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Summary when the minutes are published, usually a few weeks after the meeting.
The Committee considered the Council's annual self-assessment of its Corporate Plan for 2025-26 and the Climate Change Plan annual report, and made recommendations on both. It also confirmed that its meeting on 22 April 2027 could be cancelled because it falls in the pre-election period.
The Committee heard a petition on unsafe roads in Wentlooge and asked for it to be referred to the Head of Infrastructure for a formal response. It also agreed a three-month maximum response time for its scrutiny recommendations, and made several requests on the Annual Digital Report and the Strategic Equalities Plan annual report. Both reports are yearly reviews, and the Committee said it was content with them.
Members also asked for a follow-up on an action that had not been updated.
The Committee considered draft reports on the Welsh Language Annual Monitoring Report 2025-26 and the Scrutiny Annual Report 2025-26, and an update on its actions and work programme. It made comments and recommendations on both reports, asking for more data and clearer wording, and it was content with each. It also asked that Heads of Service attend if outstanding actions remain unanswered by the next meeting.
The Committee considered a petition calling for no change to the Old Green roundabout in Newport. It noted the petition and agreed to refer it to Cabinet, recommending that Cabinet pass it to the Welsh Government. The Scrutiny Adviser also reported on outstanding actions and the work programme.
The Committee considered the draft 2026/27 budget and Medium-Term Financial Plan, and the process and public engagement behind it. It said it was content with the draft report and asked for the confirmed inflation figure for Newport. The Committee also reviewed scrutiny actions and its work programme.
The Committee considered the Empty Homes Strategy 2025-30 and made comments and recommendations to Cabinet. It said it was content with the strategy, but asked for a more ambitious target and a progress report next year. It also reviewed its work programme and the responses to its earlier recommendations.
The Committee considered the council's 2024-25 self-assessment of its Corporate Plan with an update to the plan for 2025-27, the 2024-25 Strategic Equalities Plan annual report, and scrutiny adviser reports on actions and future work. It made recommendations on the Corporate Plan papers, asked for more detail in the equalities report, and raised concerns about follow-up on the Community Parenting Strategy. The Committee was content with both annual reports.
The Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, which checks and challenges council work, questioned officers on the Annual Digital Report 2024-25 and the Community Parenting Strategy. It was content with both and made comments and recommendations on each.
The Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee considered the Annual Information Risk Report 2024-25 and the Climate Change Plan Annual Report 2024-25. On the information report, it asked for clearer graphs and more focus on training attendance, and it was content with the report. On the climate report, it asked for a simpler version for the public, a stronger summary and information on schools with solar panels.
At its meeting on 12 June 2025, the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee considered the draft Welsh Language Annual Monitoring Report 2024-25 and the draft Scrutiny Annual Report 2024-25. It recommended adding a column on unknown Welsh language skills to a staff table, and making the scrutiny report's Getting Involved section more visually striking. It was content with both reports.
The committee considered the Annual Corporate Safeguarding Report 2024-25 and the new Socially Responsible Procurement Strategy 2025-2030. It made recommendations on safeguarding data and said it was content with the procurement strategy. It also asked for two more updates on the Anti-Poverty Strategy before the end of the Council term in 2027.
The plan sets out how the council intends to prevent poverty, support people who are in poverty and create routes out of it. Councillors made nine comments and recommendations, including more detail on credit unions, ward-level deprivation data, more action on homelessness, and progress reports before the end of the council term. The minute does not record that the committee approved the strategy.
The Committee considered the Council's 2025-26 budget and medium-term financial plan, focusing on how the budget was prepared and how the public was consulted. It made comments and recommendations, including asking for a later report on the consultation results and for future budget consultations to start after Christmas. It also considered routine scrutiny reports on outstanding actions and the work programme.
The committee considered the draft Corporate Wellbeing Self-Assessment 2023-24 and the Strategic Equalities Plan Annual Report 2023-24, and made several recommendations on both. It was content with both reports. It also agreed to cancel its 27 September 2024 meeting, which had no main items.
At its meeting on 26 July 2024 the Committee considered the draft Adaptations Policy, which sets out grants for adapting homes for disabled residents, and the Annual Digital Report 2023-24. The minutes record that the Committee was content with both reports. For the digital report, the Committee also asked for the difference between robotic process automation and artificial intelligence to be made clearer.
At its meeting on 12 July 2024 the Committee scrutinised the Annual Information Risk Report 2023-24 and the Climate Change Plan Annual Report 2023-24. It asked for more detail on 'technical security failings', on complex subject access requests and on training data, and for clearer red and amber ratings in the climate report. It was content with both reports and noted that the Anti-Poverty Strategic Plan had been added to its 25 October 2024 meeting.
On 7 June 2024 the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee considered the draft Welsh Language Annual Monitoring Report 2023-24 and the Scrutiny Annual Report 2023-24. On the Welsh report it made comments and recommendations, including on the uptake of Welsh medium education, and on the scrutiny report it agreed the content was accurate and recommended further work on public engagement and the committee structure. It also noted actions from earlier meetings and the draft work programme for 2024-25.
The Committee made a series of recommendations asking officers for a clearer structure diagram, clearer and separated training data, and more detail in future reports.
The Committee considered two draft plans: the Strategic Asset Management Plan 2023-28, which sets out how the council manages its land and buildings, and the Strategic Equality Plan 2024-28, which sets out its equality objectives for the next four years. On the asset plan, the Committee asked for a review of the 2018 plan and recommended annual scrutiny with an annual delivery plan. On the equality plan, it asked for more promotion to young people, more use of data, and better access for residents with low digital skills.
The Committee considered the draft 2024-25 council budget and Medium Term Financial Plan, which sets out spending and savings over several years. Members questioned officers on school and grant funding and on Fairness and Equality Impact Assessments, the documents that test proposals for their effect on people. The Committee was content with the budget and consultation processes and agreed to forward the minutes of two Performance Scrutiny Committees to Cabinet.
The Committee considered a draft People Plan for 2023 to 2028, the draft Scrutiny Annual Report for 2022-23 and its regular scrutiny adviser reports. On the People Plan and the annual report, it recommended changes to presentation and wording. It also recommended that the number of residents who contact the City Contact Centre because they cannot use online services be recorded.
The Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, a group of councillors that checks the council's work, met on 27 October 2023 to consider the Air Quality Action Plan for 2023-28 and an update on budget consultation arrangements for 2024/25. Its main decision was to recommend a plain-English summary of the air quality plan, published alongside the consultation. It also accepted a confidential scrutiny topic referral and agreed to make arrangements to deal with it.
The Committee scrutinised two annual reports: the Corporate Plan Self-Assessment Report 2022/23, which is the council's own check on its progress against its four well-being objectives, and the Strategic Equalities Plan Annual Report 2022-23. It also reviewed outstanding actions and its work programme. The minutes record the Committee's views on both reports as recommendations, not formal decisions.
The Committee considered the Annual Digital Report 2022-23, which reviews the council's IT and digital work, and questioned officers on the new website, IT response times, training and digital inclusion. It recommended that the next annual report include progress on the website redesign, and asked for an update on the redesign in six months. It also noted an update on outstanding actions and changes to its forward work programme.