagley, Bryant, Byrom, Cartwright, Chapman, Clarke, Davidovitz, Devereux, Edgar, Edwards, Evans A, Evans K, Frankum, Gale, Gillett, Glen, Heron, Hindson, Hockley, Hutcheson, James, Kelly, Kendal, Kimber, Kirk, Knight, Leversha, Maxwell, McIntosh, McNair Scott, Neal, Perry, Reid, Rice, Snaith, Still, Thornber, Tucker, Wheale, Woodhall, Woodward, Wright.
Total: 44
Abstention:
Councillor Kemp Gee.
Total: 1
The amendment was lost.
Councillor Carew, seconded by Councillor Ludlow, proposed the following amendment:
"That Frith End and Kingsley Quarry (Extensions) are deleted from the Minerals Plan and that the deletion of Whitehill-Bordon and Malthouse and Osborne Farms (Country Market) be welcomed."
The amendment proposed by Councillor Carew was put to the meeting and, pursuant to Standing Order 24, a recorded vote was called for. Voting was as follows:
Supporting the amendment:
Councillors Bailey, Blampied, Broadhurst, Buckley, Carew, Collett, Cooper, Dash, Davies-Dear, Dickens, Dowden, Dunsdon, Gill, Gurden, Harrison, House, Hughes, Kemp-Gee, Ludlow, Mason, Payne, Peskett, Porter, Price, Rowing, Simpson, Weeks.
Total: 27
Opposing the amendment:
Councillors: Allgood, Banks, Beagley, Bryant, Byrom, Cartwright, Chapman, Clarke, Davidovitz, Devereux, Edgar, Edwards, Evans A, Evans K, Frankum, Gale, Gillett, Glen, Heron, Hindson, Hockley, Hutcheson, James, Kelly, Kendal, Kimber, Kirk, Knight, Leversha, Maxwell, McIntosh, McNair Scott, Neal, Perry, Reid, Rice, Snaith, Still, Thornber, Tucker, Wheale, Woodhall, Woodward, Wright.
Total: 44
Abstention:
None.
Total: 0
The amendment was lost.
Councillor Collett, seconded by Councillor Cooper, proposed the following amendment:
"Delete all after "That" in (i) and replace with:
"The Minerals Plan shall provide for sand and gravel production based on figures for demand of 1.244 million tonnes per annum and that officers be instructed to:
(a) Reconsult on options at this lower level of extraction in place of the 1.82 million tonnes per annum;
(b) In selecting sites, give greater weighting to the impact of proposals on residential communities and business to protect the people of Hampshire from the impact of mineral extraction including intrusive HGV lorry movements; and
(c) Liaise with local planning authorities to ensure that site selection is consistent with adopted local plans and the emerging South East plan in that new mineral sites are not selected that will aid promotion of new housing sites not in accord with local planning policies".
The amendment proposed by Councillor Collett was put to the meeting and, pursuant to Standing Order 24, a recorded vote was called for. Voting was as follows:
Supporting the amendment:
Councillors Bailey, Blampied, Broadhurst, Buckley, Carew, Collett, Cooper, Dash, Davies-Dear, Dickens, Dowden, Dunsdon, Gill, Gurden, Harrison, House, Hughes, Ludlow, Mason, Payne, Peskett, Porter, Price, Roling, Simpson, Weeks.
Total: 26
Opposing the amendment:
Councillors: Allgood, Banks, Beagley, Bryant, Byrom, Cartwright, Chapman, Clarke, Davidovitz, Devereux, Edgar, Edwards, Evans A, Evans K, Frankum, Gale, Gillett, Glen, Heron, Hindson, Hockley, Hutcheson, James, Kelly, Kendal, Kimber, Kirk, Knight, Leversha, Maxwell, McIntosh, McNair Scott, Neal, Perry, Reid, Rice, Snaith, Still, Thornber, Tucker, Wheale, Woodhall, Woodward, Wright.
Total: 44
Abstention:
Councillor Kemp Gee.
Total: 1
The amendment was lost.
All amendments having been lost, the revised recommendation presented by the Leader of the Council was put to the meeting. Pursuant to Standing Order 24, a recorded vote was called for. The voting was as follows:
Supporting the revised recommendation:
Councillors: Allgood, Banks, Beagley, Bryant, Byrom, Cartwright, Chapman, Clarke, Davidovitz, Devereux, Edgar, Edwards, Evans A, Evans K, Frankum, Gale, Gillett, Glen, Heron, Hindson, Hockley, Hutcheson, James, Kelly, Kendal, Kimber, Kirk, Knight, Leversha, Maxwell, McIntosh, McNair Scott, Neal, Perry, Reid, Rice, Snaith, Still, Thornber, Tucker, Wheale, Woodhall, Woodward, Wright.
Total: 44
Opposing the revised recommendation:
Councillors: Bailey, Blampied, Broadhurst, Buckley, Carew, Collett, Cooper, Dash, Davies-Dear, Dickens, Dowden, Dunsdon, Gill, Gurden, Harrison, House, Hughes, Kemp-Gee, Ludlow, Mason, Payne, Peskett, Price, Roling, Simpson, Weeks.
