Cabinet - Tuesday 21 April 2026, 10:00am - Buckinghamshire Council Webcasting

Cabinet
Tuesday, 21st April 2026 at 10:00am 

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  1. Cllr Steven Broadbent
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  1. Cllr Peter Strachan
  2. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  3. Cllr Thomas Broom
  4. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  5. Cllr Steve Bowles
  6. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  7. Cllr Peter Brazier
  8. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  9. Cllr Peter Brazier
  10. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  11. Cllr Robert Carington
  12. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  13. Cllr Isobel Darby
  14. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  15. Cllr Isobel Darby
  16. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  17. Cllr Isobel Darby
  18. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  19. Cllr Adekunle Osibogun
  20. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  21. Cllr Mark Winn
  22. Cllr Steven Broadbent
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  1. Questions
  2. Cllr Thomas Broom
  3. Cllr Steven Broadbent
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  1. Cllr Steve Bowles
  2. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  3. Sara Turnbull - Service Director for Strategy, Improvement and Community Support
  4. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  5. Sara Turnbull - Service Director for Strategy, Improvement and Community Support
  6. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  7. Cllr Mark Winn
  8. Cllr Steve Bowles
  9. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  10. Craig McArdle - Corporate Director for Adult Social Care
  11. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  12. Cllr Steve Bowles
  13. Sara Turnbull - Service Director for Strategy, Improvement and Community Support
  14. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  15. Sara Turnbull - Service Director for Strategy, Improvement and Community Support
  16. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  17. Sara Turnbull - Service Director for Strategy, Improvement and Community Support
  18. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  19. Sara Turnbull - Service Director for Strategy, Improvement and Community Support
  20. Cllr Steven Broadbent
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  1. Cllr Peter Strachan
  2. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  3. Steve Bambrick - Corporate Director for Planning, Growth & Sustainability
  4. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  5. Steve Bambrick - Corporate Director for Planning, Growth & Sustainability
  6. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  7. Cllr Adekunle Osibogun
  8. Cllr Peter Strachan
  9. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  10. Cllr Isobel Darby
  11. Cllr Peter Strachan
  12. Steve Bambrick - Corporate Director for Planning, Growth & Sustainability
  13. Cllr Peter Strachan
  14. Cllr Isobel Darby
  15. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  16. Cllr Peter Brazier
  17. Cllr Steven Broadbent
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  1. Cllr Adekunle Osibogun
  2. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  3. Richard Barker - Corporate Director for Communities
  4. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  5. Cllr Adekunle Osibogun
  6. Richard Barker - Corporate Director for Communities
  7. Cllr Isobel Darby
  8. Richard Barker - Corporate Director for Communities
  9. Martin Dickman - Service Director for Communities
  10. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  11. Cllr Adekunle Osibogun
  12. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  13. Cllr Peter Strachan
  14. Martin Dickman - Service Director for Communities
  15. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  16. Cllr Thomas Broom
  17. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  18. Cllr Mark Winn
  19. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  20. Cllr Adekunle Osibogun
  21. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  22. Cllr Robert Carington
  23. Richard Barker - Corporate Director for Communities
  24. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  25. Cllr Peter Brazier
  26. Cllr Steven Broadbent
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  1. Cllr Steven Broadbent
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  1. Webcast Finished

Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:00:00
Thank you and good morning everybody. Welcome to the cabinet meeting at Buckinghamshire
Council today, Tuesday 21st of April 2026. My name is Stephen Broadbent. I'm the elected
leader of Buckinghamshire Council. Just at these opening remarks, please can I remind
members, both elected members and members of the public who are present that the meeting
is being webcast. Members, please make sure you use your microphone when you wish to speak
so you can be heard on the webcast as well as in the room.
There is a seating area at the side of the room that will not be filmed.
So if there are members of the public who do not wish to be caught on camera,
then you are invited to move into that area.
So with that being said, first item today is, as ever, apologies for absence.

1 Apologies

I do have apologies received from Councillor Carl Jackson,
who's the cabinet member for education and children's services.
I do not believe there are any other apologies.
So that's confirmed, just apologies from Carl.
We also do have in attendance today some of our deputy cabinet members, Councillor Carol
Heaps here and Councillor Catherine Oliver.
They are welcome to take part in the debate, but as is outlined in our constitution, that
they are unable to vote, but you're very welcome.

2 Minutes

Item 2 today are minutes of the last meeting.
These are of the meetings held on the 10th of March
and the 30th of March, 2026.
These are on pages 5 through 30 on the agenda pack.
Anyone have any questions?
I know you've seen these minutes in advance.
Any comments or questions on the minutes?
No, thank you.
Therefore, you contempt for me to have these approved,
both sets of minutes,
and have them recorded as a correct record.
Agreed.
Thank you.
They are therefore agreed.
Item three, declarations of interest.

3 Declarations of interest

So all members here will have a public declaration
of interest on the council website,
but are there any additional declarations of interest
in relation to today's meeting?
No.
Okay, so I'll take no further declarations.
Thank you.
and then we're going to come to Hot Topics.

