The Scrutiny & Overview Committee of Croydon Council met on Tuesday 21 July 2026 to discuss resident access to council services, the significant overspend in the Dedicated Schools Grant, and to review the council's work programme. The meeting also covered appointments to scrutiny sub-committees and the council's draft scrutiny work programme for the upcoming year.

Overview of Resident Access

The committee was scheduled to receive an overview of how residents access council services. This included an examination of the effectiveness and accessibility of arrangements for residents engaging with the council through its Resident Contact service, the Library Service, and the Family Hubs Service. The aim was to consider initial views on these services, make comments or recommendations to the Executive Mayor and Cabinet, and identify areas for further scrutiny in the 2026-27 work programme.

The report pack detailed the council's Unified Front Door programme, which aims to create a more joined-up approach to customer contact by centralising services, developing a skilled frontline team, and expanding digital and self-service options. It highlighted the significant volume of customer contact, with over 717,000 telephone contacts annually, and outlined the historical challenges of residents needing to understand the council's organisational structure to find the right service. The report also detailed improvements made, including the centralisation of Homelessness and Adult Social Care telephone contact, better use of customer insight, and improvements to digital services and the council website. The role of Artificial Intelligence in supporting customer service was also discussed, with the website AI Assistant having answered over 53,000 questions in the preceding eight months. The report acknowledged ongoing challenges, particularly for digitally excluded residents or those with communication barriers, and outlined next steps including expanding self-service options and reducing reliance on shared email inboxes.

The report on the Library Service detailed the current model, which includes nine static libraries, a home library service, an outreach service, and a digital library. It noted that a review in 2024 led to a new service model approved in September 2024, which extended opening hours at nine libraries to five days a week, transitioned four libraries to Community Bases operated by partner organisations, and developed an outreach service. The report indicated increased usage of the library service over the last three years, with a rise in both visits and the borrowing of physical and digital materials. It also highlighted challenges such as library spaces being oversubscribed during exam periods, anti-social behaviour, and the age and condition of some library buildings, with plans for capital investment to address these.

The report on the Family Hubs Service provided an overview of the accessibility of services for children and families, focusing on Family Hubs, the digital offer, and the Children's Social Care (CSC) front door. It noted that while Croydon has a broad range of support, the system is not yet consistently operating as an accessible, preventative pathway, with CSC continuing to receive high volumes of contacts and referrals. The report highlighted a system challenge involving visibility, navigation, coordination, and routes of access, rather than a lack of services. Planned reforms, including the emerging Families First Partnership (FFP) model, aim to address these issues by creating a neighbourhood-based continuum of support and a single front door for families. The report also detailed the demand and reach of Family Hubs, with a significant increase in unique families engaged, and noted that while many families are reached outside of statutory social care, there is scope to engage more families before statutory involvement. The report identified a gap in coherent performance information to demonstrate the impact of the overall access system and outlined ongoing intentions to develop a comprehensive performance framework and redesign the digital front door.

Review of the Dedicated Schools Grant Overspend, Mitigations and Impact of National SEND Reforms

The committee was scheduled to review the significant overspend in the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), particularly within the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) budget. The report provided an overview of the local and national drivers of this overspend, proposed mitigations, and the intended impact of national SEND reforms.

The report highlighted that the high needs block of the DSG is the primary cost driver for SEND provision, and that this budget has been substantially overspent. In 2025/26, expenditure was £118.6m against a budget of £86.7m, an overspend of £31.9m, making it the highest reported overspend across London. Nationally, the number of children and young people with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) has risen significantly since the introduction of the Children and Families Act 2014, with funding not keeping pace with demand. The report noted that the government announced the High Needs Stability Grant in February 2026, which would be paid to local authorities that meet local SEND reform plan conditions.

Croydon's cumulative net deficit for the DSG was forecast to be £58m as at 31 March 2026. Even with the potential grant of £52m, a residual deficit of £6m would remain, with uncertainty about further DfE contributions. The report warned that without intervention, the council could face a deficit of £96m on the DSG by the end of 2027/28, posing a significant financial risk. The report detailed factors contributing to Croydon's higher-than-average increase in EHCP demand, including rising complexity of need, parental awareness, neurodevelopmental and mental health needs, and reliance on statutory plans. It also noted that Croydon's growth has been intensified by its large and diverse child population and higher levels of deprivation.

The report discussed strategies for managing supply and demand, including increasing local provision and reducing reliance on expensive independent and out-of-borough placements. It highlighted the role of Enhanced Learning Provisions (ELPs) within mainstream schools and investment in local special school capacity. The report also detailed the complexity of the statutory EHCP process, noting that while Croydon's EHCP numbers are higher than some statistical neighbours, this is likely due to underlying needs, demographics, and available provision rather than a different application of legislation. The report acknowledged that the government's SEND White Paper outlines reforms to create a more inclusive and sustainable system, and Croydon has focused on earlier intervention and improved support within mainstream education.

The report also addressed delays in identifying the full extent of the deficit, citing issues with the IT system (Synergy), a backlog of payments to providers, late invoicing, and higher provider fee increases due to inflationary pressures. These factors limited the ability to accurately monitor expenditure and forecast the overspend. An action plan was in place to mitigate identified issues, with some longer-term actions related to corporate decisions about a new education system.

Appointments to Scrutiny Sub-Committees

The committee was asked to agree appointments to fill reserve vacancies on the Scrutiny Sub-Committees, following the Mayoral and Council elections.

Scrutiny Work Programme 2026-27

The committee was presented with the draft Scrutiny Work Programme for 2026-27. The programme was to be guided by agreed principles, with a continued focus on the council's finances and the Transformation Programme, alongside residents' access to council services. The committee was asked to agree the provisional work programme for itself and its sub-committees, noting that it may be subject to change and to consider any additional items for inclusion. The report indicated that a more detailed work programme would be available at the next meeting.

The provisional work programme for the Scrutiny & Overview Committee included items such as the Mayor's Business Plan, a Library Review, a Complaints Report, and the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) and Budget Savings Proposals. The Children & Young People Sub-Committee's programme included items on the Strategic Transformation Delivery Partner Update, Youth Justice Plan, Family Hubs Transformation, and Budget Scrutiny. The Health & Social Care Sub-Committee's planned items included updates on the Stabilisation Plan, SLAM, and Healthwatch Croydon, as well as Budget Scrutiny. The Homes Sub-Committee's work programme included an overview of the service and improvement plan, financial performance, private sector licensing, and temporary accommodation charging policy. The Streets & Environment Sub-Committee's planned items included updates on the Highways Contract, Enforcement, and the Community Infrastructure Levy.