City of York Council
Scrutiny Annual Report
2025-26
Contents
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Foreword
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2
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Contents
and Glossary
|
3
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What is
Scrutiny?
|
4
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Scrutiny
in York
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5
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Scrutiny
by Numbers
|
6
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Transforming
Scrutiny at City Of York Council
|
7
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Corporate
Scrutiny Committee
|
13
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People
Scrutiny Committee
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16
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Place
Scrutiny Committee
|
18
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Task and
Finish Groups
|
20
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Looking
Ahead
|
24
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Get
Involved in Scrutiny
|
26
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Glossary
|
Call-In
|
A
process by which Scrutiny may challenge or request reconsideration
of decisions before they take effect.
|
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CfGS
|
Centre for
Governance and Scrutiny
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Democratic Services
|
A
Council function supporting the democratic and decision-making
processes.
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Executive
|
The
group of councillors appointed by the Leader to take decisions on
behalf of the Council.
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LGA
|
Local
Government Association
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MTFS
|
Medium Term
Financial Strategy
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Pre-decision scrutiny
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Scrutiny of an
item or report by Scrutiny Members before a decision is made on it
by the Council’s Executive.
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TFG
|
Task and Finish
Group – a cross-party group set up to review a topic and make
recommendations to drive forward improvements.
|
What is Scrutiny?
Overview
and Scrutiny (usually referred to just as ‘Scrutiny’)
is a core element of the Council’s governance structure,
helping to ensure effective democratic accountability, support
robust decision-making, and enhance public service
delivery.
Overview
and Scrutiny Committees were established in English and Welsh local
authorities by the Local Government Act 2000, to ensure that
elected members who were not part of the executive could hold the
executive to account for the decisions and actions that affect
their communities.
Councillors
who are members of Scrutiny Committees can propose policy changes,
suggest improvements, commend good practice and take a leadership
role on issues of concern in local communities.
In line
with the nationally-agreed ‘Four Principles of Good
Scrutiny’, Scrutiny aims to:
·
provide
constructive “critical friend” challenge to the
Council’s Executive;
·
amplify
residents’ voices and concerns;
·
be led by
independent minded people who take responsibility for their
role;
·
drive
improvement in public services.
Government
guidance on Scrutiny can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/overview-and-scrutiny-statutory-guidance-for-councils-combined-authorities-and-combined-county-authorities/overview-and-scrutiny-statutory-guidance-for-councils-combined-authorities-and-combined-county-authorities
Centre for Governance and Scrutiny (CfGS): https://www.cfgs.org.uk/
Scrutiny in York
City of
York Council has three Scrutiny Committees:
·
Corporate
Scrutiny Committee
·
People
Scrutiny Committee
·
Place
Scrutiny Committee
The
Corporate Scrutiny Committee acts as the Council’s
statutory scrutiny committee, managing and supporting the work of
the Scrutiny Committees. It has responsibility for considering
Call-In requests where it reviews evidence relating to
decisions made by the Executive.
Each
committee coordinates its own work programme and assists in
developing policy by undertaking pre-decision scrutiny and carrying
out in-depth reviews of selected topics, usually through Task and
Finish Groups. Committees may seek the advice of expert advisers,
conducts surveys and research, and subject to budget availability,
undertake any work reasonably necessary to inform their
deliberations.
The
Scrutiny function is supported by a Scrutiny Officer and by the
wider Democratic Services team.
The role
and function of Scrutiny is set out in Article 8 of the
Council’s Constitution, which can be found here:
https://democracy.york.gov.uk/documents/s188682/08%20-%20Article%208%20-%20Scrutiny.pdf
Scrutiny
at York in 2025-26
by Numbers
|
3
|
Scrutiny Committees
|
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27
|
Scrutiny Members
|
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21
|
Public meetings
|
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45
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Topic items
|
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1
|
Call-in
|
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25
|
Public Participants
|
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4
|
Active Task and Finish Groups
|
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20
|
Task and Finish meetings
|
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2
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Task and Finish reports
|
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4
|
Scrutiny Member Briefing Sessions
|
Transforming Scrutiny at City of York Council
The
2025/26 municipal year has seen a significant amount of work
undertaken to develop and enhance the Council’s Scrutiny
function and better enable it to make a positive impact for the
citizens of York.
