At a meeting of the North Northamptonshire Council Executive, a range of key decisions were made, including the approval of the North Northamptonshire Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2024 – 2029, an uplift in fees for adult social care providers, and the adoption of the Wellingborough and Rushden Area Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP). The Executive also approved the procurement of a new adult social care case management system and reservoir drawdown capital works at Sywell Country Park Reservoir.

Household Support Fund 7

The Executive approved the proposed delivery of the Household Support Fund 7 (HSF7), which was announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in October 2024 as a continuation of cost-of-living support. Councillor Gill Mercer, Executive Member for Adults, Health and Wellbeing, detailed that the fund, allocated circa £4.3m to North Northamptonshire Council, aims to support vulnerable households struggling with essential living costs.

The approved proposals include:

• Children’s Holiday Food Support with additional payments for Christmas and summer back-to-school basics.
• Funding for warm spaces.
• Financial support for food and essential living costs.
• Winter Energy Support.
• A grants programme for voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations and community groups.
• Discretionary support for individuals with no recourse to public funds.
• Funding for an evaluation of the Household Support Fund programme from April 2023.

Councillor Mercer was delegated authority, in consultation with the Director of Public Health, to redistribute any unassigned funds by 31 March 2026.

The council will continue to provide holiday food vouchers for children on free school meals¹.

Schools' Capital Works

The Executive delegated authority to the Executive Director of Children’s Services, the Director of Law and Governance (Monitoring Officer) and the Executive Director of Finance (s151 officer)², in consultation with Councillor Scott Edwards, Executive Member of Children, Families, Education and Skills, to take all necessary actions to deliver several school capital projects.

These projects, for which budget approval was requested in the Capital Update Report, include:

• Alfred Lord Tennyson School (Alfred Street Campus), additional budget approval for £925,000 in 2025/26.
• Tennyson Road site renovations for Rowan Gate Primary School, budget approval for £632,000 in 2025/26.
• Latimer Arts College, additional budget approval for £561,000 in 2025/26.
• Prince William School Alternative Provision, budget approval for £2.59m in 2025/26.

The Council is facing significant pressures on the High Needs Funding Budget, driven in large part by the limited availability of SEND³ and Alternative Places Provision across the Council area. The proposed project at Prince William will deliver additional capacity and reduce the need for the Council to commission places with Independent Providers.

Capital Programme Update 2025/26

The Executive approved several changes to the capital programme, including:

• Isham Bypass, additional budget approval for £445,000 in 2025/26, funded from the Integrated Transport grant.
• Warkton Lane Traffic Calming, budget approval for £300,000 (£250,000 in 2025/26 and £50,000 in 2026/27), funded from Section 106 contributions⁴.
• Broughton Village Hall Changing Rooms, budget approval for £62,700 in 2025/26, funded from Section 106 contributions.
• Desborough Library improvements, budget approval for £53,000 in 2025/26, funded from Section 106 contributions.

Habitat Banks for Biodiversity Net Gain and Biodiversity Net Gain Monitoring Fees

The Executive delegated authority to the Executive Director of Place and Economy, in consultation with Councillor David Brackenbury, Executive Member for Growth and Regeneration, to agree the details of any habitat bank proposal to be secured by legal agreement. The Executive also adopted the Information Requirements and Evaluation of Habitat Bank Proposals and the Key Stakeholder Notification protocol.

The Executive approved the principle of a price on application fee for processing habitat bank proposals, delegating authority to the Executive Director of Place and Economy, in consultation with the Executive Member for Growth and Regeneration, to approve a charging schedule for such fees. They also approved the monitoring fee for Biodiversity Net Gain, subject to ongoing review and increase.

Re-procurement of Microsoft Licence Contract

The Executive authorised the commencement of procurement for Microsoft Licensing to continue providing productivity and infrastructure software licences for North Northamptonshire Council. They delegated authority to the Assistant Chief Executive to conclude the procurement, award, and enter into a contract for the implementation of the Council’s Microsoft software licences.

The current contract for software licences will end in August 2025, and the Council joined a non-obligation aggregated tender run by Crown Commercial Services⁵ on behalf of multiple local authorities.

Performance Management Framework and Key Performance Indicator Set for 2025-26

The Executive approved the updated Performance Management Framework and Key Performance Indicator (KPI) set for 2025/26, which resulted from a consultation and review process by management teams across services and aligned to strategic goals in the Corporate Plan. Formal reporting to the Executive will remain quarterly, with the core indicator set available to members monthly.

The KPI set for 2025-26 includes 44 KPIs reported monthly and 124 reported quarterly or less frequently. Compared to 2024-25, the new set includes 21 new KPIs, 30 changed KPIs, and 40 removed KPIs.