The Overview and Scrutiny Committee of Barnet Council is scheduled to meet on 11 December 2025 to discuss the council's business planning, task and finish group updates, the Cabinet forward plan, and the committee's work programme. A key focus of the meeting will be the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2026-2031 and budget management for 2025-26, considering recommendations for the cabinet. The committee will also review the progress of various task and finish groups and consider any items from the Cabinet Forward Plan that require pre-decision scrutiny.

Business Planning 2026-2031 and Budget Management

The committee will consider the Business Planning 2026-2031 report, which includes the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) and 2025-26 budget management. The report highlights the financial challenges the council faces in developing the MTFS, including proposals for savings and income generation, inflation and council tax assumptions, and funding for service pressures.

The report pack includes a report that will be considered by the Cabinet Member for Financial Sustainability, Councillor Simon Radford, and the cabinet on 9 December 2025. The report sets out the financial challenges that the council is facing in developing the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2026-2031. It details the proposals being put forward towards achieving a balanced budget for 2026/27 including savings and income generation proposals, inflation and council tax assumptions, and funding for service pressures. The report also presents the Medium Term Financial Strategy to 2031.

The committee will consider and identify areas for in-depth scrutiny and make recommendations to the cabinet. The report pack notes that the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement (PLGFS) is expected the week commencing 15 December 2025, which will include the outcome of the Fair Funding Review (FFR). The MTFS will be updated to reflect any changes resulting from the PLGFS before being presented to the cabinet in February 2026.

The report pack recommends that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee:

considers the contents of the Business Planning 2026-2031 Cabinet report, attached at Annex 1, (noting the remaining budget gap for 2026/27) and identifies any comments and/or recommendations for Cabinet to consider in making its decision.

The report pack also recommends that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee notes that the council may need to apply for Exceptional Financial Support from the government.

The report pack states that modelling undertaken by London Councils shows that, after transition, Barnet could lose nearly £9m of funding as a result of the Fair Funding Review.

The report pack also notes that the Autumn Budget included:

• Core Spending Power for councils will rise by 3.2% in real terms for 2025/26
• An additional £500m for the Affordable Homes Programme
• Councils can now retain 100% of Right to Buy receipts
• The introduction of a High Value Council Tax surcharge on properties above £2m and £5m which is to be collected by local authorities.

The report pack states that the MTFS approved at February 2025 Full Council set out a savings requirement of £23.544m for 2025/26 and an EFS requirement of £55.727m to achieve a balanced budget for 2025/26.

The report pack also includes details of the forecasting methodologies for Temporary Accommodation, Housing Benefit Subsidy Loss, Adults Social Care, Children's Social Care and Capital Financing.

The report pack includes tables showing the proposed savings for each department, including:

• Assurance and Public Protection
• Children and Family Services
• Communities, Adults and Health
• Environment
• Growth
• Temporary Accommodation
• Resources
• Strategy & Innovation

The report pack includes a table showing the proposed service pressures for each department, including:

• Assurance and Public Protection
• Children and Family Services
• Communities, Adults and Health
• Environment
• Growth
• Resources
• Strategy & Innovation
• Temporary Accommodation (incl. Housing Benefit Subsidy)
• Exceptional Financial Support Financing

The report pack includes a list of risks that could materialise, including:

• Customer Support Group (CSG) Contract Renewal
• Adult Social Care Provider Inflation Risk
• Weekly food waste collections
• Investment required for new priorities an incoming administration may want to implement.

The report pack includes a list of new capital proposals for 2026/27 onwards, including the Depot project and the SEN school project.

Task and Finish Group Updates

The committee will receive an update on the progress of current Task and Finish Groups¹, as well as the Cabinet responses to the Primary Care (GP) Access Task and Finish Group, the Allotment Governance and Management Task and Finish Group, and the Food Security Task and Finish Group. The report pack notes that the Cabinet Responses to the Allotment Governance and Management Task and Finish Group and the Food Security Task and Finish Group were due to be presented at the Cabinet meeting on 18 November 2025.