Centre for Governance and Scrutiny Review
A Local
Government Association (LGA) Peer Challenge of the Council
undertaken in early 2024 concluded that:
‘Scrutiny arrangements at CYC would benefit from review. As a
function of governance, it can be hugely beneficial for quality of
decision-making if it is fully supported and empowered to be a
positive and integral part of policy development. It is clear that
this is recognised by the administration as an area where a fresh
look at how improvements can be made would also be a good use of
time and effort.’
In
response, the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny (CfGS) was
commissioned to undertake a Scrutiny Impact Review of the Council.
The review was conducted in November and December 2024, The CfGS
found that while there was a desire and commitment to make Scrutiny
work, the majority of views shared were negative about the current
impact and approach of Scrutiny. Its report, issued in January
2025, made twelve recommendations aimed at improving the
organisational commitment, clarity of purpose, and impact of
Scrutiny in York, seeking to foster good relationships and
enable elected Members to lead effectively.
The full
report and recommendations of the CfGS can be found at:
https://democracy.york.gov.uk/documents/s182228/Annex%20A%20York%20Scrutiny%20Impact%20Report.pdf
Eleven of
the twelve recommendations, along with an action plan to implement
them, were supported by the Council’s Executive and then
endorsed by Council on 27 March 2025. Decision details can be found
at:
https://democracy.york.gov.uk/documents/s182230/Executive%20part%20B%20minute%2011%20March%202025.pdf
The action
plan as agreed by Council can be found at:
https://democracy.york.gov.uk/documents/s182229/Annex%20B%20Scrutiny%20Impact%20Review%20Action%20Plan.pdf
For
further details and an account of the review process, see
also:
https://www.cfgs.org.uk/case-study/review-of-scrutiny-at-city-of-york-council/
Scrutiny Review Working Group
A
cross-party Scrutiny Review Working Group (SRWG) was established in
April 2025 to oversee work to implement the recommendations.
Its
membership initially consisted
of the Chairs and Vice-Chairs of the four former scrutiny
committees, with Cllr Stephen Fenton as Chair and Cllr Dave Merrett
as Vice-Chair. Following the introduction of the revised Scrutiny
committee structure in May 2025, new Scrutiny Chairs and
Vice-Chairs who were not already members of the SRWG were co-opted
to its membership.
The
Scrutiny Review Working Group has held ten meetings during the
year, working on a range of areas developing the structures to
support the revised approach to Scrutiny at the Council. This has
included developing a new Executive-Scrutiny Protocol and Shared
Vision for Scrutiny in York, as set out below, as well as leading
on the introduction of informal scrutiny briefing sessions and the
reintroduction of an annual scrutiny report.
New Committee Structure
In
response to the recommendations, with the approval of the
Council’s Executive a new Scrutiny Committee structure was
introduced in May 2025, better aligned to reflect council business,
with the previous four Scrutiny Committees (Corporate Services,
Climate Change and Scrutiny Management; Children, Culture and
Communities; Economy, Place, Access and Transport; Health, Housing
and Adult Social Care) being reduced to three: Corporate, People,
and Place. Each Committee has nine Members and meets on a
bi-monthly basis rather than monthly as previously, in-keeping with
the CfGS recommendation that fewer formal meetings would reduce the
number of ‘information only’ items on Committee agendas
and allow greater scope for other channels of Scrutiny activity to
be developed.
Task and Finish Groups
This
includes a shift in focus to conducting more Scrutiny through Task
and Finish Groups, which report back to their ‘parent’
Committee, with the aim of undertaking in-depth work on areas where
Scrutiny can have a tangible impact. Membership of TFGs is not
restricted to Scrutiny Members; any elected Member with the
interest, expertise and knowledge of the topic to be scrutinised
may be appointed. Full details of Task and Finish Group work across
the year can be found later in this report.
