Subscribe to updates

You'll receive weekly summaries about South Holland Council every week.

If you have any requests or comments please let us know at community@opencouncil.network. We can also provide custom updates on particular topics across councils.

Policy Development Panel - Tuesday, 2nd June, 2026 6.30 pm

June 2, 2026 at 6:30 pm Policy Development Panel View on council website

Chat with this meeting

Subscribe to our professional plan to ask questions about this meeting.

“What new policies will be debated?”

Subscribe to chat
AI Generated

Summary

Open Council Network is an independent organisation. We report on South Holland and are not the council. About us

The Policy Development Panel of South Holland Council met on Tuesday 2 June 2026 to discuss a range of policy matters, including proposed changes to strategy and policy review processes in light of Local Government Reorganisation, the final report of the Derelict and Untidy Sites Task Group, and a review of HR policies. The panel also considered updates to various council registers and its own work programme.

Strategy / Policy Review and Development in Lead up to Local Government Reorganisation

The panel was scheduled to consider an approach to future strategy and policy review and development in the lead-up to Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). The report proposed a refined and proportionate approach to managing the council's strategies and policies during the transition period, which is anticipated to conclude by 2028. The proposal focused on policies outside the Council's Policy Framework, suggesting that minor or non-material amendments, and consequential amendments due to legislative changes, could be delegated to Service Directors in consultation with the relevant Portfolio Holder and Monitoring Officer. This approach aimed to maintain strong governance while freeing up capacity to focus on LGR.

Final Report of the Derelict and Untidy Sites Task Group

Consideration was scheduled for the Final Report of the Derelict and Untidy Sites Task Group. This task group had been established to assess the effectiveness of the Derelict and Untidy Sites Policy, introduced in 2022, which aimed to address unsightly and neglected properties. Concerns had been raised about the policy's effectiveness, potential duplication of existing statutory powers, and a lack of demonstrable outcomes. The task group was expected to recommend whether the policy should be retired, retained, or repurposed as an informative document.

Review of HR Policies

The panel was asked to provide its views on proposed HR policies prior to their submission to the Council. These policies had been developed by Public Sector Partnership Services (PSPS) and reviewed by a Readers' Panel comprising officers and trade union representatives. The report indicated that the policies were considered practical to implement operationally. The review included new policies on Fixed-term Contracts and Secondments, Housing Competence and Conduct, and a Housing Code of Conduct, as well as amendments to existing policies on Learning & Development, Managing and Supporting Change, Probation, and Recruitment.

SHDC Policy Register & SELCP Policy Register

The panel was scheduled to note the South Holland District Council (SHDC) Policy Register and the South and East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership (SELCP) Policy Register. These registers provide an overview of the council's policies, their approval dates, review cycles, and current status.

Key Decision Plan

The panel was scheduled to note the current Key Decision Plan. This plan outlines key decisions that the council is likely to make over the next twelve months, detailing the purpose of the decision, consultees, supporting documents, likely decision-makers, and officer contact information.

Policy Development Panel Work Programme

The panel was set to review its Work Programme for 2026/27, which included a calendar of future meeting items and details of ongoing task groups. This agenda item provided an opportunity for members to propose new items for discussion and monitor the progress of existing work streams.

Tracking of Recommendations

The panel was scheduled to consider responses from the Cabinet to reports previously submitted by the Panel.

Actions

An update was scheduled on actions that arose from the previous Policy Development Panel meeting on 21 April 2026, and the tracking of outstanding actions.

Items Referred from the Performance Monitoring Panel

The panel was to consider any items that had been referred from the Performance Monitoring Panel.

Strategy / Policy Review and Development

The panel was to consider an approach to future strategy and policy review and development in the lead-up to Local Government Reorganisation. The report proposed a refined and proportionate approach to managing the council's strategies and policies during the transition period to 2028.

Debt Write Off Policy

The panel was scheduled to review the Debt Write Off Policy. This item was to be considered in conjunction with an exempt session item.

Any Other Items Which the Chairman Decides Are Urgent

This item allowed for the consideration of any urgent matters that the Chairman deemed necessary to bring before the panel.

The meeting also included standard procedural items such as apologies for absence, the signing of previous minutes, and declarations of interest. A portion of the meeting was also scheduled to be held in private to consider exempt information.

Attendees

Profile image for Councillor David Ashby
Councillor David Ashby Spalding St Mary's
Profile image for Councillor Paul Barnes
Councillor Paul Barnes Leader of the South Holland Independents Group Fleet
Profile image for Councillor Allan C Beal
Councillor Allan C Beal Whaplode and Holbeach St Johns
Profile image for Councillor Sam Chauhan
Councillor Sam Chauhan Spalding Monkshouse
Profile image for Councillor Robert A Gibson
Councillor Robert A Gibson Leader of the Reform UK South Holland Group Spalding St Paul's
Profile image for Councillor Manzur Hasan
Councillor Manzur Hasan Spalding St John's
Profile image for Councillor Jo Reynolds
Councillor Jo Reynolds Vice-Chairman of the Council; Children's Champion Gedney
Profile image for Councillor Mark Le Sage
Councillor Mark Le Sage Spalding St Mary's
Profile image for Councillor Jan Whitbourn
Councillor Jan Whitbourn Armed Forces Champion, Vice-Chairman of the Council Spalding Wygate
Profile image for Councillor Andrew Robert Woolf
Councillor Andrew Robert Woolf Chairman of the Council Moulton, Weston and Cowbit

Topics

Housing Competence and Conduct Derelict and Untidy Sites Policy Housing Code of Conduct Learning & Development Managing and Supporting Change Probation Debt Write Off Policy Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) Derelict and Untidy Sites Task Group South and East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership (SELCP) HR policies Recruitment Public Sector Partnership Services (PSPS) South Holland District Council South Holland District Council (SHDC) Policy Register South and East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership (SELCP) Policy Register Fixed-term Contracts and Secondments Key Decision Plan

Meeting Documents

Agenda

Agenda frontsheet 02nd-Jun-2026 18.30 Policy Development Panel.pdf

Reports Pack

Public reports pack 02nd-Jun-2026 18.30 Policy Development Panel.pdf

Additional Documents

PDP actions 21 April 2026.pdf
Market Emergency Procedures for SELCP Staff V1.0. PDF.pdf
11 May 2026 Key Decision Plan.pdf
20260413101252_007336_0019239_FinalCoveringReportDerelictandUntidySitesMarch2026.pdf
20260413101252_007374_0019240_TaskGroupFinalReport.pdf
Policy Register -SHDC.pdf
Partnership Policy and Strategy Register.pdf
Appendix A for Strategy Policy Review and Development.pdf
Strategy Policy Review and Development.pdf
Review of HR Policies.pdf
Appendix A for Employee Policies.pdf
Appendix D for Employee Policies.pdf
Appendix B for Employee Policies.pdf
Appendix E for Employee Policies.pdf
PDPWorkProgramme2June2026.pdf
PDPWorkProgrammeAppendix2.pdf
PDPWorkprogrammeAppendix1.pdf
Appendix C for Employee Policies.pdf
Minutes.pdf