Harrow Council's Overview and Scrutiny Committee has outlined its key priorities for the 2025-2026 municipal year in its annual report, presented on Wednesday, March 11, 2026. The report, developed by the Scrutiny Leadership Group, details the committee's work in areas including financial sustainability, safeguarding, workforce stability, and strategic direction.

The committee's work included a detailed examination of the Inspecting Local Authority Children's Services (ILACS) review. Scrutiny considered the final ILACS report in July, which required considerable attention and detailed examination from members. A key focus of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee's work was delving deeper into the impacts of service changes and providing insights into the outcomes from the ILACS feedback.

Key priorities for the 2025-2026 work programme included financial sustainability and budget scrutiny. The committee played a key role in overseeing Harrow's financial stability by reviewing the Final Revenue Budget for 2026/27 and the Medium-Term Financial Strategy to 2028/29. This ensured councillors challenged financial assumptions, highlighted service pressures, and scrutinised long-term sustainability. Scrutiny comments were fed through to Cabinet as it made final decisions on the council's future budget priorities.

Improved safeguarding oversight was also a focus, with an examination of the Harrow Safeguarding Children Partnership Report. Workforce stability and service capacity were addressed through scrutiny of the Workforce Development Programme and the council's reliance on agency staff. The committee scrutinised the programme and long-term reliance on agency staff, focusing on high-risk areas such as Children's Services and Culture, Environment & Economy. The report indicated a reduction in spending on agency staff from November 2025, with plans to further reduce agency costs including agreed business cases, limiting renewals, increasing temporary to permanent moves, tightening controls, and challenging agency usage.

Strategic direction was considered through the review of the new Corporate Plan 2026-27, ensuring alignment with Harrow's overarching priorities: Putting residents first, Making the borough safe and clean, and Supporting those in need.

The report also detailed the work of the sub-committees. The Health and Social Care Sub-Committee monitored NHS partners and examined pressures on adult social care services. Specifically, the sub-committee examined adult social care performance, with particular attention to hospital discharge arrangements, the availability of care packages, and support for older residents and those with complex needs.

Councillor Graham Henson commented on the importance of cabinet members attending scrutiny meetings. He stated, I think the leader of the Council and Councillor David Ashton have both come regularly to scrutiny meetings. And I think that debate has allowed for a more richer discussion to take place. He expressed disappointment that some of the other Cabinet members haven't come along when we've been scrutinising the reports, adding, It's just a pity that some of the others haven't wanted to come along. I think it would have helped some of the debates we've had. Councillor Henson noted that when they were here, when Paul Osborne was here and when David Ashton was here, we had a proper and open debate.

The report highlighted that scrutiny had made a meaningful impact by reviewing several items and posing direct, relevant questions that have strengthened understanding of Council processes. It also emphasized the value added to the community through scrutiny members' engagement with residents, ensuring their voices were heard.

Future priorities for scrutiny include long-term financial sustainability and regeneration. Looking ahead, scrutiny will continue to focus on the long-term financial sustainability of the Council, recognising the significant pressures facing local government funding. Regeneration and town centre renewal will also be key areas of interest, particularly in relation to economic growth, business support, and the revitalisation of local high streets. Other future priorities include children's social care improvement, digital transformation, customer service performance, and the reduction of health inequalities.

The report was scheduled to be submitted to Full Council for endorsement.