Executive-Scrutiny Protocol and Shared Vision for
Scrutiny
As part of
work towards fulfilment of the CfGS recommendations, the SRWG
developed a Shared Vision for Scrutiny in York document, and a
refreshed Executive-Scrutiny Protocol for City of York Council,
both of which were agreed with the Leader and Deputy Leader in July
2025.
The Shared
Vision aims to support and develop clarity over the role of
scrutiny, and foster a robust organisational culture acknowledging
and valuing the role of scrutiny in enhancing accountability and
decision-making through collaboration and constructive
challenge.
Following
agreement from Council, the Executive-Scrutiny Protocol was
incorporated into the Council’s Constitution on 18 September.
It can be found here:
https://democracy.york.gov.uk/documents/s185267/Annex%20B%20-%20Executive%20Scrutiny%20Protocol.pdf
The
Shared Vision for Scrutiny in York sits as a
‘live’ document in the charge of the Corporate Scrutiny
Committee, and can be found here:
https://democracy.york.gov.uk/documents/s185266/Annex%20A%20-%20Shared%20Vision%20for%20Scrutiny%20in%20York.pdf
Officer support
A Scrutiny
Officer was appointed in August 2025 to lead on work across a range
of areas including supporting task and finish group work,
establishing a systematic approach to recommendation tracking,
building relationships with officers, and working to raise the
profile of the scrutiny function.
As part of
work to develop best practice and showcase the progress made, the
Scrutiny Officer has represented the Council at the CfGS Annual
Conference in March 2026 and has joined the National Scrutiny
Officers’ Network.
Scrutiny Member Briefing Sessions
Under the
Council’s new Scrutiny arrangements, topics which would
previously have been presented to a formal committee meeting as an
information report with a recommendation ‘to note’ can
instead be presented at an informal scrutiny member briefing
session. These briefing sessions are for Members to receive
information, and are held in addition to, not in place of, public
meetings, for the purpose of developing Members’
understanding of particular topics. Items on which Members’
views are sought should be considered at a formal public committee
meeting, rather than at an informal private briefing.
Four
informal Briefing Sessions were held during 2025/26:
·
21 October
2025: York Library Service Assessment of Need
·
4 December
2025: Healthy Weight, and Capital Project Management
·
26
February 2026: Digital Switchover
·
15 April
2026: School Attendance/Attainment Gap, and York Community
Woodland
Attendance
for each session has been around 15-20 Members and feedback to date
has been positive from both Members and officers. The first session
for the 2026/27 municipal year will focus on changes to the Humber
and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB).
Lisa Pope, Director of Commissioning and Partnerships at York and
North Yorkshire ICB, and Peter Roderick, Director of Public Health
at CYC, have been invited to update members on the latest
position.
Scrutiny Training and Development
A training
session for Members on ‘Best Practice Scrutiny –
Training for Councillors’ with trainer David McGrath, was
held on 19 February 2026. This covered a range of areas including:
the role and purpose of Scrutiny - linked to members' purpose and
role as a councillor; rules and reference points; key outcomes,
with case studies; questioning strategies; and assessing and
improving the effective use of committee time. Just under twenty
Members attended, and feedback received has been generally
positive.
Ongoing
Member training and development around Scrutiny will be considered
by the Member Development and Training Working Group.
Tracking progress
At its
meeting on 2 March, the Corporate Scrutiny Committee agreed a
suggested approach to tracking recommendations made by Scrutiny to
Executive. A tracker will be maintained and updated by Democratic
Services and, as is already the case with Council Motions and
Petitions. The Committee will receive updates twice a year,
starting in autumn 2026.
A
‘traffic light system’ will be used by the Committee to
assess the level of progress made against each of the
recommendations and decide whether any further scrutiny activity is
required. As part of this work Members have requested that a review
of Scrutiny recommendations made since the start of the current
administration is undertaken by the Scrutiny Officer, for inclusion
on the tracker where appropriate.
