The Cabinet of Leicestershire County Council met on Tuesday 28 April 2026 to discuss a range of important issues, including the future of the council's rural estate, school term dates, and youth justice. The meeting also covered plans for a new minerals and waste local plan and the allocation of a new government grant for crisis and resilience support.

Leicestershire School Term Dates, Autumn 2027 to Summer 2032

The Cabinet was scheduled to consider proposals for Leicestershire's school term and holiday dates for the period from autumn 2027 to summer 2032. The report presented two potential models for consultation, both of which aimed to retain the traditional early July finish to the school year, a feature popular with Leicestershire families. Model 1 proposed retaining the historic pattern with a one-week autumn half-term, while Model 2 suggested an earlier return to school in August to accommodate a two-week autumn half-term. The aim of these proposals is to ensure a balanced school year and address concerns about learning loss and childcare costs during longer summer breaks. The Education Act 2002 mandates the County Council to determine school term dates, ensuring at least 190 school days per year. The report noted that previous consultations had shown strong support for the traditional Leicestershire pattern, which historically included the Leicestershire Workers' July Fortnight. ¹

Youth Justice Strategic Plan 2026-2027

A key item on the agenda was the Leicestershire Youth Justice Strategic Plan for 2026-2027. This plan is a statutory requirement under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and is linked to the release of the Youth Justice Grant from the Ministry of Justice. The plan reflects on the progress of the previous 2023-26 plan and sets out strategic priorities for the upcoming year. Due to anticipated reforms in the youth justice sector, the plan was proposed as a one-year strategy, with a multi-year plan to be considered from 2027. The plan focuses on five key priorities: improving education, employment, and training outcomes for young people; strengthening children's health and wellbeing; enhancing support for victims; reinforcing prevention pathways for children at risk of entering the criminal justice system; and ensuring a coordinated response for children at the highest risk of harm, exploitation, or serious violence. The report highlighted the service's strong performance, with low rates of first-time entrants, long-term reoffending, and minimal use of remand and custody. The plan also aims to address inequalities and disproportionality within the youth justice system, particularly for groups such as looked-after children, girls, and Black, Asian, and multi-ethnic children.

Investing in Leicestershire Programme Rural Estate Strategy 2026-2036

The Cabinet was asked to approve the Investing in Leicestershire Programme (IiLP) Rural Estate Strategy for 2026-2036. This strategy outlines the vision, ambitions, and objectives for the management and development of the Council's rural estate over the next decade. The vision is to create a rural estate that supports thriving rural businesses, the rural economy, local communities, and contributes to the Council's strategic objectives while delivering ongoing financial benefits. The strategy acknowledges opportunities such as restructuring estate clusters, improving buildings, realising development potential, and generating income from environmental schemes. Challenges include managing high compliance and maintenance costs, securing capital for improvements, and balancing environmental land management with income stability. The strategy aims to retain a core estate of farms suitable for new entrants and existing tenants, realise the estate's potential for financial benefits to support service provision, and increase its contribution to the Council's strategic plan for economic, social, and environmental wellbeing. The report detailed the estate's history, structure, and financial performance, noting that it has consistently outperformed the wider agricultural investment market. Consultation with tenants, farming industry stakeholders, and the public had taken place, with broad agreement on the strategy's vision and ambitions, particularly regarding the retention of the estate and support for new entrants.

New Plan-Making System and a Joint Minerals and Waste Local Plan

The Cabinet was advised on the new plan-making system for England and its implications for Leicestershire County Council as the Minerals and Waste Planning Authority. The report sought approval in principle for Leicestershire County Council to collaborate with Leicester City Council and Rutland County Council to prepare a joint Minerals and Waste Local Plan (M&WLP) for the three authority areas. This joint approach is considered sensible due to the strategic nature of minerals and waste, which often cross local authority boundaries. It would also help mitigate uncertainties related to local government reorganisation and allow for resource sharing. The new system requires a new M&WLP to be prepared and adopted within a fixed 30-month timeframe, with a deadline to publish the intention to commence by 31 December 2026. The current Leicestershire M&WLP was adopted in September 2019 and is due for review. The report highlighted the benefits of a joint plan, including cost efficiencies and better integration of evidence, while acknowledging the challenges of coordinating governance and timelines across multiple authorities within the tight statutory deadline.

Crisis and Resilience Fund 2026-2029

The Cabinet was informed about the new government grant, the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF), which will run from April 2026 to March 2029. This three-year programme replaces previous schemes like the Household Support Fund and Discretionary Housing Payments, with an emphasis on long-term financial resilience. The CRF aims to provide fast, short-term support for residents facing immediate financial crisis (crisis payments for food, fuel, etc.) and targeted help with housing-related costs. It also includes a significant focus on resilience support, offering practical help with debt advice, benefit maximisation, budgeting, and reducing essential living costs. A key element is community coordination to ensure residents have a clear and simple route to access help. Leicestershire County Council will receive £16.9 million over three years, with an additional allocation for Year 1 to support households using heating oil. The delivery plan involves a single front-door service for applications, with a mix of cash-first payments and vouchers, and contracted community-based organisations delivering financial resilience services. The report noted that the profile of expenditure would shift over the three years, with a greater balance towards resilience support in the later years.

Dates of Council Meetings in 2027/28 and 2028/29

Finally, the Cabinet was asked to recommend dates for County Council meetings for the next two municipal years. The proposed dates included a budget meeting in February 2027 and 2028, annual meetings in May 2027 and 2028, and several general business meetings throughout the years. The report noted that these dates were proposed to comply with the Local Government Act 1972 and the Council's Standing Orders, but acknowledged that local government reorganisation might affect the final timetable.