Agenda and draft minutes

Please note that this meeting may be filmed or recorded by the Council for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council’s internet site or by anyone attending the meeting using any communication method. Although we ask members of the public recording, filming or reporting on the meeting not to include the public seating areas, members of the public attending the meeting should be aware that we cannot guarantee that they will not be filmed or recorded by others attending the meeting. Members of the public participating in the meeting (e.g. making deputations, asking questions, making oral protests) should be aware that they are likely to be filmed, recorded or reported on. 

By entering the meeting room and using the public seating area, you are consenting to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings.

The chair of the meeting has the discretion to terminate or suspend filming or recording, if in his or her opinion continuation of the filming, recording or reporting would disrupt or prejudice the proceedings, infringe the rights of any individual or may lead to the breach of a legal obligation by the Council.

The Chair referred Members present to Agenda Item 1 as shown on the agenda front sheet, in respect of filming at meetings, and Members noted the information therein.

None.

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of urgent business. (Late items will be considered under the agenda item where they appear. New items will be dealt with at item 9 below).

None.

None.

None.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting, held on 21^st July 2026, as an accurate record.

The minutes of the previous meeting were approved as an accurate record.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 21^st July 2026 be approved as an accurate record.

An opportunity to question Cllr Mark Blake, Leader of the Council, and Andy Donald, Chief Executive, on the Council’s priorities for 2026/27.

Cllr Lucia das Neves welcomed Cllr Mark Blake - Leader of the Council, and Andy Donald - Chief Executive of the Council to the meeting. 

Cllr Blake thanked the Committee for their invitation to the meeting and introduced the session by making the following points about the priorities of the new administration:

• The use of Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) was a huge issue for the Council and he had concluded that this was unsustainable and punitive. A call had recently been held with the leaders and chief executives of 18 other local authorities, controlled by various political parties, which were also receiving EFS. They had similar views about the unsustainable and punitive nature of the current situation and a joint letter had been sent to the Secretary of State.
• The forthcoming Budget setting process would probably be the most demanding in the history of the Council as there was a risk of commissioners coming in to run the Council. The process would need to be a consultative one and the agreement of more than one party would be required due to the No Overall Control position.
• At the centre of the financial challenge was that 80% of the Council’s budget was spent on statutory duties and so there was also a message for central government about how these markets were regulated.
• Performance improvement across the Council was also required on issues including housing voids, housing repairs, temporary accommodation costs and the handling of complaints.
• In relation to manifesto commitments to improve the lives of residents, the importance of the following points was highlighted:

o   The forthcoming work of the new Popular Assets Commission (PAC).

o   Addressing the challenges faced by residents in the Northumberland Park area.

o   The Renters’ Forum which had been established the administration’s commitment to engaging with impacted groups to inform Council policy.

• There was ongoing work to improve accountability and transparency in terms of financial and performance information.
• As Council Leader he was conducting a series of town hall meetings with residents throughout the Borough.

Andy Donald then highlighted some key points regarding the challenges with the annual budget and the requirement for EFS, reductions in government grants over many year and rising costs in areas such as housing and adult social care. It was noted that performance management would be structured around the new Corporate Delivery Plan (CDP) which was expected to be agreed by the Cabinet in November. Andy Donald also referred to opportunities to bring forward some major placemaking schemes including at High Road West and at Wood Green as well as continuing to expand investment in social housing.

Cllr Blake and Andy Donald then responded to questions from the Committee:

• Asked by Cllr Cawley-Harrison about his aspirations for the next 12 months, Cllr Blake said that improvement in financial performance and on housing was absolutely key. This included housing repairs and voids. He referred to a recent meeting with the Residents Association of Broadwater Farm which had been clear that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

To consider the report on the Council’s financial position at the end of Quarter 1 of 2026/27.

The report included with this item was first published as part of the agenda papers for the Cabinet meeting on 15^th September 2026.

Attendees for this item were:

·       Cllr Johann Beckford, Cabinet Member for Finance & Corporate Services

·       Taryn Eves, Corporate Director of Finance & Resources and S151 Officer

·       Josephine Lyseight, Director of Finance and Deputy S151 Officer

·       Ann Graham, Corporate Director of Children’s Services

·       Jess Crowe, Corporate Director of Culture, Strategy & Communities

·       Laura Crouch, Head of Active Wellbeing

Cllr Johann Beckford introduced the report for this item and highlighted the following key points:

• The Council was now forecast to spend £374.8m in 2026/27 which was £21.7m above what had been budgeted for in March 2026.
• Much of this overspend resulted from base budget pressures but the report also highlighted savings required to meet the savings targets.
• On General Fund capital spending, the Quarter 1 forecast spend for the year was £234.4m against the budget of £344.49m.
• On Housing Revenue Account capital spending, the Quarter 1 forecast spend for the year was £310.7m against the budget of £376.9m.
• There was an additional overspend of £8.4m in the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) forecast which was largely caused by higher than expected SEND pressures.
• There was an overspend of £3.478m in the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), mainly due to temporary accommodation costs.
• There were therefore several areas where improvement was required before the end of the financial year to bring these back to the original budget position.

Taryn Eves then added the following points:

• As a Q1 report, this represented a very early forecast of the financial position at the year end and was based on a series of assumptions, many of which related to the large demand-led services. These were difficult to predict at this early stage and so the forecasts would be kept under review and were monitored by officers on a monthly basis.
• Of the overall £21.7m overspend, a total of £10.4m was across services and £6.3m at the corporate level. The £21.7m position was based on the figure before the application of the remaining corporate contingency which could be used to offset overspend.
• There would be a deeper review at the Q2 report of the treasury management side, including investment income and interest costs.
• There was a significant underspend on both capital budgets and the record of forecasting in this area was not good. A fundamental review of the existing capital programme was being carried out.
• The collection of council tax and business rates was above target (by 0.5% and 1.1% respectively), although the target had been reduced to 92.5% for the current year. It was possible that the target could be increased for the following year’s budget.
• The level of write-offs was included in the last section of the report. All but one of these was below £50k. The total write-off for the quarter was £2.1m of which 46% related to parking.

Cllr Beckford and Taryn Eves then responded to questions from the Committee:

• Cllr Jenner requested further explanation about the level of confidence to get the overspend back on track and what measures would be put in place. Taryn Eves  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

To note the current 2026/27 work programme for the Committee and to propose any amendments as required.

The Committee noted the details of the draft work programme. Cllr das Neves highlighted the December meeting and that the annual report on feedback and resolutions could be included as an agenda item.

The Committee was reminded about the ‘Scrutiny Café’ consultation event scheduled to take place on 24^th September.

-       Mon 26^th Oct (7pm)

-       Mon 30^th Nov (7pm)

-       Thurs 10^th Dec (7pm)

-       Mon 18^th Jan (7pm)

-       Thurs 25^th Feb (7pm)

-       Thurs 18^th Mar (7pm)

-       Mon 26^th Oct (7pm)

-       Mon 30^th Nov (7pm)

-       Thurs 10^th Dec (7pm)

-       Mon 18^th Jan (7pm)

-       Thurs 25^th Feb (7pm)

-       Thurs 18^th Mar (7pm)