The Executive of Blackpool Council is scheduled to meet on 13 October 2025 to discuss financial performance, scrutiny review final reports, and central housing regeneration. The meeting will cover financial monitoring as of month four of the financial year, and will also address final reports from scrutiny reviews on council tax and anti-social behaviour. Additionally, the council is considering including council housing assets in the Central Housing Regeneration project.

Financial Performance and Medium-Term Financial Plan

The Executive will be provided with a report on the council's financial performance as of month 4 of 2025/26, including spending against revenue budgets, reserves, and balances. The report pack states that the Executive will note the report, and that directors, the chief executive, and the director of resources are required to monitor service financial and operational performances. The report includes an update on the Medium Term Financial Plan 2026/27 – 2028/29. The report pack states that the Executive will note that the Scrutiny Leadership Board will continue to independently review the financial and operational performances of council services, and that the council will continue to lobby central government for funding to cope with inflationary and demographic demands. The report pack states that the council is working towards target working balances of £8m by 1 April 2026. According to the report pack, local government finances across England are in a fragile state, with Blackpool experiencing significant funding cuts. The report pack states that despite savings made since 2010, local authorities do not have sufficient funding to deliver expected services, leading to potential section 114 notices¹ and cuts to local services. The report pack states that Blackpool Council has avoided the need for government support through effective financial planning, and that while the revenue budget overspent by £6.6m in 2024/25, this was managed through working balances. The report pack states that the principles of the Medium-Term Financial Sustainability Strategies 2016/17 - 2021/22 and 2021/22 - 2026/27 have been used to successfully deliver budget savings plans year after year, but that the soaring demand for child protection services and adult social care provision plus the rising costs of providing such care are still creating a burden that current levels of local taxation and Government funding struggle to meet. The report pack states that the council has started to prepare a new Medium-Term Financial Sustainability Strategy covering the period 2026/27 to 2028/29 and the anticipated Local Government Reorganisation. The report pack states that from 1 April 2025 the Revenues and Benefits service has transferred from Resources and Communications has transferred from Place both to the Chief Executive. The report pack states that working balances are expected to show a surplus position of £885k by the end of 2025/26 after taking account of the budgeted transfer of £6,900k to working balances at the start of the year. The report pack states that the main areas accounting for the month 4 forecast overspend of £6,524k for 2025/26 are in Growth and Prosperity, Children's Services, Budgets Outside the Cash Limit, Place, Adult Services, Resources and Strategic Leisure Assets. The report pack states that at month 4 Strategic Leisure Assets is forecasting a £1,338k pressure, and that as from 1 August 2025 a number of assets in the portfolio will revert to full council management. The report pack states that in accordance with the original decision for this programme by the Executive on 7 February 2011, any under or overspend on Strategic Leisure Assets will be transferred to an Earmarked Reserve. The report pack states that the latest Leisure Assets medium-term financial plan currently expects the service to break-even, in-year and cumulatively by 2034/35. The report pack states that in 2025/26 the Growth & Prosperity service is forecasting a £8,421k pressure which is made up of £6,418k from Growth & Prosperity Schemes and £2,003k from the Enterprise Zone. The report pack states that it was always anticipated that the building of infrastructure would create a deficit in the earlier years of the Enterprise Zone, and that investment in the Enterprise Zone is unlikely until all the necessary infrastructure is in place. The report pack states that Children's Social Care is forecasting an overspend against the budget of £4,559k, mainly due to new-to-care placements being higher than those exiting care and the additional support required following the breakdown of high-cost placements. The report pack states that the number of Children in Care currently sits at 530 children, which is estimated at 190 per 10,000 population of 0-17 year olds, and that the ambition is to bring this number in line with comparator Local Authorities over the next couple of years. The report pack states that the Childrens Commissioning Team have been fully utilising the Care Cubed system for negotiating uplifts with residential and semi-independent providers. The report pack states that the service has additionally seen a reduction in agency social work staff during the last 2-3 years, and that a refreshed Workforce Strategy, overseen by a Workforce Board, chaired monthly by the Director of Children's Services, has seen a reduction of agency staff to under 10% across the social care teams. The report pack states that Education is expected to be £894k overspent, mainly relating to Children's Transport Service due to demand pressures linked to Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) numbers and increased costs associated with the service. The report pack states that the Early Help for Children and Families service is expected to underspend by £200k due to staffing vacancies across the service. The report pack states that Parking is expecting a pressure in 2025/26 of £1,629k, dependent on the quality of the tourism season. The report pack states that Tourism and Communications is forecasting a £529k pressure, and that £250k of the overspend relates to Illuminations. The report pack states that Adult Commissioning Placements budget is forecasting an overspend of £674k, and that Homecare hours have increased overall by over 700 commissioned hours per week over the last 13 months resulting in a current reported overspend of £1,333k at period 4 against the expected trajectory, based on previous activity. The report pack states that Property Services are forecasting an overspend of £150k, pressures arising from Rent and Service Charge shortfalls owing to tenancy delays and capital works targets being offset in part due to savings on staffing and generation of additional income. The report pack states that the Public Health Directorate is responsible for several grants including the Public Health grant of £21,543,802, and that they also manage Energy Efficiency, Holiday Activity Funding, Changing Futures & Stop Smoking, which are all reporting a break-even position. The report pack states that as at 31 July 2025, 52% of the 2025/26 recurrent savings target has been delivered, and that the full-year forecast predicts that 74% will be achieved by the year-end.

