Agenda and decisions

Overview and Scrutiny Committee - Tuesday, 9th June, 2026 7.30 pm

Venue: Council Chamber - District Council Offices, Gernon Road, Letchworth, SG6 3JF. View directions

Contact: Email: ScrutinyOfficer@north-herts.gov.uk 01462 474655

Media

Items
No.	Item
1.	APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Members are required to notify any substitutions by midday on the day of the meeting. Late substitutions will not be accepted and Members attending as a substitute without having given the due notice will not be able to take part in the meeting. Decision: There were no apologies for absence received.
2.	MINUTES - 24 MARCH 2026 PDF 310 KB To take as read and approve as a true record the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 24 March 2026. Decision: *RESOLVED:*That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 24 March 2026 were approved as a true record of the proceedings and signed by the Chair.
3.	NOTIFICATION OF OTHER BUSINESS Members should notify the Chair of other business which they wish to be discussed at the end of either Part I or Part II business set out in the agenda. They must state the circumstances which they consider justify the business being considered as a matter of urgency. The Chair will decide whether any item(s) raised will be considered. Decision: There was no other business notified.
4.	CHAIR'S ANNOUNCEMENTS Members are reminded that any declarations of interest in respect of any business set out in the agenda, should be declared as either a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest or Declarable Interest and are required to notify the Chair of the nature of any interest declared at the commencement of the relevant item on the agenda. Members declaring a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest must withdraw from the meeting for the duration of the item. Members declaring a Declarable Interest, wishing to exercise a ‘Councillor Speaking Right’, must declare this at the same time as the interest, move to the public area before speaking to the item and then must leave the room before the debate and vote. Decision: (1) The Chair advised that, in accordance with Council Policy, the meeting would be recorded. (2) The Chair drew attention to the item on the agenda front pages regarding Declarations of Interest and reminded Members that, in line with the Code of Conduct, any Declarations of Interest needed to be declared immediately prior to the item in question. (3) The Chair advised that for the purposes of clarification clause 4.8.23(a) of the Constitution does not apply to this meeting. (4) The Chair reminded Members of the adopted North Herts Scrutiny Charter and the need to ensure that the meeting was conducted with independence, initiative and integrity. The full Charter was available to Members via the Scrutiny Intranet pages.
5.	PUBLIC PARTICIPATION To receive petitions, comments and questions from the public. Decision: There was no public participation.
6.	URGENT AND GENERAL EXCEPTION ITEMS The Chair to report on any urgent or general exception items which required their agreement. At the time of printing the agenda, the Chair had not agreed any urgent or general exception items. Decision: The Chair noted one urgent item in relation to the Churchgate Regeneration Project – Update & Next Steps. The Chair provided details for its urgency and advised that the full Urgency Notice for this item had been published on the Council website.
7.	CALLED-IN ITEMS To consider any matters referred to the Committee for a decision in relation to a call-in of decision. At the time of printing the agenda, no items of business had been called-in. Decision: There were no called-in items.
8.	MEMBERS' QUESTIONS To receive and respond to any questions from Members either set out in the agenda or tabled at the meeting. Decision: No questions had been submitted by Members.
9.	INFORMATION NOTE: FULL YEAR PERFORMANCE UPDATE ON 3C'S 25/26 PDF 134 KB INFORMATION NOTE OF THE CUSTOMER & DIGITAL SERVICES MANAGER This information note is to provide an update on the full year (25/26) performance regarding the Comments, Compliments and Complaints (3C’s) for the Council and the contractors that provide services on the Council’s behalf. This briefing note accompanies the 3C’s dashboard at Appendix A, and the breakdown of 3C’s by service and type at Appendix B. Additional documents: Appendix A 3C's 25/26 , item 9. PDF 176 KB Appendix B 3C's 25/26 , item 9. PDF 230 KB Decision: Councillor Sean Nolan, as Executive Member for Customers, presented the Information Note entitled ‘Full Year Update on Comments, Compliments and Complaints (3C’s) 25/26’, following which Members asked questions.
10.	EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC To consider passing the following resolution: That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting on the grounds that the following report will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 3 and 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act (as amended). Decision: *RESOLVED:* That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting on the grounds that the following report will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 3 and 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act (as amended).
11.	CHURCHGATE REGENERATION PROJECT UPDATE & NEXT STEPS - PART 2 View the reasons why item 11. is restricted View the background to item 11. View the decision for item 11. REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR – ENTERPRISE To provide an update on the project progress so far, and report on suggested next steps and milestones in preparation for the Cabinet decision in June and Full Council decision in July. Decision: Details of the decision taken on this item are restricted due to the disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 3 and 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of Section 200A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).