4 Hot Topics

Hot Topics is an item on the agenda.
There is no requirement for a cabinet member
to have a Hot Topic, but given this is a formal
public meeting and is webcast,
and a number of people may be watching,
anything pertinent you wish to convey
out to the good people of Buckinghamshire.
So I'll start first by turning to Peter Strachan,
Cllr Peter Strachan - 0:02:45
any Hot Topic, and please introduce yourself,
and then answer that question.
Thank you, Leader Peter Strachan,
Cabinet Member for Planning and Deputy Leader.
I have a brief hot topic, if I may, Leader,
and it's simply to make people aware, I'm sure they are,
that we released a number of consultations last Tuesday.
One was on CIL, which is a planning levy.
Another was on the parking policy for the new local plan.
And the third one was on design codes,
which are the way that buildings are built so that they fit into the environment.
There are three very important areas.
I would encourage all people listening, please give us your views on these subjects.
We deal with them very seriously indeed,
and it will inform the way that we put together the local plan.
That's all, Lida. Yes, thank you, Peter.
So people go to your voice box to do that.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:03:40
And we would like you to please give us those views
as we move at pace towards the formal final consultation towards the end of July on the
plan, but these are important elements. So thank you for alerting us to that. Next in
line, Thomas.
Cllr Thomas Broom - 0:03:57
Thomas Broome, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Transport. And my hot topic this morning,
Leader, is that we are continuing to repair the damage that was done to Bucks Roads with
the particularly bad cold and wet spell
at the beginning of the year.
In March, we managed to exceed 2000 defect repairs
across the network.
We continue to have a very high volume of crews,
double what we normally have out on the network.
We are confident that we are bearing down on the backlog.
And as the weather is improving,
we are starting to get into the capital resurfacing programme,
which will continue throughout the summer.
That's part of our 120 million pound investment in our roads.
As people would have heard me say before,
this is a record investment in the roads and bucks,
and we will see an awful lot of work going on.
I would just caution that as we do roll this programme out
and as we are working on the roads,
that does mean unfortunately a little bit
of extra disruption as we obviously do have
to close sections of the road to do that work.
I am also aware of a bit of an uptick in utility work on the roads.
We are having to be fairly aggressive as an authority in making sure that utility companies
are complying with the permits that they have been issued.
And I would just urge any member of the public who is seeing unnecessary disruption from
utility work, so holes dug in the road and nobody doing any work, et cetera, you can
report those to the Street Works team on FixMyStreet.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:05:36
Thank you, Thomas. And I was going to mention it later, but obviously you can see lots of
pothole repairs now having been done, those black squares of freshly -legged tarmac, which
is good to see. And it's certainly a deployment of about 120 million pounds. The capital programme
is very important because that is the larger scale repairs that will reduce the occurrence
potholes, but you're right to also mention utilities. So I'm very aware that in the last
few days in and around Aylesbury in particular, we've had the A418 Oxford Road Thames water issue
and the A421 Fleet Marston with some emergency repairs, both those unplanned and of course
that has created a big impact on the road network. So I do know when our arterial routes like that
are impacted and this is two at the same time on top of scheduled works. It does
create a lot of disruption for people. We are pushing the utility Thames Water in
particular to get that work finished as soon as possible, get that road reopened.
Of course a note now then that our lane rental scheme is also coming into
play so I know we now have additional opportunity in the coming months to
start making that shift change on utility works.
But again, when an emergency situation arises
and we have a leak,
then they do have the right to come into that road.
And then obviously we do what we can to mitigate that.
But thank you for that update Tom.
Steve Bowles, please.
Thank you leader.
Cllr Steve Bowles - 0:07:15
Steve Bowles, cabinet member for communities.
I have a couple of hot topics.
Firstly, you may remember the community safety issue
with the pony and trap racing that's been going on in the south of the county.
The community safety team have led on the introduction of a new public spaces protection
orders on stretches of the A413 and A40 to tackle the long -running and dangerous issue of
unauthorised pony and trap racing, which has led to significant road safety risks, traffic disruption
and distress to local communities.
Thames Valley Police had recorded 639
pony and track racing related incidents
between 2020 and 25.
This highlights the scale and persistence of the problem.
A six week public consultation showed strong support
for action with overwhelming majorities of respondents
on both routes recognising the issue
and backing the introduction of a PSPO.
The order comes into force on the 30th of April this year
and provides Thames Valley Police
with clear enforceable powers to intervene early
and prevent racing before it occurs,
helping to keep these busy routes safer
for our motorists, residents and the wider community.
Proud of Bucks Awards,
I'd like to highlight our Proud of Bucks Awards,
which we're delighted to be hosting here
in the Oculus in the Gateway on the evening of June the 1st.
This event's a real celebration of people
who give their time, energy, and commitment
to supporting their communities, and it
allows us to shine a light on the positive impact made
across the county.
Finally, I'd just like to highlight the Opportunity Bucks
annual event, which has been arranged for the 10th of June
in Wickhamtown Hall.
cabinet are warmly welcome to attend and further details will be sent out in due course.
And just a reminder, it's a great opportunity to hear what the programme has delivered over last year alongside our partners. Thank you.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:09:29
Excellent. Thank you, Steve. I know Opportunity Box continues to be really successful in reaching into those communities
and indeed getting partnership working to deliver good outcomes. So we look forward to seeing that on the 10th of June.
Peter Brazier, please.
Good morning. Thank you.
Cllr Peter Brazier - 0:09:47
Peter Brazier, cabinet member for Culture and Leisure.
Just a couple of quick mentions.
One is it's the fifth anniversary of Adopt -a -Patch.
For those that don't know what Adopt -a -Patch is,
we've split our three country parks into 53 patches.
And they've all been adopted by families, schools, individuals,
and some community groups
who keep their patch clean and litter free.
So we can't talk litter without stats.
So 1 ,633 bags have been collected,
and we've handed out 127 litter pickers.
So I just mainly wanted to publicly thank the volunteers
and the people that keep our country parks clean and safe.
Secondly, our library service has been awarded
47 ,000 pounds from the Arts Council England.
This is for a project called By Hook or By Book, and it's aligned with the National Year
of Reading, which we've heard about before.
The project explores the universal appeal of mystery from crime fiction to folklore.
Activity will take place across our libraries and will include theatre performances, workshops,
and a reading challenge, culminating in a festival celebrating local artists and authors.
Thank you.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:11:06
Excellent, thank you very much for that. Are any of the patches still requiring adoption?
Cllr Peter Brazier - 0:11:13
No, they've all been adopted and in fact we've got a kind of a waiting list and some patches
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:11:20
have got more than one adopter. Very successful. Good. Thank you. Councillor Robert Cownton
Cllr Robert Carington - 0:11:25
please. Thank you very much, Lee. I have one hot topic for today. I'm Councillor Robert
What topic is regarding the Eastern Street multi -storey car park?
As viewers and members around this table will be aware, there was a recent cabinet session
on the 10th of March to demolish the ageing Eastern Street multi -car park and unlock a
major regeneration opportunity for High Wycombe.
As a reminder, the 1960s structure has deteriorated with parts already closed for safety reasons
and a repair bill estimated at over three million pounds.
The update is that we are progressing with the closure and public closure notifications
are now live and displayed on site and the surrounding roads confirming closure from
the 4th of May and the tender process is currently underway to appoint a contractor.
Additionally, a temporary traffic regulation order will be installed from the 27th of April
providing additional blue badge parking and improved pickup and drop -off
arrangements. This responds directly to the concerns raised by the Union Baptist
Church and other important stakeholders such as the ward councillors for Abbey
Ward. Alongside this we are as ever proactively recommending the use of the
Wickham Swan and Railway Place car parks which are both a short walk from the
Centre and have good capacity.
Excellent.
A good reminder and a word to go for alternative provision.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:12:58
Thank you, Robert.
Councillor Darby, please.
Thank you, leader.
Councillor Isabel Darby, cabinet member
Cllr Isobel Darby - 0:13:04
for health and well -being.
Many of you may know that April is World Autism Acceptance
Month.
So that is international.
And we and Bux are doing our bit.
So throughout the month, we're running
an autism awareness campaign aimed to help everyone
in Buckinghamshire learn more about autism
and how to support people with autism.
Campaign uses Autism Acceptance Week and World Autism Day
as a main event to raise awareness.
We've encouraged people to use helpful resources
through our website so the families
and individuals can get the right support.
Campaigns reach a lot of people through local media,
including live interviews on BBC Radio.
It also involved face -to -face conversations with families and residents at places like libraries,
making sure people knew where to find more information and support.
Early success of the campaign can be seen through a significant increase in people with autism
applying for an autism alert card, which is something that they can show to people,
so that hopefully the people they're showing it to will recognise it
and be able to make reasonable adjustments for that person's
various needs.
So it can be used at community settings,
to staff community settings, public transport, libraries,
emergency services.
And last night, I hosted a members awareness session.
And thank you to those members who attended
to raise awareness of autism.
And it was a really good event.
And we found out that we got a member in IVA who's
involved in an autism charity and also a member in Wickham.
So there are lots of things out there.
And I think the important thing is that year by year,
people are becoming more aware of what
matters to people with autism.
And they can function, a lot of them
can function quite effectively in, if you like,
mainstream in work, et cetera, by making very, very
reasonable adjustments that quite often don't
cost a single penny.
And that means that we can get the best out of people,
and they can get the best out of us.
So we are doing every bit we can on that.
So that's my one bit.
And then the next bit is some good news.
So we had, oh, this is on public health.
So last week there was data published to show a new vaccine
against RSV, the respiratory virus,
that we offered all pregnant women in box two years ago.
And it has shown an 80 % reduction in babies admitted
to hospital with the infection.
And this just shows how important it is
that if vaccinations are offered, that especially
for babies and children and the vulnerable, how important it is.
And, you know, I'm really pleased with that because,
you know, imagine having a new baby and then having to go
into hospital and potentially intensive care, really traumatic
and just a jab for mums before they have those babies can
actually mean that that reduced that by 80 percent.
So that's a real success storey.
Thank you.
Isabella, thank you.
That's a phenomenal outcome.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:16:17
You said we gave the or they became available two years ago.
I'm assuming that that's continuous.
It's ongoing.
So pregnant women get it.
Cllr Isobel Darby - 0:16:26
I can't remember the actual time, but they get it at a stage
during their pregnancy, which offers the protection to the
newborn baby.
Excellent.
Well done.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:16:35
And for the autism card, where do people find out more
information about that?
Do you know?
I'm pretty certain.
I'm looking at Sarah, who is my...
Cllr Isobel Darby - 0:16:43
There's a web page on autism, so they can find out more
on our website.
Brilliant.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:16:47
Thank you very much.
That's really good.
Thank you, Isabel.
Ade.
Thank you, Lida.
I'm Councillor Ade O 'Shbrough, cabinet member
Cllr Adekunle Osibogun - 0:16:56
for Environment, Climate Change, and Waste.
I'll start.
As we mark Earth Day this week, I
want to take the opportunity to emphasise
the importance of protecting and enhancing our natural environment and to
encourage both residents and businesses across our county to take part in
activities that support a more sustainable environment. Birthday serves
as a timely reminder that the choices we make locally, whether as individuals,
households, community groups, organisations, collectively have a
significant impact on the health of our environment. From reducing waste and
energy use to improving biodiversity in our gardens and green spaces,
to adopting more sustainable business practises.
There are many practical steps that can make a meaningful difference across our
communities.
We are fortunate to already see strong examples of environmental leadership
and local action. Um,
I would encourage everyone to build on this by getting involved in activities
such as local cleanup events, tree planting,
reducing single -use plastics, supporting recycling initiatives and considering
their ways of travel. Also a quick update on the reuse at the HRC in Hirewicom.
Since the charity carrying out the service withdrew the contract as an
interim solution the Hirewicom reuse has been temporarily suspended but a new
reuse off taker has started collecting items suitable for reuse at HRCs in
the south and helping to save more waste from the bin. It also means our residents can continue
to drop off their reused items in HRCs across the county. Thank you, Lido.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:18:42
Great, thank you. I think that reuse element of particularly up at High Heavens was really
important so it's good we're keeping that going while we look for an alternative operator
to keep that happening.
So thank you, please do keep people updated on that.
Mark Whit.
Good morning, leader.
Mark Whit, cabinet member for housing
and regulatory services.
Cllr Mark Winn - 0:19:05
I've got no hot topics this morning.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:19:08
Thank you very much.
Well, with that declaration from Mark,
that brings us to the end of hot topics.
And I, yes, sorry, the end of hot topics,

