The Overview and Scrutiny Board met on Tuesday 17 March 2026 to discuss corporate HR metrics, including sickness absence and the use of agency workers, as well as the council's commercial strategy and the effectiveness of the board's own work. Key decisions included noting improvements in sickness absence rates and a reduction in agency worker spend, while also highlighting areas for further investigation and recommendations for enhancing the scrutiny process.

Corporate HR Metrics: Sickness Absence

The board received an update on Havering's sickness absence rates, noting a continued downward trend in average days lost per employee, falling from 10.8 in 2023/24 to 10.2 in 2024/25. This improvement placed Havering ninth among London boroughs for reduced sickness levels, despite the London median increasing. Mental health-related absence remains the primary cause, consistent with London-wide trends. Long-term sickness continues to be a pressure point, though Havering's cost of sickness absence (£3.29 million) is below the London average.

Councillor Dilip Patel questioned the high number of occupational health referrals (612), asking if this reflected a proactive approach and its impact on reducing long-term sickness. Gabby Lawler, introducing the report in the absence of Joe Budden, Assistant Director of Resources and Organisational Development, explained that the high referral rate indicated a proactive approach and that occupational health played a crucial role in supporting employees' return to work. She also noted that a six-week pause in referrals due to a provider change likely contributed to the heightened figures for 2025, anticipating a reduction in 2026.

Councillor Martin Goode raised concerns about the measurement of one-day absences and potential trends by day of the week or demographic group, prompting officers to commit to further exploration. Councillor Julie Wilkes inquired about the alignment of the sickness policy with parental and carers' leave, and whether one-day absences could inform policy approaches. Officers agreed to investigate this further.

A significant portion of the discussion focused on the definition and measurement of long-term sickness. Councillor Matthew Stanton questioned how Havering's average long-term sickness absence of 6.9 days could be below the 20-day threshold for defining long-term sickness. It was clarified that the 6.9 days represented the average per employee across the entire workforce, not the average duration of long-term absences. Councillor Stanton suggested this averaging method might skew the figures and proposed exploring alternative measurement approaches.

Concerns were also raised about the anonymisation of benchmarking data, with Councillor Stanton suggesting that grouping boroughs with comparative characteristics would make the charts more meaningful. Gabby Lawler explained that the anonymisation was a conscious effort to be respectful, but acknowledged the point about comparative analysis.

Recommendations were made to:

• Recognise the team's improvement in sickness rates despite financial challenges.
• Engage with better-performing local authorities, such as Bexley, to learn from their best practices.
• Conduct in-depth work on the catering team's musculoskeletal injuries and work practices.
• Implement public health messaging for the prevention of short-term illnesses.
• Ensure 100% completion of training on musculoskeletal injury and stress.

Corporate Metrics: Agency Workers

The board reviewed the council's spend on agency workers, noting a significant reduction in expenditure. Euan Beales, Head of Procurement and Contract Management, reported that the spend for the last three months of 2025 was £4.46 million, a decrease of £1.46 million (22.74%) compared to the same period in the previous year. The percentage of agency workers in the total corporate workforce had fallen from 15.4% to 14.3%.

The primary reason for engaging agency workers remained Project/Additional Work (66.99%), with sickness/absence cover being a low driver (5.83%). However, concerns were raised about the number of agency workers engaged for over two years (114) and those earning above £75,000 (67). Councillor Patel questioned the plans to convert these roles into permanent positions. Officers explained that they would be engaging with senior officers to explore alternative models, such as statement of works, and that the cost-effectiveness of permanent roles versus agency workers was being considered, particularly in light of pension contributions.

The report also highlighted that the use of off-framework agency workers had decreased, with only two suppliers covering five workers for a total spend of £22,797.92 during the last quarter of 2025.

