Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors K Horn and S Lambeth.

Under the Code of Conduct members are reminded that in declaring interests you should make clear the nature of that interest and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest, registerable interest or other interest.

There were no interests declared.

To receive questions from members of the public under rule no.10 of the Council Procedure Rules. The procedure rule provides that members of the public may ask any question on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties which affect the District, provided that three clear days’ notice in writing has been given to the Head of Legal and Support Services.

There were no public questions received.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 4 September 2025.

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 4 September 2025.

It was moved by Councillor R Morris, seconded by Councillor S Sheahan and

RESOLVED THAT:

The minutes of the meeting held on 4 September 2025 be approved as an accurate record of proceedings.

Report of the Chief Executive

Presented by the Leader of the Council

Councillor R Blunt, the Leader of the Council, presented the report, outlining the context, process, and rationale for the North City South proposal.

The Chief Executive provided the committee with a presentation of the proposal, including the structure of three new councils, alignment with devolution, neighbourhood partnerships and public engagement results.

Mr A Wood, from the Finance Team, Rutland County Council, was asked to present to the committee on the financial modelling, savings estimates, transition costs, council tax harmonisation, and sustainability model.

A member asked how the proposed ward sizes and neighbourhoods of 50,000 would maintain a sense of community, and how areas would be divided, especially near authority boundaries.

A member questioned how chief executive salaries would be set to avoid competition between the new councils for staff, and how to attract the right candidates. They also asked how terms and conditions would be aligned across the councils.

The Head of HR and Organisational Development advised that all staff except the Chief Executive would transfer on existing terms and conditions, and future structures would be designed to avoid competition between councils, with mirrored job descriptions and terms for senior roles.

A member raised concerns about ensuring member allowances are appropriate to attract quality candidates and reflect increased responsibilities. 

The Chief Executive clarified that member allowances would be determined by the new councils, with savings anticipated from reducing the number of councillors. It was also noted that increased responsibilities and spend for members would be considered in the new member allowance schemes.

A member commented on the challenge for parish councils that might be split between two neighbourhood areas, and the impact on their influence. 

The Chief Executive acknowledged the challenge with the intent to avoid splitting villages and to ensure neighbourhood areas were meaningful and manageable for both members and parish councils.

A member asked if the financial modelling for the North City South proposal could be directly compared to the County Council’s proposal, and whether the same input data and assumptions were used. He also questioned the predicted growth rates and their comparability. 

Mr A Wood confirmed that while the same baseline data was used, the North City South team would not model the county’s proposal due to time constraints and differing assumptions; each proposal’s assumptions would be transparent for comparison. He also indicated that growth rates and other metrics were based on agreed methodologies, but direct comparison with other models may be limited by different assumptions and calculation methods.

A member commented that not including a physical hub in each neighbourhood partnership would devalue the model and asked for cost estimates to include them. 

The Chief Executive advised that the model assumed one main customer service hub per main town, not one per neighbourhood partnership, but local staff would work in neighbourhoods using existing assets and drop-in points

A member asked about the rationale for expecting savings from intensive one-to-one preventative work with children and families, given its expense. 

Mr A Wood explained that national evidence showed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.