Agenda and minutes

The Mayor welcomed all those present to the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors Joe Baker, William Boyd, Alan Mason, Gemma Monaco and Craig Warhurst.

To invite Councillors to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Disclosable Interests they may have in items on the agenda, and to confirm the nature of those interests.

There were no declarations of interest.

During consideration of this item, Councillor Ian Woodall delivered a statement apologising to Council for some comments that he had made at the extraordinary meeting of Council held on 13^th January 2026.  In doing so, Councillor Woodall also apologised to the gentleman who had been sat in the public gallery to whom some of these comments had been directed.  Members were asked to note that Councillor Woodall had already apologised to the Monitoring Officer and he advised Council that he had referred himself to the Council’s standards process for further investigation.

To consider Announcements under Procedure Rule 10:

a)           Mayor’s Announcements

b)           The Leader’s Announcements

c)           Chief Executive’s Announcements.

The following announcements were made at the meeting:

a)          The Mayor’s Announcements

The Mayor circulated a list of civic engagements that she had attended since the previous meeting of Council (Appendix 1).

During consideration of this item, the Mayor thanked everybody involved in organising the Holocaust Memorial commemorations which had taken place on 24^th January 2026.  In particular, Ms Lejla Golos, who had spoken about her personal experiences at the event, was thanked for her attendance.

Members were informed that the Mayor’s civic service was due to take place at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church on Sunday 1^st February 2026.  A number of Councillors had already booked to attend this service and Members were urged to contact the Mayor if they had not already done so but wished to attend.

b)          The Leader’s Announcements

On behalf of the Council, the Leader welcomed Ms Julie Lorraine, who had been appointed the Council’s interim Section 151 Officer and Director of Finance to the meeting. 

Members were advised that the Assistant Director of Regeneration and Property Services and her team had secured the Council’s £2.2 million funding as a member of the former Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP).  Council was informed that this funding would be invested in the Redditch innovation centre.

In concluding her remarks, the Leader noted that Saturday 24^th January 2026 had marked the fiftieth anniversary of the central library in Redditch.

c)          The Chief Executive’s Announcements

The Chief Executive confirmed that he had no announcements to make on this occasion.

There were no Questions on Notice on this occasion.

There were no Motions on Notice for consideration at this meeting.

Quarter 2 Financial Monitoring Report 2025/26

Council considered the Quarter 2 Financial Monitoring Report 2025/26.  Members were advised that an overspend was envisaged for 2025/26 as well as for subsequent years, with the primary cause being a relatively low local government financial settlement for District Councils.  There was therefore a need to be prudent.

The Council retained reserves above the minimum threshold and officers were working hard to ensure that a balanced budget could be achieved.  In the meantime, oversight of departmental budgets had increased and some potential savings had been identified.

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Ian Woodall and seconded by Councillor Juma Begum.

Homelessness Prevention Grant Funding 2026/27 to 2028/29 (including Rough Sleeper Grant) and Domestic Abuse Grant

Consideration was given to a report detailing proposed arrangements for the distribution of homelessness grant funding, including rough sleeper and domestic abuse grant funding, received from the Government for the financial years 2026/27 to 2028/29.  Members were asked to note that the report had been scrutinised in detail at a meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, where the proposals had received support and a request had been made for arrangements to be introduced to monitor use of the funding on an ongoing basis.

Reference was made to the impact that homelessness grant funding had had in recent years and Members were asked to note that this had been used effectively, resulting in a reduction in costs associated with use of Bed and Breakfast accommodation.  There were four organisations that received a significant amount of the funding, including Redditch Borough Council, which had allocated some funds to support the employment of particular officer posts.

In discussing the matter, Members commented that homelessness was a complex issue which extended beyond, although included, consideration of rough sleeping.  The Council’s preferred approach was to attempt to take action that would help to prevent homelessness from occurring.

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Bill Hartnett and seconded by Councillor Juma Begum.

Pay Policy 2026 – 2027

Members were advised that there was a statutory requirement for an annual report to be presented to Council in respect of the pay awarded to staff at the authority.  There was a need for the authority to be transparent about pay scales as well as to remain competitive in order to attract and retain staff.

The recommendation was proposed by Councillor Jane Spilsbury and seconded by Councillor Ian Woodall.

Independent Remuneration Panel Recommendations 2026/27

The Independent Remuneration Panel’s (IRP) report in respect of proposed allowances payable to Members in the 2026/27 financial year was presented for Council’s consideration.

Members were advised that in reaching their conclusions, the IRP had reviewed current allowances and had also considered benchmarking data.  Based on the evidence that had been gathered, the IRP was proposing that the basic allowance payable to Councillors should increase to £6,095 in 2026/27 as well as changes to the Special Responsibility Allowances (SRAs) payable to Councillors in particular positions of authority.  Council was informed that Members did  ...  view the full minutes text for item 68.

Members considered a report detailing recommendations that had been agreed at a meeting of the Constitutional Review Working Party (CRWP) held on 6^th January 2026. 

Council was informed that the CRWP had considered a recommendation that had been referred by the Licensing Committee together with proposed changes to the Scheme of Delegations for Regulatory Services that would help to ensure that the delegations were consistent with the content of the taxi handbook.  In addition, the CRWP had discussed the potential to introduce a time limit for the consideration of Motions on Notice at Council meetings and had suggested that there should be a limit of one hour, in line with arrangements that were already in place at Bromsgrove District Council, although this time could be extended with the agreement of Council.

In considering the matter, Members were asked to note that in 2024, the Council had agreed to a 12-month trial period in which licensing officers would consider applications to renew licences when a licensed vehicle was older than the threshold set in Licensing policies.  This trial had been followed by a public consultation, in respect of preferred arrangements moving forward and a clear majority of respondents had indicated that they would prefer for these applications to be resolved by Licensing Officers rather than at a Licensing Sub-Committee hearing.

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Jane Spilsbury and seconded by Councillor David Munro.

RESOLVED that

1)          authority be delegated to Licensing officers to determine renewal applications for licences to use vehicles as hackney carriages or private hire vehicles where the vehicle does not meet the Council’s required criteria in respect of the age of the vehicle;

2)          the Officer Scheme of Delegations in respect of Regulatory Services be updated to align the delegations with the content of the Taxi Handbook; and

3)          the Council Procedure Rules be amended to introduce a time limit of one hour for the consideration of Motions on Notice at Council meetings, which may only be exceeded with the agreement of Council.

There has been one urgent decision since the previous council meeting in respect of the appointment of an interim Section 151 Officer.

The Mayor advised that one urgent decision had been taken since the previous meeting to appoint Ms Julie Lorraine as the Council’s interim Section 151 Officer and Director of Finance.

To consider any additional items exceptionally agreed by the Mayor as Urgent Business in accordance with the powers vested in him by virtue of Section 100(B)(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

(This power should be exercised only in cases where there are genuinely special circumstances which require consideration of an item which has not previously been published on the Order of Business for the meeting.)

There was no urgent business for consideration on this occasion.