The Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee met to discuss a range of topics, including transformation, complaints, task group updates, and asset management. The committee agreed to note the proposed new Asset Management Strategy, and also the proposal to transfer the freehold of St Stephen's Place car park in Trowbridge to the adjoining owner of the Castle Place Shopping Centre.

Transformation Portfolio Update

Councillor Ian Thorne, Leader of the Council, and Stuart Honeyball, Director of Transformation, presented an update on the council's transformation portfolio, which aims to improve services and reduce costs. Cllr Ian Thorne noted the financial pressures on the council and the need to improve services and reduce costs.

Stuart Honeyball described the transformation as a service approach, bringing together different elements under a common governance model. He said that a transformation board, chaired by the chief executive, provides top-level oversight. He also noted the council had been working with the Local Government Association (LGA) and had used the LGA's transformation maturity framework to assess its capabilities.

The report identified benefits management, resource management, and dependency management as key areas for improvement. A transformation optimisation programme is underway to address these areas. The council is also engaging with the LGA's transformation network action learning programme and transformation partners pilot.

AI was also discussed, with Stuart Honeyball noting that while it has a place in improving efficacy and efficiency, it needs to be used ethically and safely. He noted that the council has been piloting smaller-scale AI projects led by the ICT team and an AI working group.

Several councillors raised concerns about the cost-benefit relationship of the transformation programme. Councillor Ian Blair-Pilling said that the effect of the transformation should be either an improvement in services or a saving/generation of income. He asked where the direct cost-benefit relationship could be seen. Stuart Honeyball said that the transformation programme aims to bring a consistent and controlled approach to the transformation portfolio. He said that for each project, there is a financial benefits case, and it is the service's responsibility to enact that and ensure the saving hits the budget.

Lizzie Watkin, Corporate Director Resources & s151 Officer, added that business cases are built on sound assumptions and tested before approval. She said that there needs to be more centralisation of reporting to give assurance that benefits are being delivered.

Councillor Jerry Murray asked about data-driven insights and how the council will acquire the necessary skill sets for natural language processing (NLP), given that these skills are in high demand and command high salaries. Stuart Honeyball said that the council has been developing these skills in-house through apprenticeships and continuing professional development.

Councillor Ruth Hopkinson welcomed the report and said that she found Stuart Honeyball and his team to be evangelical about delivering transformation across the organisation.

Councillor Ed Rimmer asked about staff capacity restraints and how the prioritisation framework works. He also asked how the council can be reassured that people making decisions about where AI is used do not have a vested interest in their own jobs. Stuart Honeyball said that the transformation board is where prioritisation happens. He said that the decision-making is kept separate from those whose jobs may be affected.

The committee agreed to note the update on the council's transformation activity, to note the importance of quantifying the financial impact of transformation activity, to ask the finance and procurement select committee to consider this area, and to receive a further update in March 2026.

Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report 2024-25

Henry Powell, Democracy and Complaints Manager, presented the annual complaints performance and service improvement report for 2024-25. He noted that complaints had increased by 22% compared to the previous year, with about half of that increase due to a rise in complaints about housing services. He also noted that the percentage of complaints upheld by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) was higher than other unitary authorities nationally, but the number of complaints upheld per thousand population was significantly below the national average.

Councillor Alan Hagger said that complaints are a huge opportunity to understand what is going on in an organisation. He asked what changes have been made as a result of the understandings received from the complaints process. Henry Powell said that the report covers the nine services that receive the most complaints, and they provide information from the report. He also said that the services are going to be producing action plans.

Councillor Ed Rimmer asked if the rise in complaints and decrease in service requests suggests that the council is missing the chance to resolve issues informally before they become complaints. He also asked about the use of AI in dealing with complaints and who would be liable if AI mishandles a complaint. Henry Powell said that the council is pretty good at treating any contacts as a service request where possible. He said that AI would be used for summarising complaints and populating templates, not for deciding how to respond.

Councillor Tamara Reay asked what assessment has been made of the costs of processing a complaint, particularly at stages two and three. Henry Powell said that the council does not measure the time spent on complaints in that way.

The committee agreed to note the Wiltshire Council Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report 2024-25, including any issues identified through complaints data and the actions in place to address these, to note the action to further improve the council's complaint handling function over the next 12 months, and to ask the select committee chairs and vice chairs to consider if the report raises service issues within their remit that require more in-depth scrutiny.

Task Group Update

Councillor Gerry Murray provided an update on the Stone Circle Task Group, which is scrutinising the activities of the Cabinet Shareholder Group. He said that the group had received a large amount of data and was deciding how to interrogate it. He also said that the group was considering whether the terms of reference need to be updated.

Councillor Graham Wright provided an update on the MyWilts App Task Group. He said that the group had identified 27 issues with the app and would be prioritising how to respond to them.

Forward Work Programme

The committee received updates from the chairs and vice chairs of select committees in respect of the topics under scrutiny in their areas.

Councillor Nick Murry said that the Environment Select Committee has two task groups performing, the Climate Emergency Task Group and a Waste Transformation Task Group.

Councillor Richard Clore said that the Finance and Procurement Select Committee will be getting a look at the deep dive on the adult social care data issues and the financial implications of the safety valve programme.

The committee agreed to note the updates of the select committee activity and approve the overview and scrutiny forward work programme.

Asset Management Strategy

Councillor Helen Belcher, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Regeneration and Assets, introduced a report proposing an asset management strategy for the council. She said that the council does not have the budget annually to maintain all of the assets that it currently owns. She said that the team's job is to try and eke out the resources to make sure that the assets are maintained in as robust a way as possible.

Mike Dawson, Head of Estates and Development, said that the strategy is an update from a 2019 approach. He said that it is set over a 10-year period and has key outcomes with key actions linked to those outcomes. He said that it is there to suit the services' needs and aligns everything to the service being delivered out of it.

Councillor Ed Rimmer asked what additional costs the climate-related works have and how they are funded. Mike Dawson said that the running costs associated have to be a consideration and are part of the decision-making.

Councillor Nick Murry asked how the council deals with the contradiction between maximising the receipt from an asset and achieving the best value for the community. Mike Dawson said that the council always has to draw a distinction between what its role is and why it holds a particular asset. He said that the council's role is to maximise the receipt, and the community benefit falls on the council as the local planning authority.

Councillor Trevor Carbin asked if there is a conflict between the council's undertaking to be carbon zero by 2030 and the emphasis on doing things where they are cost-effective. Mike Dawson said that there is a bit of a conflict. Nick Derbyshire, Head of Strategic Assets and Facility Management, said that the council is already quite a long way down the road of decarbonising the property estate.

The committee agreed to note the proposed new asset management strategy.

Asset Management Paper (Part 1)

Councillor Helen Belcher introduced a report proposing the freehold transfer of St Stephen's Place multi-story car park in Trowbridge to the adjoining owner of the Castle Place Shopping Centre. She said that the car park was built in 1973 and is coming towards the end of its design life. She said that the council has an obligation to provide free public parking of cars in the car park. She said that the council has approved a package of works to keep the car park functioning for the next few years.

She said that the cheapest option which retained some prospect of a car park remaining was to investigate whether the owner of the shopping centre was interested in acquiring the car park. She said that the council is in negotiations with the owner of the shopping centre.

The committee agreed to note the proposal to cabinet to transfer the freehold of St Stephen's multi-story car park to the adjoining owner of Castle Place Shopping Centre and the associated allocation of capital and revenue funds.

The committee then moved into a closed session to discuss confidential information relating to the asset management paper.