Corporate
Scrutiny Committee
Membership 2025/26:
Cllr Nigel Ayre, Cllr Anna Baxter, Cllr Jo Coles, Cllr Stephen
Fenton, Cllr Dave Merrett, Cllr Anna Perrett (from Feb. 2026), Cllr
Kallum Taylor, Cllr Richard Watson, Cllr Margaret Wells (to Feb.
2026) and Cllr Paula Widdowson.
·
Corporate
Scrutiny Committee meeting details, minutes and agendas:
https://democracy.york.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CommitteeId=1117
·
Webcasts
of Corporate Scrutiny Committee:
https://www.york.gov.uk/webcasts-1/webcasts-corporate-scrutiny-committee
As the Council’s statutory scrutiny committee, the Corporate
Scrutiny Committee has responsibility for overseeing and supporting
the work of all three Scrutiny Committees, monitoring progress
against petitions received and motions approved by Council, and
scrutiny of a range of areas including finance, major capital
projects, Customer Services, Digital and ICT, and Climate
Change.
During 2025/26 it held eight Committee meetings, including regular
reporting on Council motions and petitions, major projects
including York Station Gateway and the Castle and Eye Project,
Business Sustainability, Communications Strategy, and a number of
items relating to the revision of Scrutiny arrangements. It also
received two final reports of Task and Finish Groups, in relation
to the Boundary Commission Review of Council Size, and Budget and
Medium-Term Financial Strategy; further details of Task and Finish
Groups are set out later in this report.
Corporate Scrutiny Committee Meetings 2025/26
|
Date
|
Scrutiny item
|
Detail
|
|
9 June
2025
|
Major Projects
- York Station Gateway and York Outer Ring Road
|
Pre-decision
Scrutiny
|
|
Budget Setting
Process
|
Task and Finish
Group
|
|
7 July
2025
|
Harewood Whin
Green Energy Park
|
Pre-decision
Scrutiny
|
|
Budget and
Medium-Term Financial Strategy Scrutiny, Task and Finish
Group
|
Task and Finish
Group
|
|
Boundary
Commission Electoral Review - Council Size, Task and Finish
Group
|
Task and Finish
Group
|
|
8 Sept.
2025
|
10-year
Anti-Poverty Strategy
|
Pre-decision
Scrutiny
|
|
Next steps for
securing investment in York: the York Prospectus
|
|
|
2024/25 Finance
and Performance Outturn
|
Annual
Update
|
|
A
Shared Vision for Scrutiny in York
|
Scrutiny
Management
|
|
1 Oct.
2025
|
Major Projects
- Castle and Eye Project
|
Pre-decision
Scrutiny
|
|
Corporate
Communications and Engagement Strategy
|
Pre-decision
Scrutiny
|
|
City of York
Council's Size Submission - report to the Boundary Commission,
Phase One, October 2025
|
Task and Finish
Group
|
|
10 Nov.
2025
|
Annual
Complaints Performance and Service Improvements Report April 2024 -
March 2025
|
Annual
Update
|
|
Climate Change
Audit Report 2025
|
|
|
Monitoring and
Tracking of Approved Council Motions
|
Six-monthly
Update
|
|
Process to
respond to Council Motions
|
Scrutiny
Management
|
|
Petitions
Schedule
|
Six-monthly
Update
|
|
19 Jan.
2026
|
Draft Report of
the Budget and Medium-Term Financial Strategy Task and Finish
Group
|
Task and Finish
Group
|
|
2 March
2026
|
Business
Sustainability Programme
|
|
|
Scrutiny
Recommendation Tracking
|
Scrutiny
Management
|
|
11 May
2026
|
Monitoring and
Tracking of Approved Council Motions
|
Six-monthly
Update
|
|
Schedule of
Petitions
|
Six-monthly
Update
|
Corporate Scrutiny Committee,
3 March 2026
Call-In
The
Corporate Scrutiny Committee has responsibility for considering
Call-In requests. One Call-In meeting was held during the 2025-26
municipal year, in relation to a key decision of the Executive made
on 14 April 2026 in relation to the Housing Delivery Programme
Delivery Strategy. This decision was called in
by Cllr Nigel
Ayre, Cllr Andrew Hollyer and Cllr Derek Wann.
