The Resources & Delivering Value Scrutiny Board are scheduled to meet to discuss updates from the West Midlands Combined Authority, the Corporate Transformation Programme, and the Council Tax Reduction Scheme. Councillors will also be asked to review the board's work programme for the 2025/26 municipal year.

West Midlands Combined Authority Update

The Resources and Delivering Value Scrutiny Board are scheduled to receive an update from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). The update is expected to cover the WMCA's scrutiny process, including pre and post-decision scrutiny, policy development, and mayoral accountability.

The report pack highlights the differences between scrutiny at a combined authority level and at a local authority level, noting the WMCA's larger geographical area and focus on longer-term strategies rather than direct service delivery. The WMCA's scrutiny is shaped by HM Government's Scrutiny Protocol and the English Devolution and Accountability Framework.

The report pack also includes updates on the work programmes of the WMCA's Overview & Scrutiny Committee, Transport Delivery Overview & Scrutiny Committee, and Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee.

Current and planned work includes:

• The West Midlands Growth Plan
• The Local Nature Recovery Strategy and the Local Investment in Natural Capital Programme
• Housing Delivery Performance across the Region
• Social & Affordable Homes Programme Prospectus
• Youth Trailblazer Programme
• West Midlands Net Zero Five Year Plan 2026-31
• Air Quality Initiatives
• Integrated Settlement Delivery Outcomes
• Key Route Network (KRN) Review
• Micromobility Schemes
• Transport Spending Review
• Bus Depot Strategy
• Financial Monitoring and Treasury Management
• Internal Audit Oversight
• External Audit Plan 2024/25
• Assurance Performance Monitoring
• External Audit and Accounts for 2024/25
• Governance Annual Review
• Internal Audit Planning for 2026/27
• WMCA Business Continuity

The update will also cover the WMCA's corporate activities, including its values, the Mayor's priorities, and the Executive Leadership Team. The priorities of the Interim Chief Executive are listed as:

• to have a relentless focus on delivery built on optimistic vision and clear strategy;
• to accelerate and begin implementing the Transformation Programme; and
• to strengthen our relationships with local authorities, government and other regional stakeholders

The update also includes information on the Spatial Development Strategy, the Regional Investment Summit, the English Devolution & Community Empowerment Bill/Act, and the Budget & Business Plan.

The report notes that Solihull has been directly paid £1.3 million in Integrated Settlement funding, and that the WMCA is working with Solihull to develop programmes around UKSPF Business Support & Communities funding, funding to Retrofit Homes, and the Active Travel Capability Fund.

Corporate Transformation Programme Update

The Resources and Delivering Value Scrutiny Board are scheduled to receive an update on the council's Corporate Transformation Programme, focusing on the Mutual Early Resignation Scheme (MERS) and customer services.

The Corporate Transformation Programme was established to address budget gaps in the current Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS). The programme is targeted to deliver £5.764m one-off savings and £4.559m of on-going savings in 2025/26, whilst the Directorate programmes will deliver a further £12.733m of on-going savings, meaning in total transformation and change activity aims to deliver £23.056m in 2025/26.

The report will provide detail of the impact on council structure following MERS implementation. The MERS scheme was open for staff applications from 3 March 2025 to 31 March 2025 and required applicants to have been employed by Solihull MBC for at least 3 years. There were 66 approved applications, 2 of which were subsequently withdrawn, and 102 applications were declined, resulting in a total in-year 2025/26 saving of £1.988 million rising to £2.765 million for a full year impact, achieving the agreed MTFS saving of £2.700 million for 2026/27. The total cost of the MERS payments was £1.706 million, which is being funded from the Transformation Fund.

The breakdown of leavers by Directorate was as follows:

• Adult Social Care: 5
• Children's Services: 17
• Economy and Infrastructure: 16
• Public Health: 1
• Resources: 27

The report will also address public perception of council services and delivery following implementation of savings proposals. The Customer Services programme is currently working on a number of areas for improvement, including:

• Continuing to roll out and improve digital services, automated telephony, and web chat.
• Collaboration between Solihull Connect and Library Staff so that more services can be offered in local community spaces.
• Maximising the use of Community Spaces such as libraries by implementing swipe access and CCTV.
• Aligning Solihull Connect with the new Community Wellbeing Service for customers who need additional support.
• Reviewing interactions that come into Solihull Connect because of service failure or automating services that do not need interventions by advisors, i.e. missed bins.

