Agenda and minutes

In accordance with Standing Order 12.17, resolved to amend the order of business for the meeting to move Agenda Item 7 (Questions from Councillors) later on the agenda, after Agenda Item 9 (Our Council Plan).

Councillor Cheryl Barnard – leave

Councillor Nadia Farhat – personal

Councillor Faith Gakenje-Ajala – personal reasons

Councillor Sam Harris – unwell

Councillor Gul Khan – unwell

Councillor Salma Mumtaz – personal reasons

Councillor Nayab Patel – personal reasons

None

Council house tenancy agreements

A citizen asked the following question of the Executive Member for Housing and Planning:

Given that Nottingham City Council tenancy agreements do not currently include a clause requiring tenants to allow reasonable access for neighbours to maintain or repair property boundaries, and considering the negative impact of certain tenant behaviours, what steps is the council taking to address this gap in policy to prevent long-standing disputes and associated financial burdens? I would like to understand whether Nottingham City Council is willing to review its tenancy agreements to include a clause requiring tenants to allow reasonable access for boundary maintenance, and to implement clearer guidance or intervention procedures to address obstructive tenant behaviour that affects neighbours’ ability to maintain their properties?

Councillor Jay Hayes replied as follows:

Thank you, Lord Mayor, and thank you to the citizen for this question.  Nottingham City Council tenancy agreement has a clause relating to access to the property.  Tenants are required to provide access to inspect and to carry work out on the property. However, the clause does not specify that neighbouring property has access to maintain or repair property boundaries. Where an issue arises for two properties over boundaries, the Housing Service will work with all parties to resolve the issue.  While we do not have a specific wording for neighbours having access to boundary properties, we would welcome any suggestions relevant to the tenancy agreement and will put this to our Tenant Support Team although we cannot amend tenancy agreements for this year. Thank you.

Vape licensing

A citizen asked the following question of the Executive Member for Communities, Waste and Equalities:

Given the licensing requirements under the Retail and Distributor Licensing Framework for the Vape Sector of 2024, how many vape shops does the council think should be licensed between the Victoria Centre and Saint Andrews Church on Mansfield Road?

Councillor Corall Jenkins replied as follows:

Thank you Lord Mayor, and I would also like to thank the citizen for this question.  Under the said Act quoted by the citizen in their question, all retailers need to qualify for a license. In terms of how many vape shops the Council thinks should be licensed between the Victoria Centre and Saint Andrews Church, the Council cannot dictate how many there should be. What we can do is have Trading Standards carry out inspections and tests to ensure compliance with the licensing conditions that are met and maintained.  Thank you, Lord Mayor.

Supported housing

Citizens asked the following questions of the Leader of the Council/ Executive Member for Strategic Regeneration, Communications and Transport:

What steps are the Council taking to mitigate the potential closure of facilities operated via Framework Housing Association and/or Nottingham Community Housing Association, including consulting with residents ensuring the well-being of residents, the provision of care packages, agreeing timing and conducting an Equality Impact Assessment?

Is the Executive Member aware that the proposed cuts to supported housing grants will result in up to 92 of Nottingham’s most  ...  view the full minutes text for item 77.

Councillor Andrew Rule presented a petition on behalf of residents of Wilford and the wider Clifton West area asking the Council for yellow hatch-boxing over the crossroads in Wilford Village and the introduction of sequencing and a filter light to assist traffic turning into Wilford Village.

The minutes of the last meeting of Council held on 27 January 2025 were confirmed as an accurate record and signed by the Chair.

The Chief Executive made the following announcement:

I am pleased to welcome Sarah Nardone as the Council’s new permanent Corporate Director for Children and Education Services.  Sarah has nearly 25 years of experience in children’s services, having qualified as a social worker in 2001 and worked across a broad range of services.  Beyond her operational experience, she plays an active role in shaping national policy and practice development. Sarah has been working for the Council since June last year and following the departure of the previous Corporate Director in December she stepped into the role of Interim Corporate Director.  I wish her well in her permanent appointment to the role.

Report of the Executive member for Finance and Resources

Councillor Linda Woodings, Executive Member for Finance and Resources, proposed the report asking Council to approve decisions about the General Fund Revenue Budget, Capital Programme, Treasury Management and Capital Strategies, Council Tax and the Adult Social Care Precept, and implementation of the 2025/26 Council Tax Support Scheme that had been approved by Council in January 2025; upon consideration of the Section 151 Officer’s statutory statement made under Section 25 of the Local Government Act 2003 on the robustness of budget estimates and adequacy of reserves.  The report followed on from a series of reports submitted to Executive Board on development of the budget strategy and setting out a cumulative budget gap of £53.794m over the four year period of the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP), of which £20.793m relates to 2025/26 funded from Exceptional Financial Support (EFS).  The report noted that since the Executive Board meeting on 11 February 2025, changes to the draft Budget and Medium Term Financial Plan 2025/26 – 2028/29 had been made in relation to fees and charges income proposals, the impact of the Local Government Financial Settlement and the final Council Tax calculation including the precept authority elements.  The report was seconded by Councillor Neghat Khan.

