The Scrutiny Panel meeting scheduled for Tuesday 27 January 2026 was set to discuss the council's financial position, including a quarterly finance update and the Chief Executive's response to questions on strategic matters. The panel was also scheduled to review its work programme for the upcoming year.

Chief Executive Question Time

The Scrutiny Panel was scheduled to hold a question time session with Dawn Carter-McDonald, the Chief Executive of Hackney Council. The session was intended to cover three key areas: the council's transformation programme and its impact on financial stability and savings delivery; progress on the council's anti-racist framework and its integration across the organisation; and strategies for rebuilding trust with Hackney's communities following recent challenges such as the cyber-attack, leadership changes, and the findings of the Housing Ombudsman report. The Chief Executive was expected to provide verbal updates on each of these topics.

Quarterly Finance Update

A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to a quarterly finance update, providing an overview of the council's budget and current financial pressures. The report pack indicated that the council was forecasting an overspend of £10.959 million as at October 2025. This overspend was primarily attributed to increases in the Adults, Health and Integration directorate (£4.15 million), Children and Education (£3.87 million), and Housing, Climate and Economy (£2.42 million). The report detailed initiatives to mitigate this overspend, including the establishment of a Budget Recovery Board, a CLT Resources Approval Panel to oversee recruitment and payments, and specific Finance Improvement Panels for Adult Social Care and the Housing Revenue Account (HRA).

The update also included a detailed analysis of agency staff expenditure across directorates, highlighting significant costs in Children and Education (£9.71 million forecast), Housing, Climate and Economy (£13.34 million forecast), and Adults, Health and Integration (£9.20 million forecast). The report touched upon national budget announcements, including changes to the two-child benefit cap, council tax, business rates, and the introduction of an overnight visitor levy. Furthermore, it discussed funding reforms and their potential implications for Hackney's budget, as well as proposed annual increases to garden waste subscription and one-off collection charges, recommended to rise by 3.8% in line with CPI from April 2026. The report also outlined the council's response to the cost of living crisis, including the Here to Help initiative, which aims to tackle benefits under-claiming and provide financial support.

Minutes and Matters Arising

The minutes from the previous Scrutiny Panel meeting, held on 6 October 2025, were scheduled to be presented.

Scrutiny Panel Work Programme 2025/2026

The panel was due to review its work programme for the 2025-2026 municipal year. This document, which is subject to regular updates, outlines the topics scheduled for scrutiny. The report pack indicated that the work programme included items such as the Housing Ombudsman's Special Report on Hackney Council, a review of the Council's Budget, and an overview of the Scrutiny Commission's work programmes for 2025-2026. Other potential items for discussion included the Hackney Council Complaints and Enquiries Annual Report, a review of the council's new performance dashboards, and a call-in related to executive decisions on market trading fees. The panel was invited to provide comments, amendments, or suggestions for the work programme.

The report pack also contained a rolling work programme for the Scrutiny Panel from May 2025 to April 2026, detailing proposed items, directorate contacts, and comments on actions. Suggestions for the work programme included a review of digital and data management strategies, resident experience, progress towards Net Zero, public engagement, and an update on poverty reduction.