The Middlesbrough Council Executive is scheduled to meet on Wednesday 8 October 2025 to discuss a range of issues, including children missing education, home to school transport, an information strategy, a waste disposal contract, and amendments to the household support fund. The Executive will be asked to make decisions on the recommendations made in the reports.

Children Missing Education

The Executive will be asked to note the final report of the People Scrutiny Panel on children missing education (CME) and approve the action plan in response to the report’s recommendations. The report notes that children missing education are defined by the Department for Education (DfE) as children of compulsory school age who are not registered at a school and are not receiving suitable education otherwise than at a school. The report states that Middlesbrough has a higher rate of CME than the national average, and the panel's review aimed to examine the issues relating to CME in Middlesbrough and identify suggestions for developing support for applicable children and their families. The report also considers the challenges of transient communities and the increasing number of permanently excluded children in respect of CME. The report includes several recommendations, including that the council:

• Ensures that CME forms an integral part of Middlesbrough Council's Draft Poverty Strategy.
• Ensures that Education & Partnerships are fully prepared for the Children's Wellbeing in Schools Bill, in particular the monitoring of Elective Home Education and the implementation of a single unique identifier (SUI) for children.
• Establishes a Working Group between Primary Schools in the Central areas of Middlesbrough, Education and Partnerships, Stronger Communities and local Councillors to explore if further assistance can be provided in respect of the large transient community and the issues of school roll turnover.
• Establishes a Working Group between Education & Partnerships and Stronger Communities to understand the nature of the higher rate of CME in the Romanian community.
• Receives an update that provides assurance to the on the ongoing work of assisting children at risk of permanent exclusion.
• Receives an update on the new Alternative Provision and the restructure of the Inclusion and Outreach Model.

Home to School Transport Service

The Executive will be asked to note the report of the Place Scrutiny Panel into Home to School Transport Service and approve the service response and action plan. The report notes that the review aimed to assist the Local Authority (LA) in achieving its priority of Delivering Best Value from the Council Plan 2024-2027. The report includes several recommendations, including that the council should:

• Investigate whether it would be cost effective to devolve the provision of Home to School Transport to individual schools.
• Review the eligibility requirements for free school travel, especially for post-16 students and for pupils who attend a school that is not in the catchment/nearest school by parental choice, but they meet the low-income criteria.
• Ensure closer collaboration between Children's Services, Schools and the Home to School Transport Unit to make certain that the most cost-effective and suitable transport arrangements are in place for each student, particularly in relation to students with special educational needs and disabilities.
• Prioritise the promotion of independent travel to all parents and students, increase the number of travel trainers and bus buddies and encourage greater use of personal travel budgets.
• Introduce a spare seat scheme to offer discretionary transport assistance on existing transport for students who are not eligible for free travel assistance, with an option for part payment of the full cost.
• Investigate whether increasing the Council's fleet of vehicles and reducing dependency on third party providers would be cost effective and whether this would enable better route planning.
• Explore whether entering into longer-term contracts with third party providers would provide for greater flexibility and consistency.

Information Strategy 2025-2029

The Executive will be asked to approve the Information Strategy 2025-29. The report sets out that an effective information strategy is crucial for ensuring that data is handled efficiently, securely, and in a way that supports the Council's Strategic priorities. The report sets out the vision for information articulated in the Strategy which is that 'the right information will be available to the right users, at any time, accessible and used ethically to support achievement of the Council Plan.' The report structures the Strategy around three themes:

• Good Data management
• Ethical use and reuse of data
• Use of data to transform.

Waste Disposal Contract: Tees Valley Energy Recovery Facility

The Executive will be asked to make a number of decisions relating to the Waste Disposal Contract and the Tees Valley Energy Recovery Facility (TVERF). The report notes that Middlesbrough along with six other Local Authorities in the North East have undertaken a procurement for the disposal of residual waste, and that this disposal contract involves the building of a new Energy from Waste Plant and running that plant. The report asks the Executive to approve the creation of the Local Authority Special Purpose Vehicle (LA SPV), appoint the Director of Environment and Community Services as the Council's Director on the Board of the LA SPV, authorise the Council to subscribe for shares in and to be a shareholder of the LA SPV, and appoint the Section 151 Officer as the Council's Shareholder Representative. The report also asks the Executive to authorise the Council and the LA SPV to enter into a number of agreements, including the Shareholders' Agreement, the Service Level Agreement, the Waste Supply and Support Agreement, the Project Agreement, and the Lease with Teesworks. Finally, the report asks the Executive to delegate authority to the Director of Environment and Community Services to finalise and agree the Business Plan for the LA SPV, to enter into Local Government (Contracts) Act 1997 Council certificates in relation to the WSSA, to finalise and agree the Secondment Agreement, to authorise the LA SPV to enter into the Secondment Agreement, to authorise, finalise, agree and enter into the Cost Equalisation Agreement, to authorise the Council to act as Guarantor in respect of the LA SPV Side Deed with the Estate Owner and Environmental Deed, and to authorise the Council to enter into all other necessary agreements or legal documentation on behalf of the Council to enable the project to reach financial completion and to monitor and manage the contract.

Household Support Fund 2025/26 amendment

The Executive will be asked to approve the proposed changes to the Household Support Fund (HSF) delivery plan for 2025/26 previously approved by Executive on 14 May 2025. The report notes that on 9 June 2025 Central Government announced that starting from winter 2025 the Winter Fuel Payment would be extended to include most pensioners in England with only those earning over £35,000 having this recouped through the tax system or able to opt out. As a result of this change, it is proposed to revise the HSF plan to re-distribute £330,000 within the initial allocation to fund enhancements to other elements in the original plan:

• An increase of £10 per child for those in receipt of income based free school meals, Council Tax Reduction (CTR), Universal Credit (UC) or Housing Benefit (HB)
• Widen the criteria for pensioner support to include all on CTR (previously had to have Pension Credit Guarantee Credit as well) and increase the payment from £50 to £100
• Increase the amount provided to singles / couples in receipt of benefits from £45/£55 to £75/£100
• An additional £38,000 to Community Support to assist with crisis applications
• An additional £17,000 allocated to the provision of third party support

Recovery Solutions Delivery Model

The Executive will be asked to approve the establishment of a new central assessment site to support safe and effective care, note the revenue impact in the Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP) from year 2 onwards and that these will be considered for approval by Council as part of the budget setting process, note the capital implications on the Levelling Up Partnership funding secured for Live Well East and note the process and timescales to progress the preferred option and ensure continuity of service during library redevelopment. The report notes that this is in response to the council's decision to change to how the Live Well East building in Berwick Hills is utilised, and operational challenges resulting from that decision, including enforcement presence and space constraints. To address these changes an option appraisal was completed, with the recommended option to operate two assessment and treatment sites at Live Well East and a new central site and maintain a local offer at Live Well South and Live Well West. The report notes that Public Health South Tees secured Levelling Up Partnership funding of £1.15 million for the development of Live Well East, and that following changes to the proposed use of Live Well East the original plan needs to be amended, and further investment is required to establish the new central site. The report states that the recommended option improves accessibility and ensures compliance with Care Quality Commission (CQC) requirements and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. The report also notes that a suitable building has been identified for the new central site: Park House, on Park Road North, which is located adjacent to Parkside Mental Health Resource Centre and both buildings are owned by Tees Esk and Wear Valley (TEWV) NHS Foundation Trust.