The Finance Overview and Scrutiny Committee reviewed customer service improvements, treasury investments, borrowing, and demand pressures on statutory services. The committee made recommendations to encourage customer service training for new councillors and for the cabinet to formally review the corporate complaints report. Additionally, the committee acknowledged concerns about delays in providing information on members' allowances and committed to including this topic on a future agenda.

Customer Service Improvements

The committee reviewed a report from Sam Olsen, Executive Director for Change and Innovation, on customer service, which is seen as the 'front door' to the council for residents. Mrs Olsen outlined a framework aiming to automate processes and improve service efficiency, with a focus on self-service options and faster response times. The council has a pledge of 'seven days, seven rings' to answer calls, and is using the Netcall system to track and monitor service performance.

Key points discussed:

• Continuous Improvement: Councillor Annamarie Critchard, Deputy Chair of the committee, requested examples of the 'rolling program of continuous improvement'. Mrs Olsen cited redesigning the housing repairs page on the council website to make it easier for residents to log repairs online, which resulted in a 5% drop in calls.
• Tiers of Support: Councillor Matthew Corner sought clarification on the different tiers of support (expert vs specialist). Mrs Olsen explained that specialist support is generally delivered within the generic contact centre, while expert support is provided by staff embedded in individual services.
• Ethical Considerations: Councillor Tony Belton raised ethical concerns about monitoring staff in call centres and suggested a protocol involving trade unions. Mrs Olsen responded that staff turnover and survey data are key performance indicators to monitor the call centre's culture, and that she discusses the call centre with unions in the HR space.
• Call Answer Rates: Councillor Lynsey Hedges questioned whether the 84% answered within seven rings was consistent across all wards. Mrs Olsen clarified that data could be broken down by service but not by ward, as most calls come from mobile phones.
• First Call Resolution: Councillor Peter Graham asked if the technology could determine if calls were actually resolved or just transferred. Mrs Olsen confirmed that the new system, recently implemented, would be able to track this data from the first quarter of next year.
• Housing Contact Centre Pilot: Councillor Annamarie Critchard requested more information on the housing contact centre pilot. Mrs Olsen explained that the pilot includes homelessness calls, the housing register, temporary accommodation, and a helpline for residents of Fox House. Paul, Executive Director of Resident Services, added that a review of the entire repair service was underway to reduce the number of calls by improving the repair process.
• Member Enquiries: Councillor Sara Apps raised the issue of member enquiries and whether the system could be improved to show when issues have been completely resolved. Mrs Olsen suggested that member casework is a result of system complexities, and the priority should be on fixing the system rather than creating an expensive CRM¹ solution.
• Future Vision: Councillor Matthew Corner asked how the council's customer service benchmarks against other local authorities. Mrs Olsen stated that Wandsworth is leading the way in innovative use of Netcall, but choices need to be made about the level of automation, as public sector organisations have different needs to the private sector.

The committee agreed to recommend that new councillors receive customer service training and that the cabinet formally review the corporate complaints report.

Treasury Investments and Borrowing

The committee reviewed a report from Fenella Merry, Executive Director of Finance, on treasury investments and borrowing, in light of financial difficulties at other local authorities. The report aimed to address concerns about the level of borrowing and demonstrate the value and necessity of borrowing for capital investment.

Key discussion points:

