Agenda and draft minutes

To receive apologies.

An apology for absence was received on behalf of Councillor Clive Moesby (Portfolio Holder for Resources).

To note any urgent items of business which the Chairman has consented to being considered under the provisions of Section 100(B) 4(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

There was no urgent business to be considered at the meeting.

Members should declare the existence and nature of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interest and Non Statutory Interest as defined by the Members’ Code of Conduct in respect of:

a) any business on the agenda

b) any urgent additional items to be considered

c) any matters arising out of those items

and if appropriate, withdraw from the meeting at the relevant time.

There were no declarations made at the meeting.

The Committee was informed the Strategic Director of Finance and Section 151 Officer would be providing an update on the final local government finance settlement and the potential income from it to Council the day after the meeting.

A member noted the financial position of the Council was more favourable than realised.

Moved by Councillor Steve Fritchley and seconded by Councillor Sally Renshaw

RESOLVED that the minutes of a meeting of the Finance and Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 22^nd January 2026 be approved as a true and correct record.

(Members should contact the officer whose name appears on the List

of Key Decisions for any further information. NB: If Members wish to

discuss an exempt report under this item, the meeting will need to

move into exempt business and exclude the public in accordance with

the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 and Local

Government Act 1972, Part 1, Schedule 12a for that part of the

meeting only).

The Committee considered the updated List of Key Decisions and Items to be Considered in Private.

RESOLVED that the updated List of Key Decisions and Items to be considered in Private in the additional document be noted.

The Programme and Projects Officer presented the report to the Committee.

For Quarter 3 2025/26, out of the 33 targets:

·       3 (9%) targets were achieved;

·       3 (9%) were achieved behind target;

·       23 (70%) targets were on track;

·       2 (6%) targets were not on track; and,

·       2 (6%) were extended.

Out of the 55 key performance indicators:

·       40 (73%) indicators had a positive outturn;

·       6 (11%) indicators had a negative outturn; and,

·       9 (17%) indicators were within target.

A summary of performance by Council Plan aim was provided in the report.

The Committee was informed ENV.07, ‘Achieve minimum quality standards of 60% for green spaces’, had not yet been updated for Quarter 3 2025/26.

The Chair noted that for EH.03, ‘Percentage of planned Local Auth[ority] Pollution Prevention Control (LA-PPC) inspections carried out against programme (EH.07)’, it had been recommended for these to be reported on an annual basis due to the nature of the work not being suitable for quarterly reporting.  This request for annual reporting was declined by the Members – it was to continue to be a quarterly target (there was also some concern about whether the target would be met for this financial year).

A Member sought a financial breakdown of operations from the Joint Environmental Health Service the Council shared with North East Derbyshire District Council.

Moved by Councillor David Bennett and seconded by Councillor Duncan McGregor

RESOLVED that quarterly outturns against the Council Plan 2024-2028 targets be noted.

The Scrutiny Officer presented the Work Programme 2025/26 to the Committee, which was attached at Appendix 1.

Moved by Councillor David Bennett and seconded by Councillor Duncan McGregor

RESOLVED that Members review this report and the Programme attached at Appendix 1 for approval and amendment as required.  All Members are advised to contact the Scrutiny Officer should they have any queries regarding future meetings.

The Scrutiny Officer presented the proposed Work Programme 2026/27 to the Committee, which was attached at Appendix 1.

The Committee was informed the Strategic Director of Finance and Section 151 Officer was confident in providing the requested reports to the Committee.  The Chair noted, with the increasing demands of Local Government Reorganisation, it had been important to clarify what would be possible.

Following a question on Local Government Reorganisation and the Council’s reserves, it was agreed the Committee would write a request to the relevant Scrutiny Committee for Members to consider, as part of their Work Programme 2026/27, to research where investments / improvements of the Council’s current asset portfolio could be made.

Moved by Councillor Duncan McGregor and seconded by Councillor David Bennett

RESOLVED that: 1) The Scrutiny Officer recommends the committee approve the report and the proposed Programme attached at Appendix 1 per the reasons set out in Sections 3 and 4 of the report; and,

2)    Members review this report and the proposed Programme attached at Appendix 1 for approval and amendment as required. All Members are advised to contact the Scrutiny Officer should they have any queries regarding future meetings.

The Chair thanked the Committee and its guests for their attendance.