The Overview and Scrutiny Management Board was scheduled to meet on Thursday, 30 October 2025, to discuss the Better Belonging Lincolnshire - Sufficiency Strategy for SEND and Alternative Provision 2025-2028, and to review the work programmes of the scrutiny committees and the board itself.

Better Belonging Lincolnshire - Sufficiency Strategy for SEND and Alternative Provision 2025-2028

The board was scheduled to consider a report on the Better Belonging Lincolnshire - Sufficiency Strategy for SEND and Alternative Provision 2025-2028, ahead of a decision by the Executive on 4 November 2025.

The [Better Belonging SEND and AP Sufficiency Strategy][Better Belonging SEND and AP Sufficiency.pdf] outlines the council's strategic programme for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision (AP) in Lincolnshire, and replaces the previous council's strategy with a new vision that prioritises mainstream inclusion and supports specialist provision for those who require it most.

The strategy is underpinned by the principle of Better Belonging—where every child should feel respected, included, and optimistic about their future, supported to learn and grow within their local community.

The report sets out proposed capital schemes to meet the demand for specialist and alternative provisions, based on a tiered approach:

• Mainstream inclusion initiatives
• Mainstream SEND and AP Hubs
• Expansion of SEND specialist provision
• Expansion of Alternative Provision

The capital programme within the strategy specifically targets four areas of capital development:

• School-led initiatives for SEND and AP small grants available to mainstream schools from the High Needs Provision Capital Allocation (HNPCA).
• Mainstream Hubs Capital investment from HNPCA to create SEND and AP Hubs within existing schools and academies buildings with council commissioned places.
• Capital investment from HNPCA for the repurposing of existing council buildings or alternatives to meet demand for greater capacity in the specialist SEND and AP system.
• Stand-alone AP through the Local Authority Presumption route, subject to viability and process approval.

The following funding allocation for SEND Capital project is proposed:

The [report to the Executive][Better Belonging SEND and AP Sufficiency.pdf] contained the following recommendations:

• Approves the [Better Belonging Lincolnshire SEND and AP Sufficiency Strategy][Appendix A Better Belonging Lincolsnhire SEND and AP Sufficiency Strategy.pdf].
• Delegates to the Executive Director Children's Services, in consultation with the Executive Councillor for Children's Services, authority to take all decisions necessary to progress delivery of the strategy including the procurement of necessary goods, services and works and the award and entering into of contracts and agreements and such other necessary documentation.
• Supports a review of the vacant properties contained in the Property Rationalisation Programme with a view to identifying those properties that might be repurposed to deliver the educational priorities and provision detailed in this report.

Scrutiny Committee Work Programmes

The board was scheduled to note the work programmes of each of the scrutiny committees. The committees and their planned activity were:

• Adult Care and Public Health Scrutiny Committee
  • 3 December 2025 - Integrated Lifestyle Service, Adult Social Care Target Operating Model and Staff Realignment Update, Service Level Performance Reporting Against the Success Framework 2025-26 Quarters 1 and 2
• Children's and Culture Scrutiny Committee
  • 5 December 2025 - Cultural Developments across Lincolnshire, Lincoln Museum Development Update, Service Level Performance Reporting Against the Success Framework 2025-26 Quarters 1 and 2, Children and Young People's Supported Accommodation from April 2027, Special Guardianship Orders, Children in Care (CiC) Transformation – Short Stay Assessment Home, Boston Hawthorn Tree Primary School - Reroof Project
• Community Safety Scrutiny Committee
  • 25 November 2025 - Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy, Trading Standards Animal Health and Welfare and Feed Activity 2024-2025, Service Level Performance Reporting against the Success Framework 2025-2026 – Quarters 1 and 2, Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Procurement of Station End Equipment and Mobile Data Terminal Software
• Environment Scrutiny Committee
  • 7 November 2025 - Service Level Performance Reporting Against the Performance Framework 2025 - 2026 – Quarters 1 and 2: Environment (including Flood Risk Management and Waste), Environmental Policy Review, Lincolnshire County Council Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report 2024-25
• Growth Scrutiny Committee
  • 28 October 2025 - Economic Infrastructure Lettings Strategy and Development Land Sales Strategy - Review and Update, Inward Investment Strategy, Skills Bootcamps Update, Greater Lincolnshire Careers Hub: Next Steps on Working with Businesses and Schools
• Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire
  • 19 November 2025 - Cancer Care in Lincolnshire and the Living with Cancer Programme, NHS Winter Planning 2025/26, NHS Lincolnshire People Strategy
• Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee
  • 8 December 2025 - North Hykeham Relief Road - Proceed to Construction, Highways Infrastructure Asset Management Plan 2025, Lincoln, Yarborough Hill Bank Slip Project, 2026/27 Strategic Route Surfacing, Revision to the Definitive Map Modification Order Prioritisation Policy, Highways - Quarter 2 Performance Report (1 July to 31 Sep 2025), Transport & Road Safety Performance Reports for Quarters 1 & 2 (1 Apr to 31 Sep 2025), Major Work Schemes Report, Transport Connect Limited (TCL)

Overview and Scrutiny Management Board Work Programme

The board was scheduled to note the content of its work programme for the coming year.

The [OSMB Work Programme][OSMB Work Programme.pdf] included the following items:

• 30 October 2025 - Approval of the [Better Belonging Lincolnshire: Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Sufficiency Strategy][Better Belonging SEND and AP Sufficiency.pdf], Scrutiny Committees' Work Programmes
• 20 November 2025 - Local Government Reorganisation Business Case Proposal, Review of Financial Performance (2025/26 Quarter 2), New Corporate Plan 2025, Treasury Management Performance 2025/26 - Quarter 2 to 30 September 2025, Health and Safety Annual Report, Scrutiny Committees' Work Programmes
• 18 December 2025 - 2026/27 Capital Repairs and Maintenance Funding, Scrutiny Committees' Work Programmes
• 29 January 2026 - Council Budget 2026/27, Corporate Plan Success Framework 2025-27, Update on IMT Services Transition of IT Services, Scrutiny Committees' Work Programmes
• 26 February 2026 - Ancaster Primary School Block 04 demolition and rebuild, Review of Financial Performance (2025/26 Quarter 3), Scrutiny Committees' Work Programmes
• 26 March 2026 - Corporate Plan Success Framework 2025-26 Quarters 1, 2 and 3 Performance, Corporate Plan Success Framework 2025-26 Targets, Scrutiny Committees' Work Programmes
• 30 April 2026 - TBC, Scrutiny Committees' Work Programmes