Cabinet - Tuesday 10 February 2026, 10:00am - Buckinghamshire Council Webcasting

Cabinet
Tuesday, 10th February 2026 at 10:00am 

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  1. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  2. Cllr Steven Broadbent
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  1. Cllr Isobel Darby
  2. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  3. David Skinner - Director of Finance and S151 Officer
  4. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  5. Cllr Thomas Broom
  6. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  7. Cllr Peter Strachan
  8. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  9. Cllr Steve Bowles
  10. Cllr Peter Brazier
  11. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  12. Cllr Robert Carington
  13. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  14. Cllr Isobel Darby
  15. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  16. Cllr Isobel Darby
  17. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  18. Cllr Carl Jackson
  19. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  20. Cllr Carl Jackson
  21. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  22. Cllr Carl Jackson
  23. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  24. Cllr Carl Jackson
  25. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  26. Cllr Adekunle Osibogun
  27. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  28. Cllr Mark Winn
  29. Cllr Steven Broadbent
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  1. Questions
  2. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  3. Cllr Peter Strachan
  4. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  5. Questions
  6. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  7. Questions
  8. Cllr Steven Broadbent
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  1. Cllr John Chilver
  2. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  3. Cllr John Chilver
  4. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  5. Cllr Thomas Broom
  6. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  7. Cllr Adekunle Osibogun
  8. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  9. Cllr Carl Jackson
  10. Cllr Steven Broadbent
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  1. David Skinner - Director of Finance and S151 Officer
  2. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  3. Cllr Robert Carington
  4. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  5. Cllr Thomas Broom
  6. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  7. Cllr Carl Jackson
  8. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  9. Cllr Adekunle Osibogun
  10. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  11. Cllr Isobel Darby
  12. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  13. Cllr Mark Winn
  14. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  15. Cllr Steve Bowles
  16. Cllr Steven Broadbent
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  1. Cllr Robert Carington
  2. Cllr Steven Broadbent
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  1. Cllr Steve Bowles
  2. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  3. Cllr Thomas Broom
  4. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  5. Cllr Isobel Darby
  6. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  7. Erika Murigi - Service Director for Policy and Communications
  8. Cllr Steven Broadbent
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  1. Cllr Thomas Broom
  2. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  3. Cllr Thomas Broom
  4. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  5. Cllr Isobel Darby
  6. Cllr Thomas Broom
  7. Cllr Peter Brazier
  8. Cllr Thomas Broom
  9. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  10. Steve Bambrick - Corporate Director for Planning, Growth & Sustainability
  11. Cllr Steven Broadbent
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  1. Cllr Robert Carington
  2. David Skinner - Director of Finance and S151 Officer
  3. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  4. Cllr Carl Jackson
  5. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  6. Cllr Isobel Darby
  7. Cllr Steven Broadbent
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  1. Cllr Robert Carington
  2. Cllr Steven Broadbent
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  1. Cllr Robert Carington
  2. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  3. Cllr Steve Bowles
  4. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  5. Cllr Carl Jackson
  6. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  7. Cllr Adekunle Osibogun
  8. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  9. Cllr Isobel Darby
  10. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  11. Cllr Mark Winn
  12. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  13. Cllr Mark Winn
  14. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  15. Cllr Peter Strachan
  16. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  17. Cllr Robert Carington
  18. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  19. Cllr Robert Carington
  20. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  21. Cllr Thomas Broom
  22. Cllr Steven Broadbent
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  1. Webcast Finished

Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:00:00
Good morning everybody and welcome to this, the Cabinet meeting of Buckinghamshire Council
on Tuesday the 10th of February 2026. My name is Stephen Broadbent, I'm the elected leader of
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:00:15
Buckinghamshire Council and the Cabinet meet here today in the Gateway in Aylesbury. But can I remind
members and members of the public who are present that the meeting is being webcast to make sure
Therefore, if you don't want to be on the cameras, you sit in the dedicated area to
the side.
And for members in the room, cabinet members who wish to speak, and of course other members
who will be called forward at the right time, please turn on your microphone when speaking
so you can be heard both in the room and at home.
So with those things being said, we do have a rather full agenda today.
So we'll go straight into item one, which is apologies for absence.

1 Apologies

And we do not have any apologies for absence today.
So I have the full compliments cabinet members in the room, along with some of our death cabinet members who are welcome to be here, can comment.
But I'm afraid when we get to votes, have no opportunity to vote as per our constitution.
We move to item two, which is minutes of the last meeting.

2 Minutes

These were the minutes from the meeting held on the 8th of January,
and they're on pages 5 to 20 of today's PAC.
You have seen these in advance.
Does anyone have any comments or queries on the minutes first?
No? Okay, so therefore, can I ask if you are content for me
to approve the minutes as a correct record?
Thank you all, they are agreed.

3 Declarations of interest

Item three today is declarations of interest.
Are there any declarations of interest?
No new ones.
Obviously, members' interests are listed
on the council website.
But none new today.
Thank you for that.
Item four is hot topics.

