Agenda item

a)          Budget Scrutiny Working Group – Chair, Councillor Kane

b)          Performance Scrutiny Working Group – Chair, Councillor Holz

c)           Fly Tipping and Bulky Waste Task Group – Chair, Councillor Khan

Updates on the Task Groups and Working groups were provided as follows:

a)    Budget Scrutiny Working Group, Chair, Councillor Kane

Councillor Kane reported on the meeting of Budget Scrutiny Working Group which took place on 30^th October 2023 and noted that main concerns voiced at that meeting concerned the Council’s capital programme and the potential strains on the Council’s capital project budgets, and budgetary pressures within the Medium Term Financial Plan process.

Councillor Kane reported that another meeting of Budget Scrutiny Working Group took place on 29^th November 2023 at which the following recommendations to the Executive Committee had been proposed in respect of the Finance and Performance Quarter 2 Report 2023/24:

Recommendation 1: “That the Executive Committee ask for an officer report that provides a model of the financial implications of an unusually high demand for emergency housing support.”

Recommendation 2: “That, referring to the Strategic and Operational Performance measures stated in Appendix F of the Report (subsection Work and Financial Independence), it be recommended to the Executive Committee that they examine the Essex / Preston models that link skills to Procurement.”

During discussion of the Budget Scrutiny meetings, Members expressed concern about temporary accommodation, particularly the availability of suitable accommodation and the need to reduce the number of residents that needed to be housed in bed and breakfast accommodation over the longer term. It was requested that up-to-date data on the number of residents currently in Council’s temporary accommodation, including the breakdown of the trend over the recent weeks on people housed by each type of temporary accommodation, including bed and breakfast accommodation, be provided to Members. Officers undertook to provide this information.

Members also discussed the importance of social value within procurement and how the Council could look towards other procurement models (Essex / Preston) models with regard to how the Council could promote social value.

On being put to the vote, the recommendations made at the meeting of Budget Scrutiny Working Group of 29^th November 2023 were endorsed by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, subject to the slight changes of wording as reflected in the recommendation statement below:

Recommendation 1: That the Executive Committee ask for an officer report that provides a model of the financial implications of an unusually high demand for emergency housing and temporary accommodation support.

Recommendation 2: That, referring to the Strategic and Operational Performance measures in Appendix F of the Report (subsection Work and Financial Independence), it be recommended to the Executive Committee that they examine the Essex / Preston models that link skills and developments to social value within Procurement

b)    Performance Scrutiny Working Group – Chair, Councillor Holz

Councillor Holz reported that the meeting which was due to take place on 4^th December 2023 had been cancelled and the next meeting was now due to take place on 8^th January 2024.

c)     Fly Tipping and Bulky Waste Task Group – Chair, Councillor Khan

Councillor Khan reported that there had been no meetings of the Task Group since the previous meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The next meeting was due to take place on 12^th December 2023 and data and actions requested in preparation for that meeting were being provided by Officers.

RECOMMENDED

1)    That the Executive Committee ask for an officer report that provides a model of the financial implications of an unusually high demand for emergency housing and temporary accommodation support; and

2)    That, referring to the Strategic and Operational Performance measures in Appendix F of the Report (subsection Work and Financial Independence), it be recommended to the Executive Committee that they examine the Essex / Preston models that link skills and developments to social value within Procurement.