The Charnwood Borough Council Scrutiny Commission met on 9 September 2025, and supported the recommendations set out in the report of the Head of Regulatory Services and Community Safety regarding the Charnwood Borough Dog Control Public Spaces Protection Order 2026. They also agreed to add a pre-decision scrutiny of the Vulnerability Policy to their work programme for October 2025, and to schedule an extraordinary meeting for 27 October 2025 to consider the proposal for the Local Government Review.

Dog Control Public Spaces Protection Order

The commission reviewed a report from the Head of Regulatory Services and Community Safety regarding the Charnwood Borough Dog Control Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) 2026, which is intended to address anti-social behaviour issues relating to dog control. The PSPO, under the provisions of the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014¹, includes:

• Dog fouling offences on land open to the air and accessible to the public
• Dogs on leads in specified areas
• Dogs on leads when directed by an authorised officer
• Dog exclusion from fenced children's play areas

The current PSPO started in January 2023 and is due to expire in January 2026. The council consulted with residents and organisations between June and August 2025 to inform a decision on whether to extend or vary the existing PSPO.

The commission agreed to inform the Cabinet that it supported the recommendations in the report. The commission also requested that officers undertake site visits to Birstall Meadow Road and Hallam Fields County Park to ensure the correct areas are included within the Notice of Intention Schedules. It was noted that an area on Birstall Meadow Road was not included in the table Schedule Three – Dogs Exclusion in the Notice of Intention. Officers stated that a site visit would be made to ensure the area met the criteria for inclusion in the Schedule. It was also highlighted that there was an area in Hallam Fields County Park with a 'No Dogs' sign, but this area did not meet the criteria for Schedule Three – Dogs Exclusion.

A signage audit would also take place to ensure the correct signage was installed at each site, with temporary signage installed in areas where the existing signage was difficult to read.

Scrutiny Panels

The commission reviewed the progression of scrutiny panels, and noted that the HMOs Scrutiny Panel, chaired by Councillor Rhys Cory-Lowsley, was in the scoping stage. The scoping document would be submitted to the Scrutiny Commission once finalised.

Scrutiny Work Programme

The commission reviewed the Scrutiny Work Programme and agreed that it be updated to reflect the decisions made during the meeting.

Scrutiny Commission Work Programme

The commission reviewed its own work programme and added a pre-decision scrutiny of the Vulnerability Policy for October 2025.

The commission were informed that an extraordinary meeting was to be scheduled for 27 October 2025 to consider the proposal for the Local Government Review, which needed to be submitted by the end of November 2025.

Business Rates Write Off

The commission considered an exempt report of the Head of Revenues, Benefits and Customer Experience regarding a business rates write off.