Here is a summary of the scheduled discussions at the Haringey Council Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting on 27 November 2025. The agenda included scrutiny of the draft budget and medium term financial strategy, consideration of scrutiny review scoping documents, and a review of the committee's work programme. The meeting was scheduled to take place at George Meehan House, and was open to the public, with an advisory notice regarding filming and recording of the meeting.

2026/27 Draft Budget and Medium Term Financial Strategy 2026/2031

A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to the scrutiny of the council's draft budget for 2026/27 and its Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for 2026/2031. The committee was scheduled to discuss and make recommendations to the Cabinet on these financial plans. This discussion was planned to occur in two parts. The first part was to focus on proposals that directly relate to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee's remit. The second part was to address the overall approach to the council's draft budget and MTFS, including measures to address the budget gap.

A range of documents were provided to support the discussion, including:

• The main report to Cabinet on the 2026-27 Budget and 2026-2031 Medium Term Financial Strategy Report.
• Directorate appendices summarising proposed savings, budget pressures, and changes to the capital programme for each directorate (Directorate Appendices). These appendices covered:
  • Children & Young People (CS Appendices)
  • Adults, Housing and Health (AHH Appendices)
  • Environment & Resident Experience (ERE Appendices)
  • Culture, Strategy & Communities
  • Finance and Resources
  • Corporate Budgets
• A clarification note providing additional information on a savings proposal related to optimised environmental enforcement (OS Cover Report Nov25).
• An explanatory note on the role of Scrutiny in the budget setting process.

The main report to cabinet noted that Haringey Council was facing a very challenging financial position, with a significant reduction in core government funding since 2010/11, and escalating demand for services. The report indicated that the council had only been able to set a balanced budget for 2025/26 with the assistance of £37 million of Exceptional Financial Support¹ from the government, which would need to be repaid with interest.

The report also set out that the council was forecasting a shortfall of at least £57 million for 2026/27, despite identifying £7.0 million of new savings and efficiencies. It noted that setting a balanced budget in 2026/27 would only be possible if the government agreed to provide Exceptional Financial Support.

The Directorate Appendices provided further details on the proposed savings, pressures, and capital programme changes for each directorate. Some of the key proposals included:

• Children & Young People: A proposal to secure capital and refurbish flats to match eligible care leavers through the Young Adults Service, with the aim of reducing reliance on costly external placements (CYP SP Minutes 9th September).
• Adults, Housing and Health: A proposal to review the Adult Social Care Charging Policy and strengthen financial assessment processes, with the aim of ensuring that charges are applied from the date care begins, and improving the efficiency and accuracy of financial assessments (Minutes Public Pack 22092025 Adults Health Scrutiny Panel).
• Environment & Resident Experience: A proposal to increase the commercialisation of leisure centres and generate additional income, with the aim of releasing further savings (CCSE Minutes - 15th Sep 2025).
• Corporate Budgets: A proposal to increase the general contingency to mitigate future unknown pressures.

Scoping Documents - Scrutiny Reviews

The committee was also scheduled to consider and approve scoping documents and terms of reference for a scrutiny review on communications with residents in Adult Social Care.

The rationale for the review was that one of the themes of the Council's Corporate Delivery Plan 2024-26 was 'Resident experience and enabling success', which refers to building mutual trust and confidence through positive interactions with residents . The scoping document noted that at a Scrutiny Café consultation event in September 2024, the issue of communications with residents emerged as a top priority.

The aims of the project were to review the current arrangements for communications between residents and Adult Social Care services, including the experience of residents when they contact the council, how the council proactively updates residents about the status of their case, and the accessibility of information about adult care and support services on the council website and the online Haricare directory.

Work Programme Update

The committee was to note the current 2025/26 work programme and propose any amendments.

The draft work plan included in the agenda pack (OSC 27th Nov 2025 - Work Plan Development) specified that the next meeting on 10 December 2025 would include a finance update for Quarter 2, and a performance update for Quarter 1.

The agenda pack also included the latest version of the council's Forward Plan (APPENDIX B - Statutory Forward Plan - 4 November 2025 - 28 February 2026 - Version 156 Leader of t), which provides notice of key decisions expected to be made by the council over the next 3 months.