4 Hot Topics

Hot topics is an opportunity for cabinet members
to discuss anything urgent or new or of particular importance to residents of Buckinghamshire
beyond the normal communication methods.
There is no requirement to have a hot topic and I will go around the room in a moment.
Please introduce yourself the first time that you speak.
I decided to, there's two hot topics.
So the first is I want residents to hear that I'm fully aware of the situation following
the mass amount of rain and cold weather that we've had over the winter, the situation with
deteriorating roads and the occurrence of potholes.
What I'm going to do is curtail my comments at this stage because when it goes to Thomas,
who's deputy leader and cabinet member for Transport, he'll update everyone on the situation
the response that we are putting in place, including additional crews out there on our
network to make sure that we get those defects dealt with as soon as possible.
And understanding, of course, that some temporary repairs are just that, and we will have to
come back later when the weather conditions are a bit more forgiving for more permanent
repair.
But I'm sure Thomas will cover that.
The other thing I wanted to mention is, because today on our agenda we'll hear not only from
Councillor John Chilva on the budget scrutiny, but we'll also be presenting the medium -term
financial plan, which is the budget for the next three years.
But there has been some overnight announcements because the very final confirmation of our
financial settlement came in yesterday.
Right up top, it's worth me saying there was no change to our funding formula, so Buckinghamshire
we'll still see a reduction of 44 and a half million pounds and that will be some of that will be equalised away
To send to other areas of the country typically in the Midlands and the north to other council areas
despite being
taxation applying here in Buckinghamshire
That being said we did receive phased every three years just over a million pounds for ring fenced grants on
on additional money for homelessness and rough sleeping and to tackle domestic abuse through
grants. So that of course is welcome because we can extend even more the work programmes that we
have in those areas and it is dedicated money for those areas. The big item and I heard people
talking about this on the radio on the way in is something called the DSG. This I'd sometimes also
referred to as the statutory override.
DSG is the Dedicated Schools Grant, and in short,
is the, if you like, the cost overdraft
that all councils of Upleteer nature
are building up because the central government
funding for particularly special needs in schools
is insufficient to meet the actual costs of providing that.
This was projected over the next few years to reach a deficit across the country of £14 billion.
But in the recent past, government announced that as of 2028,
they will take the future additional cost on to central government finances rather than local government finances.
That of course leads to the question, what happens between now and then?
So what happens between now and then is we continue, as all councils are doing, to build
up a financial deficit through effectively an authorised overdraft.
The announcement overnight has some welcome elements to it, but just greater pressure.
So the government have announced that between now and 1st of April, 2028, they will now
through grants cover 90 % of the DSG within the council areas.
That is welcome because as we have been part of the lobbying exercise to say,
you cannot push this cost onto local councils.
It would cause the mass bankruptcy of councils across the country.
That being said, so the 90 % is welcome, but
it does mean we now have to crystallise in real terms that 10%.
The 10%, what it means for us in Buckinghamshire is in this first year,
and they have only confirmed the 90%, 10 % split,
is for the first year with an expectation
that something similar or akin to that
would follow in years two and three,
or the next two years, to get us to 2028.
So in Buckinghamshire, the 10 % for the coming year
equals 4 .7 million pounds.
And over the three years, should the split percentages
has stayed the same, it would equate to £13 .7 million.
Now this ultimately, and Dave Skinner, our 151 officer in finance, obviously can give
more detail when we get to the budget if we need to.
It doesn't immediately affect our budget going forward in terms of having to change the numbers.
It does mean we will need at year end to make relevant adjustments to accommodate how we
find £4 .7 million in this year and the expectation that it will be £13 .7 million for the three
years to come. So welcome the government have written off 90 % but a new pressure that we
will have to deal with and in the first year looking for £4 .7 million that we will have
to deal with at the year end. So that's just some context and clarity I wanted to put out
there before we get into the budget sessions.
I mean hot topics, not normally questions, but Isabel, go on.
Sorry, I just wanted clarification.
Cllr Isobel Darby - 0:08:13
So they're going to pay 90 % of stuff going forward, we hope.
But what about the overdraft that we're carrying
at the moment?
There's no news on that, presumably.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:08:27
Dave will answer, but it's the cumulative effect, but Dave.
Thank you, Lita.
David Skinner - Director of Finance and S151 Officer - 0:08:31
So it's the cumulative deficit, so they've confirmed that they'll take 90 % of the balance
at the end of this financial year and write that off or give us the funding that otherwise
would have been owed to us.
And then they will then take a proportionate and appropriate response going forwards, which
we're assuming should be something similar.
So they will then take 90%, I think, again, going forwards in terms of that.
And that's the working assumption that the leaders set out.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:09:02
Thanks. Okay. So with that topic just so, because that is gaining
head on the radio on the way in, get some media attention.
That is the impact for Buckinghamshire.
So with that being said, I'll go to you Tom.
Clearly, you'll please talk to people about roads.
Cllr Thomas Broom - 0:09:17
Yes, absolutely. So obviously, residents will be well aware that we have been having some difficulty with
Condition of roads after some very bad weather in January, two weeks of freezing conditions
overnight, every night for two weeks.
I think we had our gritters out running for about 50 ,000 miles of gritting in that period.
And then what the Met Office has now confirmed is one of the wettest Januarys on record.
So our response to this comes in two parts.
First is our immediate response which has been to get out on the road network
with as many crews as possible to identify problems, to inspect issues that
have been reported to us and start to order up and make repairs. So we have
increased our presence on the network by about 50 % already, so that is the repair
crews that are out working. We are looking to further escalate that position
this week. Through January we've got to about 2 ,000 of the most pressing and urgent defects.
We prioritise obviously based on safety first. Now that's the equivalent of roughly one defect
repair every 20 minutes, 24 -7 through the whole of January. But as I say, we are currently
looking at seeing if we can get even more resource out onto the network, which has been
a bit of a challenge because obviously we're not the only authority in this
position. Everyone else is also looking for these crews to get out and fix these
problems. In the medium to long term, I won't go into huge detail because we're going to
come on to it later, but our priority is long -term investment in the network.
You know, at the election last year we promised to move from our previous
hundred million pound road programme to 120 million pound road programme and we
are delivering that today in this budget,
including a 17 % increase in capital spending.
And it is that capital spending, that resurfacing,
that really is going to make the difference in the long term.
One other hot topic, if I may, because I've
seen some slightly strange reports this week carried
about the work we're doing on Marlow Bridge.
Now, obviously, this is a 4 and 1
half million pound investment in an absolutely iconic piece
of our Bucks cultural historical heritage in Marlowe.
And for some reason, Marlowe Town Council
have told some local media outlets
that there's only been four days of work
that have taken place on the bridge since last May.
I'm very happy to correct the record
and say that we've had crews on site
for 172 days of that period, quite a contrast.
that includes weekend and overnight works where that has been necessary, undertaking
a huge range of activity including relocating the Canoe Club, undertaking the surveys we
need to get the permits we need from the Environment Agency to carry on with the process.
But really just to reassure people in Marlow that actually this is a really key investment.
We take it really seriously.
We are progressing with works as expected.
And I'd like to say particular thank you to Councillor Heap and Councillor Collingwood,
who I think, yes, is in the room, in fact, I think maybe ask you a question at some point,
who have been working really closely with me to make sure not only that this project
goes ahead, but that actually we're making sure that it has as little impact on the day -to -day
lives of residents in Marlowe as we possibly can, although of course this is a very significant
piece of work and a massive investment in the town.
Thanks, Leda.
Thank you, Tom, for both those explanations.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:13:08
I'm sure there's a bit of clarity out there in what's going on.
Thank you.
Peter Strachan, please.
Thank you, Leda.
Cllr Peter Strachan - 0:13:16
Peter Strachan, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Planning.
If I may, Leda, one very hot topic within my portfolio is the new local plan.
colleagues and observers will know that last year we published the Regulation 18
Local Plan for Consultation and we received over 1 ,300 responses to that. We
continue to make progress with the plan towards hitting the government deadline
of submission by December 2026 and as part of our ongoing engagement we now
plan to publish a series of draught sites that have been submitted as part of the
process for further technical assessment.
Member briefings and town and parish briefings have been arranged over the next few days.
Thank you, leader.
Thank you very much.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:14:09
Peter, let's move swiftly to Steve Boltz.
Cllr Steve Bowles - 0:14:13
I've got no hot topics for this meeting, leader.
Thank you.
Peter.
Good morning.
Cllr Peter Brazier - 0:14:18
Peter Brazier, our cabinet member for Culture and Leisure.
I've won a brief hot topic.
As everyone will know, 2026 is the national year of reading.
So our libraries are playing a major part in this
with various promotion events.
And we have a launch event at Beckonsfield Library on the 19th
of February at 1230, and I'll be there for that.
Just part of this, we can see from data
that some adults are being reluctant
to register preschool children as library members for fear of incurring late fines.
In response to this, we're introducing an overdue fines amnesty for preschoolers to
hopefully get more of those registered as our library users.
Thank you.
Excellent.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:15:10
So people can just go back into their library and sign up?
Absolutely.
Thank you very much.
Robert?
Hello.
Cllr Robert Carington - 0:15:19
Councillor Robert Kynan, cabinet member for resources. No hot topics for me today.
We'll hear from you later I'm sure.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:15:23
Councillor Darby.
Cllr Isobel Darby - 0:15:26
Councillor Isabel Darby, cabinet member for health and wellbeing.
Just a couple, public health related.
I was very pleased to attend along with Councillor Oliver and Councillor Heap the official opening of health on the high street in High Wycombe library on the 28th of January.
It's a great walk -in wellbeing hub offering residents free support to help towards better health and well -being
The second one to it. We've already got one at unit 33 in Friar Square in Aylesbury and
It was absolutely buzzing when we when we went there. It was a really good event
There were lots of people there and people can have free health cheques
Including the pump it up kiosk and it is open Monday to Friday 10 o 'clock to 3 o 'clock
so anybody can pop in.
And then last week, I went to the,
we had a pop -up road show in Friar Square
for Quit Smoking and Feel Better.
And this was being run, the campaign is being run
by the Southeast Smoke Free Alliance,
which is a group of authorities across the southeast,
where we're actually promoting the fact
that people can actually feel better mentally
by stopping smoking.
It's not, you know, most people think,
or it would be stressful stopping smoking,
but actually research has proven
that actually your mental health improves.
You just get a quick buzz from smoking,
but your overall mental health will improve
if you give up smoking.
And we commission a service, smoking cessation service
through Be Healthy Bucks, and they were at the event
and they were signing people up.
And there you get somebody who will call you,
who will see how you're getting on
and hold your hand through the process.
And it is all free.
And just think of the money you'll save
if you give up smoking.
Thank you.
Well, thank you for that last point.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:17:08
It's good to know this is in Wickham as well now, so people can access that when they're
in the town centre.
You've intrigued me slightly, though.
Do you want to say a little more about Pump It Up Kiosk?
Is this blood pressure pumping up or testing or what?
Cllr Isobel Darby - 0:17:25
Yeah, this is testing people's blood pressure, and I think they sit down and then they stand
up and various things.
And I must admit, I haven't done it.
I've got one at home, though.
So, but it's basically, you know, blood pressure is,
well, it can be the silent killer
because people don't realise
and then they have a stroke or whatever.
So it really is very important for people
to know their own blood pressure
and know whether it's in the danger zone or not.
Yes, and I did mine in Aylesbury not that long ago.
You were in attendance even.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:17:47
So I do encourage people to go along
and make use of that and cheque yourself out.
Thank you.
Carl.
Thank you, leader Carl Jackson, cabinet member
for education and children's services.
Cllr Carl Jackson - 0:17:58
Four hot topics, one big one, three quick ones.
First, today we have the publication of the OSTED CQC
report following their inspection of Buckinghamshire
local area partnerships, SEND services.
The local area partnership is basically Bux Council plus the
ICB integrated care board.
OSTED came in November.
It was a three -week inspection, very thorough, requested a lot
of information were on site for a week as well.
And say they will publish their report today.
There are three categories effectively you can be in,
you have to be in one of them on my reports.
The top one is typically positive responses
and outcomes, the language I use.
The middle category of the three is inconsistent experiences
and outcomes.
And then the bottom category is widespread
and all systematic failings.
And OSTED have confirmed today we are in the middle category
of the three inconsistent experiences and outcomes,
which effectively means there's lots
of positive things going on.
But there needs to be an improvement
in the overall consistency with which those services are
being provided.
Effectively good things are being done,
but not to everyone every time.
The report from OSTED is very helpful and very clear.
It identifies several strengths and areas where we have improved
since the last inspection in 2022.
It particularly notes stronger leadership and governance,
a better quality of EHCPs, a better early identification
of SEND needs, and better support of children
and young people with SEND into adulthood.
The general tone is that our priorities
for improvement are the right ones,
and we are heading firmly in the right direction.
But you're in the second category rather than the first
for a reason, so there are areas
for improvement identified too.
One is the waits for waiting time to get an EHCP.
Everyone around this table will be familiar with that
and we're addressing that obviously
with the three million pound EHCP recovery plan.
The quality and timeliness
of annual EHCP reviews was raised as an area
for improvement, delays
in school -based emotional well -being support,
and consistency of communications with families.
We're actually recruiting someone
in a dedicated communications role specifically
to improve that.
Many of the areas for improvement,
we're actually already addressing.
The message is clear.
We need to pick up the pace with that,
and we're taking that on board.
So we need to consider, obviously,
Ofsted's feedback in full.
There will be an area partnership away day next month
where everyone who's involved
providing SEND services will come together to sort of work out how we're going to implement
the recommendations and then we need to have an updated strategic action plan by the 15th of April
which we need to publish. So I just want to basically end by obviously thanking Ofsted for
their very clear constructive feedback and thank the the SEND team in Buckinghamshire Council and
everyone who provides these services across the county not just for their work during inspection
which obviously took a lot of time and commitment while it was going on,
while business as usual was still going on in the background,
but also just for all the work to provide, send services to children
and young people in Buckinghamshire.
It's a report with a lot of positives and a lot of encouragement we can take from it,
but also a clear set of areas for improvement which we need to take on as well.
I don't know if you have any comments on that now,
even before I move on to the other hot topics or whether I'll just rattle through.
Well, I do want to echo your comments
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:21:45
about a significant inspection.
We're hugely ambitious for this service area
to make sure we get to one.
But this is genuinely positive progress
and lifting us up from the category into the middle.
And if you look at the distribution curve
of where councils are, then we're sort of in the pack now.
but obviously want to become leaders and still progress on.
So it's good, and I know the team work extremely hard to try
and put this service on positive moving forward footing.
And so there's some real achievement in there,
but like you say, we, there's then still areas we need
to continue to improve on,
and that's why we've put extra investment in
and have the action plans and rely
on partnership working, you should say, with the NHS.
But I suppose my question back to you is, this is published on a buy -offs head.
You mentioned that each of the categories doesn't come with a score so much as with
the description.
And so the wording in there will be the same for anyone in that category, the inconsistent
elements that you mentioned.
Is published on the Ofsted website?
Or where do people find it to have a read?
Yes, it will be on the Ofsted website.
Cllr Carl Jackson - 0:23:07
And we'll obviously be putting out a lot of messages.
We've got news releases and we'll be publishing information
as well to explain where we are.
Good.
Thank you, Karl.
Yeah, your next topic.
Thank you.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:23:15
Yeah, three quicker ones.
Cllr Carl Jackson - 0:23:17
Now first, Cabinet will be aware that we are looking to provide
more of our own in -house children's care homes to ensure
that more of our young people in care can be looked after
in County and to avoid the costs of hugely expensive private
placements.
I'm pleased to say that OSTED has confirmed the registration
of Coach House in Aylesbury.
Now, that is, it's a solo registered home,
so it's a placement for one child in care.
So it's not going to transform things in terms of numbers,
but where it's very significant is
that it will be probably a suitable placement for a child
or young person with very complex needs
that will help us avoid an extremely expensive placement
elsewhere with a private provider.
So it's another string to our bow in terms of our own in -house provision.
I'd also mention that we had the launch of the Fostering Friendly Initiative on the 29th
of January, this is to work with local businesses to encourage them to think what they can do
for their own employees who might be considering fostering or already fostering to support them
in their efforts as foster carers.
Or indeed to support Buckinghamshire Council's efforts
in other ways such as providing venues
for our fostering related events,
or perhaps even contribute to the package
of very attractive perks that we offer
to foster carers in Buckinghamshire.
We have some, a real interesting range
of organisations represented there.
Major public sector employer with a lot of employees
in Buckinghamshire, a private sector company
that was very keen to offer the use of their venues.
So it was a launch event, there's things to learn from it,
but I think it was well worth doing
and the start of something positive.
And the final thing, I promise, Leila, I will mention,
is the launch of the Bux Employment and Support Tool.
This is a website, you can find it at buxjobsupport .org .uk.
Residents told us that it could be easier
to find the right employment and skills support.
So we commissioned students from Buckinghamshire College
to build an online tool which makes that support
easier to find.
So if you go online, you can, for example,
put in whether you're employed or unemployed,
and if unemployed for how long,
say how long it's been since you've last worked,
what support you need.
Is it support with addiction?
Is it mental health?
Is it disability?
I use sort of neurodiverse.
And then that will, a very simple tool
will point you towards organisations
which can support you into employment. So it's a useful addition I think to the skills briefing in my portfolio.
Thank you, Lida.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:26:01
Excellent. Some really good initiatives making progress there. Do you want to give that website address again for that new resource?
Cllr Carl Jackson - 0:26:08
Bucksjobsupport .org .uk
Excellent. Thank you very much. Ade.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:26:12
Cllr Adekunle Osibogun - 0:26:15
Yes, thank you Lida. Ade Kuneyashibogan, cabinet member for environment, climate change and waste.
I have three hot topics.
The first is two of our five air quality management areas have
met the DEFRA guidelines standard
to have their AQMA status formally revoked
and DEFRA has confirmed they should be revoked.
And for those who do not know what the AQMA status is,
we're obligated as a local council to review
and assess air quality in our area to determine
if national air quality objectives are likely
to be breached.
And we're happy to report that monitoring data shows that High -Wickham and Marlow have
shown a significant improvement in concentration of nitrogen dioxide.
And this has been consistent for the last five years.
And we'll continue to monitor air quality in these areas.
My next hot topic is on flood alerts.
Flood alerts have been activated in recent days in parts of Buckinghamshire following
heavy and persistent rainfall across the county.
Forecasts indicate that further downpours are likely and additional weather warnings
may be issued in the coming days.
Residents are advised to remain vigilant and take practical steps to reduce risk.
If your property is located in a known flood risk area,
please review and prepare to activate your flood plan.
Early preparation can significantly reduce damage and disruption.
Blocked drains and gullies should be reported on Vax -Mai Street,
as these can increase the risk of surface water flooding.
Any obstruction, debris or concerns relating to main rivers
should be reported directly to the Environment Agency.
We also urge residents to take extra care near floodplains as water levels can rise quickly and conditions may become hazardous.
Further details will be provided as weather conditions develop, staying informed and being prepared will help keep our community safe during this period of unsettled weather.
My last hot topic is on food waste recycling.
The rollout of food waste recycling to flats across North Box has been a great success
and extending the service to the south of Box is an important next step.
Residents living in flats with communal waste collections in the southern part of the county
will receive their kitchen caddies between March and February this year.
Each eligible flat will receive a free seven litre kitchen caddy, a roll of liners and an information liftlet.
In addition, we will be providing 140 litre brown communal waste bin to come for the collection of waste from this flat too.
This expansion follows successful introduction of service across North Box and will ensure
that more households are able to recycle their food waste.
For more information on this, please visit the buclamshire .gov .uk food waste website.
Thank you, Lido.
Excellent.
Thank you.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:29:30
I had a salient warning about the flood alerts,
but the AQMA, the air quality management areas,
to have that classification removed now,
because the air quality is improved,
is a really, really positive step forward.
We keep going on with the Don't Idle campaign
and things like that in your calls,
particularly if it's a combustion engine,
But that is good news in those areas and we'll continue to monitor that I'm sure over time. Thank you and last Mark Wynn
Cllr Mark Winn - 0:30:08
Good morning leader Mark Wynn cabinet member for housing and regulatory services. I don't have any hot topics this morning
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:30:14
Thank you very much. Thank you cabinet members. That was
Quite a few items there hot topics. So let's rattle quickly on after that into item five

5 Question Time

Which is question time. This is
the part of the meeting where non -executive members can come and ask questions of Cabinet.
And today we have three questions. And the first of those is from Councillor Robin Stutchbury
to Councillor Peter Strachan. So I'll ask Robin to come forward. Good morning, Robin.
Good to see you.
Questions - 0:30:53
Morning. Good to see you. All very interested in listening to the catch -ups on the Council
this morning.
Good, your question to Peter please.
This is one's community quest to try to resolve an ongoing issue.
Peter, the Buckingham Bypass currently restricts natural flow from Boughton Park to the floodplain,
effectively acting like a dam, and contributes to the flooding within the town.
Before the bypass was built, the floodwater could move freely across the floodplain,
The adoption of the Buckingham Neighbourhood Plan now creates opportunities to explore
developer contributions towards flood alleviation measures and elements of the Buckingham Transport
Plan Strategy.
Potential schemes mentioned including installation of additional drainage pipe or tunnel under
the bypass to restore natural water movements to the floodplain.
Exploring a drainage diversion near Stratford Road roundabout, reviewing the potential replacement
of the drainage runoff arrangements from the nearby housing estate from the bypass to reduce
runoff into the floodplain in areas like Linden Village.
Does the deputy cabinet member for planning consider these aspirations reasonable?
and what is the likelihood of us develop contributions from sites to be in the
neighbourhood plan and address these issues long term. I hope that we can find
a way through this because I recognise that these are long -standing issues and
we need to find a way forward. Thank you Councillor Stutchbury. Peter to respond
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:32:41
please. Thank you very much Councillor Stutchbury. With regards to the
Cllr Peter Strachan - 0:32:44
neighbourhood plan. The adoption of a neighbourhood plan means that the parish council can get
up to 25 % of sill rather than 15%. However, this is not applicable here as there is not
yet a sill charging schedule in place in the north and central areas of Buckinghamshire.
Instead, where appropriate, developer contributions may be collected via section 106 planning
obligations, in accordance with the Government guidance in Regulation 122 of the regulations.
Any obligations must be, firstly, necessary to make the development acceptable in planning
terms, also directly related to that development, and fairly and reasonably related in scale
and kind.
It is difficult to say in advance what the prospects are for securing developer contributions,
but we are aware that Buckingham is located in an area of high risk of flooding
and there have been a number of historic flood incidents.
We are currently undertaking technical assessments in support of the new local plan for Buckinghamshire
which will help us understand this risk better.
The effects of road infrastructure on flood drainage patterns and the implications for any potential development sites.
This study, the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment Level 2, should be completed by May 2026.
When considering the Buckingham Neighbourhood Plan site allocations, there may be an opportunity
to help flood alleviation, but only if it can be demonstrated that it's needed to make
the development acceptable in planning terms.
This will depend on an assessment of the issues and evidence at the time of any planning application
foldy sites and would require the agreement of the Environment Agency.
Should these be related to any works required on the River Great Ouse and therefore the
A422 Buckingham Bypass?
The plan is to introduce Sill to the north and central areas and when it does get introduced,
the resulting funds secured for use by Buckinghamshire Council must be used for infrastructure that
supports the development of the area
and are not tied to any specific development site.
This makes it more flexible for the council
to decide on which infrastructure priorities
should be funded.
And in conclusion, Robin, I do understand
that this is a very long running issue.
Thank you, Peter.
Thank you very much for your response.
We'll carry on talking, Peter.
You did.
Thank you very much.
Appreciate you taking the time to come.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:35:31
Now I'd like to welcome and invite forward
Councillor Alex Collingwood please who has a question in part to me and Robert
and I think I'll probably answer but Alex can see you if yes thank you
Questions - 0:35:52
Thank You leader I see your cabinet my question to you and to Robert relates to
business rates.
Following the recent Buxbury Press article
concerning the challenges businesses
facing over the increase in business rates,
on top of the national insurance,
increasing national insurance by my fish and chip shops,
both Oysters in Marlowe Bottom and the Penguin Bar in Marlowe,
a refer to campaign started by Jill Morrissey, MP,
highlighting this issue.
And in fact, I was actually with the Chamber of Commerce meeting
last week and these include the new rotable valuation calculations, no rights
of appeal and the increases in overall business rates. Please and the leader of
the council work with Jo Moro CMP and request an urgent meeting with the
Minister to address these issues not just for the fish and chip shops but all
of my local small businesses. To give you context one of my high street businesses
has now gotten the 300 % increase in their business rates. Thank you.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:37:02
Thank you Alex. I'll respond on behalf of Robert and myself. As a council and a cabinet
we seek to support our businesses and work hard with partners to create an environment that boosts economic growth and
opportunities for local companies. You can see that through our economic growth plan.
It is disappointing that the government's approach to business rates from April 2026 has worsened conditions through tax rises
for our local businesses. The government has clearly recognised this issue by their recent actions in
in extending support to pubs and music venues,
and we'll question why this support is not extended
more widely across local high street businesses,
such as the ones you refer to,
and including things like fish chip shops.
Therefore, we will lobby the government on this point
and support others, such as Durham Royal CMP
in their campaigns, to have the verdict
on businesses reduced.
Thank you very much for your question.
So the third councillor asking the question today
is Councillor Maru Mormina. Please do come forward, invite you forward. Thank you Alex.
Good morning, welcome. Nice to see you.
Excellent, you changed the nameplate. Thank you very much.
Questions - 0:38:18
Okay, please ask your question to me and Steve Bowles. Thank you.
Co -production is defined as a process through which a broad range of interdependent actors
engage in distributed, cross -boundary collaboration to define common problems and design and implement
new and better solutions.
I'm sorry, it's a bit academic, but I just want to make sure that we all know what I'm
talking about.
The LGA corporate peer challenge, which for the benefits of residents listening is a bit
of a peer review of councils, highlighted co -production as, and I quote, the gold standard
of working with people to shape services at the beginning of any change," end of quote,
but found that it remains, and I quote again, unclear how communities, in Buckinghamshire,
that is, can continue to shape ongoing activity beyond council representation, end of quote.
Sorry, I've lost my...
While the peer team acknowledged steps towards embedding co -production approaches in some
service areas, it recommended, and I quote again, expanding the role of community boards
further into place shaping and embedding place -based approaches as a way of working across the
Council.
So Kim the Leader confirmed that the action plan the Council is required to publish by
3rd of March 2026 will set out whether and how the role of community boards will be strengthened
beyond the delivery of local projects to give communities across Buckinghamshire clearly
defined influence over place shaping and service design decisions, therefore enabling residents
to co -define problems and co -produce solutions rather than simply being consulted.
Thank you.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:40:14
Thank you for your question and it's probably worth noting that the corporate
peer challenge that you refer to is actually an item on this agenda later
this morning. But in specifically response to your question, the feedback
from that review on the work of the Council through external corporate peer
review mechanisms was extremely positive. But as you'd expect from such a review
there are some considerations and areas of continual improvement to be
considered. The Council has made clear, made a clear and significant shift
through recent changes to community board arrangements which now place a
particular emphasis on collaboration with local residents, businesses and key
stakeholders. This gives a greater scope and opportunity to identify and tackle
local priorities in key issues. As the work of the community board evolves and
strengthens they will also be included in the proposed actions in response to
appear review feedback through specific plans that which will be reported to cabinet and published on
the council's website. In terms of wider service changes and place shaping decisions the council
places a significant emphasis on securing meaningful and positive engagement with residents
in a variety of ways. Community boards will continue to provide opportunity to identify and
agree local priorities whilst working on delivering solutions in partnership with local people.
Thank you.
So, thank you for those questions to all those members.
We'll move swiftly on to item six, which is the forward plan.

