The West Northamptonshire Council was scheduled to meet on 27 November 2025 at The Guildhall, Northampton. The agenda included discussion of the Local Government Pension Scheme, the Youth Justice Plan, changes to committee places, and a new public mortuary. Councillors were also expected to discuss motions on rural road safety, family support, blue badges¹ and digital IDs.

Local Plan

Councillor Fiona Baker, seconded by Councillor Pinder Chauhan, proposed an opposition priority business item regarding the forthcoming Local Plan. The motion recognised the impact of housing development on villages and market towns, and the role of parish and town councils in shaping sustainable development. The council was asked to ensure the new Local Plan considers the cumulative impact of existing housing growth, distributes housing allocations fairly, and strengthens engagement with parish and town councils.

Rural Road Safety Plan

Councillor Daniel Lister, seconded by Councillor Charles Morton, proposed a motion noting that rural roads in West Northamptonshire carry a substantial proportion of serious and fatal collisions. The motion asked the Cabinet and relevant officers to investigate the development of a comprehensive rural road safety plan, prioritising villages and stretches of road with high collision rates or reported non-compliance at crossings, work with parish councils to identify high-risk locations and implement appropriate traffic-calming measures, and explore funding options and partnerships to deliver road safety improvements.

Addressing Disadvantage in West Northamptonshire

Councillor Sally Keeble, seconded by Councillor Muna Cali, proposed a motion welcoming extra government finance and other resources available in West Northamptonshire and urging these to be used to address disadvantage in areas of greatest need. The motion supported family support tailored to the challenges facing hard-pressed families, a costed programme to bring all Northampton Partnership Homes (NPH) homes up to the Decent Homes Standard², a costed programme for NPH's implementation of Awaab's Law³, a revised plan to increase the supply of social housing, a council-led multi-agency strategy to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in central Northampton, the development of an integrated public transport network, and a council-led multi-agency strategy to improve primary and community health services in central Northampton.

Blue Badge Scheme

Councillor Rosie Humphreys, seconded by Councillor Farzana Aldridge, proposed a motion noting that the council is currently experiencing a backlog in the issuing of Blue Badges, with the website reporting a delay of up to six to eight weeks. The motion requested that the Cabinet ensures that the team is resourced appropriately, investigates the cause of delays and resolves to reducing the backlog, understands why some residents have received multiple badges, and sets a target of, monitoring and reporting on that target, of issuing Blue Badges within a maximum of four weeks.

Digital ID System

Councillor Adrian Little, seconded by Councillor Mark Arnull, proposed a motion formally opposing the introduction of mandatory digital ID for employment or any other public service access, writing to the Secretary of State for the Cabinet Office and the Prime Minister expressing the council's opposition to the scheme, requesting that West Northamptonshire Council not participate in any pilot or implementation programme related to digital ID until full public consultation and parliamentary scrutiny have taken place, and supporting calls for alternative, privacy-respecting solutions to identity verification that do not rely on centralised digital infrastructure.

Review of LGPS Pooling Arrangements

The council was asked to approve Border to Coast Pension Partnership (BCPP) as the Northamptonshire Pension Fund's preferred pooling partner, and for the Administering Authority to take the necessary steps to become a shareholder in BCPP. The council was also asked to delegate authority to the –S151 Officer⁴, and the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the Chair and Vice Chair of the Pensions Fund Committee, to progress the steps required for the Authority to formally join BCPP and make any necessary amendments to the existing ACCESS arrangements. The Northamptonshire Pension Fund is currently a member of the ACCESS (A Collaboration of Central, Eastern and Southern Shires) pool. Following the 2024 pensions review and the Fit for the Future consultation, the government required all Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) pools to become Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulated investment management companies. The government did not support ACCESS plans to build a regulated investment management company requiring the Fund to identify an alternative pooling partner.

Pension Committee Annual Report

The council was asked to note the Pension Committee Annual Report 2024-25, which outlines the committee's efforts in overseeing the governance and administration of the Northamptonshire Pension Fund. The report highlights significant contributions in areas such as investment performance, risk management, and adherence to regulatory standards. Over the financial year, the Fund increased in value by £129.3m to £3.748bn, helped by a 3.2% return on investments during the year.

Local Pension Board Annual Report

The council was asked to note the annual report of the Local Pension Board, which provides a summary of the work of the board over the past year. The report has been published on the council's website and the Pension Fund website. The report focuses on demonstrating to the Administering Authority that the Board is fulfilling its statutory role by helping the Administering Authority to secure compliance with the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) regulations and other legislation relating to the governance and administration of the LGPS and also the requirements imposed by the Pensions Regulator in relation to the LGPS, and ensure the effective and efficient governance and administration of the LGPS.