5 Question Time

which now moves us to item five, which is question time.
This is an opportunity for non -executive members of the Council to ask questions of cabinet
members and cabinet, and these questions are submitted in advance in order for a response
to be provided.
I referenced earlier the disruption by some of the roads in and around Aylesbury, and
we have a question from Councillor Robin Stutchby today on a similar theme, given some of the
the situation with a bit of disruption up in Buckingham that I'm fully aware of,
but that the response will actually be given by Thomas Broom.
But good morning, Councillor, Dr. Green, Robin, good to see you.
Thanks very much, David.
Please ask your question.
Yeah, thank you very much for the opportunity to ask the question.
This is, as you stated, clearly the matter of great concern.
And when submitted the question, things may have moved somewhat since then.
Questions - 0:20:11
But this was a topic which members of the public and traders wanted to ask.
So we limited the scope of the question to suit that.
Dear cabinet member, will the cabinet member commit to review the scope and the duration
of the current highway closures in Buckingham Town Centre associated with footpath repairs
and as part of that review consider what steps can be taken to mitigate the impacts on residents
and businesses and to reduce the risk of increased HGV movements on diversion routes such as
Western Avenue, Addington Road, where there are concerns about the compliance within the
light restriction. Just for information, both of those are historic council estates, which
the roads were, when they were put in, they were not anticipating taking the amount of
traffic they are. Thank you.
Cllr Thomas Broom - 0:21:12
Thank you, Robinson. I am aware of the current road closures in Buckingham Town Centre, which
which are in place to enable footway repairs to take place.
We are reviewing the site and methodology
to see if there are any further adaptations
to the traffic management that can be made
to minimise the impact and duration.
These works have however been carefully planned
from the outset,
recognising the inherent onsite constraints.
Whilst the traffic management does prevent through traffic,
all four main points of access into the town centre
remain open and the car park in the town centre remains available for use by the community
and businesses. I have asked that there be increased liaison with the frontages and we
have already put out some additional business open as usual signage to emphasise that the
town centre does remain open. We've reviewed the impact along Western Avenue, which is
not a sign diversion route during peak times, but we haven't identified issues with traffic
volumes. We have installed not suitable for HTV signage at either end of the road to try
and deter HTV usage. And we will continue to monitor the situation on Western Avenue
and adjacent roads and look to address any issues that arise.
Thank you, Thomas. Thank you, Robin, for the question. Loud and clear, Buckingham remains
open for business, I think.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:22:36
Thank you for the time. I do know that the town council are promoting that very fact
social media as well.
I know you've, as I've heard,
well I used to have the portfolio,
we know that four way work needs doing.
So we'll get there in the end
and it'll be another few days or so, I think.
But thank you for your question.
I look forward to the response, Thomas.
Okay, that brings us, there's only one question today,
so that brings us straight onto item six, forward plan.

6 Forward Plan (28 Day Notice)

The forward plan on 28 day notice.
This is the snapshot in time take of the forward plan,
the forward business of cabinet and indeed some of the leader decisions that they take.
This is on pages 31 to 42 of the agenda pack.
This item and the following select committee work programme item, they are updated through
time, but this one probably updates the most frequently, but at the time of the pack, this
is the situation that we have, but please do cheque the website in between.
Does anyone have any comments or questions on the forward plan? No? Okay,
thank you. I mean it is clearly laid out in terms of businesses, the business
rather, that is coming through. So I'll move to, we'll accept item six, then move

7 Select Committee Work Programme

to item seven. Now this, having said what I just said, is a lighter looking report
for the future work plan of our select committees. The select committees are
formed on an annual basis at the start of the council year.
And whilst membership and governance arrangements
may change, the business is set the year.
Our council year will, financially has already changed,
but our AGM meeting is in May,
and therefore the work programme looking beyond May
will be set at the first meetings post,
or first substantive meeting post AGM
of those select committees.
But as that said, and this is on pages 43 to 46 of the pack,
does anyone have any comments or questions?
Nope. Okay.
So thank you.
We are members content to take the Select Me to Work programme
as is then.
Thank you.
And then we come to the first substantive item today.

