The Overview and Scrutiny Committee was scheduled to meet to discuss the council's draft budget for 2026/27, the medium term financial strategy for 2026-2031, and the committee's work programme. The committee was also scheduled to review the minutes of several scrutiny panels and consider a scoping document for a review of communications with residents.

2026/27 Draft Budget and Medium Term Financial Strategy 2026/2031

The committee was scheduled to discuss the draft budget for 2026/27 and the medium term financial strategy for 2026-2031. The discussion was scheduled to be split into two parts:

• The proposals presented in the report and appendices that relate specifically to the remit of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
• The overall approach to the council's draft budget, including measures being taken to address the budget gap.

The report pack included the 2026-27 Budget and 2026-2031 Medium Term Financial Strategy Report, which stated that the financial position of Haringey was very challenging, with the council operating with around £143 million less in core government funding each year than it did in 2010/11. It noted that demand for statutory services continued to increase alongside the price paid, and was far outstripping the government grants received and the amount of income that could be generated locally. Estimated new budget pressures for 2026/27 were £30.1 million, primarily in social care and temporary accommodation.

The report pack also included Directorate Appendices summarising proposed savings, budget pressures and changes to the capital programme for each directorate: Children & Young People, Adults, Housing and Health, Environment & Resident Experience, Culture, Strategy & Communities, Finance and Resources, and Corporate Budgets.

Documents 3 to 6 in the report pack provided more detail on specific proposals in each directorate:

• Children's Services
• Adult, Housing & Health
• Environment & Resident Services
• Culture, Strategy & Engagement

A clarification note was also included, providing additional information on one of the savings proposals in Document 5 (Appendix 3a.3 Optimized Environmental Enforcement).

Scoping Documents - Scrutiny Reviews

The committee was scheduled to consider and approve the scoping documents and terms of reference for a Scrutiny Review on Communications with Residents (Adult Social Care).

The draft scope stated that one of the eight themes of the Council's Corporate Delivery Plan 2024-26 was 'Resident experience and enabling success', which referred to building mutual trust and confidence through positive interactions with residents . It noted that at a Scrutiny Café consultation event in September 2024, the issue of communications with residents emerged as the top priority from the residents and voluntary group representatives in attendance.

The aims of the project were listed as:

• To review the current arrangements for communications between residents and Adult Social Care services
• To consider the experience of residents when they contact the Council regarding Adult Social Care services
• To consider how the Council proactively updates residents about the status of their case
• To consider how residents access the 'front door' to services
• To consider the accessibility of information about adult care and support services on the Council website and the online Haricare directory.

Work Programme Update

The committee was scheduled to note the current 2025/26 work programme and propose any amendments.

The OSC Work Programme included the following potential items for future meetings:

• Finance Update Q2
• Corporate Delivery Plan Q1
• Annual Feedback & Resolutions report
• Customer Services & Experience of Residents in contacting the Council
• Budget Scrutiny – Strategy & Engagement
• Treasury Management Strategy Statement
• Non-finance items (TBD) Worklessness

The Statutory Forward Plan was included to assist committee members in determining if there were any upcoming issues that required further scrutiny.

Minutes of Scrutiny Panel Meetings

The committee was scheduled to receive and note the minutes of the following Scrutiny Panels and to approve any recommendations contained within:

• Children & Young People's Scrutiny Panel - 9 September 2025
• Culture, Community Safety & Environment Scrutiny Panel - 15 September 2025
• Adults & Health Scrutiny Panel - 22 September 2025
• Housing, Planning & Development Scrutiny Panel - 23 September 2025

The minutes of the Children and Young People's Scrutiny Panel meeting on 9 September 2025 included discussions on the Haringey Youth Strategy 2025-2030 Action Plan, the 2025/26 Finance Update Q1, the Corporate Delivery Plan Q1 2025/26 Performance Update, the Haringey Youth Justice Plan 2024-2027 - Year 1 Review, and the Children's Social Care Annual Performance 2024/25.

The minutes of the Culture, Community Safety and Environment Scrutiny Panel on 15 September 2025 included discussions on the Statement of Licensing Policy, the Quarter 1 Budget Monitoring Report, the Corporate Delivery Plan - Quarter 1 2025/26 Performance Update, and a Scrutiny Review of Walking and Cycling Action Plan.

The minutes of the Adults & Health Scrutiny Panel held on 22nd September 2025 included discussions on the Finance Update - Q1 2025/26, the Joint Partnership Board, Connected Communities, and new items of urgent business.

The minutes of the Housing, Planning and Development Scrutiny Panel held on 23rd September 2025 included a KPI Update, the 2025/26 Finance Update Q1, the Corporate Delivery Plan Q1 2025/26 Performance Update, and a Housing Improvement Update.