6 Forward Plan (28 Day Notice)

This can be found on pages 23 to 38 of the agenda pack.
So the forward plan for those people watching is obviously taken at a moment in time about
items that are due to come forward.
The forward plan is updated quite regularly.
So obviously you can find this on the council website,
but as of today's notice,
does anyone have any comments or questions
on the forward plan?
Nope.
Okay, thank you.
We're happy to accept that as noted.
Thank you.

7 Select Committee Work Programme

Item seven is similar because it's the forward look
at the Select Committee Work Programme.
Our important select committees
of the Council also indicate the body of work
that they are looking at and the items they're considering.
These can be found on pages 39 to 44.
And again, do get updated from time to time.
Does anyone have any questions on this Forward Work Programme?
Are we happy to note that to them, please?
Thank you.
Truly noted.
And having just spoken about one of our select committees,
then I'm pleased to be able to welcome, as I introduce,
item eight, the Budget Scrutiny 2026 report.

8 Budget Scrutiny 2026 Report

Councillor John Chilva, who chaired the Budget Scrutiny work
and endeavours this year.
Thank you both to John and all the members of that committee
because it is a very intense period of time grappling
with the budgets for the Council, and particularly in this year with the significant changes
in the way local government finances are being structured.
The report that John will present can be found on pages 45 to 104.
So I'm going to ask John to provide the report.
Then we can discuss aspects of the report.
I'll provide John with some initial draught feedback, and ultimately that feedback will
we published along with papers on the Council website.
So John, you're very welcome.
Thank you.
Over to you.
Thank you very much indeed, Zita.
Cllr John Chilver - 0:44:12
John Charver, chairman of the Finance and Resources Select
Committee.
In January, the Budget Scrutiny Inquiry Group
of the Finance and Resources Select Committee
carried out its review of the Council's draught budget.
This involved three full days of questioning, with each portfolio session attended by Cabinet members and their deputies, our Section 15 officer and head of finance, corporate directors, and service heads of finance.
Overall, the Inquiry Group supports the budget proposals and acknowledges the tough decisions
proposed in a difficult financial climate for local government.
It is clear that there is not much room for manoeuvre, and services have increasing pressures
to deal with to achieve a balanced budget.
In particular, the Inquiry Group wants to highlight three key cost pressures.
Firstly, significant cost pressures on statutory services, such as children's services, adult
social care, home -to -school transport, and temporary accommodation from increasing demand
and complexity.
Secondly, the impact of the government's local government funding reform, which has resulted
in a £44 .5 million loss for Buckinghamshire, as referred to by the leader earlier.
And thirdly, the impact of the government's new housing target of 95 ,000 new homes for
Buckinghamshire, which is a 43 % increase, with no commitment to additional infrastructure
of funding to support it.
I would like to extend my thanks to all members of Cabinet
and officers for attending the sessions
and for their contributions, as this helped the inquiry group
gain a deeper understanding of the challenges
and opportunities for the Council.
And I would also like to thank my colleagues on the review
Group, and Katie Dover, the Senior Scrutiny Officer,
for her support through the whole process
and in producing the report you have before you today.
She's sitting behind me at the back there
and has been an absolute star.
So thank you, Katie.
I'd also like to thank members of the public who
watch the budget inquiry process on the webcast each day.
As you can see, the report includes 12 recommendations across the portfolios. I don't propose to
go through each of the recommendations in turn, as they are clearly laid out in the
report. But I'm very happy to take any questions you may have. Thank you.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:47:10
John, thank you very much for that presentation of the report and your words to those who
helped you make it.
Thank you for that.
Cabinet, there's an opportunity now for you to ask any questions or points of clarification
to John, please, before, so this item is effectively in two parts.
We do that with John and then we'll consider the response.
Does anyone have any questions or wish to ask of John?
You see, John, it is an opportunity for us to ask a question back of you after a week
of questions, but clearly the questions and answers given and the report has managed to
cover everything off.
You have this year put through a total number of recommendations, I forget, 12 I think.
So thank you for that.
And as you said, we won't necessarily read through them.
I think it's fair to say, and I'm coming to a question,
none of the recommendations fundamentally change
budget numbers.
And I did note in your commentary or introduction
that overall the committee,
which is crossbench committee, supports the overall budget.
Is that fair that actually you're comfortable despite the demand pressures
that through the work of the committee that the budget by numbers fairly
reflect the situation we have at the council? Yes I am and you're right in
Cllr John Chilver - 0:48:53
that none of the recommendations would involve any changes to the budget
figures as proposed and it was a cross -party working group and I just
like to say there was a lot of consensus and harmony
and cross -party working, which I'm very grateful
to members of the committee.
Excellent.
Thank you, John, for that clarification then.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:49:13
So I'll assume there are no more questions while we
as a group just discuss any of the specific recommendations.
So we've talked about, obviously,
We've seen the recommendations prior to today.
And so what I will do is just in short order cover each of those off in terms of what our
draught collective response is.
And if anyone wish to comment further on any of them, then please let me know.
But the first recommendation was about cross -portfolio projects within the cabinet.
and our response is to partially agree with that in terms of how they will be
reported to select committees and on our quarter monitoring. The majority of our
savings, and I remind people watching, you know we we've already achieved 187
million pounds worth of savings since formulating this council and that the
scale of the challenge does not diminish as we have to turn that number into 296 million
by the end of this financial period. So it's absolutely right that some of those savings
are reliant on cross -portfolio working. We can't make a saving in one area only to increase
cost pressure somewhere else. So I'm pleased that the group have recommended we continue
to look at that and then we will obviously set that out in more detail
ahead of the next budget scrutiny. Tom? I'd just like to come in on that particular
Cllr Thomas Broom - 0:50:58
recommendation if I may, leader. First of all because we don't actually
have any specific recommendations for transport so I'd obviously like to
thank all parties involved in this cross -party committee for their tacit
endorsements of our roads programme.
But on this particular one, I want to highlight
some of the work that's going on within my portfolio,
but also crossing over to children's.
And obviously that's the homeschool transport piece
in which we are under a very significant pressure.
You spoke at the top of the meeting about the pressures
that are involved, particularly through provision
of SEND services, and that carries through
to homeschool transport as well.
And there has been a particularly good, I would say, piece of cross -portfolio working
here between Transport and Children's, making sure that we deliver really, really good quality
services while making them as efficient as we possibly can for council taxpayers in Buckinghamshire.
And the
team on both sides, I think, have worked very, very hard through the cross -portfolio board that
we set up to do this.
And I just think it's a really, really good example, and is a bit of an exemplar within
the council of that kind of cross -portfolio working, and critically why it's so important.
Obviously, this is one of the critical five areas of pressure for spending within council
resources, both for us and for councils across the country.
And the teams we've got on both sides of this gap, I think, have done a fantastic job in
making sure that we're delivering good quality services
with value for money for the taxpayer.
Excellent, thank you Tom.
Yeah, and it's our challenge to make sure we replicate
that good practise everywhere.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:52:47
And so it's right that the review group ask us to do that
and we'll do that, not necessarily fully in the way
they wanted, but we'll do it
because it evidences the good practise.
Recommendation two was about in the community's portfolio
and community boards, and we just had a question on a similar theme, that is
agreed the council will ensure opportunities for efficiencies and
synergies between community boards and opportunity box programmes are maximised
as part of the review. Recommendation 3, which was to do with another select
committee, the tech committee, Transport, Environment, Communities and Climate
Change select committee, that they review income and cost implications of our
decision we took in November to outsource parking enforcement.
Agreed.
That's exactly the kind of work the select committee
should be doing.
In my view, number four was with the abolition of police
and crime commissioners from 2028,
the review group, the scrutiny group,
were clearly wanting to find out more
about the funding for the future.
So we agree with that recommendation.
We'll continue to seek further announcements in detail from government and through the
Safer Bucks Board we continue to ensure the grant is maximised as much as possible and
brings its benefits to a safer Buckinghamshire.
Recommendation five is the Cabinet Commission and Outline Feasibility Study to be taken
during the calendar year, well, during 2026 into the new Leisure Centre provision for
the north of Buckinghamshire as part of the infrastructure requirements within the local
plan. We've said partially agreed to that and there's a reason for that and that's because
the council has previously and already recognised the need for new and improved sports facilities,
sport leisure facility in the north and it's a declaration agreed in the leisure facility
strategy. So the detailed feasibility report will progress in line with the local plan.
So obviously the progress made there will sort of help also
to determine its timeline.
But so I think there's certainly the council agreement of the need
for such an enhanced facility.
So thank you for drawing your attention to it.
Number six was in the health and wellbeing portfolio,
cabinet should assess the initial findings
So the case commission continue to lobby central government
for funding elements and closely monitor
the key part of funding, particularly in the better care
fund, and with the police.
In short, that is all agreed.
That's the good work that we continue to do.
And we work closely within the sector
as well through things like the counter -council network
to make sure we're trying to get adult social care
in particular on a sustainable footing.
So thank you for that.
Item recommendation seven in the housing
and regulatory services portfolio.
The cabinet, the recommendation is the cabinet
should closely monitor the impacts of the Renters' Rights Act
on the temporary accommodation market
and develop strategies to mitigate that.
And also explore opportunities to increase the level
of provision for temporary accommodation.
Both of those are agreed
because that's obviously a key area of work.
temporary accommodation is one of those big areas of expenditure in the statutory block
of in total 76 % of all the council's money goes into home school transport, adult social care,
children's temporary accommodation. So we have to continue to bear down on that and work with
as well some of our registered providers where possible so that we have a reduced use and
alliance on hotel and bed and breakfast accommodation.
Next recommendation was that the housing team works closely with adult social care colleagues
to make sure that disabled facilities grants meet the needs of our ageing population.
Again greed and there's another example of some cross -portfolio work.
Nine, in planning, recommendation for the cabinet to lobby government for the need for
extensive infrastructure requirements to meet the proposed 95 ,000 homes and to clarify the
timetable for the introduction of SIL that was referred in Hot Topics earlier, so Community
Infrastructure Levy in the former Aylesby Vale district area. Again, both those items are agreed.
On the overall new housing imposed targets by the government, the infrastructure requirement there
will be in the multi -billions and yet there is not a single pound of dedicated infrastructure
money coming with that requirement.
Obviously, some of that will be met through developer contributions through 106 and SIL
where possible and therefore, of course, as we continue to bring the SIL proposals through,
we'll be consulting on the draught charging schedule for that in the spring this year
with the aim for targeted adoption next year.
Next one was number 10,
that the Cabinet works with registered providers
to ensure Section 106 monies contributed by developers
in lieu of affordable housing
are used effectively and promptly.
That's agreed, of course, we want best use of that money
and through Mark and the work they do in that team,
we'll make sure that happens.
Environment, climate change and waste is number 11, and this actually is one where we do not
agree.
So this states the cabinet should undertake an appraisal for the future provision of the
energy from waste facility at Calvert, including the creation of a suitable reserve to be developed
as required, as well as considering the financial implications and impacts of the emissions
trading scheme.
The reason we're saying not agree is
because the contract term for this facility runs until 2046
with the potential extension within that provision
for the facility to run to 2051.
And it's our view that it's highly likely
that the technological advancements
and regulatory provision
and user behaviour regarding waste disposal that far
in the future will all change.
And therefore, it's absolutely right
to identify the need to plan ahead.
We just think at this stage, it would be an unnecessary use
of resources, and therefore we recommend effectively
that we should wait until around 2035 before having
to make such provision.
Ade, this is in your bailiwick, so did you want
Yes, I just want to say what's in principle we do appreciate what the committee's recommended.
It's just the timing we think it's not appropriate.
Cllr Adekunle Osibogun - 1:00:03
So in 2035 we're happy to look at this again.
On the financial impact of the emission trading scheme, which was also included in there,
the government's position on ETS remains unclear and the potential impact on public facilities
such as the energy for waste facilities we have is still unknown.
We will also continue to monitor that development closely and will assess any financial implication
once the position becomes clearer.
Thanks, Eddie.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:00:39
And then the last one was for Cabinet to lobby government on the impact of offset delays
in registering children's homes.
And we heard from Carl Jackson earlier that we've just had a recent one get through the
But it is true that it is taking longer for this off stretch registration to come in.
So we agree with that because it's having a detrimental impact on our provision.
Look, you're indicating, Carl, you're stating -
Cllr Carl Jackson - 1:01:06
Yes, thank you. I just want to confirm that we've written now to, I've written to the Children's Family Minister
to make the point that obviously we have to make certain assumptions when it comes to registering children's homes.
Our assumption is it will take six months to get registration, all being well from the initial request to the final clearance to open.
A lot of our financial assumptions are based on that.
So if we find it starts slipping to nine months, it poses some difficult questions for us.
So we really need Ofsted to stick to six months max, which is what we've been told previously.
I'm told we have very good relationship with our local Ofsted contacts, and it's not their fault.
But, you know, sort of Ofsted as a whole organisation needs to help us try and get these in -house
children's homes open quickly.
So we'll continue that endeavour for sure.
Thank you.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:01:52
So that's the, as I said, the verbal draught response.
The detail will be published later.
So I'll move Cabinet now to the recommendations, which is for us to formally approve the scrutiny
review report and the recommendations as we've just set out and also showing
that the expression of our thanks to the Budget Scrutiny Group including the
supporting officers for the work they've done during that and building up the
recommendations. Is everyone in agreement with with those as the
recommendations? Thank you they are agreed. John thank you so much for coming
in today and presenting the report.
And hopefully you'll take our word of thanks back
as well to your team.
And I'd just like to thank you and the cabinet
for carefully considering those recommendations
and for providing your responses.
Thank you.
Thank you, Joel.
Much appreciated.
So we'll move on now to the budget, which is item nine.

