i) Chairman of Council
ii) Leader of the Council
iii) Head of Paid Service
Minutes:
Chairman
In the absence of the Chairman, the Vice-Chairman, addressed the Chamber highlighting recent events attended.
He thanked those Councillors who had supported the Chairman at his Community Carol Service, held at All Saints Parish Church in Gainsborough. The event had been well attended and had raised £200 for the Chairman’s Charities.
Both the Chairman and Vice-Chairman had had the pleasure of attending the Pantomime at the Trinity Arts Centre, which had been superb, and of the most successful yet. The centre had been alive with laughter, with many performances being a sell-out. He congratulated all those involved for what had been a most successful run and was looking for forward to Panto 2026 already.
The last Christmas duty the Vice-Chairman wished to reflect on was the work he personally undertook supporting Gainsborough’s Town Mayor and the Salvation Army, in providing food parcels and toys, which had been most rewarding. He commended the work of charities in supporting people over the festive period.
January had seen Councillors including the Chairman and Vice Chairman attend the Gainsborough Academy, for a tour of their facilities. Councillors heard and saw the wonderful things being achieved by students and staff with the school now ranked amongst the top 20 most improved schools nationally.
And finally, with mention in the media that fewer young people were reading, the Vice-Chairman took the opportunity to raise awareness of Word Fest which would be rolled out over West Lindsey during the summer months. Word Fest included creative writing workshops, authors meet and greets alongside children’s crafts. He encouraged youngsters and their parents to support the event.
Leader of the Council
The Leader of the Council addressed the meeting and made the following announcements: -
“Last week I went to Gainsborough Police Station for my regular update on policing in the District. I also attended a meeting of the Community and Alcohol Partnership, where representatives of different organisations discussed concerns surrounding underage drinking.
I am concerned about the pressure on our local police teams and so I wrote to the Chief Constable to ask him to reconsider his intention to reduce the number of Officers in the Neighbourhood Teams. Unfortunately he is so short of trained police officers that some must be moved to response teams for the moment. He did offer reassurance though, as there is a cohort of officers coming through training which will add to police numbers in about six months’ time, and we hope to get at least some of our Officers back then.
Together with the Chief Executive, I attended a meeting of the joint Greater Lincolnshire Leaders where we discussed the LGR timeline in some detail so far as it is known.
West Lindsey has agreed to host a website for Lincolnshire Councils to share information, and this will help us all to steer our way through the process. Consultation for this is due to start in early February and will last for seven weeks.
I continue to attend the meetings of the Great Lincolnshire County Combined Authority (GLCCA) Education and Skills Board, and although this is a very new committee, Members are beginning to develop and agree strategies for Greater Lincolnshire.
The Chief Executive and I also attend regular meetings with County Leaders where LGR is high on the agenda. Also, the Deputy Leader and I attend regular briefings with Officers who are very careful to make sure that the collective voice of Members is included in such important documents as the Corporate Plan.
This week I drove to Sheffield with the Deputy Leader and Officers from West Lindsay to visit the Zest Centre, which is a community facility run by a charity. Many Councillors have expressed a strong desire to create a fund for community projects around the District, and this was a fact -finding exercise to help with that. In addition to essential projects such as updating the Leisure Centre in Gainsborough, we want to make sure that other parts of West Lindsey are not left out, and the Zest Centre gave us particularly promising ideas to take forward.
Further information is being gathered and will be shared with all Members when we have it.”
Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service
In addressing the Chamber, the Chief Executive provided Members with updates on the following key matters: -
Government’s Financial Settlement
The provisional finance settlement for 2026/27 had been published on 17 December 2025. The 26/27 settlement would be the first multi-year settlement in over a decade and would run to 28/29, the Council welcomed the move as it provided some certainty in an uncertain future, particularly having regards to Local Government Re-Organisation (LGR). The Section 151 Officer had responded to the consultation on the provisional settlement and the final settlement was expected next week.
Food Waste Collection
Along with many other Authorities across the Country the Council was continuing to work towards the roll out of the new food waste collection service. The service would be introduced from Monday 30 March and in advance of that food waste caddies would be delivered across the District, commencing on Monday 2 February.
Illuminate Festival
Members were reminded that this year's illuminate festival would be taking place on Saturday 21 February between 6pm to 8pm. This year's theme, Through the Window, drew inspiration from the architecture of Gainsborough's most iconic buildings. The event would feature a lantern parade, performances and a series of light-based installations. Members were encouraged to attend and promote the event.
Peer Challenge – Follow-Up
Back in January 2025, the Council had invited a team of Member and Officer Peers to the Council as part of a Corporate Peer Challenge, the outcome of which and an update on progress against the recommendations had previously been reported to Full Council. As part of the process, a follow-up review is held to consider the progress made. The Chief Executive advised that “the follow-up day” would take place 24 March 2026 and it would will involve many Members as part of that process. Further details would follow in due course and the outcomes of the follow-up would be reported formally to Full council towards the summer.
LGR Member Briefing
Following on from the Leader’s announcements regarding LGR, the Chief Executive advised that a Member briefing was being arranged and was planned to be held on 11 February, again further details would be circulated.