Agenda and draft minutes

To consider the minutes of the previous meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board held on 3 February 2026 and to approve them as a true and correct record of the proceedings and to be signed by the Chair.

Resolved: That the Minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board held on 3 February 2026 be approved as a true record.

To consider the minutes of the previous meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board held on 4 February 2026 and to approve them as a true and correct record of the proceedings and to be signed by the Chair.

Resolved: That the Minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board held on 4 February 2026 be approved as a true record.

To receive declarations of interest from Members in respect of items listed on the agenda.

No declarations of interest were made.

To receive questions relating to items of business on the agenda from members of the public or press who are present at the meeting.

No questions were received. The Chair explained in relation to the enquiry received last month from a member of the public, it was forwarded on to the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority. The Mayoral Combined Authority subsequently responded and requested that the individual contact them directly. The member of public had been informed of this requirement.

To consider whether the press and public should be excluded from the meeting during consideration of any part of the agenda.

There were no reasons to exclude the press or public.

Report from the Executive Director of Children and Young People’s Services.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:

1.    Note the activity to date to improve early years outcomes and tackle inequalities.

2.    Approve the Best Start Local Plan for implementation from April 2026.

At the Chair’s invitation the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children & Young People, Councillor Cusworth, introduced the report which provided an overview of the Rotherham Best Start Local Plan for 2026–2029. The plan brought together existing early years support across Rotherham, outlined how it had been developed, and set out the key steps required to achieve local ambitions.

It was noted that the Department for Education (DfE) had set a national target for 75% of children to reach a good level of development by 2028, supported by new data tools, funding, and expectations through the Best Start in Life and Plan for Change programmes. All councils were required to publish a Best Start Local Plan by March 2026.

Rotherham’s approach was guided by early intervention, partnership working, and community?based support, aligning with the Council Plan, the Health and Wellbeing Strategy, the Children and Young People’s Transformation Programme, and the Early Help Strategy. It was highlighted that Rotherham had already established an early year’s education strategy ahead of national guidance.

To support development of the plan, a Best Start Summit was held on 1 December 2025, bringing together partners from health, education, early years, and community organisations. The summit reviewed local needs, heard from families, and generated ideas that shaped the plan’s priorities.

The plan was framed around the four cornerstones of the Rotherham Charter of Co?production: welcome and care, value and include, communicate, and work in partnership. The full plan included detailed outcomes, milestones, and measures, with progress to be monitored through the Best Start and Beyond Steering Group and reported through the relevant governance structures.

The Service Director, Commissioning, Performance and Quality, Helen Sweaton noted that, under usual circumstances, the development of a plan of this nature would involve a full co?production process with families, parents, carers and, where appropriate, young children. However, the version presented was an initial plan, produced within a very short timeframe set by Central Government and the DfE.

To meet the publication deadline of the end of March, stakeholders were brought together at a summit held in December 2025. Attendance included representatives from the 0-19 service, public health, early years education, academies, education inclusion, commissioning, family help, early help, social care, the voluntary sector, the Parent Carer Forum, and partners involved in culture, sport, libraries, and the Children’s Capital of Culture programme. These participants were selected based on their experience and their ability to contribute meaningfully to identifying current activity and future opportunities.

The summit considered a comprehensive needs analysis, prepared by public health, drawing on both national data and local intelligence. From this, and in line with government expectations, key priorities were identified to strengthen Rotherham’s approach and support improved outcomes in early years development.

It was noted that the Council had raised concerns with the DfE regarding the national target set for Rotherham, as the formula used did not sufficiently reflect local context, including levels of disadvantage and the higher?than?average proportion of children with special educational  ...  view the full minutes text for item 118.

Report from the Executive Director of Regeneration and Environment.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:

1.    Notes the schemes and allocations of funding, as set out in paragraph 2.3, subject to approval of the Council Budget on 4 March 2026.

2.    Approves the schemes and allocations of funding outlined in Section 2 of this report, including the reallocation of savings made on capital projects delivered within budget as described in paragraph 1.6.

3.    Delegates authority to the Executive Director of Regeneration and Environment, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Transport, Jobs and the Local Economy, to determine the schemes to be delivered in 2026-27 through to 2029-30 with the Minor Works allocation, subject to approval of the Council Budget in March 2026.

4.    Delegates authority to the Executive Director of Regeneration and Environment, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Transport, Jobs and the Local Economy, to determine the schemes to be delivered in 2026-27 with the School Crossing Patrol Improvements allocation referred to in paragraph 2.2.6.

5.    Delegates authority to the Executive Director of Regeneration and Environment, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Transport, Jobs and the Local Economy, to determine the use of any underspends across the Transport Capital Programme to fund the delivery of other approved transport programmes, or the progression of designs for potential future projects.

