Another busy month. I had the pleasure of attending the Blaby Chairman’s annual event, with a great jazz band. I was invited to speak on Times Radio about Reform UK running local authorities on 20th September 2025 and then appearing on BBC television East Midlands Politics Show on 3rd October 2025.
Greenstone Primary School
I was proud to attend the official opening of Greenstone Primary School, the first ever new build Forest School in Coalville, delivered by Leicestershire County Council.
I have been involved in this project from the very beginning. In fact, I even broke ground with a shiny shovel and a hard hat two years ago!
It was fantastic to see the first cohort of children starting their journey in Acorn Class, enjoying such an inspiring learning environment.
This was a huge partnership project, and thanks goes to Harworth Group and the Lionheart Trust Academy, who are running the school, for making this vision a reality.
Cabinet Changes
There is another cabinet change this month. Councillor Helen Butler has resigned from her position as Cabinet Lead for Finance and Resources, citing family commitments.
Councillor Harrison Fowler is taking on the role – which includes HR, IT, property, and investments. Councillor Fowler’s previous cabinet portfolio is being split between council leader, Dan Harrison, who is taking on Strategic and County Planning and Economic Development, with tourism going to deputy leader, Councillor Kevin Crook.
Mr Fowler will also be retaining his role as the County Council’s representative on the East Midlands Freeport Board of Directors.
The Cabinet is now back down to nine members in total, after going up to ten members last month.
Local Government Reorganisation
Due to the submission deadlines, I could not highlight the consultation by the County Council on Local Government Reorganisation in my monthly report. I was not made aware until three days before the consultation was launched, and it was only open for 19 days!
The Reform UK Leader has now announced that, after months of assessing a number of options, the latest analysis shows that from a county perspective, a single unitary council for Leicestershire and Rutland is the most beneficial for services and for securing financial viability.
This view is now in line with the Interim Business Case that the previous Conservative Administration submitted to the government in March 2025.
The County Council has worked with the City Council on a financial model so that the data and assumptions across different proposals are consistent. The Districts and Borough Councils chose to take their own approach, so Charnwood Borough Council did not take part.
The analysis shows that a single council for Leicestershire and Rutland would save around £40 million each year, through fewer senior officers and elected members and reduced back-office costs and spending on services.
One-off transition costs are significant but paid back in a couple of years.
Options to extend the city save similar amounts but incur ongoing costs of splitting up services and splitting the savings between the city and county.
There is a dedicated webpage with much more information provided here or by scanning the QR code: https://www.leicestershire.gov.uk/about-the-council/council-plans/local-government-reorganisation
This is the high-level snapshot of the savings and transition costs.
Adult Social Care
Improvements are already underway in Leicestershire County Council’s adult services, following a Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessment.
The assessment took place from September 2024 to February 2025 and reviewed the responsibilities the council has under the Care Act 2014.
The changes are being set out as the CQC published their report which gives the services a ‘requires improvement’ rating.
The report says that people in Leicestershire have access to a range of support options that are safe, effective and affordable and states that improvements are needed in some areas.
Since the inspection, the number of people waiting for an assessment is down by 200, and new information packs are now in place.
You can read the full report here: https://www.cqc.org.uk/care-services/local-authority-assessment-reports or by scanning the QR code
If you have any issues or concerns, I’m here to help.
