Agenda
|
Meeting |
Executive |
|
To: |
Councillors Carl Les (Chairman), Mark Crane, Gareth Dadd, Richard Foster, Michael Harrison, Simon Myers, Heather Phillips, Janet Sanderson, Malcolm Taylor and Annabel Wilkinson. |
|
Date: |
Tuesday 6 January 2026 |
|
Time: |
11.00 am |
|
Venue: |
Meeting Room 3, County Hall, Northallerton |
This meeting is being live broadcast and recorded and will be available to view via our website and uploaded to our Youtube channel.
Business
|
1. |
Apologies for Absence
|
|
|
2. |
Minutes of the Meeting held on 16 December 2025
|
(Pages 7 - 22) |
|
3. |
Declarations of Interest
|
|
|
4. |
Exclusion of the Public |
|
||||
|
|
Members are recommended to exclude the public from the meeting during consideration of each of the items of business listed in Column 1 of the following table on the grounds that they each involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the paragraph(s) specified in column 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 as amended by the Local Government (Access to information)(Variation) Order 2006:
|
|||||
|
5. |
Public Questions and Statements |
|
|
|
Members of the public may ask questions or make statements at this meeting if they have given notice to Elizabeth Jackson, Principal Democratic Services Officer, and supplied the text by midday on Wednesday 24 December 2025, three working days before the day of the meeting. Each speaker should limit themselves to 3 minutes on any item. Members of the public who have given notice will be invited to speak: · at this point in the meeting if their questions/statements relate to matters which are not otherwise on the Agenda (subject to an overall time limit of 30 minutes); · when the relevant Agenda item is being considered if they wish to speak on a matter which is on the Agenda for this meeting. If you are exercising your right to speak at this meeting, but do not wish to be recorded, please inform the Leader who will instruct anyone who may be taking a recording to cease while you speak.
|
|
|
6. |
School Admissions Arrangements for the School Year 2027/28 |
(Pages 23 - 86) |
|
|
Recommended
1) That the proposed Admission Arrangements for 2027/2028 be recommended to the Council for approval on 13 February 2026, including: -
· The proposed co-ordinated admission arrangements · The proposed coordinated in-year admission arrangements · The proposed admission policy for Community and Voluntary Controlled Schools · The proposed admission policy for Ripon Grammar Boarding School · The proposed admission policy for Community and Voluntary Controlled Nursery Schools, Schools with Nursery Classes and Pre-Reception Classes · The proposed published admission numbers (PAN’s) for community and voluntary controlled schools.
2) That the relevant areas for consultation on the School Admission Arrangements remain unchanged
|
|
|
7. |
Mainstream Schools and Special Schools Budget 2026/27 |
(Pages 87 - 124) |
|
|
Recommended
The Council’s Executive is asked to note the contents of this report, and to agree:
a. That the Council applies a Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG) of 0% in the calculation of mainstream school budgets for the 2026-27 financial year.
b. That the Council uses Age Weighted Pupil Units (AWPU) as the methodology for the allocation to school budgets of any surplus funding available within the Schools Block DSG after the calculation of the school funding formula using National Funding Formula (NFF) values for the 2026-27 financial year
c. That the Council uses a higher funding gains cap and higher scaling back percentage for managing the recovery of any funding shortfall on the Schools Block DSG after the calculation of the school funding formula using NFF values for the 2026-27 financial year. In the event of any funding shortfall being too significant to manage through the use of the capping and scaling mechanism, the Corporate Director – Resources and the Corporate Director – Children & Young People’s Service, in consultation with the Chair of the Schools Forum, will determine a school funding methodology that delivers affordability within the 2026-27 Schools Block DSG and associated reserves.
d. That the Council includes an exceptional circumstance lump sum of £50,000 for very small sparse secondary schools (which would otherwise be unable to attract sufficient funding to remain viable) in the 2026-27 North Yorkshire school funding formula.
e. That the Council uses the exceptional circumstance formula factor for schools where their approved rent costs are in excess of 1% of their delegated budget
f. That the Council transfers 0.5% of funding from the Schools Block Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) to the High Needs Block, as agreed by the North Yorkshire Schools Forum on 20 November 2025.
g. That the Council applies MFG funding protection of 0% for special schools for the 2026-27 financial year, as prescribed by the DfE.
h. That the Council applies 2% to the Banded Funding allocations (top up/ ‘element 3’ allocations) received by mainstream and special schools and academies for the 2026-27 financial year.
