Agenda item

RECOMMENDATION:

That the Scrutiny Committee raises with the Deputy Leader or relevant Cabinet Member any issues arising from the information in this report, ref CAB3550, which is being presented to Cabinet on the 28 May 2026 and considers whether there are any items of significance to resolve or to be drawn to the attention of Cabinet.

Councillor Neil Cutler, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Transformation introduced the report, ref CAB3550 which set out the Q4 performance monitoring for 2025/26. The introduction included the following points.

1.   The report was the final quarterly performance report for the 2025/26 financial year, covering the period from 1 January to 31 March, and focused on progress in delivering the Council Plan priorities.

2.   The full-year financial position for 2025/26 would be reported in a separate annual outturn report to the scrutiny committee on 7 September 2026.

3.   The report format remained streamlined, with one update to include progress on the next Local Plan (2026-2044) following the adoption of the Winchester District Local Plan on 24 March 2026.

4.   Key highlights included the collection of approximately 13 tons of food waste daily, the direction of £1 million of Community Infrastructure Levy funding into community-led projects, the approval of a balanced budget, and the procurement of four low-carbon and electric fleet vehicles.

Councillor Danny Lee addressed the committee and raised several points regarding the carbon neutrality programme. He felt that there were emerging gaps in decarbonising corporate assets, and was concerned that district carbon monitoring was two years in arrears. He welcomed the progress made on solar PV and battery installations on council homes, but was concerned regarding the planned corrective actions for decarbonisation. He questioned if councillors would be included in the staff travel survey, and raised the potential impacts of the acquisition of the council's EV charging network operator.

Councillor Lee requested the timetable for the Local Authority Energy Plan and queried the omission of the HEP Committee’s nutrient neutrality working group paper from the report, he asked how LGR risks would be captured in future performance reports, and suggested the need for a broader resilience strategy in light of telecom transition issues.

The committee was asked to raise with the Deputy Leader or relevant Cabinet Member any issues arising from the information in this report, ref CAB3550, which was being presented to cabinet on 28 May 2026 and to consider whether there were any items of significance to resolve or to be drawn to the attention of cabinet.

The Chair advised that the committee should focus its scrutiny on areas identified as underperforming or at risk. Key criteria for discussion included distinguishing structural or recurring issues from isolated variances, and assessing the subsequent impact on future service delivery and financial sustainability and that the report sections would be taken in turn.

The committee proceeded to ask questions and debate the report. In summary, the following matters were raised, grouped in line with the areas of focus identified by the Chairperson.

Climate and Environmental Delivery (Greener Faster)

1. An update was requested on the progress of the wastewater treatment plants and the recruitment of a project manager (page 150).
2. A question was asked regarding the expected date for the PV installation at Meadowside (page 147).
3. Further clarification was sought on what the minor works and projects for sustainable active travel improvements might be under the LCWIP (page 148).
4. A question was asked regarding at what point the corporate and district carbon reduction delivery, which had been flagged as amber for 12 months, should shift to require a formal recovery plan (pages 147 and 148).
5. Further clarification was sought on the Local Area Energy Plan and the timescales being considered (page 152).
6. A question was asked regarding the Local Area Energy Plan and the difference between the information presented on page 148 and page 152.

Housing Delivery and Asset Programmes (Good Homes for All)

1. Concerns were raised that the new homes programme, retrofit programme, and damp and mould programme had been marked amber for 12 months and a request was made for an indication of action for the new homes programme and other related programmes.

2.   Further clarification was sought on what proportion of the amber status for damp and mould related to the private rented sector, and whether these should be separated from WCC stock in the report.

Place and Infrastructure (Thriving Places / Movement Strategy)

1. An update was requested on the northern park and ride (Sir John Moore Barracks) as there was no reference to it in the movement strategy (page 167).

2.    A question was asked regarding the merging of the city and county LCWIP into one document (page 167).

3.   Further clarification was sought on what schemes delivering traffic into the city might be funded.

Communities and Wellbeing (Healthy Communities)

1. Further clarification was sought on potential interventions at Meadowside to improve the usage numbers reported under healthy communities (page 160) and whether these numbers included the local parkrun (page 160).

Organisational Effectiveness and Digital (Efficient & Effective Council)

1. A question was asked regarding digital projects and the importance of understanding the resident experience, specifically EE3 (page 185).
2. A question was asked whether actions were being considered to improve the results of the digital programme.

These points were responded to by Simon Hendey, Strategic Director, Councillor Neil Cutler, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Transformation and Councillor Martin Tod, Leader and Cabinet Member for Regeneration accordingly.

RESOLVED:

The committee agreed the following actions and comments to be drawn to the attention of Cabinet:

1.    That future reports include greater clarity on whether the proposed actions in the next quarter would make a tangible difference to shift activities from amber to green.

2.    That further information and actions regarding the pace of the Carbon Neutrality Action Plan (CNAP) delivery at both a council and district level be included in the next report.

3.    That, building on the councils established resident survey work, the impact of the local government reorganisation (LGR) on resident perception could be sought over the coming years.

4.    It was noted that responses to questions regarding Meadowside solar panels and attendance, the local area energy plan timetable, and the LCWIP minor projects be provided at Cabinet.