Agenda item

That the Scrutiny Committee raises with the Deputy Leader or relevant Cabinet Member any issues arising from the information in this report, ref CAB3537, which is being presented to Cabinet on the 12 March 2026 and considers whether there are any items of significance to resolve or to be drawn to the attention of Cabinet.

Councillor Neil Cutler, Cabinet Member for Finance and Transformation introduced the report, ref CAB3537 which set out the Q3 Finance and Performance Monitoring report for the 2025/26 financial year, (available here). The introduction included the following points.

1. The report covered the period from 1 October to 31 December for the 2025/26 financial year.
2. An update was provided regarding the programme highlight report for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), which was included in the Efficient and Effective council plan section.
3. Highlights from the quarter included the introduction of four food waste collection rounds, the Winchester Sport and Leisure Park winning the regional public club centre of the year award, the exchange of contracts for 46 S106 units at Kings Barton, and the completion of the stage one consultation for the community governance review.

The committee was asked to raise with the Deputy Leader or relevant Cabinet member any issues arising from the information in this report, ref CAB3537, which was being presented to Cabinet on 12 March 2026 and to consider whether there were any items of significance to resolve or to be drawn to the attention of Cabinet.

The committee proceeded to ask questions and debate the report. In summary, the following matters were raised.

1. A question was asked regarding climate and corporate carbon neutrality, and whether anticipated carbon savings from decarbonising key corporate buildings were at risk.
2. Further clarification was sought on the housing retrofit progress; noting that although the programme showed accelerated progress, it remained amber, and assurance was sought on whether this trajectory kept the Council on track for EPC C commitments by 2030.
3. A question was raised regarding the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and whether the underlying financial pressures, such as void repair costs and spending on damp and mould, were sustainable heading into 2026/27.
4. Clarification was sought regarding nutrient mitigation solutions at Northington Road and Goodens, specifically whether chemical analysis was undertaken to measure outpourings before and after solutions were implemented, or if an algorithm was used.
5. A follow-up question was asked regarding whether the 15 other sites within the Itchen catchment area that had not yet been upgraded were being measured.
6. A question was asked regarding the repair to PV panels at the Vaultex car park, and whether this was due to vandalism or maintenance needs.
7. Clarification was requested regarding an application for the Smart Export Guarantee and whether this had been completed when the solar panels were first installed, including whether the same application process had been undertaken for the offices and the leisure centre. Additionally, a question was raised about the tender for surveys on solar panels for small properties and whether this duplicated similar work carried out on the council estate several years ago.
8. Clarification was sought regarding waste target GF5, specifically whether the quarterly figures were cumulative to meet the annual target of 420kg per household.
9. A question was asked regarding the introduction of Local Government Reorganisation and whether the TC25 programme had been removed from the report and whether it would continue to be reported to the committee.
10. Further clarification was sought regarding the footnote concerning the recharging of electricity at the Guildhall and how the percentage of usage and recharge was calculated.

These points were responded to by Councillor Cutler, Cabinet Member for Finance and Transformation, Councillor Porter, Cabinet Member for Place and Local Plan, Simon Hendey, Strategic Director, and Liz Keys, Director (Finance) accordingly.

RESOLVED:

The committee noted the report and agreed to ask that a response regarding the Smart Export Guarantee details for the offices and leisure centre be circulated to the committee.