New Forest District Council

Cabinet approved the quarter 4 and annual corporate plan performance reports, complaints report, provisional 2025/26 financial outturn, housing compliance report, and strategic asset management actions. The meeting highlighted pressures from local government reorganisation, increasing complaints linked to the waste rollout, the need to protect housing and corporate asset compliance, and careful use of surplus funds to support staff retention and reduce financing costs. It also confirmed progress on public toilet refurbishment and community asset transfers, with procurement and legal complexity noted as key delivery risks.

The panel considered performance, complaints, financial monitoring, commercial and residential property investment, the strategic asset management plan, LGR readiness, and PMO governance. Procurement-relevant discussion centred on a likely £2m public conveniences replacement/refurbishment programme, ongoing asset-transfer due diligence, a future strategic partner for the Hampshire-wide LGR programme, and the need to staff and govern a large portfolio of transformation projects. The meeting also recorded a healthy outturn with a proposed staff retention reserve and ongoing work to manage property and regulatory services risk ahead of reorganisation.

The committee reviewed a revised Licensing Act policy due for its five-yearly update and agreed unanimously to take it out for public consultation from July to September 2026. Discussion focused on relatively minor amendments, including hypnotism, film classification, safeguarding, and equality/diversity wording, plus the need for consistency with national guidance and other Hampshire councils. Members also raised continuity of policy during local government reorganisation and confirmed the existing approach should remain valid in the interim.

The meeting focused heavily on the waste and recycling phase three rollout, including depot upgrades, route optimisation, staffing, customer contact volumes, missed collections, and service complaints from members. Members also reviewed delivery of UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Rural England Prosperity Fund projects, with discussion of continued economic and community benefits and uncertainty over future funding. The panel considered Q4 KPIs and target refreshes, especially fly tipping, recycling performance, housing-related indicators, and communications/enforcement improvements. A separate portfolio update covered economic development, business engagement, skills delivery, and neighbourhood planning.

The panel focused heavily on housing service performance, tenant feedback, complaints, and compliance. Key themes were improving repairs and complaint handling, maintaining high compliance on fire, asbestos and stock condition checks, and using tenant engagement and new digital systems to improve communication. Members also discussed the housing asset/garage strategy, EPC improvement costs, and the ongoing impact of local government reorganisation on housing services and tenant voice.

The committee mainly considered workforce and employment matters. Key topics were recruitment and staff support, an annual market supplement review linked to waste service expansion, policy updates driven by the Employment Rights Act 2025/2027, sickness absence and wellbeing trends, and health and safety performance including a proposed five-year audit framework. Several items were policy notes rather than spending decisions, but the transcript shows clear operational pressure from waste rollout staffing and related HR, attendance and safety impacts.