Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any declarations of interest.

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

To receive the minutes of the previous meeting.

The minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Board meeting held on 19 November were submitted and approved as a correct record.

To receive updates from Scrutiny Panel Chairs.

The Chair invited Scrutiny Panel Chairs to present their updates.

The Chair of the Adult Social Care and Health Scrutiny Panel advised OSB that the Panel had met on 1 December at which it heard final evidence gathering in relation to its topic on healthy placemaking with a focus on childhood obesity. The Panel’s next meeting would consider evidence relating to its next topic, Violence Against Women and Girls. The Chair of the Panel also advised that the Tees Valley Joint Health Scrutiny Committee met on 11 December where it received an information from Health Colleagues regarding an update on the University Hospital Tees Strategy, Respite Care and Palliative Care services. 

The Chair of the Children’s Scrutiny Panel submitted a written update which was read by the Democratic Services Officer. The update advised that the Panel had last met on 8 December where it received information from the Interim Director of Education and Partnerships and the STSCP Partnership Manager regarding the STSCP’s annual report. The Panel also considered the Terms of Reference for its current review into Out of Area Specialist Provision. The Panel’s next meeting was scheduled for 26 January 2026.

The Chair thanked the Panel Chairs for their updates and asked the Board to note the information.

NOTED.

To consider forthcoming Executive Decisions.

The Chair introduced the report for OSB’s consideration.  A copy of the Executive Forward Work Programme was attached at Appendix one of the report and Members were asked to raise any issues they had in relation to any of the items listed.

The Chair commented the entry relating to the Artificial Intelligence Policy, which was to be considered by the Mayor, would be brought to January’s meeting of OSB for an overview.

A Member queried if any further information was available relating to the 200 homes associated with the Forward Plan Item, “Investment in Temporary Accommodation Proposals for investment alongside a social investor to purchase properties to reduce the expenditure on temporary accommodation.”

ORDERED that:

1.    Further information about the 200 homes in the Temporary Accommodation Forward Plan item be circulated to the Board

2.    The contents of the Forward Plan be noted.

To receive updates on Forward Plan Actions.

There were no actions relating to the Executive Forward Plan following the previous meeting of OSB.

NOTED.

The Executive Member for Adult Social Care will be in attendance to provide an update on activity within her portfolio area.

The Chair welcomed the Executive Member for Adult Social Care to the meeting and invited her to provide her update.

The Executive Member had been appointed to her position in May 2025 and, as such, had not been in post for a full year. Members were advised that most of what was to be covered in the update could be found in the Executive Member’s updates to Council.

Beginning with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection, both the Executive Member and Adult Social Services were happy with the progress made with Adult Social Services having been taken out of monitoring.

The Adult Social Care Vision had been drafted and was scheduled to be considered at the January meeting of Executive. The Executive Member and Adult Social Care Director met regularly, who in turn, met regularly with the CEO of the Middlesbrough Voluntary Development Agency to understand how the Council and voluntary sector could work collaboratively. It was commented that some work undertaken with the voluntary sector had gone by the wayside.

The Executive Member had undertaken several site visits and spoken to Social Care staff to understand the work they were doing. A Social Work celebration day had been held in the Town Hall Crypt and the Executive Member was pleased to recognise a drama group and some service users from her previous tenure as portfolio holder for Adult Social Care.

Since her previous tenure Adult Social Care portfolio holder, the Executive Member had found services had changed, namely with additional activity. These included sensory loss drop-ins, which had made a big difference to people’s lives. There had also been events for people with learning difficulties and autism.

Adult Social Care was facing challenges, such as efficiency requirements being made at the Integrated Care Board (ICB) and Tees, Esk and Wear Valley (TEWV) and across the Health and Social Care landscape. These changes had knock-on impacts for Adult Social Care services and its relationships with healthcare colleagues.

There was a positive driver around neighbourhood health management, with services becoming localised, rather than centralised in hospitals, which impacted positively on service users. New legislation was being introduced but there was little detail on this.

As part of the Fair Pay Fundin Agreement there had been a national consultation about social workers pay which could filter to all council staff. Members were advised that previously, all Local Authority pay awards were agreed nationally but this was replaced by Job Evaluation processes which were subjective to individual Councils. 

Reforms had been introduced with regards to Mental Health Services, and a significant amount of work was being undertaken to accommodate those changes.  The changes had increased demand on social care bespoke Community Support Packages, and as such there was a move to allow people to remain in their own homes.

Homelessness and Domestic Abuse services were undergoing service reviews. It was commented that many people accessing services did not want accommodation, and some services users were difficult to house due to challenging behaviours. Increasingly,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25/48

The Executive Member for Finance and the Director for Finance and Transformation will be attendance to provide OSB with an update on the Council’s financial position at Quarter Two for 2025/26.

The Chair welcomed the Executive Member for Finance, the Director of Finance and Transformation and the Head of Financial Planning and Business Partnering to the meeting.

The Executive Member provided a brief overview of the attached report and advised OSB that the forecasted budget outturn at quarter two, without any additional mitigations, showed a £1.8 million overspend. This was an improved position on the quarter one position which forecasted £4.5 million overspend. It was also commented that such forecasted overspends were normal at this point the financial year.

