The report provides the Committee with its approved Work Programme for 2025/26, feedback to the Committee on the decisions in respect of previous recommendations from the Committee in respect of enquiries undertaken and a list of forthcoming decisions for which public notice has been given.

The report further invites the Committee to reappoint its existing Task and Finish Groups, while also encouraging consideration of consolidating these into a single, unified Task and Finish Group.

Members had before them its approved Work Programme for 2025/26, feedback to the Committee on the decisions in respect of previous recommendations from the Committee in respect of enquiries undertaken and a list of forthcoming decisions for which public notice had been given.

Members had been invited to reappoint its existing Task and Finish Groups, whilst also considering consolidating these into a single, unified Task and Finish Group.

The Committee’s Work Programme for 2025/26, as approved by Full Council at its meeting held on 14 August 2025, included the continuation of the work of the “Joint Working with Town and Parish Councils” Task and Finish Group and the “Provision of out of School Organised Activities and Events” Task and Finish Group. That Work Programme had set out an aspiration for the final report of those Task and Finish Working Groups to be submitted to the Community Leadership Overview and Scrutiny Committee at its meeting in December 2025. To facilitate this, Members were advised that the membership of those Task and Finish Working Groups had been required to be determined at this meeting.

A list of the nominations for each of the Task and Finish Groups had been circulated as follows:

Joint Working with Town and Parish Councils

·        Councillor Steady

·        Councillor Ferguson

·        Councillor Sudra

Provision of out of School Organised Activities and Events

·        Councillor Barrett

·        Councillor Oxley

It was reported that following the last meeting of the Community Leadership Overview and Scrutiny Committee, held on 23 September 2025, it had been agreed that the Crime and Disorder (Familial Violence/Abuse) Task and Finish Group would not be reappointed and that any further matters relating to such matters would be reported directly to the Committee.

Members were reminded that it had been previously proposed that, considering the limited number of nominations, a single Task and Finish Group be established. That group would allocate dedicated time periods to conduct enquiries and draw its membership from the volunteers listed above.

The Committee was informed that Officers had recently convened with colleagues from Thanet District Council to discuss their ADSO award-nominated initiative focussed on strengthening engagement with the local college and facilitating the recruitment of T-Level students into the Democratic Services Team. The collaborative effort had aimed to enhance educational partnerships and support early career pathways into Local Government. A summary of the meeting outcomes had been provided as Appendix D to the main report (A.2).

It was reported that there had been discussions between Officers and the new Integrated Care Board (ICB) as well as KonectBuses to explore the opportunity of senior staff from each service attending the Community Leadership Overview and Scrutiny Committee in January 2026.

It was moved by Councillor Oxley, seconded by Councillor Griffiths and unanimously RESOLVED that the Committee:-

(a)   notes its approved Work Programme for 2025/26 (Appendix A) together with the feedback to the Committee on the Executive’s decisions made in respect of previous Committee recommendations (Appendix B), and the list of forthcoming decisions (Appendix C);

(b)   notes the remaining contents of the report including the informal notes of an Officers’ meeting with Thanet District Council regarding an insight into their T-Level programme;

(c)   authorises the Assistant Director Corporate Policy and Support, in consultation with the Committee’s Chairman, to determine means for pursuing the enquiries to be allocated to Task and Finish Groups, and to appoint to Task and Finish Groups and to make arrangements for the Task and Finish Groups so established to meet; and

(d)   notes the prospective opportunities detailed by officers in relation to the attendance of staff from the new Integrated Care Board and KonectBuses at its January 2026 meeting.