The Overview and Scrutiny Committee of Islington Council met on Thursday 08 October 2026 to discuss the Annual Complaints and Members' Enquiries Report, the Q1 Financial Risks and Challenges report, and the Annual Workforce Report. Key decisions included noting the council's financial position and workforce profile, and discussing strategies for improving complaint handling and workforce development.

Annual Complaints and Members' Enquiries Report

The committee reviewed the Annual Complaints and Members' Enquiries Report for 2025-26, which highlighted a significant increase in both Stage 1 (52%) and Stage 2 (85%) complaints. While response times remained strong, with over 90% of complaints addressed within statutory timelines, the rise in complaints was flagged as a red flashing light for the council. The report also detailed a substantial increase in member and MP casework, with over 3,000 inquiries handled.

Discussions focused on the mechanisms for internal review of Ombudsman findings, with a commitment to improving the consistent corporate capture of actions and learning points. The council acknowledged that its previous complaint handling system was not equipped to manage the increased volume of complaints, particularly in the housing service, which accounts for the majority of complaints. Efforts are underway to enhance oversight and ensure service departments are more responsive. The report also noted a trend in complaints generated by AI and the council's ongoing review of its compensation modelling.

Councillors raised concerns about the accuracy of Stage 1 complaint decisions, with nearly a third receiving different outcomes at Stage 2. Analysis of these cases is planned to understand the reasons for these discrepancies. The success of the new centralised model for members' inquiries will be measured by member satisfaction with substantive issue resolution, rather than just initial responses.

The council acknowledged that while London boroughs generally see a high number of housing complaints, its focus remains on improving its own performance. The casework system is still evolving, described as being in a beta stage, with ongoing efforts to tailor the existing system to better meet needs. The value of complaints as a vital part of the quality control and improvement process was emphasised, moving away from viewing them as a nuisance.

Specific issues raised included the need for more granular analysis of complaint causes, differentiating between process failures and service failures, and improving the tone and defensiveness of council communications with residents. The council is committed to a workforce strategy that imbues compassion, consistency, and a problem-solving approach, with a focus on providing better IT tools and on-the-ground presence for staff.

Financial Risks and Challenges Report

The committee received an update on the council's financial position for Quarter 1 of 2026-27. Despite a stronger financial start to the year due to underspends in the previous year, new pressures have emerged. Directorates are forecasting overspends totalling £3.954 million, primarily in Children and Young People's services due to increased demand and costs for residential placements for high-needs young people. Delays in achieving planned savings from the FutureWork programme and an increase in bad debt provision for temporary accommodation also contribute to the overspends. These are partially offset by projected underspends in corporate budgets, mainly due to reduced borrowing costs.

Key areas of concern include:

• Children and Young People: A projected £2.975 million overspend due to a rise in the number of children requiring residential placements and higher unit costs. Measures to manage this risk include monthly reviews of placements, strengthening approval processes for high-cost placements, and increasing the use of in-house fostering.
• Community Wealth Building: A £0.700 million overspend due to delays in the FutureWork programme, which aims to rationalise council buildings and support flexible working. Savings are now expected in 2027-28.
• Temporary Accommodation: A £0.279 million overspend due to an increased provision for writing off uncollectable rents. This is attributed to factors such as benefit payment delays, cost-of-living pressures, and competing demands on residents' finances. The service is implementing early intervention strategies and simplifying rent collection processes.

The Housing Revenue Account is forecast to break even. Corporate savings, particularly in capital financing, are offsetting some of the pressures. Management actions are being taken to address overspends, with an expectation that corporate directors will find compensating savings. Any year-end deficit is expected to be covered by reserves.

Discussions also touched upon the cost-sharing arrangements for joint-funded multi-agency placements (JMAPs) with health and education partners, acknowledging the challenges in securing full contributions due to financial pressures on these partners. The market for high-needs care is dominated by private equity providers, leading to high costs, and the council is exploring models for re-insourcing provision.

Annual Workforce Report

The committee reviewed the Annual Workforce Report for 2025-26, which provides assurance on the monitoring of the council's directly employed workforce and its adherence to the Equality Act 2010. The report indicates a broadly stable workforce profile, with a slight reduction in headcount from 5,047 to 5,012. This reduction is viewed in the context of efficiency drives and a successful effort to reduce reliance on agency staff, with 154 agency roles converted to permanent appointments.

Key findings from the workforce data include:

• Gender Pay Gap: The council has a negative mean gender pay gap of -2.56% and a median gender pay gap of -3.63%, indicating that, on average, male employees are paid less per hour than female employees. This is considered an unusual and positive outcome.
• Ethnicity Pay Gap: The mean ethnicity pay gap is 14.19%, and the median is 3.51%, suggesting that White employees are typically paid more than Black, Asian, and Multiethnic employees. This is attributed to lower representation of ethnic minorities in senior positions.
• Disability: 10.22% of the workforce has declared a disability, a figure that rises to 16.80% when not stated responses are excluded. The mean disability pay gap is -0.28%, and the median is 0%.
• Age: The average age of the workforce is 47.09 years, with the largest age group being 50-64 years.
• Grievances and Disciplinary Actions: Formal grievances remain low (0.8% of the workforce), and disciplinary cases are also relatively low. However, data suggests a higher proportion of male colleagues and Black, Asian, and Multiethnic colleagues are involved in disciplinary cases and grievances, respectively.

Progress made in 2025-26 includes strengthened leadership and management development, inclusive recruitment practices, and support for career progression. Maternity retention rates are positive at 83%. Priorities for 2026-27 include developing the new Workforce Strategy, improving confidence in sharing equality data, and further strengthening career progression pathways.

Strategic Workforce Matters

This agenda item built upon the Annual Workforce Report, focusing on the council's Strategic Workforce Matters. The strategy aims to reduce expenditure, increase productivity, and reshape the workforce to deliver the new corporate plan. Significant savings of £21.6 million are targeted over three years, with £8.5 million still to be delivered. The Voluntary Early Exit Scheme (VBEERS) has been more popular than anticipated, reflecting an ageing workforce and the possibility of early retirement packages.

Key aspects of the workforce strategy include:

• Restructuring: Aims to reduce management tiers, increase frontline staff, and expand spans of control to empower the workforce and reduce costs.
• Skills Development: Focus on enhancing technical skills, customer interaction, and the application of technology. Specific attention is being given to upskilling staff in environmental skills and net-zero targets, particularly within the planning department, to facilitate retrofitting projects.
• Work Styles: Reviewing where staff work, with a view to potentially increasing the number of staff working from the workplace to address perceived inequalities and ensure productivity.
• Organisational Values: Embedding core values such as compassion, dedication, and problem-solving across the entire workforce.

Discussions also covered the importance of retaining institutional memory, particularly as experienced staff leave through voluntary redundancy. The council is implementing measures to ensure effective handover of knowledge and is monitoring the demographic profile of VBEERS participants, noting a skew towards older employees. The maturity of the Islington check-ins performance management framework was also discussed, with plans to digitise the system and improve the quality of conversations between managers and staff.

The committee noted the council's workforce savings targets and the progress in delivering them, as well as the workforce strategy's role in supporting the corporate plan. A final item noted the invalidity of a call-in request related to a previous decision.