Total: 26
The amended proposal was accordingly carried and it was:
RESOLVED:
That, subject to the deletion of the words "with no landfill pending determination as to the long term use of the site." from the text concerning area 7 (inset map 20) Hamble Airfield, the Hampshire Minerals Plan ("the Plan"):
(a) shall provide for 1.82 million tonnes per annum of sand and gravel, subject to the Council agreeing in due course a revision to Policy S8 in the Core Strategy to ensure conformity with the Plan;
(b) subject to recommendation (c), be approved for publication, consultation on its soundness and subsequent submission to the Secretary of State in accordance with Regulations 27 - 30 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Development)(England) Regulations 2004 as amended
and further
(c) that the Director of Environment, in consultation with the Executive Member for Environment, be authorised to:
(i) review and, so far as necessary amend, the provisions in the Plan relating to depots and wharves to give effect to the recent court judgment, and
(ii) pursue and bring forward for consideration by the Council a revision to Policy S8 in the Core Strategy, to ensure conformity with the Plan; and
(iii) finalise the Plan prior to submission and supporting documents, provided that these do not change the overall direction, shape and emphasis of the document, and do not raise any new issues.
303 QUESTIONS UNDER STANDING ORDER 20(b)
Councillor Thornber, Executive Member for Policy and Resources, answered a question from Councillor Dowden concerning the Knightwood Primary School's bus service.
Councillor Thornber, Executive Member for Policy and Resources, answered a question from Councillor Reid concerning health and safety training.
Councillor Kendal, Executive Member for Environment, answered a question from Councillor Porter concerning the advertised Traveline number at bus stops.
Councillor Kendal, Executive Member for Environment, answered a question from Councillor Mrs. Bailey concerning cycling initiatives in the Winchester area.
304 CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE SELECT COMMITTEE - VICE CHAIRMAN
On the recommendation of the Leader of the Council it was
RESOLVED:
That, with immediate effect, Councillor P.R. Edgar be appointed Vice-Chairman of the Children and Young People Select Committee.
305 AER COMMITTEE 1 - VACANCY.
Following his appointment as Chairman of the County Council, Councillor Woodhall had stood down from membership of AER Committee 1 and the Leader indicated that he would make a proposal to a future meeting.
306 POST OFFICE CARD ACCOUNT
Councillor Carew, seconded by Councillor Collett, moved the following notice of motion:
"This council notes that:
Over 4.3 million people in Britain currently access their pensions and benefits through the Post Office via their Post Office Card Account. Soon it will be replaced and the government may award the contract for the new card account to one of the Post Office's competitors.
The card account contract is estimated to be worth around £1 billion. Without that income stream many thousands of branches are likely to close. The National Federation of Sub-postmasters claim it could mean anything up to another 3000 closures across the UK.
This council therefore requests that:
The Leader write to Hampshire MPs, and urge them to sign Early Day Motion (EDM) 1506 to demand that the Post Office Card Account (POCA2) remains with the Post Office.
The Leader also write to Sir Simon Milton - Leader of the Local Government Association (LGA) to put pressure on councils and MPs up and down the UK to support this EDM."
The Council was supportive of Councillor Carew's proposal and accordingly
RESOLVED:
That this council notes that:
Over 4.3 million people in Britain currently access their pensions and benefits through the Post Office via their Post Office Card Account. Soon it will be replaced and the government may award the contract for the new card account to one of the Post Office's competitors.
The card account contract is estimated to be worth around £1 billion. Without that income stream many thousands of branches are likely to close. The National Federation of Sub postmasters claim it could mean anything up to another 3000 closures across the UK.
This council therefore requests that:
The Leader write to Hampshire MPs, and urge them to sign Early Day Motion (EDM) 1506 to demand that the Post Office Card Account (POCA2) remains with the Post Office.
The Leader also write to Sir Simon Milton - Leader of the Local Government Association (LGA) to put pressure on councils and MPs up and down the UK to support this EDM.
307 HAMPSHIRE SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY STRATEGY
Consideration of this item was deferred until the next meeting of the County Council.
308 PARTNERSHIP FOR URBAN SOUTH HAMPSHIRE (PUSH) - BUSINESS PLAN 2008-11
The Council considered the report of the Cabinet (Item 11 in the Minute Book) seeking approval to PUSH's business plan for the period 2008-11. The Council noted that the Cabinet had agreed to recommend the business plan to the Council with considerable reservations.
RESOLVED:
That the PUSH Business Plan be approved on condition that significant progress is made to address the following issues:
(a) the future scope of the Plan is reshaped to focus on key
deliverables that need substantial joint action by several partners
(b) that statutory responsibilities, accountabilities and ambitions of the
County Council for the whole of Hampshire are recognised, including the Local Area Agreement and statutory Department for Education and Skills (DfES) targets, and noting that Hampshire-wide commitments and arrangements need to be acknowledged and embraced in future updates
(c) the responsibilities and Terms of Reference for Transport for South
Hampshire are not affected by the Plan
(d) further discussion on the governance arrangements alluded to in
the document which need to be proportionate and appropriate in relation to the revised scope of the Business Plan
(e) progress with the above issues to be evidenced and reported
to the County Council as part of the annual submission in 2009
(f) the Leader be authorised to conclude any negotiations on the MAA
subject to the Agreement adding value to outcomes for residents of
Hampshire.
