A maximum of two paint tins per household, two mattresses and two visits with carpet to tidy tips in Central Bedfordshire would be allowed annually under waste management changes to reduce the local authority’s costs.

Delays in delivering more special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) school places should have been reported to Central Bedfordshire Council’s children’s services scrutiny committee, according to a local councillor.

Town centres in Central Bedfordshire are “often hanging in the balance now”, as bank branches close, leaving vacant premises which are difficult to fill, a meeting heard.