The Children, Education and Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee of West Northamptonshire Council was scheduled to discuss the future delivery of social housing services, review the committee's work programme, and consider a new scrutiny prioritisation toolkit. The meeting's agenda also included a proposal for a scrutiny review into addressing disrepair in social housing.

Future Delivery of Social Housing Services

A significant item on the agenda was the future delivery of social housing services currently managed by Northamptonshire Partnership Homes (NPH). The committee was scheduled to provide pre-decision scrutiny and challenge regarding proposals to bring these services in-house. NPH, an Arm's Length Management Organisation (ALMO), manages approximately 11,500 properties for West Northamptonshire Council (WNC), handling functions such as repairs, tenancy management, and tenant support. The report pack indicated that legislative changes following the Grenfell Tower fire have increased regulatory scrutiny, with the responsibility for compliance now resting with WNC. A tenant consultation had been undertaken, with a majority of respondents supporting the transfer of services back to WNC. Options for bringing NPH back in-house, including a lift and shift of the entire organisation or a partial transfer of services, were being assessed. The rationale for this potential transfer included opportunities for efficiencies, economies of scale, and a more streamlined customer experience, as well as the fact that the ALMO model no longer offered financial benefits.

Scrutiny Prioritisation Toolkit

The committee was also scheduled to be advised of a new scrutiny prioritisation toolkit. This toolkit, endorsed by the Overview and Scrutiny Triangulation Group, is designed to help overview and scrutiny committees select and prioritise topics for their work programmes. It aims to ensure that scrutiny activity is targeted, focused, and timely, concentrating on issues of corporate and local importance where scrutiny can influence and add value. The toolkit provides a framework for evaluating potential topics based on criteria such as public interest, opportunity to effect change, community safety, reach, duplication of work, and alignment with council priorities.

Review of Committee Work Programme

The committee was set to review its work programme for 2025/26. This included noting the proposed schedule of topics and considering a proposal form for a scrutiny review focused on addressing disrepair in social housing within West Northamptonshire. The proposal, put forward by Councillor Sally Keeble, highlighted that an estimated 20% of NPH's housing stock fails to meet the Decent Homes Standard. The review aimed to identify the extent and nature of this disrepair, develop a strategy for upgrading the housing stock, and identify potential funding sources. This initiative is intended to align with WNC's corporate priorities of improved life chances, thriving villages and towns, and robust resource management.

Early Years Provision and SEND Support

While not the primary focus of the agenda, the report pack also contained information from a previous meeting on 2 October 2025, which included discussions on the SEND Priority Action Plan and the national policy direction for early years provision. Updates were provided on progress in addressing waiting times for assessments, improving the quality of Education, Health and Care plans (EHCPs), and enhancing joint working between health and social care sectors for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Regarding early years, the committee had considered the implementation of the Best Start in Life (BSiL) Strategy, focusing on rebuilding family support services, enhancing access to early education and childcare, and raising the quality of early years practice. Discussions had also touched upon the take-up of early education and childcare entitlements and the need to support children with poor social and developmental skills. The committee had agreed to scrutinise geographical differences in the take-up of early education and childcare entitlements and to include the topic of waiting times for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) assessment in its future work programme.