A Call-In
meeting was held on
5 May
2026. With
four Members finding there had been a breach, and five Members
finding there had not been a breach, the Call-In fell
and the
original decision made by Executive, which had been paused, was
released for implementation.
People
Scrutiny Committee
Membership 2025/26:
Cllr
Jane Burton, Cllr Tony Clarke (to Feb. 2026), Cllr Ian Cuthbertson,
Cllr Ashley Mason, Cllr John Moroney, Cllr Emily Nelson, Cllr Danny
Myers (from Feb. 2026), Cllr Michael Nicholls, Cllr Carol Runciman
and Cllr Andrew Waller.
·
People
Scrutiny Committee meeting details, minutes and agendas:
https://democracy.york.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CommitteeId=1120
·
Webcasts
of People Scrutiny Committee:
https://www.york.gov.uk/webcasts-1/webcasts-people-scrutiny-committee
The People
Scrutiny Committee has responsibility for scrutinising Adult Social
Care, Children’s Services, Housing and Homelessness, and
Public Health, as well as scrutiny of health service partners.
During 2025/26 it held six Committee meetings, providing scrutiny
of a number of topics including SEND Strategy, the emerging
Neighbourhood Model, and Housing Tenancy Policy, including a focus
on Adult Social Care items in the later part of the municipal year
following the Care Quality Commission’s assessment of the
Council, as well as a number of pre-decision Scrutiny
items.
‘It was really helpful to have scrutiny committee support for
the Carers Strategy, raising awareness of caring in York and the
support that is available to people who have a caring
role’.
Sara Storey, Corporate Director of Adult Social Care and
Integration
People Scrutiny Committee Meetings 2025/26
|
Date
|
Scrutiny item
|
Detail
|
|
11
June 2025
|
Work
Planning
|
|
|
9
July 2025
|
York Inclusion
and Belonging Special Educational Needs and Alternative Provision
Strategy 2025-2030
|
|
|
8
October 2025
|
Neighbourhood
Model
|
|
|
Adult Social
Care Strategy
|
|
|
York Learning
2024-2025 Strategic Plan Performance
|
Annual
Update
|
|
3
December 2025
|
York Hungry
Minds - Free School Meal Pilot Update
|
|
|
Early Years and
Childcare Reforms
|
|
|
Housing Tenancy
Policy and Strategy and City of York Living Rent
|
Pre-decision
Scrutiny
|
|
17
March 2026
|
Care Quality
Commission Local Authority Assessment
|
|
|
York Carers
Strategy 2026-2032
|
Pre-decision
Scrutiny
|
|
2026/27 Ward
Funding Allocations
|
Pre-decision
Scrutiny
|
|
15
April 2026
|
City Of York
Safeguarding Adults Safeguarding Board Annual Report
2024/25
|
Annual
Update
|
People
Scrutiny Committee,
3 December 2025
Place
Scrutiny Committee
Membership 2025/26:
Cllr Anna Baxter (to Feb. 2026), Cllr Ben Burton (to Dec. 2025),
Cllr Tony Clarke (from Feb. 2026), Cllr Stephen Fenton, Cllr Paul
Healey, Cllr Anne Hook, Cllr Danny Myers, Cllr Kallum Taylor, Cllr
Christian Vassie, Cllr Margaret Wells (from Feb. 2026) and Cllr
Conrad Whitcroft.
·
Place
Scrutiny Committee meeting details, minutes and agendas:
https://democracy.york.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CommitteeId=1122
·
Webcasts
of Place Scrutiny Committee:
https://www.york.gov.uk/webcasts-1/webcasts-place-scrutiny-committee
The Place
Scrutiny Committee has responsibility for scrutinising areas
including Transport Regulatory Services, Public Realm, Waste,
Economic Strategy, Culture and Libraries. During 2025/26 it held
six Committee meetings, providing scrutiny of topics including
Parks Investment, Household Waste Recycling, the Neighbourhood
Caretakers scheme, and Electric Vehicle Charging and Property Asset
Management Strategies.
