Agenda and draft minutes

There were no declarations of interest received at this point in the meeting.

A Member stated they had identified several changes in the minutes and had spoken to the Democratic Services Officer about them.

With the Board’s approval, the Democratic Services Officer agreed to implement the changes.

Notwithstanding the proposed changes, the minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Board meeting held on 28 January 2026 were submitted and approved as a correct record.

The Chair of the Place Panel advised that at the last meeting of the Panel on 16 February updates were received around flood risk assessments and RIPA. The Panel also finalised the recommendations of its Barriers to Regeneration Report and discussed the town’s bicentennial celebrations.

The Chair of the Children’s Scrutiny Panel advised that the Panel’s next meeting was to be on the 9 March where the updates would be received on its review into Out of Area Placement and a recent Ofsted inspection.

The Chair of the Adult Social Care and Health Scrutiny Panel advised that the Panel had last met on the 23 February where information had been received relating to its review into Violence Against Women and Girls. The Panel had also considered its final report into Healthy Placemaking and would be submitted to the next meeting of OSB. The Panel had also received updates relating to CQC updates.   

The Chair presented the Executive Forward wWork programme and sought questions from the Board.

Members requested more information relating to the forward plan entries relating to Pest Control and Bereavement Services.

The Democratic Services Officer advised Members that an email had been circulated to the Board providing an update.   

The Chair welcomed the Executive Member for Development to the meeting and invited him to deliver his presentation.

•         The Executive Member for Development delivered his presentation to the Board and made the following points.

•         The Development portfolio contributed to the Mayor’s priorities which included fair access to high quality homes, securing well paid jobs, strengthening the local economy and strengthening local transport links.

•         Key staff within the Regeneration and Housing Directorate were provided to the Board.

•         In terms of progress over the previous 12 months, all scheduled projects had begun which included construction of the Nunthorpe Community Centre, redevelopment of the Old Town Hall and Outwood Riverside Academy. It was clarified that, so far as was known, all school years would move into the new school together rather than on a phased basis.

•         With regards to the Town Centre the Council had limited control over this other than creating a suitable environment for businesses to grow. Members discussed the status of several units in the town centre which included the provision for seating outside those units and that Stack had extended its lease.

•         It was clarified that footfall within Captain Cook Square was excellent which, in turn, helped attract inward investment.

•         It was clarified that Stack opened in approximately Christmas 2024.

•         Members discussed the possibility of small-scale events in Captain Cook Square and how some seasonal events had already taken place.

•         In terms of housing, there was a public examination of the Local Plan taking place during the following month which provided residents the opportunity to comment on the Local Plan.

•         A Member queried the status of an access road on a housing development. It was clarified that the road was to be used for site access only and had no definitive opening date.

•         Church House was also cited as an example of housing development as this was being brought back into use. However, it was unclear how much of the building had been occupied.

•         The Chair queried if the same developer for Church House had plans for other properties they owned in the town. It was clarified that a report was scheduled for consideration by Executive regarding how the Council engages with partners in this regard.

•         The status of the Gresham Development was queried and it was clarified this was a TVCA led development, but it was understood that the scheme was considering a mix housing types on the site.

•         The Council was also working with strategic partners to improve bus routes in the town.

•         Looking forward to the next 12 months several important developments were planned. These included Middlehaven which had seen a credible developer with access to investment opportunities, taking interest in the site to develop the area with the Old Town Hall as the centre piece. Members discussed the possibility that some of the land on the Middlehaven site was contaminated due to its industrial heritage. It was clarified that much of the land had been cleaned up but there was still work to do.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25/67

The Chair welcomed the Chief Executive to the meeting and invited him to provide his information.

The Council conducted a poverty sprint which brought key staff together to understand what the key issues were concerning poverty. Following this, and an action plan was created with associated recommendations. An updated version of the action plan showed that good progress had been made against the actions, but that it was sometimes difficult for work to develop traction. This was not a lack of will from officers, it was more about confusion on how to proceed.

The current Council Plan, introduced in 2023, followed a standard format. At the time of the Plan’s creation, it was discussed if the Council Plan should have been thematic or not. Leeds Council was used as an example whereby it was decided that all Council activity was undertaken with a view of improving the lives of Children and Young People.  Adopting this approach gave the Council a clear lens to view their activity. Middlesbrough adopted a pillar approach to its Council Plan, which meant Council business was delivered according to themed pillars. While this meant business was undertaken in the correct manner, it led to a question of whether the Council should adopt a poverty strategy.  

There was also a need to question how the Council framed poverty, namely should it be viewed via social value and childhood enrichment. Many actions arising from the Council Plan applied to all of these. Part of the confusion for officers was the number of policy lenses available, oftentimes these were viewed simultaneously.

There was a need to corral this issue in a language that was understandable. The example of the Blair governments was cited during which language was changed which showed poverty was not just about a lack of money. This included the concept of social exclusion which included if a family bread winner lost their job, money would still be available, but that family would experience more challenging times and could lead to a lack of social participation.  Adopting this approach encompassed a range of other factors associated with poverty.

How was approach was articulated involved political choice. The Executive Forward Plan was not quite where the Chief Executive hoped it would be, and some systems did work in the way they should. As such, reports were scheduled for Executive consideration about refreshing the Council Plan and how to enhance the Council’s performance framework, with the reintroduction of balanced score cards cited as an example. There would be regular performance clinics with individual departments and part of this would be contributions to thematic pieces of work. There was a question about how the Council simplified the number of lenses the Council looked through.

At this point in the meeting the Chief Executive invited questions from the Board.

A Member queried how integrating poverty into a thematic approach could be applied to all Council functions, using Planning and the current emphasis of building executive homes rather than social  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25/68

None.