The council of West Northamptonshire Council was scheduled to meet on 27 November 2025, in The Great Hall at The Guildhall, Northampton. The agenda for the meeting included discussion of the local government pension scheme, the youth justice plan, changes to committee places, and a new public mortuary. Several motions were also put forward for consideration, covering topics such as rural road safety, support for disadvantaged families, the Blue Badge scheme, and digital ID.

Here is a summary of the topics that were scheduled to be discussed.

Market Square Budget

The council was to discuss the final budget position for the Northampton Market Square project. The report pack included a recommendation to increase the capital budget by £1 million, bringing the total to £13.518 million, to cover overall project costs and a confidential settlement agreement. The report pack also mentioned that Cabinet had delegated authority to the Executive Director of Place to sign the confidential settlement agreement, in line with the heads of terms agreed under mediation in August 2025. The report pack noted that the project had transformed the space from a tired area in decline to a thriving space for the market and events at the heart of Northampton Town Centre. It also noted that since its reopening, the square has been a key venue for events and activities, including Northamptonshire Day, the town's Great Fire 350th anniversary, and fan zones for the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025.

Youth Justice Plan

The council was scheduled to discuss and consider the Northamptonshire Youth Justice Plan 2025/26. The report pack included a recommendation to note the Northamptonshire Youth Offending Service priorities for 2024/25 as set out in the plan. The plan, detailed in Appendix A of the Youth Justice Plan, outlined the strategic priorities, governance, leadership, and partnership arrangements for the service. It also included updates on the previous year, risks and issues, the service's budgets and staffing structure, national priorities, and local demographics. The plan identified the following priorities for 2025-2026:

• Strengthening support for victims, with a special focus on young victims, and the continuous improvement of restorative justice delivery.
• Actively tackling disproportionality, particularly for Black and Mixed children and young people, and care-experienced children and young people, ensuring equity and belonging.
• Preventing serious youth violence through place-based, community-informed strategies and a commitment to contextual safeguarding.
• Addressing poor educational engagement, where over 40% of Northamptonshire Youth Justice Service (NYJS) engagement involved children who were missing education for more than half the allotted time.
• Expanding the Voice4Change youth forum, developing new mentoring schemes, and identity-based interventions to support personal development and inclusion.

Local Government Pension Scheme

The council was scheduled to discuss two reports relating to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS): a review of pooling arrangements, and the Pension Committee's annual report.

Review of Pooling Arrangements

The report pack included a recommendation to confirm Border to Coast Pension Partnership (BCPP) as the Pension Fund's preferred pooling partner, and to authorise the Administering Authority to take the necessary steps to become a shareholder in BCPP. The report pack also recommended delegating authority to the S151 Officer¹ and the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the Chair and Vice Chair of the Pension Fund Committee, to progress the steps required for the Authority to formally join BCPP and make any necessary amendments to the existing ACCESS arrangements. The report pack noted that the Northamptonshire Pension Fund is currently a member of the ACCESS (A Collaboration of Central, Eastern and Southern Shires) pool, which was established in 2016 in response to the government's call for LGPS Funds to pool investments. Following the 2024 pensions review and the Fit for the Future consultation, the government required all LGPS pools to become Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulated investment management companies. The government did not support ACCESS plans to build a regulated investment management company, requiring the Fund to identify an alternative pooling partner. All eleven ACCESS funds have now selected their preferred pooling destination. The report pack stated that BCPP issued a press release confirming that the Fund, along with Cambridgeshire, East Sussex, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, and West Sussex, have signalled an intent to join the pool.

Pension Committee Annual Report

The council was scheduled to note the content of the Pension Committee Annual Report 2024-25. The report pack stated that the report sets out the governance, oversight and investment activities undertaken by the Committee during 2024-25, including the approval of various policies and strategies. The report pack noted that Part 3B of the Constitution states that the Northamptonshire Pension Committee has delegated responsibility, with regards to the Northamptonshire Local Government Pension Fund, for:

• Funding Strategy
• Investment Strategy
• Administration Strategy
• Communication Strategy
• Discretions
• Governance
• Risk Management The report pack stated that it is the responsibility of the Pension Committee to develop and maintain strategies, policies and procedures, thus ensuring effective governance, oversight and accountability is upheld on behalf of the Fund's stakeholders.