9 Medium Term Financial Plan 2026/27 to 2028/29 and Capital Programme 2026/27 to 2029/30

So it's the forward budget known as the MTFP,
the medium term financial plan.
Now we have discussed the budget at length
when it was the draught budget before it went to budget scrutiny.
And as we've just heard, there's no recommendations that change any numbers.
I think there's a few items to pull out here.
There's the comments I made earlier about the DSG.
So I will in a minute, Dave, just ask you
what, if anything, we need to do in the short term for that.
And I believe they aren't.
The answer is around the year end adjustments we may need to make.
But I'll come to you on that.
We also, at the same time with the budget,
have included, now in the updated report,
the council tax reduction scheme.
And I'll ask Robert to comment on that in a moment
in terms of what was undertaken
and where that leaves us with a budget position.
The reality here, as I mentioned earlier,
is the biggest change to council financing for 20 years has taken place.
It has left us in a situation where we have a reduction in funding over the period
of £44 .5 million.
There are some changes in some of the grant elements of council funding,
some up, some down, many ring fenced, as I indicated earlier.
But that government formula bakes in the requirement for us through this equalisation piece to
increase council tax by 4 .99%.
If we don't do that, the government still equalises away the money, and so taxation
will be applied in Buckinghamshire, money will be sent to other parts of the country,
and that is why in public form I consider this not to be a fair funding review at all.
I think it's unfair and it's unsustainable as a sector.
Over the weekend, it has become clear that nationally,
the government doubled down on the non -evidenced base funding,
additional funding for urban and metropolitan areas.
600 million pounds was taken out of the recovery,
was added into a recovery grant in recent months.
And that is what dropped our revenue down by another couple of million pounds
because that money was taken from county areas such as ours.
Over the weekend, down the back of a Treasury sofa,
there was 440 million pounds lurking that has now been politically chosen
to be spent only in metropolitan and urban areas
without any base on the evidence of need.
And I remind everyone there is that the rurality aspect was removed
from the original consultation for councils such as ours.
So the funding formula was supposed
to reflect the additional costs of rurality
in providing services.
That in the context of increased rising demand and the need
for us to evidence best value for money
and take out the savings I referenced
in the previous item so that since this council formed,
we would have reduced and improved efficiencies
is to the tune of 296 million.
All of that is contained in our budgets,
and we are one of a smaller number of councils
who balance the budget for each of the three years
of the settlement period.
It becomes increasingly difficult to do so,
but I'm proud of the fact that we're sitting here today,
having gone through scrutiny that involves everyone
from across the council through various groups to say,
This is a balanced budget that's robust.
I remember at draught stage asking our 151 officer if it was a feasible budget,
and he will do that, one hopes, again, at full council when we present the budget
to the entire council later this month on the 25th of February.
So the budget, whilst challenging, still ensures that we meet resident priorities.
So keeping the frequency of our bin collections.
making sure we're still funding planning enforcement.
And as Tom alluded to earlier,
increasing our overall spending into roads and transport.
Transport in this period will see 220 million pounds
worth of investment, and about 120 million
of that is directly into the roads.
Not, you know, doing that in the context of
growing demand for the statutory services
is something that I know we have worked very hard,
both as members and officers,
to make sure we can balance the budget.
A legal requirement, by the way, of local councils
is to balance budgets.
We cannot go and borrow to balance the budget
in the same way that the national government can.
And then the last thing I just want to refer to
is the capital programme.
So some of the road spend comes from capital money,
but we have over 600 million or so in the capital programme over the period.
And as Karl mentioned earlier, bringing on stream things like new children's homes mean
that we use our capital in a way that not only gives better outcomes for our residents,
but it means that we can offset some of that extreme cost of specialist provision through
our revenue budget.
And it's through that capital programme we'll be seeking to leverage more money in to regenerate our town centres
and continue to invest in the big items
possibly even in due course of the leisure provision in the north of the county.
It's that capital programme that also helps us move the dial.
The capital programme is broadly speaking self -financing, which means sometimes we dispose of council assets in order to invest or
or procure new ones.
That is all contained in this budget pack.
So there are two people I want to speak on the items
I flagged and then I'll come to cabinet members
for any other comments.
You first Dave please.
Thank you leader.
David Skinner - Director of Finance and S151 Officer - 1:09:13
Just to add in terms of probably
some of the technical changes.
So the announcements yesterday set out some additional
funding as the leader said earlier.
So just over a million pounds and we'll need to make
those adjustments through the PAC and any subsequent amendments for roundings in terms
of kind of going through and also then in terms of the announcement in terms of the
additional grant money.
Probably just worth flagging that the additional grant money has conditions attached and that
involves the submission of a local SD &D reform plan that's submitted and then approved by
with DFE, and that needs to be developed collaboratively
with schools, health, early year settings,
and post -16 providers.
And only when that's approved do we get the money
in the autumn of 2026.
I'm assuming that's the parliamentary autumn, which
probably runs all the way through until Christmas.
So there is still some uncertainty
in terms of the timing of that funding coming back.
As the leader said earlier, that is 90 %
but subject to those conditions.
So I think, as you can see from later on in the pack
in the Q3 position, then there's the potential to put aside some
of that money in terms of the residual deficit
that we'd be left with, so about $4 .75 million
that we would then need to set aside to cover,
but that won't actually be a charge on the revenue
until April 28 in terms of going forward.
So we'll then need to look at that each and every year
as we progress through this period.
They're probably the highlights in terms of,
from the announcements yesterday in terms of going through.
Probably just also worth highlighting
that the council tax reduction scheme,
I know that Councillor Carrington will speak to this
in a little bit as well,
then there's no change in terms of the budget
as a result of that consultation exercise.
But then maybe I shall hand over.
Excellent, thank you, David.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:11:10
Robert Carrington.
Thank you very much and thank you Dave
Cllr Robert Carington - 1:11:16
for reining yourself in as you very nearly
I stole my funder, so to speak, on this one.
So really the update here regarding the counter -tax
reduction scheme, as a reminder, this was a proposal which was
developed to amend the CTR scheme, which will start from
the 1st of April if cabinet and then council are minded to
approve to reduce volatility.
These changes will reduce volatility for households,
simplified assessments and remove reliance on the Department of Work and pensions data
to determine awards by transitioning to a banded scheme, reducing processing times for
new claims from 29 days to 10 days, and delivering some savings.
The fundamental change from when I last spoke on this is that we have held the consultation.
This ran between the 17th of December last year to the 2nd of February this year, and
we have had 518 responses which have been received, and the vast majority acknowledge
the need for modernization of the CTR scheme.
and fewer than 10 of the 518 responses argued
to retain the current scheme.
There was a majority of people recognising
that this does need to be reformed.
A plurality of responses were supportive
of the proposed move to abandon the scheme.
One thing important to note is there were some concerns,
The majority of concerns were over that assumptions that the scheme would result in the loss of
the 25 % single person discount, but the messaging as the consultation went on was amended to
very much highlight the point that the proposals will have no impact whatsoever on the 25 %
single person discount.
So just very important to highlight that point.
So as mentioned, the priority and the majority
of responses were supportive.
And with no changes to the scheme, it is recommended
that the proposals are taken forward
to consideration at full council.
Thank you very much for that, Robert.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:13:47
I think it was a good summary, and particularly on that point,
about no change to the 25 % single persons aspect.
Thank you.
Anyone got anything else they wish to talk about
now we're in the budget?
In fact, Robert, did you have anything other than
that part that you want to say or not?
You don't?
No.
Okay.
Any other commentary?
Thomas?
Cllr Thomas Broom - 1:14:14
Just to emphasise the point that you were making,
leader, at the outset there,
that it is really important that everybody,
I think understands that the reason why we seek efficiency
in the services that we deliver is not only
so that we can deliver efficient services,
but so that we can make sure that we're prioritising
the things that residents want us to prioritise.
I think there are a lot of local authorities
that don't necessarily have the leeway to do that
because they are perhaps in a more difficult
financial position and we've seen, you know,
some local authorities even push to a point
where they're seeking to raise council tax by sort of 10%,
which is obviously not a situation we find ourselves in.
But I do think it's really important
that we say to everybody that, you know,
when we talk about making efficiencies,
when we talk about value for money
for the council taxpayer in bucks,
that's not just about delivering that value,
but it's also about giving us the ability
to prioritise the areas where residents
wants to see us making progress.
And obviously, in my own area, as I've mentioned already,
we've got that 120 million pound road programme.
As you said, it's a total of 220 million investment
through the capital programme in total, 17 % uplift in capital
road budget, which is the resurfacing element
that everybody so wants to see.
But this is not something that happens by accident.
And I think sometimes because there is an awful lot of work that goes on behind the
scenes to make sure that we can get to this position, I think sometimes we maybe need
to emphasise a little more quite how much has been done.
You know, we've got a fantastic team supporting us and we've got many of our senior officers
in the room with us today who've been locked in rooms with us, sometimes for sort of six
to eight hours at a time to get us to this point.
And I'd just like to put it on record that my thanks to the team that supports us for
that.
But also to just, again, to emphasise to residents, this is a really necessary part of delivering
the services that you want us to deliver, to make the improvements that you want us
to make.
And while it's an ongoing process, and obviously it's a three -year period that we're looking
at, this is something that is always going on at Bucks.
and obviously I think your initial speech when you became leader of the
council Steve you emphasised that point about delivering value for money for the
taxpayers of Buckinghamshire. I think that's what you can see in this MTFP.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:16:55
Thank you very much Thomas I think very wise words and and of course we will
deliver that as soon you meet the budget but there's confidence in that area later
on here when you see the quarter three position but absolutely is the size and
scale of the challenge.
Thank you for that.
And while earlier on we heard from Councillor Collingwood
talking about business rates and things,
it's worth me drawing to people's attention
at this stage.
The full pack today is on pages 105 and 476.
But on page 124 in there, you'll be able to, well,
all around there, there is the discretionary relief
elements for business rates.
And that includes the welcome changes the government have made to the Pobs and Hospitality
piece.
But the reason I'm highlighting that is on page 124, 6 .5 in bold, we very clearly say
the council will provide the service and guidance free of charge for those seeking discretion
relief.
It doesn't guarantee the outcome, but you can get that guidance free of charge.
ratepayers are encouraged to approach the council directly
and not pay for such services through third parties.
And this is something we're seeing.
People out there do not need to pay someone
to make these applications.
You can approach the council directly.
So, therefore, applications for any such relief
will be accepted from ratepayers only.
So, please, people out there who are wondering
if there's any rate relief, have a read of the documents
and speak to the council directly, please.
I have one more thing to say, and now you're indicating with me.
Let me just finish with that.
A statutory consultee we have to have for the budget
is the Bucks Business Group, made up of,
I think we have the Federation for Small Business
Representations, Bucks Business First, and others.
And Appendix 8 shows their response.
So having presented the budget to them
and taken their questions and comments on board,
you can also see that in the pack.
So of course we need to deliver, as I said earlier, the right economic conditions and understand,
make sure we get best value on what budget money we do have to play into our economic development work
and into our skills work, despite some funding and grants for those areas.
I just wanted to highlight those to make sure it's on the record that we have done that consultation.
Karl.
Thank you, Lida.
Cllr Carl Jackson - 1:19:29
I think it is worth re -emphasising the point, because I personally find it absolutely extraordinary
as a development, that it is one thing for the central government to cut the money it
gives us.
It is another thing to take money raised here in council tax and spend it elsewhere.
That is, I find it completely outrageous.
it is effectively saying we're going to make it harder to keep services running in
Buckinghamshire but use Buckinghamshire residents money to make it easier to
keep services open elsewhere. It is something I think we really need to
emphasise as a council because I'm not sure sort of that it's recognised widely
by residents yet that actually we'll find our money being spent elsewhere.
It's not acceptable, it's no way to treat this council or
Buckhinch's residence.
And I do see comments about the budget on social media.
And you see comments like, just make some savings.
I think this budget emphasises just how many savings we've
already made and the fact that the low -hanging fruit isn't
there.
There is no 50 billion quid sat there doing nothing,
which we can remove from the budget now
that won't have any effect on frontline services.
And I think it's very important we make it clear
how little money we're having to work with now to deliver the same services and frankly
recognise the good work that's been done to make that happen.
Local authorities don't operate in a vacuum. We are affected by central government decisions.
And I was in a meeting with a local government minister, I won't say who, who referred to the
interesting mindset, but it's the one we're going to have to work with for at least the
next three years, although not necessarily the same prime minister in that time.
And then in relation to my own area in education, children's services, I would just point out
that we're in February.
This won't have escaped most people around the table, but we were promised Senate reforms
by the end of January.
We were also promised them in the autumn.
We were promised them before that.
These aren't our deadlines we're setting, government.
These are the government's own deadlines.
They keep missing.
And whatever these important reforms that could potentially
transform the funding situation and how important services
like Send and Manage are delayed, we are still left waiting,
doing what we can with things like the HCP recovery plan
to take matters into our own hands, but ultimately waiting
for national government to intervene on matters
where it has to play a role.
So I think it's important to mention those points.
We are we are doing I think a very good job locally managing our finances
But we also need the government to help rather than harvest
Thank you
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:22:27
For all of that commentary, and we obviously do wait for various white papers school white paper and so on to see what's coming
I've got a day then Isabelle
Cllr Adekunle Osibogun - 1:22:38
Thank you very much leader this happened to my first budget. I've been involved with the Law Council
and I start with a tick box exercise.
Is this budget balanced?
Yes it is.
Does it protect our residents' priorities?
Yes it does.
Does it uphold our manifesto pledges?
Yes it does.
Does it protect the level of service
and the quality of service delivered by the council?
Yes it does.
On those grounds, I'm happy to stand by this budget.
And I think all those that have worked on this budget
have done a tremendous job.
I look forward to presented for Council. Thank you very much
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:23:15
Cllr Isobel Darby - 1:23:18
Well put thank you Isabelle. Yes. Thank you very much leader echo exactly what I do said and I won't repeat it
But what I would say is that this is also my first budget process and I can just say how impressed I've been by
the level of
scrutiny
We have given it as a cabinet the way we have worked with officers the way we have challenged officers
and push back at times.
And I don't think we could have made this budget any better.
And I think, you know, I just applaud Dave
who sort of has somehow managed to take what we've said
and put it all into his spreadsheets
and it all works out in the end.
But seriously, so much work has gone into this
and I'm absolutely happy to support it
because I believe that what we are doing
is the very best we can for the residents of Buckinghamshire
and I'm really proud that we have protected services.
But I would say, you know, a lot of it,
we're still waiting for government,
like in my own area in adult social care reform.
You know, we're waiting for the Casey Commission report.
We're waiting to see what that brings.
But given the circumstances that we have to work under,
and always do work under,
I think we have done a really good job.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:24:32
And I certainly echo the thanks to the whole wider team
who have been involved in doing this.
As you know, it takes a long time.
Mark Wien.
Thank you, leader.
Just to echo, I think, what others have said,
Cllr Mark Winn - 1:24:43
firstly, about the money that's been
taken by central government.
As I've said before, not one of our residents
would have voted for that or was aware of that.
And our businesses are not aware of that either.
And I think, really, what would be good to see
is what that money could actually be spent on.
How many roads could have been resurfed?
is how many potholes filled, what we could have spent on our leisure centres as a result
of that, or our parks. It's money that's really been taken away from Bucks, that has
been raised in Bucks, but has been taken away and given elsewhere. When government has a
chance in general taxation to level where it puts the money, it shouldn't be then
taking that taxation again and taking it off other authorities and giving it elsewhere.
It really is a ridiculous notion that they do.
But just to emphasise what others have said,
if I look at my own portfolio,
some of the sort of, it has been a difficult budget,
but we are still making a difference to people's lives
within what we do at this council.
And I'll just emphasise it from in the homelessness sector.
600 people this year have been prevented
from being homeless.
We've had 10 consecutive weeks.
I attended a meeting of our team that look at how we're going each week and have a dashboard
how we're going on homelessness.
In the last 10 consecutive weeks, more people have moved out of temporary accommodation
than moved in.
And that really is a great achievement.
And I hope it's going to continue going on because people in temporary accommodation
are really in a low place.
So actually getting them out there is not only good for our finances, it's good for
those people as well, those people in Buttonshire that we want to help.
We've also saved £4 ,000 per day on our temporary accommodations.
So we really are making savings, but also making a difference.
On homelessness, we're in a better position than a lot of other councils within the southeast
and nationally.
And I'm sort of quite proud of how we're actually doing that amongst the budget we've got.
But I want us obviously to push forward further and help more people as we go on.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:27:07
Thank you, Mark. Some real highlights there of why a close attention to things really kicks in.
And you know, ten consecutive weeks of
a net reduction in people in temporary accommodation is hugely welcome.
I was going to move us on, but Steve's just indicated under the radar.
Sorry, I've done it again, haven't I?
Sorry, coming in late again.
Cllr Steve Bowles - 1:27:28
Just from my own portfolio and talking about the budget and unfair funding, as I like to
call it, one of the results that hits my portfolio is the fact that the government, in its infinite
Wisdom has combined the Household Support Fund
and Discretionary Housing Fund.
Now they're saying, well, that's a 42 million pound fund.
Well, before they decided to amalgamate them,
we had 42 million pounds for a Household Support Fund.
So therefore, we're going to have less money
to spend on our vulnerable residents,
although the team are working hard to find out
how we can get some more money from our budget in there.
But these are the vulnerable residents that Labour purport to support, and they're actually going to be penalising them by this reduction.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:28:25
Thank you Steve. I mean I think I said lend a budgie of scrutiny that, and I sort of referred in passing to it today, some grants up and down, but some as you say have been amalgamated.
which means we still await even more clarity about conditions and the ring -fence nature of it.
We just heard from Dave Skinner earlier how even yesterday's announcement has come with some conditions attached.
We obviously will have to do everything to meet those conditions and make sure we minimise any adverse impact
and maximise the upside for the residents who use those services and benefit from those grants.
Not an easy task.
And actually, it refers to that in the EQIA that is on this report.
It says some of the impacts here will have to come through as those service changes,
looking at grant levels, follows through.
So, yeah, for example, we're looking at a 62 % cut to our skills boot camp funding in Wave 7.
And yet, you know, we are a very successful skills boot camp.
That has a direct but unseen impact because with 62 % less funding there'll be fewer people going through the boot camp and
being skilled up ready to have a job. So
this is work that we and through your portfolios
will have to be dedicated to make sure every pound of that grant funding is best used.
Look, I'm looking at the clock. The council, well the paper
seeks a number of approvals.
So the recommendations in the paper are
for us to approve this medium -term financial plan
and the capital programme that accompanies it,
to delegate to Dave Skinner as the 151 officer
in conjunction with me as leader,
the authority to agree any required budget changes
as a result of the final local government settlement,
although we've outlined what we believe to be
the biggest elements of that already.
And then the number three recommendation to approve the special expenses budget and
associated services for Aylesbury Town, High Wycombe Town and
West Wycombe Churchyard.
Four, to approve the delegation to cabinet for decisions that add up to
100 million the capital programme funded by prudential borrowing that is
there as a scope of drawdown as needed.
Five, to approve the updated council tax reduction scheme policy and the equality impact assessment
that we've referred to during this discussion and heard from Robert about for the former.
Six, to approve the business rate discretionary rate relief policy that we talked about earlier.
And to approve the council tax discount and premiums policy, which is there as Appendix
7.
As well as noting the supplemental report, the formal council tax resolution, and that
the council tax resolution will accompany the final budgets for council.
Point nine to note that bugs business group response to the budget and ten to note the
equality impact assessment for the proposed budget.
So there are ten elements to the recommendation.
I propose to take them on block unless anyone indicates they have a specific issue with
any of them.
So are those recommendations approved?
Agreed.
Agreed.
Thank you very much.
That will now, for people watching, the MTFP will be presented now to full council on the
25th of February.