8 Crisis & Resilience Fund

This is item eight on pages 47, 64 of the pack.
This will be introduced in a moment by Steve Bowles, Cabinet Member for Communities.
Craig McArdle is here, who is the Corporate Director for ADOSH and Health, as is Sarah
Turnbull, the Service Director for Strategy Improvement and Community Support.
Now onto any technical details.
Steve, over to you to introduce this item, please.
Thanks, leader.
Cllr Steve Bowles - 0:25:24
This paper asks the Cabinet to approve the proposed arrangements for the new Crisis and
Resilience Fund and to agree the new policy is set out in the appendix.
The Government has made significant changes to how funding to support people in financial
hardship is provided.
The new Crisis and Resilience Fund replaces both the old Household Support Fund and the
Discretionary Housing Payment Grant.
While the overall purpose remains to support residents facing financial hardship, Government
funding for Buckinghamshire has reduced by over £600 ,000 over the last two
years, thus reducing the support to those that this government purports to support.
And the grant now comes with much more specific conditions and in particular
government guidance requires a clear shift away from blanket crisis provision
and towards targeted support for households experiencing a sudden
financial shock, alongside a stronger focus on prevention and building longer -term financial
resilience.
Now, this means that we can no longer automatically provide holiday food vouchers to all families
in receipt of free school meals, other than for the May half term as a transitional arrangement.
Instead, we're required to evidence individual need and target support to those who are generally
in financial crisis.
Now the paper sets out how we'll continue to support families and children through alternative
provision including the holiday activities and food programme, the Council's helping hand
service and access to debt and money advice through Citizens' Advice.
It's also proposed to set up a new financial resilience and community grant fund allocating
800 ,000 in the first year to support voluntary and community organisations. And this fund
will focus on supporting initiatives to help our residents with a cost of living, initiatives
that support warm homes, accessing affordable food and managing money. And this will be
in conjunction with Heart of Bucks. And there's a board set up to manage this fund and I will
be sitting on that board.
Now, the recommendations in the paper
are to approve the arrangements for deploying
the new crisis and resilience fund allocation for 26, 27,
to note the reduction in government funding
and new government guidance on grant expenditure
to support those in financial crisis
and to support financial resilience,
and to agree the new crisis and resilience fund
policy as set out in appendix one.
Thank you, Steve.
Maybe first I'll just turn to Sarah
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:28:22
in case there's anything further you'd like to add.
Good morning, guests.
Just to add, this is a really important fund
for our individuals and communities in Buckinghamshire
Sara Turnbull - Service Director for Strategy, Improvement and Community Support - 0:28:33
who are struggling with the cost of living.
The approach that's set out in the paper is really twofold.
It's about providing that individual support to those who are in financial crisis.
And we have a existing team called Helping Hands who provides that sort of tailored individual
support to those people who are struggling.
And secondly, it's about supporting our communities.
As the cabinet member stated, it's proposed here to set up a new grant fund in partnership
with the voluntary and community sector to really support that resilience.
So to provide that grant support to the VCS as a new fund for enabling organisations to
work with those communities on the ground to access food and to build financial resilience.
Thank you.
Thanks, Erin.
I just want to get you to expand a little bit on that.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:29:30
first and foremost for anyone watching,
helping hands continues.
That's absolutely clear.
And people can find out details of that.
Some people will be well known to the programme,
but otherwise through the council website.
The question I wanted to ask you just,
can you expand on that,
the role of council and heart of books
and BCS, the voluntary sector in this?
So are we just sure we're not duplicating them?
do people present to the council first?
Sara Turnbull - Service Director for Strategy, Improvement and Community Support - 0:30:06
Yeah, so the team Helping Hands work closely with a range of partner
organisations and also departments within the council.
Their primary role is to support individuals who are struggling
financially with a financial shock and provide
crisis payments as a last resort. So they will work with those individuals
to maximise income, such as benefits, make sure that they're linked in to the right
wider support, be that different voluntary and community sector organisations like Carers
Bucks or CAB.
So that's the role of the team.
The new element that is proposed in this paper with the Crisis and Resilience Fund monies
is to set up a dedicated 800 ,000 pounds fund
with heart of bucks that will be for organisations.
So it will be for organisations
and particularly micro funding
to support the really fantastic work
that's happening in the VCS,
but it will be additionality.
So it's about project work to support new initiatives,
to support food resilience,
access to affordable food and financial resilience.
Excellent, thank you Sarah.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:31:22
So VCS, Voluntary and Charitable sectors.
So there's a lot of bodies out there
who are really in touch with individuals and families.
And this 800 ,000 pound, this new fund,
coordinated by Heart of Box alongside the council,
as you said Steve, being there is a real opportunity
to make sure in the areas you said, particularly food,
that people can access help.
So thank you for that clarification, that's good.
Right, other questions please.
Mark.
Thank you, Leda.
Cllr Mark Winn - 0:31:57
Obviously with the ongoing cost of living crisis
and probably one that could get worse
with some of the events that are happening around the world,
how confident are you that the fund is not gonna run out
and say someone faced with homelessness
can't then get a payment that they're due?
Cllr Steve Bowles - 0:32:20
Well, I would like to think that by sort of managing the fund and as I've said with the
additional crisis resilience fund that we're coming up with that we should be able to cover
every eventuality.
Sarah, what do you?
Craig actually is indicating, if you don't mind.
Or both of you.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:32:37
I mean, Councillor Wynn, it's a fairly legitimate question in terms of that.
Craig McArdle - Corporate Director for Adult Social Care - 0:32:41
The team have a really strong track record of actually managing the grant as it comes
in as well.
So we can assure you of that and we make sure that every penny is well spent in terms of
that, always seeking value for money in what we purchase, et cetera.
So that's one element of that.
Working with the heart of books and other organisations, we will make the Buckingham
share pound go further in terms of that.
But let's be quite clear, if we had more money on this fund, we could do more good.
So that's the reality of the situation.
But overall, we'll continue to manage within the resources.
We've got Councillor Wynne.
Anything to add to that?
Are you okay with that?
Good.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:33:19
Thank you for the question.
Anyone else?
Okay, let's be, I've got a couple of questions.
So I presented the budget in February,
made the point there were some changes coming to grants.
This is one of them.
This is a reduction in grant, as you said, Steve.
I really want to be very clear with families out there who have been lying on school meal
vouchers and school holidays.
We've taken a decision to allow more time for that transition for families by, through
the reduced funding that we have, still covering the May half term provision, where some neighbouring
authorities have jumped straight to pulling the support.
There will be families out there who are concerned about the summer.
So can you say a bit more about the holiday and activity and food programme that runs over
the summer?
And obviously, our officers for support as needed in terms of what is that provision
as well, please?
Cllr Steve Bowles - 0:34:32
I mean briefly the HAF budget for 25 -26 was 1 .3 million, budget for 26 -27 is at a similar
level. There's currently some spare capacity of places in the scheme and unanticipated
1 ,000 extra places will be available in 26 -27. Is there anything Craig or Sarah you want
to add to that? Just to provide reassurance to members that the scheme
Sara Turnbull - Service Director for Strategy, Improvement and Community Support - 0:35:01
the half scheme the holiday activities and food programme will continue to run
and be providing support for families so those children who are eligible for
free school meals will have the opportunity to attend those activities
to benefit from not only the activities but also free hot meals during those
school holiday. So we are promoting that information and awareness about that
scheme and will continue to work with schools to maximise the
opportunity for children to benefit from that scheme. Okay thank you. I know schools
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:35:39
were involved with issuing the vouchers. Will that still be on the
blanket basis? Schools will still do that for May half term I think? That's correct.
Sara Turnbull - Service Director for Strategy, Improvement and Community Support - 0:35:55
So if this decision today is agreed, the scheme will continue to run in the same way as it has done for the last few years over the May half term.
And we will keep the communications to schools going so that they have the latest information.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:36:11
And just to be clear, on the holiday and activity food programme for the summer, you're promoting that in the schools.
do people register who are eligible register interest at the school or through the council?
Sara Turnbull - Service Director for Strategy, Improvement and Community Support - 0:36:26
There is a council website, so Children's Services works in partnership with the schools but there
is a website and you can actually search, you can put your postcode in and find out about local
schemes available in your community. Okay and then thank you, other parts of this fund relate to,
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:36:42
that was announced nationally.
Buckinghamshire was awarded 285, nearly thousand pounds
to help households on low income
and who are struggling financially
with the rapid price of oil.
Obviously, we're a rural county
with lots of people relying on bulk oil deliveries.
Helping Hands will pick that up as well.
It is a limited amount of money for the year.
My question is both for that and this, the rest of the work we were just talking about
overall with this crisis and resilience fund.
If government shift is into those who are experiencing shock, Sarah, maybe you can take
us through how are we assessing that?
Because that's frankly a burden that falls to the council to have to make those decisions.
Can you just take us through that process and how people at least present and then how that is assessed?
Sara Turnbull - Service Director for Strategy, Improvement and Community Support - 0:37:48
Yeah, so the team are very experienced in working with those individuals and assessing that need.
So the team have got lots of experience, as I said.
They will take the applicant through.
There is an online form, but there is also, of course, a telephone line to give help and advice.
And the team will ask a series of questions to understand what the financial challenge
is, what the circumstances are.
They'll be asking questions, of course, about income and how that's being managed,
do they need money support, et cetera.
And that signposting is a really important part.
So understanding what other support that they need to help that individual, not only in
their immediate short -term circumstances,
but also to help them obviously get out of that situation
and manage their finances as best they can.
There has been some additional funding
that the government has provided
to support households with oil.
I can just confirm that that is,
further details about that are within the paper
about that allocation.
and that funding will operate in exactly the same way for all crisis payments.
So people come into the team seeking support with a range of needs, food, fuel, and essentials.
So the team will be operating in that same wraparound way to understand those needs and provide support.
Thank you very much.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:39:21
So just to be clear, the particulars of this overall grant in this fund,
the Crisis and Resilience Fund is broadly set nationally, and then you're applying the
relevant criteria. And just to also reassure everyone watching, you'll be asking the questions
to target the support, but claims made by people will require evidence, and therefore
that is the process that's gone through and why there's an administrative part to this
fund as well. Obviously, we have to have the people on hand to do that. Okay, thank you
that Sarah. Any other questions? Okay, so we don't have other questions. Are you content,
as Steve took us through the recommendations earlier about the arrangements to deploy the
fund to note the reduction in government funding and the new guidance on how this fund has to work,
so particularly that removal of blanket provision and the crisis assessment and of course the policy
are set out in the accompanying appendix. Are people content to agree those? I'll take
them on block. Agreed. Thank you. In that case then we will move to item nine. This

