Agenda and decisions

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a)    That the update on the Spending Review be noted;

b)   That the update on the Fair Funding consultation be noted, and approval be given for the Director of Corporate Resources, following consultation with the Lead Member for Resources, to submit a response to the consultation;

c)   That the ongoing uncertainty be noted around the impact that recommendations a and b above will have on the Council’s position and that Leicestershire’s Members of Parliament be engaged to lobby on the Council’s behalf;

d)   That the commencement of a procurement process to commission a Council-wide savings review be approved, with a report being brought back to the Cabinet prior to any award being made.

REASONS FOR DECISION:

To inform the Cabinet of the key announcements arising from the Spending Review and Fair Funding consultation and, where possible, give indications of the likely impact on the County Council’s financial position.

The Council needs to continue to make progress in closing the current MTFS gap to allow a balanced budget position to be presented to the County Council for approval in February 2026.

That the report be noted.

REASON FOR DECISION:

The Authority’s full adoption of the CIPFA Code of Practice for treasury management requires an annual report on Treasury Management activity and performance to be considered by both the Cabinet and the Corporate Governance Committee before the end of September each year.

a)    That the historic, current and future financial performance of Beaumanor Hall and Park be noted;

b)    That the comments from the Scrutiny Commission be noted;

c)    That the Director of Corporate Resources be authorised to commence an engagement process with stakeholders to establish options to improve the future financial performance of the site.

(KEY DECISION)

REASONS FOR DECISION

Beaumanor has always required a financial subsidy from the County Council.  If nothing changes, the long term outlook for the site does not suggest that this position will materially change.  It is therefore necessary to establish options to try to improve the financial performance of the site given growing pressure on the Council’s finances.

The Scrutiny Commission, at its meeting in March 2025, following consideration of an exempt report on the performance of Beaumanor, requested its concerns regarding the future financial performance of Beaumanor be considered by the Cabinet.

An engagement process will allow the Council to work with the market, local community and schools to determine the right approach to remove the cost to the County Council and improve its financial performance to better support the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy.

a)    That the latest position in respect of the Local Plan, set out in paragraphs 27-30 of the report, be noted;

b)    That the proposed approach to the County Council’s response to the further Main Modifications consultation set out in paragraphs 31-34 be noted;

c)    That the position be noted, including the associated risks and concerns, with respect to the preparation and implementation of the proposed Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and that the further work and next steps set out in paragraphs 35-40 be approved;

d)    That the continued implications for the Local Highway Authority in respect of the planning process and the continued position of the Local Highway Authority in its approach to planning consultations set out in paragraphs 43-45 be noted;

e)    That in line with previous recommendations and delegations, the Chief Executive, the Director of Environment and Transport and the Director of Law and Governance, following consultation with the appropriate Cabinet Lead Members, be authorised to:

i)               Participate appropriately in the development and implementation of a CIL charging schedule in line with national guidance and to seek to influence the adoption of a CIL as soon as possible, recognising the potential for work to be undertaken at risk ahead of possible further Local Plan examination processes;

ii)              Respond to formal and informal consultations on the development of CIL with reference to minimising risk for the County Council in its statutory roles as required;

iii)            Seek to mitigate the impacts arising from the potential further delays to the adoption of the Local Plan as far as reasonably possible.

REASONS FOR DECISION:

The County Council seeks to influence the content of the Local Plan in the interest of local communities, including ensuring that the Local Plan provides a robust as possible policy platform for sustainable development by securing the provision of the infrastructure and services required to support its successful delivery.

The substantial number of sites allocated in the emerging Local Plan that have been (or could be in the near future) granted planning permission without contributing to the delivery of the identified highways and transport measures, due to the lack of an agreed mechanism to secure strategic contributions, have the potential to undermine the delivery of the necessary infrastructure over the life of the Local Plan.

The current proposed Main Modifications to the Local Plan reflect the proposed implementation of a CIL.  Main modifications are material changes to a submitted local plan which are necessary to make it sound and legally compliant.  As previously identified, the expedient adoption of a CIL is the best way to mitigate the potentially negative impacts of a lack of strategic transport investment needed to support growth in Charnwood.