At the Chair’s invitation the Cabinet Member for Transport, Jobs and the Local Economy, Councillor Williams presented the 2026–27 Transport Capital Programme ahead of Cabinet consideration. He introduced Lucy Hudson as the new permanent Head of Transportation Infrastructure and thanked Nat Porter for his interim leadership.

The programme set out planned investment in highways and transport, including maintenance, road safety, active travel, structures work and sustainable transport. Key schemes included ward?level road safety funding, Old Flatts Bridge repairs, the annual maintenance programme, design work for Fleet Bridge and new pedestrian crossings, continued minor works and design work for Treeton Lane crossroads. Funding was also allocated to develop improvements at school crossing patrol sites. Any underspend would support other approved projects or future design work.

The Service Director, Planning, Regeneration and Transport, Simon Moss, noted that Members had already discussed the schemes and allocations referenced in recommendation 1, agreed through the recent Council budget. Simon then outlined the funding position relating to recommendation 2, covering the schemes in section 2 of the report. This represented the final year of a five?year block transport funding programme, comprising £344,000 for local transport and £426,000 for highway structures. The £344,000 allocation, shown in table 1, focused on pedestrian crossings, which remained a key community priority. A further £15,000 was allocated for monitoring and evaluation, £4,000 for school crossing patrol improvements, and the remaining structures funding was set out in section 2.2.

The Vice-Chair, Councillor Bacon raised questions regarding the Treeton Lane crossroads. He noted that, in previous years, he had been advised that making changes at the junction would simply relocate the problem elsewhere and was therefore not considered worthwhile by the service or the Cabinet Member at that time. He asked what had changed since that earlier position.

In response it was explained that congestion?relief schemes were challenging to design because satellite navigation systems could redirect additional traffic through improved junctions, which was likely the basis of the earlier advice given. While this remained a consideration, he noted that other factors, such as traffic movements and junction geometry, would now be examined through the planned study to identify potential improvements at the Treeton Lane crossroads.

The Cabinet Member for Transport, Jobs and the Local Economy added that the decision to invest in design work for the Treeton Lane crossroads was a positive step. He confirmed that the long?standing concerns about the junction were recognised and that funding had now been allocated to develop and assess preferred improvement options, addressing issues that had been raised over many years.

The Vice-Chair sought clarification on why the departmental view on the Treeton Lane crossroads had changed, noting that previous advice suggested improvements would be ineffective. He asked whether this shift resulted from a political decision or a change in officer assessment and requested further detail on what the £150,000 allocation would deliver.

The Cabinet Member for Transport, Jobs and the Local Economy responded that the investment reflected recognition of long?standing concerns  ...  view the full minutes text for item 119.

To consider the Board’s Work Programme.

The Governance Manager began by providing an update on Water Safety Equipment and Bylaws Review Group noted that the group met recently to review the status of the 2022 motion on life?saving equipment and related bylaws. They concluded that the motion had already been discharged and that the current review duplicated earlier work. Members agreed that issues around life?saving equipment were largely resolved, with little evidence of ongoing problems. They instead raised broader concerns about outdated bylaws, inconsistent park rules, antisocial behaviour, and the potential use of PSPOs.

Officers advised that updating bylaws would require significant resources and robust supporting evidence. The group agreed to close the current review and use the Discrete Need Prioritisation Matrix to determine whether a wider review of public space enforcement measures, including bylaws and PSPOs across parks and country parks, was justified. The Chair had contacted all councillors to gather borough?wide evidence on park issues to inform future discussions.

The Vice-Chair questioned the robustness of the evidence feeding into the scrutiny topic prioritisation matrix. He expressed concern that relying mainly on the Chair’s email survey of members would make it difficult to draw meaningful conclusions and might result in a lower matrix score that could prevent further examination of bylaws and PSPOs. He asked whether the Chair intended to follow up with non?responding members and whether additional evidence, such as antisocial behaviour and crime data, would also be included.

The Chair confirmed that he did not intend to call members who had not responded, as they had been given sufficient time and could still approach him if they wished. He stated he would use the information received appropriately within the matrix. He agreed to raise antisocial behaviour issues with officers to identify what data could be supplied. He reiterated that elected members needed to engage if they wanted issues to be taken forward.

Councillor McKiernan reminded the group that the previous review was closed because it had become too broad and noted that the current process aimed to focus on specific, evidence?based issues. This was why the Chair had written to all members requesting clear priorities.

The Vice-Chair maintained that antisocial behaviour was clearly a wider concern for the Council and welcomed the commitment to include additional evidence in the matrix. His concern remained that the email exercise alone would not be sufficient.

