The meeting was scheduled to receive reports on the council’s performance, including its financial management, as well as to discuss cycling safety and the scrutiny work programme.

Performance and Finance

A report titled 2024/25 Performance & Financial Management Report to 30 September 2024 was provided. It set out the council’s key areas of service delivery, and where these impact on the budget.

The report provides Cabinet with an overview of both the service delivery performance and budget position across the Authority as at 30 September 2024. ¹

The report was previously considered by the council's Cabinet² on 25 November 2024.

The report noted that service delivery across the authority remained strong, particularly relating to affordable homes and carbon net zero. It also noted that the authority continues to manage high levels of demand and complexity in a number of areas, including Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).

Cycling Safety Concerns in Tynemouth - Bus Stop Bypasses

A report titled “Cycling Safety Concerns in Tynemouth – Bus Stop Bypasses” was provided to respond to a Motion agreed by full Council on 18 July 2024. This Motion requested that officers look into a number of issues relating to the safety of newly built bus stop bypasses, in particular the one on Grand Parade.

Scrutiny Work Programme 2024/25

A report was provided which aimed to update the committee on the work programmes decided by the various scrutiny sub-committees, and to help co-ordinate their work.

This report aims to … provide a summary of the 2024/25 Scrutiny work programme topics which have been identified in the year to date by the Overview and Scrutiny Co-ordination and Finance Committee (OSCFC) and the five Scrutiny sub-committees, for OSCFC’s awareness and oversight

The report suggested that where a topic was in the remit of a scrutiny sub-committee, the sub-committee should be the one to carry out the scrutiny in that area. The report also proposed that a ‘time budget’ be introduced, so that the committee could identify how much time it had available during the year, and then decide what proportion of that time to allocate to different topics.