At its meeting on 18 March 2026, Cabinet considered the following reports from Scrutiny and made responses to the recommendations:

·       More Leisure Annual Service Plan and Year 2 Update

·       Nighttime Economy

·       Fly-tipping and Litter Management

·       Heat Network Update

The Committee is asked to:

1.     Note Cabinet’s responses to its recommendations.

The Scrutiny Committee met on 10 March 2026 to consider the following items. Report and recommendations, including those from its working groups, are published as late supplement.

·       More Leisure Annual Service Plan (Year 3) and Update

·       Nighttime Economy

·       Fly-tipping and Litter Management

·       EV Infrastructure Update

·       Heat Network Update

·       Net Zero Tracker

·       Allocations Scheme Review

·       Measures to meet growing demand for Temporary Accommodation

The Scrutiny Committee met on 10 March 2026 and considered the following items:

• More Leisure Annual Service Plan (Year 3) and Update
• Scrutiny Commissioned report on the Nighttime Economy
• Scrutiny Commissioned report on Fly-tipping and Litter Management

The Climate and Environment Working Group met on 25 February 2026 and considered the following items:

• EV Infrastructure Update
• Heat Network Update
• Net Zero Tracker

The Housing and Homelessness Working Group met on 26 February 2026 and considered the following items:

• Allocations Scheme Review
• Measures to meet growing demand for Temporary Accommodation

Councillor Alex Powell, Chair of Scrutiny, presented the Scrutiny Committee’s discussions regarding the More Leisure Annual Service Plan (Year 3) and Update.

• Recommendation 1:That future reports provide More Leisure KPI outcomes broken down by gender, as well as youth participation by geographic venue, acknowledging that demographic in certain geographic areas differ. This is to identify if there are any interventions required to address any gaps or segments that are underrepresented.
• Recommendation 2:That, as part of the service plan, Council and More Leisure set out what could be done to expand into non-traditional sports that are not currently offered in the leisure centres.

Councillor Munkonge responded to the recommendations from Scrutiny. He said that Cabinet accepted both recommendations and thanked Scrutiny and Councillor Powell for their consideration of the report.

Councillor Alex Powell presented the Scrutiny Committee’s discussions regarding the Nighttime Economy report.

• Recommendation 1:That when considering the nighttime economy in relation to families and children, age groups are disaggregated into children up to age 11 and young people under 18.
• Recommendation 2:That the ongoing work maintains an open-minded approach to a wider range of nighttime activities, including bookshops, museums, the Covered Market, and other activities that are non-alcohol related.
• Recommendation 3:That late night cafés are categorised separately from other food-related venues.
• Recommendation 4:That consideration is given to include local promoters as part of the Live Music Taskforce.
• Recommendation 5:That the Council continues to engage with employers to identify how best to address the issues faced by workers travelling home late at night.
• Recommendation 6:That current analysis includes the capacity of venues, in addition to the number of venues.

Councillor Hollingsworth responded to the recommendations from Scrutiny and noted that Cabinet accepted all the Committee’s recommendations. He highlighted their focus on addressing the obstacles which local individuals and organisations face navigating the nighttime economy.

Councillor Alex Powell presented the Scrutiny Committee’s discussions regarding the Fly-tipping and Litter Management report.

• Recommendation 1:To explore the provision of facilities in parks during the summer period to allow “2-minute litter picks” where this would be beneficial.
• Recommendation 2:To review the appropriateness of measures businesses have in place to ensure that the waste they produce is managed responsibly and that they are encouraging their customers to dispose of litter appropriately.
• Recommendation 3: To audit the use of signage in areas with high levels of fly-tipping and to consider where additional signage could be most effectively implemented.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 159