Agenda and decisions

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Executive held on 21 May 2026 and of the extraordinary meeting of Executive on 11 June 2026.

To remind Members of the need to record the existence and nature of any personal, disclosable pecuniary or other registrable interests in items on the agenda, in accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct.

Members of the Executive to answer questions submitted by members of the public in accordance with the Executive Procedure Rules contained in the Council’s Constitution.

Councillors or Members of the public may present any petition which they have received. These will normally be referred to the appropriate Committee without discussion.

Purpose: to provide a provisional report on the financial performance of the Council’s Revenue and Capital year-end for the 2025/26 financial year. The report also indicates the provisional impact on the Council’s General Fund as at year-end.

Resolved that: Executive is informed of the following:

Revenue:

·         The Provisional Revenue Outturn is +£9.4m/ 5.1% adverse to Budget (Budget £183.4m, Provisional Revenue Outturn £192.9m). Several year-end adjustments are required to the Provisional Revenue Outturn because of specific reserve related transactions and obligations noted below. As a result of these adjustments, the Adjusted Provisional Revenue Outturn (the key Revenue outturn metric) is +£5.5m/ 3.0% adverse to Budget (Budget £183.4m, Adjusted Provisional Revenue Outturn £188.9m). The Adjusted Provisional Revenue Outturn is -£3.0m/ 1.7% favourable compared to the Q3 forecasts, (Q3 Outturn £192.0m, Adjusted Provisional Revenue Outturn £188.9m). Note: all values in this report are pre IFRS 16 (lease) adjustment – the impact of which is not expected to be material. The material year end adjustments are as follows:

o   A Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) overspend of +£8.8m. The overspend is subject to a statutory override, enabling the Council to transfer this overspend to a separate reserve, thereby protecting the Council’s General Fund. The DSG overspend was -£5m favourable vs the Budget. The year-end cumulative DSG reserve balance is £25m.

o   A Public Health Grant underspend of -£358k. Public Health funds are ringfenced and cannot be deployed in support of the Council’s General Fund position. This adjustment is required to transfer this value to the Public Health reserve.

o   A Capital Financing & Management Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) adjustment of -£5.1m. MRP is a statutory capital financing adjustment between the General Fund and unusable reserves relating to the provision for the repayment of capital debt.

·         In accordance with the Council’s policy on the use of flexible capital receipts, £4.3m of capital receipts has been applied to transformation expenditure in both the Provisional Revenue Outturn and Adjusted Provisional Revenue Outturn.

Capital:

·         The Provisional Capital Outturn is £44.2m of expenditure against an approved expenditure programme of £60.9m. Of the £44.2m capital expenditure incurred, £15.0m was funded by the Council. The remaining £29.2m was financed from external sources, primarily grants, the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and Section 106 contributions.

·         Reprofiling planned capital expenditure between 2025/26 and 2026/27 results in an adjusted net underspend of £3.1m/ 5.1% against budget. The reprofiling adjustments are as follows:

o   £14.3m of planned expenditure to be reprofiled into financial years 2026/27 and 2027/28 – see Appendix A.

o    £0.7m of funding proposed to be brought forward from approved expenditure from financial year 2026/27 into financial year 2025/26 – see Appendix B.

·         The impact of required capital financing on the Council’s Capital Financing Requirement (CFR) and liability benchmark which identifies the Council as a long-term borrower of funding can be found in the 2025/26 Annual Treasury Management Review which is due at Governance Committee on 28 July 2026.

This decision is not subject to call in as:

·      Report is to note only

therefore it will be implemented immediately.

Purpose: to present the refreshed Council Strategy 2023-2027 for approval. The refreshed Strategy confirms the Council’s strategic priorities, outcomes and areas of focus.

Resolved that: Executive

·         Note and review the proposed refresh of the Council Strategy, as submitted in presentation format at Appendix A.

·         Consider and agree the proposed approach to the refresh of Council Strategy indicators, including the inclusion of Financial Resilience as an additional, crosscutting strategic priority.

This decision is not subject to call in as:

·      the item is due to be referred to Council for final approval.

therefore it will be implemented immediately.

Purpose: to provide assurance that the priority areas in the Council Strategy 2023-2027 are being managed effectively as at the end of the 2025/26 year, and where performance has fallen below the expected level, present information on the remedial action taken and the impact of that action.

Resolved that: Executive

·       Noted the progress made in delivering the Council Strategy Delivery Plan 2023-2027 priorities scheduled for this financial year.

