Jess Tamplin

Award of Contract: General Insurance Extension

From: Constitution - Monday, 27th October, 2025 - October 27, 2025

The Cabinet, at its meeting on 27 November 2024 (report FIN/670 refers), delegated authority to the Leader (in consultation with the Head of Corporate Finance and the Head of Governance, People & Performance) to extend the current insurance contract whilst a change in provider is sought.

Recommendations Approved

From: Constitution - Monday, 27th October, 2025 - October 27, 2025

Recommendations Approved

Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Annual Statement: 2025/2026

From: Constitution - Monday, 27th October, 2025 - October 27, 2025

The Council publishes an annual Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking statement detailing our commitment to tackling this issue within our business activity and supply chain.

Recommendations Approved

Setting of Fees for Council Tax and Non Domestic Rates for Summonses, Liability Orders and Paper Copies of Bills

From: Constitution - Monday, 27th October, 2025 - October 27, 2025

The budget for 2025/26 (FIN/683) was approved by Full Council on 26 February 2025. The court costs for summonses, Liability orders and paper copies of bills for Council Tax and NNDR are based on full cost recovery and have been uplifted to reflect increases in costs. The decision was taken under Generic Delegation 7 in consultation with the Leader.

Recommendations Approved

Minor Operational Amendment to the Housing Allocation Scheme: Band A+ Applicants

From: Constitution - Monday, 27th October, 2025 - October 27, 2025

Applicants are awarded a banding on the housing register that reflects their level of housing need. Band A+ is for emergency and very urgent priority cases (such as threat to an applicant's life, or where there is an immediate need to move on medical or exceptional grounds). It was established as a mechanism to give overall priority to those on the housing register in the most urgent housing need. Banding category A+4 was created to prioritise and move homeless households on the housing register from banding A owed the main duty residing in nightly paid/hostel temporary accommodation for 12 months or more out of temporary accommodation. At the time it was introduced, the number of households in temporary accommodation was significantly lower, therefore it was far less common for a household to remain in those types of TA for more than 12 months and very few cases were placed into this category. Banding category A+7 was introduced as a prevention tool to prevent households at significant risk of homelessness from needing to be placed into temporary accommodation. It is available where a household (owed a homeless duty and in priority need) on the housing register in banding A (for having received a section 21 notice for no fault of their own) then receives a court order to leave their current accommodation. Increased homelessness demand has resulted in an increased volume of applicants in Band A+. An alternative method of achieving the same pace of throughput is being introduced.

Recommendations Approved