Agenda and draft minutes

To reccive apologies.

No apology for absence was received.

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.

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.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 3^rd of  March 2026.

Moved by Councillor Duncan McGregor and seconded by Councillor Catherine Tite

RESOLVED that the minutes of a meeting of the Finance and Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 3^rd March 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 provided at the meeting.

Clarity was sought on the legal existence on the Dragonfly Companies and the transition of profit generated to the Council.  It was requested that minutes of the Council’s Dragonfly Shareholder Board be provided if meetings continued to be arranged when required.

The Monitoring Officer offered to resolve the uncertainty around the transition of profit generated after the meeting and stated that the minutes of the Council’s Dragonfly Shareholder Board, when available, would be presented to the Committee in future.

A Member proposed that present and past tense language be used in the writing of the List of Key Decisions and Items to be Considered in Private to help better identify which decisions had been / had yet to be made.

Moved by Councillor Duncan McGregor and seconded by Councillor Catherine Tite

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 4 2025/26, out of the 33 ‘live’ targets:

·       5 (15%) were achieved;

·       1 (3%) was achieved behind target date;

·       24 (73%) targets were on track;

·       1 (3%) was not on track; and,

·       2 (6%) had been extended.

Out of the 93 ‘live’ key performance indicators:

·       74 (80%) indicators had a positive outturn;

·       5 (5%) indicators had a negative outturn;

·       13 (14%) indicators were within target; and,

·       1 (1%) was still to be completed.

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

The Chair proposed residents’ satisfaction surveys could be attempted more regularly to better assess perception of the Council’s performance regarding targets such as EH 05  (the number of targeted proactive littering / dog fouling patrols carried out) – topics that, with the resolution of additional Council resources were successfully achieving targets.  After the meeting, the Programme and Projects Officer contacted the Information and Engagement Manager to enquire if the subjects of littering / dog fouling could be included in the following Citizen’s Survey (Autumn 2026).

The Chair noted performance for FIN 01 (the percentage of sundry debtors’ arrears collected) was improving when compared with the previous year – praise for the ongoing work by the Finance Team in this work was shared.

Concern was raised regards RS 11 (the percentage of Housing Benefit overpayment arrears).  While it was noted such an issue was a national one, it was preferable, if possible, to understand what the Council could achieve at the local level.

Members proposed a total figure of outstanding income / arrears be produced (rather than only a percentage).

The Chair noted some targets such as RS 11 should also be theoretically achievable (to help identify and acknowledge improvements being made).  After the meeting, the Programme and Projects Officer obtained the total amount of overpayments outstanding from 2024/25 in respect of RS 11: £1,156,876.18.  The amount recouped in 2025/26 was £133,690, equating to 11.56% of the total (as noted in the Quarter 4 2025/26 report comments).  The 15% target equated to £173,532, therefore the amount recouped had fallen short by £39,842.

The Programme and Projects Officer offered to speak with the Strategic Director of Finance and Section 151 Officer to explore the additional provision of total figures outstanding / reclaimed / etc.

It was felt communication with regards the new food waste bins could have been handled differently.

The Chair thanked the Programme and Projects Officer for producing the report.

Moved by Councillor Duncan McGregor and seconded by Councillor Catherine Tite

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

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

Moved by Councillor Duncan McGregor and seconded by Councillor Catherine Tite

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.