Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors S. J. Baxter, J. Clarke, A. M. Dale and H. J. Jones.

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.

Members were reminded that all Councillors had been granted general dispensations by the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee earlier in the municipal year to take part in the debate and vote on the Council’s budget and Council Tax.

Councillors S. Ammar and K. Taylor declared an interest in relation to agenda item 13(b) (Minute No. 176/25) – Notice of Motion – Production of a Business Prospectus, in that they both had businesses registered within the district of Bromsgrove.

The minutes of the meeting of Council held on 3rd December 2025 were submitted.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of Council held on 3rd December 2025 be approved as a true and correct record.

The Chairman congratulated two trustees of the Friends of St. John’s Church who had raised over £500,000 for restoration works to the Church, as part of a programme of heritage activities. In addition, as part of efforts to commemorate the fourth year of the invasion of Ukraine, the Chairman had visited the Ukrainian Community in Bromsgrove and reaffirmed support for the Ukrainian Community within the District.

Council was also advised that a fundraising event was due to take place on 27th March 2026 which would be raising money for The Basement Project.

The Head of Paid Service confirmed that he had no announcements to make on this occasion.

The Leader wished Councillor S. A. Robinson a happy birthday and updated Council that a letter was due to be sent to the Post Office, in opposition to the branch closing in Bromsgrove, on behalf of the Council.

A period of up to 15 minutes is allowed for members of the public to make a comment, ask questions or present petitions.  Each member of the public has up to 3 minutes to do this.  A councillor may also present a petition on behalf of a member of the public.

There were no comments, questions or petitions from members of the public to be received by Council.

Council was advised that no urgent decisions had been taken since the previous meeting. 

To consider the outstanding recommendations from the meeting of the Cabinet held on 7^th January 2026 that have not yet been determined. Also to consider recommendations arising from the Cabinet meeting on 18^th February 2026.

Council considered recommendations arising from the meetings of the Cabinet held on 7^th January and 18^th February 2026.

Pay Policy Statement 2026/27

The Leader advised that the Localism Act 2011 required English and Welsh local authorities to produce an annual Pay Policy Statement.  The Act required the statement to be approved by Full Council and to be adopted by 31^st March each year for the subsequent financial year. 

The purpose of the statement was to provide transparency with regard to the Council’s approach to setting the pay of its employees by identifying;

·       the methods by which salaries of all employees were determined;

·       the detail and level of remuneration of the most senior staff i.e. ‘chief officers’, as defined by the relevant legislation; and

·       the Committee(s) responsible for ensuring the provisions set out in this statement were applied consistently throughout the Council and for recommending any amendments to the full Council.

The Council’s pay and grading structure comprised grades 1 – 11. These were followed by grades for Managers, Assistant Director 1, Assistant Director 2, the Director of Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS), Executive Director, Deputy Chief Executive and then Chief Executive; all of which arose following the introduction of shared services between Bromsgrove District and Redditch Borough Councils.

Within each grade, there were a number of salary scale points. Up to and including grade 11 scale, at spinal column point 43, the Council used the nationally negotiated pay spine. Salary points above this were locally determined.  All Council posts were allocated to a grade within this pay structure, based on the application of a Job Evaluation process. Posts at the level of Managers and above were evaluated by an external assessor using the Hay Job Evaluation scheme.  As with the majority of authorities, the Council was committed to the Local Government Employers’ national pay bargaining framework in respect of the national pay spine and annual cost of living increases negotiated with the trade unions.

All other pay related allowances were the subject of either nationally or locally negotiated rates.  The Council was managed by a corporate leadership team who managed shared services across both Bromsgrove District and Redditch Borough Councils.  All of the senior officer posts listed had been job evaluated on this basis, with the salary costs for these posts split equally between both Councils.

The policy also set out:

·       The recruitment of Chief Officers

·       Additions to the salaries of Chief Officers (Members were informed that there was no performance related pay)

·       Termination payments

·       Advertisement/publicity of posts

The documentation within the main agenda pack reflected the current year’s pay structure agreed with the unions, as the national bargaining process for the current year had not yet concluded. The pay structure would be updated during the year to reflect the nationally agreed position once the national bargaining process had concluded and the new pay settlement was confirmed for April 2026 onwards.

As part of the national bargaining process the Council’s lowest pay level would always meet the national  ...  view the full minutes text for item 103\25

This agenda has been published prior to the Cabinet meeting on 18^th February 2026; therefore the minutes of the Cabinet meeting will be published in a supplementary papers pack to this agenda.

The minutes from the Cabinet meeting held on 18th February 2026 were noted without comment.

This agenda has been published prior to the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee meeting on 17^th February 2026; therefore any recommendations made by the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee meeting will be published in a supplementary papers pack to this agenda.

Council considered recommendations arising from the meeting of the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee held on 17^th February 2026.

Capital Strategy 2026/27 Including Treasury Management Strategy

The Chair of the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee presented the report.

Members were advised that the meeting of the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee had taken place on 17^th February 2026 at which recommendations had been agreed for the consideration of Council. Whilst there had not been sufficient time to prepare the minutes of that meeting in time for Council, recommendations had been tabled for Members’ consideration.

Council was provided with an overview of capital expenditure, borrowing levels, prudential indicators and treasury risk management, and the impact upon the deliverance of public services.

The strategy set limits and indicators for risk management and the implications upon financial stability. It was noted that the strategy was set following consideration of the MTFP, the UK economic context and projected interest rates.

The treasury function managed cash flow into the local authority so that demands of expenditure could be met and resourced within the financial constraints in which the authority operated.

The CIPFA Code of Practice for Treasury Management in Public Services and the Prudential Code required local authorities to set the Treasury Management Strategy Statement and prudential indicators each financial year.

