Agenda and draft minutes
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Contact: Democratic Services
Note: Consideration of LGR Submission - Meeting to start on rising of Full Council which starts at 2.00pm
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Apologies To receive any apologies for absence. The quorum for Cabinet is 3 members.
Additional documents: Minutes: Apologies were received from Councillor Juliet Layton and Councillor Tristan Wilkinson. |
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Declarations of Interest To receive any declarations of interest from Members relating to items to be considered at the meeting. Additional documents: Minutes: The Monitoring Officer confirmed that in accordance with Section 33 of the Localism Act 2011 and the Council’s Code of Conduct, members who were also elected to Gloucestershire County Council or any Town or Parish Council (“double-hatted” members) could participate in the debate on matters relating to Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) proposals, provided that they approached the discussion with an open mind. The Monitoring Officer also advised that prior expression of a view on LGR proposals did not automatically preclude participation, subject to the member remaining open to persuasion during the meeting. Furthermore, members who had previously declared their membership of another local authority in their Register of Interests were not required to repeat this declaration at the Cabinet meeting.
There were no declarations of interest from Members. |
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Leader's Announcements To receive any announcements from the Leader of the Council. Additional documents: Minutes: There were no announcements from the Leader.
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Public Questions To deal with questions from the public within the open forum question and answer session of fifteen minutes in total. Questions from each member of the public should be no longer than one minute each and relate to issues under the Cabinet’s remit. At any one meeting no person may submit more than two questions and no more than two such questions may be asked on behalf of one organisation.
The Leader will ask whether any members of the public present at the meeting wish to ask a question and will decide on the order of questioners.
The response may take the form of: a) a direct oral answer; b) where the desired information is in a publication of the Council or other published work, a reference to that publication; or c) where the reply cannot conveniently be given orally, a written answer circulated later to the questioner. Additional documents: Minutes: There were no public questions. |
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Member Questions No Member Questions have been submitted prior to the publication of the agenda.
A Member of the Council may ask the Leader or a Cabinet Member a question on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties or which affects the Cotswold District. A maximum period of fifteen minutes shall be allowed at any such meeting for Member questions.
A Member may only ask a question if: a) the question has been delivered in writing or by electronic mail to the Chief Executive no later than 5.00 p.m. on the working day before the day of the meeting; or b) the question relates to an urgent matter, they have the consent of the Leader to whom the question is to be put and the content of the question is given to the Chief Executive by 9.30 a.m. on the day of the meeting.
An answer may take the form of: a) a direct oral answer; b) where the desired information is in a publication of the Council or other published work, a reference to that publication; or c) where the reply cannot conveniently be given orally, a written answer circulated later to the questioner. Additional documents: Minutes: There were no member questions. |
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Issue(s) Arising from Overview and Scrutiny and/or Audit and Governance To receive any recommendations from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and to consider any matters raised by the Audit and Governance Committee.
The following recommendation was made by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee as a result of consideration at their meeting on 17 November 2025.
Recommendation: That progress on the implementation Local Government Reorganisation in Gloucestershire, including decisions on the use of transition funds allocated by the Council, are subject to scrutiny and reported to Full Council, until such a time as the Shadow Authority is established.
The Cabinet response to the recommendation will be tabled at the meeting. Additional documents: Minutes: The Leader gave some background to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee recommendation and tabled the Chair’s formal response. It was noted that while the government had provided some funding to support councils to the current stage of the LGR process, implementation of LGR changes would be the responsibility of councils themselves, with no additional central funding. All costs would have to be covered by savings in other areas, with expenditure upfront and savings realised later.
The report considered by the Committee estimated Cotswold District Council’s share at £2m. It was noted that this number was still subject to discussion with the other councils. The Deputy Chief Executive & Section 151 Officer had recommended prudently allocating this amount to cover the Council's share of reorganisation costs.
In response to the recommendation from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee , it was confirmed that regular periodic updates would be provided to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and decisions would remain open to scrutiny as usual. It was further noted that Councillor Patrick Coleman and the Deputy Chief Executive and S151 Officer, would consider the level of financial provisions to be allocated at budget time.
