This meeting includes a discussion about the future of several pieces of Council infrastructure, as well as the approval of several reports from the previous meeting of the Cabinet. There will also be an update on funding received from developers for local infrastructure, and a response to a national consultation about the future of social housing rents.

Construction contracts for swimming pool energy projects

The Cabinet are expected to approve the construction of new energy infrastructure at Blaydon Leisure and Primary Care Centre and Dunston Leisure Centre. These installations are intended to support the Council's Thrive agenda, which aims to improve the lives of the people of Gateshead. These developments are partly funded by a grant from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, which is designed to help public sector organisations reduce their carbon emissions. The grant will also fund a feasibility study of the potential for a minewater heat pump at Blaydon. The works at Dunston will include the installation of air source heat pumps and LED lighting. At Blaydon, the work will involve the installation of a hybrid system of air source and minewater heat pumps, as well as LED lighting. The report also notes that the Council has recently awarded a contract to a new leisure centre operator, who will take over the running of the leisure centres from 1 April 2025. The new operator is aware of the decarbonisation works, and will be responsible for the operation of the new systems once they are installed.

Infrastructure Funding Statement

The Cabinet are expected to approve the publication of the latest Infrastructure Funding Statement (IFS), which details the contributions the Council received from developers between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024, and what the money was spent on. The IFS is required by the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010 (as amended), and details spending under Section 106 agreements and the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). The IFS for 2024 shows that the Council received a total of £89,891.41 in S106 contributions and £2,391,379.83 in CIL payments. In 2021, the Cabinet agreed a process for local spending of the Neighbourhood portion of the CIL, whereby 15% of all CIL payments received are made available to community groups in the ward in which the development that generated the levy took place. If there are no suitable projects in that ward, the funds are then made available to groups in adjacent wards, and finally the whole borough. The 2024 IFS will include details of the £150,385 in grants awarded by the Community Foundation for Tyne & Wear and Northumberland to local community groups, from the Neighbourhood Portion. Since the levy was introduced in 2017, a total of £328,249 has been allocated from the Neighbourhood Portion of the CIL to local groups. The IFS also includes an update on the £1,196,230.00 of the CIL that has been allocated to improving junctions along the A695 between Blaydon and Crawcrook, as part of a programme of works to mitigate the impact of 1,310 new homes being built in the area. The improvements include the signalisation of Blaydon Roundabout, and the widening of the roundabout at Beweshill Lane.

Gambling Statement of Principles 2025-2028

The Council is required by the Gambling Act 2005 to agree and publish a document describing how they will manage the issuance of licences to gambling operators. The Cabinet are being asked to approve the latest version of this document, Gambling Statement of Principles 2025-2028, which will be in effect from 2025-2028, before referring it to the full Council for approval. The document was the subject of a six week public consultation that ended on 7 November 2024. Three responses were received: from Gateshead Council's Corporate Services and Governance department, the Gambling Commission, and the Director of Public Health for Gateshead Council. The responses were used to inform the final draft of the statement, which is attached to the report. The Council intends to use this statement to support its Thrive agenda by setting out a set of principles for gambling in Gateshead that will make the borough a better place to live. The statement clarifies the relationship between the Council's licensing objectives and other legislation, for example in the section about preventing crime and disorder the statement says:

The Licensing Authority will not seek to use the Act to resolve matters more readily dealt with under other legislation.

The statement makes it clear that the Council will not try to prevent gambling in Gateshead, and will instead attempt to work with gambling providers:

Rather than seeking to prevent the use of premises for gambling altogether; wherever possible, the Licensing Authority will aim to regulate gambling by attempting to work with gambling premises to tackle any concerns. For example, the Licensing Authority may seek to use its powers to attach licence conditions with a view to ensuring the licensing objectives are upheld.

The statement also clarifies the definition of an 'interested party' who is eligible to make a representation about a premises licence. In Gateshead, the Council will decide on a case-by-case basis who qualifies as an interested party. The definition of an interested party in the Gambling Act 2005 is someone who

lives sufficiently close to the premises to be likely to be affected by the authorised activities, or has business interests that might be affected by the authorised activities, or represents persons in either of the two groups above

The statement notes that to date, there have been no reviews of gambling premises licences in Gateshead.

Nomination of Local Authority Governors for Maintained Schools

The Cabinet is expected to approve the appointment of two local councillors as school governors. Councillor Michael McNestry will be appointed as a governor at Highfield Community Primary School, and Councillor Julie Simpson will be reappointed as a governor at Parkhead Community Primary School. The appointments are for a four-year term, and are being made in line with The School Governance (Constitution) (England) Regulations 2012.

