Agenda item
Reports of Cabinet Members
To receive verbal reports from each of the Portfolio Holders, as appropriate.
Minutes:
Deputy Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Culture, Heritage and Sport
Councillor Kimberley Whitehead reported on the following:
Woodlands Care Home, Clayton-le-Moors
An announcement had been made this morning by the Leadership of Lancashire County Council that the authority would not be closing any of their care homes or daycare facilities across the County. However, there were some concerns being voiced by trades unions and political parties that the message was ambiguous.
Information from the Chief Executive of Lancashire County Council had clarified that staff had not been notified of any decision and that no formal position had currently been adoptedby the Council. Councillor Whitehead expressed concern that there was still the threat of privatisation of the facilities and that staff still required some assurance about their future employment. She noted that hundreds of people had turned up at a protest over the weekend, including representatives from all political parties, with the exception of the Reform party.
Councillor Munsif Dad responded that, overall, this was good news and a step in the right direction. The support of the public and cross-party political groups had certainly helped. He hoped that the leadership of Lancashire County Council would listen to the feedback and would keep these facilities open. Councillor Zak Khan added that a number of Conservative councillors had also attended the protests and that he was pleased to note the latest position.
UK Town of Culture 2028
Details of the submission process for the newly created UK Town of Culture for 2028 had been published by the Government last week. This could potentially bring investment into Hyndburn. The Borough already had a Culture and Heritage Team, a Panel and Strategy, so was well placed to submit a bid. At this stage, it was unclear whether the submission would be for Hyndburn as a whole or for one town within the Borough. Lessons could be learned from neighbouring Burnley, which had recently announced its Burnley 2027 Year of Culture initiative.
Expressions of interest were required by the end of March 2026. More information about this ambitious proposal would be provided in due course.
Portfolio Holder for Business, Growth and Sustainability
Councillor Scott Brerton reported on the following:
Economic Policy Forum for Hyndburn
A meeting of the Economic Policy Forum for Hyndburn had taken place last week and had been extremely positive, even more so than last year’s event. The main concerns raised included the increase in the minimum wage and commercial landlords increasing rents. Against this background, some businesses had reported having their best December in recent years. The hospitality sector had noted that recruitment was improving. Accrington and Rossendale College representatives had welcomed the Government’s Industrial Strategy, which would fit well with the NW Construction Technical Excellence College (CTEC), led by Wigan and Leigh College, along with formal partners Blackpool and The Fylde College and East Lancashire Learning Group (Accrington and Rossendale College’s parent organisation). The initiative could deliver 40,000 skilled workers by 2029.
Councillor Zak Khan commented that Accrington and Rossendale College was a great asset to the Borough and noted that the Chief Executive of the Group had recently been awarded a CBE. He also asked if attendees at the Forum were predominantly from the public sector. Councillor Brerton responded that there was a good cross-section of attendees at the Forum with many from the business sector.
Hyndburn Job’s Fair
Hyndburn Job’s Fair would return on 9th February 2026. The event had attracted 2,000 visitors last year. The Council was working closely with Scott Dawson Advertising on this event. Councillor Brerton commented that he had attended many such events in the past and that useful information had been disseminated, but that actual job availability had been limited. Accordingly, the current event organisers had sought to ensure that more job vacancies were publicised at the event. There should also be some good workshops available.
Lancashire Skills Partnership
Some positive statistics had recently been published by the Lancashire Skills Partnership. Some communications would be available shortly. The headline messages included the following:
- Hyndburn’s growth was gaining in strength;
- Business ‘deaths’ was one of the lowest figures in the area; and
- Hyndburn was outpacing Lancashire, the North West and UK in business ‘birth’ rates.
The Portfolio Holder thanked all those involved in driving forward these improvements and, in particular, Salma Chaudry, Economic Development Manager and Matthew Sheppard, Economic Development Officer in the Council’s Housing and Regeneration Department.
Councillor Munsif Dad commented that it was good to hear of successful businesses and business growth. Hyndburn was doing well. The controlling administration had invested in economic development within the Borough.
Councillor Zak Khan indicated that he was pleased to see the improving statistics, as these initiatives had commenced under the Conservative administration in 2023/24. He sought further clarification about the end date for the figures provided, as in his experience different feedback was coming from the business sector. This might be due, in part, to the Chancellor’s Budget in Autumn 2025. Councillor Brerton responded that he could look into the end date of the statistics, if necessary, but he understood that Councillor Khan already had access to that information. He was pleased that the Opposition had acknowledged the overall positive direction of travel.
Leader of the Council
Councillor Munsif Dad BEM JP reported on the following:
Local Elections 2026
An e-mail had been received today from the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) in connection with the postponement of the local elections in May 2025. Jane Ellis, Executive Director (Legal and Democratic Services), indicated that the Reform party was seeking a judicial review of the process of cancelling the local elections. A hearing was due to take place on 19th to 20th February 2026, although it was unclear about when the decision would be made available. The Council’s Elections Team would need a decision to be made soon, as planning for the elections would normally have started at this time, including booking rooms, staff and equipment and incurring the necessary costs. A meeting would be arranged with the Elections Manager to consider what matters could be deferred and what needed to be commenced before 20th February 2026. Ideally, the Council would aim to not incur any costs, but this might be unavoidable. Members would be kept informed as to any developments. Councillor Dad reiterated that local elections would automatically take place in Hyndburn, unless the Government decided otherwise.