10 Capital and Investment Strategy

Let's move on then to item 10, and we'll hear from Robert Carrington as the cabinet member
for resources.
This is the capital investment strategy.
The report can be found on pages 477 to 502.
And of course, David Skinner is here to answer any technical questions.
Robert, over to you.
Thank you very much, leader.
Cllr Robert Carington - 1:32:27
So this item, we are reviewing the capital investment strategy.
For those of you who are not familiar with this,
this is a statutory document which is revised annually.
and the main purpose is to define how the council
will maximise the impact of its capital resources
to deliver key aims and priorities.
It considers things like future capital investment needs
linked to statutory requirements
and corporate plan priorities
to ensure the optimum impact of these investments.
Regarding the one, the papers you see in front of you,
There are a number, well there are six proposed minor amendments to the existing strategy
and I'll just quickly run through them.
So number one, these can be found on page 478 of the pack.
Number one is to update the list of strategies which underpin the capital programme to include
the economic growth strategy.
Number two is to expand reference to growth board investment
to include leveraging and match funding
from public and private sector
for larger economic development and regeneration projects.
Number three is to update references
to regeneration boards and subgroups
to align with current governance.
Number four is to update statistics
on housing and population growth,
including reference to the imposed increase
in housing targets of 95 ,000 homes.
Number five is additional detail added to the MTFP process to include a reference to
funding capital receipts.
And number six is references now made to the council's corporate landlord function, which
sits within corporate property and asset service, which sits within the resources portfolio.
So I don't know, Dave, if there's anything further you want to add to that?
No, nothing further to add.
Excellent.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:34:30
Thank you for that.
Robert as you say this is something that comes here
To cabinet and then onto council on a an annual basis
Obviously, it's updated
Everything from our demographics to current approach to the investment strategy
Obviously we make reference here to develop contributions in it and that
Hopefully next year as we discussed earlier if still is expanded into the north of the counter
you will have something further to say in there.
Anyone have any questions, specific questions
on any of this?
Okay.
Clearly this is a part of our work that unlocks
lots of other elements of council endeavour.
So it's an important thing to look at,
but it is fairly self -explanatory
if you take the time to read it.
So if there's no questions,
can I go straight to a recommendation then?
So the recommendations offer us to agree
the capital investment strategy as attached
and recommend to full council
that full council then approve it.
Are we so agreed?
Agreed.
Agreed, thank you.
Okay, thank you for that, Robert.
We will now get to item 11.

