The meeting was opened with a prayer.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Cowell and Steve Darling. 

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 24 July 2025.

The Worshipful The Mayor of Torbay proposed and Councillor Foster seconded a motion, which was agreed (unanimously) by the Council as set out below:

that the Minutes of the meeting of the Council, held on 24 July 2025, be confirmed as a correct record and signed by The Worshipful The Mayor of Torbay.

No interests were declared.

To receive any communications or announcements from the:

Ø  Civic Mayor, including an update from the Armed Forces Champion on the Armed Forces Covenant;

Ø  Leader of the Council;

Ø  Overview and Scrutiny Co-ordinator; or

Ø  Chief Executive.

At the invitation of the Worshipful the Mayor of Torbay, the Council’s Armed Forces Champion, Councillor Spacagna, provided a briefing (as attached to these minutes) on the work being undertaken on delivering the Armed Forces Covenant. 

The Worshipful the Mayor of Torbay reminded Members of the forthcoming Annual Civic lunch, due to be held on Friday 19 September 2025 at the Headland Hotel, Torquay, and encouraged Members to attend to support her chosen charity, Rowcroft Hospice.

The Leader of the Council updated Members on the response to the Council’s consultation on Local Government Reorganisation, which concluded on 31 August 2025.  Members were advised approximately 1500 responses had been received, with 68% voting in favour of Torbay Council staying within its existing boundaries, followed by option 2 (a new unitary council covering a similar catchment area of the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust) and then option 3 (a new unitary council covering the area of Torbay, South Hams, West Devon and Teignbridge – the 1, 4, 5 option).   The Leader of the Council reported that the results of the public consultation would inform the final decision of the Council at the end of November 2025 when all consultation results would be brought together in an option appraisal.

With the consent of the Worshipful the Mayor of Torbay, the Leader of the Council invited the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services to provide an update on the implementation of auto enrolment for free school meals in Torbay.  The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services announced that the implementation had been a success, with an additional 235 pupils within Torbay identified who qualified for free school meals.  He added, along with the children receiving a meal at school, the schools they attended received additional pupil premium funding, which totalled approximately £200,000 for primary schools and £87,000 for secondary schools.  The Cabinet Member advised 27% of children in Torbay were now receiving free school meals and Torbay was one of the first councils to introduce the initiative.  On behalf of the Council, the Cabinet Member, expressed thanks to Torbay’s schools and Council officers for working together to implement the scheme.

To hear and respond to any written questions or statements from members of the public which have been submitted in accordance with Standing Order A24.

In accordance with Standing Order A24, the Council heard from Ms Shaan Ellor who had submitted a statement and question in relation to the new Education Other Than at School (EOTAS) Pathway.  The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Councillor Bye, responded to the question and the statement that had been put forward, plus a supplementary question asked by Ms Ellor.

To respond to the submitted questions asked under Standing Order A12.

Members received a paper detailing questions, notice of which had been given in accordance with Standing Order A12.  The paper also contained the answers to the questions which had been prepared by Councillors Billings, Chris Lewis and David Thomas and was circulated prior to the meeting.

The Worshipful the Mayor of Torbay advised that she had accepted an urgent question from Councillor George Darling and in accordance with Standing Order A12.2(ii).

Supplementary questions were put and answered by Councillors Billings, Chris Lewis, David Thomas, arising from their responses to the questions in respect of questions 3, 5, 6, 7 and the urgent question 8.

To consider the recommendations of the Cabinet and the submitted report that provided a high-level budget summary of the Council’s revenue and capital position for the financial year 2025/26, reviewing budgets and considering year-end forecasts.

The Council received the Cabinet’s recommendations and submitted report on the high-level budget summary of the Council’s revenue and capital position for the financial year 2025/26, based on levels of spend and financial information at the end of Quarter 1 (up to 30 June 2025).  It was noted the Council was projecting an overspend of £785,000 by the end of the current financial year.

The submitted report included recommendations for revisions to the Council’s Investment Plan, a capital loan for SWISCo to modernise their fleet, and Levelling Up Round 3 grant allocation for acquiring land to deliver the Torbay Tech Park.

Councillor Tyerman proposed and Councillor Chris Lewis seconded a motion, which was agreed by the Council as set out below:

1.         that Council approves the revisions to the Capital Investment Plan, as per Appendix 1 to the submitted report;

2.         that Council approve the additional borrowing of up to £2.5m to facilitate a capital loan to SWISCo to enable them to modernise their fleet; and

3.         that Council approves an update to the Capital Programme of up to £3m allocated from Levelling Up Round 3 (LUF3) grant to acquire the required land for the delivery of the Torbay Tech Park.

To note a report that provides an annual report on the treasury management activities undertaken during the year 2024/25, which is compared to the 2024/25 Treasury Management Strategy.

The Council noted the Treasury Management Outturn for 2024/25 as set out in the submitted report.