The County Council is therefore supportive of these further Main Modifications in principle and will continue to seek to mitigate these impacts as far as practically possible.  These impacts include those associated with any further delays to the adoption of the Local Plan and approval of allocated sites in advance of an agreed mechanism to secure contributions to (and subsequent delivery of) strategic highways and transport measures.

a)    That the following proposed changes to the 2025/26 Highways and Transportation Capital Programme be approved:

i)               Reallocation of funding from the advanced design programme to the North and East Melton Mowbray Distributor Road (NEMMDR), as set out in paragraphs 23-31 of the report;

ii)              Creation of a Market Harborough Programme, in line with the approach set out in paragraphs 10 and 32-35 of the report, making use of the Section 106 monetary contributions collected against the Market Harborough Transport Strategy and Consolidated Active Travel Funding;

iii)            Proposed delay to delivery of the Parade, Oadby Cycle Optimised Protected Signals (CYCLOPS) scheme, to allow for additional work, including redesign, following public consultation and engagement with Active Travel England (ATE) noting the risks that are associated with this approach, as set out in paragraphs 11 and 36-40 of the report;

b)    That the additional funding awarded to the Local Highway Authority (LHA) be noted, including the Local Transport Grant (LTG), the Active Travel Fund 5 (ATF5) and Consolidated Active Travel Fund (CATF), and the Department for Transport’s additional maintenance grant;

c)    That the associated programmes as detailed in paragraphs 41-61 of the report be approved;

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

i)               To undertake the necessary work and secure the necessary resources to progress the development and delivery of programmes, as set out in paragraphs 32-61 of the report, in line with the specific funding grant conditions;

ii)              Following consultation with the Director of Corporate Resources, the Cabinet Lead Member for Highways, Transport and Waste, and the Cabinet Lead Member for Resources,  to prepare ad submit bids, as appropriate, to secure external funding for the delivery of schemes that are identified in the programmes;

iii)            Following consultation with the Director of Corporate Resources, the Director of Law and Governance and the Cabinet Lead Member for Resources, to enter such contracts as are necessary to progress schemes in the approved programmes.

(KEY DECISION)

REASONS FOR DECISION:

The reallocation of funding will allow the Council, as the LHA, to complete the Large Local Majors (LLM) scheme (such as NEMMDR) by reallocating funding provisionally profiled across the four years of the MTFS from the Highways and Transportation Advanced Design Programme.  Activities, such as bid preparation, designing schemes to mitigate growth and smaller active travel and safety schemes, can now be funded through LTG funding.

The recommendations ensure that the LHA makes best use of external funding by consolidating the funding that is available and meeting the timescales for the S106 spend.

The LHA is committed to promoting active and sustainable travel and it is critical that funding invested in infrastructure designed to encourage walking and cycling is effective.  The recommendations will allow the LHA to redesign The Parade, Oadby CYCLOPS scheme to respond to community and safety concerns and liaise with ATE to ensure that the funding can still be applied to the revised scheme.  Although there is a risk that ATE will not approve the revised scheme, officers have considered that implementing the scheme, as currently approved by ATE, would not reflect the community priorities, that it would fail to realise the full potential for encouraging more active travel journeys in the area and that it would potentially present safety issues caused by lack of compliance with the new layout.  The outcome of this work will be reported to the Cabinet following further design work and public engagement.

The programmes will be developed and delivered in accordance with the guidance issued by the relevant funding bodies and, where it is necessary, seek support from the external market to manage the  ...  view the full decision text for item 8.

a)    That the key roles of the County Council as the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) and the Local Highway Authority (LHA) with respect to flooding be noted;

b)    That the extent and impacts of flooding events in Leicestershire over the last two years be noted;

c)    That the proposed priorities for further funding towards flood related activities, for consideration and prioritisation as part of the 2026-30 Medium Term Financial Strategy, be approved;

d)    That the Director of Environment and Transport, in consultation with the Cabinet Lead Member and the Director of Corporate Resources, be authorised to maximise opportunities to bid for funding from external sources and funding providers.

(KEY DECISION)

REASONS FOR DECISION

Recent flood events over the past two years, as outlined in paragraphs 49 to 59, have had a significant impact on many communities across Leicestershire and this in turn has placed substantial pressure on the resources of the County Council in its capacity as the LLFA and the LHA in trying to support those communities.

The LLFA’s and the LHA’s resource is focused on statutory requirements as detailed in paragraphs 28 to 48.  Whilst the LLFA will endeavour to do everything it can to support communities in the management of local flood risk, it should be emphasised that the LLFA is not responsible for, nor is it required by law to, resolve all flooding matters.  The LLFA does not receive funding for this purpose.  Likewise, the LHA can only apply its risk-based approach to gully cleansing to the best of its capabilities with the resource levels that it has.

Additional one-off funding, allocated as part of the 2025-29 MTFS, as set out in paragraphs 64 to 66, has helped to manage some of this pressure with flooding in particular, by providing additional resource to address the impacts and workload set out in the report, as occurrences of flooding have become more frequent in recent years.

