This meeting was to discuss an update on the council’s finances, its work on improving its performance, its approach to community safety, leisure provision in the district, and a review of council housing voids. It also considered the Forward Plan which listed the forthcoming Key Decisions and decisions to be taken in private.

Forward Plan

Councillors were to be provided with the Forward Plan which listed the forthcoming Key Decisions and decisions to be taken in private, and they were to be reminded that they could request pre-decision scrutiny on any of the items listed in the Forward Plan.

Review of Repairs and Maintenance

The Committee was to receive a report on the findings of a review of the repairs and maintenance service. The review was conducted by the management consultancy Vanguard.

The report identifies a number of issues that Vanguard believe need to be addressed, including the lack of a Repairs Policy, a need for better communication with tenants, a need for the council to improve its response to emergency repairs, and a need to review the council's approach to cyclical and programmed maintenance.

It proposes that a steering group is established to review the repairs policy, and that the council implements an improvement plan, including:

1. Understand what matters to service users and the demand on the service
2. Assess how well that demand is met
3. Understand how work flows through the system, and to identify waste to be eliminated to improve efficiency.

Quarter 2 2024/25 Performance Indicators

Councillors were to receive a report on the council's performance in Quarter 2 of 2024/25.

The report describes the council's new Performance Management Framework, which includes a suite of service performance indicators that are to be monitored by Overview and Scrutiny.

The report identifies a number of areas where the council is performing well, including its response to planning applications and its success in securing external funding. The council is performing well on its Tenant Satisfaction Measures, which have all improved since the previous quarter.

The report identifies a number of areas where the council is performing less well, including its response to Freedom of Information requests and the proportion of invoices it pays within 30 days.

The report makes a number of recommendations for improvement, including:

• The council should review its procedures for responding to Freedom of Information requests.
• The council should review its procedures for paying invoices.

The report also includes a correction notice from Housing Services, which corrects a number of errors in the data that was previously reported to Overview and Scrutiny.

Barnsley Premier Leisure

The committee was to receive a verbal presentation from representatives from Barnsley Premier Leisure, the organisation that manages leisure facilities on behalf of the council. The presentation was to cover:

• How BPL is looking to align their strategy with the council’s.
• The proposed leisure offer in Worksop Town Centre.

Community Safety Delivery Plan

Councillors were to receive a report on the work of the Bassetlaw and Newark & Sherwood Community Safety Partnership.

The report outlines the structure of the Community Safety Partnership and its strategic objectives. The report also discusses the partnership’s delivery plan, which was still being drafted, and will include details of specific actions that Bassetlaw District Council will take to achieve its objectives.

The report also includes a draft scope for the committee’s review of the partnership's work, which suggests that councillors will be asked to consider:

• Whether the outcomes and learning from the 2021/22 review of Anti-social Behaviour in Town Centres been incorporated in the delivery plan.
• The robustness of the delivery plan.
• Whether the plan represents a ‘whole system’ approach to Community Safety in Bassetlaw.
• How progress will be measured.

Overview & Scrutiny Work Programme 2024/25

Councillors were to receive a report on the work programme for the committee.

The report discussed the committee’s two ongoing scrutiny reviews, and made some recommendations for changes to the work programme, including:

• The committee was to receive the quarter 2 2024/25 budget monitoring report by email, and it was suggested that the committee not consider it as a separate item unless requested by members in advance of the meeting.
• It was suggested that in January 2025, the committee invite finance colleagues back to undertake pre-decision scrutiny of the 2025/26 budget. This would allow the committee to scrutinise the budget once the implications of the local government finance settlement were known.
• It was agreed that in this meeting, the committee would consider the draft scope for its review of the work of the Community Safety Partnership.
• The committee was to receive an update on the progress of the scrutiny review of voids in council housing.
• It was recommended that additional Overview and Scrutiny members volunteer to be part of the voids review task and finish group. This would help to reduce the risk of meetings needing to be rearranged due to a lack of a quorum.

Scrutiny Review: Voids of Council Properties

Councillors were to receive an update on the progress of the scrutiny review of voids in council housing.

The report states that at quarter 2 of 2024/25, the council had 225 void properties, and the average time taken to re-let a standard void property was 227.11 days. The report describes this performance as “comparably high” and “a significant pressure on the Housing Revenue Account.”

The report sets out the scope of the review, identifying the key issues that the review will consider, and how the review group will gather evidence. The report includes a list of questions that the review group will ask witnesses.

The report also includes a list of potential stakeholders that the review group may wish to consult with. These include:

• Councillor Jonathan Slater, Cabinet Member for Housing & Estates
• Alison Craig, Head of Housing
• Jonathan Duffield, Housing Solutions Manager
• Trudy Walstow, Voids Co-Ordinator
• Equans, the council’s voids contractor
• Vanessa Cookson, Strategy and Engagement Manager
• The council’s property and development team

Health and Wellbeing Strategy Action Plan

The report states that in July 2024, the council approved the adoption of a new Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2024-2027. It also states that the council’s cabinet approved the strategy’s accompanying action plan, and agreed that progress on the plan would be scrutinised annually by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The report goes on to explain that because the council’s performance system already contains health and well-being measures for 2024/25, the committee would not monitor the action plan until the 2025/26 financial year.

Finally, the report sets out the action plan’s eight main pillars:

• Ensuring the best start 0-16 years
• Improving healthy lifestyles
• Improving the places that people live
• Tackling physical inactivity
• Suicide prevention and mental health
• Cost of living support
• Addressing the needs of the ageing population
• Partnership working

The report also includes a copy of the draft action plan for 2025/26.