Councillors question the fire service on Monday after inspectors put it into enhanced monitoring. Also: leisure centres, SEND places, a Berwick licence.

Northumberland County Council has six meetings with published papers between Monday 28 September and Thursday 1 October. The one that matters most is on Monday morning. Councillors will question the county’s fire service about an inspection that has put it under enhanced monitoring.

Every meeting below is listed on the council’s meetings calendar, with the agenda and reports linked.

Monday 28 September: the fire service inspection

Communities and Place scrutiny committee, 10am, Conference Room 2, County Hall, Morpeth. Agenda

The fire inspectorate, HMICFRS, has moved Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service into “Engage”, an enhanced level of monitoring. The draft Cabinet report going to the committee lists five causes of concern (draft Cabinet report, PDF):

  • Site-specific risk information: the service does not effectively gather, record or manage the risk information about particular sites that protects firefighters and the public.
  • Fairness and diversity: not enough progress since the last inspection.
  • Leadership: the organisation “lacks clear direction, consistent and confident leadership, and effective accountability”.
  • Training and skills: the service cannot assure itself of its staff’s competence, training and skills.
  • Values and culture: staff do not feel confident to report issues.

Three of the five were areas for improvement in the 2023 inspection. The report says the service did not make enough progress on them, and in some cases the position got worse.

The report is also clear about what Engage is not. It says it is “not special measures and not external control”. It adds that Engage “does not mean that the Service is unable to respond to emergencies or that public safety is compromised”. Inspectors also found the service still provides effective fire protection and prevention work.

The report’s own risk section warns that staff and resource pressures could slow the improvements. That could keep the service in Engage for longer.

The service has set up a board to oversee the improvement plan. Cabinet is asked on 6 October to strengthen an Assurance and Challenge Panel, with an opposition member and possibly an independent member on it. Its minutes would be published. The action plan for site-specific risk information is already public; the other four will be published after HMICFRS reviews them.

Also at this meeting:

  • Leisure centres. Places Leisure presents its second annual review of the ten-year contract it began in April 2024. Memberships across the county’s ten centres rose 8%, from 34,782 to 37,656, in 2025-26. Prudhoe Waterworld grew fastest, up 36%. Blyth Sports Centre and Concordia in Cramlington both lost members (annual review, PDF).
  • Gambling licensing policy. The committee looks at the proposed refresh of the policy for betting shops, bingo halls and other gambling premises. The public consultation is open until 16 October. Cabinet approves the final version on 10 November and full council on 13 January (report, PDF).

Tuesday 29 September: a new top lawyer

Staff and Appointments Committee, 2.30pm, County Hall. Agenda

Councillors agree how to recruit a permanent Director of Law and Corporate Governance. The post carries the council’s statutory monitoring officer role. The report says the same officer has carried out those duties since June 2023.

Wednesday 30 September: SEND places, council property and Alnwick

Schools’ Forum, 9.30am, online. Agenda

The forum gets the rewritten plan for special educational needs and alternative provision places, now covering 2025 to 2030. It says the county has more than 4,000 education, health and care plans (EHCPs). Numbers rose 20% between 2023 and 2024 and a further 17% between 2024 and 2025 (strategy report, PDF).

In 2021 the council forecast a need for 700 more special school places by 2026. The report says 779 have been created or forecast. The forum also gets the final 2025-26 figures for the Dedicated Schools Grant, the budget whose high-needs overspend we covered in our report on the council’s finances.

Corporate Services and Economic Growth scrutiny committee, 10am, County Hall. Agenda

An update on selling and consolidating council buildings (report, PDF). The points for residents:

  • The first phase, which moved south-east Northumberland offices into fewer buildings, has delivered £1.036m of revenue savings against a £2m target.
  • In Alnwick, the former fire station is being sold and the council leaves its leased office at 27 Fenkle Street in October 2026.
  • In Morpeth, the future use of the Chantry is being considered, and the council is consulting its users and the town council. Updated 1 October: on 30 September the council announced it will seek commercial interest and proposals from voluntary and community groups for the Grade I listed Chantry, home to the Northumberland Craft Centre, Tourist Information Centre and Morpeth Bagpipe Museum. It says the building is not financially sustainable, that no decision has been made and that it has no preferred option. The independent review it commissioned has not been published.
  • Berwick, Bedlington, Hexham and Cramlington are next.
  • The council aims to raise £5m from property sales this year, up from a £2m target in each of the last two years.

The committee also looks at the council’s first-quarter budget position, which we reported in detail here.

North Northumberland Community Partnership, 6pm, Main Hall, Lindisfarne Centre, Alnwick. Agenda

Public question time, petitions and a drop-in with stalls from Northumbria Police, the library service, the council’s budget consultation, the Alnwick Cobbles and bus station schemes, and Bailiffgate Museum. Written questions sent in advance are more likely to get an answer on the night. The Cobbles works start on Monday; see our story on the works and the Market Place parking.

Thursday 1 October: a Berwick music licence

Licensing hearing, 10am, Council Chamber, County Hall. Agenda

A panel decides an application for a premises licence at Custom House, 18 Quay Walls, Berwick, for live and recorded music from noon to 11pm, seven days a week. The council received seven objections, accepted on grounds of public nuisance, and 20 representations in support (licensing report, PDF).

What it means for you

  • Most of these meetings are open to the public. Check each agenda for private items. If you want to ask a question, the community partnership on Wednesday has a public question time.
  • Have your say on gambling premises before the consultation closes on 16 October.
  • Worried about fire cover? The council’s report says Engage does not mean the service is unable to respond to emergencies. The Cabinet decision on the improvement panel is on 6 October, and we will report it.

Sources

  • Northumberland County Council meetings calendar, September and October 2026, for every meeting, time and venue.
  • The agendas and reports linked under each meeting above, published on the council’s modern.gov site and read on 25 September 2026.