The Warwickshire County Council Cabinet is scheduled to convene on Thursday 16 April 2026. The meeting's agenda includes discussions on the 2026/27 Service Budget Estimates, the Performance Management Framework for the upcoming year, and the proposed closure of Great Alne Primary School. Other topics for consideration include the Crisis Resilience Fund, the establishment of a working group to review the Councillors' Grant Fund priorities, and the adoption of the Warwickshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy.

2026/27 Service Budget Estimates

The Cabinet will be presented with a report outlining how each service plans to utilise its allocated resources for the 2026/27 financial year. This includes detailed revenue budgets, savings plans, and capital programmes for all authority services. The report also addresses adjustments to service revenue budgets since the initial budget setting, including additional funding confirmed following the approval of the 2026/27 budget. Significant financial pressures experienced in 2025/26, particularly affecting Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), Home to School Transport, Children and Families, and Social Care and Support, are noted as likely to impact the Council's financial position in 2026/27. The report also highlights the significant inflationary risk due to supply and labour shortages, market conditions, and general economic and geopolitical uncertainty, which are increasing service costs and demand. The potential financial implications of the 2026 War in Iran for UK Local Government are also summarised, indicating a more challenging in-year budget position due to increased risks from inflation and interest rate outlooks.

The report details the planned net revenue budget of £704.208 million for 2026/27, which includes £27.579 million of in-year budget reductions required to balance the overall budget. The capital programme for 2026-31 is £740.028 million, with planned capital spend for 2026/27 being £278.508 million. This includes £30.172 million of Capital Investment Fund resource for specific schemes in 2026/27, and £41.693 million for the Capital Maintenance programme. Additionally, there is £33.483 million for capital lending through the Warwickshire Property and Development Group (WPDG) and the Warwickshire Investment Fund (WIF).

The report also notes the government's new Adult Social Care notional allocation for Warwickshire, based on a simplified national model. While these are not spending requirements, they offer an illustrative reference point. Warwickshire's budgeted position for Social Care and Support is planned to grow by 17% between 2025/26 and 2028/29, exceeding the Department for Health and Social Care's minimum inflation assumption of 6.3%. This difference highlights significant local upward pressures from demographic change, increasing care complexity, and provision costs that exceed baseline inflation assumptions.

The Performance Management Framework 2026/27

The Cabinet will review and comment on the proposed Key Business Measures (KBMs) for inclusion in the Performance Management Framework for 2026/27. The framework has undergone a deeper review to ensure alignment with the draft Council Plan and supporting Council Delivery Plan (CDP), which are yet to be finalised. The proposed framework includes 98 KBMs, comprising 66 existing measures, 4 reworded KBMs, and 28 new measures. A key recommendation is to replace the Warwickshire Outcome Measures with the national Local Outcomes Framework (LOF) measures as they are released by the Government. The LOF, established by central government, aims to provide external scrutiny of the Council's performance and will be integrated into the PMF to avoid duplication.

Great Alne Primary School

A report will be presented regarding Great Alne Primary School, proposing its closure from 31 August 2026. The school, which has a published admission number of 16 per year group and a capacity for 112 pupils, has seen a significant decline in pupil numbers, dropping from 102 in 2020/21 to nine in March 2026. This decline is attributed to an 'Inadequate' Ofsted judgment in January 2023. The report highlights the financial pressures faced by schools with high numbers of unfilled places, impacting resources and activities. With 92% of places currently unfilled, delivering a broad curriculum and ensuring long-term sustainability has become challenging.

The forecast cumulative deficit for the school as of 31 August 2026 is estimated at £0.422 million. The Council has provided support, financial assistance, and marketing support in an attempt to boost pupil numbers, but two Multi Academy Trusts have declined to incorporate the school into their trusts. The report outlines the statutory process undertaken for the potential closure, including consultation and representation periods, with the majority of respondents expressing disagreement with the closure. Concerns raised include the school's importance to the rural community, current and future sufficiency of places, education quality and leadership, and the potential for repurposing the site for specialist education provision. The report also addresses the presumption against the closure of rural schools, considering factors such as transport, educational disadvantage, and the school's role in the community. The financial implications of closure are detailed, with the Council liable to repay the accumulated deficit, forecast at £0.422 million.

Crisis Resilience Fund

The Cabinet will consider a report requesting approval to commence a procurement process to commission the delivery of the Crisis Payment, Housing Payment, Resilience Services, and Community Coordination strands for the period 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029. This will be funded through the Crisis Resilience Fund (CRF), a ringfenced Government grant of £5.6 million per year for the first two years and £6.3 million in the third year. The CRF aims to help low-income households experiencing financial shocks and strengthen individual and community financial resilience, moving beyond one-off help to a more preventative approach. The report suggests that a third-party delivery model is likely to be the most effective way to deliver the CRF, offering a clear route into support and integrating with Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) partners. The Council will submit a statutory Delivery Plan to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) by 1 July 2026.

Establishing a cross-party working group to review Councillors' Grant Fund priorities

A report proposes the establishment of a cross-party member working group, led by the Portfolio Holder for Customer and Localities, to review the Councillors' Grant Fund. Since its establishment in its current format in 2012, limited changes have been made to its priorities and guidance. The review aims to ensure the process, priorities, and overall operation of the Fund remain proportionate, accessible, and reflective of current community needs. The working group will examine the Fund's aims, priorities, and operation to ensure it reflects Warwickshire's communities, provides good value for money, and balances demand between hyper-local initiatives and organisations delivering at a wider scale. The report states there are no financial implications, as the total value of the Fund will remain the same (£8,000 per councillor, totalling £456,000).

Warwickshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy

The Cabinet will be asked to adopt the Warwickshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS). Introduced by the Environment Act 2021, LNRSs are statutory, nationwide spatial plans aimed at reversing biodiversity decline. Warwickshire County Council is the designated Responsible Authority for preparing this strategy, with support from the Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull Local Nature Partnership (LNP). The draft LNRS was developed after extensive engagement with over 60 stakeholders, including targeted workshops and a public engagement survey. The strategy outlines themes and priorities for nature recovery, including Nature-rich Habitats, Species Recovery and Conservation, Water Resilience, Urban Green & Blue Placemaking, Connecting Communities to Nature, Sustainable Nature-Friendly Land Management, Natural Processes & Nature-based Solutions, and Nature Markets. The LNRS will be used by local authorities in planning strategies and informing decision-making, and will incentivise habitat creation within Biodiversity Net Gain implementation. It will not require landowners to make specific land use changes or place new restrictions on development. Financial implications are covered by a grant from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), with similar levels expected for 2026/27 and subsequent years.

Exempt and Confidential Items

The Cabinet will consider passing a resolution to exclude the public from the meeting for specific items due to the disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of Part 1 of the Local Government Act 1972. This includes the exempt minutes of the previous Cabinet meeting and an exempt report concerning a site-specific business case for the Warwickshire Property & Development Group (WPDG).