• Sector Failures: Councillor Matthew Corner raised concerns about overconfidence, weak governance, poor risk identification, insufficient financial resilience, and transparency failures, questioning whether these risks have increased in recent years. Councillor Ireland responded that the discussion itself demonstrated transparency. Councillor Tony Belton argued that scrutiny was at a reasonable level, while acknowledging his scepticism about the changing system.
• Pension and Market Services Report: Councillor Annamarie Critchard asked about the independent report mentioned in the paper. Mrs Merry clarified that the report, commissioned every four years, benchmarks the council's treasury management policy and strategy against other authorities, but is not a public document.
• Commercial Property Investment: Councillor Annamarie Critchard enquired about commercial property investment. Mrs Merry explained that the council had previously used capital receipts to purchase commercial properties, but current regulations restrict borrowing for such purposes.
• Liability Benchmark: Councillor Clare Fraser asked about the liability benchmark included in the prudential indicators. Mrs Merry explained that this indicator shows when internal borrowing will need to be replaced with external borrowing, currently projected for 2027-28.
• Investment Strategy: Councillor Sara Apps asked how the council ensures it is not over-reliant on its investment strategy. Mrs Merry responded that the council is prudent in its forecasts and constantly checks estimates on bank rates and cash balances.
• Asset Liquidity: Councillor Peter Graham raised concerns about the illiquidity of some assets and the potential risks of borrowing even with assets to show for it. Mrs Merry acknowledged that some assets are more liquid than others and that the council manages assets to promote liquidity.
• Property Returns: Councillor Matthew Corner questioned the trend of reducing returns on commercial properties. Mrs Merry clarified that the properties are purchased for long-term investment and that returns have been affected by Covid-19 but are expected to recover as bank rates come down.
• HRA Borrowing: Councillor Aled Richards-Jones, Leader of the Opposition, asked about the estimated lifetime cost of HRA² borrowing and the assumed level of borrowing on the general fund. Mrs Merry stated that she had intentionally not included lifetime cost figures, but that the assumed rate was 4.5%. She did confirm that the current capital programme has £134 million assumed to be funded from borrowing.
• Sharing Calculations with the Committee: Councillor Aled Richards-Jones challenged the assertion that HRA investment is of net financial benefit to the council, requesting that the committee be brought in to scrutinise the assumptions. Mrs Merry agreed to consider how to share the calculations with the committee, potentially through the HRA business plan or the next scrutiny of treasury and borrowing.
• Borrowing Terms: Councillor Sara Apps asked about the decision to go for 50 years of borrowing. Mrs Merry explained that 50 years is the longest term available and is a weighted average based on the useful life of the assets.
• Level of Borrowing: Councillor Aled Richards-Jones stated that the administration's policy is to incur borrowing of over £1.1 billion. Mrs Merry confirmed that this was the level of investment funded by borrowing.
• Fair Funding: Councillor Peter Graham asked for an update on fair funding. Mrs Merry stated that the situation was not ideal, but manageable, and that the council was working on efficiencies.

The committee noted the paper and endorsed the approach to growing the buy-back programme.

Managing Demand Pressures

The committee reviewed a report on managing demand pressures in statutory services, specifically temporary accommodation, and adult and children's social care. The report outlined the pressures and actions being taken to mitigate them.

Key discussion points:

• Family Exclusions: Councillor Sara Apps asked for clarification on the term 'family exclusions' as a cause of temporary housing demand. Mr Chadwick clarified that this refers to pressures on families living together, including divorce and domestic violence.
• Private Sector Leasing: Councillor Sara Apps asked about plans to expand the private sector leasing scheme. Mr Chadwick responded that it is part of the measures being adopted, but its cost versus benefit is still being measured.
• Sustainable Solutions: Councillor Lynsey Hedges asked about medium to long-term sustainable solutions beyond relying on reserves. Councillor Ireland responded that the focus was on reducing demand pressures through the transformation programme.
• Read Across Between Directorates: Councillor Matthew Corner asked about the read across between different directorates and effective forecasting. Mr Halleck stated that data helps to understand the situation quickly and that progress can be made.
• Demographic Trends: Councillor Matthew Corner asked if demographic trends were built into forecasting. Mrs Evans responded that they are, but unforeseen high-cost placements can significantly swing the forecast.
• Impact of Tax Changes: Councillor Peter Graham asked about the impact assessment of recent tax changes on landlords and temporary accommodation. Mr Chadwick responded that no modelling had been done yet, but that it was an area for future work.
• Rent Controls: Councillor Peter Graham raised concerns about rent controls. Councillor Dickerdem defended rent controls as an economically evidenced policy.
• Demand Management: Councillor Annamarie Critchard asked what demand management looks like from a resident perspective. Mrs Evans responded that it is about changing how care is provided, focusing on prevention and using care technology.
• Test and Review: Councillor Annamarie Critchard asked if the 'test and review' approach had been implemented. Mr Chadwick cited the testing of magic notes³ in housing teams as an example.
• Homelessness Prevention Grant: Councillor Clare Fraser asked how the Homelessness Prevention Grant was being used. Mr Chadwick responded that it was about working with residents to give them the best advice possible and providing information to help them make the right choices.

The committee noted the information in the report.

Finance OSC Work Programme

The committee reviewed the work programme and considered its further development.

Key points:

• Members' Allowances: Councillor Peter Graham raised concerns about the delay in discussing members' allowances, stating that it was a statutory right to have the item included on the agenda. Mrs Merry apologised for the unintentional delay and committed to including the item in January.
• Publication of Allowances and Expenses: Councillor Aled Richards-Jones asked about the delay in publishing allowances and expenses paid to councillors. Mrs Merry responded that the reconciliation had not been finished but that publication was imminent.

The committee noted the contents of the work programming paper and the annual complaints report and key performance indicators.