The Crawley Borough Council Overview and Scrutiny Commission met on 1 September 2025, to discuss several key reports and policies. The commission reviewed the Crawley Homes' Domestic Abuse Policy and the Crawley Homes' Complaints Report and Service Improvement Plan, as well as financial reports including the Financial Outturn 2024-2025 (Quarter 4), the 2025-2026 Budget Monitoring (Quarter 1), and the Treasury Management Outturn 2024 – 2025. The commission noted all reports and requested that the views expressed during the debate be fed back to the Cabinet through the Commission's Comment sheet.

Financial Performance and Budget Monitoring

The commission reviewed the council's financial performance for 2024-2025 and the budget monitoring for the first quarter of 2025-2026.

Financial Outturn 2024-2025 (Quarter 4)

The Commission considered the Financial Outturn 2024-2025 Quarter 4 report, which outlined the revenue and capital outturns for the past financial year. Councillors noted the council's significantly favourable financial outturn, despite ongoing financial pressures, particularly in areas such as homelessness and temporary accommodation, and challenges within the commercial property sector.

Discussion points included:

• Slippage in the capital programme, with approximately £12 million (around 25% of the planned £47 million spend) delayed. It was clarified that much of the delay was due to Town Fund schemes and large-scale development projects, some of which were externally led, as well as contract negotiations and water neutrality restrictions.
• An underspend on garages, raising concerns about the condition of garage stock and the need for maintenance.
• The ongoing challenges related to temporary accommodation and the council's acquisition programme.
• Construction issues in relation to Forge Wood, with a design review being undertaken by developers and planning conditions related to highways improvement.
• The ongoing marketing of The Create Building, with the council adopting a more flexible leasing strategy to attract tenants.

2025-2026 Budget Monitoring - Quarter 1

The Commission then moved on to discuss the 2025-2026 Budget Monitoring - Quarter 1 report, which provided a summary of the council's actual revenue and capital spending for the first quarter of the financial year.

Key discussion points:

• The council was projecting a net overspend for the quarter, after accounting for investment interest.
• Key contributors to the overspend included Ashdown House and temporary accommodation, with continued pressure from homelessness services.
• Concerns were raised over consistent under-budgeting with regards to temporary accommodation, with recognition of a 'demand led' service and the challenging complex area.
• Assurance was provided regarding anticipated full reimbursement for Home Office funding.

Treasury Management Outturn 2024 – 2025

The Commission also considered the Treasury Management Outturn 2024 – 2025 report, which compared the council's performance against the approved strategy for its borrowing and investment activities.

Points raised in the discussion:

• The council had maintained its focus on security, liquidity, and yield, in that order, ensuring the safety and effectiveness of its cash management.
• The finance team was commended for achieving an average return of 5% on day-to-day treasury investments.
• Non-treasury (commercial property) investments delivered an average return of 4.26%.

Crawley Homes Policies

The commission reviewed and debated the Crawley Homes Domestic Abuse Policy and the Crawley Homes Complaints Report and Service Improvement Plan.

Crawley Homes Domestic Abuse Policy

The Commission considered report CH/219 regarding the adoption of the Crawley Homes' Domestic Abuse policy to comply with legislation and guidance.

The discussion covered:

• The updated policy had been developed to meet the requirements of the Social Housing Regulation Act and the Consumer Standards, with particular focus on the Neighbourhood and Community Standard.
• Key elements of the policy included guidance for victims/survivors on how to contact the housing provider and the support they would receive, staff responsibility in management domestic abuse cases, information on how the council would respond when dealing with cases, and partnership work undertaken to reduce risks.
• Tenancy enforcement actions may be taken against perpetrators where appropriate.
• The policy had been shaped through consultation with residents and service teams and formalised existing good practice.
• The issue of supporting pets in domestic abuse situations was acknowledged, though responsibility remained with the tenant.
• The policy included operational procedures for making referrals to West Sussex safeguarding services, and partnership working with agencies such as MARAC¹ to assess and manage risk.
• Training was undertaken for staff focused on recognising signs of domestic abuse, with plans to extend training to repairs staff and contractors. The organisation was exploring accreditation with the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA).

Crawley Homes Complaints Report and Service Improvement Plan

The Commission then considered report CH/229 regarding the Crawley Homes Complaints Report and Service Improvement Plan.

The discussion covered:

• The Council produced its annual Complaints Performance Report, Service Improvement Plan, and completed a self-assessment in line with the Housing Ombudsman's Complaints Handling Code.
• There has been a significant improvement in stage 1 complaint handling, with ontime responses increasing from 48% last year, equating to 31% improvement.
• Stage 2 complaints has seen a slight dip in timeliness, coinciding with the Regulator's arrival and a resource shift.
• The Active-H system was being rolled out in phases, with tasking features helping to track and deliver complaint-related actions.
• A noticeable increase in complaints from leaseholders had been observed, likely due to major works, financial pressures, and a rise in Right to Buy applications.
• The recruitment of a dedicated Complaints and Disrepair Manager would assist in improving monitoring performance.
• The Housing Ombudsman's maladministration rate appeared high (80%) compared to the overall findings (4), due to a single complaint resulting in multiple findings.
• The resident panel (TLAP) was actively working on improving engagement through initiatives such as customer journey mapping in repairs.
• The recent judgement from the Regulator for Social Housing also noted good complaint management and oversight over complaints.

Forthcoming Decisions

Finally, the Commission confirmed the following reports for future meetings:

• Petition - Tilgate Park War Memorial
• Budget Strategy 2026/27 – 2028/29
• 2026 - 2027 Housing Revenue Account Business Plan
• Corporate Plan
• Building Control Review - Alternative Provision of Building Control Services for Crawley – Part B