Agenda and minutes

A webcast of the meeting can be viewed here.

The Chairman invited members who wished to do so to declare any interest in respect of items on the agenda for the meeting.

It was noted that all members that were also district councillors would have an Other Registerable Interest in agenda item 3 (Local Government Reorganisation – Final proposals and consultation).

There were no declarations of the party whip.

The public are likely to be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following item of business in accordance with Section 100(a) of the Local Government Act 1972:

-         Local Government Reorganisation – Final Proposals and Consultation

Mr Mullaney CC raised an objection to the discussion on the following item (Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) – Final Proposals and Consultation) being considered in private, emphasising that LGR was a significant issue for everyone in Leicestershire and suggested that, if the Council was confident in its proposals, it should be able to address any arguments raised against it in a public forum.

At the request of the Chairman, the Head of Law advised that premature disclosure of information could prejudice the Council’s position and planned response to the Government’s consultation which was still being formulated.  On balance, this was considered to outweigh the public interest test. The Chief Legal Officer and Monitoring Officer further confirmed that publication of the Council’s response would occur in due course and that for transparency purposes this would be appropriate. However, releasing the information before the Council’s response had been finalised and before the deadline for submission could be detrimental to the Council’s position.

It was moved by the Chairman and seconded:

“That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 3 and 10 of Part I of Schedule 12(a) of the Local Government Act 1972:

-         Local Government Reorganisation – Final proposals and Consultation Response

The vote was carried, with 10 members voting for the motion and 3 members voting against.  There were no abstentions.

The Scrutiny Commission is asked to contribute to the Council’s response to the Government’s consultation on proposals for LGR.  A presentation will be provided at the meeting and members views on each of the consultation questions will be sought. The Council’s final response will be presented to the Cabinet on 24 March 2026 prior to submission by 26 March 2026. 

Details of the consultation can be accessed on the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government website below –

https://consult.communities.gov.uk/local-government-reorganisation/leicestershire-and-leicester-and-rutland/consultation/

Mr D. Harrison CC, the Leader of the Council, has been invited to attend for this item.

The Commission received an exempt presentation from the Chief Executive regarding the Council’s proposed response to the Government’s consultation on Local Government Reorganisation.  A copy of the presentation, marked ‘Agenda Item 3’, is filed with these minutes.

The presentation was not for publication as it contained information relating to the financial or business affairs of the authority.

The Chairman welcomed to the meeting Mrs N. Bottomley CC, Mr M. H. Charlesworth CC and Mr C. Whitford CC who had been invited to attend for this item. The Chairman explained that this was to ensure all political parties would be represented in the discussion. Mr J. Miah had also been invited but was unable to attend.

Members commented on each of the consultation questions and the proposed responses to be put forward.

RESOLVED:

(a)  That the presentation provided regarding the Council’s proposed response to the Government’s consultation on Local Government Reorganisation be noted;

(b)  That the comments now made be presented to the Cabinet at its meeting on 24 March 2026 for consideration.

The next meeting of the Scrutiny Commission has been  rescheduled to take place on Wednesday, 22 April 2026 at 10.00am.

RESOLVED:

It was noted that the next meeting of the Commission would be held on 22 April 2026 at 10.00am.