The Budget and Performance Scrutiny Committee met on 20 February 2024 to discuss the council's 2024/25 budget and council tax setting, alongside reviewing corporate performance and the new corporate performance framework. Key decisions included noting the proposed budget and council tax increase, and the committee also reviewed the council's strategic direction outlined in Mission Waltham Forest .

2024/25 Budget and Council Tax Setting

The committee discussed the proposed budget and council tax for the upcoming financial year, acknowledging the challenging economic climate with high inflation, interest rates, and significant service demand. A projected funding gap of £12 million for 2024/25 was noted, alongside a £16 million overspend from the previous year. To address these financial challenges, management actions and savings totalling £11.8 million were proposed, with a further £4.6 million to be drawn from reserves. The committee stressed the importance of robust monitoring mechanisms within service areas to manage budgetary matters effectively, particularly within the People directorate, and called for thorough oversight of potential risks.

A significant concern was raised regarding housing and temporary accommodation, identified as a major budget risk that could lead to difficulties within the next 24 to 36 months if demand outstrips supply. To address this, a joint meeting with the Housing Scrutiny Committee was proposed to delve deeper into the issue. The committee also noted that the Housing Scrutiny Committee was already reviewing homelessness and temporary accommodation, with a report to be shared.

The committee expressed satisfaction with the comprehensive Section 25 report, which assesses budget risks and reserve adequacy. Four recommendations were proposed to enhance financial oversight:

1. Identify early signs of service provision overheating to track management actions alongside regular reviews of the Section 25 report.
2. Utilise corporate performance indicators to understand council risks and inform deep-dive reviews.
3. Set realistic targets for key performance indicators, benchmarked appropriately, and report changes to Cabinet promptly.
4. Ensure all KPIs have annual targets and are measured against suitable benchmarks.

The committee noted the report, and the recommendations were agreed to be put forward to Cabinet.

Mission Waltham Forest

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Grace Williams, introduced Mission Waltham Forest: our plan for a more equal borough, a new strategic approach to transform the Council and address the borough's challenges. The initiative comprises six Borough Missions focused on areas such as opportunities for families and children, economic growth, support for aging residents, housing, sustainability, and neighbourhood safety. Additionally, four Council Missions aim to fundamentally change how the Council operates, including designing services around residents, adopting a preventative approach, fostering an inclusive workforce, and ensuring financial security.

The Chief Executive, Linzi Roberts-Egan, emphasised the commitment to resident-centric services and collaborative working with the community and elected members. She highlighted the importance of understanding residents' perspectives and the role of scrutiny committees in providing insight into the impact of decisions. The Deputy Chief Executive, Shazia Hussain, detailed ongoing work to address gender and BAME pay gaps through workforce data analysis, succession planning, and diversity-focused recruitment.

The committee expressed satisfaction with the economic focus of Mission Waltham Forest, particularly its potential to improve life chances and address the housing crisis. They also appreciated the inclusion of creating workspaces for residents and the ambition for house building. The Leader clarified that the 15-minute neighbourhoods strategy would be integrated into the new corporate framework.

The committee noted the report, acknowledging the strategic direction set by Mission Waltham Forest.

New Corporate Performance Framework

Tom Dowler, Head of Data and Intelligence Network, presented the new Corporate Performance Framework, designed to support the Council's strategic direction and drive improvements. The framework will feature Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) organised by the six Borough Missions and four Council Missions, with a focus on relevance, timeliness, accuracy, and driving service improvements. A new Power BI dashboard will provide accessible data insights for all levels of the organisation.

The committee suggested incorporating an Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) aspect into all metrics, particularly for children's outcomes like school exclusions, to address the impact on children of colour. The Leader acknowledged this suggestion and committed to integrating EDI considerations into governance oversight. The committee also expressed satisfaction with the new approach, noting the importance of linking KPIs to Mission Waltham Forest priorities and the potential of the Power BI tool for data analysis. Discussions also touched upon the frequency of data updates and the use of benchmarking against neighbouring authorities and London-wide data.

The committee noted the report.

Corporate Performance Q3

Tom Dowler presented the Corporate Performance Report for Q3 2023/24. Key points highlighted included:

• Housing: An increase in households accepted as homeless and in priority need, leading to more households in temporary accommodation. This is partly due to recruitment within the Homelessness Prevention and Assessment team and a reduction in available private rented sector properties.
• Hate Crime Offences: A 7% year-on-year decrease in recorded hate crime offences, with racism being the most common category. While anti-Semitic hate crimes have seen a recent increase, it is lower in Waltham Forest compared to other London boroughs.
• Adult Social Care: Requests for protection or safeguarding remained stable, but safeguarding outcomes saw a 32% year-on-year increase, reflecting growing demand and complexity.
• Rent Collections: A 0.7% improvement in rent collections compared to the previous year, attributed to rent-free weeks, despite wider economic pressures on tenants.
• Workforce Inequality: An increase in staff sickness rates, reaching 3.2%, with initial assessments suggesting a possible link to the transition from SAP to Oracle systems.

The committee noted the report.

Committee Action Tracker and Forward Plan

Emily Wood, Scrutiny Officer, presented the updated action tracker and forward plan. The committee was invited to review these documents and suggest any items for the 2024/25 scrutiny cycle. The committee noted the report.