11 LGA Corporate Peer Challenge Feedback Report

This again was referred to during Hot Topics.
This is the Local Government Association
Corporate Peer Challenge Feedback Report.
This will be presented by me.
It's on pages 503 to 540 of your pack.
And Erica McGeary, who's the Service Director
for Policy and Communications is here
if there's any questions about the LGA,
the technical parts of the process or their feedback.
This is something that residents,
I really would encourage residents of the county to read.
This is the first corporate peer challenge that we have had
as a council since it was formed.
And it's made that the people who do this,
they come in for a period of time,
talk to a whole range of people,
including elected members, officers,
and staff at the council.
They talk to partners who we work with.
They're presented, they go through a lot of
policy documents and so on.
And they are a cross between senior officers who work in the local government sector, so
this was led by a chief executive of another council, through to a number of senior members
from other councils on a cross -party basis.
And then they really just sort of kick the tyres and test everything that we are doing
at the council.
You'll see from the full report we have an awful lot to be proud of.
This was an incredibly positive feedback report.
And this is probably best summed up where during the verbal feedback the reviewers called
Buckinghamshire one of the best run councils the peer reviewers have ever visited.
And this is a really experienced team.
So, between for members and officers at the council to be, you know, tested and put under
scrutiny and come out with that finding is something we should be proud of and is, and
hopefully gives residents real assurance about the operation of their council in the here
and now and what came before it.
I think item section three of the report on page 332 gives the headline feedback and recommendations.
And again, very positive.
We've just spent a lot of time today talking about our budgets and we've indicated through
our comments how robust our financial management and budgeting and planning is.
That is pulled out in their robust financial management and effective governance is there.
They've recognised our use of AI and digital innovation in improving our services.
They've recognised the strong leadership that we have at the council and how that continues
to deliver for residents and importantly recognise the strength that we have with our partners,
particularly our health partners, our voluntary sector partners, and of course through our growth
board, some of our economic and private sector partners as well. As we indicated in that earlier
item, there are areas for us to look out for continual improvement and of course what they
ultimately say to us is how do you go from good to great as a council and that's the
stretch target if you like that we've got to do. So I'm very proud that this has given
a clear set of recommendations that asks us to do more, build on the strengths that we
have and remain laser focused and resourced on the priorities that we have set. So this
Conservative administration under my leadership is delivering the priorities that we've set that are
reflected in
By our electorate, but of course this is also a full council endeavour
And all members across the council are there to ensure that the council delivers the best for all of our
Residents and that comes out too in some of the recommendations. So I do ask people to go and read it
We will talk about this again because what's part of this,
regarded as a gold standard process within the sector,
is we will respond with our action plan that I think is
coming to cabinet in March on some of these recommendations.
And six months after the initial visit or so,
there is a follow -up visit by a set of those peer reviewers
to see the progress that we're making.
So again, we will bring it forward then.
So that's probably all the comments I want to make now
because I think people read the report
would be really helpful.
Steve, you're indicating first,
I have to comment, I'll come to you and then Tom.
Thank you.
Just a very quick comment in the wash up that we had,
Cllr Steve Bowles - 1:40:55
I think it's worth saying that they were actually amazed
at the progress that we'd made within the five year period
from going unitary.
And they said that I think that we were probably the only council they'd ever come across that's made that sort of progress in that short space of time.
So I think that's worth adding in.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:41:21
Yeah, and that's why I said, you know, past members of this council as well as current ones brought us to that position.
And again, that helps crystallise the thinking, the recommendations of where can you go further, faster, better.
And that's the gauntlet that's been thrown down to us,
and we'll pull that through with our action plan.
But yes, thank you for that.
Thomas, you had a comment.
Cllr Thomas Broom - 1:41:41
Yeah, it's always nice to have independent
cross -party endorsement of this nature.
And I think there's a lot of really good stuff
in the report in terms of what we're doing,
reinforcing some of the stuff that we're doing now
and we need to keep doing.
But I think part of the reason we've managed
to get to that point is actually because we as an organisation have been very open to
recommendations both from inside and outside the council.
We bring in best practise wherever we can find it.
In my own area, we're looking to be as innovative as we possibly can in terms of bringing in
new and more efficient practises in terms of how we're fixing the highways.
But it really is, as you say, a sort of a whole team effort.
And it's a huge thanks to everybody across the council in terms of members, but also
in terms again of the office team who, frankly, I don't think in a lot of places you can have
the kind of robust conversations that sometimes we do have with officers and they are always
willing to engage in that very constructive, ultimately back and forth.
But I think that is true to a certain extent of members as well.
And you know, my inbox is often at this time of year filled with people who are perhaps
not entirely pleased with the outcome as it exists right now.
But I think there is a constructive spirit of willing to look at what we're doing and
find ways to make it better.
That is a really important part of how we continue to drive forward the improvements
we've seen in BUCKS, particularly since unitarization.
And it's just a bit of a reflection that this has not been an unchallenging process.
It has been a very interesting ride being one of the early adopters of the unitary model.
And it will be fascinating to see now that we've got so much for the rest of the country,
which is about to jump down this same path.
And obviously, you know, if there are any local authorities out there who are about
to make that jump, you know, I think we'd probably be quite happy to hear from them
if they'd like to have a chat about some of the ways that you can make that as smooth
and right as possible.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:44:13
Thanks, Tom. Quite a lot in there. I think, you know, this is, you could choose not to
do this, but yeah, best practise is every five years or so. And I think it was about
the right time for us to have this test. And I think you're right. So as a relatively early
unitary authority, they were, and they make reference to being surprised at the progress
made and how quickly and that definitely is a bit of an exemplar that people can
aim to follow. It doesn't come easy as we know and even still has
an impact today. So in the budget process we've just been through there's you know
some long -standing back office systems that need funding that even six years
later it takes time in multiple phases to bring them together. It's not an easy
endeavour, but having a planned approach,
resourcing well, keeping an eye on it, the close working
between staff officers and ourselves
as members is really important.
And staff who work here should be proud of this report as well,
because it really recognises people are coming to work trying
to do the very best for residents and, you know,
to say this well doesn't happen by accident.
So I think it's right that I hope the staff body here,
and we've certainly shared this report with them,
are proud of the recognition of their endeavours as well.
And as we know, then we keep striving to be better
all the time.
But Isabel, you have a comment.
Thank you, Leda.
Yeah, one thing that really strikes me,
Cllr Isobel Darby - 1:45:49
and the comment that this was one of the best -run councils
they'd ever visited, I think it should be understood
that these peer reviewers work with different,
they work on a peer review, they're chosen each time
and they work with different people.
So we're not talking about that team visiting three
or four different councils.
Each member of that team will have visited three
or four different councils.
So they, collectively, it is a huge cross -section
of local government that they are measuring us against,
which I think is really quite something.
And I think we should reflect on that journey.
And there's one person I think that really ought
to be mentioned, Lida, is Rachel Shimming,
because she obviously put an awful lot into this.
And I know she's now gone on and gone elsewhere.
But I think it's really important
that we should recognise that.
She has carried out the direction of the cabinet,
of the council.
and I don't think that it would have happened in such a way without her input as well.
So I think we should reflect on that.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:47:00
Thank you. Clearly, you know, over those six years, so far there's several people who have had a huge impact,
both one of them of course and indeed previous cabinet leadership who've done the same.
Some of whom still serve like Mike Tett and others who have left like Angela MacPherson.
But, so I do recognise the comments you make about Rachel,
but also she built a very effective team, and we have many
of them in the room today through CMT.
So the job's not over, I'm afraid to say,
but certainly I do echo the appreciation over there.
Erika, come to you on a quick technical question.
When will we know the return visit dates, do you think?
In the mid -summer.
We don't know.
Erika Murigi - Service Director for Policy and Communications - 1:47:39
We don't have an exact date yet.
We're expecting July or August time.
Okay. Thank you.
Just about that on notice.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:47:45
Okay, so I'll move as quickly to the recommendation, which is to note the feedback report, the
recommendations and the next steps.
The next steps being we'll be coming back with the recommendation action plan in March.
Are we happy to agree that?
Agreed.
Agreed.
Thank you very much.
Let's move on to item 12, which is the draught local transport plan consultation.

12 Draft Local Transport Plan 5 consultation

This report is on pages 548 to 541 in the PAC.
There's also a supplementary agenda with several hundred pages of appendices.
We're not going to go through them one by one, I hope, but Thomas Broom, you will introduce that.
And then Steve Bambrick and Richard Barker, two of our corporate directors are here, depending on any technical questions.
So over to you, please, Thomas.
Cllr Thomas Broom - 1:48:40
Thank you, Lida. Yes, no, I will not drag us line by line at this stage.
But just to give everybody a bit of context, the local transport plans are a statutory requirement of the Transport Act.
They set out our long -term priorities for transport and are the framework which supports our more detailed strategies and plans going forwards.
We are pulling this, I should say this is the first local transport plan of the new unitary authority.
The previous one LTP4 came through under the county and so this is an opportunity for us to build on the work that's been done and to focus in on the priorities that we have as the new unitary authority.
So some key factors in developing what's in front of us are a focus on travel choice.
We want to make sure that residents have the choice of how they travel and that we support
them to do that.
But obviously with that, the balance comes, you know, we are not forcing anybody to adopt
any particular mode of transport.
We understand that people are under a lot of pressure from a lot of different directions
at the moment, not least the they're increasing tax burden from this government and they don't
need us making getting around the county any more difficult. So there's a real focus on choice and
supporting people in the choices that they want to make. We're also very keen to promote
place shaping, so considering transportation and transportation links within the context of
of the location that we're putting them into,
so we're not just bunging in inappropriate infrastructure.
And finally, and critically, safely on the roads,
and through all forms of transport,
which is an absolute priority for us.
We are developing this in line,
but a step behind the local plan for Buckinghamshire,
because I think there is a necessity for that process to be leading slightly because obviously
we're, you know, if we're going to be looking at what sort of transportation infrastructure
is required, that is going to be led very significantly by the local plan process.
But I think there's plenty of information and proposals in here for people to get stuck
into.
We are very much looking forward to receiving feedback from residents in Bucks.
That's the point of this exercise.
We want to hear people's views.
We want to hear from you about whether you think we've struck
the right balance on this stuff.
And of course, any suggestions on how we can improve.
We are going to be setting up some briefings for members
of Council before we go out.
I think in here we had talked
about potentially doing that today on the 10th, but members will have noticed that has
not yet gone into their diaries. My apologies for that. There's a lot of competition for
briefing slots at the moment, but we will make sure we get that out to people before it's
completely out in the public domain. And I'm happy to take any questions from colleagues.
Thank you, Thomas. I mean, there's an awful lot in here, so people will have quite a lot to read.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:52:09
One of the things we know though is a huge problem is the volume of HDVs we've got,
particularly when they're mis -route and what that means on freight.
Do you want to talk about that part because there's elements of that included in this?
Yeah, absolutely.
Cllr Thomas Broom - 1:52:30
And this is the point I was making previously about sort of this is the wider framework
on which all the other strategies hang and one of those is absolutely the draught freight
and logistics strategy.
We have seen consistently rising HTV movements on roads
in Buckinghamshire, not least obviously
because we have some major infrastructure projects
that we sort of, we slightly have to manage separately
because they are so large.
So HS2 is the biggest.
East -West Rail had been a pretty significant one and now appears
as it may well be again, with the very unwelcome
and surprise announcement about the train maintenance depot
in the north of the county.
But this is an area where we are trying to work out
the best way of reducing the impact of those HGV movements
on local communities.
We have been relatively innovative
compared to the rest of the country, I think,
in this area, it's fair to say.
Today, we have set up a trial freight zone, which has given us some very useful feedback.
I won't say that it's been entirely successful at this point, because there are some things
that we need to work on and some options we need to explore.
But we are consistently doing this.
And as I've mentioned in sort of talking about a few other things today, we want to make
sure that we are on the innovation end of this.
We want to make sure that we are not just sitting here and going,
oh, well, it's terrible and there's nothing that we can do,
that we are actively trying new things
to help reduce this issue.
One of the big things that we may potentially
be able to help us in the long run is in the last few years,
we've attained powers to enforce against moving traffic
violations.
And obviously, that does help us in terms of particularly HTV movements, particularly
HTVs that are on roads with weight restrictions and width restrictions.
I think we're still not quite out of our sort of trial phase with that, though, in terms
of DFT and demonstrating that we're, that, demonstrating them to the point where they're
happy for us to sort of go off and develop our own plans in a bit more detail.
But it is certainly an area where we are very conscious of the need to minimise this wherever we can.
I was sitting in a meeting just last week with some colleagues about looking at various ways that we can do this in perhaps not exactly the ways one would expect.
So again, that focus on innovation, that focus on exploring things that we haven't looked at before, and trying to minimise that alongside the enforcement powers that we're bringing on stream in the county.
So it's quite a complex picture and I'm not going to promise people that it's going to
get a lot better a lot more quickly because frankly we've still got these massive numbers
of movements from HS2.
We've just found out that we're going to get a load more movements from East West Rail
and it's very much going to be an ongoing priority for us.
Okay, thank you Tom.
I'm sure there were some other questions.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:55:54
I think earlier we talked about cross -portfolio working and savings.
It's also important to note this is local transport plan five work is significant.
It comes down to very small individual location elements like, you know, can you, when we
doing cycling and walking, is there a rest stop?
Right up to the big policy framework.
So this doesn't operate in isolation.
So page 510 of the pack, you know, just is the one where it makes a direct link to our economic growth plan.
So, you know, one of the big challenges we have, particularly getting young people, but all people, to training and job elements,
is the difficulties in accessing different locations through, certainly through public transport, or indeed the impacts of congestion and others.
So there is real crossover between other policies and work off the council
To link to the transport related aspects now
Of course each with such a diverse County in terms of towns and villages and topography
The elements will change but therefore the comments we want back from residents
Hopefully we'll pick that up in their context, you know, I live in Wicca
you know, if someone says they live in Wycombe, there's big hills, that might influence what's
being said as opposed to, you know, living in a flatter area or whatever.
There's things that come in.
So I do encourage people just to have a look in the round and then give us the detail as
well in their response.
But that's useful.
Isabel, I think you indicated.
Yes, thanks very much, Leda.
Cllr Isobel Darby - 1:57:41
I'm really pleased the public health team have been working with colleagues in transport
on this and active travel, the first theme of the plan.
There's a great synergy here for improving health
and wellbeing and just talking about viable,
attractive and comfortable options,
which involve walking, wheeling, cycling.
And just in the report, it talks about the reduction
in death rates, but it's not just that,
it's actually keeping people healthy,
which helps my portfolio because they won't necessarily
need care, you know, but it's all about people
leading better lives which is good for our residents and similarly the
theme on place shaping talks about accessible streets and helps us design
streets so that people can walk, wheel and cycle more easily, more safely because a
lot of the concern about walking and cycling is the safety so I think this is
really really positive stuff. Can I just say I slightly hesitate to use the word
Cllr Thomas Broom - 1:58:37
place shaping because I think it's,
it feels very corporate to me,
but it does express something really important,
which is that when, as you say,
when we're doing this stuff,
we have to make sure it's tied to the community
that it's in and this is useful for that community
and that's absolutely a priority throughout the whole thing.
As I say, place making slightly makes my skin crawl
as a phrase, as some of these do,
But it is an important notion and is rooting what we're doing in communities.
And as you say, Lida, that part of the reason we need that feedback is because we need to
be able to apply what we're doing everywhere, but we don't want that to mean that we're
taking a blanket approach.
We want it to mean that we're putting something forward that works for all of the towns and
villages in the county.
Good.
Thank you both for that.
Peter Brazier, please.
Thank you.
Cllr Peter Brazier - 1:59:32
I just wanted to pick up on the, you mentioned freight zone,
that's, as you know, that's in my ward.
And yeah, it hasn't produced the results we kind of expected,
but it's not been a failure and there's still work going
on to innovate into making it work.
And I think it will work.
We'll get there eventually
because we're much better informed now.
We're, we've got much better awareness of the issues.
and also a lot of the problems have been cross -border
because my ward is mostly bordering Hertfordshire
and a lot of it is bordering Bedfordshire,
which have their own freight strategies,
which sometimes don't compete.
But I've got high hopes that we'll innovate something
that will work.
Thank you.
Yeah, and just on the, because I've been here,
Cllr Thomas Broom - 2:00:25
has been our sort of our first pilot
for the freight strategy, sorry, for the freight zone.
And it's a bit of an odd one
because we started just before COVID
and we've run through that and out the other end.
And part of that period has seen not, you know,
a lot of changes in fundamental behaviour,
both in terms of, you know,
more people getting stuff delivered at home,
transitions in the way that businesses are operating.
What it has given us, as you say,
is a huge amount of data and information.
And that's something we're really working on
to be as data rich as possible when we're making decisions.
And it really does help inform us
as to what we want to do next.
And sometimes you can take a lot of very complex data
and realise from that some relatively simple
but effective solutions.
And I know we talk regularly about the issue
of HCV frame movement,
and I'm sure we will continue to do so.
Okay, thank you all.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 2:01:27
So this is, the recommendation here is because this is going
out to public consultation.
And so that will be announced in various ways as well for people.
A consultation for during this month.
And obviously we'll push that information out for people
to access the reams of reams of supportive documentation in here.
I do just think, Steve Bambrick, would you like to just expand slightly on the point
that Thomas had made about the relationship between this and the local plan, because also
in February there will be Regulation 18, engagement exercise, we anticipate on the local plan.
Yes, thank you, Leader.
Steve Bambrick, Corporate Director for Planning, Growth and Sustainability.
Steve Bambrick - Corporate Director for Planning, Growth & Sustainability - 2:02:12
So the report refers to the fact that we've had previous consultations on this document
and on the emerging local plan,
specifically around the vision and objective
for the document.
So we've got shared vision and objectives
which are clearly intended to be reflected
in the final documents.
We are intended to run an engagement exercise
over the next month, as Councillor Strachan referred to
earlier in Hot Topics, on the local plan.
They are distinct consultations.
They are not part of the same consultation,
but inevitably there will be some links.
And I guess one of the important areas probably just to highlight is in this
document, for example, we talk about making sure that we can promote choice and
make sure that we can maximise opportunities.
For example, around where public transport links are better in the county.
And that will be one of the issues for the local plan to grapple with when we're
at future growth as to how do we best maximise those opportunities in those
locations where public transport is more effective in the county. So there will be
some linkages across those two issues but again just to emphasise the two
consultations that will be running will be distinct and separate. Thank you for
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 2:03:33
that clarification Steve. Hopefully that's clear to everyone watching. Okay so the
recommendation is for us to accept this as a report on the pack and to move that on to
Public consultation as we've discussed are people in agreement with that
Agreed also, thank you very much
That's the first 12 done now item 13