Council Tax Scrutiny Review

The Executive will consider the Council Tax Scrutiny Review Final Report. The report pack states that Councillor Paul Galley, Chair of the Council Tax Scrutiny Review, has been invited to the Executive meeting to make representations on behalf of the Panel. The report pack states that the recommendations contained within the final report seek to deliver improvements to the work to collect Council Tax and communicate with residents its purpose. The report pack states that the Executive must consider the recommendations outlined in the Scrutiny Review but may accept them, reject them or vary them. The report pack states that the relevant Council priority is: The economy: Maximising growth and opportunity across Blackpool. The Council Tax Scrutiny Review Final Report, included in the report pack, states that Council Tax income accounts for approximately 36.9% of Blackpool Council's overall income, making it a vital component in funding local services. The Council Tax Scrutiny Review Final Report states that the review panel explored the relationship between geography and levels of arrears, identified patterns that impact collection rates across different areas, highlighted barriers between departments that may hinder effective Council Tax management, reviewed housing regeneration schemes and their impact on Council tax returns, and reviewed Council Tax fraud, looking at ways to reduce fraudulent activity. The Council Tax Scrutiny Review Final Report includes the following recommendations:

• Promote the results of the single person discount exercise with a strong approach to deterring future fraud and error through council communications, and consider how greater clarity of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme could be provided and how its purpose could be promoted more effectively.
• Support the 'invest to save' proposals in order to improve collection rates and reduce instances of Council Tax fraud and error, and explore all potential options in this respect.
• Request that all regeneration teams and schemes within the council give consideration to how the scheme being proposed might effectively increase Council Tax collection when the business case is put together, and that services should actively collaborate and share data across departments, with a particular emphasis on coordination with the Empty Property Team.
• Collect data regarding transience and collection rates at the properties in the new Grange Park development, Mereside and the Rigby Road Housing Scheme for consideration by the Panel in 12 months so that any further learning regarding Council Tax collection could be considered, and consider how to utilise the Central Housing Regeneration Phase 1 as a pilot in order to gather data regarding the current Council Tax picture in comparison to the picture in approximately five years once the development has been completed, and that the Income and Debt Strategy Group be requested to monitor this issue moving forward.
• Prioritise affordability checks and Council Tax registration for all tenancies, and undertake further cross-sector collaboration to monitor Council Tax arrears throughout the tenancy period, take a strong approach in ensuring the importance of paying Council Tax is highlighted to all new prospective Council tenants and tenants at My Blackpool Home, review current lettings affordability checks/assessments to ensure that all outgoings (including Council Tax) are taken into account in respect of overall affordability and that anyone with debts to the Council are encouraged to pay with links made with debtors, and provide additional support to tenants with regards to budgeting and payment of bills.
• Give thought to data, what data is collected, and how it is collected in order for it to be able to provide useful intelligence regarding collection of Council Tax in the future within data protection constraints, and also consider how this data can be shared across the Council and its wholly-owned companies.
• Improve communication with residents on the work the Council does for them with the Council Tax received, use a range of communication methods suitable for the different demographics across Blackpool and ensure all communication is simple and effective, consider the possibility of creating a link on the Council's website, similar to that provided by Torbay Council 'Your bill explained', to break down the Council Tax bill in user friendly terms, undertake a push on how to report fraud, utilise the Council's website to highlight the positive contribution of the Council Tax team and demonstrate how Council Tax collection supports and impacts various departments across the Council, and explore the feasibility of establishing a 'Residents Panel' to contribute to the development of an accessible version of the Council Tax bill.

Anti-Social Behaviour Scrutiny Review

The Executive will consider the Anti-Social Behaviour Scrutiny Review Final Report. The report pack states that Councillor Simon Cartmell, Chair of the Anti-Social Behaviour Scrutiny Review, has been invited to the Executive meeting to make representations on behalf of the Panel. The report pack states that the recommendations contained within the final report seek to deliver improvements to anti-social behaviour particularly within the town centre and communicate with residents the good work of the Community Safety Partnership. The report pack states that the Executive must consider the recommendations outlined in the Scrutiny Review but may accept them, reject them or vary them. The report pack states that the relevant Council priority is The economy: Maximising growth and opportunity across Blackpool. The Anti-Social Behaviour Scrutiny Review Final Report, included in the report pack, states that anti-social behaviour (ASB) affects everyone wherever they are to a greater or lesser degree, and that despite often being described as 'low-level crime', ASB can result in a range of negative emotional, behavioural, social, health and financial impacts. The Anti-Social Behaviour Scrutiny Review Final Report states that BSafe Blackpool, the Blackpool Community Safety Partnership, is a group of statutory partners who meet bi-monthly to take forward strategic issues relating to addressing crime and antisocial behaviour, as well as the misuse of drugs and alcohol. The Anti-Social Behaviour Scrutiny Review Final Report states that the Community Safety Partnership is taking a 'public health approach' to preventing and tackling ASB and crime. The Anti-Social Behaviour Scrutiny Review Final Report states that the ASB reported incidents since September 2019, with reductions of over 50%. The Anti-Social Behaviour Scrutiny Review Final Report includes the following recommendations:

