To receive apologies for absence, including notifications of any changes to the membership of the Board.

Apologies were received from Stephen Kings, Chris Hart and Roy Linden, who was replaced by Hayley Costar

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 23 June 2025.

The minutes of the meeting held 23 June 2025 were confirmed as a true and accurate record of the meeting.

a)         To receive declarations of non pecuniary interests in respect of items on this agenda

For reference:  Having declared their non pecuniary interest members may remain in the meeting and speak and, vote on the matter in question.  A completed disclosure of interests form should be returned to the Clerk before the conclusion of the meeting.

b)        To receive declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests in respect of items on this agenda

For reference:  Where a Member has a disclosable pecuniary interest he/she must leave the meeting during consideration of the item.  However, the Member may remain in the meeting to make representations, answer questions or give evidence if the public have a right to do so, but having done so the Member must then immediately leave the meeting, may not vote and must not improperly seek to influence the outcome of the matter.  A completed disclosure of interests form should be returned to the Clerk before the conclusion of the meeting.

(Please Note:  If Members and Officers wish to seek advice on any potential interests they may have, they should contact Governance Support or Legal Services prior to the meeting.)

There were no Declarations of Interest submitted.

To consider any other items that the Chairman decides are urgent.

There were no urgent items.

Councillor Thomas gave an update on the results of the Local Government Reorganisation Engagement Survey, which closed on 31 August.  Councillor Thomas confirmed that there had been a good response rate to the survey, with 1431 responses received.  Councillor Thomas gave a breakdown of the responses, indicating that 64% of respondents favoured remaining as is.  Of the remaining respondents, support was evenly split between expanding Torbay into the Local Care Partnerhip footprint (ie combing with parts of Teignmouth and South Hams) and in creating a combined South Devon authority (the 1-4-5 Model).  There was little support displayed for including Torbay in a combined Devon authority.  Councillor Thomas also gave some insight into the demographic make up of the respondents, confirming that 28.5% of respondents were under 54, and 39% of respondents were retired.

Councillor Thomas outlined the next steps in this process.  With an Options Appraisal under way, the issue will return to Cabinet on 20 November and Full Council on 21 November, before submitting Torbays proposal to Central Government by the end of November.  It was confirmed that the proposal to Central Government will encompass the whole of the County, and that meetings are happenng across Devon to ensure the plan is workable for all areas.

The Chief Executive confirmed that recent events in Central Government may have an impact on LGR, as individuals who were leading the project were no longer in post.  However, the impact is not yet known.  It was confirmed that the Governments decision will be made in Spring 2026, and that further statutory consultation on options may be needed – however, this will not take the form of a public consultation exercise.  The final decision, after any further consultation, will be made in Summer 2026, and any new unitary councils created will act as shadow councils following the 2027 elections, and will be fully vested in 2028.  It was noted that this timeline is subject to change given recent developments in Central Government.  It was also noted that policing boundaries were not subject to the same consultation, and their alignment with political boundaries is not currently under discussion.

It was agreed that the Councils preferred option is bought back to the Place Leadership Board once a county-wide proposed map had been created.

Paul Britton from One Public Estate gave an outline of the organisation, which aims to bring together a variety of stakeholders, including public sector and private landowners, to maximise opportunities and efficiency in real estate.  Examples include multiple emergency services sharing facilities, and the creation of local hubs which bring together a variety of public and private sector services.  One Public Estate, funded through a combination of Government investment and private sector contributions, act as a broker, an investor and a bridge between stakeholders with similar aspirations.  There was a general discussion around the types of projects undertaken by One Public Estate, in which it was confirmed that a variety of scales, from small to extremely large and complex had been facilitated by One Public Estate.  There was a discussion on opportunities for assistance in NHS facilities in Paignton.  It was confirmed that One Public Estate could assiste with building business cases, developing projects, and by bringing stakeholders together to maximise opportunities and value to the public purse.  It was confirmed that there was currently a Devon-wide OPE board, but various members questioned whether the correct representatives from their organisations had been selected. 

Public Health Intelligence specialists from Torbay Council presented the Strategic Needs assessment as published.  There were questions from members around school attainment, social housing, disposable income and the provision of sports facilities, and how each of these interact with the findings of the assessment.  The Public Health Specialists then presented the strategy as published, which was based on the evidence gathered in the Strategic Needs Assessment.