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Newport Cabinet met on 11 February 2026 to consider its final 2026/27 budget and Medium-Term Financial Plan, the Capital and Treasury Management Strategies, the Pay and Reward Policy, a complaints report, and three regeneration and governance items. The minutes record decisions on the final budget (including a recommended balanced budget and Council Tax level for Full Council), on endorsing the Pride in Place neighbourhood boundary, on submitting an Expression of Interest for Caerleon to the UK Town of Culture 2028 competition, and on a Deed of Variation lowering the quorum for the National Adoption Service joint committee. The minutes record no decision on the Capital Strategy, Pay and Reward Policy beyond noting and recommending them to Full Council.
None.
Item 8. Pride in Place: Councillor Adan, Pillgwenlly ward member. Item 8. Pride in Place: Councillor D Davies, Trustee for Maindee Unlimited. Item 8. Pride in Place: Councillor Corten, works for Member of Parliament who sits on the board. Item 8. Pride in Place: Councillor Clarke, Chair of Pill Master Plan. Item 9. Town of Culture: Councillor Hughes, Caerleon ward member.
The Minutes from 12 January 2026 were accepted as a true record. Moved by Councillor Clake and seconded by Councillor Adan.
The Leader introduced the above report to Cabinet, which highlighted the key issues following the budget consultation, affecting the development of the Council’s 2026/27 budget and Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP) and presented the budget proposals. § The final Welsh Government settlement had improved significantly since the draft proposals, confirming an additional £6 million in the Council’s Revenue Support Grant (RSG) – which paid for about 75% of our budget. The budget process continued after the draft budget for consultation was agreed. A further £415k of non-service savings were identified and nearly £900k from reduced employer pension contributions. The budget included these savings to maximise the additional investments this final budget would now include. § After a small update to the inflation factor required for the final budget, the report confirmed there was £5.961m of funds ‘in hand’. This now became £7.349m after the pension and additional non-service savings were included. § Together, the increase in the RSG of £22.5m and Council Tax income of £6.3m amounted to the biggest financial investment in local public services for a decade. The draft budget continued to invest in people-based services, as proposed: • Over £800k to support increased costs in supporting individuals or families who were or were at risk of being homeless. • Nearly £1.3m to support children with additional learning needs, to provide more Learning Resource Base capacity in schools as well as specialist provision. • Over £2.2m to support growing demand and complexity in Children’s social care provision. For schools specifically – all cost increases were funded, including the cost of new and growing schools across the city, going further with more investment in Additional Learning Needs provision as outlined. No savings were proposed to school budgets and that remained. Schools’ budgets were going up by £8.4m - an increase of 5.6%. Further investments into these service areas with: § £875k for children’s social care for implementing local provision of care homes. Whilst the draft budget already invested significant sums to deal with increased demand, it also assumed that the service would find ways to absorb or reduce some of the demand increases here and that was very challenging. This investment fully funded the service for its current demand levels for 2026/27. From the prior year underspend reserves, further allocation of one off investment of £250k into the Chief Education Officer Fund. This supported schools financial resilience and made a significant contribution to track record of supporting school in managing their finances. Priorities for residents and communities - (1) Like other Councils, Newport was experiencing significant challenges with maintaining roads and other assets. A start was already made with roads following funding from Welsh Government and one-off funds from the Council, as well as building assets such as the civic building. It was hoped to maintain a momentum to do more. The budget included: § £250k additional annual funding into building maintenance budgets § £500k additional annual funding into highways maintenance budgets § £1m additional annual funding to enable one-off £12m borrowing to spend on highways Investing in these areas had already started, over and above their current annual budgets and now these would keep the momentum going and also provide permanent additional funding in going forward. As well as the investment in revenue budget, from the prior year underspend reserves, further allocation one off investments of: § £1.5m for highways maintenance. § £200k to support street improvements, helping enhance the look and feel of our neighbourhoods, on things like street nameplates and highways signage and lines. § £105k would go into wider infrastructure improvements. § £1m for continued essential maintenance of the Civic Centre. § £150k for school buildings maintenance. § £200k to support main route enhancements, improving the gateways into the city. (2) Secondly, investment of more