309 POLICY ON MINIMUM REVENUE PROVISION TO REPAY DEBT AND APPROVAL OF PRUDENTIAL INDICATORS 2007/08
The Council considered and approved the report of the Cabinet (Item 12 in the Minute Book) attached to which as Appendices 1 and 2 were both the proposed policy referred to and the prudential indicators.
RESOLVED:
310 VOLUNTEER DRIVERS TAX FREE MILEAGE THRESHOLD
The Council considered the following notice of motion submitted by Councillor Porter and seconded by Councillor Dash:
"This Council recognises the valuable contribution made by volunteer drivers and notes with serious concern the adverse impact of increasing petrol and diesel prices on volunteer drivers, all of whom are committed to providing valuable services to the community, often in partnership with the County Council. It also notes that the limit of 10,000 miles is an arbitrary one set by HMRC, beyond which the driver is paid at a lower rate of 25p per mile. Accordingly, this Council, noting that volunteer drivers are withdrawing their services as a result, makes strong representations to the government for an increase in the tax-free threshold mileage rate (which has remained unchanged since 2002).
That this Council notes with regret the Parliamentary answer to a question in the House of Commons on the 28 April, 2008 that " volunteer drivers can claim tax relief for the full cost of motoring by completing a [tax] return, if they wish to do so" and draws to the government's attention the guidance issued by the Department of Transport - Road Safety Act 2006: Private Hire Vehicles which cites the HMRC Approved Mileage Allowance Payment (AMAP) as a method of determining profitability for services provided by volunteers.
To keep the administration burden to a minimum, especially for those in the voluntary sector , an urgent increase in rates is requested.
That this Council requests of the HMRC that the mileage allowance, currently at 10,000 miles beyond which the driver is paid at the lower rate, be increased with immediate effect to 15,000 miles to reflect more realistically the number of miles driven by volunteer drivers without profit."
In support of the thrust of Councillor Porter's proposal, Councillor Glen, seconded by Councillor Cartwright, proposed the deletion of the final paragraph and its replacement as follows:
"This Council requests that HMRC consider raising an extra statutory concession removing the 10,000 mile per tax year upper limit for those drivers whose volunteer mileage exceeds this figure in order to partially compensate for the extra costs involved in volunteer driving."
Councillor Edgar declared a personal, prejudicial interest in the subject matter and left the meeting whilst the matter was discussed and resolved upon.
In debate it was further suggested that the Council should press for the 40 pence a mile limitation for the first 10,000 miles to be reviewed given recent significant increases in the cost of fuel.
Councillor Porter accepted the amendment and the suggestion vis a vis the mileage rate and accordingly it was
RESOLVED:
That this Council recognises the valuable contribution made by volunteer drivers and notes with serious concern the adverse impact of increasing petrol and diesel prices on volunteer drivers, all of whom are committed to providing valuable services to the community, often in partnership with the County Council. It also notes that the limit of 10,000 miles is an arbitrary one set by HMRC, beyond which the driver is paid at a lower rate of 25p per mile. Accordingly, this Council, noting that volunteer drivers are withdrawing their services as a result, makes strong representations to the government for an increase in the tax-free threshold mileage rate (which has remained unchanged since 2002).
That this Council notes with regret the Parliamentary answer to a question in the House of Commons on the 28 April, 2008 that " volunteer drivers can claim tax relief for the full cost of motoring by completing a [tax] return, if they wish to do so" and draws to the government's attention the guidance issued by the Department of Transport - Road Safety Act 2006: Private Hire Vehicles which cites the HMRC Approved Mileage Allowance Payment (AMAP) as a method of determining profitability for services provided by volunteers.
That this Council requests that HMRC consider raising an extra statutory concession removing the 10,000 mile per tax year upper limit for those drivers whose volunteer mileage exceeds this figure in order to partially compensate for the extra costs involved in volunteer driving and also reviews the associated current rate of 40 pence per mile.
At this juncture Councillor Woodhall left the meeting temporarily and Councillor Knight took the Chair.
311 HAMPSHIRE POLICE AUTHORITY
The Council received the report of the Hampshire Police Authority. No questions had been received pursuant to Standing Order 20(d).
312 HAMPSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE AUTHORITY
The Council received the report of the Authority. No questions had been received pursuant to Standing Order 20(e).
313 REPORTS FOR INFORMATION
The Council received the reports of the following:
(a) Cabinet/Leader;
At this juncture Councillor Woodhall returned to the meeting and took the Chair
(b) Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee;
(c) Executive Lead Member for Children's Services (Education) and Executive Member for Children and Families;
(d) Executive Member for Environment
(e) Executive Member for Recreation, Heritage and Communities
(f) Executive Member for Adult Social Care.
314 CABINET PORTFOLIOS