Here is a summary of the Hyndburn Council Cabinet meeting on 10 September 2025. The Cabinet approved grants for rough sleeping prevention, agreed to waive contract rules for homelessness software, noted the treasury management position, reviewed the revenue and capital budget, approved additional funding for decarbonisation, and received an update on the Wilson Leisure Centre project, which will be named after Cath Thom. Some items, including a discussion of a telecommunications mast and a lease, were discussed in private due to the commercially sensitive nature of the information.

Rough Sleeping Grants

The Cabinet approved the acceptance of £145,901 from the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery grant and £75,000 from the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme (RSAP) grant for 2025/26. The Cabinet also approved the following grants from the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant to continue support for people who are rough sleeping or at risk of rough sleeping:

• £20,000 to Stepping Stone Projects for the continuation of the A Bed Every Night project
• £28,576 to Stepping Stone Projects for the continuation of Step Forward Hyndburn
• £15,000 to Maundy Relief for the continuation of the emergency night shelter
• £31,000 to Maundy Relief for the continuation of the street navigator activities

An additional grant of £75,000 from the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme (RSAP) 2025 – 2026 was approved for Stepping Stone Projects to continue their support to occupants of 10 units of dispersed accommodation in the Borough, which is provided to help people who have been rough sleeping into longer term accommodation.

Councillor Melissa Fisher, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Housing and Regeneration, highlighted the increased funding available from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the overall approach to the issue which involved multiple stakeholders working to address the reasons for rough sleeping which were wider than simple access to housing matters.

Councillor Clare Pritchard reported that the Accrington Town Centre Group had already identified two rough sleepers and had referred these to Stepping Stone Projects. Councillor Kimberley Whitehead commented that the funding received could not tackle all of the factors involved and that additional welfare support would be required. Councillor Zak Khan welcomed the additional funding and suggested establishing links to help individuals return to work. Councillor Whitehead added that positive communications was one of the Council's priorities and that she was a member of the Street Angels group, which also had a role in identifying and supporting rough sleepers.

Councillor Munsif Dad BEM JP, Leader of the Council, applauded the work already being undertaken by Maundy Relief and Stepping Stone Projects.

The report noted that the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant programme replaced the former Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI) funding programme which had provided additional bed spaces for rough sleepers with tailored support including help with mental health problems, addiction services, tenancy support, and access to training and employment.

Procurement of Homelessness Software

The Cabinet agreed to waive the Council's Contract Procedure Rules in respect of the purchase of Locata Pro Homelessness, Prevention and Advice software from Locata (Housing Services) Ltd. They also delegated authority to the Head of Regeneration and Housing in consultation with the Executive Director (Legal and Democratic Services) to draw up, finalise and execute a contract with Locata (Housing Services) Ltd in respect of the purchase.

Councillor Melissa Fisher introduced the report, highlighting the contract duration, annual costs and that its purpose was to support the Housing Advice and Homelessness Team. Councillor Zak Khan asked whether any alternative systems had been considered, and Councillor Fisher referred him to the report, which explained why now was not an appropriate time to change the system being used.

The report noted that the introduction of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017(HRA) had placed new legal duties on local authorities and amended existing homelessness legislation set out in the Housing Act 1996. The HRA (enacted in 2018) placed prevention at the heart of homelessness service delivery and introduced new duties for local housing authorities to intervene earlier and work to prevent and relieve homelessness, regardless of whether or not households were in priority need.

The Council had entered into a contract with Locata (Housing Services) Ltd in 2018 for a 2 year term with an option to renew annually for a further 2 years, which had expired in April 2022, but the Council had continued to use this system on an out of contract annual fee with Locata (Housing Services) Ltd.

The report stated that the Council needed a homelessness management system on a daily basis to manage all homelessness casework, and that continuous software system support was essential to ensure continuity of service delivery, compliance with the requirements of the HRA and a tool which supported auditing of the service.

Treasury Management Update

The Cabinet noted the Treasury Management activities and position during the first quarter of 2025/26.

In the absence of Councillor Vanessa Alexander, Portfolio Holder for Resources and Council Operations, Councillor Munsif Dad BEM JP, Leader of the Council, introduced the report.

Councillor Zak Khan referred to the impending reorganisation of local government and asked how this might affect the Treasury Management Strategy, and in particular, if consideration was being given to bringing back investments into the Council's accessible finances in order to support its priority projects. Councillor Dad responded that local government reorganisation was going to occur and that in the interim the Controlling group of Hyndburn would continue to do all it could to benefit the residents of the Borough. Martin Dyson, Executive Director (Resources) clarified that outstanding debts (currently £9.6m, not including other long term liabilities) would transfer to the new unitary authority upon reorganisation, but Hyndburn had a comparatively low level of debt, which should not be a concern to its successor body.

Councillor Zak Khan noted that Hyndburn had done well to secure external funding and gain interest from its external investments, and asked whether there would be sufficient time to spend surplus resources, if the Council chose to do so. Councillors Whitehead, Fisher and Pritchard responded that preparation for reorganisation was a priority in the Corporate Strategy, that there was an asset management review under way and working groups would be set up to consider any relevant issues, and that unallocated reserves were just short of £2m, not the significantly higher figure quoted recently by one councillor in the press. Councillor Dad confirmed that the Council did not currently have surplus money to spend.

The report noted that the Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities required the Council to set Prudential Indicators annually for the forthcoming three years to demonstrate that the Council's capital investment plans were affordable, prudent, and sustainable, and that the Council had adopted its prudential indicators for 2025/26 at its meeting in February 2025.