‘On the pre scrutiny around ward funding the additional
recommendation to publish ward funded spend detail/projects on
CYC’s ward pages was a great addition, was approved by
Executive and has already been implemented’.
Pauline Stuchfield, Director of Communities
Place Scrutiny Committee Meetings 2025/26
|
Date
|
Scrutiny item
|
Detail
|
|
24
June 2025
|
Parks
Investment Fund
|
Pre-decision
Scrutiny
|
|
23
Sept. 2025
|
Parks
Investment Fund
|
Pre-decision
Scrutiny
|
|
Household Waste
Recycling Centre Operations
|
|
|
25
Nov. 2025
|
Community
Transport Study Proposal (Dial and Ride)
|
|
|
Electric
Vehicle Charging Strategy
|
|
|
26
Jan. 2026
|
Asset
Management Strategy - 2026 to 2031
|
Pre-decision
Scrutiny
|
|
24
March 2026
|
Rougier Route:
Improving Bus Reliability in York City Centre
|
|
|
Local Transport
Strategy Update
|
|
|
19
May 2026
|
Neighbourhood
Caretakers Development and Update
|
|
|
Task and Finish
Group Proposal: Section 106 Agreements Process
Improvements
|
Task and Finish
Group
|
Place Scrutiny Committee, 23 September
2025
Task and Finish Groups
Following Recommendation 7 of the CfGS review to undertake policy
development in the form of task groups, more emphasis has been
placed in 2025/26 in conducting in-depth Scrutiny work in the form
of Task and Finish Groups (TFGs).
A total of seven TFGs were established across the course of the
municipal year, although only four of these were active during the
year itself. Two TFGs have issued final reports. Details of each
TFG are set out below.
Boundary Review Task and Finish Group
Members:
Cllr Dave Merrett (Chair), Cllr Jo Coles, Cllr Andrew Hollyer, Cllr
Chris Steward, and Cllr Derek Wann.
Reporting
to the Corporate Scrutiny Committee. This Group has now concluded
its work in developing the Council’s submission on Council
Size to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England
(LGBCE). Group meetings were held 18 August, 1 September, 17
September and 23 September. The Group’s report was endorsed
unanimously by the Corporate Scrutiny Committee on 1 October, and
then agreed at an Extraordinary Council meeting held on 16 October
ahead of submission to the LGBCE on 17 October.
The final
report of this Group, as agreed by Council, can be found
here:
https://democracy.york.gov.uk/documents/s185888/Final%20V5%20Boundary%20Commission%20Submission.pdf
The
Corporate Scrutiny Committee agreed on 11 May to re-establish this
TFG to consider the new ward boundaries proposed by LGBCE. The
Group is due to meet in June 2026, and is expected to submit its
report to Corporate Scrutiny and then, if the Committee agrees to
endorse it, Council in July 2026.
Budget and Medium-Term Financial Strategy Task and Finish
Group
Members:
Cllr Anna Baxter (Chair), Cllr Nigel Ayre, Cllr Anne Hook, and Cllr
John Moroney.
Reporting
to the Corporate Scrutiny Committee. The Committee agreed to
establish a TFG to explore the Budget and Medium Term Financial
Strategy at its June 2025 meeting, in part in response to the
recommendation of CfGS to that Scrutiny should take ‘a more deliberate and planned approach to
budget
scrutiny throughout the year’. The
TFG’s remit was agreed by the Committee in July
2025.
Group
meetings were then held on 4 September, 6 October, 3 November and
10 November 2025, and 5 January 2026. The Group’s final
report contained seven recommendations relating to ongoing Budget
scrutiny, the Budget-setting process, Adult Social Care, Member
training and development, communications and engagement, and
tracking progress. These were agreed by the Committee at its
meeting on 17 January and then endorsed unanimously by Executive at
its meeting on 3 March. This was the first TFG to present
recommendations to Executive under the new arrangements.