into the budgets which supported communities and their concerns and priorities. The budget included: § £97k for two new Community Warden posts. § £170k for a second HitSquad for the ReNewport programme. To help respond more quickly to local issues and maintain cleaner, safer streets. § £54k for an HMO Licensing Officer and £65k for a new Environment Policy Officer. These would strengthen our regulatory and environmental capacity, ensuring the Council meets the standards our residents expect. § £5k for community groups funding support for reflecting a commitment to strengthening the places people live and the organisations that bring communities together. As well as the investment in the revenue budget; from the prior year underspend reserves, a further allocation one-off investments of: § £500k to establish a Grassroots Sports Feasibility Fund, supporting opportunities to expand local community sports provision. § £250k match funding for elite sports clubs. § £300k additional investment into the Council’s Road Safety Fund which was popular since it was established and was already oversubscribed. This provided more capacity for local communities to come to us with their own concerns in respect of highway interventions to improve safety. (3) Thirdly, investment in more of the regeneration activities and also invest more into the Council’s budgets to increase capital headroom through borrowing. The budget included: § £270k funding for regeneration, culture and heritage § £1.5m additional annual funding to enable one-off £18m borrowing to provide additional capital headroom. § £500k additional contribution to the Council’s capital reserves for this year coming and this would be reviewed thereafter. (4) Lastly, an investment into the Council itself, to provide essential services to the city. The budget for the Council included: § £1m contribution to the Council’s Transformation reserve to provide funding for continued improvements in services. § £500k contribution to the Council’s general reserve. These were in line with the Head of Finance recommendation and provide capacity and resilience to the Council. § £200k into the communications team, specifically to support the on-going development of the Council’s website and enhance effective digital communication channels with residents. § £48k for on-going costs associated with cloud-based technology services to support service development. § £70k for finance support to support our investment in the capital programme and associated major projects. § £170k to fund increased business rates in Council buildings following confirmation of 2026/27 rateable values and rates multipliers. From the prior year underspend reserve: • £480k investment in cloud-based technology services to support service development. • Support for the Council’s capital programme by allocating a one-off £1.5m contribution to the capital financing costs of the Council. The Capital Strategy identified the need for this to fund the delivery and borrowing costs of the existing programme and which was in progress. This would be a charge against the current year’s capital financing budget and was afforded from the forecast underspend currently in place. Councillor Lacey proposed the report, seconded by Councillor D Davies. Decision: With the improved settlement and additional savings, Cabinet § noted the consultation feedback and revised financial position, § agreed the final investments and savings as shown in the report, Appendix 5 & 6 and those outlined by the Leader, § approved the allocation of £4.9m from the Prior Year Underspend as outlined by the Leader, § approved the Fees and Charges schedule for 2026/27, § recommended a final balanced budget and the Council Tax level to Full Council on 24 February 2026, and § approved the use of reserves in line with Appendix 9a-c. The Leader thanked services more widely for their support and to the corporate management team specifically for their commitment in helping to build this year’s budget in a sustainable and innovative way.
The Leader presented the Capital Strategy, to Cabinet colleagues, which set out the long-term context (10 years) in which capital decisions were made. The treasury management activities the Council undertook were inherently linked to the capital plans of the authority and, therefore, the Treasury Management Strategy was included alongside the Capital Strategy. The main recommendations arising from the two strategies were outlined in the report. Councillor D Davies proposed the report, seconded by Councillor R Howells. Decision: Cabinet recommended to Council for approval – § The Capital Strategy (Appendix 2), including the draft Capital Programme within it (shown separately in Appendix 1), and the borrowing requirements/limits needed to deliver the new programme. § The Treasury Management Strategy and Treasury Management Indicators, the Investment Strategy and the Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) policy for 2026/27. (Appendix 3). § To note, and comment as needed, on the increasing debt, and corresponding revenue cost of this, in delivering the Capital Programme, and the implications of this over both the short and medium to long term. § As part of the strategies, Cabinet was also asked to approve the Capital Programme. § To note the feedback provided by the Governance and Audit Committee on 22nd January 2026 (paragraph 4).
