The Corporate Scrutiny Committee met on Monday 27 April 2026 to discuss the Ward Member Empowerment Fund, the development of a focused transformation portfolio, and the Budget Scrutiny Recommendation Tracker. Key decisions included recommending a significant reduction in the Ward Member Empowerment Fund, with half of the remaining funds to be allocated to a new Youth Empowerment Grant Scheme, and supporting the development of a new methodology for prioritising transformation projects.

Ward Member Empowerment Fund Review

The committee discussed proposals to withdraw the Ward Member Empowerment Fund and establish a new Youth Empowerment Grant Scheme. Councillor Trevor Conway spoke in favour of empowering young people, stating, Too often, young people are spoken about rather than spoken with. This proposal changes that. The report outlined that the Ward Member Empowerment Fund for 2026/27 would be reduced by 50% to £68,000, with a three-month application window. The remaining £68,000 would be allocated to develop a Youth Empowerment Grant Scheme, co-designed with the Youth Advisory Council.

During the debate, Councillor Helen Harrison expressed a desire for greater honesty about the phasing out of the fund, questioning, Why don't we just be honest that we no longer want or that what's really being proposed, let's be honest, is to get rid of the Member Empowerment Fund. Councillor David Howes voiced disappointment at the reduction in funds for ward members, stating, I don't understand why the two things are connected in the respect that we're taking a £68,000 hit for ward members.

The committee recommended that the Ward Member Empowerment Fund Policy be revised to reduce the allocation by 50%, with a shortened three-month application window for 2026/27. They also recommended that £68,000 be allocated to develop a Youth Empowerment Grant Scheme with the Youth Advisory Council, and that any unused funds from the Ward Member Empowerment Fund be returned to the general revenue fund. A further recommendation was made to allow individual councillors to spend their allocated £1,000 if agreement could not be reached with other ward members. The committee also recommended that the Ward Member Empowerment Fund should run for a full 12 months, rather than the proposed three-month window, to allow for better quality bids.

Developing a Focused Transformation Portfolio (T20)

Libby Caulfield, Director of Transformation and Strategy, presented proposals for a new methodology to prioritise and govern transformation activity, referred to as 'T20'. She explained that currently, the council has approximately 100 transformation projects, but only about a quarter are focused on delivering financial security. The new approach aims to reduce this to 20 key programmes that deliver the greatest impact for residents and contribute significantly to the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP).

Councillor Ben Jameson raised concerns about the impact on local responsiveness if decision-making is moved to a more centralised grant scheme. Ms Caulfield responded that the new scheme would not withdraw local knowledge but would aim to capture it. Councillor Dennis McLean questioned the advantage for multi-ward councillors compared to single-ward councillors. Ms Caulfield clarified that the allocation reflects ward size and that an escalation process would be introduced where agreement cannot be reached.

Councillor Helen Harrison supported the common sense approach but questioned the inclusion of Children's Services, which has been a challenging budget area. Ms Caulfield confirmed that Children's Services would be included, with close collaboration planned. Councillor Dennis McLean asked how focused the Children's Trust is on helping to trim costs. Claire Edwards, Executive Director of Finance, reassured members that the Children's Trust is a permanent member of the budget board and is keen to work collaboratively.

The committee recommended that the development of the T20 methodology be supported, subject to ensuring clear alignment with the MTFP, a transparent prioritisation framework, defined governance, and a balanced approach to service-led improvement. Councillor Paul Brooke raised concerns about monitoring the 80% of projects not part of the T20. Libby Caulfield explained that a Project Status Report (PSR) is conducted monthly and that a report could be provided to the committee to show the progress of these projects.

Budget Scrutiny 2026/27 - Recommendation Tracker

Chris Stephenson, Scrutiny Manager, presented the Budget Scrutiny Recommendation Tracker for the financial year. The tracker lists recommendations made by the Budget Scrutiny Panel, identifies their owners, provides commentary on delivery to date, and indicates their status using a RAG rating. It was proposed that reports on the tracker would be made to the Corporate Scrutiny Committee at the end of each quarter.

During the discussion, Councillor Jim Hakewill, Chair, inquired about Nora (AI tool) . Matthew, representing Adult Social Care, explained that Nora is an AI tool assisting with occupational therapy initial assessments, helping to prioritise cases and focus practitioners' attention. Guy, from Waste Management, mentioned they have a similar voice assistant called NOVA. Both confirmed that the AI systems are transparent with users and that they are learning a great deal from their implementation.

The committee agreed to the recommendations in the report, which essentially endorse the tracker as a valuable tool for monitoring the progress of budget scrutiny recommendations. They also expressed interest in seeing more about how AI is being used within the council.