The External Scrutiny Committee was scheduled to discuss mitigating actions on flood risk, receive a water update from the Metropolitan Police, and review its work plan for the year. The meeting was also scheduled to include updates from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Mitigating Actions on Flood Risk

The committee was scheduled to discuss actions to mitigate flood risk, hearing from representatives of the Environment Agency and Thames Water.

The Environment Agency's presentation, as detailed in the EA Redbridge - Scrutiny Committee 10 Dec 25 report, was expected to cover:

• The Environment Agency's role in Redbridge.
• Key work from the past year.
• Main monitoring messages.
• Future steps, including new national rules for storm overflows.

The Environment Agency regulates water quality in the River Roding and Seven Kings Water, as well as regulating permitted storm overflows and sewage treatment works. They also assess pollution incidents, review monitoring data, work with Thames Water, and support Redbridge Council on issues such as misconnections¹. The Environment Agency stated that in the past year they had:

Completed visits to every permitted storm overflow asset in Redbridge Increased engagement with the Council, Thames Water and local groups Reviewed a wide range of monitoring data from EA, Thames Water and community partners Jointly attended sites where concerns were raised Coordinated with neighbouring catchments to understand upstream and downstream pressures

From 2026, storm overflow permits will include new legal spill limits, with stricter limits for sensitive locations.

The committee was also scheduled to receive an update on the River Roding Project to reduce flood risk to over 1400 residential properties in Woodford and Ilford. The project includes a new flood storage area north of the M25 and improvements to a flood embankment in Woodford. Construction site flythrough videos are available. The handover of the Broadmead Baptist Church embankment to Redbridge Council was scheduled for December 2025.

The Environment Agency also provides support with surface water capital schemes and funding, and attends partnership meetings with the council to discuss flood risk activities.

Metropolitan Police Update

Superintendent Clare McCarthy of the Metropolitan Police was scheduled to provide an update, with a focus on vehicle speed enforcement and monitoring.

External Scrutiny Work Plan

The committee was scheduled to review its work plan for 2025-2026, as detailed in the External Scrutiny Committee Work Plan 2025 document.

The plan included the following topics for future meetings:

• 5 February 2026: An update from the Metropolitan Police (focus to be confirmed) and the Leisure Services Annual Report from Vision, Redbridge Council's contracted service provider. Witnesses scheduled to attend included Ian Varah, CEO of Vision.
• 27 April 2026: An update from the Metropolitan Police (focus: link to the work of the Crime Commission Partnership) and the Crime Commission Partnership – Annual report.