The report also noted that the Council had appointed MUFG (formally Link Asset Services) as treasury adviser to the Council and part of their service was to assist the Council in formulating a view on interest rates, and that the latest forecast set out a view that both short and long-dated interest rates would start to fall, as inflation had fallen closer to the Bank of England's target of 2.00%.

Revenue Budget Monitoring

The Cabinet noted the report on the financial spending of the Council up to the end of June 2025 for the financial year 2025/26 and asked the Corporate Management Team to continue to monitor the financial position of the Council over the remaining months of the year. The Cabinet also noted the pressures and risks highlighted in the report and that regular updates would be provided on any potential impact on the current forecast underspend in year and the future Medium Term Financial Strategy.

In the absence of Councillor Vanessa Alexander, Councillor Munsif Dad BEM JP, Leader of the Council, introduced the report, highlighting the £5k forecast underspend and the main adverse variances, which were linked to ICT licenses and unrecoverable Housing Benefit claims. He reminded members that although Total Reserves were £21.751M, £19.787M was to support the capital programme and earmarked for future commitments, leaving the General Fund (Unalloated) Reserve as £1.964M.

The report noted that at the Full Council meeting on 27th February 2025, Council had agreed the General Fund Revenue Budget for 2025/26, which had set a budget for the Council's total spend in 2025/26 of £17.313M, and that the current forecast spend to the end of the financial year in March 2026 was £17.430M, providing a forecast underspend for the year against the budget to £0.005M.

The report also highlighted some real pressures and risks that needed to be considered that were not currently built into any financial forecasts, including:

• Waste Disposal Site/Transfer Station
• Oswaldtwistle Civic Theatre
• Crematorium/Cremators
• Food Waste Collections
• Hyndburn Leisure
• Housing Benefit Supported / Exempt Accommodation
• Pay Award

Capital Programme Monitoring

The Cabinet noted the financial position of the capital programme at Q1 2025/26 and agreed to increase the capital budget for 2025/26 by £500k to support decarbonisation initiatives, which will enable the installation of photovoltaic cells to the roof of the Market Hall.

In the absence of Councillor Vanessa Alexander, Councillor Munsif Dad BEM JP, Leader of the Council, introduced the report.

The report noted that at the Council meeting on the 27th February 2025, Members had approved a capital budget for 2025/26 of £2.726m, and that a further £23.236m had been added to this budget from rephased capital projects carried forward from 2024/25, of which £19.370m related to major projects, such as the Levelling Up funded schemes for Accrington town centre and the leisure estate investment programme.

The report also noted that Member approval had also been received to add a further £29.270m to the capital programme, of which £29.187m was for the scheme at Huncoat Garden Village, which was fully funded from external grants and capital receipts.

The report stated that the actual and committed expenditure to 30th June 2025 was £4.412m, against the latest rephased budget for 2025/26 of £34.353m, equating to 12.84% spend, and that £17.397m of budget had been rephased into 2026/27, and £3.815m into 2027/28, to reflect forecast expenditure in future years.

The report also highlighted the financial risks of the Capital Programme, including:

• Capital Receipts
• External Grants and Contributions
• Major Schemes in Capital Programme

Wilson Leisure Centre Development Project Update

The Cabinet noted the progress and expected completion date of the Wilson Leisure Centre development project as 19th September 2025. The Cabinet also noted the latest forecast additional costs of the project at £0.128m (1%) and agreed to cover any overspend from the £0.433m underspend in 2024/25, should it be needed to cover the final completion costs. Finally, the Cabinet approved the naming of the new Leisure Centre at the Wilson Sports Village site as The Cath Thom Leisure Centre in recognition of the former Councillor, Mayor and Honorary Alderman's service to the Council and Clayton le Moors Ward.

Councillor Melissa Fisher introduced the report including the proposed opening date, and the proposed new name for the Centre in memory of Cath Thom. Councillors Dad, Pritchard and Whitehead spoke about Cath Thom and noted that family members had been contacted and were delighted with the proposal. Councillor Pritchard also thanked Helen McCue-Melling, Regeneration and Property Manager, for her efforts to ensure that the venue had numerous facilities for users with a disability and was dementia friendly.

Councillor Zak Khan was pleased to see that the Centre was on track and that it had not been unduly affected by the original contractor, ISG, entering administration, but expressed some reservations about the Centre being named after a former politician rather than, say, a local sportsperson.

The report noted that works recommenced on the Wilson site with Universal Ltd the newly appointed construction contractor in early January 2025, and that the contract works were now approximately 22 weeks into the 32-week programme and over the next 10 weeks the key final works would be undertaken to achieve the final completion handover date of 19th September 2025, with a planned opening to the public on the 10th October 2025.

The report also noted that in January 2025, Cabinet had previously agreed to accept a further £240,000 from Sport England to increase the development budget to £12.929m and restart the works by appointing the Universal Group to complete the project.

The report described Cath Thom as the matriarch of the Labour party in Clayton-le-Moors and an elder stateswoman of the Boroughwho was an impossible act to follow," and that it was felt that it would be a fitting tribute to name the new Leisure centre in Clayton-le-Moors after one of the residents who served the Council so well.

Exclusion of the Public

The Cabinet excluded the public from the meeting during discussions of a new lease of Piggy Park, Devonshire Road, Rishton, and a report in relation to the lease of Piggy Park, Devonshire Road, Rishton, as well as a report on a telecommunications mast at Harvey Street Oswaldtwistle, because the items contained exempt information relating to financial or business affairs.