9 Adoption of amended Conservation Areas for Buckingham, Haddenham and Winslow

is report for the adoption of amended conservation areas for Buckingham, Haddonham and Winslow.
This report can be found on pages 65 to 72 of the report pack. The appendices for a bit
of light reading goes from pages three to 338
of the supplementary pack.
I'm gonna ask Peter Strachan as the relevant cabinet member
to introduce the item.
And of course we have Steve Bambrick
as corporate director here as needed.
Peter, over to you.
Thank you very much, leader.
The conservation areas for Buckingham,
Cllr Peter Strachan - 0:41:12
Haddonham and Winslow have been updated
as part of the evidence base for the local plan.
and they're being brought to cabinet for formal adoption.
These are the first adoptions
since we became a unitary authority.
The boundaries of the conservation areas have been amended
with some new areas being added and others taken out.
Buckingham has the most visible change
with the addition of Railway Walk and Rumbold's Field.
Each conservation area appraisal
also now has a management plan to help manage change
within the conservation area. Six -week public consultations took place in the autumn of 2025,
including online surveys and in -person consultation events. Following the public
consultations, the documents were redrafted and are now ready for adoption. Local members,
parish and town councils were informed and involved in the consultation process.
The LPA is under a duty to determine which parts of its area are areas of special architectural
or historic interest, the character or appearance of which is desirable to preserve or enhance
and shall designate those areas as conservation areas.
There are no financial implications resulting from the adoption of these documents.
Aylesbury, Chesham and High Wycombe conservation areas are also being updated and will be brought
forward in due course later this year. The recommendations are there are two of them
that the amended conservation area boundaries are adopted and that the updated appraisals
and management plans are also adopted. Thank you, leader.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:43:06
Thank you very much. I somewhat flippantly referred to light reading, but actually the reading of each of those was really fascinating.
Particularly some of the historical parts and foundation parts and how places have shaped over time.
So I do recommend it to anyone, even if they're not necessarily particularly interested in the amendment of the area.
certainly as a, you know, celebrating heritage assets and some of the fine places we have
around the county, it's a make for a good read.
I'm going to ask a question though, why are we doing this now and linked to that?
There are references in the report to the local plan.
I just wonder if you or maybe Steve can just, you know, explain how they are separate and
in any way how they may be linked.
Steve.
Thank you, Steve.
Leader, Steve Bambrick, Corporate Director
Steve Bambrick - Corporate Director for Planning, Growth & Sustainability - 0:44:03
for Planning, Growth, and Sustainability.
So perhaps just in terms of why now.
So as Councillor Strachan mentioned,
we are under a duty to keep our conservation areas appraised,
assessed in terms of how to date they are.
We have 179 conservation areas across the county.
and we do now have a programme of review across all of those and it's clearly
going to take us a very long time to run through that programme. These are the first
as Councillor Strachan mentioned we have others working through that programme
because we we don't have the resources to do them all in one go so we need to
do them through that through that programme. They link into the local plan in
the sense that when we ultimately we will use the information from the
conservation approach to be able to assess development opportunities in
those locations and also development applications in those locations and of
course we want to ensure that when we're assessing development proposals with
doing so on the most up -to -date information we've got available to us.
So it's important to keep it up to date as you can see particularly in relation
to Buckingham, there are large areas which we are now proposing for inclusion, which
had we not done this exercise, would not benefit from that protection and would not benefit
from us applying that assessment to development proposals.
So it's important to keep it up to date.
We're doing so within the resources we've got available, and they'll then form part
of the decision -making going forward.
Thank you very much.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:45:40
And so there's no direct crossover with design code
consultation that Peter mentioned earlier
in local plan or anything like that.
Steve Bambrick - Corporate Director for Planning, Growth & Sustainability - 0:45:52
No, this is a statutory protection conservation areas.
There are particular policies that apply
where we might have design codes.
They will apply equally in conservation areas
as well as they would outside of conservation areas.
Excellent, thank you.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:46:04
Questions then, Ade please.
Yes, thank you very much leader.
I fully recognise and support the importance
Cllr Adekunle Osibogun - 0:46:10
this Council places on our public consultation processes as a meaningful opportunity to engage
with our residents. It is also reassuring that in this case, as in others, consultation
feedback has been carefully considered in line with good practise and available evidence,
and that the revised Conservation Area Appraisal have been through the appropriate cheque and
challenge to ensure they're robust, up to date, and fit for purpose.
It's also encouraging that the consultation demonstrated general support
for the preservation and where appropriate expansion of our conservation areas.
My question is, in the light of this and
to help address some of the practical concerns raised by residents,
could you confirm whether there are plans to further simplify guidance for
residents and businesses within the conservation area and whether there is scope to strengthen
enforcement activity to better protect these important heritage assets.
Peter?
Yeah, thank you, Councillor, and thank you also.
Cllr Peter Strachan - 0:47:15
You gave me forewarning of this question, so I'm able to give a complete response.
The newly updated conservation area appraisals include management plans, which are a new
feature and provide helpful guidance for residents and businesses within a conservation area.
The Heritage team have also produced shopfront guidance which will help local businesses
understand what is and isn't appropriate in a conservation area.
In addition, the Heritage team have carried out training with enforcement officers to
strengthen enforcement activity in our historic town centres.
Finally, we have produced some FAQs and myth -busting advice for residents to help address their
practical concerns and this will be available on our website alongside the new conservation
area appraisals.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Isabel Darby, please.
Yes, thank you very much.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:48:11
Cllr Isobel Darby - 0:48:12
I must admit I haven't read every single word, but my goodness, so much has gone into these
Given our huge housing targets, it is really, really important that we protect those areas
that are part of our history, part of our heritage, and I absolutely welcome this.
I've got a few questions and an observation.
This is part of a process, I believe Steve Bangrit said, of looking at all our areas.
So will they all be done in time to protect us from unwanted development?
Or are we going to be saying goodbye to some of our cherished buildings that don't happen to be in a conservation area in different towns, not these particular settlements?
And my observation, I don't know if it's a sad one or not really.
The consultation was clearly quite wide.
It was done, you know, on paper it appears to have been done incredibly well and, you know, all the documentation.
But it's so disappointing that we've got 20 responses from Buckingham, 16 from Paddenham, and 8 from Winslow.
And I guess I'm asking myself, is that because the main response was probably from the Town or Parish Council and encompassed most of the important things?
Is that because the residents perhaps don't really appreciate the importance of these areas?
I don't know, but it just seems that so much effort went into consulting and so little came back.
Or does it mean that people were happy with the proposals and therefore didn't want to say anything?
I don't know.
Do you want to tackle that?
Cllr Peter Strachan - 0:50:13
Yeah, and then I'll hand on to Steve for any detail.
I mean, I think it's fair to say, and certainly the people that I speak to are very aware
of Buckinghamshire and its areas.
And I think maybe they didn't have a particular comment to make other than acknowledging that
the work was being done.
I also think we are hugely aware of the timescale that we're working to in terms of doing additional
conservation areas alongside the imposition of the local plan.
But bear in mind that the local plan is for a period of 20 years.
Now, I'm not suggesting that we're not going to get to the end of our work within that time scale,
but we are very aware of the timeframe that we're working to and we will proceed as quickly as we can to do the job properly.
Steve, is there anything you'd like to add to that?
Steve Bambrick - Corporate Director for Planning, Growth & Sustainability - 0:51:06
If I may just add to the point about timing of review.
So clearly, given the 179 conservation areas,
we will not have conducted a review of all of those ahead
of the adoption of the local plan.
Although we will be focusing our efforts on those key areas
where we know there is already development pressure
and there's likely to be development pressure as part
of the local plan proposals.
It is probably also worth saying, however,
being in a conservation area is not a blanket ban
on development.
So it adds an extra bar to the type of quality that we expect in relation to development,
but it does not exclude development from those areas.
But it's important, therefore, when we are proposing new development or new development is proposed,
that we get the best quality we possibly can.
Cllr Peter Strachan - 0:52:00
And if I could just add to that, Isabelle, I did mention in my opening words that we're now looking at
and High Wycombe Conservation Areas as the next in line.
So I think it's fair that we're covering
our big population centres first.
Thank you.
Just to come back on that, I mean,
Cllr Isobel Darby - 0:52:18
one thought on the responses and things is that
I suppose if I owned a property that was about to go
into a conservation area, then that is,
from me owning a properties perspective,
it's a bit of a pain because I've probably got to jump
through more hoops if I want to do anything to it.
So I can see that side of it as well.
It's a consideration, but I think
we are looking as an authority, we
are looking at the place as a whole, not just
my house or your house.
And I think it is really, really important
that we are the custodians of the built environment.
Thank you very much.
Peter.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:52:58
Just to carry on with that theme,
Cllr Peter Brazier - 0:53:04
I live in a conservation area. I think it's a positive thing
It actually protects my area and increases the value of the property. So it's not a negative thing
It is actually a positive thing
Thank you for that. I mean I'm particularly
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:53:19
Eagle -eyed people looking at this pack will see that on the forward plan earlier one of the deleted decisions before me
It's a railway walk
project that we initiated a couple of years ago to bring that back into better use for Act Travel,
but it is a special part of Buckingham and so I'm for one pleased to see that as part of
the extension into the area as we look after that part of the town, but just don't leave things in
aspect. Use it as a way to connect the communities which is what that railway walk scheme will
hopefully do as we progress it.
So thank you for that.
I don't have another question,
so I don't see anyone else indicating.
So should we move to the recommendations
that Peter outlined earlier,
the amended conservation boundaries,
that we adopt those and that similarly,
we adopt the updated appraisals and management plans
as set out in the path.
Are people so agreed?
Very, very agreed.
Thank you very much. That moves us on from that item into item 10, which is the Waste