i. That the Council applies 2% to the Banded Funding allocations (top up / element 3 allocations) received by pupil referral units and alternative provision settings for the 2026-27 financial year.
j. That the Council applies 2% to the factor elements within the Special school contextual funding for the 2026-27 financial year.
k. That the Council will continue to lobby for a fairer and more equitable funding settlement for schools in North Yorkshire. We will also continue to lobby for a fairer settlement of High Needs resources.
|
|
|
8. |
Closure of The Mercury Housing Co Ltd |
(Pages 125 - 130) |
|
|
Recommended
Members are requested to:
i. approve the application to strike off and dissolve the Company;
ii. authorise the Company’s directors to apply to Companies House for the voluntary strike off of the Company; and
iii. authorise the Assistant Director for Legal Operations to take all necessary steps to facilitate the strike off of the Company.
|
|
|
9. |
Creation of a new Wide Area Network Solution and Digital Services Company |
(Pages 131 - 156) |
|
|
Recommendations
Executive are requested to: i) approve the Business Case at Appendix A; ii) approve the implementation of a new wholly owned company (NPSL), in accordance with the details set out in the Business Case at Appendix A; iii) approve the setting up of a company limited by shares; iv) approve the investment of a nominal share capital of one £1 share in NPSL; v) approve NYnet Public Sector Limited as the name of the new wholly owned company; vi) approve the appointment of the Chief Executive, the Assistant Chief Executive (Legal and Democratic Services), Alastair Taylor, Peter Scrope and Richard Doyle as directors of NPSL; vii) approve the appointment of the Assistant Chief Executive (Legal and Democratic Services) as company secretary of NPSL; viii) approve the appointment of the Corporate Director (Resources) as the Shareholder Representative for NYnet Limited and NPSL; ix) delegate the approval of the articles of association and any other governance documents associated with NPSL to the Assistant Director (Legal); x) delegate the approval of the amendments to the memorandum (including company objects) and articles of association, and any other governance documents associated with the change of NYnet Limited to a commercial company to the Assistant Director (Legal); xi) delegate to the Corporate Director (Resources), in consultation with the Assistant Director (Legal), to conclude all steps to agree a reduction of the current loan facility cap to NYnet Limited from £10m to £5m and a new loan facility of £5m to NPSL; xii) delegate to the Assistant Director (Legal) to progress and conclude the working arrangements of NPSL including the method of the provision of support services, staffing and secondment arrangements between NPSL and NYnet Limited; xiii) delegate all other necessary steps to secure the implementation of the proposed option to the Assistant Director (Legal); xiv) agree that the appointed officers to the board of directors of NPSL on behalf of the Council will be entitled to indemnity in accordance with the Council’s Indemnity Policy for Members and Employees; xv) delegate to the Assistant Director (Legal) the approval of the termination of the Council’s existing contract with NYnet Limited and the direct award of new contracts to NPSL under the Teckal exemption or novation of existing contracts as required
|
|
|
10. |
Area Committee Feedback Report |
(Pages 157 - 162) |
|
|
Recommendation
That the Executive notes the report and considers any matters arising from the work of the six Area Committees, that merits further scrutiny, review or investigation at a county-level.
|
|
|
11. |
Forward Plan
|
(Pages 163 - 178) |
|
12. |
Any Other Items |
|
|
|
Any other items which the Leader agrees should be considered as a matter of urgency because of special circumstances
|
|
|
13. |
Date of Next Meeting
|
|
|
Members are reminded that in order to expedite business at the meeting and enable Officers to adapt their presentations to address areas causing difficulty, they are encouraged to contact Officers prior to the meeting with questions on technical issues in reports.
|
Members of the public are entitled to attend this meeting as observers for all those items taken in open session. You may be interested in subscribing to updates about this or any other North Yorkshire Council committee.
Recording is allowed at Council, committee and sub-committee meetings which are open to the public. Please give due regard to the Council’s protocol on audio/visual recording and photography at public meetings. We ask that any recording is clearly visible to anyone at the meeting and that it is non-disruptive.
Anyone wishing to record is asked to contact the Democratic Services Officer (details below) prior to the start of the meeting.
|
Contact Details |
|
|
For enquiries relating to this agenda and meeting please contact: Elizabeth Jackson, Principal Democratic Services Officer E-mail: elizabeth.jackson@northyorks.gov.uk E-mail: democraticservices.central@northyorks.gov.uk Tel: 01423 556409
|
|
Barry Khan
Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Democratic Services