The final
report of this Group can be found here:
https://democracy.york.gov.uk/documents/s187596/Item%207%20-%20Report%20of%20the%20Budget%20and%20Medium%20Term%20Financial%20Strategy%20Task%20and%20Finish%20Group%20-%20Annex%20A.pdf
The
Group’s report has been included in the CfGS Scrutiny Review
Library here: https://www.cfgs.org.uk/scrutiny-reviews/
This TFG
has been re-established with the same membership for the new budget
cycle and met on 16 March to consider next steps. Further meetings
were held on 13 April, 11 May and 18 May, with a series of
interview sessions with Executive Members and senior officers to
consider Budget issues relating to each Council Directorate
scheduled for June and July 2026.
Changes to Welfare Benefits Task and Finish Group
Members:
Cllr Stephen Fenton (Chair), Cllr Jane Burton, Cllr Jo Coles, Cllr
Carol Runciman, and Cllr Chris Steward.
Reporting to the People
Scrutiny Committee. This TFG originated with Corporate Scrutiny
Committee (CSC), following a Council resolution passed on 27 March
2025; full details can be found at
https://democracy.york.gov.uk/documents/s183012/Annex%20A%20Task%20and%20Finish%20Proposal%20v0.3.pdf
Group meetings have been
held 15 July, 19 August, 16 September and 1 October 2025. Work then
paused pending further details on changes to Personal Independence
Payments (PIP) expected in 2026. To date the Group has consulted
with representatives of a number of organisations, including the
Financial Inclusion Steering Group, the Welfare Benefits Unit, and
Citizens Advice York.
Work re-commenced in May
2026; TFG members are considering an interim report and
recommendations, ahead of a planned final report to be issued after
the Timms Review Personal Independence Payment (PIP) has reported,
likely to be in autumn 2026.
Adult Social Care Finance Joint Task and Finish Group
Members:
Cllr Michael Nicholls (Chair), Cllr Nigel Ayre, Cllr Jane Burton,
Cllr John Moroney, and Cllr Carol Runciman.
Reporting
to the Corporate and People Scrutiny Committees (the former is this
TFG’s ‘parent’ committee). This TFG was
established following both Committee’s agreement to the
recommendation of the Budget and MTFS TFG to ‘establish a standing joint Task and Finish Group to
review the financial
challenges within Adult Social Care on a regular
basis.’ A scoping meeting was held on in April and
the TFG’s remit was agreed, with further meeting scheduled in
June and July 2026.
Food Insecurity Task and Finish Group
Members:
Cllr Emilie Knight and Cllr Emily Nelson
Reporting
to the People Scrutiny Committee. This TFG originated following a
Council resolution in July 2023 and previously reported to the
former Children, Culture and Communities Scrutiny Committee.
Initial investigative work has concluded and a draft report is now
in preparation, with the aim of final recommendations being
presented to Committee in September 2026.
Housing Repairs
Task and Finish Group
Members:
Cllr Andrew
Waller, Cllr Ashley Mason, Cllr Anna Perrett, Cllr Jason Rose, and
Cllr Chris Steward.
Reporting to the People
Scrutiny Committee. The Committee agreed to establish a TFG in
response to concerns over tenant satisfaction with the
Council’s repairs service. A scoping meeting was held in
April 2026 with a more detailed remit due to be reported to the
committee in July 2026, with fieldwork, including meetings with
residents’ associations, expected to begin over summer
2026.
Section 106 Agreements Process Improvements
Task and Finish Group
Members: Cllr Chris
Steward, Cllr Dave Merrett, Cllr Keith Orrell, and Cllr Christian
Vassie.
Reporting to
the Place Scrutiny Committee. This TFG’s remit was agreed by
the Committee 19 May 2026 and follows a September
2025 Council Motion around planning process improvements. Details
can be found at:
https://democracy.york.gov.uk/documents/s189235/Task%20and%20Finish%20Proposal%20s106.pdf
Consultation
with the Council’s auditors Veritau has taken place with a
view to ensuring this work complements rather than duplicates
Veritau’s audit of the Section 106 process. This TFG is due
to hold its first meeting in July 2026.