Councillors debated the proposals including making the following points:

a)  The Council’s finances are stable but not yet sustainable.  The Council is committed to being on a stable financial footing, enabling the Council to deliver good services within its financial means.  There is a lot more work to do but the Council is moving in the right direction.

b)  There is now a more favourable forecast in terms of the budget gap, moving from a gap of £69m to £20.8m in 2025/26 and from £172m to £53.7m across the four years of the MTFP.  This is not sufficient to avoid a level of EFS but lots of progress has been made.  The Council’s leadership has been strengthened with a greater focus on accountability, and the Council is modernising the way it operates. 

c)  Executive Members and officers have worked hard to develop the proposed budget and MTFP, which involves difficult decisions but aims to reduce reliance on EFS in a sustainable way.

d)  It is acknowledged that challenging decisions have had to be made in the past.  Proposals for savings are more transformational than previously, and based on systemic benchmarking, learning from good practice and the benefit of external expertise assisting the Council on a short-term basis. 

e)  A higher level of contingency has been built in to the budget than previously, but it is hoped that it won’t need to be used.

f)  Savings made in previous years have had a significant impact on services and local communities and the Council should aim to restore some services when it is feasible to do so.

g)  The Equality Impact Assessment reflects that all protected groups will be impacted by proposals in the budget.

h)  In previous years there have been challenges in actually delivering what has been agreed.  It  ...  view the full minutes text for item 81.

Report of the Leader of the Council

Councillor Neghat Khan, Leader of the Council, proposed the report asking Council to approve the new Our Council Plan.  The Plan aims to inform residents, partners and stakeholders of the Council’s core missions and priorities from 2025 to 2029, setting out a clear purpose and direction for the Council that is deliverable, responds to need, is measurable and sets the framework for the rest of the Council’s business planning and the ‘golden thread’.  The report was seconded by Councillor Ethan Radford.

Resolved to:

(1)  approve the Our Council Plan 2025 to 2029; and

(2)  note that the Corporate Leadership Team will develop and recommend to the Executive a new annual Performance and Delivery Plan which will complement Our Council Plan with further detail around delivery targets and how the Council will measure performance against the new Core Missions and Priorities.

Budget consultation

Councillor David Mellen asked the following question of the Executive Member for Finance and Resources:

Now that the Budget Consultation for 2025/26 has closed, could the Executive Member for Finance and Resources confirm what responses were received from partners and members of the public?

Councillor Linda Woodings replied as follows:

Thank you Lord Mayor, and thank you Councillor Mellen for your question.  We received 612 submissions to this year’s budget consultation: 594 from residents, about 40 of whom live outside the city boundary, and we also received 162 responses from employees of the City Council. The full findings and analysis of that survey are in the appendix of the Council’s budget papers today. Broadly, a majority of residents who responded were supportive of the budget savings proposed. They were very different to the savings we had to put forward last year, transformational in nature. Myself and other councillors also attended nine budget consultation meetings with different groups, both ones formally organized and separate to the formal meetings as well with certain groups.  I have to say the majority of concerns raised about this year’s budget proposals were about the digital resident experience and I do understand that. Groups, including the Disability Involvement Group raised concerns about accessibility for citizens with disabilities and also those who don’t have the internet at home, and either don’t have a smartphone, or have one but are not confident in using them. The aim of this proposal is to automate, for those citizens who are able, access to the Council and its services. However, I was able to assure them that we are committed to ensuring that those people that don’t have this access can still call up the Council and be answered by a person.  Thank you.

International Women’s Day

Councillor Sarita-Marie Rehman-Wall asked the following question of the Executive Member for Communities, Waste and Equalities:

As International Women’s Day takes place on 8^th March, can the Executive Member for Communities, Waste and Equalities detail what the Council is doing to support women to achieve their potential and challenge misogyny?

Councillor Corall Jenkins replied as follows:

Thank you Lord Mayor, and thank you for this question, Councillor Rehman-Wall.

Like many organisations and councils, the theme this year is ‘accelerated action’. Accelerated action calls on suppliers of gender equality to act against systematic barriers to women from all backgrounds that they face in their personal and professional environment. In Nottingham we have a number of events and activities taking place in the build-up to National Women’s Day starting from 5 March through to 11 March. There will be network events, speed mentoring sessions, the Nottingham Women’s Centre event will be on celebrating, on 8 March will be a day of activity at the library, lights up at the Council House, and we will also have banners up. On 11 March there will be an inspiring female entrepreneur day at the library. Details of all these events have been sent to you  ...  view the full minutes text for item 83.

Report of the Chair of the Appointments and Conditions of Service Committee

Councillor Helen Kalsi, Chair of the Appointments and Conditions of Service Committee, proposed the report introducing the Council’s Pay Policy Statement for 2025/26, as required by the Localism Act 2011.  The Statement presents information on pay and conditions for Chief Officers in comparison with the bulk of the workforce employed on ‘Local Government Services’ terms and conditions.  The report was seconded by Councillor Steve Battlemuch.

