The Overview and Scrutiny Management Board of Lincolnshire Council met on Thursday, 25 June 2026, to review the council's financial performance for the 2025-26 period, discuss the Information Assurance Policy Framework, and consider the Corporate and Statutory Complaints Annual Report for 2025-26. The Board also reviewed the Core IT Infrastructure Rationalisation and Core Platform Support proposals, the 2025-26 Workforce Metrics and Employee Survey results, and the council's work programme.

Review of Financial Performance 2025-26

The Board considered the council's financial performance for the 2025-26 financial year. Pam Clipson, Head of Financial Services, presented a report detailing a revenue surplus of £499,000 after the full utilisation of contingency funds. The report also highlighted budget variances, with departmental services overspending by over £10 million, which was offset by underspends in other areas. The capital outturn reflected an underspend due to the timing of project deliveries. Councillor Martin John Hill OBE raised concerns about the significant departmental overspends despite additional funding allocations. Heather Sandy CBE, Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director of Children's Services, explained that the overspends in children's social care were largely due to specialist placements and increased demand, while Hayley, Deputy Director for Adult Services, noted pressures in adult social care related to direct payments and supported living. Andy Gutherson, Executive Director Place, addressed overspends in waste and home-to-school transport, alongside underspends in highways maintenance. Councillor Richard Graham Davies questioned the justification for underspends in certain areas, suggesting a potential lack of priority for highways maintenance. The Board acknowledged the report's recommendations to the Executive, with a summary of comments to be shared.

Information Assurance Policy Framework

David Ingham, Head of Information Assurance, presented the annual review of the Information Assurance Policy Framework, which covers information governance, records management, and information security. The framework supports legal obligations under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. Councillor Mrs Jane Smith raised concerns about the council's preparedness for cyber-attacks following a past ransomware incident. Tom Baker, Chief Information Officer, detailed significant improvements in cyber defences, including a new Security Operations Centre and the adoption of industry standards. Councillor Richard Graham Davies sought clarification on the scale of data protection complaints and security incidents, to which David Ingham responded that there were 87 data protection complaints and a significant increase in security incidents, primarily due to lost assets, though the council's incident rate was below the national average. Councillor Brenda Hazel Collier inquired about monitoring security for staff working from home and background checks for staff handling sensitive information. David Ingham assured that strict HR checks, including DBS checks for those working with vulnerable people, were in place. Councillor Richard Graham Davies also questioned the exclusion of private email from approved non-corporate communication channels, while WhatsApp was permitted. David Ingham explained this was based on current assurance levels regarding encryption and security, but agreed to review this. The Board acknowledged the report's recommendations to the Executive Councillor for Resources.

Corporate and Statutory Complaints Annual Report 2025-26

Andrew Hancy, Head of Business Support, presented the Corporate and Statutory Complaints Annual Report for 2025-26. The council received 1,218 complaints, a 10% increase on the previous year, with 43% upheld. A key concern was the increase in stage two escalations, indicating dissatisfaction with stage one responses, particularly in Special Educational Needs (SEND), adult frailty, road maintenance, and home-to-school transport. Emerging issues included the use of AI in complaint generation. Children's services saw a 26% increase in complaints, with SEND complaints being a significant factor. Adult care received 245 complaints, a modest 4% increase, primarily related to communication and delays. Councillor Richard Graham Davies asked about themes within upheld complaints, to which Andrew Hancy responded that timeliness of response and communication were recurring issues. Emily Wilcox inquired about specific examples of improvements made based on complaint learning, and Andrew Hancy provided examples related to communication and timescales. Councillor Martin John Hill OBE questioned the robustness of the council's approach to complaints that might be driven by dissatisfaction with policy rather than service failure, and the organisation of lessons learned. Andrew Hancy assured that the council was robust in its complaint handling and that a new complaints manager would be starting shortly. The Board acknowledged the report's recommendations to the Executive Councillor for Community Engagement.