Looking Ahead
The
emphasis in 2025/26 has been on establishing the mechanisms and
structures to strengthen Scrutiny at York and enable it to more
effectively ensure democratic accountability, support good decision
making, and enhance service delivery. While progress has been made,
there is still work to do to achieve the shared vision of a
Member-led Scrutiny function which is held in high regard by its
partners and stakeholders, and which will make a positive impact
for the citizens of York.
Member Survey
A Member
survey was carried out during May and June 2026, aimed at gathering
feedback on the first year of operation of the new scrutiny
arrangements, with a view to informing work to further improve
Scrutiny over the year ahead. Member responses covered a range of
Scrutiny activity, noting improvements whilst highlighting a number
of areas where work remains to be done.
In
particular, there were generally positive responses to the new
Scrutiny Member Briefing Sessions, while responses around Task and
Finish work tended to more tentative; with an increasing amount of
TFG work now underway, it should be possible gather more
substantive feedback on this aspect of Scrutiny later in the new
municipal year. Work planning was identified as an area of
weakness, including several comments around the need for a more
fully developed Executive Forward Plan to enable more effective
work programming and timely pre-decision scrutiny, alongside
continuing work to communicate the changes to Scrutiny
effectively.
Members
were also asked to provide a score from 1 to 5 for how effectively
they considered particular aspects of the new arrangements. In
assessing the effectiveness of Scrutiny at York overall, responses
to the CfGS review in late 2024 (using the same scoring system)
averaged 2.12; the average of 2.67 from responses to the 2026
survey compares favourably and suggests progress has been
made.
Member Survey, average score:
Ambitions for 2026/27
The
Scrutiny Review Working Group retains a watching brief over ongoing
work to improve Scrutiny, and having carefully considered feedback
from a recent Member survey, has identified a number of ambitions
to further embed the new approach and continue to improve Scrutiny
at York in the year ahead.
·
Task and Finish Work: To
further embed the new approach to conducting detailed Scrutiny work
through Task and Finish work and encourage more Members to
participate.
·
Pre-Decision Scrutiny:
To seek to conduct more Scrutiny work in advance of decisions to
enable Members to provide more meaningful input into decisions made
by the Executive; and to work with officers to develop a clearer
distinction in how pre-decision items (i.e. where Scrutiny is
effectively considering a final draft of a decision report) are
classified, as against providing input into policy development at
an early stage.
·
Committee Work:
To further embed a focus on meaningful items where Scrutiny can
have an impact; including fewer single-item agendas and fewer
information-only reports. A reduced number of the latter should
allow for more of Members’ time to spent scrutinising
substantive items, and participating in in-depth Task and Finish
work.
·
Briefing Sessions:
To develop a more rigorous approach to ensuring that
information-only items, where Scrutiny Members’ views are not
being sought, are reported to informal briefing sessions, rather
than formal public Committee meetings.
·
Work Planning:
To develop
a more systematic approach to work planning in order to identify
and prioritise agenda items, key lines of enquiry and potential
impact.
·
Health Scrutiny: To
develop a more systematic approach to Scrutiny of Health, seeking
to work with partners to enable constructive scrutiny of local
health services.
·
Executive Forward Plan: To work
closely with CfGS to develop a more detailed and planned Executive
Forward Plan, so that Scrutiny can have sight of issues in
sufficient time to meaningfully contribute.
Get
Involved in Scrutiny
Our public participation scheme encourages residents to attend
meetings and participate. You can come along and observe any public
Scrutiny meeting or arrange to contribute to the debate and express
your views by registering to speak; find out how to have your
say.
https://www.york.gov.uk/AttendCouncilMeetings
York residents can suggest possible topics for review either
through public participation at a Scrutiny meeting, or by
contacting the Chair of the relevant Scrutiny Committee. For more
information contact Democratic Services by email:
democratic.services@york.gov.uk
https://www.york.gov.uk/performance-policies/overview-scrutiny