·       Reviewed those areas where performance is below target i.e., reporting as ‘Red’ or ‘Amber, and note that the appropriate remedial action is in place.

This decision is not subject to call in as:

·     Report is to note only

therefore it will be implemented immediately.

Purpose: a Motion was submitted to Council on 16 October 2025 to request that the Council ‘commit to the installation of sprinklers or other Automatic Fire Suppression Systems in the Council’s own building stock when constructing new buildings, significant extensions and relevant refurbishment of existing buildings’.

This report notes the Motion and proposes an updated Automatic Fire Suppression Systems Policy and Procedure for consideration and approval by Executive

Resolved that: Executive

·       Is informed of the Motion on AFSS.

·       Recognises the importance of sprinklers and other Automatic Fire Suppression Systems (AFSS) to save lives, protect property, reduce the impact of fire on the environment, reduce interruption to business and improve safety for individuals in the community in general and firefighters.

·       Approves the update to the Automatic Fire Suppression (AFSS) Policy and Procedure as detailed in Appendix B.

This decision is eligible to be ‘called-in’.  However, if the decision has not been ‘called-in’ by 5.00pm on 10 July 2026, then it will be implemented.

Purpose: the report provides the Council’s management response to the findings and recommendations of the Project Management Task and Finish Group. It sets out where actions are already underway, where additional work is required, and how the Council will embed a more consistent, disciplined and capacity-led approach to managing projects.

Resolved that: Executive

·         Notes the findings of the Task and Finish Group.

·         Agrees the management response and proposed actions set out in Section 6.

·         Agrees that progress against the agreed actions is reported to Transformation and Corporate Programme Board and reviewed by Internal Audit within the timeframe suggested by the Task and Finish Group.

This decision is not subject to call in as:

·      the item has been considered by a Scrutiny Committee, or Scrutiny Task Group, or has been the subject of a review undertaken by another body within the preceding six months.

therefore it will be implemented immediately.

Purpose: the report seeks Executive support the establishment of a partnership among Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Swindon councils to develop a statutory Spatial Development Strategy for the Thames Valley.

Resolved to:

·       Approve the establishment of a partnership with the Berkshire unitary councils, Oxfordshire councils and Swindon Borough Council to develop a statutory Spatial Development Strategy (SDS) for the Thames Valley area.

·       Approve the proposed funding and resource allocations for the pre-inception programme, including agreement that Bracknell Forest Council will act as the accountable body for funds received/held on behalf of the partnership and will host any staff appointed for the Thames Valley SDS programme.

·       Agree the interim governance, monitoring and assurance arrangements set out in this report, including arrangements for the period before a statutory Strategic Planning Board/Spatial Planning Board (SPB) is established through secondary legislation.

·       Agree to the working arrangements for development of the SDS.

·       Delegate authority to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Monitoring Officer and Portfolio Holder for Planning and Housing to enter into the inter-authority agreement to establish the Partnership.

This decision is not subject to call in as:

·     a delay in implementing the decision could compromise the Council's position.

therefore it will be implemented immediately.

Purpose: the paper sets out West Berkshire’s overarching approach to prevention across children, families and adults.

Resolved that:

·       The Executive are informed of the whole system preventative approach set out in this report as the Council’s overarching framework for prevention across children, families and adults, recognising that detailed delivery, implementation and measurable outcomes will be governed through the aligned strategies, including the Children and Families System Strategy 2026–2030, the Family Help and Prevention Strategy 2026– 2029 and the Staying Strong – the Prevention offer for Adults 2026–2028.

This decision is not subject to call in as:

·     Report is to note only

therefore it will be implemented immediately.

Members of the Executive to answer questions submitted by Councillors in accordance with the Executive Procedure Rules contained in the Council’s Constitution.

Resolved that *

This decision is eligible to be ‘called-in’.  However, if the decision has not been ‘called-in’ by 5.00pm on *, then it will be implemented.

This decision is not subject to call in as:

·      the decision has previously been called-in.

·      the item has been considered by a Scrutiny Committee, or Scrutiny Task Group, or has been the subject of a review undertaken by another body within the preceding six months.

·      the item is due to be referred to Council for final approval.

·      the item is deemed as an Urgent Key Decision as set out in Rule 5.4.7 of the Constitution.

·      a delay in implementing the decision this would cause the Council serious financial implications or could compromise the Council's position.

·      Report is to note only

therefore it will be implemented immediately.