The Resources and Fire & Rescue Overview and Scrutiny Committee are scheduled to meet to discuss the County Councillors' Grant Fund, performance against the council plan, treasury management and an update on the Voice of Warwickshire residents' panel. The meeting will also include a public question time, and questions from the committee to portfolio holders.

Treasury Management

The committee will receive an update on treasury management activity and performance for the first half of the 2025/26 financial year, as detailed in the Treasury Management Half Year Report 202526. This includes a review of borrowing strategy, treasury investments and compliance with regulations.

According to the report, total treasury investments stood at £251.5m at the end of the six months, a £33.7m decrease since the start of the financial year, which is attributed to funding capital expenditure from internal resources, and ongoing pressure from the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) shortfall. Liquid funds reportedly increased by £15.9m to £81.0m, which the report states will ensure sufficient flexibility to meet service and capital spending needs, including pressures from the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) High Needs Block overspend.

The council's net investment position has reportedly moved from a surplus of £12.8m to a net borrowing position of £20.9m, reflecting reduced investment balances and increased internal borrowing. Internal borrowing is reported as £95.2m, exceeding the Treasury Management Strategy Statement (TMSS) forecast of £83.7m. The report states that this is because the capital financing requirement reducing by £63.1m compared to the TMSS, combined with an increased use of internal resources which has enabled the council to delay £74.7m of planned external borrowing.

The report also highlights forecasts showing reductions in cash reserves, driven in part by the ongoing DSG High Needs Block deficit¹, and highlights the need to transition towards external borrowing and advocate for national reform of DSG funding. Interest income on treasury investments totalled £7.2m as at 30 September 2025, with the full year forecast being £12.6m, against a budget of £4.5m. The report states that this one-off income supports in-year pressures but remains sensitive to interest rate movements and declining cash balances.

The borrowing strategy remains focused on balancing affordability with long-term financial resilience, utilising internal resources to finance a portion of the Capital Financing Requirement (CFR), reducing reliance on external borrowing where possible and maintaining efficient cash levels.

The report notes that a significant and escalating financial pressure for the council is the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) High Needs Block (HNB) deficit. As at 31 March 2025, the cumulative deficit stood at £77.9m, with a further £70.5m overspend forecast for 2025/26, bringing the projected total to just under £150m by year end. While the government has extended the statutory override to March 2028, allowing councils to exclude DSG deficits from their usable reserves and general fund balances, this does not remove the real cash impact.

The original Treasury Management Strategy Statement (TMSS) only accounted for DSG deficits up to March 2026. In light of the override extension, the council has prudently extended its forecast to March 2028, with the cumulative deficit now projected to reach £318.4m by March 2028. The report states that this level of deficit will be unmanageable within existing cash balances and would require significant external borrowing if no national solution is found.

The report also notes that in October 2025, the Threadneedle Social Bond Fund (TSBF) holding was liquidated and the proceeds were used to repay £36.7m of Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) debt. This decision was reportedly driven by the need to reduce investments to reflect the reduction in cash balances and the preference to minimise external debt, prioritising the removal of investments that are less liquid and that are providing lower returns, and taking the opportunity to obtain a PWLB repayment discount due to the prevailing interest rates.

Quarter 2 Integrated Performance Report

The committee will be presented with the Quarter 2 Integrated Performance Report 202526, a retrospective summary of organisational performance between April and September 2025. The report will cover performance against the strategic priorities and areas of focus set out in the Council Plan 2022-2027². The report states that there are 21 Council Delivery Plan Deliverables attributable to the Resources and Fire and Rescue OSC. Key projects reportedly continue to perform well, including plans to exploit the capability of Artificial Intelligence and the introduction of a Warwickshire Procurement Portal. The Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service Improvement projects are reportedly well underway and are having positive results on performance.

The council reportedly has 89 Key Business Measures (KBMs), of which 67 are available for reporting at Quarter 2. There are 18 KBMs within the remit of this committee, and 14 are available for reporting this Quarter, the other 4 are due for reporting at different periods throughout the year. The report states that there are many areas where performance is strong including an improvement in Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service average response times for life risk and property incidents, but that levels of staff sickness and delivery of the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) savings continue to be challenging.

The services reporting to Resources and Fire and Rescue OSC are reportedly forecasting a cumulative net service underspend of £2.024m (after transfers from earmarked reserves are accounted for), which the report states is equivalent to -0.3% of their revenue budget, and that all saving targets are forecast to be achieved for 2025/26.

The report notes that the strategic and directorate risk profiles have remained stable this quarter, and that the strategic risk management framework has been reviewed and refreshed and will be presented to Cabinet in December. The risk appetite will be set for the next two years, considering changes in the operating landscape, including Local Government Reorganisation.

The report states that there is one red risk: Insufficient resources to deliver the Authority's Council Plan and priorities given identified spending pressures. To mitigate, active monitoring of delivery areas and prioritisation takes place, to ensure that delivery is focussed on key areas of the Council Plan and the Must Do areas of work.

The report also notes that the Cabinet approved the establishment of a Value for Money programme on 4 September 2025 to enhance the Council's Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) refresh, building on existing change programmes, to provide assurance around savings plans and generate further ideas for savings and change. The programme will report progress to the Resources and Fire and Rescue Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

County Councillors' Grant Fund

The committee will be asked to note and comment on the use of the County Councillors Grant Fund 2023 to 2024. The report offers an overview of projects funded by the fund in 2023/24, highlighting the range of initiatives supported, the number of Warwickshire residents benefiting from funded projects and the value of volunteer hours contributed towards supported projects.

