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Annual General Meeting, Full Council - Thursday, 22nd May, 2025 1.00 pm
May 22, 2025 Full Council View on council website Watch video of meetingSummary
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At the Full Council meeting on 22 May 2025, Lancashire County Council elected Councillor Alf Clempson as Chairman and Councillor Lee Hutchinson as Vice-Chairman. The council also re-elected Councillor Stephen Atkinson as Leader of the County Council, who then announced his cabinet. Councillors approved the Constitution of the County Council for 2025/26 and the membership of various committees, as well as appointments to outside bodies including the Lancashire Combined Fire Authority.
Election of Council Leader and Cabinet Appointments
Councillor Stephen Atkinson was re-elected as Leader of the County Council. Following his re-election, Councillor Atkinson announced the members of his cabinet:
- Councillor Simon Evans - Deputy Leader of the Council & Cabinet Member for Children and Families
- Councillor Ged Mirfin - Resources, HR and Property
- Councillor Graham Dalton - Adult Social Care
- Councillor Daniel Matchett - Health and Wellbeing
- Councillor Matthew Salter - Education and Skills
- Councillor Brian Moore - Economic Development and Growth
- Councillor Warren Goldsworthy - Highways and Transport
- Councillor Joshua Roberts - Rural Affairs, Environment and Communities
- Councillor David Dwyer - Data, Technology, Customer and Efficiency
Committee Membership and Chairs
The council approved the constitution and membership of its committees for 2025/26, ensuring that the makeup of each committee reflects the proportions of seats held by each political group, in accordance with the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. The appointed chairs and deputy chairs are:
- Regulatory: Councillor Ian Duxbury, Chair; Councillor Graeme Austin, Deputy Chair
- Development Control: Councillor Simon Gummer, Chair; Councillor Thomas Lord, Deputy Chair
- Audit Risk and Governance: Councillor Hannah Whalley, Chair; Councillor Richard Edwards, Deputy Chair
- Pension Fund: Councillor David Shaw, Chair; Councillor Clive Balchin, Deputy Chair
- Health and Adult Services Scrutiny: Councillor Nigel Swales, Chair; Councillor Hamish Mills, Deputy Chair
- Children Families and Skills Scrutiny: Councillor Joanne Ash, Chair; Councillor Michael Lavalette, Deputy Chair
- Environment, Economic Growth and Transport Scrutiny: Councillor Mark Poulton, Chair; Councillor Ella Worthington, Deputy Chair
- Community, Cultural and Corporate Services Scrutiny: Councillor Shaun Crimmins, Chair; Councillor Simon Gummer, Deputy Chair
- Scrutiny Management Board: Councillor Mark Poulton, Chair; Councillor Joanne Ash, Deputy Chair
- Urgency: Councillor Stephen Atkinson, Chair; Councillor Simon Evans, Deputy Chair
- Employment: Councillor Stephen Atkinson, Chair; Councillor Simon Evans, Deputy Chair
- Conduct: Councillor Thomas Lord, Chair; Councillor Joanne Ash, Deputy Chair
- Health and Wellbeing Board: Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, Chair; Non-LCC appointment, Deputy Chair
- Political Governance Working Group: Councillor Ged Mirfin, Chair; None, Deputy Chair
Lancashire Combined County Authority Appointments
The council appointed its representatives and substitute members to the Lancashire Combined County Authority. Councillor Stephen Atkinson and Councillor Simon Evans were appointed as the two representatives, with Councillor Ged Mirfin and Councillor David Dwyer as reserves.
The political balance on the Combined County Authority Committees was also determined:
| Committee | Reform | Progressive | Conservative | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lancashire Audit | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Lancashire Scrutiny | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
Nominations from the Reform, Progressive, and Conservative groups are to be provided to the Monitoring Officer.
Appointments to Outside Bodies
The council approved appointments to various outside bodies, including:
- Lancashire Combined Fire Authority: 19 members were appointed based on political proportionality.
- Police and Crime Panel for Lancashire: Councillor Joanne Ash was appointed, with Councillor Ged Mirfin as the reserve.
- Local Government Association (LGA):
- General Assembly: Councillors Stephen Atkinson, Simon Evans, Ged Mirfin, and Azhar Ali will represent the council. Councillor Atkinson will carry the council's 12 votes.
