Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence from Councillors.

Apologies were received from Cllr T Trent

To receive information on any changes in the membership of the Committee.

Note – When a member of a Committee is unable to attend a meeting of a Committee or Sub-Committee, the relevant Political Group Leader (or their nominated representative) may, by notice to the Monitoring Officer (or their nominated representative) prior to the meeting, appoint a substitute member from within the same Political Group. The contact details on the front of this agenda should be used for notifications.

Cllr M Tarling substituted for Cllr T Trent.

Councillors are requested to declare any interests on items included in this agenda. Please refer to the workflow on the preceding page for guidance.

Declarations received will be reported at the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest made on this occasion.

To confirm and sign as a correct record the minutes of the Meeting held on 5 January 2026.

The minutes of the meeting held on 5 January were approved as a correct record.

To note the latest updates to the Recommendation Tracker.

The Board considered the existing recommendation tracker. Cabinet Members provided responses on two outstanding issues at clause 56 and clause 57.

The Cabinet Member for Finance responded to the Board’s earlier recommendation that capital receipts be considered to support repairs and maintenance of publicly accessible assets. It was explained that due to severe financial pressures and competing demands, this recommendation had not been accepted. Limited resources meant priority had been given to statutory and unavoidable pressures.

In response to the recommendation the Cabinet Member for Customer, Communications and Culture confirmed that the technology was intended to increase access hours, not to reduce staffed hours. Staffing reductions in libraries were described as unsustainable, and assurance was given that the technology would not be used to justify further reductions. A list of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) applications relating to library improvements was read out, including projects across multiple library branches (e.g., replacement equipment, children’s area improvements, facility upgrades). The service was actively maintaining a rolling list of potential projects to support councillor awareness and future applications.

To receive any public questions, statements or petitions submitted in accordance with the Constitution. Further information on the requirements for submitting these is available to view at the following link:-

https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CommitteeID=151&Info=1&bcr=1

The deadline for the submission of public questions is midday 3 clear working days before the meeting.

The deadline for the submission of a statement is midday the working day before the meeting.

The deadline for the submission of a petition is 10 working days before the meeting.

There were no public issues submitted for this meeting.

To consider the budget proposals for 2026/27 in advance of their submission to Cabinet. The Overview and Scrutiny Board will consider the impact of proposed savings through a resident focused lens and will hear directly from Directors on savings proposals.

Budget papers will be available as a supplement from Monday 2 February 2026.

The Chair outlined the format for consideration of this item. The Board considered a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'A' to these Minutes in the Minute Book. The Chair advised that the Board would be focussing on the budget with a resident impact lens and as such Directors had been invited to the meeting to address savings and budget pressures within their Directorate area.

Wellbeing Directorate – The Corporate Director for Wellbeing outlined the savings pressures within the directorate and potential impacts to services:

·     Public Health and Communities - The budget was challenging but remained manageable and no direct reductions to current service provision were anticipated. Savings were expected to be achieved through the removal of the Ward Improvement Fund, increased fees and charges for services such as community centre use, and a higher Public Health Grant contribution to corporate overheads. These measures were not expected to result in any observable impact on residents.

·     Adult Social Care - Adult Social Care continued to experience rising and increasingly complex demand. Significant transformation programmes, including Fulfilled Lives, Future Care, and the Prevention Strategy, would be critical in delivering budget savings and maintaining service levels. It was confirmed that statutory services would continue to be delivered, although the position remained extremely challenging.

·     Commissioning - The Service continued to face pressures driven by inflation, workforce shortages and escalating demand. Efforts would focus on supporting sustainability and managing the wider care market. Although the financial position was difficult it was expected that the proposed budget could be delivered.

·     Housing and Public Protection - significant pressures were reported, particularly in relation to homelessness, temporary accommodation and bed?and?breakfast use. Savings were expected from income generation and service efficiencies. It was noted that several were non?statutory but remained critical to community safety and wellbeing. Services were operating at capacity, and further savings would be extremely difficult to achieve without affecting service delivery.

Board Members asked whether any proposed savings carried a risk of noticeable impact on residents. Clarification was sought on the distinction between statutory and non?statutory responsibilities, particularly in Adult Social Care and Housing. Officers and Cabinet Members provided examples of non?statutory but preventative services, such as the handy?van initiative and community support work, which helped to reduce future statutory costs. Members also queried whether additional income from client contributions implied higher charges; the Director confirmed that increased income would arise from a greater number of eligible clients. It was clarified that fees would also rise inline with inflation.

Children’s Services Directorate – An update on savings was provided by the Director of Education & Skills and Director of Children’s Social Care:

·     Education and Skills - The Director of Education and Skills explained that the High Needs Block remained under significant pressure despite the recent Government announcement. Savings were expected through the reallocation of posts into grant?funded streams and by strengthening early intervention in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 95.

The Overview and Scrutiny (O&S) Board is asked to consider and identify work priorities for publication in a Work Plan.

The Chair presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'B' to these Minutes in the Minute Book. The Board was asked to consider and identify work priorities for publication in a Work Plan. The items for the forthcoming meetings in February and March were confirmed. The Chair advised the Board that work was ongoing to consolidate and analyse the findings from the work planning workshop to place into a work plan for the Board. The Chair assured the Board, in response to a comment regarding the need to have a robust schedule for regeneration items to enable meaningful scrutiny in advance of the next election cycle, that regeneration would be a clear priority.

RESOLVED that the Work Plan be noted.

Voting: Nem. Con.