The Governance Manager clarified that scrutiny members, including the Vice-Chair, would have the opportunity to participate directly in the prioritisation discussion that informs the matrix. This session would take place in closed session at a future meeting, either next month or the following one, depending on the agenda being considered.

Resolved: That the Work Programme be approved.

To receive updates from the Chairs of the Select Commission on work undertaken and planned for the future:

• Health Select Commission
• Improving Lives Select Commission
• Improving Places Select Commission

Health Select Commission update:

The Chair informed members that preparation of the Menopause Scrutiny Review report was nearing completion and would be presented to the Health Select Committee on the 14th. The group had already completed its site visit to Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) Centre at Rotherham Hospital, while the joint lung clinic visit with Barnsley had been postponed and rescheduled.

It was also noted that the South Yorkshire Cancer Alliance Lung Clinic Update, along with SDEC Implementation Update and the Confirmation of Supplementary Public Health Grants for 2026/27, would be discussed at the next meeting.

Improving Lives Select Commission update:

The Chair highlighted the Ofsted inspection outcome considered in February. Members had examined the detail of the findings and made recommendations regarding the approach to care leavers. No further updates were added beyond what had already been recorded in the written report.

Improving Places Select Commission update:

The Chair noted that the most recent meeting had taken place before publication of the accompanying report. An update was provided on several recent items considered by the committee. The flooding alleviation update had been well received, with members recognising the significant amount of work the Council was undertaking to reduce flood risk. While not all schemes were affordable, the Council was progressing those it could.

The Thriving Neighbourhoods report generated some discussion and differing views, but all questions were ultimately addressed. The market development item was positively received, and members valued the opportunity to visit the site in person rather than relying solely on meeting?based updates.

The Chair also provided an update on the meeting held the previous day on the review of events and the draft Playing Pitch Strategy. The session lasted longer than expected due to the high level of interest and the number of detailed questions raised, which members felt led to a constructive and worthwhile discussion. An update on this work would be presented at the next meeting.

To review and identify items for pre-decision scrutiny from the Forward Plan of Key Decisions.

Link to: Browse plans - Forward Plan of Key Decisions, 2025 - Rotherham Council

Before outlining the forward plan, members were reminded of the items already scheduled for consideration at the April meeting: the Climate Emergency report and the Community Governance Review, both forming part of pre?decision scrutiny, along with a progress update on the future RotherCare model requested at the meeting on 9 October 2024.

The committee then reviewed items proposed for consideration by Cabinet in April. Members considered whether the Council Plan Update and the Year Ahead Plan 2026–27 should be added to the April agenda for pre?decision scrutiny, as OSMB would normally review these items. There was broad support for including it.

Members discussed overall agenda length, the feasibility of adding an additional item and the potential need to move or defer items.

The Monitoring Officer suggested that the Community Governance Review could be removed from the April agenda if necessary, noting that this would be the beginning of a lengthy process with further opportunities for member involvement. Some members felt April would be too soon for the Council Plan items.

The Head of Democratic Services advised that the Council Plan Update and the Year Ahead Plan were best considered together, as reviewing past performance alongside future planning offered clearer context.

Following discussions, members agreed to move the Progress Update on the Future RotherCare Model to a later meeting, leaving three main items on the April agenda. A show of hands confirmed the committee’s agreement.

Resolved: That the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board:

1. Agreed that the following items would be added to the March agenda as part of OSMB’s pre-decision scrutiny work:

·       Climate Emergency Annual Report – Pre-decision Scrutiny

·       Community Governance Review – Pre-decision Scrutiny

·       Council Plan Update - Year Ahead Plan 2026/27 – Pre-decision Scrutiny

2. Agreed to defer consideration of the progress update on Future Rothercare Model to the meeting on 6 May 2026.

As part of their role the Chair and Vice Chair of OSMB are appointed to the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA) Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The Chair of OSMB is the Vice Chair on this committee.  

This committee holds the MCA to account and ensure that all aspects of the decision-making process are transparent, inclusive and fair.   The Committee are responsible for checking that the MCA is delivering its objectives and that the decisions made in policies, strategies and plans have been made in the best interests of the residents and workers of South Yorkshire.

The published agenda packs and minutes can be accessed via: South Yorkshire MCA.

Members who have comments and queries regarding any item on any agenda should refer this to the Chair of OSMB and the Governance Manager at the earliest opportunity to ensure they’re reflected in debate during the relevant public meeting.

Nothing to report at this meeting.

To consider any issues referred for call-in from recent Cabinet meetings.

There were no call-in issues.

To determine any item which the Chair is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency.

There were no urgent items.