Market Square Final Budget Position

The council was asked to approve that the Market Square capital budget be increased by £1m increasing the overall budget to £13.518m to cover the overall project outturn costs, which will include additional construction costs aligned to that negotiated confidential Settlement Agreement so that the construction Final Account can be resolved, and endorse the decision of Cabinet to delegate the authority to the Executive Director of Place to sign the Confidential Settlement Agreement in line with the Heads of Terms agreed with under mediation in August 2025.

The Northampton Market Square project has seen the space transformed from a tired area in decline to a thriving space for the market and events at the heart of Northampton Town Centre. Since its reopening the square has been a key venue for events and activities, including Northamptonshire Day, the town's Great Fire 350th anniversary and major international events like the Women's Rugby World Cup Fan Zones. The project began in 2019 as a concept within the Northampton Town Centre Masterplan and was subsequently shaped with public consultation feedback which expressed that the redevelopment of the space was a priority for residents.

Youth Justice Plan

The council was asked to consider the content of the Youth Justice Plan 2025/26, and note Northamptonshire's Youth Offending Service priorities for 2024/25 as set out in the plan.

The Northamptonshire Youth Justice Service (NYJS) is a statutory multi agency service, which has a responsibility to prevent offending and reoffending by children and young people under the age of 18 years who are resident in Northamptonshire. The Northamptonshire YJS is well respected nationally as an innovative service achieving good outcomes for children and young people. The areas of work for the YJS are laid out in legislation, government policy and national guidance. The detail of local operational priorities and delivery are developed in agreement with, and with reference to key local strategic boards including the Community Safety Executive, the Children Trust Board, the Local Safeguarding Children's Board, and Northamptonshire's North and East Criminal Justice Board.

Changes to Political Balance and Committee Places

The council was asked to review the changes to the political balance of the council and approve changes to the membership of committees. At its meeting in June 2025, following a change to the political balance, the council reviewed the allocation of seats on committees between political groups. Since that meeting a further change has occurred; Councillor Farzana Aldridge has resigned from the Labour Group and joined the Liberal Democrat Group.

New Public Mortuary

The council was asked to approve an increase in the capital budget for the completion of the build and fit out of the new public mortuary. West Northamptonshire Council is developing a state-of-the-art public mortuary in Northampton, scheduled to open in spring 2026. The new facility will replace outdated services and consolidate body storage, forensic, and post-mortem services currently spread across various locations. It will serve Northamptonshire and neighbouring counties, offering a range of modern services including forensic post-mortems, non-invasive CT scanner post-mortems, and paediatric post-mortems.

Cabinet Member Reports

The agenda included reports from Cabinet Members, including:

• Councillor Mark Arnull, Leader of the Council, on communications and engagement, and transformation.
• Councillor James Petter, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Local Economy, Culture and Leisure, on regeneration and major projects, economic growth and inward investment, funding, tourism and the visitor economy, sport and leisure, archives and heritage service, museums, adult learning.
• Councillor Thomas Manning, Cabinet Member for Planning, on planning policy, development management, enforcement, and developer contributions.
• Councillor Richard Butler, Cabinet Member for Highways & Transport, on transport, highway maintenance, traffic enforcement, active travel, and major highways schemes.
• Councillor Nigel Stansfield, Cabinet Member for Environment, Recycling & Waste, on household waste collection and disposal, recycling centres, street cleansing, flood and water, environment, countryside & parks, and sustainability.
• Councillor Laura Couse, Cabinet Member for Adult Care & Public Health, on adult social care, health and wellbeing, the Health & Wellbeing Board, public health, the Anti-Poverty Strategy, and integrated commissioning.
• Councillor Andrew Last, Cabinet Member for HR, Corporate & Regulatory Services, on workforce and transformation, human resources, digital transformation & innovation, emergency planning and business continuity, customer services, the Lead Authority Shared Services Programme Team, Legal Services, Democratic Services & Elections, and Coroner's Registration and Bereavement.
• Councillor Kathryn Shaw, Cabinet Member for Children, Families & Education, on the Children's Trust, SEND, school exclusions, family help, youth services and engagement, corporate parenting, and child health & wellbeing.
• Councillor Charlie Hastie, Cabinet Member for Housing & Communities, on private sector enforcement & HMO licensing, council housing, housing options, allocations, rough sleeping initiatives, temporary accommodation, resettlement, anti-social behaviour, voluntary and community sector grants, domestic abuse, DFG adaptions, strengthening communities through local partnership and engagement.