Agenda

To receive any apologies for absence from any members of the Committee.

Members are invited to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests (DPIs) and other registrable and non-registrable interests they may have in relation to any item(s) of business on today’s agenda.

To receive notice of any business not on the agenda which in the opinion of the Chair, by reason of special circumstances, be considered as a matter of urgency.

The Scrutiny & Overview Committee is asked to review and comment on the support provided by the council to displaced people in the borough including those supported under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, adults and families seeking asylum placed in the borough by the Home Office and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

It is also asked note the work underway to quantify the additional financial strain placed on the council as a result of the rapid increase in the placements of asylum-seeking adults and children in the borough by the Home Office.

To inform the Budget Scrutiny process, the Scrutiny & Overview Committee is asked to give consideration to the following three items.

The Scrutiny & Overview Committee requested information regarding the voluntary, community & faith sector support as part of its budget scrutiny considerations. This information is set out in the accompanying report for the Committee to note as part of the wider Budget Scrutiny process.

The Mayor published the Transformation Plan on 30 November 2023.   The Committee has subsequently asked for further information on the Commercial & Income Opportunities and the Income & Debt Review projects as part of its Budget Scrutiny assurance process.  The report set out in the agenda provides the information available at this stage for both projects

The Committee is asked to review the outcomes from the Budget engagement process. (Report to follow).

The following motion is to be moved and seconded where it is proposed to exclude the press and public from the remainder of a meeting:

“That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information falling within those paragraphs indicated in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended.”