Recommendations arising from this discussion included:

• Developing a risk log for agency workers exceeding two years' tenure and those above the £75k threshold.
• Investigating the reasons for nine contingent workers being engaged during restructuring.
• Seeking clarification on the roles and departments of the 67 contingent workers earning over £75,000.
• Establishing a timeline for reducing the reliance on agency staff to below 12% of the workforce.
• Exploring the feasibility of an in-house agency model, similar to Haringey's approach, to recruit local residents and potentially reduce agency bills.
• Obtaining a breakdown of agency worker contracts by type (fixed-term, open-ended) and tenure.
• Investigating the total spend on off-framework agency workers for the financial period and preventing future occurrences.
• Developing a workforce plan to reduce the cost of expensive agency workers.
• Clarifying the relationship between restructuring and the engagement of agency staff.
• Understanding the specific roles and departments of contingent workers earning over £75,000.
• Obtaining a breakdown of agency workers engaged for three, four, five, and six years.

Wellbeing Annual Report 2025

The board received an overview of Havering's wellbeing initiatives in 2025. Gabby Lawler highlighted strong engagement with support services, increasing demand for mental and financial wellbeing support, and a focus on sustainable, collaborative approaches. Ross Marshall, who presented the report, detailed the use of services such as Optima Health (Occupational Health and Employee Assistance Programme), Vivup (employee benefits platform), Salary Finance (financial wellbeing), York Test, Simply Health, and the Chiro Collective.

EAP usage rose significantly, with colleagues primarily seeking help for stress, anxiety, depression, and work-related pressures. Employee benefits and wellbeing initiatives, including salary sacrifice schemes and gift card savings, showed strong staff engagement. Salary Finance supported colleagues with borrowing and debt guidance, approving over £1 million in loans since its launch.

Looking ahead, the report noted rising wellbeing needs alongside budget constraints for 2026, leading to a focus on low-cost interventions, improved communication, and stronger collaboration. Priorities include expanding the Mental Health First Aid network, strengthening financial wellbeing support, and maximising existing partnerships.

Councillor Patel inquired about the measurable impact of occupational health referrals on reducing long-term sickness and supporting return to work. Officers confirmed that occupational health plays a part in ensuring appropriate return-to-work processes.

Councillor Stanton raised concerns about the high number of musculoskeletal referrals and whether this correlated with an older workforce, asking if specific departments or frontline roles were more affected. Officers indicated that while health and safety teams address musculoskeletal issues, HR had not delved deeply into this data but could explore it further. The report noted that the catering team accounted for approximately 24% of musculoskeletal injury cases.

Councillor Keane suggested a return to public health messaging around basic hygiene to help manage minor illnesses. Officers agreed to pass this suggestion to the health and safety team for a potential campaign.

Recommendations from this discussion included:

• Investigating the age profile of sickness and adapting risk assessments and return-to-work processes for employees over 50.
• Conducting in-depth work on the catering team's work practices related to musculoskeletal injuries.
• Developing public health messaging for the prevention of short-term illnesses.

Health & Safety Training and Sickness Absence

This report, responding to a committee question, reviewed sickness absence data against health and safety training for musculoskeletal disorders and stress. Sickness absences related to musculoskeletal injuries were generally between 10-15 per month, with the catering team accounting for approximately 24% of these cases. Stress-related absences averaged three per month, with no specific trends identified across service areas. The report noted that musculoskeletal absences may not always be work-related.

The completion rate for mandatory e-learning courses on manual handling and stress was approximately 70%.

Commercial Strategy Update

Trevor Cook presented an update on the Havering Commercial Strategy 2024-2029, which aims to embed a commercial mindset across the council to enhance financial sustainability and service efficiency. The strategy focuses on developing a commercial culture, building commercial capability through training and job profile reviews, and improving communication and idea generation. A Commercial Awareness Resource Bank has been launched to provide guidance and tools.

