Lincolnshire County Council has been accused of plagiarism after an introduction to its new plan for the county appears to be copied from one by Nottingham City Council.
Large sections of the introduction to the County Plan 2026-2031, which are attributed to leader Councillor Sean Matthews, appear to be identical, writes Local Democracy Reporter Jamie Waller.
The document sets out the Reform authority’s goals for 2026 to 2031 and was approved by the council last week.
The council says that the statement was drafted by officers, not the leader, and claim the similarities are due to problems that are faced by all councils.
Several of the paragraphs are identical to the foreword published last year in Nottingham City Council’s plan, and others have minor changes.
Here is the statement in full, with sections that also appear in the Nottingham council plan for 2025-29 in bold.
“On 1 May 2025 residents voted for new leadership in Lincolnshire.
“Lincolnshire residents and businesses deserve a council that delivers good local services and sets an ambitious vision for a county where people want to live, study, work, visit, and bring up a family.
“We are listening and have heard strongly that our residents want us to cut wasteful spending, reduce bureaucracy and deliver strong local services so that our city, countryside and coast are safe, clean and thriving.
“The new leadership of this council is committed to making the changes necessary to move the council forward and deliver for local people. We know that by allocating our resources more efficiently and concentrating on delivering positive outcomes, we can refocus on the needs of our residents more effectively and create better value for the taxpayer.
“Over the next 5 years we will revitalise the economy, celebrate our cultural heritage and improve infrastructure and connectivity. We will prioritise joined up partnership working to pool efforts and expertise and engage more deeply with residents through town and parish councils to deliver common goals.
“Our promise is to lead Lincolnshire County Council so that it delivers for your family, your community, protects our landscapes, and takes our great county forward.
“We have a lot to be proud of and if we can improve our council, deliver for our residents and lead Lincolnshire we can achieve so much more to be proud of in the next five years.”
Independent Councillor Ashley Baxter brought up the similarities at the full council meeting on Friday, February 20.
He said it was “remarkable how similar they are” and asked if anything else had been “emulated or plagiarised” from the Labour-run Nottingham City Council.
A spokesperson for Lincolnshire County Council said: “Any similarities in the introduction to the new council plan – drafted by council officers on behalf of the leader – reflect the fact that councils around the country face similar challenges.
“The content of the plan itself reflects our ambitions for the county and is unique to Lincolnshire.”