13 Q3 Budget Management Report 2025-26

We are back to the numbers
So this time it's our quarter three budget management report
This can be found on pages 549 to 582.
Robert Cairns will present and as referred to multiple times, David Skinner, the 151
officer is here.
For further questions, over to you.
Thank you very much, leader.
It was always good being lucky number 13.
Cllr Robert Carington - 2:04:21
So this is, as hopefully most people are aware, this is a routine quarterly report.
This sets out the forecast financial position for the
council as of quarter three, 25 -26.
The overall position on revenue is a balanced budget
despite ongoing pressures in children's social care,
temporary accommodation, and high needs budgets within
the dedicated schools grant as discussed earlier
in this meeting.
The positive financial position is as a result of
strong management action and political oversight with
particular focus on the high demand, high risk areas.
The position in portfolios has improved from the quarter two
forecast where, if you remember, an adverse variance of 2 .1
million pounds was reported.
This is now an adverse variance of 0 .8 million pounds.
Within this, there's been a significant adverse movement in
children's social care, but improvements within the
planning and transport portfolios.
As mentioned, just to highlight the pressures in the
portfolio budgets are.
There's a six million pound pressure in children's social care.
This is due to high numbers of looked after children, high unit costs.
And when I finish my introduction, I'm going to see, imagine the cabinet member will want
to expand on that.
And there's also been a 0 .8 million pound increase in temporary accommodation due to
an increase in the number of households needing support.
The favourable variances, which are offsetting these pressures,
are those 3 million pound favourable variance in planning
from additional income, and 0 .9 million pound favourable variance
in home to school transport, due to referrals
of seven children being lower than expected.
As I think I've mentioned in the last two quarter reports,
the health and well -being portfolio is forecasting a
positive variance to budget from excellent progress
on savings initiatives, which is a considerable achievement
given the demand and conflicts of needs in the area.
Moving to corporate budgets, there is a favourable position
of 0 .8 million pounds, predominantly from additional
interest income on cash balances from interest rates
remaining higher for longer than expected.
Due to the improved overall position, the forecast
includes additional funding of 6 .9 million pounds,
an increase of 3 million from the Q2 forecast
of 3 .9 million pounds to fund investment
in the capital programme and mitigate some of the risk
of volatility in capital receipts.
This position also includes 3 million pounds of investment
which has been committed to improve waiting times
in the processing of EHCPs.
Moving on to the dedicated schools grant,
has been touched upon quite substantially earlier
in this meeting.
DSG budgets continue to be a high risk area for the council.
This was set with a deficit of 22 .9 million pounds
and currently the forecast is slightly above budget
but there's a continued high demand
for EHC needs assessments.
And as mentioned, we've been able
to invest three million pounds into improving waiting times.
But as ever, there is a risk that increased demand could have
a negative impact on the financial position
in the last quarter of the year.
The balance on the DSG reserve at the beginning of the year
was a deficit of 24 .5 million pounds.
And the forecast closing balance, obviously this
was before the rabbit taken out of the hat last night.
and as Dave mentioned with the not so pleasant side effects of said rabbit,
but as said the statutory override which legally allows council to hold a negative reserve is still in place
and central government have stated as mentioned they are committed to reform the same system
and we wait with bated breath.
Moving to achievement of savings, this can be found on page 553 of the pack.
It's very important to note that our programme savings is closely monitored and delivered
in full.
We have a challenging target of 70 .5 million pounds for this financial year and a further
6 .4 million pounds in DSG budgets, giving an overall savings requirement for this financial
year of 76 .9 million pounds.
The current position is strong with a forecast over delivery of 0 .3 million pounds, which
which is 0 .4%, it's helping us manage
the overall budget position
despite challenging demand pressures.
It's also important to note, as it shows in the report,
particular examples of cross -portfolio savings,
with a key one being the delivery of the children's homes
and obviously the impact that has on other portfolios
like my own, the resource, and obviously the education and children's department.
So it is important to note that cross -portfolio savings work.
Moving on now to capital.
The capital programme is forecasting an out -turn of £161 million, facing a budget of £174 million,
so there's a £13 .2 million refazing.
Since the last quarter, there has been significant progress
in a number of projects, I mean particularly
the most eye -catching would have been
the successful bridge lift of the south of Sila,
amongst others, and rephrasing of numerous section 106
funded projects, and a number of waste projects,
1 .8 million pounds within the environment portfolio,
mainly relating to projects such as the high heavens flare
and replacement of HRC vehicles.
All remaining projects continue to be managed within budget
and capital funding continues to remain on track.
In particular, our capital receipts programme,
which has seen a number of disposals progress
through to cabinet decision during quarter two.
So a final point on capital is delivery across the programme will continue to be tracked during
quarter four with high spend areas expected to be CELAR project school and highways including
road maintenance and drainage because as you may have noticed there's a little bit going
on with the weather.
On the final section just I want to highlight that on our debt that strong performance continues
in our collection of unsecured debt over 90 days.
This is at 9 .9 million pounds,
which is well below the target of 12 million pounds.
And our payment performance is consistently good.
And the target of 95 % prompt payment has been exceeded
with a result of 97 .9%.
So I will now hand over to Dave.
If there's anything further you want to add to this.
David Skinner - Director of Finance and S151 Officer - 2:11:53
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 2:11:54
Thank you both for that. Let's just pick up that last point about debt collection for
us, very strong performance and impressive and the payment performance, getting that
up to 98 % consistently in each month. That's really the people who supply into the council,
it's right that we make sure we pay them on time. That is a big issue out there for businesses
who'd surprise, so thank you for the team for ensuring that happens.
Robert, you mentioned in 1 .3 of the report, and you mentioned the adverse variance in
the revenue out turn, so 0 .8 million pounds, which is 0 .2 % of portfolio budgets at the
moment compared to a 2 .1 million adverse reported at quarter two.
I seem to remember in quarter one, that adverse was around 5 million.
So we have moved that position back over the course of the financial year to bring us within
0.2 % of the portfolio budgets.
We keep that going and really deliver on budgets as we move towards the year end.
Never taken anything for granted, but we are ramping on for that.
So that, of course, remains the number one priority
from a financial point of view in the portfolios.
We mentioned the DSG and things earlier,
so I'm not proposing to do that again.
You did invite Karl to speak about the adverse variance
in children's.
So Karl, do you want to do that now?
Yeah.
Thank you, Lita.
So most of the pressure there was
Cllr Carl Jackson - 2:13:36
coming in what in council terms is called provider
services, which is effectively where we place our looked after
children, children in our care.
What we're seeing is a relatively small but significant
increase in the number of children in our care.
You're not talking about huge numbers, but given the costs
associated with placement, even an increase of sort of 10 or 20
above what you might forecast, it can have significant impact.
The cost of private residential care is huge.
The market is dysfunctional.
Demand massively exceeds supply.
So what this does really is emphasise the importance of
the programmes we're putting in place to create more
in -house children's care places,
to recruit more foster carers.
I'm pleased to say we had a target for this last year
of 20 net new foster carers, and we're on 26,
I believe, at the moment.
So these are targets we need to hit and in some cases we're beating.
But these figures show the importance of us keeping on track with what we're doing to avoid costs.
Thank you, I think that's helpful clarifications.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 2:14:48
I do think, and you're right to highlight it Robert as well, in health and wellbeing revenue,
that is a budget of 214 million pounds and it's in a favourable variance of 0 .4 million.
and in similar ways to children's,
extra people can be presented.
But is there anything you want to say about that
being the case?
In terms of health and well -being,
Cllr Isobel Darby - 2:15:14
it's basically ups and downs.
Some we are not performing as well as we had hoped.
And on others, we've got a favourable variance.
So overall, we've got a favourable variance.
But it is a bit of a tightrope walk.
So we've got sort of things like where we've had provider failure, our costs have increased,
but then we have got an area where we've got, where we've perhaps got better value on care packages.
So, but it really is a bit of a tightrope.
Yeah, and I assume that would be part of the answer.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 2:15:49
It needs a dedicated focus on every part, doesn't it, of every cost line.
I know Craig and the team are well versed in doing that, but you know, that $214 million,
you know, a couple of percentage points out on that becomes, you know, big money.
So to bring that in quarter three with a favourable variance is encouraging, notwithstanding the
pressures popping up all throughout those cost lines.
Okay.
So having heard from everyone, Robert, Dave, and some cabinet members, are we content to
note this report for the quarter three financial position.
Thank you.
That is agreed.
Now we come to capital budget adjustments and reprofiling.

14 Q3 Capital Budget Adjustments and Reprofiling

Again, this will come from Robert with Dave Skinner here for any questions.
Pages 583 to 592 of the pack.
Back over to you, Robert.
Thank you very much, Lisa.
Cllr Robert Carington - 2:16:51
So this is another report which happens quarterly and it sets out the recommended updates to
the Council's capital programme for 25, 26, 28, 29 and it shows the published changes.
There are three recommendations here, so three particular things I would like to highlight.
The first being new additions to the capital programme, standing at 0 .044 million pounds.
This comes from external section 106 contributions, open spaces, and can be found on page 584
of the report.
And then the second recommendation is to note
that there have been a reduction of just over
seven million pounds from the capital programme.
This follows the cabinet decision on the 11th of November
regarding the Princess Risbra relief road.
And the final recommendation links to the first
recommendation which is the release of budgets
through the gateway process.
and this is for a figure of 0 .044 million pounds,
which is external 6106 contributions
and the full detail of the specific projects
can be found on page 589.
This is for the Riverside Walk play area equipment
and Westgood Cricket Club improvements.
And these are, yeah, these are the recommendations
I'd like to highlight.
Excellent, thank you. So actually relatively minor adjustments barring
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 2:18:39
Risborough, but Risborough is a direct flow from the decision taken at cabinet
previously following a change of stance on the funding position by Holmes
England through here. So this is not reduction of, you know, we've
certainly taken that way, it's all wrapped up in that report and of course
because this is quarter three and it's going looking backwards, this is obviously
where you see that in the accounts.
Any questions on this capital recrofiling report?
No, I think you've outlined it well there, Robert.
So can we seek to accept the recommendations, please?
All three, we'll take them on block.
Good, thank you for that.
So now we come to the quarterly performance report, item 15.
Robert will introduce this again,