Local Pension Board Annual Report

The council was scheduled to note the annual report of the Local Pension Board. The report pack stated that the Local Government Scheme Advisory Board Guidance suggests that it is good practice for the Local Pension Board to consider publishing an annual report of the Board's activities for that year. The report pack also stated that it is consistent with good governance practices that the Board should submit this report to the Council in its capacity as the Administering Authority. The report pack noted that the Public Services Pensions Act 2013 requires all Public Service Pension Schemes to establish a Local Pension Board. The role of the Board is to assist the Administering Authority to:

• Secure compliance with the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) regulations and other legislation relating to the governance and administration of the LGPS, as well as the requirements imposed by the Pensions Regulator in relation to the LGPS; and
• Ensure the effective and efficient governance and administration of the LGPS.

Changes to Political Balance and Committee Places

The council was scheduled to review changes to the political balance of the council and approve changes to the membership of committees. The report pack included a recommendation to note the change to the distribution of seats held by political groups on the Council and determine that a change is required to the allocation of seats on committees. The report pack noted that at its meeting in June 2025, following a change to the political balance, the Council reviewed the allocation of seats on committees between political groups. Since that meeting a further change has occurred; Councillor Farzana Aldridge had resigned from the Labour Group and joined the Liberal Democrat Group.

New Public Mortuary

The council was scheduled to discuss a report on the new public mortuary. The report pack included a recommendation to approve an increase in the capital budget for the completion of the build and fit out of the new public mortuary at Booth Meadow, Northampton. The report pack stated that West Northamptonshire Council is developing a state-of-the-art public mortuary in Northampton, scheduled to open in spring 2026. The new facility will replace outdated services and consolidate body storage, forensic, and post-mortem services currently spread across various locations. It will serve Northamptonshire and neighbouring counties, offering a range of modern services including forensic post-mortems, non-invasive CT scanner post-mortems, and paediatric post-mortems.

Restoration of Property for Service Use

The agenda included an item regarding the restoration of property for service use. The report pack for this item was marked as exempt from publication.

Motions

The agenda included four motions for consideration:

Rural Road Safety Plan

Councillor Daniel Lister proposed a motion, seconded by Councillor Charles Morton, regarding a comprehensive rural road safety plan. The motion noted that rural roads in West Northamptonshire carry a substantial proportion of serious and fatal collisions, with local data highlighting speed and driver behaviour as major contributory factors. The motion also noted that many villages contain schools, playgrounds, and community facilities close to busy roads, where residents report drivers frequently failing to stop at pedestrian crossings. The council was asked to resolve to request that the Cabinet and relevant officers investigate the development of a comprehensive rural road safety plan, prioritising villages and stretches of road with high collision rates or reported non-compliance at crossings. The council was also asked to resolve to work with parish councils to identify high-risk locations and implement appropriate traffic-calming measures, including monitoring compliance at crossings and speed-reduction schemes, and to explore funding options and partnerships to deliver road safety improvements, monitor effectiveness, and report progress back to Full Council.

Support for Disadvantaged Families

Councillor Sally Keeble proposed a motion, seconded by Councillor Muna Cali, welcoming the extra government finance and other resources available in West Northamptonshire and urging these to be used to address disadvantage in areas of greatest need. The motion specifically supported:

• Family support being tailored to the challenges facing the most hard-pressed families in the current cost of living crisis.
• A costed programme to bring all NPH homes up to the Decent Homes Standard².
• The work undertaken by NPH to implement Awaab's Law[^4], and urged WNC to bring forward a costed programme for NPH's implementation of the law, and further calls on the Council to work with social landlords and other partners to eradicate mould and damp from social housing.
• The work of the housing delivery unit and urges the bringing forward of a revised plan to increase the supply of social housing to tackle the scourge of homelessness and overcrowding that is especially prevalent in Northampton.
• The development of a council-led multi-agency strategy to tackle the serious crime and anti-social behaviour problems, substantially linked to substance abuse, in central Northampton.
• The development of an integrated public transport network with good connections between pedestrian, cycle, bus, car and train routes to support the regeneration of Northampton and improve access across the county.
• The development of a council- led multi-agency strategy to improve primary and community health services in central Northampton to improve health standards and end the problem of early deaths in our most hard-pressed community.

