The Guildford Council's Overview and Scrutiny Committee - Resources met on 16 September 2025, to discuss a range of topics including the council's improvement plan, financial performance, and scrutiny arrangements. The committee agreed to recommend to the council to dissolve the two Overview and Scrutiny Committees and replace them with one Overview and Scrutiny Committee and one Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee between Guildford and Waverley Borough Councils. The committee also reviewed the proposed terms of reference, the numerical allocation of seats and the timetable of meetings in respect of the new Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Review of Overview and Scrutiny Arrangements

The committee agreed to recommend to the council to dissolve the two Overview and Scrutiny Committees and replace them with one Overview and Scrutiny Committee and one Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee between Guildford and Waverley Borough Councils. The committee also reviewed the proposed terms of reference, the numerical allocation of seats and the timetable of meetings in respect of the new Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The proposals aim to improve the governance of shared services between Guildford and Waverley Borough Councils, particularly in light of the upcoming local government reorganisation (LGR). The existing governance structure, where Waverley makes decisions on behalf of Guildford, was criticised for being slow and lacking robust scrutiny from Guildford's Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

A new Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee (JOSC) would be created to oversee the work of the Joint Executive Committee, ensuring decisions are scrutinised by both councils. To avoid increasing the overall number of committees and to reflect a likely decrease in policy development due to LGR preparations, it was proposed that each council reduce its number of non-joint Overview and Scrutiny Committees from two to one.

The proposed numerical allocation of seats to political groups on both councils in respect of the members to be appointed to the new Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee, and the proposed numerical allocation of seats to political groups on the new Overview and Scrutiny Committee in respect of both councils, were as follows:

Guildford Borough Council

Waverley Borough Council

The report noted a risk that some members may be unhappy with the proposal to change the O&S arrangements and that the workload for the non-joint O&S Committees becomes larger. However, the workload will need managing and re-prioritising; and this is arguably easier when starting with a new committee, and ensuring that the terms of reference reflect the new areas will help to confine the workload to a manageable size.

Improvement Plan Update

The committee reviewed the 12-month progress update on the council's Improvement Plan, which was initiated following the SOLACE governance reviews¹ and aims to address recommendations for becoming a well-managed and resilient council. The Independent Assurance Panel (IAP), which is monitoring the council's progress, concluded that the Improvement Plan continues to be fit for purpose and that the council has made good progress with its delivery. The IAP noted that this is enabling the council to plan and deliver improvement more effectively and efficiently and the risk that the council could fail to meet its statutory duty to deliver Best Value has diminished significantly. The Panel did note that the progress must be sustained, especially in Housing, and that Local Government Reorganisation is a significant risk to the delivery of the Improvement Plan.

Key achievements highlighted in the update include:

• Establishing strategic direction in Housing, Procurement, and the Collaboration programme with Waverley Borough Council, all aligned to the Corporate Strategy and Delivery Plan.
• Implementing governance improvements focusing on the Constitution Review, committees, increasing resources, and providing training.
• Making internal changes to the operating model to better serve residents and adapting the Improvement Plan following external reviews and best practice in Housing and IT.
• Setting a clear balanced budget, closing accounts on time for a second year, and receiving positive reviews from Internal Audit on financial processes.
• Delivering on major project milestones in the Housing Service, strengthening the relationship with the Tenant Engagement Group, and improving the internal culture within the service.

The report also acknowledged slippages and ongoing risks, particularly concerning the impact of LGR on resources and delivery.

Financial Monitoring Report for Period 3 2025-26

The committee considered the financial monitoring report for Period 3 of the 2025-26 financial year.

Officers reported a projected overspend within services on the General Fund (GF) revenue account of £0.545 million, which includes specific reserves transfers. However, including corporate items, the current forecast position against the council's net GF budget for the year is projected to be an adverse variance of £0.412 million.

An overspend of £1.030 million is projected on the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), mainly due to agency costs being forecasted to contract end date following a review of all staffing costs.

Performance Monitoring Report 2025-26 (Quarter 1)

The committee reviewed the Corporate Performance Monitoring Report for Quarter 1 of 2025-26.

The report presented an overview of the council's performance against its corporate key performance indicators (KPIs). Of the 38 KPIs reported on, 3 were rated as red, indicating they were off target and outside of tolerance:

• Recycling performance: Figures for Quarter 4 2024/25 were lower than average due to decreased retail sales and garden waste generation.
• Processing of new housing benefit claims: Limited staffing resources and loss of experienced team members led to delays in processing new claims.
• Number of new homes: Completions were below the annual target.

Update on the Programme to Investigate Historic Repair Works Carried Out by a GBC Repairs Contractor

The committee received an update on the programme to investigate historic repair works carried out by a Guildford Borough Council repairs contractor. Further details of this discussion are not available in the provided documents.

Work Programme

The committee considered and approved its work programme. </