15 Q3 Corporate Performance Report

and Sarah Murphy -Brookman, corporate director of resources,
and potentially Sarah Sewell interim head
of business intelligence are here,
but Sarah's definitely in the room.
Well, they're both Sarah.
Sarah Murphy -Brookman is in the room.
Robert, you introduce, please.
Thank you very much, Lita.
Cllr Robert Carington - 2:19:54
So again, this is a quarterly report
of corporate performance indicators,
and it reviews how the council is performing and it really helps highlight
where what actions are being taken and where the actions are required.
Just to note the quarter three reports shows that there are 69 % of
indicators that is 45 are RAG rated green and 23 % 15 are red so this shows
the proportion of green indicators has increased
compared to quarter two where it was 67 % were green
and 44 indicators and the proportion of red indicators
has decreased.
It was 24 % 16 indicators in Q2.
So I don't know if you want to go through individual.
Yeah, I think we ought to at least touch on some of the
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 2:20:56
the reds at the very least because people will obviously look at this and be concerned.
So I'll jump straight in.
In the order you see the leader's portfolio first, you can see the amount of commercial
floor space generated on enterprise zones.
The forward profiling here was suddenly required 5 ,000 square metres of floor space to have
been provided cumulative for the year.
Obviously it goes from virtually zero to 5 ,000 overnight.
We have 2 ,600 square metres of floor space
in construction at Westcott and continue to add
and encourage our partners on those zones
to add the floor space.
There is a new five -year delivery plan in development
so we can kind of smooth out some of this indicator
rather than having a huge uplift.
A second red for me was the strategic infrastructure project you mentioned, CELO, which of course
we're continuing to deliver.
There's the perennial challenge on this particular KPI is the phasing.
So we can have big swings both above and below the profiling just because we have to cut
this by time.
But I think anyone can see progress is being made on that project and we remain on track
after having done that successful bridge lift to get the connexion up to the Wendover Road
opened during this calendar year. So that's my explanation on those two reds. If we go through
Steve Bowles you've got a couple of reds in your portfolio. Would you like to talk to them please?
Cllr Steve Bowles - 2:22:43
The details, oh sorry yeah, the details are quite similar to the last quarter with no real
significant change. The first red is on the household support fund and this
indicator measures the average spend per person receiving direct support from
from the aforementioned fund. Up to the end of Q3 the average spend per person
was £775 which is above the banded target of £650 to £725.
However, that was a slight improvement in performance compared to Q2.
The improvement actions we're taking is we're continuing to try and find best value, essential
items, e .g. checking prices across a number of different companies before making a purchase.
The second one indicator relates to the domestic abuse champions.
In Q2, we didn't have, sorry, during Q3, there was no training scheduled due to the annual
domestic abuse board conference.
So we scheduled two training sessions for Q4.
So improvement actions for those are improved quality and frequency of
communications sent to trainees prior to scheduled training dates and we're going to run two training sessions in Q4.
We're also going to be looking at recommending changes to indicators for next year as community support and
community safety are delivering really well in these areas.
So I just don't think we've quite captured the right measure. That's where we are on those.
Okay, thank you very much Steve for that.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 2:24:35
I think that last comment about, you know, we're making improvements, I suppose, which
may look different to the red is really important because clearly it's a key area of your working
communities.
So thank you for that.
I would turn to Peter Brazier.
There are no reds in there.
So Peter's KPIs show a sea of green
that's really encouraging.
This means we're having more visitors to country parks,
cultural venues, our leisure centres and pools.
And importantly, the percentage of library inquiries
that are resolved is currently at 98 % above a target of 90.
So that is a good performance in your portfolio.
Well done.
So we'll move to Carl in the Education
and Children Services portfolio.
Obviously some of your reds are such as the EHCP time log
and things that we talked about are lent here.
But what is the latest on that and the looked after children
placed within our boundary please?
Yeah, thank you, Liam.
So if I start with the looked after children,
Cllr Carl Jackson - 2:25:45
this obviously comes back to the point I raised earlier
about the importance of creating more of our in -house places
for children who need to be in care.
Also, the search for more foster care
is where we're doing well at the moment and need to keep going.
I'd mention as well the importance of the fact
that we're training more foster care to deal with children
and young people with more complex needs,
because what we're seeing and what's driving a lot of this
increased cost and increased numbers of children in care
is more teenagers with very complex needs coming into our care.
So we need to find a way to provide for those young people,
whether that's in foster replacements or in our own in -house care.
I also mentioned at this point the sort of preventative work,
the edge of care work we're looking to do.
The national government is keen on this too,
to try and prevent children coming into care by intervening with families earlier.
So I think that's important work that will be ongoing.
On the EHCPs, so the external team that we're bringing in to support our own in -house team
is up and running.
They are working and they're building on work we've done through the autumn to recruit more
associate educational psychologists ourselves.
Even before the external team came in, I'm getting the month -by -month figures of EHCPs
issued and they are ticking up nicely.
December was a very good month to invest in in ages.
I think the reason that we're not seeing
an increase in these figures,
obviously these figures relate to a time
before a lot of these, this increased resources
were in place.
And of course, while the number of EHCPs
been issued is going up,
we're dealing with the requests for assessment
mostly in chronological order.
So while we're getting through them quicker,
a lot of the ones we're doing
are already past the 20 weeks.
So there will be a bit of a lag
between the resources we're putting in place and an improvement in the figures, but it
will come later this year.
Thank you, Carl.
That's really helpful.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 2:27:48
And I know a continued focus.
I also know that the last full Council meeting, a number of members signed pledges for care
leavers.
So I know we don't have a massive time, but I did just want to point out a green in your
which is the indicator measuring the percentage of care leavers age 19 to 21
who are in education, employment or training, which is now at 59%,
significantly above the target and above even the England average,
to keep part of our pledge to make sure care leavers have these opportunities.
So I just wanted to flag that as a good metric and some good work happening
that will be making a difference to care leaders.
Okay, next let's go to Ade for the environment climate change
and waste portfolio, please.
Just a single red for you
about household waste recycling rates.
Thank you, leader.
Cllr Adekunle Osibogun - 2:28:51
Yes, this red pertains to the measures of the total amount
of household waste that are sent to for reuse or recycling.
We saw a spike which has been attributed
to the warm dry weather from the previous quarter,
which impacted on the amount of green waste collected from households.
To address this, we continue to encourage greater participation in our paid -for green waste collection.
We're also working on common materials that would assist in residents' change of behaviour around recycling.
We're also working to reduce contamination of curbside recycling collections.
and that's still ongoing work in this portfolio.
Okay, thank you for that.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 2:29:36
I know you'll keep working on that to get it back.
Good, okay.
Next is Isabel with the health and well -being portfolio,
please, a couple of reds to discuss.
Thank you, Rita.
There's two reds.
Cllr Isobel Darby - 2:29:48
The number of older people admitted to permanent
residential or nursing care homes per 100 ,000
of population, and whilst that is red, we are, if you look over
the years, we are coming down.
Our target was set as an average of the last three
years of our performance, which was better than the
southeast, so although we haven't reached our target,
we are still performing better than the southeast
and England.
So, still work to do on that, but our home first
policy of trying to provide care in people's homes is
bearing fruit, but we will continue our efforts on that.
Then the other one is our transitions indicate to
the potential of young people whose adult social care assessment was completed before
they turned 18. Again, this is seeing performance fall this year, it's red, but our performance
looks far worse because there's such a small number of young people that come through this
service, but we absolutely should do better and are trying to do better with the new transitions
team and we're working towards getting these sort of in place and getting conversations
It's happening from the age of 14,
but that will take some time.
And I would just like, if I could,
to mention a green indicator, which is our percentage
of people who've set a quit smoking date.
That has moved from red to green.
And we've now had 304 quits against a target of 250.
So we're doing well on that.
And as I mentioned, the smoking thing earlier
in my hot topics.
Thank you.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 2:31:19
You're certainly giving that focus, thank you, but it's good to see that come through.
And on the reds, like you say, on the second one, relatively low numbers, but as I know,
you always make the point, you know, 100 % meaningful to that individual.
So I know you're focused on that, thank you.
We'll go to housing and regulatory services portfolio next, which is Mark.
Thank you, Leda.
Cllr Mark Winn - 2:31:44
Yes, the first one is the percentage of households in substantive temporary accommodation.
What this is doing is trying to reduce the numbers that are in nightly paid, because
nightly paid is much more expensive than substantive temporary accommodation.
But it also goes into the overall aim of, obviously, we're trying to reduce the numbers
that are in temporary accommodation.
As it shows there, the levels have fallen again and they continue to fall, and now 4 %
below the target of 60%.
We have a plan to try and get up to that figure by the end of quarter four, and it emphasises
there how we're going to do that.
For example, expanding the private rented offer by working with private landlords to
identify more move -on options.
We're targeting a total of 30 private rental tenancies, and this will include things such
as larger households.
So we have a number of larger households in temporary accommodation that have been difficult
to place into accommodation, but we're working proactively with landlords to try and identify
options to move people on.
We're using Section 106 money to try and bridge the gap in funding of affordable housing schemes.
Obviously, it's the more affordable housing schemes we can push people into there rather
than into temporary accommodation.
We're maximising the placement for registered providers and we're procuring a new supported
accommodation which should come online actually early next month, subject to contract.
And that will bring on 40 new supported units.
That all together could mean, I hope, that we will reach our target of 60 % on that one
there and shows the improvement in temporary accommodation.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 2:33:42
Before we move on, this one worries me because it's consistently been under for a long time.
So that last point you made about the investment going in, I really hope we begin to see that
come through so we do get above that line.
but I'm pleased to hear, as I'm sure people out there will be,
your optimism for that.
So thank you.
But I do think we need someone to move the dial on that.
Yeah, indeed.
Cllr Mark Winn - 2:34:07
The next one was about, it's basically Core Blocker,
which has been rolled up through our trading standards team.
Core Blocker, there were recruitment problems with our suppliers,
was a single source supplier, which meant that there was a drop in numbers.
It was the first time we'd seen a drop.
That has now been dealt with, and the numbers did increase.
We had a campaign over Christmas to try and increase the numbers that you're using.
But unfortunately, or even fortunately, telephone companies have now taken on a digital rollout,
which means that there will be other means by which people will be able to block calls.
So, the need for this one going forward into next year,
we won't use this one again.
Okay, thank you very much.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 2:34:59
And I don't know, maybe it's either this question for you
or one of the officers.
I did note that action fraud has just become some,
has a new name and a new approach.
So, whether we're doing this or not already,
I think with scam prevention and all sorts, we should make sure that those new routes
in are communicated to residents because as you've said, technology changes and approach,
you know, scams as well as elements of fraud including identity theft are going up across
the country.
So keeping a focus on that is important and doing what works in the way you indicated.
Thank you for that.
Next is planning portfolio, Peter Straken.
Again, no reds in this one.
Obviously, the key things in here
about planning applications being decided on time.
So currently, they're all green.
Yes?
Yeah, I think it's worth mentioning
Cllr Peter Strachan - 2:36:08
one area which the service are working very hard to reduce.
and that's the length of time to validate applications,
which is not a metric as given, but it is an area
at the minute that we're trying to improve,
because it has a knock -on effect to everything else.
But all of the major areas are green.
We're not complacent, though.
And normally, you know, there is often a red one,
but fortunately, this time there's not.
So apart from that one area that I'd highlight
about validation time, then that's okay.
Okay, thank you Peter.
Understood.
We'll go to Robert.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 2:36:43
So obviously in the resource portfolio there's lots of financial numbers, but you also have
things like the customer call centre, and I see that's one of your reds.
Cllr Robert Carington - 2:36:58
Thank you very much, Lida, and yes, unfortunately I have three reds, which I'll talk to in one green.
So the first one, as you mentioned, is the call wait time.
Despite the colour of the rag, I'm holding this up as an achievement,
because as you'll see the out turn is 3 minutes and 23 seconds,
while the target is 3 minutes.
And if you all remember, the Quarter 2 performance was 7 minutes and 6 seconds,
so it's a significant achievement to get it done.
And I would also highlight that to be an amber you need to be within 5 % of the target,
which in this would be 3 minutes 9 seconds, so it's quite a tight one.
And we're 14 seconds off, but we are heading in the right direction for this quarter.
So the reason why we're seeing this is there's, firstly, there's lower call volumes.
It's an anticipated seasonal period for that.
And we also, so call wait times for November and December were average of three minutes,
four seconds, which would have made us an amber.
and one minute 45 seconds in December,
which would have made us, God knows,
a super green or something.
But also what has helped feed them to this
is if we'll remember, there was,
we had the matter with NRS
when the community equipment services provider went down
and we, the team did a fantastic job
of holding the line on the calls there
and we had some quite significant long waiting times
because of the complexity of the call.
But that has ceased entirely on the first of December,
which has had an impact on this, on the overall result.
Two other things just to mention relating to this is there's been
over the year of 25, there was a 38 % increase in chat box usage,
as people are going more towards using,
this is our AI chat box, we're focusing on that.
And important to note as another KPI is the percentage
of phone calls resolved at first call, SCR.
This stands at 89 .7 % above the target of 60%.
So it is showing that the wait times may be there,
but the calls are being resolved.
So it is very important to note that.
So now moving to my second red.
I think it's a really important point if I can just interrupt you so
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 2:39:29
Clearly you brought the number the team have got the number back down and in fact down to one minute and 40 something seconds
You said in in December, but that second element which isn't officially part of the red
If you say 89 % have their calls out with the first contact 89 .7. Okay
So if you are on the phones at any point, please wait
Do wait even if it's an extra 23 seconds from the target because
That you've got an a near 90 % chance having that resolved on that call
So that shows at least the year a good quality service. Thank you Robert. You are the two reds
Yes, so the second one is for the average time for processing housing benefit change claims
Cllr Robert Carington - 2:40:14
This was amber last time as now
Is that nine point six against target of eight?
Whilst this is disappointing, the service experienced high levels of unplanned absence
during October and November, which resulted in this.
But the team focused on prioritising new claims, over -existing claims, to help sort of bring
this all back into scope.
And with staffing levels going back to full in December, processing times are down to
8 .8 days.
So, think back within the amber and it is going back in the right direction on that
one.
My final red is on voluntary staff turnover.
This is at 9 .3 % against a target of 12%.
As I said last time, this really just reflects that current situation.
We're in a less mobile labour market.
It's called a lot of people aren't moving jobs
and it's really reflective of that.
And the one green I wanted to highlight
is the number of sickness absent days
per full -time employee annually.
This stands at 8 .26, a further reduction
against a target of 8 .5.
The reason I'm highlighting it is once again
I'll reiterate that the private sector stands at 9 .1 days,
So we are significantly below them.
But this is the lowest level it has ever been
across our entire reporting period.
So we are now at our new historical minimum.
So it's important to note that
and to reflect the great work being done by the team
in getting to these levels.
Yeah, that's really well worth noting.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 2:42:04
And thank you to all those staff who have been here doing their
job, but it shows the approach, a constructive approach taken
to minimise absences through food sickness.
So well done.
Thank you.
Let's move on to I think the last portfolio,
which is transport.
Thomas Broom.
Thank you, Lita.
Cllr Thomas Broom - 2:42:30
Yeah, so we've got a red and an amber.
The red is to do with installation
of EV charging points.
We've had two separate issues in this regard,
one of which I think I've mentioned before, which is the proposal we had put to the Department
of Government about one of our schemes involved a revenue share for the Council, which the
government has deemed as too much.
So while they are busy cutting £44 .5 million of funding from Buckinghamshire, they are
also shutting down our ability to generate revenue which would have no cost to the taxpayer
here and would have allowed us to push on much more quickly with the installation of
EV charging points which comes back to the point I was making earlier in LTP 5 about
supporting choice for residents in how they get themselves about the county.
So that is an ongoing issue.
I think we are going to get an agreement, but unfortunately it does mean that we're going to be
sort of slightly stuck behind schedule, so we may have to re -profile this target.
We have had a separate difficulty around our AUKS programme, which involves a
contractor not delivering on services they were
contractually obliged to do.
It's not something that we see all that often, but unfortunately this is still somewhat of
an emerging market, so there are instances where this kind of thing happens.
So we will probably be looking to re -profile our journey on this, but we are pushing forwards
nevertheless.
I've got one Amber which is on drains and gullies.
We're only, we're two percent off where we want to be.
That is essentially the result of a higher than usual proportion of inaccessible drains and gullies.
So that's usually a car parked over them.
They go back in the programme and we go back to them at a later point.
And I'm very confident that we're going to deliver the whole programme once we get to the end of the period.
Just very briefly to highlight two other points in the Greens.
because obviously we are in a position at the moment where there is a lot of work that needs to be done on the roads.
And so it's good to see that Category 1 defects are the most urgent repairs.
In this period we were meeting our five -day target for those in 98 % of cases.
And obviously that's come under some strain at the moment,
but it's good to see that the team is getting out and getting those high priority repairs made quickly.
And of course, how we solve this in the long term is through the capital programme,
so it's excellent to see that we are at 96 % completion of Highways Capital Schemes against the agreed programme,
and we will look to close that gap of 4 % even further before the end of quarter four this year.
Please stay here.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 2:45:42
Good, and it shows dedicated focus we've got and as we opened up with the meeting, you know roads are a huge impact
for our residents and a huge area that they want to know the information about.
So you outline what we're doing in the short term, but also these long -term trends are important to note as well.
So thank you. So that's the end of our corporate performance reporting.
Thank you for introducing that, Robert.
But recommendations are to, as a result of these,
review how the council's performing
and the actions that are explained on each sheet.
Are we having to note the reports?
Thank you very much.
Okay, we are almost at the end of today's meeting.
What we will do as a cabinet is be reviewing
the strategic risk register for quarter three.
but as confidential item.
And what I think when we did that the last time,
I suggested what we will do if there are no other items
is alert the public to the fact when we go
into confidential session, we will end the webcast
and not bring that back because there is nothing to report on.
As a result of that, you need to bring forward item 18,
the date of the next meeting.

18 Date of next meeting

So the date of the next meeting will be held on the 10th of March
2026 and that meeting is scheduled to start at 10 a .m. Is that duly noted? Yes, thank you.
So with that being, having brought 18 forward, I will now go to item 16 which is the exclusion of

16 Exclusion of the public (if required)

the public. This is to resolve that under the local authorities executive arrangements,
meetings and access to information, England regulations of 2012 regulation 42b
Is the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the
grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined within schedule
12A of the local government act 1972, in this case the quarter three strategic risk register.
Are we so in agreement for the exclusion of the public please?
Thank you.
So now thank you to everyone watching the webcast as people leave the room the webcast will
Now be ended. I look forward to welcoming you all back on the next cabinet meeting on the 10th of March
So with that, thank you for today and thank you for the contribution of everyone. Please end the webcast