Resolved to approve the Council’s Pay Policy Statement for 2025/26.

Report of the Executive Member for Skills, Growth and Economic Development

Councillor Ethan Radford, Executive Member for Skills, Growth and Economic Development, proposed the report outlining the key stages involved in the renewal of the Nottingham Business Improvement District (trading as It’s In Nottingham) and seeking approval from Council to delegate authority to the Corporate Director for Growth and City Development to receive and consider BID renewal proposals; enter into an Operating Agreement with the BID Company; and nominate the Executive Member for Skills, Growth and Economic Development to hold the proxy vote on behalf of the Council.  The report was seconded by Councillor Neghat Khan.

Resolved to:

(1)  authorise the Corporate Director for Growth and City Development, in accordance with the requirements of The Business Improvement Districts (England) Regulations 2004 (“the Regulations”), to:

(i)  receive the Nottingham BID renewal proposals from Nottingham BID Company Limited (“the BID Company”) on behalf of Nottingham City Council (“the Council”);

(ii)  consider the Nottingham BID renewal proposals to establish whether or not they are of the view that the proposals conflict with the Council’s policy, and if so to notify the BID Company of any such conflict;

(iii)  instruct the Council’s Returning Officer as Ballot Holder to hold a BID ballot for the proposed renewal of the Nottingham BID;

(iv)  in the event of a vote in favour of the Nottingham BID renewal proposals to consider whether any prescribed circumstances as defined in the Regulations apply and if so to decide whether or not to exercise a veto having regard to matters prescribed in the Regulations; and

(v)  in the event of a vote in favour of the Nottingham BID renewal proposals and subject to any veto, enter into an Operating Agreement under which the Council will collect the levies due on behalf of the Nottingham BID Company.

(2)  nominate the Executive Member for Skills, Growth and Economic Development to hold the proxy vote on behalf of the Council as an eligible levy payer in the BID ballot.

Report of the Leader of the Council

Councillor Neghat Khan, Leader of the Council, proposed the report asking Council to note that amendments had been made to the Constitution under delegated authority by the Director of Legal and Governance to reflect changes that she had made to Executive arrangements.  The report was seconded by Councillor Ethan Radford.

Resolved to note that:

(1)  Article 10 Executive Arrangements of the Constitution had been amended to reflect the decision of the Leader of the Council to change Executive delegations - removing reference to the Executive Member for Adult Social Care and Health, and adding the delegation of responsibility for matters relating to public health to the Executive Member for Housing and Planning and that the Leader of the Council/ Executive Member for Strategic Regeneration, Transport and Communications has responsibility for matters relating to adult social care; and

(2)  Governance Framework Document I – Executive Committee Appointments had been updated to reflect that, following the resignation of Councillor Pavlos Kotsonis as an Executive Member, Councillor Corall Jenkins has been appointed to replace him as a member of the Companies Governance Executive Committee and there is a vacant seat on the East Midlands Shared Services Joint Committee.

Report of the Leader of the Council

Councillor Neghat Khan. Leader of the Council, proposed the report informing Council that, since the last report to Council in January 2025, there had been one decision taken under the urgency provisions within the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules and no decisions taken under the special urgency provisions within the Access to Information Procedure Rules. The report was seconded by Councillor Ethan Radford.

Resolved to note that:

(1)  the following decision had been taken under urgency provisions within the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules (Article 11) of the Constitution since the last report to Council; and

(2)  no decisions had been taken under the special urgency provisions within the Access to Information Procedure Rules (Article 13) of the Constitution since the last report to Council.

To note the following changes to committee membership:

a)  Councillor Corall Jenkins has been appointed to replace Councillor Pavlos Kotsonis as a member of the Companies Governance Executive Committee.

b)  Councillor Jay Hayes has been appointed to replace Councillor Pavlos Kotsonis as a member of the Nottingham City Health and Wellbeing Board and the Integrated Care Partnership.

Resolved to note the following changes to committee membership:

(1)  Councillor Jay Hayes had been appointed to replace Councillor Pavlos Kotsonis as a member of the Nottingham City Health and Wellbeing Board and the Integrated Care Partnership.

1)  To agree to hold an Extraordinary Council meeting on Monday 17 March 2025 at 6pm.

2)  To agree to hold the Annual General Meeting on Monday 12 May 2025 at 2pm.

3)  To note the proposal to meet at 2pm on the following Mondays:

·  14 July 2025

·  8 September 2025

·  10 November 2025

·  12 January 2026

·  2 March 2026

Resolved to:

(1)  hold an Extraordinary Council meeting on Monday 17 March 2025 at 6:30pm;

(2)  hold the Annual General Meeting on Monday 12 May at 2pm; and

(3)  note the proposal to meet at 2pm on the following Mondays:

a.  14 July 2025

b.  8 September 2025

c.  10 November 2025

d.  12 January 2026

e.  2 March 2026