The Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting scheduled for 8 July 2026 was set to cover a range of significant topics, including updates on the Council Strategy Action Plan, Finance, Performance, and Risk Monitoring for Q4 2025/26, and the Strategic Estate Plan. Discussions were also scheduled on agency staffing, annual benchmarking reports, and arrangements for the Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) Joint Scrutiny Committee.

Council Strategy Action Plan Update, and Finance, Performance and Risk Monitoring Report: Q4 2025/26

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the delivery of the Council Strategy Action Plan, alongside a comprehensive report on the Council's financial, performance, and risk position at the end of Quarter 4 2025/26. This included a financial overview detailing revenue expenditure, with an anticipated underspend of £7.642 million. Significant underspends were noted in Children's & Families Services (£6.926 million), with explanations provided for movements since Q3. The report also detailed proposed transfers to reserves, including £1.070 million to the LGR Reserve and £6.572 million to the Risk & Opportunities Reserve, to mitigate risks such as the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficit. The DSG deficit was reported as £124.718 million as of 31 March 2026, with ongoing lobbying efforts for full government funding.

The savings programme for 2025/26 targeted £26.434 million, with £25.656 million (97.06%) achieved. Unachieved savings of £778k were noted, with plans for their achievement in 2026/27. The report also provided a summary of revenue reserves, showing a total useable revenue reserve balance of £202.632 million, exceeding the minimum requirement. Capital expenditure for 2025/26 was projected at £150.568 million, with £8.241 million in slippage anticipated. The report detailed funding changes to the capital programme, including additions from grants and Section 106 contributions, and reductions due to grant removals or changes in project timelines.

Performance against strategic measures was also to be reviewed, with over 60% of strategic performance measures reported as being within tolerance or better than target in Quarter 4. However, 24 out of 63 measures were performing worse than target, and five out of 21 strategic risks were rated as High. Key areas of concern included capacity for children's placements and adult support, SEND reform pace, dependency on external funding, care leaver outcomes, and workforce sustainability.

Strategic Estate Plan and Rural Task and Finish Group Update

The committee was scheduled to consider the Strategic Estate Plan and an update from the Rural Task and Finish Group. The report indicated that the existing Strategic Estate Plan 2016-2030, based on progressive rationalisation with a target of reducing the estate size to 5,600 acres, would be adopted for the remaining four years. The plan aimed to provide gateway opportunities into agriculture and ancillary businesses, contributing to profitable production, environmental sustainability, and climate change management. Recommendations from the 2025 Task and Finish Group were to be considered, including a revised rural estate Mission Statement focusing on economic, socio-economic, and environmental development. Approaches to progressive rationalisation included investigating retention or part-retention of holdings, sales to sitting farm tenants, and surrender packages. A rural acquisitions policy was to be developed, and renewable energy opportunities, both small and large scale, were to be considered. Programmed investment in the retained estate was planned in line with the Medium-Term Financial Strategy, addressing damp and mould, and potential needs for listed properties. Carbon and environmental management initiatives were to continue collaboratively, with investigations into the sale of carbon and biodiversity net gain units. The diversity of enterprise on the rural farm estate was also to be explored, including education and rehabilitation schemes.

Agency Supply of Temporary and Permanent Staff

The committee was to consider options for future arrangements for temporary agency staffing, permanent recruitment support, and specialist consultancy services. The report highlighted the council's preference for permanent employees but acknowledged the need for temporary support in specific circumstances. The current neutral vendor contract for agency staff was due to end in December 2027. Spend trends and controls indicated a reduction in agency and consultancy spend, with strengthened oversight through quarterly reporting and the Directors' Staffing Panel. Options being considered included a single managed provider, a master vendor, a council-managed framework of approved agencies, direct agency engagement by managers, and expansion of the internal Temporary Staffing Service. The emerging preferred option was a new neutral vendor arrangement, balancing market access, compliance, and value for money. The potential contract value could be up to £100 million over five years, covering agency staffing, consultancy, and potential district council spend post-LGR.

Annual Benchmarking Report

An update on Gloucestershire County Council's performance compared to peer comparators or national benchmarks was scheduled for discussion. The report analysed performance across various sectors, including Economy, Environment and Infrastructure, Public Health and Communities, Children's Services (Social Care and Education), Adult Social Care, Community Safety (Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service), and Corporate Resources. The report highlighted areas of strong performance, such as waste management, CO2 emissions reduction, and road maintenance, while also identifying areas for improvement, including road safety incident rates, smoking cessation outcomes, early childhood development, and timeliness of children's social care assessments. The report also detailed the composition of comparator groups for each service area.

LGR/Devolution Update

A verbal update on arrangements for the LGR Joint Scrutiny Committee was scheduled. This would likely cover membership nominations, meeting arrangements, and the committee's role in overseeing the Local Government Reorganisation process.

Work Plan

The committee was to review its work plan and suggest items for future consideration. This included reviewing the Forthcoming Executive Decision List, Forthcoming Decisions, Council Strategy, and Corporate Strategy 2025–2029. Members were encouraged to consider the reasons for scrutiny's involvement and the expected benefit of examining specific items.

The meeting also included standard agenda items such as noting apologies, confirming minutes of the previous meeting, and declarations of interest.