Agenda item

Report of the Director – Finance and Corporate Services

The Group considered a request relating to park homes. The Assistant Director for Corporate Services and Interim Monitoring Officer advised that:

• The issue is complex and largely outside the Council’s direct control
• A national consultation is currently underway
• Scrutiny at this stage would be unlikely to result in meaningful local outcomes

The Assistant Director for Corporate Services and Interim Monitoring Officer noted that Officers at the Council had believed that they had Councillor Combellack's agreement to produce a briefing note on this topic to address many of the points she had raised in the scrutiny request and this was circulated on 4th June.

The Assistant Director for Corporate Services and Interim Monitoring Officer advised that Officers do not believe this request is an effective use of Council resources in terms of scrutiny as there is so little that the council can do to influence the situation.

It was agreed that the item was not suitable for scrutiny at this time and should be revisited when national changes are clearer. The Group requested to be kept informed of progress from national consultation and any future changes to legislation on the basis that this may allow for this item to be reconsidered.

The Group considered a scrutiny request relating to Management of Open Spaces on New Build Estates

Cllr Way and Cllr Thomas joined the meeting to present the case for this potential scrutiny. They presented the following:

• Residents face increasing and sometimes inequitable management charges
• Charges can vary significantly between estates and residents
• Concerns include infrastructure maintenance, drainage systems and adoption of open spaces
• There is growing national attention and local impact on residents

The Group expressed a range of views:

• Strong concern about fairness and impacts on residents, particularly about having to pay twice for service, often poor service from management companies
• Recognition that issues are largely driven by national policy and legislation
• Consideration of whether local scrutiny could deliver meaningful change, or would be interacted positively by management companies

The Assistant Director for Corporate Services and the Interim Monitoring Officer highlighted that:

• The issue has previously been scrutinised multiple times
• Limited local powers restrict the Council’s ability to effect change
• National consultation may provide a more appropriate basis for future scrutiny
• Referenced the Cabinet Report of July 2025 which considered this issue, and acknowledged that the Council could lobby central government

Councillors were supportive of further work to identify what actions could be taken locally, including engagement, policy review and support for residents.

Unanimously, the Group agreed to progress the request to scrutiny, with further work required to scope the review and identify an appropriate timeframe.

The Group reviewed the scrutiny work programme.

It was noted that:

• Existing scheduled items remain in place
• The new scrutiny relating to open spaces will require significant officer input
• A realistic timetable will be developed following further consideration of scope and workload

It was RESOLVED that the Corporate Overview Group:

a)    considered any additional items for scrutiny from the current Cabinet Forward Plan, Corporate Strategy, Medium Term Financial Strategy, Capital and Investment Strategy and Transformation and Efficiency Programme (Appendix One)

b)    determined any additional topics to be included in a scrutiny group work programme for 2026/27 for each of the scrutiny groups as presented on newly submitted scrutiny requests (Appendix Two)

c)     reviewed the current work programme for each of the scrutiny groups (Appendix Three).

Work Programme 2026/27– Corporate Overview Group

Work Programme 2026/27 – Governance Scrutiny Group

Work Programme 2026/27– Growth and Development Scrutiny Group

Work Programme 2026/27– Communities Scrutiny Group

Note: In April 2026 the Group asked for the annual Carbon Management Plan Update to come forward for scrutiny in July 2027 rather than April 2027 allowing for timelier (end-of-year) data to be available