The Deputy Leader introduced the report, outlining the current position in respect of pay and reward within the Council. This was also reported to Council on an annual basis to meet the principles of fairness, equality, accountability, and value for money for the authority and its residents. No changes were proposed this year outside of the normal increases in values. Additionally, the Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023 (“SPPP Act”) came into force April 2024 and required the Council to report annually on how it complied with the duty. The Council included its first SPPP Act report within the Pay and Reward Policy last year. Councillor Clarke proposed the report, seconded by Councillor Forsey. Decision: Cabinet noted the content of the draft Pay and Reward Policy and recommended it for adoption by Full Council.
The Leader presented an update on the above report, previously presented to Cabinet in September. Since then, the Public Service Ombudsman for Wales reissued their annual letter to the Council due to changes to their complaint figures. Councillor D Davies proposed the report, seconded by Councillor Lacey. Decision: Cabinet endorsed the updated Annual Report on Compliments, Comments and Complaints Management 2024/2025 and proposed actions.
Councillor Clarke declared an interest in this item as Chair of Pill Master Plan. The Leader presented the report, requesting endorsement for a Pride in Place (PiP) neighbourhood within a defined area encompassing specified Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs) within the Stow Hill, Pillgwenlly and Victoria wards. The Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD) was used to inform the area selection and aligned with PiP’s purpose to build stronger and empowered communities and to create thriving places. The proposed area received initial approval from UK Government on this basis. Councillor Adan proposed the report, seconded by Councillor D Davies. Decision: Cabinet endorsed the proposed Pride in Place neighbourhood boundary, and authorised the Head of Regeneration and Economic Development, in consultation with the Leader, to form a Pride in Place board, and prepare the required Pride in Place delivery plan and business case.
The Cabinet Member for Communications and Culture presented the above report. The UK Government launched the first UK Town of Culture competition, a year-long competition due to commence in 2028, with up to £3million funding available to deliver the cultural programme. With this in mind, an Expression of Interest (EOI) would be put forward for Caerleon, because of its nationally significant history and Roman heritage. Caerleon benefitted from a formal partnership between Newport City Council, Cadw and Amgueddfa Cymru which was currently developing a shared vision and masterplans for Roman Caerleon. Councillor Hughes proposed the report, seconded by Councillor R Howells. Decision: Cabinet - 1. Agreed to the development and submission of an Expression of Interest to the UK Town of Culture 2028 competition, focused on the town of Caerleon. 2. Delegated authority to the Head of Regeneration and Economic Development to: § Submit the EOI by the relevant deadline, and § In consultation with the Cabinet Member for Culture and Communications, to engage and consult with relevant external partners, businesses and stakeholders, including Amgueddfa Cymru and Cadw as part of the Roman Caerleon Partnership.
The Cabinet Member for Social Services presented the report, which outlined the reasons why the National Joint Committee was created to oversee the National Adoption Service and Foster Wales. It outlined the challenges faced in obtaining quoracy for these Joint Committee meetings and offered a solution to enable the Joint Committee to function into the future. Councillor D Davies proposed the report, seconded by Councillor R Howells. Decision: Cabinet approved the entering into by the Council of the Deed of Variation of the Agreement for the Establishment of a Joint Committee for the National Adoption Service, in the Appendix to this report.
This was the regular monthly report on the Work Programme. Councillor Lacey proposed the report, seconded by Councillor Clarke. Decision: Cabinet agreed the Work Programme.
Councillors must say when they have a personal link to something being discussed, such as a job, a property or a family member. A prejudicial interest is one strong enough that the councillor usually leaves the room and takes no part.
Adan: Personal and prejudicial interest on Pride in Place Programme
Ward member for Pillgwenlly, which lies within the Pride in Place area. The minute gives this as a declared interest. The minute does not say whether the councillor took part in the vote.
D Davies: Personal and prejudicial interest on Pride in Place Programme
Trustee for Maindee Unlimited, an organisation the report names as part of the Pride in Place area's community partnerships.
Corten: Personal interest on Pride in Place Programme
Works for a Member of Parliament who sits on the Pride in Place board.
Clarke: Personal and prejudicial interest on Pride in Place Programme
Chair of the Pill Master Plan. The minute records that Councillor Clarke declared an interest in this item.
Hughes: Personal interest on Town of Culture
Ward member for Caerleon, the town the Expression of Interest concerns.
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