Agenda

To receive any apologies for absence from Councillors.

Councillors are requested to declare any interests on items included in this agenda. Please refer to the workflow on the preceding page for guidance.

Declarations received will be reported at the meeting.

To confirm and sign as a correct record the minutes of the Meeting held on 10 February 2026 and the Budget Meeting held on 24 February 2026.

To receive any announcements from the Chairman.

To receive any public questions, statements or petitions submitted in accordance with the Constitution. Further information on the requirements for submitting these is available to view at the following link: -

https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CommitteeID=151&Info=1&bcr=1

The deadline for the submission of public questions is mid-day Wednesday 18 March (mid-day, 3 clear working days before the meeting).

The deadline for the submission of a statement is mid-day Monday 23 March 2026 (mid-day the working day before the meeting).

The deadline for the submission of a petition is Tuesday 10 March 2026 (10 working days before the meeting).

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL the adoption of the Financial Regulations as shown in Appendix A and approved by the Audit and Governance Committee. The operation go live date to be 1 April 2026.

RECOMMENDED that Council agrees the capital programme as set out in the report, including the budget allocations set against the capital funding available for the period 2026/27.

RECOMMENDED that Council: -

(a)           note the confidential minutes and the recommendations of the Cross-Party Strategic Asset Disposal Working Group meeting held on the 12 February 2026; and

(b)           approve the disposal on an open market basis of; 12-14 Commercial Road, Queensmead Care Home and Penn Hill Car Park on such terms to be approved by the Director of Finance, acting in his capacity as Corporate Property Officer, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance.

[PLEASE NOTE: Should Council wish to discuss the detail of the confidential appendices at Appendix 2 or Appendix 3 the meeting will be required to move into Confidential (Exempt) Session].

RECOMMENDED that: -

(a)           Cabinet recommends to Council approval of the 2026/27 Local Transport Consolidated Fund programme as set out in Appendix A and delegates delivery to the Director of Planning and Transport in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Climate Response, Environment and Energy and Portfolio Holder for Destination, Leisure & Commercial Operations;

NOTE- resolution (b) was a resolved matter by the Cabinet

RECOMMENDED that Cabinet recommends to Council delegation of the investment of the £2.96m of 2026/27 active travel funding to the Service Director for Planning & Transport in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Climate Response, Environment and Energy.

RECOMMENDED that: -

(a)           Cabinet recommends to Council acceptance of the £5.64m Local Authority Bus Grant funding for 2026/27 from the Department for Transport; and

(b)           Cabinet recommends to Council to Delegate delivery of the Local Authority Bus Grant funded Bus Service Improvement Plan programme set out in Appendix 2 of this report to the Service Director for Planning and Transport in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Climate Mitigation, Energy and Environment.

RECOMMENDED that Cabinet recommends to Council to: -

(a)           approve the submission of an application to the Secretary of State for Transport to establish and operate a Lane Rental Scheme across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole; and

(b)           subject to Secretary of State approval, delegate the establishment and operation of a BCP Lane Rental scheme to the Service Director for Planning and Transport in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Climate Mitigation, Energy and Environment.

The Council is asked to consider and approve the schedule of meetings for the 2026/27 and 2027/28 municipal years.

Motion to Council: Protecting Enforceable SEND Support

The following motion submitted in accordance with Procedure Rule 10 of the Meeting Procedure Rules has been proposed by Councillor J Salmon.

Council notes:

1.    That Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) currently provide the primary legal mechanism through which children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) can secure enforceable support.

2.    That the Government’s proposed SEND reforms set out in the White Paper Every Child Achieving and Thriving introduce Individual Support Plans (ISPs) as the primary planning mechanism for many children, while linking EHCPs more closely to nationally defined Specialist Provision Packages.

3.    That ISP-based provision does not provide the same legally enforceable entitlement where support is not delivered.

4.    That the proposed reforms would increase the role of schools in funding and delivering SEND support.

5.    That national commentary and emerging legal challenge have raised concern that aspects of the proposed reforms may weaken existing legal rights and routes to challenge unmet need.

6.    That Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council faces significant financial pressures within its High Needs SEND budget.

7.    That there is concern nationally that SEND reform designed to manage system costs may weaken enforceable protections for children.

8.    That rising SEND costs nationally are widely linked to increasing reliance on private and independent provision, alongside shortages of publicly provided specialist places and services.

9.    That adopted, kinship and care-experienced children often experience developmental trauma which affects their educational engagement and support needs.

10.That recent changes to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) have reduced access to therapeutic support for adopted and special guardianship families.

11.That leading SEND legal practitioners, including Michael Charles of Sinclairs Law, have warned of a potential shift of decision-making power away from families within emerging SEND reforms.

12.That national SEND charities and professional bodies have welcomed the ambition of reform while calling for safeguards to ensure access to statutory support is not narrowed.

Council believes:

1.    That SEND reform should improve support without weakening families’ ability to secure provision through enforceable rights.

2.    That expanding access to support should not come at the expense of enforceable entitlement or meaningful rights of challenge.

3.    That support must be driven by need rather than affordability.

4.    That trauma-informed approaches are essential to supporting adopted, kinship and care-experienced children.

5.    That SEND reform should be aligned with wider support systems, including access to therapeutic provision.

6.    That addressing the financial sustainability of the SEND system should focus on strengthening publicly available provision and specialist capacity, rather than reducing children’s access to statutory support.

Council resolves to:

1.    Respond to the Government’s SEND consultation in a way that supports reform only where it:

·        retains EHCPs as the primary route to legally enforceable support

·        does not reduce access to EHCPs

·        does not shift responsibility for securing provision from the local authority to schools

·        does not allow financial pressures to limit children’s legal entitlement

·        does not weaken routes for families to  ...  view the full agenda text for item 14.

The deadline for questions to be submitted to the Monitoring Officer is Monday 16 March 2026.

To consider any urgent decisions taken by the Chief Executive in accordance with the Constitution.