It was noted that the risk register had been considered by the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee, and had subsequently been updated to incorporate Development Control.

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor E. M. S. Gray and seconded by Councillor S. T. Nock.

RESOLVED that

1)    The Capital Strategy be approved as an appropriate overarching strategy for the Council;

2)    The Treasury Management Strategy 2026/27 and the associated Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) be approved;

3)    The Investment Strategy be approved.

To deal with any questions on notice from Members of the Council, in the order in which they have been received.

A period of up to 15 minutes is allocated for the asking and answering of questions.  This may be extended at the discretion of the Chairman with the agreement of the majority of those present.

The Chairman advised that there had been six Questions on Notice submitted for consideration at this meeting.

At the start of this item the Chairman agreed that Councillor S. Robinson’s question could be considered first at the meeting.

Question submitted by Councillor S. Robinson

“What is this Council doing to ensure that there is enough provision sought from developers for High School provision in Bromsgrove?”

The Leader responded by outlining that the Council was actively communicating with Worcestershire County Council as the local authority with the statutory responsibility for education provision. As part of the local plan consultation exercise, information relating to new educational provision had been provided by Worcestershire County Council. This response, alongside others, had been considered and had contributed to the draft local plan and the infrastructure development plan. These plans would be utilised to identify the scale and location of education provision necessary to support proposed development, and to meet demand. It was noted that County Councillors were aiming to propose a Task and Finish review of education provision through Worcestershire County Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Board.

Councillor S. Robinson subsequently asked a supplementary question which sought further information regarding consultation with stakeholders and individual schools.

The Leader responded by explaining that school capacity varied by locality and that data was being collated, however assurances were made that appropriate consultation would take place where appropriate, should the proposed establishment of the Task and Finish Group at Worcestershire County Council be approved.

Question submitted by Councillor S. Ammar

This question was withdrawn.

Question submitted by Councillor J. Clarke

“Can you give an update on the food waste collection service and whether all the other district/borough/city councils in Worcestershire will be collecting their food waste this year?”

Council was advised that the response would be sent to all Members in writing.

Question submitted by Councillor R. Hunter

“Are you concerned that communities in the town of Bromsgrove will be left with poorer services if Bromsgrove is the only town, apart from Redditch, in Worcestershire without a town council following reorganisation?”

The Leader responded by outlining that the Council had supported a two-unitary proposal as part of the local government reorganisation. She acknowledged that the structure of local government was very important to the District’s communities, particularly during a period of change. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill placed a duty on local authorities to ensure effective governance at neighbourhood level, however did not prescribe specific structures, although indicated that neighbourhood area committees could form part of the future neighbourhood governance landscape. It was highlighted that any future governance arrangements should ensure that residents were heard and given opportunities to interact with Councillors at a place-based level, which should reflect natural population centres and local identity to encourage both localism and community participation.

Councillor R. Hunter subsequently asked a supplementary question which sought further information about the feasibility of a Community Governance Review.

The Leader responded by outlining that the Council was waiting for further information from Central  ...  view the full minutes text for item 106\25

A period of up to one hour is allocated to consider the motions on notice.  This may only be extended with the agreement of the Council.

The Chairman highlighted that two Motions on Notice had been submitted for consideration at the Council meeting.

Flooring in Social Housing

Councillor R. Hunter presented the following Motion on Notice for Members’ consideration, in accordance with Procedure Rule 10.

“Council calls on Cabinet to ask officers to work with Bromsgrove District Housing Trust (BDHT) and central government to explore opportunities to end the practice of letting social housing without adequate flooring in Bromsgrove. This will include exploring whether BDC and its successor authority can be included in the national working group and pilot.”

In presenting the motion, Councillor R. Hunter noted that it was not a mandatory requirement for floor coverings to be provided as part of a tenancy agreement. It was highlighted that the Government had recently published an updated Decent Homes Standard which set out that a national working group and pilot would take place to consider the matter of funded flooring for social housing tenants.

The motion was proposed by Councillor R. Hunter and seconded by Councillor S. Ammar.

In seconding the motion, Councillor S. Ammar acknowledged that this matter was of importance to those living in the District with enhanced vulnerabilities and those with less than average disposable incomes.

The Cabinet Member for Planning, Licensing and WRS, outlined that a meeting was due to take place with BDHT, in consultation with Councillor R. Hunter to discuss the matter and provided assurances that he supported the motion in principle.

Members subsequently debated the motion and agreed that they supported the motion and outlined that finished flooring, in most circumstances, was necessary to provide a safe, comfortable and warm home.

In summing up Councillor R. Hunter thanked Members for supporting the motion and stressed the importance of a safe, secure and appropriate home to support the wellbeing of tenants.

RESOLVED that

“Council calls on Cabinet to ask officers to work with Bromsgrove District Housing Trust (BDHT) and central government to explore opportunities to end the practice of letting social housing without adequate flooring in Bromsgrove. This will include exploring whether BDC and its successor authority can be included in the national working group and pilot.”

Production of a Business Prospectus

Councillor S. Ammar presented the following Motion on Notice for Members’ consideration, in accordance with Procedure Rule 10.

‘’Council understands the importance of attracting small and medium businesses and helping them grow and thrive in our area.

Council asks the Cabinet to consider producing a concise Business Prospectus bringing together useful information about available grants, incentives, guidance, and clear signposting of business opportunities in the north of the County. This will be a single market-ready document to be distributed across Bromsgrove and subject to agreement from Redditch Borough Council and Wyre Forest District Council across North Worcestershire. This document would be made available at Council offices and published digitally on the Council’s website.

The Business Prospectus will act as a springboard to establish the new local authority as a champion of local small and medium businesses. It will  ...  view the full minutes text for item 107\25

There was no urgent business for consideration on this occasion.