Blue Badge Scheme

Councillor Rosie Humphreys proposed a motion, seconded by Councillor Farzana Aldridge, regarding the Blue Badge scheme. The motion noted that the aim of the Blue Badge scheme, introduced in 1971, is to help people with severe mobility problems caused by visible and hidden disabilities to park close to their destination. The motion also noted that the council is currently experiencing a backlog in individually assessed applications, with the website reporting a delay in the issuing of decisions and issuing of badges of up to six to eight weeks. The council was asked to resolve to thank team members involved in processing Blue Badge applications, and to request that Cabinet ensures that this team is resourced appropriately, investigates the cause of delays and resolve to reducing the backlog, understands why some residents have received multiple badges, and sets a target of, monitoring and reporting on that target, of issuing Blue Badges within a maximum of four weeks.

Mandatory Digital ID

Councillor Adrian Little proposed a motion, seconded by Councillor Mark Arnull, formally opposing the introduction of mandatory digital ID for employment or any other public service access. The motion noted that the UK Government has announced plans to introduce a mandatory digital ID system by 2029, which will be required for all individuals seeking employment, and that the scheme has been widely criticised by civil liberties organisations, privacy advocates, and opposition parties, including Reform UK, for its potential to infringe on personal freedoms and privacy. The council was asked to resolve to write to the Secretary of State for the Cabinet Office and the Prime Minister expressing the council's opposition to the scheme, to request that West Northamptonshire Council not participate in any pilot or implementation programme related to digital ID until full public consultation and parliamentary scrutiny have taken place, and to support calls for alternative, privacy-respecting solutions to identity verification that do not rely on centralised digital infrastructure.

Cabinet Member Reports

The agenda included Cabinet Member reports and records of decisions.

Councillor Mark Arnull, Leader of the Council, was scheduled to present a report on communications and engagement, and transformation. Councillor James Petter, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Local Economy, Culture and Leisure, was scheduled to present a report on regeneration and major projects, economic growth and inward investment, funding, tourism and the visitor economy, sport and leisure, and archives and heritage. Councillor Thomas Manning, Cabinet Member for Planning, was scheduled to present a report on planning policy, development management, enforcement, developer contributions, and building control. Councillor Richard Butler, Cabinet Member for Highways & Transport, was scheduled to present a report on transport, highway maintenance, traffic enforcement, active travel, and major highways schemes. Councillor Nigel Stansfield, Cabinet Member for Environment, Recycling & Waste, was scheduled to present a report on household waste collection and disposal, recycling centres, street cleansing, flood and water management, environment, countryside and parks, and sustainability. Councillor Laura Couse, Cabinet Member for Adult Care & Public Health, was scheduled to present a report on adult social care, health and wellbeing, the Health & Wellbeing Board, public health, the anti-poverty strategy, integrated commissioning, and the new Perinatal Mental Health and Parent–Infant Relationship Service. Councillor Andrew Last, Cabinet Member for HR, Corporate & Regulatory Services, was scheduled to present a report on workforce and transformation, digital transformation and innovation, emergency planning and business continuity, customer services, the Lead Authority Shared Services Programme Team, Legal Services, Democratic Services & Elections, Coroner's Registration and Bereavement, and Regulatory Services. Councillor Charlie Hastie, Cabinet Member for Housing & Communities, was scheduled to present a report on private sector enforcement and HMO licensing, council housing, housing options, allocations, rough sleeping initiatives, temporary accommodation, resettlement, anti-social behaviour, community safety, voluntary and community sector grants, domestic abuse, DFG adaptions, strengthening communities through local partnership and engagement.