The Overview and Scrutiny Management Board met to discuss the progress of the Crisis and Resilience Fund and to review the draft Scrutiny Annual Report for 2025-26. The Board reviewed the Crisis and Resilience Fund report, noting the progress made in developing the delivery plan and seeking assurance on its development. The Board also considered and commented on the draft Scrutiny Annual Report for 2025-26, agreeing to its submission to the County Council for final approval.

Crisis and Resilience Fund

The Board received an update on the progress of the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF), a three-year government initiative providing support to low-income households facing financial shocks and investing in long-term financial resilience. Lincolnshire has been allocated approximately £9.9 million per year, rising to £11 million in its third year. The fund is structured around four strands: Crisis Payments, Housing Payments, Resilient Services, and Community Coordination.

A significant development discussed was the additional £1.8 million in top-up funding announced by the government specifically for households reliant on heating oil. This funding is being administered by the Lincolnshire Community Foundation, with applications opening on 1 April 2026. As of the meeting, 977 applications had been received, with 725 approved, distributing £217,500. It is anticipated that over 5,000 households will benefit from this specific heating oil support.

Concerns were raised by councillors regarding the eligibility criteria, particularly for those who are working but on low incomes, and the potential for people to fall through the gaps. Anne-Marie Scott, Assistant Director of Public Health, explained that the fund is not solely for those on benefits and has an income threshold of £36,000 per year before housing costs, allowing working individuals to access support. However, Councillor Martin John Hill OBE highlighted that the £300 voucher for heating oil might not cover the full cost of a tank refill, which could be an additional £300. The council is exploring options with oil providers to potentially offer reduced rates for batch applications.

The administration costs for processing applications were noted, with an estimated cost of £40 per applicant, which includes the cost for the Lincolnshire Community Foundation to process applications and the voucher provider. The fund is intended as a one-off payment per household, though individuals experiencing other crises may be eligible for support from the main Crisis Payments scheme.

Councillor Martin John Hill OBE also raised concerns about the process, noting that the heating oil fund had not been formally discussed by the committee before the Executive decision was made. He questioned why a meeting that could have discussed this was cancelled. Councillor Philip Roberts, Chairman of the Board, acknowledged that in hindsight, the meeting should perhaps have been scrutinised. Nigel West, Head of Democratic Services and Statutory Scrutiny Officer, stated he would investigate the process with the monitoring officer.

The Board was assured that the council remains on track to submit the delivery plan to the Department for Work and Pensions by 1 July 2026. The Board resolved to review the report and seek assurance on the progress of the delivery plan, and to receive an update at a future meeting.

Scrutiny Annual Report 2025-26

The Board considered the draft Scrutiny Annual Report for 2025-26, which details the work undertaken by the council's scrutiny function between May 2025 and March 2026. Nigel West, Head of Democratic Services and Statutory Scrutiny Officer, presented the report, highlighting that it captures the key achievements of the eight scrutiny committees.

Councillor Richard Graham Davies expressed concerns about the use of statistics within the report, suggesting some were part use versus trying to suggest full year performance and that some of the information just isn't up to date. He felt the report was too broad and did not adequately highlight scrutiny's performance. Councillor Martin John Hill OBE echoed some of these sentiments, stating that there was a dearth of papers coming and that there's no detail there to actually effectively scrutinise. He also noted that specific examples of where scrutiny had influenced executive decisions were not always clearly captured.

Councillor Michelle Grady, Executive Councillor, stated that officers value the scrutiny process and that the Executive has changed policy based on scrutiny's recommendations, although she acknowledged this was not always obvious in the report. The Board discussed the length and detail of reports, with a general agreement that while conciseness is important, sufficient detail must be provided for effective scrutiny. The issue of papers being released close to meeting dates was also raised, with a commitment to explore ways to release them earlier.

The Board resolved to consider and comment on the draft report and agreed to its submission to the County Council on 22 May 2026 for final approval, with amendments to be discussed with Nigel West and his team.

Scrutiny Committee Work Programmes

The Board noted the planned work programmes for the various scrutiny committees, including the Adult Care and Public Health Scrutiny Committee, Children's and Culture Scrutiny Committee, Community Safety Scrutiny Committee, Environment Scrutiny Committee, Growth Scrutiny Committee, Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire, and Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee.

During this agenda item, Councillor Philip Roberts mentioned that the Board would be looking to bring forward an item on Freedom of Information requests, as there is a significant issue with the council responding to these within the specified time period.

Overview and Scrutiny Management Board Work Programme

The Board also noted its own work programme. A discussion took place regarding property rationalisation, with Andrew McLean, Interim Executive Director - Resources, confirming that a report would be shared with the Board for information, even though it was going to the Growth Scrutiny Committee.

The meeting concluded with an open forum session.