The report pack notes that it had been planned to undertake a review of Sustainable Travel but it was suggested that this was a challenging topic to address in the final year of the Council term, and that the committee agreed that Sustainable Travel would be postponed and would be considered as part of the work programming in 2026.

The report pack includes a progress update for the Barnet Highway Network Task and Finish Group.

The report pack includes a narrative of the work of the Elective Home Education Task and Finish Group, the Youth Homelessness Task and Finish Group, and the Discharge to Assess Task and Finish Group.

The report pack includes a list of the members of each Task and Finish Group, including Councillor Lucy Wakeley, Councillor Joshua Conway, Councillor Anne Hutton, Councillor Simon Radford, Councillor Jennifer Grocock, Councillor Lachhya Bahadur Gurung, Councillor Humayune Khalick, Councillor Kath McGuirk, Councillor David Longstaff, Councillor Dean Cohen BSc (Hons), Councillor Claire Farrier, Councillor Arjun Mittra, Councillor Liron Velleman, Councillor Peter Zinkin ( Leader of the Conservative Group), Councillor Philip Cohen, Councillor Gill Sargeant, Councillor Tony Vourou, Councillor Caroline Stock, Councillor Richard Barnes, Councillor Nick Mearing-Smith, Councillor Matthew Perlberg, Councillor Elliot Simberg, Tamzin Arora, Nigel Wildish, and Raisel Freedman.

Cabinet Forward Plan

The committee will review the Cabinet Forward Plan (Key Decision Schedule) to identify any items that it may wish to request for pre-decision scrutiny during 2025-26.

The report pack includes a list of upcoming key decisions, including:

• Business Planning 2026- 2031 (Medium Term Financial Strategy) and 2025/26 Budget Management
• Our Plan for Barnet Q2 – Delivery and Outcomes Framework
• Fosters Estate & Cheshir House Progress Update
• Brent Cross
• Improving Barnet Roads and Pavements (IBRP) Programme 2026-27
• Places for Barnet Compliance Update
• Authorisation to procure Tree Maintenance Framework Contract
• Contract compliance with Lee Fire and Security Ltd
• Private Sector Housing Licensing
• Acquisition of 38 Homes from Chase Homes
• Chief Finance Officer Report 2025/26 Q3 Financial Forecast and 2025/26 Budget Management
• Corporate Parenting Strategy
• Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) way forward
• Annual Equalities Report
• Our Plan for Barnet - Corporate Plan Review 2026 -2027
• Annual Procurement Forward Plan (APFP) 2026-27
• Acquisitions Programme – Update in relation to the existing programme and Strategic Outline Case for Expansion
• School Funding Report
• Barnet Community Participation Strategy – Year Progress Report
• Daws Lane and Mill Hill Library Options Appraisal
• Capita Contract Review
• Approval to undertake renewable energy procurement, through a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), in partnership with a number of other, as yet unconfirmed, London Councils.
• Middlesex University Leases
• Forest Lane Bungalows Outline Business Case
• Great North Leisure Park (GNLP) and Finchley Lido Leisure Centre: Full Business Case
• Chief Finance Officer Report – Financial Outturn 2025-26 and 2026/27 Budget Management
• Business Planning 2027- 2032 (Medium Term Financial Strategy)
• Council Housing Performance
• Draft Supplementary Planning Document – Designing for Density
• Safer Communities Partnership Board (SCPB) Annual Report 2025-26 (with a Police focus on burglary and car theft)
• Youth Justice Plan 2025-26 Annual Report
• Chief Finance Officer Report - Financial Outturn 2025/26 and 2026/27 Budget Management
• Review of the Library Strategy
• Draft Supplementary Planning Document - Designing for Density
• Councillor Call for Action Items

Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme

The committee will review its work programme and make any necessary amendments.