The Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee are scheduled to meet to discuss the council's performance, risk and financial monitoring, the council strategy, staff survey results, and local government reorganisation. The committee will also review its work plan.

Corporate Performance, Risk and Financial Monitoring

The committee will be examining the council's performance, risk and financial monitoring for the first quarter of 2025/26, based on a report by Paul Blacker. This will include:

• Financial Monitoring: An overview of the council's financial performance.
• Council Strategy Progress: An update on the progress of the council's strategy, as detailed in Appendix 1 - Council Strategy Progress Update Q1 2025-26.
• Overview of Performance: A review of the council's performance, outlined in Appendix 2a - Overview of Performance Q1 2025-26 and Appendix 2. Corporate Performance Scorecard Q1 2025-26.
• Strategic Risk Monitoring: A report on the monitoring of strategic risks, as presented in Appendix 3. Strategic Risk Monitoring Report Q1 2025-26.

Review of the Draft Council Strategy

The committee will be reviewing the draft council strategy, based on the Council Strategy 2025-29 draft Outcomes. The council strategy sets out the council's priorities and objectives for the coming years. The council strategy is available to view on the Gloucestershire County Council website.

Annual Performance Benchmarking

The committee will be considering the annual performance benchmarking report, as presented in the Annual Benchmarking Performance Report. Benchmarking is a process of comparing the council's performance against that of other similar organisations.

Annual Review of the Council's Staff Survey Results and Resulting Action Plan Progress

Mandy Quayle will be presenting the annual review of the council's staff survey results and the progress of the resulting action plan. This is based on the Scrutiny Cover Staff Survey Sept 2025. Staff surveys are used to gather feedback from employees on their experiences of working for the council. The results are used to identify areas for improvement and to develop action plans to address these issues.

LGR/Devolution Update

Nina Philippidis will be providing an update on Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) and devolution, based on the COSC LGR BRIEFING 24 SEPTEMBER 2025 001. Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) refers to the process of restructuring local government, often involving the creation of new councils or the merging of existing ones. Devolution refers to the transfer of powers and responsibilities from central government to local authorities.

Work Plan

The committee will be reviewing its work plan and suggesting items for consideration at future meetings, based on the Work Plan September 2025. According to the agenda:

When making suggestions, members should consider the reasons for and expected benefit of, scrutiny's involvement. When making suggestions, members should consider the reasons for and expected benefit of, scrutiny's involvement. Members should also consider which area the item comes under:

• Overview – an item which involves members learning about a subject, asking questions of clarifications but does not necessarily lead to any action/recommendations.

• Scrutiny – an item which requires members to examine the content and provide an outcome.

• Information – reports that are for members information, these reports can be presented and/or questioned in the meeting, but this should be kept to a minimum.

The agenda also provides a link to the Forthcoming Executive Decision List.