Councillor Taylor questioned the report's statement of no immediate direct financial implications, arguing that a cultural shift towards commercialism should lead to increased income or savings. Officers explained that the council's financial systems currently make it difficult to report specifically on traded service areas, but this is an action within the plan to address. An example of a successful commercial initiative was provided from education services, where new procurement frameworks developed with schools generated income for further development.

Councillor Patel asked about measurable financial outcomes and additional income generated. Officers reiterated the difficulty in aggregating this data at a council level due to current financial systems but confirmed it is a priority to address.

Councillor Stanton inquired about external analysis of services with commercial potential. Officers stated that while historical analysis had been done, no recent external commissions had occurred, but a new commercial framework template, drawing on best practice, guides services in assessing commercial opportunities.

Councillor Vincent asked about the possibility of an employee incentive scheme for generating ideas. Officers confirmed this had been discussed with the Chief Executive and HR, but no concrete plans were in place.

Recommendations arising from this discussion included:

• Developing a more detailed action plan for the commercial strategy, including specific goals, milestones, and resource implications.
• Exploring the possibility of ring-fencing a proportion of income generated by specific services for their sustainable growth.
• Ensuring that the commercial strategy considers the balance between income generation and social benefit.
• Investigating the potential for an employee incentive scheme.
• Improving the executive summary of reports to provide clearer key takeaways.
• Developing a better understanding of the use and risks of AI within the council.

Response of Cabinet to Call-in of Executive Decision - Future Proposals for Former Library Sites

The board discussed the Cabinet's response to the call-in regarding future proposals for former library sites. Councillor David Godwin expressed disappointment with the Cabinet's decision to close libraries and highlighted the ongoing financial losses associated with the sites. Councillor David Taylor sought clarification on whether Cabinet had agreed to the board's recommendations for separate decisions and business plans for each library site. Councillor Julie Wilkes confirmed that while Cabinet had answered the questions, the reporting format had not been ideal.

A key recommendation was made to seek further clarity from Cabinet on their responses to recommendations five and six, specifically regarding separate Cabinet decisions for each library site and the requirement for business plans to be presented before disposal. It was also recommended that Cabinet responses should be in an identical format to the recommendations made.

Self-Evaluation of Board's Work 2025/26

Sandy Hamberger, Statutory Scrutiny Officer, presented a review of the board's work in 2025/26, drawing on a survey of local government scrutiny and reflections from the board members themselves. Key themes for improvement included the length of tenure on scrutiny committees, the need for a formal working protocol between Cabinet and Scrutiny, timely training and support, focused work planning, and better engagement with stakeholders and the public.

Several recommendations were discussed and proposed:

• Increasing the tenure for scrutiny board members to a minimum of two years to allow for greater learning and effectiveness.
• Developing and implementing a formal working protocol between Cabinet and Scrutiny to improve communication and accountability.
• Ensuring timely training and support for scrutiny members.
• Conducting pre-meetings with the new administration and scrutiny members before the start of the new municipal year.
• Adopting task and finish groups for in-depth investigations, with adequate officer resourcing.
• Improving the tracking of recommendations and their implementation, including unanswered questions.
• Encouraging more joint sub-committee scrutinies.
• Providing better access to relevant information and data, potentially through enhanced executive summaries in reports.
• Engaging more with residents and external partners.
• Exploring the use of AI in scrutiny, including its benefits and risks.
• Providing reports with more comprehensive executive summaries.
• Ensuring clarity on the specific questions being asked when setting scrutiny topics.
• Allowing more time for members to review reports, potentially by extending the publication deadline.
• Systematising and tracking unanswered questions, with a commitment to follow-up.
• Considering the potential for an in-house agency model to recruit local residents for council roles.
• Exploring the use of AI for data analysis and summarisation in scrutiny, while acknowledging its limitations.

The board also discussed the importance of officer resourcing to support these recommendations and the need for a clear work programme to manage expectations and track progress. The potential for a more streamlined structure with fewer, more effective committees was also raised, drawing on examples from other councils.