The Corporate Resources & Infrastructure Select Committee met on Wednesday 17 September 2025 to review the council's performance in handling complaints and service monitoring, examine budget and spending reports, and consider future plans. The committee was scheduled to discuss the annual complaint and service monitoring report for the period of 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, review the budget and spending for the select committee's monitoring, and look ahead at the Cabinet's Forward Plan and the committee's own Work Programme.

Annual Complaint & Service Monitoring Report

The committee was scheduled to receive the Annual Complaint & Service Monitoring Report for 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025. This report aimed to provide information on key complaints and related service monitoring data, with the recommendations being that the committee note the contents of the report and provide any comments to officers, and that a copy of the report be shared with other Select Committee members. The report detailed the background to the complaints process, including the council's vision of putting our residents first, and defined what constitutes a complaint versus a service request. It also outlined the accessibility of the complaints process, exclusions, the role of complaint handling staff, and the procedures for putting things right, including the possibility of mediation. The report also detailed the implementation of the Complaint Handling Codes introduced by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) and the Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS).

The report provided extensive data on complaints, compliments, and Members' Enquiries across various directorates, including Finance, Adult Social Care, Children and Young People Services, Education Services, Central Services, and Place Directorate. For the 2024/25 period, there were 3,208 Service Requests, 1,416 Stage 1 complaints, and 337 Stage 2 complaints. The number of compliments received was 110, a decrease from the previous year. The Place Directorate accounted for the largest proportion of Service Requests and complaints. The report also detailed the outcomes of 77 investigations concluded by the Ombudsman, with 18 being upheld.

Furthermore, the report analysed Members' Enquiries (MEs) and Service Requests, noting a significant decrease in MEs following a redefinition of what constitutes an ME and the introduction of the term service request. The top service requests submitted by Members for 2024/25 included fly-tipping and items on the highway or footpath needing removal. The report also included appendices detailing specific complaint and compliment reports for Housing Services, Adult Social Care, Children and Young People Services, Education Services, Finance Directorate, and the Place Directorate, outlining the number of complaints, their outcomes, and examples of feedback received. Service improvements made in response to complaints were also highlighted, particularly in Housing, Children and Young People Services, and Adult Social Care.

Budget & Spending Report - Select Committee Monitoring

The committee was scheduled to review the Budget & Spending Report, focusing on the 2024/25 outturn position and the 2025/26 Month 2 budget monitoring position. The report indicated a favourable variance of £2.156m against the budget for services within the committee's remit for the 2024/25 outturn. The Finance & Transformation portfolio experienced an adverse movement of £3.110m, primarily due to treasury updates related to the Minimum Revenue Provision and the allocation of bank interest charges. However, this was offset by favourable movements from higher-than-expected interest earnings and gains on pooled fund investments. The Corporate Services & Property portfolio reported an underspend of £0.860m, mainly due to the reclassification of eligible expenditure to the capital programme.

Regarding savings for 2024/25, the requirement was £4.657m, with £1.695m (36%) recorded as banked. A further £1.188m (26%) were proposed to be written out of the council's budget from 2025/26. The report also detailed the General Fund Capital Outturn for 2024/25, showing a £32.9m underspend on the £119.5m budget, largely due to slippage against Major Projects and underspends within the Programme of Works. The HRA capital investment reported a £14.9m underspend for 2024/25, all of which was rephased into 2025/26.

For the 2025/26 Month 2 budget monitoring position, a forecast overspend of £4.178m was indicated for service operating budgets within the committee's remit. The Finance & Transformation portfolio reported a pressure of £3.413m, mainly due to the council's treasury interest budget, influenced by lower-than-anticipated cash inflows. Corporate Services & Property reported an overspend of £0.766m due to income pressures in Property Services. The savings requirement for 2025/26 was £8.272m, with £4.205m (51%) banked or on track for delivery. The report also highlighted risks associated with demand from homelessness, adult social care, and children's social care, as well as wider corporate risks linked to the council's treasury position.

Forward Plan

The committee was scheduled to consider the Cabinet's latest Forward Plan, which outlines key decisions and other decisions to be taken by the Cabinet over the coming year. The report detailed the actions available to the committee, including providing specific comments to be included in future Cabinet or Cabinet Member reports, requesting further information on future reports, requesting draft reports for consideration, and identifying reports that may merit a post-decision review. The Forward Plan itself listed several items relevant to the committee's remit, including decisions on the provision of pest control services, reactive roofing maintenance contracts, disposal of garage sites, contingent labour reviews, door entry and access control contracts, corporate disposals programmes, minor property transactions, and monthly council budget monitoring reports.

Work Programme

The committee was asked to consider its Multi-Year Work Programme for 2022-2026. The programme outlined scheduled topics for discussion across various service areas, including major reviews, regular service and performance monitoring, and updates on specific strategies and reports. For the 2025/26 municipal year, planned topics included a major review on Maximising Council Spaces: A Review of Business and Private Hire Opportunities, annual performance monitoring, mid-year budget updates, electric vehicle infrastructure strategy updates, building safety strategy monitoring, digital and transformation updates, and annual complaints and service updates. The programme also indicated regular monitoring of the Cabinet's Forward Plan and potential site visits.