Agenda item

To confirm as correct, the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 25^th September 2025.

The Minutes of the Council meeting held on 25^th September 2025 were provided.

Regarding Minute 159 - Declarations of interest, Councillor Melissa Fisher noted that there had been posts on social media about whether she should have declared a formal interest in respect of Agenda Item 10 (Motion 2) in view of the premises let by her husband.  She confirmed that the premises did not meet the definition of a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO).  Namely, it did not comprise at least three unrelated tenants living and sharing toilet, bathroom, or kitchen facilities, forming more than one household.  She considered that some of the social media posts had amounted to personal attacks and had implied corruption.  Those responsible for making such allegations were reminded of the Local Government Association’s ‘Debate Not Hate’ campaign.

In respect of Minute 162 - Question Time (King George V Playing Fields), Councillor Heap asked if work was still on target.  Councillor Stewart Eaves responded that the work had slowed down recently due to poor weather.  The drainage to the road was still being worked on and the project remained on schedule overall.

In connection with Minute 161 - Confirmation of Minutes, on the matter of Accrington Stanley FC, Councillor David Heap noted that the Leader of the Council had referred to a Council sponsored football shirt give-away.  However, it was understood that the shirts had, in fact, been funded by Andy Holt, the Club’s Chairman.  Councillor Dad invited Councillor Whitehead to respond and she indicated that the Council had contributed to the shirt give-away and both she and the Mayor had attended the event.

Regarding Minute 162 - Question Time, Councillor Heap asked if the controlling group would be answering, in full, the questions provided at Agenda Item 5 during the meeting.  Councillor Dad indicated that the questions would be answered, in a similar manner to the meeting in July 2025, with a verbal answer being provided wherever possible.  Due to the number of questions submitted at the September 2025 meeting, these had each received a written response.

In respect of Minute 167 - Motions (Motion 4), Fair Funding Review, Councillor Zak Khan commented that in the minutes of a recent Cabinet meeting he had been criticised for allegedly exaggerating some the negative impacts under the Review by highlighting that the Government could withdraw £5m from Hyndburn’s financial settlement.  He noted that the Portfolio Holder had subsequently referred to that same figure when discussing the authority’s finances and he asked if his original statement would now be endorsed.  He also asked whether the Leader of the Council had confidence in the Chancellor.  Councillor Dad responded that there was no minute about the Chancellor on the Agenda to allow this query to be raised and that members would need to await her announcement on the local government financial settlement.  Councillor Alexander reported that the original minute was accurate and that she would not be seeking an amendment to that record.

In connection with Minute 162 - Question Time (Skip Days), Councillor Steven Smithson asked what improvements were planned and what progress had been made to date.  Councillor Steward Eaves indicated that an update was proposed to be taken to the next Cabinet meeting, which was likely to recommend a substantial increase in enforcement fines.  However, an idea to seize offenders’ vehicles was unlikely to be a viable option.  Take up of the skip days was uneven with some being very good but others, such as in St Andrews and St Oswalds wards, being less effective.  There had also been some difficulties with the delivery of flyers in the Milnshaw ward, although some 550 items had ultimately been collected.

Regarding Minute 182 - Question Time (Accrington Victoria Hospital Site), Councillor Paul Cox, reminded members of the Council’s commitment to work with partners to identify proposals for the future of the site.  However, residents and ward councillors appeared not to be being kept informed.  He and Councillor Andy Clegg had now met with local Police who had indicated that anti-social behaviour was starting to increase again.  Councillor Dad acknowledged that the dissemination of information could be improved.  The Council was represented on the Working Group.  He undertook to ask for minutes and other supporting information to be made available.

Resolved                                    -    That the Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 25^th September 2025 be approved as a correct record.