To receive any apologies for absence.

Councillors Bramer and Powell

To receive declarations of interests in respect of Table A, Table B or Other Interests from members of the committee in respect of items on the agenda.

None.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 21 May 2026.

Resolved:       That the minutes of the meeting held on 21 May 2026 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairperson.

To receive questions from members of the public.

Questions received and responses given are attached as appendix 1 to the minutes.

To receive questions from councillors.

Questions received and responses given are attached as appendix 2 to the minutes.

To receive reports from the Council’s scrutiny committees on any recommendations to the Cabinet arising from recent scrutiny committee meetings.

There were no reports from scrutiny committees for consideration at this meeting.

To review performance for Quarter 4 (Q4) 2025/26 and to report the performance position across all Directorates for this period.

Councillor Stoddart, cabinet member for finance and corporate services introduced the report.

Cabinet received a report on progress against the Council Plan 2024-2028 and Delivery Plan 2025/26. Members noted that 184 of 255 milestones had been completed during the year, representing a 72% delivery rate, with 60 milestones to be carried forward into 2026/27 and 11 discontinued.

Progress was reported across the Council’s capital programme, including the Hereford Transport Hub, Holme Lacy Road Active Travel Improvements, phosphate mitigation projects, school expansion and maintenance schemes, and improvements to council estate assets.

Under the People theme, Members noted 67 of of the 87 milestones were completed, 8 were rolled over 26/27, 8 were parked as waiting on other interdependent activity  and rolled over 26/27 and 4 were discontinued.

Members noted progress in improving early years support and school readiness, successful foster carer recruitment resulting in performance above the national average, strengthened domestic abuse partnership working, co-production of the carers annual report, and the awarding of grants to improve community facilities across the county.

Under the Place theme, Members noted 57 of the 89 milestones were completed 57, 10 were rolled over to 26/27, 19 were parked as waiting on other interdependent activity and 3 milestones had been discontinued.

Progress was noted in community infrastructure programmes, parish-led highways and drainage improvements, River Wye restoration and catchment partnership working, and development of the county’s Nature Recovery Strategy, with publication deferred to allow full consideration of consultation responses.

Under the Growth theme, Members noted of the 39 milestones, 27 were completed, 4 were rolled over to 26/27, 4 were parked as waiting on other interdependent activity and 4 milestones had been discontinued.

Members noted progress in delivering affordable housing, including plans for the Merton Meadow and Essex Arms sites, refurbishment of a city-centre property to provide affordable homes, and ongoing work on the Buttercross development in Leominster. While the refurbishment tender had been delayed until April 2027, the additional time would support the development of a well-designed scheme and help ensure high-quality outcomes.

Under the Transformation theme, it was noted 33 of the 41 Milestones were completed, 2 were parked as waiting on other interdependent activity and 5 were rolled over into 26/27.

Members noted strengthened governance arrangements with Hoople Ltd and preparations for review of the Service Level Agreement. The development of a local Outcomes Framework, aligned to the Government’s Local Government Outcomes Framework, was also reported, with implementation planned from Quarter 1 2026/27.

Performance against key indicators was reviewed. Positive performance was reported in children's social care assessments, children in care reviews, planning application processing, affordable housing delivery, business grant support and staff sickness levels. Challenges remained in relation to supporting a small cohort of long-term rough sleepers and in maintaining people at home following discharge from hospital.

In conclusion, Cabinet noted the overall delivery rate and the commitment to progress outstanding milestones during 2026/27.

Comments from cabinet members:

Members received an update on the winter night shelter, which operated for 177 nights  ...  view the full minutes text for item 102.

To provide an update on the status of corporate risks at the end of Quarter 4 2025/26 (March 2026) and provide assurance that risks are being managed effectively across the council.

Councillor Stoddart cabinet member for finance and corporate services introduced the report.

It was noted that effective risk management was essential to delivering the priorities set out in the Council Plan, including the commitment to strengthen corporate and directorate-level risk management through the Corporate Risk Strategy.

Members were advised that the updated Risk Management Strategy 2025/26 and Risk Appetite Statement were approved in June 2025. The Corporate Leadership Team (CLT) reviewed the Corporate Risk Register as at 31 March 2026, considering risk scores, controls, mitigations, and any emerging risks and opportunities linked to the Council Plan 2024-28. No new corporate risks were identified for inclusion at Quarter 4.

The Committee noted that all nine corporate risks had been reviewed. Risk 7, relating to the council’s ability to respond to a significant emergency, increased from a score of 9 to 12 due to the growing threat posed by cyber security risks and the potential impact on service delivery, public confidence, and finances.

It was reported that CLT is continuing to embed the revised risk management approach across the organisation. The 2025/26 Internal Audit Plan had been reviewed to align with the updated Risk Management Strategy and Corporate Risk Register and was approved by the Audit and Governance Committee in September 2025.

It was noted that risk management arrangements will continue to be monitored through the council’s governance framework, with relevant matters to be reported through the 2025/26 Annual Governance Statement to the Audit and Governance Committee.

The report and its recommendations were commended for approval.

Comments from cabinet members:

None

Group Leaders were invited to offer their views:

The representative for Independents for Herefordshire outlined the views of their group and raised that:

The clearer presentation of changes within the risk register was welcomed and asked whether future reports highlight amendments more clearly.

There was an outstanding issue regarding member training on the Corporate Risk Register.

Questions were raised about whether there was evidence that the Corporate Risk Register was improving decision-making across the council, acknowledging that the benefits of risk management can be difficult to measure. The member invited Cabinet's views on the effectiveness of the register in supporting informed decisions.

Particular concern was expressed regarding Risk 4 (Failure to deliver capital and major projects within identified resources and planned timeframes resulting in significant overspend and reduced project outcomes), which the member considered to be the most significant threat facing the council. Clarification was sought on the actions and mitigations that had been implemented since the previous report, noting changes to the narrative and references to external support and project assurance activity. The member queried whether the reported actions were sufficiently addressing the risk and whether progress could be demonstrated over the reporting period.

The member also invited Cabinet members to comment on which corporate risks they regarded as the most significant and which posed the greatest concern to them.

The representative for Liberal Democrat Group outlined the views of their group and raised that:

Risk R8 (Risks  ...  view the full minutes text for item 103.