Decision details

a)    That the 2026/27 Programmes, noting the acute financial context in which they have been developed and will be delivered, as set out in Part B of the report, be approved;

b)    That the submission of the draft Local Transport Delivery Plan (LTDP) to the Department for Transport (DfT) on 20 March 2026 for review, to meet the DfT’s requirements be noted.  A separate report will be presented to the Cabinet in September 2026, prior to the submission of the final LTDP;

c)    That the Director of Environment and Transport be authorised:

i)               Following consultation with the Director of Corporate Resources and the relevant Cabinet Lead Members, to prepare and submit bids, as appropriate, to secure external funding for delivery of schemes identified in the Programmes;

ii)              Following consultation with the Director of Corporate Resources, the Assistant Director of Law and Governance and the Cabinet Lead Member for Corporate Resources, to enter such contracts as is necessary to progress schemes in the approved Programmes to allow early contractor involvement to take place in advance of all external funding required to deliver the scheme being secured, provided that any such arrangements are appropriately limited in scope and progressed in accordance with the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules and Financial Procedure Rules, and do not commit the Council beyond the intended early-stage works prior to the relevant funding and governance approvals being in place, noting the challenges set out in Part B of the report;

iii)            Following consultation with the Director of Corporate Resources, the Assistant Director of Law and Governance and the Cabinet Lead Member for Resources, to undertake preparatory work as considered appropriate to develop savings as set out in the Medium Term Financial Strategy and to consider that further savings are implemented in a timely manner.

(KEY DECISION)

REASONS FOR DECISION

To highlight the challenging financial context in which the Programmes are being developed and will be delivered.

To enable the delivery of the Programmes for the 2026/27 financial year.

To enable the delivery of large capital schemes using a collaborative approach, to work with contractors to reduce risk and increase cost certainty.  Working in this way will also provide necessary assurance to partners and third-party funders contributing to the cost of delivering the Capital Programme.

To enable early work to be undertaken on the development of new savings to address the worsening financial position.