Future Social Housing Rent Policy – Response to Consultation

The Cabinet will discuss a draft response to a consultation by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on the future of social housing rents. The government is proposing to set a rent policy that will remain in place for at least five years, from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2031, and has asked for feedback from local authorities and housing providers. The government's proposed policy would allow rents to increase by a maximum of CPI + 1% each year. CPI stands for Consumer Price Index and is the main measure of inflation in the UK. The consultation also asks whether a longer settlement period, such as 7 or 10 years, would provide additional certainty. The Cabinet will discuss the impact of the proposed policy on the Council's Housing Revenue Account (HRA), which is the ring-fenced account used to manage the Council's housing stock. The Council's draft response notes that the current 30-year HRA business plan assumes inflation of CPI from 1 April 2026, and that setting the rent policy at CPI+1% would result in an increase in income of between £173,142 and £3,966,512 over the 30 year period. The Council is concerned that limiting rent increases to CPI + 1% could prevent them from investing in new and existing homes. In particular, the Council is concerned that the proposed rent policy does not take account of several factors which are increasing the costs of social housing, including:

• The cost of meeting new building safety regulations
• The cost of achieving the government's Net Zero targets. Net Zero refers to the target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible.
• The cost of increased regulation of the social housing sector. The Council's draft response also raises concerns about the impact of Right to Buy, the policy that allows tenants of social housing to buy their home at a discount. The Council believes that Right to Buy is reducing the amount of social housing available, and making it more difficult to invest in new homes. The government has recently made changes to the Right to Buy discounts, which will enable councils to retain more of the receipts from sales. The Council's draft response notes that these changes will help to reduce the loss of social housing. The Council will also argue that the government should extend the New Burdens Doctrine to Housing Revenue Accounts. The New Burdens Doctrine is a principle that states that if the government imposes a new burden on local authorities, it should provide funding to cover the cost. The Council believes that the extension of this principle to HRAs would help to ensure that they have the resources they need to invest in new and existing homes. Finally, the Council will also call for a review of the 2012 HRA self-financing settlement. This settlement was based on a set of assumptions about the future of social housing, which have not been borne out in practice. The Council believes that a review of this settlement is necessary to ensure that HRAs have the resources they need to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The Cabinet is expected to approve the Council's draft response to the consultation, which will be submitted to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

Procurement and contracts report

The Cabinet will consider a report on recent and future procurement activity. Procurement is the process of buying goods, works, and services, and is governed by a set of regulations. The report includes details of contracts that have been awarded since the last Cabinet meeting, those that are currently in progress, new contracts that require approval from the Cabinet, and contracts that will be removed from the procurement workplan. The report lists contracts awarded through a direct award to a supplier, those awarded via a framework, and those that were awarded after a tendering process. The report lists 52 contracts that are still in progress, 33 contracts that have been awarded, and 33 contracts that will be removed from the workplan. Of those still in progress, 26 are being procured directly by the Council, 24 are being procured through frameworks, and two are being procured via collaborations with other local authorities. Of the 26 being procured directly by the Council, ten have an expected value of more than £500,000, and therefore require approval from the Cabinet. The report asks for approval to invite tenders or negotiate with suppliers for 28 contracts. The report also asks for approval to award contracts to suppliers for the contracts that are currently in progress, and to remove the contracts that are no longer required from the procurement workplan. Once the Cabinet has approved the report, the procurement activity set out in the report will be published as the Council’s procurement pipeline. The contracts listed in the report cover a wide range of goods, works and services, including:

• Children's Home Care Interim Solution
• Construction of heat pumps and solar panels for leisure centres
• Demolition of Redheugh and Eslington Multi-Storey car parks
• Demolition of Crowhall Towers
• Development of new housing on garage sites
• Housing development at Shadon House
• Housing development at Clasper Village
• Purchase of six new refuse collection vehicles
• Provision of a Pupil Referral Unit
• Provision of Extra Care Services. Extra Care Services are housing-related support services for people aged 55 and over.
• Provision of low cost furniture for tenants
• Procurement of a Leisure Operator for Gateshead Leisure Centres
• Refurbishment of Birtley and Blaydon Libraries
• Replacement of Accommodation and Support Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS). A Dynamic Purchasing System is an electronic procurement process that allows new suppliers to join at any time.
• SEND Information, Advice and Support Service. SEND stands for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

The report does not include details of the value of all of the contracts, as some are at an early stage of planning. However, the report does indicate that the Council expects to spend more than £500,000 on 18 of the contracts.