CLLR YANNIFER MALINOWSKI COUNTY REPORT - FEBRUARY 2026

Published: 11 February 2026

LOCAL UPDATES:

LOCAL GOVERNMENT REORGANISATION:
The Government is launching its seven-week consultation this month on the options for local government reorganisation in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, with its final decision announced in summer. A statement from a minister has however indicated that the timetable by which the new unitary councils will be up and running in Spring 2028 is ‘the most ambitious’.

ROADS:
The council has significantly increased the number of highways crews dealing with both temporary and permanent fixes to the potholes on Cambridgeshire’s roads. Normally eight crews and two dragon patchers are available across the county—now there are thirty crews and two dragon patchers out repairing potholes. This will significantly increase the number of repairs attended to each week. In the winter, a lot more road defects and potholes form due to wet and freezing weather causing those worn areas of road and pavement surfaces to break up.

Since 2023/24, the amount of capital funding spent on highway maintenance in Cambridgeshire has increased by £35 million, from £24 million to £59 million. The Council allocated more than £73 million for highways maintenance in 2025/26—adding £20 million to the amount provided by Government—and expects to do so again this coming year.
I am aware of many issues and chasing officers constantly for updates on certain works so do not hesitate to get in touch if there are sites that need following up, however due to the above conditions it may take some time to get results. In my experience so far, themore people who report dangerous sites the more seriously they get taken. If any parish locally would like to arrange an officer visit to view certain extremely bad sites I can arrange this in coordination with Parish Clerks, just let me know!

CAMBRIDGESHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL UPDATES:

SEND FUNDING:
Cambridgeshire County Council is backing a campaign by a group named f40 calling for increased and fairer education funding and sweeping reforms to solve the crisis in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Publication of a Schools White Paper, setting out Government’s plans for education and reforms to SEND, was expected last year but has been delayed.

The County Council is urging Government to ensure that expected reforms are powerful enough to solve the crisis and are backed by sufficient funding to enable schools to implement them. Based on initial allocations for 2026/27, published by the Department for Education in December, Cambridgeshire will receive £6,465 per pupil for the ‘Schools Block’ of education funding. This places Cambridgeshire 128th out of all 151 local education authorities.

The deficit the county council faces in spending on children with high needs is forecast to be around £94 million by the end of March this year, rising to around £200 million by the end of the following two years, placing the council at severe financial risk. This position is shared by around a hundred other councils.

FULL COUNCIL:
The full council will meet on Tuesday 10 February, to vote on the budget and business plan for 2026/27 to 2028/29 with vital implications on policy areas such as roads, SEND, health and community cohesion.