The Overview and Scrutiny Committee met on Wednesday 10 September 2025, and agreed to review the impact of changes to the Council Tax Reduction Scheme, and to scope an item on Capital Projects. They also agreed to look at the relationship between Calderdale Council and the Piece Hall Trust. The committee also agreed that the Chair, Councillor Robinson, should write to the cabinet stressing the importance of a properly supported Scrutiny team.

Financial position

The committee received an update on the council's financial position, based on the Quarter 1 Revenue and Capital Monitor 2025-26 report. The report summarised the forecast year-end financial position based upon budget monitoring at the end of June 2025.

The forecast indicated that the net cost of services would be £252.5 million, which is £2.7 million (1%) over budget. This was attributed to:

• The level of need and costs of complex packages of care for adults with learning disabilities.
• Demand for home care provision linked to hospital discharges.
• Waste collection and disposal costs.
• Children looked after residential and foster care placement costs.
• Reactive highways and infrastructure repairs.
• Special Educational Needs (SEND) home to school transport requirements and cost of provision.
• SEND assessments, the cost of external education provision and additional funding to support mainstream schools.

A contingency budget had been approved for inflationary increases and cost pressures. A budget of £2.7 million for employer National Insurance Contributions was set aside, and has now been allocated to services. The pay award is estimated to cost £3.2 million and will be allocated to service budgets in quarter 2.

The committee also discussed the level of collection of business rates, which officers confirmed had been fairly constant at around 97% over the past few years. They also discussed the £600,000 overspend on unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, and waste management overspends due to increased landfill disposal costs, increased waste collection costs and reduced prices for recyclables.

The committee noted the report.

Ongoing work of Calderdale Council's Scrutiny Boards

The committee received a report on the ongoing work of Calderdale Council's Scrutiny Boards. The report provided an overview of the work of the Adults, Health and Social Care; Children and Young People's; and Place Scrutiny Boards, and provided an update on matters arising from the last meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in June 2025.

The report noted that the key focus for the Adults, Health and Social Care Scrutiny Board would be the report following the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection that took place earlier in the year. The detailed review into care home provision across Calderdale had formally begun with Councillor Kingstone as lead member.

A major item for the Children and Young People Scrutiny Board would be the Ofsted inspection into SEND provision. The Scrutiny Board is examining Mainstream Inclusion Calderdale, and Councillor Christine June Prashad is undertaking this work on behalf of the board.

Councillor Dot Foster presented a report on the delivery of SEND services to Cabinet on 1 September, following the presentation of the original report to the Scrutiny Board on 2 July. The report makes four recommendations to the Portfolio holder/Cabinet.

The Report also makes a recommendation to OSC:

It is recommended to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee that scrutiny boards adopt the approach of an informal workshop and production of a report when considering complex areas which would not be appropriate for detailed review.

Councillor Kimber presented the report and recommendations of the detailed review into Pollution in Calderdale's Revivers and Waterways to Cabinet on 30 June. The report made eleven recommendations.

Place Scrutiny Board will sit as the Crime and Disorder Committee on 16 October. Reports will be presented on Calderdale Prevent and the Community Safety Partnership. A member-led report will be presented on fly-tipping.

On 14 August, the Place Scrutiny Board received a report on the waste contract transition from Suez to the joint venture with Norse. At the same meeting, a report on the implementation of a new pyrolysis plant was presented. The board recommended that a public-facing document be produced which dispelled misconceptions of the Pyrolysis Plant being an incinerator, and to include information on the process, benefits and what was being done to reduce any possible risk around the Pyrolysis Plant be included in any future development of the project.

The protocol detailing the formal relationship between Scrutiny Boards and Cabinet was presented to Cabinet on 4 August. A paper detailing how Scrutiny detailed reviews will operate was approved by Governance and Business on 23 June.

The committee agreed that the Chair, Councillor Robinson, should write to the cabinet stressing the importance of a properly supported Scrutiny team.

Work programme 2025/26

The committee received an update on the work programme for 2025/26. The Senior Scrutiny Officer advised that when members had requests for the Work Programme, an email should be sent to the Chair of the board and relevant Scrutiny Officer, with full details of the request.

During discussions, members commented on potential items around Capital Projects and the impact of the changes to the Council Tax Reduction Scheme¹. Members also discussed looking at the relationship between the council and the Piece Hall Trust and they were advised that there was a limited scope to what the Overview and Scrutiny Committee could look at and did not have a mandate to ensure outside organisations attended Scrutiny.

The committee agreed that:

• Members be invited to email questions to the Chair, Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Senior Scrutiny Officer regarding the impact of the changes to the Council Tax Reduction Scheme, with the responses being brought to the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in December.
• The Senior Scrutiny Officer scope an item on Capital Projects to bring to the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in February.
• An item on the relationship between Calderdale Council and the Piece Hall Trust to be brought to the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in December and the Senior Scrutiny Officer to seek guidance from the Head of Legal and Democratic Services as to the scope of the item.

Terms of Reference for detailed review into Revenue and Debt Collection by Calderdale Council

Councillor Stuart Cairney, Deputy Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, gave an oral report which provided information on the Terms of Reference for the detailed review into Revenue and Debt Collection by Calderdale Council.

The committee agreed that the Terms of Reference for the detailed review into Revenue and Debt Collection by Calderdale Council be accepted.