Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Sarah Devereux and Graham Marsh.

Members were invited to disclose any interests.  None were received.

To confirm the Open and Exempt Minutes of the Meeting held on 1^st April 2026.

The Open and Exempt Minutes of the Meeting held on 1^st April 2026 were confirmed as a correct record.

To consider acceptance and approval for the use of Better Care/Disabled Facilities Grant funding received from Lincolnshire County Council to fund and host an extension of the Lincolnshire Good Home Alliance Advice and Casework service.

1. That the additional allocation of £177,969 Disabled Facilities Grant funding for 2025/26 received from Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) be accepted; and

a)    That the use of £86,997 to contribute funding to a 21-month extension of the Good Home Alliance advice and casework service from 1 July 2026 to 31 March 2028, funded in total by Lincolnshire District Councils and LCC contributions be approved; and

b)    That the use of £90,972 to support the delivery of DFG and, where appropriate, Discretionary Housing Financial Assistance (DHFA) be approved.

2. That ELDC continues to host the Good Home Alliance advice and casework service and associated staff team be approved.

3. That the acceptance of financial contributions from participating councils to support the fixed-term extension of the Good Home Alliance advice and casework service from 1 July 2026 to 31 March 2028 be approved.

4. That the amendment of the Council’s capital and revenue budgets to reflect the above decisions and as set out in financial section of the report be approved.

A report was presented to consider accepting and approving the use of Better Care/Disabled Facilities Grant funding received from Lincolnshire County Council to fund and host an extension of the Lincolnshire Good Home Alliance Advice and Casework service.

During his introduction of the report, the Portfolio Holder for Housing Communities and Better Ageing advised Members that in September 2024, Lincolnshire districts and county councils launched the Lincolnshire Good Home Alliance, a bold, county-wide partnership aiming to help residents of all ages and tenures stay safe, warm, and well in their homes.

Hosted by East Lindsey District Council and funded by financial contributions from both districts and county councils, the Good Home Alliance delivered accessible, practical information and signposting through the Good Home Lincs resources, a new Healthy Home Assessment, enabling residents and frontline workers to identify and act on housing issues before they escalated.  For those needing more hands-on help, a dedicated advice and casework pilot had been established, supporting vulnerable residents with everything from finding funding and trusted tradespeople to arranging and completing essential home improvements.  Professionals from across Lincolnshire also benefitted from a professional advice offer through the casework team, helping them to better support residents living in poor housing conditions

Operating from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2026, the 2-year pilot was being independently evaluated by the London School of Economics, funded by the Centre for Ageing Better.  This report set out the key findings from the first year of operations and the funding source and contributions required to continue the advice and casework pilot for a further 21 months from 1 July 2026 to the 31 March 2028.

The Portfolio Holder for Housing Communities and Better Ageing concluded by thanking the Executive Director (Wellbeing and Community Leadership) and the Good Homes Alliance Lead and the highly successful team for delivering excellent results.

The Executive Director (Wellbeing and Community Leadership) reiterated that there were a number of valuable resources available on the Good Home Lincs resource page, which all residents could access.  It was noted that residents were required to be referred into the service through a professional body however, Councillors were also able to make referrals.  Members were encouraged to make contact if they were aware of any residents who could benefit from the Good Home Alliance’s skills and place-based work.

The full background and details were included at Sections 1 to 3 of the report, pages 15 to 19 of the Agenda refer.

The recommendations were duly proposed and seconded.

Members were invited to put their comments forward.  None were received.

In conclusion, the Leader of the Council emphasised the importance of the work and highlighted the strong partnership working taking place across the whole of Lincolnshire.

RESOLVED

1. That the additional allocation of £177,969 Disabled Facilities Grant funding for 2025/26 received from Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) be accepted; and

a)    That the use of £86,997 to contribute funding to a 21-month extension of the Good Home Alliance advice and casework service from 1 July  ...  view the full minutes text for item 176.

To consider approval to accept the UK Government’s Memorandum of Understanding under the Pride in Place Programme for Skegness.

RESOLVED

·       That Council be recommended to amend the Capital and Revenue budgets to reflect the funding as set out in Section 2 of this report and authority be delegated to the Director of Finance and Section 151 Officer to vary the Council’s Capital and Revenue base budgets for projects under the parameters of the Pride in Place programme for Skegness and Mablethorpe.