10 Waste Collections & Street Scene Options Appraisal

Collections and Street Scene Options Appraisal. This item is in two part. There is a confidential
set of appendices. The public report is on pages 73 to 104 of the pack, and the confidential
one is down in 105 to 138. As a relevant cabinet member, you'll introduce the report.
And I know you've got both Richard Barker as corporate director for communities here
and Martin Dittmann as the service director for neighbourhood services for detailed questions.
So members, we will discuss elements of the public report here, then as required, discuss
confidential and private session as we need to.
So for the watching public, any decision we ultimately have to make today will be done
in public session.
So I'll add over to you to introduce please.
Thank you very much leader.
The council has undertaken a detailed qualitative
and quantitative options appraisal
Cllr Adekunle Osibogun - 0:55:27
of the potential future operational arrangements
for the waste collections and street scene service,
which is currently delivered through an in -house arrangement
in the north of the county,
an outsourced contract currently with Viola until 2030
in the south of the county.
The paper has four recommendations to implement a single outsource model for waste collection and streets in services in Buckinghamshire,
with a staggered start of October 2029 for the Northern Service and September 2030 for the Southern Service.
The other three recommendations include to start the procurement process for single county -wide contract from April 2026,
with an expected service commencement date of October, 2029.
To delegate authority to the service director
for neighbourhood services in consultation
with the leader of the council and cabinet member
to lead a compliant procurement process,
including adherence to procurement regulations
and the procurement act 2023.
And following the procurement process cabinet
will be expected to approve the award of the contract
to provide waste collection and street scene services
in Buckinghamshire.
Leader, the waste collection street scene service
is a key priority for the council, residents and businesses
with an average of 627 plus collections made per week.
And I'm happy to report that the performance
of both the north and south service are very good.
It is also important to mention that the appraisal focused
on delivery models for the service
and not harmonisation of bin collections.
So it's important to emphasise for residents
and those watching that there will be no change
in the number of bins residents have
or frequency of bin collections.
The options appraisal looked at six possible delivery models
ranging from continuing with the business as usual,
single in -source model, a single outsource model
and other mixed combinations.
Each was assessed against both qualitative and quantitative criteria over a period of 15 years.
All options assumed current business as usual service standards as the minimum requirement,
and there would be no changes to the types of bins residents currently use.
This was a detailed process and was supported by external advisors and assessment sensitivity tested to confirm the results were robust.
The appraisal aimed to identify the best option for balancing both the quantitative and qualitative factors.
The six options assessed are shown in paragraph 3 .22 of the report, and the outcome results
captured in paragraph 3 .6 of the report.
Even when the weighing is redistributed, as captured in Appendix 2 of the report, the
evidence shows that single outsource steel scores are highest even after sensitivity
analysis contained in Appendix 3 are taken into consideration.
Therefore, this report recommends that the Council implement a single outsourced model
for delivery of the waste collection, streets and services from October 2029, replacing
the current mixed economy service provision, which we currently have, whereby the north
is an in -house service and the south is outsourced.
The evidence shows that aligning both the north and south operations under a single
county -wide high quality contracted model is expected to enhance value for money for
the council and also provide year -on -year savings.
This approach offers significant benefits.
It consolidates service into one contract.
It improves service continuity, management of risk, and contingency planning.
It simplifies compliance and performance management.
And importantly, it delivers better value for money and efficiency than all other tested
options through the process.
Financial modelling shows potential savings of over $40 million across assessment period,
with payback in under 18 months after implementation.
The recommendation is therefore to implement
a single outsource model for which collections,
streets and services with a staggered start.
That is, the north will start from June 2029,
the south will start from September 2030.
If cabinet approves its decision today,
Then procurement will start in April, this month, with contract award expected in June 2028,
and then mobilisation with the new contract starting from June 2029 with the not -service.
This recommendation supports the Council's corporate plan priority of improving our environment,
ensuring statutory compliance and aims to deliver a consistent high quality service
for residents and businesses across Buckinghamshire.
Based on this, Lida, I do recommend this paper for approval.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:01:03
Thank you, Ade. Officers, anything to add at this point?
Richard Barker - Corporate Director for Communities - 1:01:10
Thank you, Lida. If I may, so Richard Barkham, the Council's Corporate Director for Communities.
It's obviously a really comprehensive summary of the report from the cabinet member, but
just a few points for me to emphasise if I can.
We obviously recognise this is a very high profile service for the council.
Over 600 ,000 waste collection bins collected every week.
High volume, high profile, really important for our residents.
A big priority service for our members, of course.
I just want to emphasise that we've got a really hard working and very high performing team both within our contracted service and our
in -house team as well and
The indication that the cabinet member alluded to there in terms of the number of missed bins being incredibly low given that high volume
Is testament to the to the hard working team across both the in -house and the and the contracted service
Just to emphasise, this report doesn't recommend or propose any service change in terms of policy,
which again the cabinet member mentioned earlier, but I think is worth emphasising.
So no change to collection frequencies, no changes to the type or number of bins residents currently have.
That will continue through this change, subject to cabinet agreeing today.
I mentioned about our workforce earlier.
We've done a lot of engagement work already with the workforce just to talk about options.
This piece of work is the culmination of a really significant assessment
of those potential options, which is summarised in the paper, subject to agreement of cabinet
that that engagement with the workforce would continue.
We'd love to be doing that really closely with colleagues to make sure people are informed
of the potential changes and to make sure that they have an opportunity to engage
and contribute towards that change as well.
And then final point for me, just the point of clarity,
the implementation date would be October 2029,
which is covered in the paper.
So it's an autumn change ahead of the Veolia contract change
in September 2030.
Thanks.
Thank you, Richard.
That last point is absolutely vital.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:03:23
So people watching, just to summarise,
this is the start of a journey to move us towards,
if we decide to take the recommendation,
to a new arrangement.
Changes, despite the fact that actually
the service delivery should be seamless,
but changes of this will not kick in until 2029.
But with a procurement exercise of this size and scale,
obviously it takes some time to make sure that is done well
because as we've rightly said,
this is a key service that our residents rely on.
So bins will continue to be emptied in the same way
all the way through.
Clearly, this is a value for money exercise
given the numbers that Ade talked about.
So can we do, this is aimed at doing our service as well,
if not better, but for less
to keep our absolute focus on value for money.
But either you and or Richard,
I don't want people to think that means cheap.
So when you talked about the weighting,
and talk about the price quality type elements
that you've put into that weighting
to make sure that quality has a priority.
Yes, I can reassure residents of Kavanagh
Cllr Adekunle Osibogun - 1:04:50
that quality was and is key in our appraisal.
Hence, we also did, if you look at appendix two, we also did a redistribution of that.
But I'm happy for Richard and Marta to come in and give us the detail on how that was
embedded in the appraisal system.
Yeah, thanks, Eddie.
Richard Barker - Corporate Director for Communities - 1:05:13
So absolutely, this is not a, the assessment of the work hasn't been a price only decision
in any way.
And quality is a really significant part of the assessment process.
The table in the public paper on page 76 of the PAC summarises that and actually shows
the recommended option in this paper scored most highly on both quality and price.
So quality is an incredibly important part of this for the reasons that we've mentioned
already.
It's a highly valued service, critical that through any set, you know, the service changes
to the leader set is seamless.
but going forward we'd be looking to improve the quality of the service rather than reduce it.
But yeah, the quality assessment is a critical part
and the recommended option scores most highly on quality and price.
That's really helpful, thank you.
Right, Isabelle?
I brought a few out.
Yes, thank you very much.
Cllr Isobel Darby - 1:06:08
Obviously this has been gone into in a huge amount of detail
and of which obviously it serves being such a critical service for our council.
My question or yeah, it is a question.
I would like reassurance that I imagine there may well be,
once a contractor has, if this goes ahead,
a contractor has been appointed, there may be revisions
to collection rounds at some stage in the future.
And this is something which I bear the scars from,
from the last round and the actual transfer to the new contractor was
absolutely seamless and I think six months later you see Martin nodding he's
got a few scars over there as well about six months later when they actually
changed the delivery routes it was awful and I imagine there are some lessons
that have been learned from that.
And I would like officers' reassurance that the learning
from the past experience will be taken forward
and that the transition to any changes in rounds
in the future will be as seamless
as the transfer of the contractor.
Gentlemen.
Richard Barker - Corporate Director for Communities - 1:07:32
I'll make some initial comments, and Martin might want
to flesh that out.
So I think we all bear those scars, Isabel,
from the previous experience.
And as you say, the contract mobilisation
went incredibly well.
And Veolia have performed incredibly well
since the round reorganisation.
We've aired the lessons learned with Cabinet previously
following that experience.
I think we very much, and they very much,
recognise the scale of that change was too big in one turn.
Actually, we have made round reorganisation changes
within the Northways and the contracted service since that.
And that's been managed incredibly well, very seamless,
no major impact for residents.
And I think it's evident that we've
learned some of those lessons of that experience.
There isn't anything planned as part of this recommendation
today going forward in terms of round reorganisations.
but I think it would be surprising if there weren't to be further changes given we'd have
subject to the agreement of cabinet and countywide arrangement and there are obvious efficiencies
linked to that and obviously changes required particularly linked to housing growth.
You mentioned the significant housing growth potentially coming through as part of the
local plan.
We'd need to make some changes to respond to that as well.
Yeah, thank you, Richard.
Martin Dickman - Service Director for Communities - 1:09:03
Martin Dickman, Neighbour Services Director, and I definitely still bear the evidence of
the scars of the round reorganisation.
What's critical is we have learned a lot from that initial programme where we allowed 90 %
of the south to be reorganised in one go.
That won't happen again.
And as Richard said, obviously we have two separate services, so we have a sort of fake
boundary.
that will need to change and there'll be some elements of harmonisation undertaken there.
And that's why we've gone for a split start for the contract. We don't want to do a big bang when
we're bringing in a brand new contractor, chuping two sets of staff over, buying new vehicles,
and then looking for them to optimise the routes. It's just that's not what we want to do. We want
to have a seamless approach as we did at the start of the earlier contract. So hopefully that won't
ever happen again. Are there anything to add to that because clearly you want to
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:09:58
ensure members are up to speed and a part of that preparation plan again. The
operationalization of this decision is a number of
years in the future but of course we want to be prepared for that so if you
want to give that reassurance to members and therefore residents as well.
Cllr Adekunle Osibogun - 1:10:24
Yes, I would wish for both cabinet and residents that the lessons learned from the southern contract
