Agenda and minutes

To note any changes in membership of the Panel made in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 4.3.

It was noted that following receipt of the temporary resignation of Councillor Powell- Vaughan from the Committee, Monitoring Officer, acting under delegated powers, had appointed Councillor P Baillie to replace them for the purposes of this meeting and in addition noted the apologies of Councillors Renyard and Stead.

To elect the Vice Chair for the Municipal Year 2024-2025.

Item deferred to the next meeting.

To approve and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the meetings held on 12 September 2024 and to deal with any matters arising, attached.

Resolved that the minutes of the committee meeting held on the 12 September 2024 be approved and signed as a correct record.

Report of the Scrutiny Manager enabling the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee to examine the content of the Forward Plan and to discuss issues of interest or concern with the Executive

The Committee received and noted the report of the Scrutiny Manager which enabled the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee to examine the content of the Forward Plan and to discuss issues of interest or concern with the Executive.

a)  Transformation Update - Councillor Fielker, Leader of the Council and James Wills-Fleming, Director of Transformation, were present and with the consent of the Chair addressed the meeting. Councillor Fielker provided an update on the Council’s transformation programme, detailing some specific areas where strong progress has been made and the monitoring in place to manage performance and risk.

The committee noted and discussed the report in detail, including the limited number of workstreams with approved full business cases (7 out of 28).  It was however noted that these programmes represented a significant proportion of the savings identified.

The Committee sought assurances on specific areas currently rated as red within the report and raised concerns about the lack of progress being made against the projects designed to boost growth in Southampton.

The costs associated with the transformation programme were discussed, and clarification was requested on the planned expenditure on consultants to help deliver the forecast transformation savings.

RESOLVED

i)  That, the Committee are provided with a breakdown of the £3.1m of expenditure forecast to be spent on consultants, excluding Newton (Europe), up to the end of 2025/26.

b)  Medium Term Financial Strategy Quarter 2024/25 Update - Councillor Letts, Deputy Leader of the Council and Mel Creighton, Executive Director, Enabling Services, were present and with the consent of the Chair addressed the meeting. Councillor Letts set out the Council’s financial position up to the end of quarter two of 2024/25 and the expectations for the year end. 

The Committee discussed the expected draw down on the Exceptional Financial Support; the in-year savings forecast by the end of the year; the level of reserves available; the receipts expected to be delivered by the sale of assets; the slippage in the capital programme; and the options being considered to close the forecast £13.5m budget gap for 2025/26. 

RESOLVED

i)  That, reflecting concerns raised about the Council’s ability to secure the targeted level of receipts from the sale of assets, an updated breakdown of the assets that the Council are looking to dispose of via the Asset Development and Disposal Programme for the period 2024/25-2025/26 is circulated to the Committee.

ii)  That, to improve awareness and understanding, an all-member briefing on the Council’s reserves is scheduled by the Section 151 Officer.

Reducing Gambling Harms – Scrutiny Inquiry 2024/25- Terms of Reference.

Mark Pirnie – Scrutiny Manager was present and with the consent of the Chair addressed the meeting. Chloe Webb, lead officer for the inquiry was introduced to the Committee.

The Committee discussed the inquiry terms of reference and approved the progression of the inquiry as set out. 

Report of the Scrutiny Manager enabling the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee to monitor and track progress on recommendations made to the Executive at previous meetings.

The Committee considered and discussed the responses from the Executive to recommendations from previous meetings.

Following consideration of the response to the recommendation made on the Leisure Services item at the September meeting of the Committee, a request was made for additional performance information, besides the number of users, that identifies how well the contractor is performing in the delivery of the leisure contract with the City Council.

RESOLVED

i)  That additional performance information, besides the number of users, that identifies how well the contractor is performing in the delivery of the leisure contract with the City Council, is provided to the Committee.