The Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Management Board of Durham County Council is scheduled to meet on Monday 1 December 2025 to discuss a range of issues, including changes to the local council tax reduction scheme, the council tax base, and the medium-term financial plan. The board will also receive updates on the County Durham Partnership, petitions received by the council, and key decisions scheduled to be considered by the executive. Finally, the report pack includes discussion of the refresh of non-statutory co-optees to overview and scrutiny committees.

Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme

The board will consider a report outlining proposed changes to the Local Council Tax Reduction (LCTR) scheme for working-age residents, set to be implemented from 1 April 2026. The proposed changes to the LCTR scheme include:

• Implementing an income-banded LCTR scheme.
• Reducing the maximum level of support available to working-age residents from 100% to 90%.
• Ending council tax support in the form of Second Adult Rebate¹ (2AR).
• Applying a set rate for non-dependant deductions of £10.00 per week.
• Reducing the maximum capital limit from £16,000 to £10,000.

The report pack includes a presentation that provides an overview of the current scheme, the consultation feedback, and the cabinet's recommendations. According to the report pack, the council held a public consultation on the proposals, which ran from 18 July 2025 to 26 September 2025 and received 1,856 responses. The consultation asked for feedback on elemental changes to the scheme around the maximum capital limit, non-dependant deductions and 2nd Adult Rebate. The report pack states that a majority of respondents agreed with the introduction of an income banded model, with 65.8% in favour. For the maximum amount of support available, the most popular option was a cap of 75%, favoured by 36.2% of responders, while 30.2% felt support should remain at 100%. The majority, 45.2%, agreed with removing support in the form of 2nd adult rebate. On the reduction of the maximum capital value, 41.6% agreed with reducing the limit from £16,000, but the feedback suggested reducing this to £6,000 was too low and the majority view was that this should be set at £10,000. Finally, 35% agreed with the approach to introduce one set deduction of £10.00 per week for all non-dependants.

The report pack notes that the proposed changes are projected to reduce the cost of the scheme to £37.056 million, a total reduction of £4.57 million. It also notes that an equality impact assessment showed that a higher proportion of females and disabled residents would be affected by any changes to the LCTR scheme, due to a higher proportion of these groups currently claiming support.

Council Tax Base 2026/27

The board will also consider a report on the council tax base for 2026/27, the forecast surplus/deficit on the council tax collection fund, and grant payments to town and parish councils. The report pack states that the council tax base for 2026/27 has been calculated to be 151,633.6 Band D equivalent properties, an increase of 2,873 (1.93%) on the council tax base set for 2025/26. The report pack also notes that as part of the 2026/27 budget and Medium Term Financial Plan(16) proposals, there is a proposal to cease Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme grant payments to Town and Parish Councils entirely from 2026/27. The report pack includes a breakdown of the forecast tax base for each Town and Parish Council area, and an analysis of the year-on-year impact of changes in the tax raising capacity of each local precepting body.

Medium Term Financial Plan 2026/27 - 2029/30

The board will consider a report providing an update on the development of the 2026/27 budget and the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP (16)) covering the period 2026/27 to 2029/30. The report pack highlights the escalating budget pressures in the Children Looked After placements budget, and particularly high-cost external residential care placements, which is putting a significant and material strain on the Council's financial outlook for 2026/27 and beyond. The report pack states that without any council tax increases being applied and before any new additional savings are factored in, the council faces a budget shortfall of £27.567 million in 2026/27 and £82.137 million across a four-year planning period. The report pack also sets out details of £10.057 million of new savings proposals that have been developed, which are profiled: £9.103 million (90%) in 2026/27; £0.586 million (6%) in 2027/28; and £0.368 million (4%) in 2028/29.

County Durham Partnership Update

The board will receive an update on the work of the County Durham Partnership, which is made up of leaders from key public, private and voluntary sector organisations working together to improve the quality of life for people within the county. The report pack is framed under the County Durham Vision 2035 three strategic ambitions:

• More and Better jobs
• People live long and independent lives
• Connected communities

The report pack highlights that the North East Combined Authority² (NECA) will have overarching control of the new UK Shared Prosperity Fund[^4] (UKSPF) fund for the region, with local authorities being delegated to manage their allocation. Over £1 million of funding has been allocated to Durham for the transition year. The report pack also notes that the annual Durham Brass Festival took place in July 2025 as part of a festival and events programme, which aims to deliver experiences for residents, while supporting the growth of the county's £1.38 billion visitor economy. Finally, the report pack mentions that following an Ofsted Inspection Durham Local Authority Children's Services has been rated with an overall grading of 'outstanding'.

Refresh of non-statutory, non-voting Overview and Scrutiny Co-optees

The board will consider a report about the refresh of non-statutory, non-voting co-optees who are appointed to serve on the five thematic Overview and Scrutiny Committees. The report pack notes that each Overview and Scrutiny Committee can appoint up to two non-statutory, non-voting co-optees, who bring specialist knowledge and an element of external challenge to the Overview and Scrutiny process. The report pack states that non-statutory, non-voting co-optees are appointed in accordance with a protocol which stipulates the arrangements for the promotion of vacancies and the application, interview and appointment process to be followed. The term of appointment of currently serving co-optees will conclude in May 2026, and arrangements need to be put in place to ensure that the non-statutory, non-voting co-optees are appointed to the five thematic Overview and Scrutiny Committees before the start of June 2026.

Update in relation to Petitions

The board will receive a quarterly update in relation to the current situation regarding various petitions received by the authority. The report pack notes that since the last update, four new e-petitions have been submitted, three of which have been rejected. A petition relating to the speed limit at Nevilles Cross will be presented to full Council in December 2025. One new paper petition has been submitted, and is awaiting a response from the service.

Notice of Key Decisions

The board will consider the list of key decisions that is scheduled to be considered by the Executive. The report pack notes that new rules in relation to Executive decisions were introduced by The Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012, which came into force on 10 September 2012. The report pack states that the notice of key decisions that is attached to the report, is the latest to be published prior to the papers for the Board being dispatched to members, and complies with the requirements for Cabinet to take key decisions at its meeting scheduled to be held on 17 December 2025.