The Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting on 14 April 2026 reviewed the council's corporate performance for the third quarter of the 2025-26 financial year, noting both successes and areas requiring attention. The committee also discussed the quarterly performance report on complaints and members' enquiries, highlighting improvements in handling these despite increased volumes, and received the annual report summarising the work of the council's scrutiny committees throughout the municipal year.

Corporate Performance Q3 2025-26

The committee received an update on the council's performance against its Delivery Plan for 2024-26, with 84% of metrics reported as being on track at the end of Q3. Councillor Nick Wayne, Chair of the Corporate Resources and Economy Scrutiny Committee, noted that the overall picture was positive, with significant successes in areas such as supporting care-experienced young people, helping residents into work, and increasing social rent homes.

However, some areas require continued attention. Liveable Neighbourhoods coverage is set to miss its target, and recycling rates remain below the 36% goal, although performance has improved over the past year. School attendance continues to be a challenge, and the Becoming an Age-Friendly Borough programme was rated amber due to previous resource gaps, though these have now been filled.

Specific successes highlighted included:

• Child-Friendly Islington: Properties offered to care-experienced young people and 41 young people engaged with the Care Leavers Youth Trailblazer Programme.
• Community Wealth Building: Nearly 6,000 residents supported into paid work, exceeding the delivery plan target, and 1,000 apprenticeship starts achieved ahead of schedule.
• Healthier Islington: The Stop Smoking Service exceeded its year-end target after only two quarters.
• Greener Islington: An additional 58 bike bays for e-bikes were added, with the year-end target on track.

Areas of challenge included:

• Greener Islington: Liveable Neighbourhoods target set to be missed, with no further schemes expected in Q4.
• Healthier Islington: Emergency admissions to hospital for people aged 65+ were above target.
• Empowering People: Call answering rates and digital transaction rates at Access Islington were below target, and resident satisfaction rates decreased.

Councillor Ernestas Jegorovas-Armstrong raised concerns about the ongoing annual revenue cost of £700,000 associated with the 1.5 hectares of additional greening, questioning if this had been secured. Max Edgington, Policy Coordinator, confirmed that there was no additional budget pressure, with resources being moved internally.

The committee also discussed issues with contact centres, specifically the low resident satisfaction rates (R3) and the percentage of calls answered (R1). Melanie Rose, Director for IT and Digital Service and Customer and Complaints, explained that increased call volumes were due to failure demand from other services, such as housing repairs and council tax. She outlined a plan to address root causes, optimise contact centre operations, and improve performance and capacity. Councillor Ruth Hayes noted that similar issues had been identified two years prior, and questioned current wait times for repairs. Melanie Rose confirmed wait times were still in excess of 15-20 minutes, but that half of callers were now using the call-back option.

Quarterly Complaints and Members Enquiries Performance Report Q3 2025-26

Melanie Rose presented the Q3 report on complaints and members' enquiries, noting a significant increase in complaint volumes, particularly within the Homes and Neighbourhoods Directorate. Despite this rise, the council has seen marked improvements in complaints handling, with better timeliness and fewer complaints being upheld at later stages.

Key improvements highlighted include:

• Acknowledgement Performance: Stage 1 complaints were acknowledged within five days for 94.6% of cases, a substantial increase from 40.8% in Q3 of the previous year.
• Response Times: Average response times at both Stage 1 and Stage 2 have reduced.
• Upheld Complaints: Fewer Stage 1 complaints were upheld, suggesting better initial investigations.

However, challenges remain, with delays being the primary cause of complaints. The report detailed that 41% of Stage 1 complaints and 42% of Stage 2 complaints were due to delays. Homes and Neighbourhoods accounted for the majority of complaints, and the Housing Ombudsman noted a high maladministration rate (74%) for cases referred to them.

Members' enquiries also increased, with a lower proportion being completed within the target 10 working days compared to MP enquiries. This has led to a proposal for a centralised triage model for all member and MP enquiries to ensure consistency and improve reporting.

Councillor Benali Hamdache asked for clarification on whether the number of complaints was disproportionately high in housing repairs and if certain estates were over-represented. Melanie Rose stated that while this level of detail was not yet available, 35% of housing repair call volumes came from repeat callers, indicating a need for proactive engagement. She also noted that while ethnic breakdowns of callers were not yet available, the council was looking into this.

The committee formally noted the Q3 performance and improvement updates for complaints and members' enquiries.

Supporting Islington's Residents to Financial Resilience - Scrutiny Report

Councillor Gulcin Ozdemir presented the scrutiny report on supporting residents to financial resilience. She thanked Councillor Williamson for her dedication and highlighted the significant contributions of Caroline and Robbie, as well as Theo McLean for his coordination of the report. Councillor Ruth Hayes suggested broadening the scope of potential academic partners named in recommendation three to include organisations like Politeans Practice. Councillor Ozdemir proposed a process for minor drafting tweaks to be made within seven days, with final approval delegated to herself and Theo McLean, ensuring the report was published before the end of the municipal year. The committee agreed to proceed on this basis, with recommendations agreed and drafting tweaks to be proposed by midday on Monday.

Scrutiny in Islington Annual Report

Councillor Nick Wayne presented the annual report of the council's scrutiny committees. He thanked all committee chairs for their contributions and highlighted the positive spirit of bipartisanship and commitment to improving outcomes for residents. Councillor Gulcin Ozdemir, Chair of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee, spoke about their review into Play Spaces and Services in Islington, noting its focus on active play and early development. Councillor Ruth Hayes, Chair of the Environment, Climate and Transport Scrutiny Committee, discussed their review into Household recycling rates and waste reduction, emphasising the need to understand barriers to participation and develop evidence-based recommendations. Councillor Joseph Croft, Chair of the Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee, mentioned their review on Improving Healthy Life Expectancy in Islington. Councillor Hannah McHugh, Chair of the Homes and Communities Scrutiny Committee, detailed their review into Homelessness in Islington, highlighting the need for more ambition, investment, and coordination. Councillor Wayne himself presented the work of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, focusing on Supporting Islington's residents into financial resilience. He also noted the upcoming review into the council's scrutiny procedures. The committee formally noted the annual report.

Monitoring Items

The committee noted the monitoring items, including the council's forward plan of key decisions, the scrutiny review tracker, and the work plan and action sheet. Councillor Wayne concluded the meeting, thanking everyone for their contributions and acknowledging the positive impact of the committee's work.