Recommended funding options are proposed in paragraphs 67 to 71 as a focus for consideration as part of the 2026-30 MTFS process.

The requests for additional resource represent steps to help address the work generated by the recent major flood events.  It will also allow the LLFA and the LHA to set out a more resilient business as usual resource to manage flood risk impacts, building on the previous one-off funding allocated.

Under the direction of the Director of Environment and Transport, the LLFA will continue to maximise the opportunities for funding from external sources and providers towards the implementation of flood alleviation projects, as outlined in paragraphs 38 to 41.

As the LHA, the County Council is responsible for the safe operation of the highways and transport network and the maintenance approach to highways assets.  It has been necessary to undertake additional activities to respond to flood events in line with these responsibilities.

a)    That the reallocation of £2m from the earmarked reserve for carbon reduction work to flooding mitigation initiatives and to adapting services towards mitigating the impacts of severe weather events be approved;

b)    That support be given to a change of focus in the activities delivered under the Net Zero Action Plan from carbon reduction to:

i.               Climate adaptation and responding to severe weather events

ii.              Projects that deliver financial savings

iii.             Projects that deliver additional social, economic or environmental benefits, in support of the Council’s Strategic outcomes.

(KEY DECISION)

REASON FOR DECISION

The Leader of the Council has requested the opportunity to reconsider the allocation of the earmarked reserve and change in focus of activity under the Net Zero Action Plan.

a)   That the Director of Adults and Communities following consultation with the Lead Member for Adults and Communities and the Leader of the Council be given delegated authority to agree the process for the procurement of home care providers;

a)    That, in light of the comments now made, more detailed consideration of the report be deferred, noting that further discussion would take place before the Director exercised his delegation.

(KEY DECISION)

REASONS FOR DECISION:

The Cabinet considers that it needs to have further discussion regarding the proposed fixed hourly rates.  Delegation to the Director to agree the process, following consultation with the Leader and Cabinet Lead Member, will enable the procurement to commence as planned once the Cabinet’s concerns have been addressed.

The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to help develop a market that delivers a wide range of sustainable high-quality care and support services, that will be available to their communities. A wide range of high-quality services will give people more control and help them to make more effective and personalised choices over their care.

The existing HCL Framework expires in October 2026 with no options remaining within the contract to extend the current arrangements. With the introduction of the Procurement Act 2023 in February 2025, it is timely to re-commission the service under current legislation. The Procurement Act 2023 introduces open frameworks which are a scheme of successive frameworks on substantially the same terms, with a combined term of eight years. Procuring services under an open framework will reinforce sustainability in the Leicestershire market. The open Framework mandates reopening to allow new providers on to the Framework and this will ensure that supply can meet demand over the term of the Framework. The Framework is planned to re-open at the end of year 1 and in year 5 of the 8-year term.

By redesigning parts of the Framework (for example the zone boundaries) the Council will be able to demonstrate a more efficient commissioning model.

a)    That a consultation exercise on moving to a banded model for top-up funding of EHCPs be approved;

b)    That the delegation of authority to the Director of Children and Family Services, following consultation with the Lead Member for Children and Family Services, be approved to implement a banded model for needs assessments and top-up funding for EHCPs subject to no significant issues/concerns having arisen from the consultation.

REASONS FOR DECISION

Adjustment of the existing top-up funding model for EHCPs will enable educational settings to offer more flexible, creative, meaningful and relevant support options which can be tailored to an individual child’s needs or to a groups of children with similar needs.  Banding using needs descriptors (specific definitions to identify levels of need) offers a transparent methodology to families, schools and practitioners on support required to help children and young people with an EHCP to meet their educational, health and social care needs and how funding for this support will be allocated.

A consultation with schools on the proposed needs descriptors and banding approach will seek their support for the proposals, and feedback from schools will be used to shape the approach to implementation.

Delegation to the Director to proceed with the new model, subject to there being no significant concerns arising from the consultation, will enable the implementation of a banded model to be expedited and introduced in mainstream educational settings from early in the 2025/26 academic year.

The press and public are likely to be excluded during the following item of business in accordance with Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972:

·       Operation of the School Food Service.

That the Director of Corporate Resources, following consultation with the Cabinet Lead Member for Resources, be authorised to undertake the actions set out in paragraphs 51 to 53 of the report.

(KEY DECISION)

REASON FOR DECISION

The School Food Service has been through a challenging period as it has recovered from significant financial losses caused by exceptionally high food and labour inflation and the long term outlook for the service is expected to be challenging.