The Overview & Scrutiny Committee is scheduled to meet to discuss progress against the council's improvement plans, strategic performance, and budget monitoring. The committee will review findings from a Local Government Association Corporate Peer Challenge progress review, and receive an update on the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Corporate Improvement Plan. They will also consider the strategic delivery and performance report, and budget monitoring report for the second quarter of the financial year.

Scrutiny Spotlight

The committee is scheduled to discuss two key scrutiny spotlight items:

LGA Corporate Peer Challenge Progress Review

The committee will be presented with findings from the Local Government Association (LGA) Corporate Peer Challenge progress review. The review, which took place in October 2025, assessed the council's leadership, governance, financial planning, and capacity to deliver its priorities.

The report highlights that progress has been made on most of the recommendations from the 2023 Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC), demonstrating the council's commitment to continuous improvement. Examples of progress include addressing outstanding accounts dating back to 2018/19, publishing its Annual Governance Statement 2023/24, and publishing a Medium-Term Financial Strategy.

However, the review also raises concerns about the council's tendency toward internal optimism bias, with the peer team disagreeing with the council's self-assessment ratings of progress against recommendations. The report also notes that political representation falls short of expectations for gender balance and inclusivity, despite the establishment of the Women's Commission.

The progress review took place against the backdrop of a government written ministerial statement issued in November 2024, which accepted the conclusions of a Best Value Inspection. This stated that the council is failing its best value duties on continuous improvement, governance, leadership, culture and partnerships. The envoys' first report to the Minister was published in July 2025, finding that there had been some good progress in the council's initial response, but that it needed to build on these foundations and move to delivery at pace with a focus on outcomes and measurable change.

The committee will be asked to review the findings, consider how the identified areas for improvement align with the council's strategic priorities and performance framework, and advise on any further scrutiny or actions required to support implementation of the peer review recommendations.

MHCLG Corporate Improvement Plan Progress Update

The committee will receive an update on the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) Corporate Improvement Plan.

The update includes the Continuous Improvement Plan, which aims to shape the council's improvement journey with colleagues, elected members, partners and residents. The plan responds to external advice and challenge, and will continue to iterate through continuous engagement and an emerging evidence base.

The plan is structured around four programmes:

• Vision, Partnerships and Participation
• Governance, Political Culture and Decision Making
• Culture & Workforce
• One Corporate Team

The committee will be asked to consider how the council's Corporate Improvement Plan addresses the issues raised and identify any gaps or risks, and advise on additional measures or scrutiny required to strengthen governance, performance, and compliance with improvement objectives.

Unrestricted Reports for Consideration

The committee will consider the following reports, which are due to be considered at the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday 17 December 2025:

Strategic Delivery and Performance Report Year 4 Quarter 2

The committee will review the Strategic Delivery and Performance Report Year 4 Quarter 2, which provides an overview of progress against agreed priorities.

Budget Monitoring 2025/26 – Quarter 2

The committee will review the Budget Monitoring 2025/26 – Quarter 2 report, and note the current financial position. They will consider identified variances and risks, and provide feedback on any areas requiring further scrutiny or corrective action. The report includes appendices detailing the forecast outturn for the general fund revenue by service area¹, general fund variances², general fund and earmarked reserves³, savings tracker⁴, and the general fund forecast outturn capital programme⁵.

Other Business

The agenda also includes the following items:

• Apologies for Absence: To receive any apologies for absence.
• Declarations of Disclosable Pecuniary Interest and Other Interests: Members are reminded to consider the Code of Conduct for Members to determine whether they have an interest in any agenda item and any action they should take.
• Unrestricted Minutes: To confirm as a correct record of the proceedings the unrestricted minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 25 November 2025.
• Overview & Scrutiny Committee Query and Action Log
• Unrestricted Reports 'Called In': To note that no decisions of the Mayor in Cabinet were 'called in'.
• Requests to Submit Petitions: To receive any petitions.
• Scrutiny Leads Updates: To hear updates from the Overview and Scrutiny Leads on their work across the council.
• Pre-Decision Scrutiny of Unrestricted Cabinet Papers: To consider the agenda of the Wednesday 17 December 2025 meeting of Cabinet and agree pre-decision scrutiny questions/comments.
• Forthcoming Decisions: To review forthcoming decisions expected to be taken by the Mayor from the Executive Forward Plan and identify any areas for further Scrutiny for committee.
• Any Other Unrestricted Business Which the Chair Considers to be Urgent: To consider any other unrestricted business that the Chair considers to be urgent.
• Exclusion of the Press and Public: To consider excluding the press and public from the remainder of the meeting for the consideration of the Section Two business on the grounds that it contains information defined as Exempt in Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act, 1972.
• Exempt/ Confidential Minutes: Nil items.
• Exempt/ Confidential Reports 'Called In': To consider any decisions of the Mayor in Cabinet in respect of exempt/ confidential reports on the agenda were 'called in'.
• Pre-Decision Scrutiny of Exempt/ Confidential) Cabinet Papers: To consider the exempt/ confidential agenda of the Wednesday 17 December 2025 meeting of Cabinet and agree pre-decision scrutiny questions/comments.
• Any Other Exempt/ Confidential Business That The Chair Considers Urgent: To consider any other exempt/ confidential business that the Chair considers to be urgent.