Council Tax Reduction Scheme 2026-27

The Resources and Delivering Value Scrutiny Board are scheduled to receive an update on the impact of the income banded Council Tax Reduction Scheme for working age claimants, which has been effective since 1 April 2025.

Council Tax Reduction (CTR) was introduced by central government in April 2013, replacing the Council Tax Benefit scheme. The CTR scheme administered by the council is divided into two schemes, with pension age claimants receiving support under the rules prescribed by central government, and the scheme for working age claimants being determined solely by the local authority. Pensioners, subject to their income, can receive up to 100% support towards their council tax. The council has no power to change the level of support provided to pensioners, so any changes to the level of CTR can only be made to the working age scheme.

When CTR was introduced in 2013 for working age claimants, Solihull Council broadly adopted the previous means tested Council Tax Benefit scheme as the basis of awarding support. Due to reductions in funding, the council reduced the maximum level of support available to working age claimants from April 2017 to 85%.

Following a review of the CTR scheme in early 2024, several issues with the scheme were identified, including the need to continue to assist low-income households without impacting on the collection of council tax, the introduction of Universal Credit¹ for working-age claimants, and the need for a more simplified approach to CTR. In response, the council introduced a simple income banded scheme for working age claimants effective from 1 April 2025. The income banded scheme sought to address the issues identified as follows:

a.) The scheme required a simplified claiming process all claimants have seen a reduction in the claiming process and, where possible, CTR is awarded automatically. For Universal Credit claimants any Universal Credit data received from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is treated as a claim for CTR.

b.) Speed of processing –claims have been calculated promptly and largely automatically without the need to request further information which inevitably leads to delays.

c.) Maximising entitlement to every applicant the claiming process has been simplified for all CTR claimants with the income banded grid published so that taxpayers can easily determine if they may be entitled to CTR.

d.) The income bands are sufficiently wide to avoid constant changes in discount- only significant changes in income will affect the level of discount awarded, mitigating the risk of multiple council tax bills being issued.

e.) Maintenance of collection rates the new scheme has made the claiming process simpler and seeks to avoid the constant changes in entitlement which will assist in maintaining/increasing collection rates.

Since the new scheme went live in April 2025, the CTR caseload has increased. In August 2025, the CTR caseload was 12,692, the highest it has been since January 2022. For comparison, the CTR caseload in August 2024 was 12,361.

The report states that simplifying the administration of the scheme has led to an improvement in performance. In August 2024, there was a 9-week backlog of CTR claims, whereas in August 2025, claims are allocated for processing within agreed targets, meaning there is no backlog of claims.

At the end of June 2025 (quarter 1), the overall Council Tax collection rate was 29.52%, which is 0.01% ahead compared to the same time last year. The Council Tax collection rate for those receiving CTR who are of working age was 26.18%, which is 0.18% ahead compared to the same time last year.

The cost of the scheme as at the end of August 2025 is £14.669m, which represents a £764,000 pressure.

Resources and Delivering Value Scrutiny Board Work Programme 2025/26

The Resources and Delivering Value Scrutiny Board are scheduled to review the status of their work programme for the 2025/26 municipal year.

The RDVSB Work Programme 2025/26 includes the following topics:

• Confirmation of the Scrutiny Board Chairman & Vice Chairman for the 2025/26 Municipal Year
• Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Resources Priorities 2025/26
• The Transformation Programme Report
• Corporate Performance Report ('Top 40' KPI) for Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council
• Quarterly Financial and Performance Update Report
• Transformation Programme Report – Status of Programme Savings
• West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Reports
• Transformation Programme Report
• Council Tax Reduction Scheme 2026-27
• Childrens Services Budget Status Report
• Town Centre Redevelopment Strategy Update Report
• Draft Asset Masterplan 2025-2030
• Resources Directorate Budget Proposals 2026/27
• Building Safety -Update Report
• H.R Workforce Update Report
• WMCA Annual Scrutiny Report
• Budget Framework 2026/27 – 2027/28 Whole Council and Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS)
• Review of Digital Strategy (to include information on Cyber Security and supporting AI projects): Update Report
• Mell Square Town Centre Development Update
• Solihull Town Centre Low Carbon Energy Network: Update Report
• Council Plan – Refresh 2025/30
• Procurement Strategy Update Report

The report pack also lists reports awaiting confirmation for scheduling within the work programme 2025/26, including a Business Rates Update Report and a Council Plan 2025/30: Performance Review Report.