• Determine how data collection can be improved across all areas relating to ASB in order to ensure resources are targeted as effectively as possible, and also specifically improve data collection around the issue of CPWs and CPNs in order to be able to assess the full impact of the work of the Council and its wholly-owned companies in this area.
• Pursue achievement of the 'Purple Flag' in order to ensure the town centre is a family friendly destination and in the meantime to target resource at the area outside Ma Kelly's to improve the gateway to the town centre and keep it free of ASB, and that progress on achieving the 'Purple Flag' should be reported to the Committee on an annual basis.
• Promote and highlight the current success of the Partnership in relation to ASB internally and externally through improved communication to residents, and that the Community Safety Partnership consider whether a Communications Strategy could be developed to shape their communication with the public around ASB.
• Consider how it can ensure that the excellent local working relationships in place are maintained in the context of the changing landscape of local government re-organisation to ensure the Partnership can continue to work well for residents, and as part of this to consider how the Partnership could be maintained across a wider footprint.

Central Housing Regeneration

The Executive will consider a report seeking approval for the inclusion of council-owned residential properties on Salthouse Avenue and Kent Road, as well as a building at the corner of Central Drive and Rigby Road, within the Central Housing Regeneration Area Phase 1 scheme boundary. The report pack states that the Executive will agree the approach to consulting those residents within the blocks to assist in their relocation. The report pack states that the Executive will note the progress on the delivery of Central Housing Regeneration programme, suspend the usual re-letting of these units to enable full vacancy to be achieved, resolve to commence activity to identify alternative provision for the use of the building at the corner of Central Drive and Rigby Road and to seek a formal decision once a relocation plan has been outlined, note that CPO Guidance Home Loss Payments (Prescribed Amounts) (England) Regulations 2023 will be followed in supporting those residents being required to relocate, allow that once full vacancy has been achieved, and subject to the relevant planning approvals, to demolish the existing two blocks totalling 12 flats to enable Central Housing Regeneration Phase 1 redevelopment, and delegate authority to Director of Place, to appropriate for planning purposes the Subject Land under section 122 of the Local Government Act1972 and conditional on the grant of Planning Permission subsequently invoke section 203 and section 204 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016. The report pack states that the relevant Council priority is: 'Communities: Creating stronger communities and increasing resilience'. The report pack states that in March 2022, Blackpool was confirmed as one of three Levelling-Up Pilot Areas, and that the overarching ambition, and underlying goal is improvement of life chances for our residents in the Inner Area through the provision of improved quality housing. The report pack states that the Executive decision of May 2024 (EX16/2024) was the formal commitment from the Council to commence delivery of the first phase of transformational housing intervention activity in Blackpool's Inner Area, and that total funding of £90.4m has been approved to support intervention activity in the Central Housing Regeneration Area. The report pack states that following the approval of the First Intervention Area Phase 1 by the Shareholder Committee on the 4 March 2025 the occupiers within the Phase 1 Area were individually notified of the decision and invited to attend a series of engagement events, and that Blackpool Housing Company (BHC), wholly owned by the Council, is continuing to act as the Council's Delivery Agent. The report pack states that design development work and liaison with Council and Local Planning Authority officers has identified a strong rationale for inclusion of additional properties at Kent Road/ Salthouse Avenue and the Council temporary accommodation located at the corner of Central Drive and Rigby Road. The report pack states that there are 12 homes within the identified blocks, nine of which are currently occupied, and that transfer of the properties to the scheme would therefore require an additional nine households to be relocated; noting that 11 of 12 flats within these blocks fall within the 'sheltered' category. The report pack states that the residents within these blocks have had initial contact from Blackpool Coastal Housing (BCH) Officers, and that they have been made aware of the proposals and will be appropriately supported through subsequent relocation to ensure they are suitably rehoused with secure tenancy. The report pack states that design development work has identified a preference for these properties to be included within the Phase 1 rather than left isolated outside the redevelopment boundary, and that inclusion allows for a far more comprehensive redevelopment of this area, boosting the level of place making and better fulfilling the regeneration vision for the area. The report pack states that with these properties now being identified for inclusion within the Phase 1 boundary the residents will be offered support including financial compensation (subject to eligibility), and that it is anticipated that the properties would be transferred at zero value to the scheme. The report pack states that compensation is not applicable to the residents of the building at the corner of Central Drive and Rigby Road, however, there will be a relocation and management impact, and that further consideration and resource support by Blackpool Coastal Housing staff will be needed to identify a relocation and provision plan prior to the current property being vacated. The report pack states that it is recognised that transfer of the properties would diminish the rental income to the Housing Revenue Account, and that offsetting this will be savings against the estimated annual repair, maintenance and management costs, noting the likelihood of continued increase of these savings over time due to the buildings being constructed in the 1960's.