At a meeting of the Lancashire County Council's cabinet, the council approved a proposal for local government reorganisation, reviewed the corporate performance and financial position, and adopted a local nature recovery strategy. The cabinet also discussed highway maintenance, traffic regulations, flood authority advice, and complaints handling.

Local Government Reorganisation

The cabinet agreed to submit a proposal to the government for local government reorganisation in Lancashire, opting for a plan involving two unitary councils. Councillor County Stephen Atkinson, Leader of the County Council, noted that he had insisted that the question do you wish to keep the status quo was included in the consultation process. The proposal aims to address service needs, remove postcode lotteries for services, and ensure financial resilience. It also focuses on maintaining valued community services and investing in local neighbourhood governance.

Councillor County Gina Darling commented on the flawed process of the reorganisation, stating:

...there was no mandate to do this, there was no manifesto commitment from Labour, so it's a mystery when we think about how they want to centralise their control.

The cabinet also agreed to the recommendations of the Community, Cultural and Corporate Services Scrutiny Committee, including a request for a broader public survey and an extension to the current timetable. The Chief Executive was authorised to make final amendments to the proposal before submitting it to the government on 28 November 2025.

Financial Performance and Budget

The cabinet reviewed the Corporate Performance Report for Quarter 2 of 2025/26, noting areas needing improvement and progress against the council's Improvement Plan. They also discussed the Efficiency Review, which identified potential savings of £21.9 million over three years. Councillor County David Dwyer, Cabinet Member for Data, Technology, Customer and Efficiency, said that the review aimed to incorporate the views and insights of the workforce through a staff suggestion scheme. Councillor County Ged Mirfin, Cabinet Member for Resources, HR and Property, presented the 2025/26 Quarter 2 Financial Monitoring Report, which forecast an overspend of £10.354 million (0.83%) in the revenue budget at year-end. A revised Capital Programme for 2025/26 of £297.912m was approved.

The cabinet also considered a preliminary assessment of the revenue budget for 2026/27-2028/29, highlighting a significant budget shortfall likely to occur in 2026/27. Savings opportunities of £42.927m were built into the 2026/27 Budget when the current year budget was set by Full Council on 26 February 2025. A consultation will be held on the savings opportunities and the updated budget shortfall will be referred to the Budget and Finance Scrutiny Committee meeting on 21 January 2026. Councillor County Azhar Ali OBE noted that increasing council tax by 6% would greatly benefit the administration and the council.

Highways and Transport

Councillor County Warren Goldsworthy, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, addressed a question from Councillor County Aidy Riggott regarding a fall in performance in highway repairs, as outlined in the Corporate Performance Report. Councillor County Goldsworthy explained that the drop in 10-day and 20-day carriageway defect repairs was due to a misalignment of contract data with corporate reporting, which officers were working to resolve. He also mentioned the replacement of the Transport Asset Management Plan (TAMP) with the Highways Asset Management Plan (HAMP) to improve reporting accuracy.

The cabinet approved the making of a Traffic Regulation Order introducing new and existing restrictions on various lengths of road in the Fylde area, as detailed in the Modified Draft Order. A similar review of limited waiting bays on Harbour Lane in Brining with Wharton was deferred for further investigation following objections.

The cabinet also approved a review of the original Transport Asset Management Plan, with the production of a new strategy rebranded as the Highways Asset Management Plan for Lancashire. Councillor County Gina Dowding expressed support for the previous TAMP, but raised concerns about the loss of the Local Deterioration Fund, which enabled councillors to address medium-sized repairs.

Local Nature Recovery Strategy

The cabinet approved the final Lancashire Local Nature Recovery Strategy¹, as required by the Environment Act 2021². Councillor County Joshua Roberts, Cabinet Member for Rural Affairs, Environment and Communities, said that the strategy aims to reverse biodiversity decline by identifying areas where creating or improving habitats will deliver the greatest benefit for nature. The strategy has been shaped with input from various stakeholders and will guide future policies and plans.

Lead Local Flood Authority Advice Service

The cabinet approved an updated approach to advice services offered by the Lead Local Flood Authority³ to improve customer engagement in relation to statutory planning consultations and statutory ordinary watercourse consent applications. The updated service will include planning advice with ordinary watercourse consent advice as standard, and a standalone ordinary watercourse consent advice service for applicants preparing applications outside the planning process for major development.

Complaints and Feedback

The cabinet noted the annual reports on Complaints and Customer Feedback for 2024/25, fulfilling the council's legal obligation to publish a complaints and customer feedback report on social care statutory complaints on an annual basis.