For the financial year 2023/2024, the Fund provided each of the 57 Councillors with a funding envelope of £8,000 to award, totalling £456,000. Since 2020 the Fund has been aligned to the County Council's Voluntary and Community Sector Strategy 2020 to 2025, with the vision and purpose to create A thriving, sustainable and dynamic voluntary and community sector that improves the lives of individuals and communities in Warwickshire . The Fund also aligns to the key outcomes of the revised Council Plan 2022 to 2025.

The Fund reportedly aligns to the principles of Community Power and Creating Opportunity, with many projects supported by the Fund responding to locally identified needs with the aim of empowering communities to find their own solutions, and having a strong focus on tackling inequalities amongst some of our most vulnerable communities and residents.

In 2023/24, the Fund received 849 applications, compared to 540 in 2022/23, reflecting a continued trend of year-on-year increases. The overall success rate of applications was 70% for the period, compared to 74% in previous years. The report states that the decrease in success rates reflects the increased number of applications received compared to each Councillor's funding envelope, and that unsuccessful applications tended to be because of a lack of detailed evidence within the application or a failure to align with the priorities in local communities.

The approved budget for the Councillors' Grant Fund in 2023/24 was £456,000. The net total spend against this budget for the year was £451,823 which included spend over the period and a small amount of funding that had been returned. The Councillors' Grant Fund is a non-statutory investment, supporting community projects that fall outside of the council's core services, and operates in accordance with the Subsidy Control Act 2022³. Successful applications reportedly met one or more of the Fund's aims: improving community assets and their sustainability, improving access to services, improving financial capability, reducing loneliness and isolation, improving physical and/or mental health and wellbeing, promoting equalities and inclusivity, and improving the physical environment or reduce the environmental impact.

The total number of awarded projects was 588, with the total pledged value of £459,835. 517 organisations reported on their projects, indicating that a total of 1,626 new volunteers had been recruited, dedicating a total of 145,947 volunteer hours to projects, with the total economic value of £2,764,236 (calculated using a multiplier of £18.94 per hour and using the Annual Survey for Hours and Earning 2024 methodology).

The organisations reported that approximately 35,843 people have directly and indirectly benefitted from their projects. Out of 517 organisations, 129 have indicated that their projects will continue after their grant had been spent. The report states that measures are in place to prevent groups becoming reliant on the Fund, and that all unsuccessful applicants are advised to work with Warwickshire Community and Voluntary Action to seek advice on alternative funding opportunities and to receive additional support regarding future applications to the Fund as well as general group development opportunities.

The report includes quotes from end of project reports, including one from Water Orton & District Tennis Club talking about the success of their project which funded new specialist coaching equipment for children with learning difficulties, and another from The Alz Dementia Lunchtime Club (Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough).

Voice of Warwickshire Residents' Panel

The committee will receive an update on the Voice of Warwickshire residents' panel. The Update on the Voice of Warwickshire report states that the panel was established in December 2021 to give residents aged 18 and over who live in Warwickshire an opportunity to share their opinions and experiences on a variety of subjects of relevance to Warwickshire County Council. The panel enables the council to rapidly engage with a sample of residents and insight received from the panel helps to inform Warwickshire County Council's policymaking and decisions.

Current membership of the panel (October 2025) is just over 900 residents. The panel is broadly representative of the Warwickshire population with regards to place of residence and key demographics but residents aged 18-40 are reportedly under-represented.

The main route of engagement with the Voice of Warwickshire panel is through on-line surveys using the council's Ask Warwickshire survey platform. Since the panel's inception, 15 surveys have been completed on a range of subjects including reducing inequalities; healthy lifestyles in young people; artificial intelligence; libraries and the library service; and, more recently, gathering views on the future of local government to inform the local government reorganisation proposal.

The report states that feedback from council services indicate a range of uses for and impact of the insight generated from the panel's views, including improved targeting of messages to residents about council services and initiatives; input into future policy and strategy development; use in the shaping of initiatives to improve the lives of residents in Warwickshire; and helping to improve services.

To comply with information governance requirements, membership of the panel is reviewed annually, and members are asked if they would like to remain as panel members. A new round of recruitment is planned for December 2025.

The Voice of Warwickshire is one element of Warwickshire County Council's approach to engaging with residents. The council's Consultation & Engagement Framework sets out the way the council uses a blended approach to involve residents in developing services and decision making, using the right methods with the right people at the right times, and the Voice of Warwickshire panel reportedly complies with the principles and standards set out in the framework.

The Appendix 1 for Update on the Voice of Warwickshire report provides background to the Voice of Warwickshire panel including how panel members are recruited, details of current panel membership, how the panel works and details of the surveys carried out to date along with their impact.

Work Programme

The committee will review its work programme, as detailed in the Work Programme Updated Nov 2025. Items scheduled for future meetings include an options appraisal of Barrack Street office and car park, the Q3 Integrated Performance Report 2025/26, Our People Strategy, a WFRS Resourcing to Risk Update, and a Warwickshire Property Development Group Update.

Other items

The agenda for the meeting also allows for:

• Apologies for absence
• Disclosures of pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests
• Chair's announcements
• Public question time
• Questions to portfolio holders
• Any urgent matters