Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from County Councillors Jayne Rear, Rupert Swarbrick, and Phillippa Williamson.

County Councillor Ash Sutcliffe replaced County Councillor Jayne Rear for this meeting in accordance with Standing Order C13.1.

Members are asked to consider any Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Interests they may have to disclose to the meeting in relation to matters under consideration on the Agenda.

None.

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 6 March 2025 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To answer any verbal questions and supplementary questions from a county councillor, about any matter which relates to any item under Part I on the agenda for this meeting under Standing Order C34(7).

There will be a maximum of 30 minutes for the questions to be asked and answered.

There was one question for Cabinet.

A copy of the question and the response is attached to the minutes.

Cabinet considered a report that set out the government's requirements and the initial response of the county council, following the government's invitation for proposals on local government reorganisation, in line with the proposals set out in its English Devolution White Paper of December 2024.

It was noted that the draft letter to be sent to Government on behalf of the county council, the 12 district councils and the 2 unitary councils in Lancashire in relation to the Local Government Reorganisation in Lancashire had been circulated to Cabinet prior to the meeting.

It was also proposed to approve the collaborative interim plan for submission to Government by 21 March 2025, as circulated on 19 March 2025.

Resolved: That

1. The collaborative interim plan be approved for submission to Government by 21 March 2025, as presented at Appendix B of the report; and
2. The decision be implemented immediately for the purposes of Standing Order C28(3) as any delay could adversely affect the execution of the county council's responsibilities. The reason for this was that the Interim Plan must be submitted by 21 March to meet the government's deadline, and any delay could put at risk the process of local government reorganisation and devolution in Lancashire.

Cabinet considered a report on the School Place Planning Delivery Programme. It was noted that in October 2022, Cabinet approved the School Place Planning Delivery Programme 2023-25, with the expansion projects at Cottam Primary School and Broughton-in-Amounderness Church of England Primary School being two of the projects delivering new school places in areas where projected shortfalls had been identified. The projects were being delivered in phases and the provision of places at these schools and the funding for phases 1 and 2 had been previously agreed by Cabinet. This report now sought approval for the allocation of the funding for the final phases of the schemes. 

Resolved: That, the following be approved:

1. The release of £6m capital allocation from the approved 2025/26 capital programme, for the final phase of the Capital project at Broughton-In-Amounderness Church of England Primary School; and
2. The release of £4.9m capital allocation, from the approved 2025/26 capital programme, for the final phases of the Capital project at Cottam Primary School, Preston.

Cabinet considered a report on the outcome of the recent SEND inspection. It was noted that the national challenges around Special Educational Needs and Disabilities had included concerns around funding, workforce retention and skills, and increasing demand for SEND services. These challenges had put significant pressure on local authorities to meet the needs of children and young people with SEND and in response to the challenges, the Lancashire SEND Partnership had been working collaboratively to improve services and outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

The report highlighted the significant investment made by the council to stabilise and enhance the services, shared the outcome of the SEND inspection, and outlined the development of a Priority Action Plan and next steps for the local area partnership. Additionally, it provided details on the broader SEND transformation programme.

Resolved: That

1. The national challenges and the additional in-year investment of £14.3m and increased budget of £13m for 2025/26, be noted;
2. The inspection outcome be noted, and the Priority Action Plan be submitted to the Department for Education and Ofsted by the deadline of 25 March 2025;
3. The Children, Families and Skills Scrutiny Committee be asked to oversee the progress against milestones in the Priority Action Plan in addition to quarterly performance updates to Cabinet;
4. A letter be sent to the government to offer support from Lancashire County Council to inform national legislative change and ensure that local needs and perspectives were represented; and
5. The decision be implemented immediately for the purposes of Standing Order C28 as any delay could adversely affect the execution of the county council's responsibilities. The reason for this was to ensure the Priority Action Plan can be submitted to the Department for Education and Ofsted by the 25 March 2025 deadline.

There have been no urgent decisions taken since the last meeting of Cabinet.

There had been no urgent decisions taken since the last meeting of Cabinet.

An item of urgent business may only be considered under this heading where, by reason of special circumstances to be recorded in the Minutes, the Chair of the meeting is of the opinion that the item should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency.  Wherever possible, the Chief Executive should be given advance warning of any Member’s intention to raise a matter under this heading.

There were no items of Urgent Business.

The next meeting of Cabinet will be held on Thursday 3 April 2025 at 2.00pm at County Hall, Preston.

It was noted that the next meeting of Cabinet was scheduled to be held at 2pm on Thursday, 3 April 2025 at County Hall, Preston. However, it was noted that the meeting was likely to be cancelled, and therefore, as it was potentially the last meeting of the Cabinet prior to the county council election on 1 May, the Deputy Leader thanked all members for their attendance and contributions at this, and previous Cabinet meetings.