The Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee was scheduled to consider a range of important operational and strategic matters. Key discussions were expected to focus on the council's workforce, including the results of the 2026 Employment Engagement Survey and options for Occupational Health Services. The committee was also scheduled to review the Information Management Service's annual report and receive an update on the Data and Intelligence Strategy. Financial performance and risk, along with the council's performance in the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year, were also on the agenda.

Employment Engagement Survey 2026 Actions

The committee was scheduled to consider planned actions in response to the results of the 2026 Employment Engagement Survey. This was to include receiving an update on staff learning and development, staff health and wellbeing support, how staff are being supported through change, and measures being taken to address bullying and harassment. The report pack indicated that the council's efforts were focused on four connected priorities: Learning & Development, Health & Wellbeing, Change, and Bullying, Harassment & Discrimination, with a common thread of visible leadership, confident managers, clearer communication, and demonstrable follow-through on staff feedback.

Occupational Health Services

Options for the future delivery model of Occupational Health Services for Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) were scheduled to be considered. The report highlighted that Occupational Health is an important enabling service, providing clinical advice that supports recruitment, sickness absence management, return-to-work planning, and health surveillance for safety-critical roles. The current service is a mixed model, with an in-house team of nurses and case managers, alongside externally commissioned physician capacity and an Employee Assistance Programme. The case for change was presented as being driven by service resilience, productivity, clinical capacity, and organisational risk, with increasing demand and waiting times noted as key pressures. Three options were scheduled for discussion: retaining the current mixed model, investing in an enhanced in-house model, or procuring a commissioned Occupational Health clinical service with retained GCC oversight. The officer-preferred route was Option 3, a commissioned service with strong retained GCC commissioning, contract management, clinical governance, and wellbeing capacity.

Information Management Service Annual Report

The committee was scheduled to consider the Information Management Service (IMS) Annual Report. This report was expected to provide an overview of the council's handling of statutory information requests during 2025/26, including Freedom of Information (FOI), Environmental Information Regulations (EIR), Subject Access Requests (SARs), and Individual Rights Requests (IRRs). The report indicated that FOI and EIR request volumes had increased, with 92.8% of requests responded to within statutory timescales. SAR demand had increased significantly, placing pressure on compliance performance, with 76.4% of SARs responded to on time. The report identified the key operational risk as the council's ability to sustain statutory compliance as request volumes and complexity continue to rise, particularly for SARs.

Data and Intelligence Strategy Update

An update on the Data and Intelligence Strategy was scheduled to be presented. The council's vision was to become an intelligence-led organisation, where data and information drive improvement. The strategy priorities were outlined across five foundations: Availability, Data Quality, Skills & Capabilities, Technology & Tools, and Governance. The report pack detailed progress made so far, including the introduction or improvement of 45 dashboards, the launch of a data quality toolkit, and the completion of 37 apprenticeships related to data skills. The delivery plan for the next phase was also to be discussed, aligning with the Council Strategy, Stronger Futures, and preparations for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR).

Corporate Finance Report

The committee was scheduled to receive the Corporate Finance Report, including an update on the savings programme. The report indicated a forecast revenue expenditure outturn for 2026/27 of an overspend of £2.415 million, with significant pressures in Adult Social Care and Children & Families directorates. The Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficit was forecast to reach £193.165 million by March 2027. The report also detailed the capital programme, with a revised profile of £184.251 million for 2026/27, and outlined the Prudential Indicators for the financial year. Cabinet had endorsed a strengthened package of spending controls to support the recovery of the in-year position.

Corporate Resources Performance Report - Quarter 1 2026/27

The committee was scheduled to note the performance data for the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year. This report was expected to provide a strategic overview to monitor the council's performance and underpin decision-making. It was to cover two key themes: Champion Equality and Inclusion and Strengthen Leadership, Culture and Workforce. Specific performance indicators were to be reviewed, including the percentage of Freedom of Information and Environmental Information Regulations requests responded to within legal time limits, and the number of cases upheld by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. The report also highlighted that due to the implementation of a new SAP system, workforce information was unavailable for Q1 2026/27, impacting metrics such as the percentage of appraisals completed and days lost to sickness.

Work Plan

The committee was scheduled to review its work plan and suggest items for consideration at future meetings. Members were to consider the reasons for and expected benefit of scrutiny's involvement, and whether scrutiny could add value to proposed items. The work plan included items such as the Employment Engagement Survey 2026 Action Plan, the Information Management Service Annual Report, and the Data and Intelligence Strategy. Future meetings were also noted, including a dedicated Budget Scrutiny session in January 2027.