(i) That the comments of the Overview and
Scrutiny Committees and the Scrutiny Commission (Appendix Q to the report) be
noted;
(ii) That a
Council Tax increase for 2026/27 of 2.99% be recommended;
(iii) That the
following be recommended to the County Council:
(a)
That subject to the items below, approval be
given to the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) which incorporates the
recommended net revenue budget for 2026/27 totalling £613.4m as set out in
Appendices A, B and E of this report and includes the growth and savings for
that year as set out in Appendix C;
(b)
That approval be given to the projected
provisional revenue budgets for 2027/28, 2028/29 and 2029/30, set out in
Appendix B to the report, including the growth and savings for those years as
set out in Appendix C, allowing the undertaking of preliminary work, including
business case development, engagement and equality and human rights impact
assessments, as may be necessary to achieve the savings specified for those
years including savings under development, set out in Appendix D;
(c)
That each Chief Officer, in consultation with
the Director of Corporate Resources and following consultation with the
relevant Cabinet Lead Member(s), undertake preparatory work as considered
appropriate to develop proposals and associated investment required to reduce
the financial gap in all four years of the MTFS, to enable the Cabinet, subject
to scrutiny processes, to consider a new multi-year transformation programme;
(d)
That approval be given to the early achievement
of savings that are included in the MTFS, as may be necessary, along with
associated investment costs, subject to the Director of Corporate Resources
agreeing to funding being available;
(e)
That the level of the General Fund and earmarked
reserves as set out in Appendix K be noted and the planned use of those
earmarked reserves as indicated in that appendix be approved;
(f)
That the risk assessment at paragraph 140 and
the Director of Corporate Resources assurance statement at paragraph 155 be
noted;
(g)
That the recommended Council Tax increase for
2026/27 and the resulting precept be approved;
(h)
That the Chief Executive be authorised to issue
the necessary precepts to billing authorities in accordance with (g) above and
the tax base notified by the District Councils, and to take any other action
which may be necessary to give effect to the precepts;
(i)
That approval be given to the 2026/27 to 2029/30
capital programme, totalling £501m, as set out in Appendix F;
(j)
That the Director of Corporate Resources
following consultation with the Cabinet Lead Member for Resources be authorised
to approve new capital schemes and revenue spend to save schemes, including
revenue costs associated with their delivery, shown as future developments in
the capital programme, to be funded from funding available;
(k)
That the financial indicators required under the
Prudential Code included in Appendix N, Annex 2 be noted and that the following
limits be approved:
|
|
2026/27
£m
|
2027/28
£m
|
2028/29
£m
|
2029/30
£m
|
|
Operational
boundary for external debt
|
|
|
|
|
|
i) Borrowing
|
194
|
200
|
225
|
255
|
|
ii)
Other long term liabilities
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
TOTAL
|
195
|
201
|
226
|
256
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Authorised
limit for external debt
|
|
|
|
|
|
i)
Borrowing
|
204
|
210
|
235
|
265
|
|
ii)
Other long term liabilities
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
TOTAL
|
205
|
211
|
236
|
266
|
(l)
That the Director of Corporate Resources be
authorised to effect movement within the authorised limit for external debt
between borrowing and other long-term liabilities;
(m) That
the following borrowing limits be approved for the period 2026/27 to 2029/30:
(i) Maturity of borrowing:-
|
|
Upper
Limit
|
Lower
Limit
|
|
|
%
|
%
|
|
Under
12 months
|
30
|
0
|
|
12
months and ... view the full decision text for item 4.
|
5. |
School Places Strategy 2026 to 2031.  PDF 229 KB
Additional documents:
Decision:
a)
That the outcome of consultation including the
comments of the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the
draft School Places Strategy 2026-2031 be noted;
b)
That the School Places Strategy 2026-2031 be
approved;
c)
That it be noted that a School Places Delivery
Plan will be developed to support the implementation of the School Places
Strategy.
(KEY DECISION)
REASONS FOR DECISION:
To note the feedback received from the consultation on the
Strategy which has informed the final version.
The School Places Strategy sets out how the Council will
meet its statutory duties to ensure that there are sufficient high quality
school places in Leicestershire which are in the right place, at the right
time. It outlines the background, principles and challenges of delivering
school places in the County and how the Council will work with stakeholders to
fund and deliver places between 2026 and 2031.
The School Places Delivery Plan will set out how the
ambitions detailed in the Strategy will be achieved.
|
6. |
Children and Family Services Departmental Plan 2026-2029. PDF 136 KB
Additional documents:
Decision:
That the Children and Family Services Departmental Plan 2026 to 2029 be
approved.
REASONS FOR DECISION:
The Plan has been developed to fulfil statutory duties and
provide a basis for the Children and Family Services’ vision, planning,
commissioning and delivery of services until 2029. The Plan and associated
actions provide a vehicle for Children and Family Services to work together on
shared priorities, maximise resources and expertise, and avoid duplication.
Service delivery plans will be developed for each service area and progress
will be monitored and reported to the Department Management Team on a quarterly
basis.
|
7. |
Climate Resilience Delivery Plan. PDF 159 KB
Additional documents:
Decision:
a)
That the comments of the Environment, Flooding and Climate Change Overview and Scrutiny Committee
be noted;
b)
That the Climate Resilience Delivery Plan be
approved.
REASONS FOR DECISION:
The Delivery Plan (previously the Net Zero Action Plans) has
been produced in accordance with the Cabinet’s decision from July 2025 to
change the focus of activities from carbon reduction to climate adaptation and
respond to severe weather events and projects that deliver financial savings or
additional social, economic or environmental benefits.
The Delivery Plan includes actions reflecting the programme
of flood mitigation and climate adaptation and resilience, as agreed by the
Cabinet in October 2025.
|
8. |
Leicester and Leicestershire Authorities - Statement of Common Ground relating to Housing Distribution. PDF 181 KB
Additional documents:
Decision:
a)
That the County Council becomes a signatory to
the Leicester and Leicestershire Authorities - Statement of Common Ground
relating to housing distribution following the National Planning Policy
Framework and new Standard Method published December 2024 (December 2025) as
set out in Appendix A to the report;
b)
That the completion of associated evidence work
on the Updated Housing Distribution Paper, which has informed the Statement of
Common Ground, as set out in Appendix B, be noted.
REASONS FOR DECISION:
On 27 November 2025, the Government confirmed that the Duty
to Co-operate will not be retained under the current plan making system and
will cease to apply when new plan making regulations come into force (expected
later in 2026). Notwithstanding this change, the National Planning Policy
Framework (December 2024) requires “maintaining effective co-operation” across
administrative boundaries (see paragraphs 24 to 28 below). Planning Inspectors
are expected to continue to examine plans in line with these policies. In this
context, Statements of Common Ground remain an appropriate method to document
cross-boundary strategic matters, record areas of agreement and disagreement,
and set out next steps, demonstrating that effective and ongoing joint working
has taken place. This is particularly important for the County Council due to
its responsibilities for highway and education matters, given the scale and
criticality of infrastructure dependencies.
This Statement of Common Ground has been prepared jointly by
the nine local authorities in Leicester and Leicestershire. It will directly
support Blaby District Council, Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, North
West Leicestershire District Council and Oadby and Wigston Borough Council in
the submission of their respective Local Plans to the Planning Inspectorate
before the end of December 2026.
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9. |
Items referred from Overview and Scrutiny.
|
10. |
Any other items which the Chairman has decided to take as urgent.
|