years ago was also factored in when we were taking this decision and looking through the appraisal
of those options. I would also refer to the
strategy we've adopted with a staggered start.
That's part of that lessons, the lesson learned
that to avoid a big bang, like Martin rightly said,
it's better to phrase the implementation of this option,
of the single outsourced option we're looking to adopt.
So with regards specifically on what
reorganisation might take place,
based on what we have in our documentation,
is based on existing standards and existing collections.
So, there's nothing in this paper or the recommendations being sought that would require any change
in our collections or frequency of collections.
Excellent.
Thank you.
I've got a number of speakers.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:11:23
Pete Strachan next.
Cllr Peter Strachan - 1:11:28
Thank you for this, and it's a very good piece of work, the paper, and colleagues will know
that I did have some involvement with this service area for the first year of the unitary
authority.
My question is really one of interest, in that the greatest change is going to be in
the north where it's in -house.
So is the workforce going to be chuppied into the new contractor, or is there a separate
arrangement being made?
And really, it's a long way up, I get that.
But I recognise that that is the area where the greatest change will be, and I just wondered
how we were going to manage that.
Martin Dickman - Service Director for Communities - 1:12:10
So yes, the North workforce will essentially be chipped in to the new organisation, ready
for the commencement date in October, 2029.
We've already started the communication process with the frontline staff and I held some briefing
sessions last week.
We have a member of the workforce sat within the audience listening in today.
And one of the things we'll do, because it's critical that we keep the workforce aware
of what's going on.
It is a long process, so there'll be periods where there's not a lot to tell them, but
we're going to engage with them all the way through the process.
But the criticality of changes will happen when we've got a new contractor.
So when we get to contract award in autumn 2028, we can then start the engagement with
the workforce, with the new contractor, and we'll have a properly signposted approach
to what happens to them.
but the key, and obviously there was some disappointment
within the workforce when I briefed them last week,
and that's probably understandable,
but there was a lot of concern about what would happen
to their terms and conditions.
You know, are they still gonna be an NLGPS pension?
So we were able to answer some of those questions.
I've got another briefing with them again on Friday,
but again, we'll make sure we have a standard set of FAQs
that are available to them, so that we're myth -busting,
because obviously people have got different views about what might happen to TUPE.
But that is critical, we keep them aware of what we do,
because they're an essential part of our business as we go forward.
They're still delivering the service very well over the next three years,
and there will be more uncertainty as we go through,
but all we can do really is give them that parity of what's going to happen.
In theory, there will be limited change other than they will be working for a new contractor.
Thank you.
Thank you, Martin.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:13:55
I think that's really important and that message stuff and even if there are periods of time where
there's nothing to say, it's all worth saying that, isn't it? To say that we're still in this
process, you haven't been forgotten because as you've just said, it's a really important job.
We all sit around here as members elected by our communities as do all councillors, knowing the
service that of bin collections is one of the most valued ones, as I said earlier.
So the work done by that team is shown in every one of the 600 and plus
thousand bins that collected every week in all weathers. So I'm pleased to hear
that you're making sure that line of communication with that team is open and
it should stay so thank you. Right I said there was a list. Tom you're next please
Cllr Thomas Broom - 1:14:46
Tom's room. Thank you Lita. Yes, not for us in local government the glamours of foreign
policy and the like, but what service is there that is not more important to residents than
collection of bins? I was also involved a little bit in an earlier stage of this and
one of the things that has always been impressed on me in my time in local government is just
how important a service this is and it is one of those things that, you know, when it
doesn't happen as you expect it to happen.
It causes significant disruption in people's everyday lives.
And so the fact that we've got a service that
is running as well as it is, and it really
is absolutely tip top, particularly
in terms of miss -spin collections,
is something that we should be proud of as a council.
And I would say that the team that, particularly the team
that's keeping on top of the contracts with Viola
is doing an absolutely terrific job.
and long may that continue.
This is an area there where there is pressure
in a lot of other parts of the country.
There are a lot of councils
flying under different political flags, it must be said,
who are moving to less frequent bin collections
in the face of pressure, financial pressure,
and obviously, Bucks is in a position
where we've had our funding cut
by 44 and a half million pounds.
And so I just think it is incredibly important
that we go into this process with this clear -eyed intent that we are going to deliver for -bucks
residents a good service, if we can, a better service, and we're also going to do so while
providing value for money and efficiency, which will let us strengthen this service
and others across the council. And obviously, I think if any residents were listening to
some of our deliberations on the budget earlier on in the year, they will have seen that the reason
and why we can continue to improve services at Bucks
is precisely because we have been making things
more efficient and that we have always been careful
to make sure that we are improving service
and improving value for money at the same time.
So having seen a little bit under the bonus
of some of these changes a couple of years ago,
I would thoroughly endorse this.
I think there is a point about,
that has already been made about careful management
of transfer of staff and the like, but at the end of the day we're here to deliver for residents
and we have an opportunity here to deliver them an increasingly good service, you know,
protected against the pressures that are being felt by residents in other counties across the
country where their bin services are diminishing and that we have a good way forward here.
And so I think I would thoroughly endorse what's being put before us today.
Thank you very much for that Thomas. Mark Wien please.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:17:39
Cllr Mark Winn - 1:17:43
Thank you leader. As others have said bin collections are the, when people are surveyed, they are the most important thing that people put down.
They want them to be reliable and I'm really reassured that lessons have been learned from things in the south.
I obviously represent the North and I'm in the North.
I'm really reassured that the Bin people do a really wonderful job.
I get very few complaints, I must say.
I know a member of the audience, persons in the audience from the collectors,
but they do a really great job.
And I'm also reassured that the South, the problems that they had,
lessons were learned and they really sort of caught up and were sort
not nudging each other on sort of missed bin collections.
That is really reassuring.
But this is really an important contract.
It's really important we get it right.
And I know officers are really gonna try their best
to make sure that that is the case.
So sort of that's good.
Thank you.
Ade.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:18:46
Leader, can I just reassure my fellow cabinet members
that one, the contract is not gonna require changing staff.
Cllr Adekunle Osibogun - 1:18:54
So we're going to have the same people picking up the bins.
So there'll be that continuity. Um,
equipment will still be within our control, um,
and will be improved. So that also ensures that, um, that it continues as well.
So, um, it's going to be the same service.
There's just the backend of it that will change whereby, um,
we'll then just have one contractor as opposed to having a mixed system,
which we currently have.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:19:23
Thank you, and I'll just draw people's attention to recommendation four.
Just to reassure people, this is the commencement of the procurement process.
We will come back to cabinet in order to make contracts award, at which point I'm sure the
paper will include what the operational arrangements are and pick up all these elements to give
that further issuance.
So this is us going out to market and securing the best possible deal based on the weighting
exercise of quality that you mentioned earlier.
So that will come back at some future point in time.
I've got one more question or comment from Robert Carrington.
Thank you very much, Alito.
Cllr Robert Carington - 1:20:07
And I think it's been a good discussion around this.
And like Councillor Derby and Ms. Digman,
I also hold the scars of the southern,
well, I mean, yes, the last time we did this four years ago
or five years ago now.
But a lot of what I wanted to say has already been said.
I mean, Councillor Strachan, Arson Tooby,
and others have mentioned on how this will impact
service quality and accessibility
and value for money for residents.
But keeping, I just want to silently ask on
and focus on, which is mentioned in the report on page 78,
is really the key assets, because obviously we retain,
what we have ownership of the vehicles
and I mean the bases, the sites.
I just, if we make this decision today,
if there is anything further you can expand on,
on what will happen with that
and what impact these arrangements will have
on sort of ownership of our assets.
Richard Barker - Corporate Director for Communities - 1:21:10
Yeah, thanks, Councillor Carington for the question.
So at this point, we don't anticipate any significant change
as part of the procurement arrangements.
As you say, at present,
whilst we've got a split model of in -house in the north
and contracted in the south,
the asset ownership remains with the council.
So we have control over our fleets and our depots.
I'd caveat that slightly with the procurement process
provides an opportunity for dialogue with the market,
as described in the report.
So we'll be keen to hear from the market
in terms of the best possible solution,
which drives high quality for us as a council,
but maximises the opportunities for efficiencies as well.
So there may be some changes to that
as part of the dialogue process.
And as the leader said,
we bring that back as part of the decision report
once that process is concluded.
but at this point in time, we wouldn't anticipate any material change to that.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:22:13
Excellent. Thank you for that. Having indicated you didn't want to speak, you now do. Councillor
Cllr Peter Brazier - 1:22:21
LaBrazia. I just, thank you. I don't want to sound like a stuck record, but I just want to,
just can we reinforce in the comms that the portfolio bins that people are going to have
at their houses. So, you know, up in the north currently, we've got the blue lid recycling,
mixed recycling, the green lid, non -recycling, the brown bins which are for garden waste,
and the food caddy. Can we just really emphasise that's not going to change? Because that's what
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:22:49
matters to people the most, I think. Thank you. So to be clear again, the operationalization,
I can't even say it, of turning this contract award will come. And at that point, we should be
very clear about what the operation will look like at that time to get stuck into a particular
bin.
I'll come back to the comment I made very early on in this piece, which is this changes
nothing in the here and now.
So the one bit of communication I'd like residents to know about is this is a quality weighted
exercise in improving bin services into the long -term future while securing a
relative cost saving in the tens of millions of pounds before a contract
award is made we'll be back here and I'm sure select committee will want you to give
an update and so on just as we did with the highways contract to talk through
what those plans are and you heard from that earlier members will be also
involved during that process. It's a long -term process. Right now we're relying on the expertise
of the procurement team to do that dialogue and make sure that we get best endeavours out of the
market. But we have set a very clear stall out. This is about high quality to protect the service
because we know how important it is to all our residents. That said, my last little piece to you
both, is the EQIA just flags unclear for everything. So when this comes back in due course, one
assumes there will be a fully completed EQIA on the basis that we will know what the proposal
looks like. You're nodding. I'll take that for the minute. There's been a yes. Thank
you. That would be, that's very helpful. So with that in mind, does anyone wish to go
into confidential session.
I am of the mind to do so,
because there's something I'd like,
there's a couple of bits on that I think we ought
to discuss.
So I've seen some of the knots,
so I think we've got general agreement to that.
So before we get to a decision,
we are going to enter in to talk about
the confidential parts.
So that brings me to item 11,
and a statement I must read.