The largest budget pressure was within Children’s Services however contingency planning was in place to reduce those pressures. All directorates were required to produce recovery plans.

The Council’s reserves continued to forecast growth despite the projected overspend of £1.8 million. Additional funds were being allocated to capital budgets.

The Executive Member invited questions from the Board.

It was reaffirmed that the Council’s reserves were growing, and Members’ attention was drawn to a graph located at figure one on page 48 of the report pack, which illustrated this. It was projected that by 2029 the Council’s reserves could reach approximately £40 million. It was also commented there had been improvements in the resilience index, and it was hoped the Council would emerge as average in this regard. Previously, the only Councils with lower reserves than Middlesbrough were those that sought financial assistance.

A conversation took place during which it was commented that a report seen by the Audit Committee had given a different impression of reserves than those identified by the Executive Member. It was clarified that Audit reports were retrospective in nature which may have given a different impression of the reserves status.

It was also stated that having sufficient reserves was beneficial for the Council, as it determined what the Council could and could not afford. Having low reserves often led to applications for additional financial assistance from government. It was also clarified that there was no ideal level of reserves that a Council should have.  

A conversation took place about the government settlement which had been announced prior to the meeting starting. It was stated that indications were Middlesbrough was a beneficiary of the settlement and that in such a process there would always be those Councils that gained and those that lost. 

A Member queried that, for Council services projecting an overspend, would reserves be used to cover the shortfall. It was clarified the actual budget outturn was unknown, but it was known that the reserves would be higher than they were in previous years. It was also clarified that overspending would need to exceed £6 million to prevent additional funding placed in the reserves. 

A Member referred to the graph at figure one in the report and commented that approximately £8.3 million of this total was from bad debt provision. This was acknowledged. It was clarified that the Council was satisfied with the levels it had for bad debt. It was also stated the collection fund process was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25/49

The Mayor will be in attendance to provide an update on the Council’s Performance position at Quarter Two in 2025/26.

The Chair welcomed the Mayor to the meeting and invited him to present his report.

The Board was advised the report was submitted as read and informed Members that the Council Plan was being reevaluated to ensure performance measures were more closely aligned to the Council’s objectives. The Mayor also stated that 97% of the objectives in the Council Plan Workplan had been completed.

There were no questions from the Board on the report.

The Chair thanked the Mayor for his presentation and asked that the information presented be noted.

NOTED.

The Mayor will be in attendance to present OSB with the draft budget and Medium Term Financial Plan. At the time of agenda publication, the draft budget report had not been considered by Executive. Those wishing to view the draft budget report are advised to access the papers for Executive scheduled for 17 December 2025.

The Chair invited the Executive Member for Finance and the Mayor to deliver their presentations relating to the draft budget 2026/2027.

The Executive Member for Finance delivered her presentation which included the following points:

·         During the 2024/25 financial year the Council had been required to save £14 million.

·         There had been a requirement to seek Exceptional Financial Support totalling £4.7 million. The Council did not draw down on all of this, however.

·         During the same period there had also been reversals to savings required in Area Care, Welfare Rights and Street Warden provision.

·         For the 2025/26 financial year, savings requirements and income generation was £7 million.

·         There was £2.5 million available for service growth which included 20% increase for Area Care expenditure, as well as an increase in pest control staffing from one to four members of staff.

·         A priorities fund was established which totalled £4.4 million and was split across childhood enrichment, shop front improvements and Councillor ward allocation.

·         In terms of additional funding being made by the government, there was a total of approximately £21 million in additional funding from central government. This was based on the best information when the draft budget report was written. However, a cursory review of the government’s announcement showed the Council’s projections were largely accurate.

·         This funding would be allocated across several initiatives including service demand pressures and inflationary changes.

·         After required spending, the remaining addition funding totalled approximately £6.4 million.

·         Reserves were rising and were predicted to total approximately £40 million.

·         The planned spending in the draft budget was affordable due to the Council’s improved financial position as well as improved governance and budget spending controls.

·         The draft 2026/27 budget proposed no cuts to services; no increase in core council tax; a 2% increase on the Adult Social Care precept which would cover increased costs of statutory services and £6millon worth of investment in front line services.

The Chair thanked the Executive Member for Finance for her presentation and invited questions from the Board.

A discussion took place about the monetary value of the 2% Adult Social Care Precept. It was clarified that the Adult Social Care Precept would cost 53p per week for a Council Tax Band A property where it was the equivalent of 80p per week for a Council Tax Band D property. The amounts would change depending on the household type. It was clarified this was for the Middlesbrough element of the Council Tax liability.

A Member sought, and was provided with reassurance, that the Council would have sufficient funds to deal with unexpected financial shocks. It was also clarified that increasing Council Tax to the maximum 4.99% would generate a little more than £2 million.

A Member stated that in previous years the Council had been told to increase its Council Tax by the maximum permitted. However, given the additional funds available was there an opportunity to keep the increase at zero. The Mayor stated that the Fair Funding process did not happen in year one,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25/51

The Chair invited the Democratic Services Officer to provide an update on the Community Cohesion Task and Finish report.

Members were advised that Democratic Services had been working with the relevant Service Area to complete the report stared by the Task and Finish Group.

It was intended that a final draft of the report be presented to OSB at its January 2026 meeting.

NOTED.