No further comments were raised by Members.
The formal response to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s recommendation was published online during the meeting.
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Consideration of Local Government Reorganisation Submission Purpose To note the two proposals for local government reorganisation in Gloucestershire that have been developed collaboratively with all seven Gloucestershire councils for consideration by the Overview & Scrutiny Committee on 17 November 2025, Council on 26 November 2025 and Cabinet on 26 November 2025. The options are: a) creating a single unitary authority for the whole county and b) creating two unitary authorities, based on an East / West division of existing district and city councils. The proposal for East Gloucestershire Council comprises Tewksbury Borough Council, Cheltenham Borough Council and Cotswold District Council and the associated proportion of Gloucestershire County Council. The proposal for West Gloucestershire Council comprises Gloucester City Council, Forest of Dean District Council and Stroud District Council and the associated proportion of Gloucestershire County Council. Following this engagement with the Overview & Scrutiny Committee and Council, Cabinet will decide which, if any proposal should be formally submitted to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in response to his invitation dated 5 February 2025.
Recommendations(s): Overview & Scrutiny Committee and Council having considered the above two proposals for local government reorganisation in Gloucestershire and made any recommendations they wish to Cabinet for their decision. 1. That Cabinet considers which, if any, of the proposals it wishes to submit to Government regarding the future of local government in Gloucestershire 2. That Cabinet resolves to treat the decision as urgent under Part D6, paragraph 4.14 of the Constitution, and therefore disapplies the call-in procedure, on the grounds that any delay likely to be caused by the call-in process would prejudice the Council’s and the public’s interests.
Additional documents:
Minutes: Councillor Mike Evemy, Leader of the Council introduced the item which was the consideration of the Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) submission.
It was noted that all Members had been present at Full Council, where the options for Local Government Reorganisation had been debated at length. Council had unanimously resolved in favour of requesting that Cabinet propose a single unitary authority for Gloucestershire, the only unanimous decision among the Gloucestershire councils, with the remaining councils reaching majority decisions.
The Leader thanked Cabinet colleagues and Council Members for their decision. It was noted that Council had requested that Cabinet propose the single unitary option in response to the Minister’s invitation of 5 February 2025, and had further asked the Leader to send an accompanying letter setting out the reasons for the decision, based on the Full Council debate and Cabinet’s discussion. Council had also requested that Cabinet and officers continue to prepare for LGR ahead of the expected government decision in June or July 2026.
Cabinet was required to determine its proposal. The Leader stated that, on balance, the single unitary option appeared to be in the best interests of the District and its residents. Reference was made to the Full Council debate, which had emphasised the resilience of services, the vulnerability of users of SEND and adult social care, the importance of financial sustainability, and the £10m difference in ongoing savings between the available options. Concerns had also been expressed regarding the long-term viability of a two-unitary split.
It was noted that Cabinet decisions were usually subject to a five-day call-in period by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee; however, Members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had agreed to support call-in being disapplied in this case.
Members were invited to comment. Councillor Coleman commended the careful, evidence-based approach taken throughout the process. Councillor Hodgkinson endorsed these remarks and expressed his support for the single unitary option, citing the Fire Service as a strong example of unified service delivery.
Councillor Evemy concluded by noting that significant work lay ahead, with increasing Member involvement required. He reported that four councils in the county supported the single unitary option, one supported the Greater Gloucester option, one supported the East/West split and one had expressed no preference. These three options would therefore go forward for consideration, after which the government would determine viability. Should the Greater Gloucester option be deemed viable, it would be considered; however, it was considered more likely that the single unitary and east/west options would proceed to consultation, with a decision expected from government in June or July 2026.
The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Mike Evemy and seconded by Councillor Paul Hodgkinson.
Vote: 6 For, 0 against, 0 Abstentions.
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Next Meeting The next meeting of Cabinet will take place on 8 January 2026 at 6.00 pm. Additional documents: Minutes: The next Cabinet meeting was scheduled for 8 January 2026 at 6:00 pm. |
Carried