11 Exclusion of the public (if required)

To resolve that under the local authorities,
executive arrangements, meeting and access to information,
in England Regulations 2012, Regulation 42B,
which is the public be excluded from the meeting
for the following item of business on the grounds
they are to involve the likely disclosure
of exempt information as defined within Schedule 12A
of the Local Government Act 1972.
This is for the waste collections
and street scene options appraisal.
What I will also do while we're there
is
Ask cabinet members if there are any matters to discuss on the confidential minutes, so we don't have to go back in
Paragraph three it has information relating to financial and business affairs of a particular person including the authority holding that information
And the confidential appendix provides information about financial and business affairs of individuals so with that being said we will go into
confidential session for this and the confidential minutes
So please pause the webcast.

11 Exclusion of the public (if required)

Cllr Steven Broadbent - 1:26:13
Thank you.
Welcome back to the cabinet meeting.
We have just discussed some items in the confidential part of the item on waste services.
We now return to the public session in Wuhan for us to be able to go back to the recommendation
that you can see on the public pack on page 73.
These are to implement single outsource model toys collection and stream scene services
in both nature with a stagnant start, again not happening until 2029 and beyond.
Two, to stop the procurement process countywide
for a contract from now with an expected
commencement date again for the service of 2029 and so on.
And dedicate authority to the service director
in consultation with myself, the leader,
and the cabinet member for the environment
to either comply with the procurement process
in reference to the procurement package.
And four, following the procurement process,
the recommendation of that will come back
to cabinet to approve the award of a contract
to provide waste collection, streets and services
in the future.
Are people gonna take those recommendations?
I'll take one on the block, unless anyone objects.
Okay, take one on the block, are we agreed?
Yes, we're agreed, thank you.
So item 10 is now agreed, thank you very much.
That now brings us only back to item 13,
but we've also discussed these were the confidential minutes,
but now in public form, can I ask members
if you are content for me to approve
the confidential minutes?
Agreed.
Agreed.
Thank you very much, they are agreed,
and that is close to the end of the meeting,
other than to discuss date of the next meeting.
Something strange happened to the sound of the room.
The next cabinet meeting is scheduled

14 Date of next meeting

for the 12th of May 2026 starting at 10 a .m. Thank you for your attendance today. Thank you to members
of the public and other members and to officers. We may now end the webcast. Have a good day to all
residents out there.