·       That it be approved that East Lindsey District Council be the accountable body for the Pride in Place programme for Skegness and Mablethorpe and authority be delegated to the Council’s Director of Finance and Section 151 Officer to sign the Memorandum of Understanding for the Pride in Place Programme in Skegness, as attached at Appendix 1 to the report referred.

·       That the responsibility of the respective Neighbourhood Board to consider and recommend how the funding is allocated to individual projects in Skegness and Mablethorpe be noted. The Executive Board will be kept notified and updated with the Board’s priorities, approved projects, allocations and spend profile and monitoring of risks and benefits on regular basis.

·       That the Council’s Director of Finance and Section 151 Officer be delegated authority to approve the Board’s recommended expenditure, following due diligence and in consultation with the Director of Economic Development and Portfolio Holder for the Coastal Economy. 

·       That the Council’s Director of Economic Development be delegated authority to enter into all associated delivery contracts and grant funding agreements on behalf of the Council for the Pride in Place Programme for Skegness and Mablethorpe in consultation with the Council’s Director of Finance and Section 151 Officer and the Portfolio Holder for the Coastal Economy.

·       That the Council’s Director of Economic Development be delegated authority to approve the Pride in Place investment boundary for Mablethorpe and appointment of the chair of a new Pride in Place Board for Mablethorpe in consultation with the Portfolio Holder (Coastal Economy) and the Member of Parliament for Louth and Horncastle.

A report was presented to seek Member approval to accept the UK Government’s Memorandum of Understanding under the Pride in Place Programme for Skegness to enable delivery of the funding to commence in 2026/27.

During his introduction of the report, the Portfolio Holder for Coastal Economy explained that to accept the UK Government’s Memorandum of Understanding would enable the local authority to undertake the lead contracting and accountable body requirements to progress delivery of the Pride in Place programme for Skegness under Phase 1 of the programme.  It would ensure that the spend decisions recommended by the Skegness Neighbourhood Board were subject to appropriate compliance and assurance work by the District Council prior to contracting, and met the requirement to ensure effective and lawful use of the allocated public funds.

It also sought Executive Board’s approval to recommend to Council amendments to the Council’s budgets to receive the revenue and capital funding to be awarded to Mablethorpe under Phase 2 of the Pride in Place programme up to the submission of the Regeneration Plan by the 30^th November 2026 and to enable officers to progress with finalising the investment boundary and chair selection for the new Pride in Place Board in Mablethorpe.

The Portfolio Holder for Coastal Economy expressed his delight that Mablethorpe was included in Phase 2, noting that the town was not always held in the high regard it deserved.  It was acknowledged that Mablethorpe faced a range of challenges similar to those experienced in Skegness and other coastal resorts across the country, which often shared common issues.  It was considered that the work undertaken in Skegness would help to strengthen the development of the Mablethorpe Board, although this was still at a very early stage.

It was recognised that whilst Mablethorpe and Skegness were distinct towns with their own identities, although there were common themes between them it was anticipated that consultation with residents in Mablethorpe would yield similar feedback to that received in Skegness.

The Portfolio Holder for Coastal Economy passed on his thanks to the Executive Director (Culture and Regeneration) and the Group Manager (Programme Management) for their hard work on the Pride in Place Programme.

The full background and details were included at Sections 1 to 3 of the report, pages 61 to 64 of the Agenda refer.

The recommendations were duly proposed and seconded.

Members were invited to put their comments forward.

The Portfolio Holder for Market Towns and Rural Economy stated that he was fully supportive of the report and highlighted that significant investment amounting to millions of pounds had been made in the coastal area in recent years, and considered that the proposals would support the continuation of this progress.  He further agreed that the inclusion of Mablethorpe and the surrounding northern area was a positive development.  He further considered that the approach set out would enable matters to progress in an efficient and business-like manner, with new initiatives anticipated to begin taking shape over the coming months.

The Leader  ...  view the full minutes text for item 177.

The provisional date for the next Meeting of this Board will be Wednesday 1^st July 2026.

The provisional date for the next meeting of Executive Board was noted as Wednesday 1^st July 2026.