The Hastings Council Overview and Scrutiny Committee met on 10 September 2025 to discuss the proposed work programme for the 2025-26 municipal year, review performance monitoring for the first quarter of the year, and examine the council's financial monitoring report. The committee agreed to key lines of enquiry for the work programme, and approved several capital programme schemes that had been discussed in detail by the Capital Assurance Board.

Financial Monitoring

The committee reviewed the financial monitoring report for 2025/26, which provided a summary of the financial position of services to the end of June 2025. The report forecast an adverse variance to budget of £735,023 for direct service expenditure, which was partially offset by the use of unbudgeted earmarked reserves.

The report highlighted that the forecast outturn for the 12 months to 31 March 2026 was an adverse variance to budget of £430,261, following the use of budgeted and unbudgeted reserves. The budgeted position for the 12 months to 31 March 2026 was a deficit of -£29,000. The adverse variance was attributed to an increase in budgeted direct service expenditure, which rose from £16,836,040 to £17,571,063.

Key variances included:

• A £691,763 overspend in Housing, mainly due to a higher number of households in privately procured temporary accommodation (PPTA) at the start of the financial year.
• A £156,132 overspend in Environment and Operations.
• A £304,760 underspend driven by the drawdown of unbudgeted, earmarked reserves.
• A £184,303 underspend in the Property & Commercial Assets Manager budget.

The report also detailed the unbudgeted use of reserves, totalling £304,760, including £237,000 from the Renewal & Repairs reserve and £55,000 from the Green Investment Fund reserve.

Housing Overspend: The report highlighted a significant overspend in the Housing budget, primarily due to the increased use of temporary accommodation. At the time the budget was set, there were 500 households in PPTA, and the council had forecast a reduction of 10 households per month. However, the financial year began with 535 households in PPTA. Despite efforts to reduce this number, the higher starting point meant an overspend was unavoidable. The report noted that Hastings was performing better than national trends, with an 8% increase in the use of private TA compared to a 19% national rise over the same period.

Capital Programme: The council approved a gross capital programme budget of £16,569,000 for 2026/26. The adjusted capital budget for 2025/26 was £18,426,000, including carry forwards of £3,607,000 and a movement of £1,750,000 to future years. Expected spending to the end of March 2026 was £18,386,000, with a forecast underspend of £39,000.

The committee approved the following Capital Programme schemes, which had been discussed in detail by the Capital Assurance Board:

• Cyber Security
• IDOX Planning
• Housing Acquisitions Staffing
• Street Cleansing & Sweeper
• Asset Management Plan (R&R)
• Countryside Stewardship

PIER Savings: The report also provided an update on the achievement of savings identified through the PIER (Priority Income, and Expenditure Review) programme¹. The 2025/26 budget required net PIER savings of £429,500, and the council was forecasting to achieve 100% of this target through transformation and shared services.

Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme

The Democratic Services Manager, Coral Harding, presented a report updating the committee on the progress of the 2025/26 Overview and Scrutiny work programme. The committee had grouped work under corporate and community interests, focusing on areas the council directly controls and areas of high public interest.

Key areas of focus for the first quarter included:

• Housing Enquiries: Addressing challenges faced by residents, including reducing processing times for housing benefit claims, reducing waiting times for housing allocations, and reviewing the performance of the Hastings Housing Company.
• Review of UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) Impact in Broomgrove: Assessing the impact of UKSPF spending in Broomgrove before focusing on Ore Down Farm as the next area of investment.
• Meeting with Chief Executive of East Sussex Health Trust (ESHT): Discussing plans for the local area and strategies to address health inequalities.
• Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) Consultation: Discussing the joint submission to national government from East Sussex, Wealden, Rother, Eastbourne, Lewes, and Hastings councils.

The committee agreed to the work programme and key lines of enquiry outlined in the report.

Performance Monitoring

The Senior Programmes Manager, Sam Phyall, presented a report summarising performance for Quarter 1 (April to June 2025) and updating performance monitoring arrangements for 2025/26. The report highlighted that performance reporting and updates are presented in a dashboard format, aligning with the directorate arrangement of the financial budget monitoring report. The dashboard uses a RAG (Red, Amber, Green) rating system to indicate progress, with Green reflecting performance on track and Red/Amber indicating potential issues. The committee reviewed and agreed the performance for Quarter 1, acknowledging the performance monitoring arrangements for 2025/26.