Core IT Infrastructure Rationalisation and Core Platform Support

Tom Baker, Chief Information Officer, presented a report on the Core IT Infrastructure Rationalisation and Core Platform Support. The proposal aims to modernise the council's IT infrastructure by moving away from on-premise systems to cloud environments, consolidating software, optimising licence arrangements, and leveraging the partnership with Version 1. This includes replacing an end-of-life storage area network (SAN) with a capital investment of £1.3 million, which will be defrayed by moving to the cloud. Councillor Mrs Jane Smith asked about the benefits to residents and staff, to which Tom Baker explained improvements in overall stability, a more secure and resilient environment, and better integration between systems, leading to a more joined-up approach for citizens. Councillor Richard Graham Davies expressed concern about the ambitious savings model, questioning the assurance over cashable savings. Tom Baker provided reassurance based on migration testing and the large volume of data that could be moved. Councillor Martin John Hill OBE raised concerns about the potential impact of Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) on the IT infrastructure rationalisation. Tom Baker explained that the proposed cloud-first model would be extensible and could be used as a shared service or adapted for disaggregation, future-proofing the council regardless of LGR outcomes. The Board acknowledged the report's recommendations to the Executive.

2025-26 Workforce Metrics and Employee Survey

Vicky Sharp, Deputy Head of People, presented the findings of the 2025 Employee Survey and the 2025-26 workforce metrics. The survey showed a positive result with a 13% increase in response rate, achieving 59.1% of the workforce. Key highlights included 77% of employees recommending LCC as a place to work and 82% recommending their line manager. Positive themes included high trust in line management, a positive culture, supportive teams, hybrid working, and access to health and well-being support. Areas for development included leadership visibility, communication, workspace facilities, and recognition and reward. Workforce metrics indicated a rise in sickness absence to 7.95 days per FTE, above the target, but still better than the national average. Voluntary turnover remained low at 7.86%, with 21% attributed to age-based retirement. Agency spend reduced by £861,000. Councillor Mrs Jane Smith inquired about how line managers pass on concerns and provide feedback, to which Vicky Sharp explained the anonymous nature of the survey but highlighted the transparency of results and the action planning process. Councillor Richard Graham Davies questioned the rise in sickness days and the lower engagement scores in Corporate compared to Place. Vicky Sharp attributed the rise in sickness to national trends and specific local factors, and explained that the low number of staff in Corporate made percentage increases appear significant. Councillor Mrs Jane Smith asked about support for staff returning to work after sickness, and Vicky Sharp detailed the council's extensive health and well-being offer, including in-house counselling and occupational health services. Councillor Gibbs highlighted his own initiative to meet staff across the county, and Councillor Corry noted the council's long-standing practice of visiting fire stations. The Board reviewed the report and was assured regarding the employee survey outcomes and workforce metrics.

Overview and Scrutiny Management Board Work Programme

Tracy Johnson, Senior Scrutiny Officer, presented the Board's work programme. Suggestions for future reports included regular updates on capital expenditure slippage, a dashboard for savings and transformation progress, and more frequent updates on the Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) process, including costs and impact. Councillor Martin John Hill OBE requested a more organised approach to lessons learned from complaints and clarification on the process for legal challenges if LGR outcomes were disputed. Councillor Richard Graham Davies suggested an action tracker for requests made by members. Tracy Johnson agreed to take these suggestions away for consideration and to confirm actions in the minutes. The Board proposed and agreed the work programme, subject to the consideration of items raised during discussions.

Scrutiny Committee Work Programmes

The Board noted the work programmes of the other scrutiny committees. Councillor Martin John Hill OBE commented on the variable quality of reports produced by scrutiny committees and the need for more consistency. Councillor Richard Graham Davies echoed concerns about the timeliness of information provided to members. The Board agreed to note the planned work programmes.

The meeting concluded with a hydration break before proceeding to item 10.