12.	CHURCHGATE REGENERATION PROJECT UPDATE & NEXT STEPS - PART 1 PDF 151 KB View the background to item 12. View the decision for item 12. REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR – ENTERPRISE To provide an update on the project progress so far, and report on suggested next steps and milestones in preparation for the Cabinet decision in June and Full Council decision in July. Additional documents: Churchgate Regeneration Project & Next Steps Part 1 - Updated , item 12. PDF 158 KB Decision: *RESOLVED:* That the recommendation to Full Council and Cabinet was noted, and that the Overview & Scrutiny Committee also noted the provided update/next steps of the project. *RECOMMENDED TO CABINET:* That Cabinet recommends that Council approves the allocation of additional funds, referencing the Part 2 report. *REASON FOR RECOMMENDATION:* To ensure that the Overview & Scrutiny Committee are content with the decisions being put forward to Cabinet on 16 June 2026 and to Full Council on 16 July 2026. This report provides an overview of the recent work completed and details how the project team and Project Board propose to move forward – providing the Committee with an opportunity to ask any further details.
13.	LOCAL GOVERNMENT REORGANISATION FUNDING PDF 164 KB View the background to item 13. View the decision for item 13. REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR – RESOURCES To seek agreement on how the LGR funding will be allocated, including decision making processes. Decision: RECOMMENDED TO CABINET: (1) That Cabinet approve that up to £1 million of the available funding be allocated to county-wide costs. Any contribution will be based on a fair share from each Council and can be approved by the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Executive Member for Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation and Executive Member for Resources. (2) That Cabinet approve that up to £1 million of the available funding be allocated to additional staffing costs, noting that £450k has already been allocated. Any spend can be approved by the Chief Executive in consultation with the Leader of the Council, Executive Member for Resources, Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and political Group Leaders, except where the Constitution already requires different approval processes. (3) That Cabinet approve that up to £200k of the available funding can be spent on additional training costs. Any spend can be approved by the Chief Executive in consultation with the Leader of the Council and Executive Member for Resources. (4) That any spend is subject to a cap of £1 million in 2026/27 and £2 million overall. *REASON FOR RECOMMENDATIONS:* This is intended to provide a practical framework for agreeing LGR costs. It aims to allow timely reactions in what will need to be a fast-moving project.
14.	ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE 2025/26 PDF 116 KB View the background to item 14. View the decision for item 14. REPORT OF THE CHAIR OF THE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE 2025/26 To consider the annual report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee regarding the 2025/2026 Civic Year. Additional documents: Appendix A Annual Report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee 2025-2026 , item 14. PDF 343 KB Decision: *RESOLVED:* That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered and provided comments on the draft Annual Report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee 2025/26, attached as Appendix 1, prior to consideration by Full Council. *RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL:* That the Annual Report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee 2025/26, as attached at Appendix 1, be noted. *REASON FOR RECOMMENDATIONS:* To enable the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to consider and comment on the report of the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee regarding the work of the Committee in the 2025/26 Civic Year prior to consideration by Full Council.
15.	OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE WORK PROGRAMME 2026/27 PDF 126 KB View the background to item 15. View the decision for item 15. REPORT OF THE SCRUTINY OFFICER This report highlights items scheduled in the work programme of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for the 2026-27 Civic Year. It also includes items that have not yet been assigned to a specific meeting of the Committee. Additional documents: Appendix 1 – Work Programme of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee 2026-2027 , item 15. PDF 22 KB Appendix 2 - FORWARD PLAN - 15 MAY 2026 , item 15. PDF 36 KB Appendix 3 – Overview and Scrutiny Decisions and Monitoring Log , item 15. PDF 61 KB Decision: RESOLVED: (1) That the Committee prioritised topics for inclusion in the Work Programme attached as Appendix 1 and, where appropriate, determined the high-level form and timing of scrutiny input. (2) That the Committee, having considered the most recent iteration of the Forward Plan, as attached at Appendix 2, suggested a list of items to be considered at its meetings in the coming civic year. (3) That the Committee, noted the Decisions and Monitoring log, as attached at Appendix 3. REASONS FOR DECISIONS: (1) To allow the Committee to set a work programme which provides focused Member oversight, encourages open debate and seeks to achieve service improvement through effective policy development and meaningful policy and service change. (2) The need to observe Constitutional requirements and monitor the Forward Plan for appropriate items to scrutinise remains a key aspect of work programming.