- Coastal Issues: Councillor Alice Jones
- Nuclear Legacy Advisory Forum: Councillor Josh Roberts
- Rural Services Network: Councillor Ged Mirfin
- County Councils Network: Councillors Stephen Atkinson, Simon Evans, Ged Mirfin, and Gina Dowding
- North Western Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority: Councillors Alice Jones and David Shaw
Constitution of the County Council 2025/26
The council approved the Constitution of the County Council for the year 2025/26, noting the changes made since the 2024 Annual General Meeting. The Political Governance Working Group will convene to consider any proposals for further changes following the election.
Reports from Committees
The council noted the reports from various committees, including:
- Cabinet
- Urgency Committee
- Audit, Risk and Governance Committee
- Employment Committee
- Pension Fund Committee
- Overview and Scrutiny Committees
- Lancashire Health and Wellbeing Board
- Lancashire Combined Fire Authority
Other Business
The council confirmed the minutes from the meetings held on 13 March 2025. The Chairman announced the retirement of Dr James Adeley, His Majesty's Senior Coroner for Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen, after 20 years of service.
Delegated decisions linked to this meeting
Decision summaries below are AI-generated from the council’s published record. Check the council source or the full decision page before relying on them.
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The Urgency Committee
Recommendations Approved...the recommendations to note the report of the Urgency Committee, which detailed urgent decisions regarding substitute members for the Lancashire Combined County Authority, committee and outside body appointments, and the appointment of an Interim Director of Finance and Section 151 Officer, were approved.
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Appointment of Vice-Chairman
Recommendations Approved -
Lancashire Combined County Authority - Appointment of County Council Representatives for 2025/26
Recommendations Approved...to ensure the county council's representation and participation in the Lancashire Combined County Authority for 2025/26, they approved the appointment of representatives and substitute members, and authorized the Director of Law and Governance to approve representatives for the Scrutiny and Audit Committees, with the ability to make necessary changes before May 2026.
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Appointments to Outside Bodies
Recommendations Approved...to approve the appointment of county council representatives to various outside bodies, including the Lancashire Combined Fire Authority, the Police and Crime Panel for Lancashire, the Local Government Association's General Assembly, Boards and Special Interest Groups, the County Councils Network, and the North Western Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority.
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Constitution of the County Council 2025/26
Recommendations Approved...to approve the Constitution of the County Council for the year 2025/26, noting the changes made since the Annual General Meeting in 2024, and to agree to convene the Political Governance Working Group to consider any proposals for changes to the constitution following the election.
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Membership of Committees and Related Appointments 2025/26
Recommendations Approved...they approved the constitution, membership, and appointments of Chairs and Deputy Chairs for the county council's committees for the 2025/26 municipal year.
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Report of the Returning Officer - Persons Elected County Councillor on 1 May 2025
Recommendations Approved...to note the persons elected as county councillors on 1 May 2025, as presented in the Returning Officer's report.
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The Lancashire Health and Wellbeing Board
Recommendations Approved...the Full Council approved the recommendations from the Lancashire Health and Wellbeing Board report.
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Report of the Lancashire Combined Fire Authority
Recommendations Approved...to note the report of the Lancashire Combined Fire Authority meeting held on 28 April 2025, which included updates on the Chair's welcome, member champion activity, operational incidents of interest, and other relevant information.
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The Overview and Scrutiny Committees
Recommendations Approved...the recommendations from the Overview and Scrutiny Committees' reports, covering topics such as SEND inspection outcomes, flood risk management, public rights of way, road safety, engagement and co-production, and dental services, were approved.
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The Employment Committee
Recommendations Approved...to note the report of the Employment Committee from its meeting held on 4 March 2025, which included decisions regarding the secondment of the Chief Executive, statutory officer vacancies, and remuneration policies for the Local Pensions Partnership.
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The Pension Fund Committee
Recommendations Approved...to note the report of the Pension Fund Committee from its meeting held on 7 March 2025, where the committee approved the Lancashire County Pension Fund budget for the year ended 31 March 2026, a revised Responsible Investment Policy, the 2025/26 Training Plan, and other matters related to the Pension Fund.
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The Audit, Risk and Governance Committee
Recommendations Approved...to approve the recommendations from the Audit, Risk and Governance Committee meeting held on 24 March 2025, including noting several reports and approving the Internal Audit Annual Plan for 2025/26, the draft Annual Governance Statement for 2024/25, the updated Corporate Risk and Opportunity Register, and recommending the Code of Corporate Governance for 2025/26 for approval.
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Report of the Cabinet (Part B)
Recommendations Approved...to note the report of the Cabinet from its recent meetings on 5 March 2025 and 20 March 2025.
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Election of Leader of the County Council
Recommendations Approved -
Election of Chairman
Recommendations Approved
Attendees
Topics
No topics have been identified for this meeting yet.
Meeting Documents
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