Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies for absence had been submitted from Councillors Jayne Barry and Joe Birkin.

Members are requested to declare the existence and nature of any disclosable pecuniary interest and/or other interest, not already on their register of interests, in any item on the agenda and withdraw from the meeting at the appropriate time.

Councillor Kevin Gillott declared an interest in Item 6 – Continuation of Management Agreement – Housing Services, as he was a board member of Rykneld Homes Ltd.  He would leave the room and take no part in the consideration of the item.

To approve as a correct record and the Leader to sign the attached Minutes of the meeting of Cabinet held on 31 July 2025.

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 31 July 2025 were approved as a correct record.

To consider any other matter which the Leader is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency, in accordance with the provisions of Statutory Instrument 2012 No 2089, Regulation 11.

There were no urgent items of business to consider.

Report of Councillor S Pickering, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Place

RESOLVED that:

(1)      the statutory changes to waste collection including Simpler Recycling, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) be noted.

(2)      the recommended option for Simpler Recycling, as outlined in the report, be approved.  This included:

a)    production of a TEEP (Technical, Economic, Environmental and Practical) Assessment.

b)    noting the Head of Paid Service’s recommendation to seek approval from full Council to recruit and establish 19 FTE for food waste service operation.

c)     providing first roll of compostable caddy liners to residents to encourage behaviour change.

Cabinet considered a report which set out the statutory changes to waste collection including Simpler Recycling, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and Deposit Return Scheme (DRS).

The report set out the options that had been considered for collections. It was explained that a Technical, Economic, Environmental and Practical (TEEP) Assessment for business recycling had been carried out earlier in the year. This had been done prior to the introduction of Simpler Recycling to all businesses with 10 Full Time Equivalents or more.  The TEEP assessment had highlighted that to introduce a separate collection for paper and card additional capital investment would be required for new vehicles and containers along with changes to current waste processing arrangements.  The Council would now also need to produce a TEEP assessment for domestic recycling to demonstrate to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) the justification for continuing to comingle paper and card along with other dry materials in one bin.

In respect of food waste collections, kitchen caddies had been provided to households in 2014, and DEFRA had not provided funding to supply new kitchen caddies to each household.  The report also set out that compostable kitchen caddy liners were not funded as part of the New Burdens settlement but to encourage behavioural change, the new service should be made as easy as possible for residents.  It was therefore proposed to provide the first roll of kitchen caddy liners for free, then householders would need to purchase their own.

The report stated that it had been calculated that an additional 19 staff would be required to provide a weekly food waste service to residents.

RESOLVED that:

(1)      the statutory changes to waste collection including Simpler Recycling, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) be noted.

(2)      the recommended option for Simpler Recycling, as outlined in the report, be approved.  This included:

a)    production of a TEEP (Technical, Economic, Environmental and Practical) Assessment.

b)    noting the Head of Paid Service’s recommendation to seek approval from full Council to recruit and establish 19 FTE for food waste service operation.

c)     providing first roll of compostable caddy liners to residents to encourage behaviour change.

REASONS FOR DECISION – The recommendation provides a robust option to meet the statutory changes to waste collection introduced by the Government.

OTHER OPTIONS CONSIDERED AND REJECTED – The Environment Act determines how waste in England must be collected and a weekly food waste collection was a statutory requirement. As set out in the report the move to introducing a separate collection for paper and card would be prohibitively expensive and would require a considerable outlay for new wheeled bins.

Report of Councillor N Barker, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Strategic Leadership and Finance

RESOLVED that:

(1)       a five year extension of the management agreement (in accordance with clause 2 of the Management Agreement) to RHL for the provision of housing services, effective from 1 April 2026, be agreed.

(2)       the appointment of Managing Director, as required by Clause 19.1 of the Management Agreement, be ratified.

Cabinet considered a report which sought agreement of a five-year continuation to the management agreement to Rykneld Homes Ltd for the provision of housing services.

The report explained that the current management agreement included five-year review clauses and the first was due in April 2026. The Director of Finance & Resources (Section 151 Officer), as client lead in consultation with the Leader of the Council who had portfolio responsibility for Housing, had undertaken a review, which commenced in March 2025. An internal review had been undertaken, which was considered sufficient as external assurance could be taken from the inspection by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) in May 2024.  The findings of the internal review were set out in the report.

It was also noted that the Managing Director of Rykneld Homes Ltd, Lorraine Shaw, who had been with the company for 18 years had decided to retire. A recruitment process had been undertaken and the current Deputy Managing Director, Niall Clark, had been appointed, subject to Cabinet ratifying the decision.

Cabinet noted the positive relationship the Council currently had with Rykneld.

Cabinet agreed to write to thank Lorriane for her service.

RESOLVED that:

(1)      a five year extension of the management agreement (in accordance with clause 2 of the Management Agreement) to RHL for the provision of housing services, effective from 1 April 2026, be agreed.

(2)      the appointment of Managing Director, as required by Clause 19.1 of the Management Agreement, be ratified.

REASONS FOR DECISION – Continuity of service provision for a major front line service such as Housing was hugely important.  Rykneld Homes Limited had demonstrated high levels of service provision across all areas.

OTHER OPTIONS CONSIDERED AND REJECTED – To undertake an external review.  This was rejected as sufficient external assurance was available from the recent RSH inspection.  Not to extend the Management Agreement.  This was rejected as the result of the review undertaken was that this was the best arrangement for the Council.

Report of Councillor J Barry, Portfolio Holder for Growth & Assets.

RESOLVED that progress against the objectives set within the Equality Plan 2023-2027 and ongoing compliance with the Equality Duty be noted.

Cabinet considered a progress report on the Equality Plan 2023-2027 action plan and to demonstrate the Council’s continuing compliance with the Equality Duty. The Equality Plan and Duty Review for 2024/25 was attached to the report at Appendix 1.

The Equality Plan and Duty Review provided examples of how the Council was meeting its obligations under the three core strands of the Equality Act, which were eliminating discrimination, victimisation, and harassment, advancing equality of opportunity and fostering good relations between communities. The progress reflected the Council’s going commitment to embedding equality, diversity, and inclusion across all areas of service delivery and the organisation.

The report also set out the progress that had been made against the objectives within the Equality Plan 2023-2027.

RESOLVED that progress against the objectives set within the Equality Plan 2023-2027 and ongoing compliance with the Equality Duty be noted.

REASONS FOR DECISION -This was an information report to keep Cabinet informed of progress against the objectives set in the Equality Plan 2023-2027 and to demonstrate continuing compliance with the Equality Duty.

OTHER OPTIONS CONSIDERED AND REJECTED – Not applicable as the report provided an overview of progress towards and compliance with the Equality Act obligations.

Report of Councillor N Barker, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Strategic Leadership & Finance

RESOLVED that progress against the Council Plan 2023-2027 objected be noted.

Cabinet considered a report which set out progress on the objectives that underpinned the Council Plan for the period April to June 2025 (Quarter 1).  The report highlighted notable achievements, along with any targeted metrics which had been flagged as not on target.

A summary of Council Plan progress for the period was attached to the report at Appendix 1. This set out details of what had been achieved and progressed by objective, strategy, and tactic.

Cabinet discussed the report and welcomed the achievements that had been made during the first half of this Council Plan.

RESOLVED that progress against the Council Plan 2023-2027 objected be noted.

REASONS FOR DECISION – This was an information report to keep Cabinet informed of progress against the Council Plan objectives.

OTHER OPTIONS CONSIDERED AND REJECTED – Not applicable to this report as provided an overview of progress against the Council Plan objectives.