The Overview Select Committee of Leicester City Council was scheduled to meet on Wednesday, 18 March 2026, to review the council's financial performance and capital programme. The meeting agenda also included updates on petitions, the council's work programme, and questions for the City Mayor.

Revenue Budget Monitoring April-December 2025/26

The committee was set to receive a report from the Director of Finance, Amy Oliver, detailing the third revenue budget monitoring for the 2025/26 financial year. This report was intended to update forecasts previously presented in September 2025. The overall forecast spend was £432.7m against an approved budget of £436.5m, indicating a net underspend of £3.7m. The report highlighted pressures in areas such as homelessness, which was forecast to require £3.6m from contingency, and increased placement costs within children's services. Conversely, Adult Social Care was forecast to overachieve its income budget, contributing to an underspend. The report also noted the cumulative deficit on the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), which was forecast to be £44.7m by March 2026, with government funding announced to cover 90% of the deficit up to 2025/26. The committee was asked to note the forecast outturn position and any observations it saw fit.

Capital Budget Monitoring April-December 2025/26

A report from the Director of Finance, Amy Oliver, was scheduled to update the committee on the position of the capital programme for 2025/26 as at the end of December 2025. This was the third monitoring report for the financial year. The report indicated a total spend of £87.4m for the year to date. It detailed progress on major projects and spending against work programmes, as well as unspent provisions. The report also recommended approving reductions to the programme for the Action Homeless Supported Living Scheme and Public Realm Works, and an addition for Leicester Urban Natural Flood Management, financed by government grant funding. The committee was asked to note the progress and approve the recommended changes.

Tracking of Petitions - Monitoring Report

The Monitoring Officer was scheduled to present a report updating members on the monitoring of outstanding petitions. The report aimed to provide an overview of the current status of petitions against the council's target of providing a formal response within three months of referral to the Divisional Director. The committee was asked to note the current status of outstanding petitions and agree to remove those marked as 'Petition Process Complete'. The report detailed a colour-coded system to highlight progress: 'Red' for petitions not completed within three months, 'Petition Process Complete' for those with a finalised response, 'Green' for petitions with proposed recommendations, and 'Amber' for those progressing within timescales or with clear reasons for delay.

Questions for the City Mayor

Members of the Overview Select Committee were scheduled to have the opportunity to ask questions of the City Mayor on issues not covered elsewhere on the agenda.

Overview Select Committee Work Programme

The committee was scheduled to consider its current work programme for 2025-26. Members were invited to make comments and/or amendments as they deemed necessary. The forward plan also included suggested future topics such as the findings of the Healthy Workplace Survey, income collection, the Household Support Fund, and the Customer Experience Strategy.