The Scrutiny & Overview Committee were scheduled to meet on 18 November 2025 to discuss Croydon Council's financial performance, transformation programme, and scrutiny recommendations. The committee was also expected to review the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) and the scrutiny work programme for the coming year. The meeting was due to take place in the Council Chamber at Town Hall, Katharine Street.

2026-30 Medium Term Financial Strategy Update

The committee was scheduled to review the 2026-30 MTFS Update, which was also due to be considered by the Cabinet the following day. The MTFS report set out the financial forecast for the next four years and included assumptions about funding, growth pressures and savings plans.

The MTFS noted that the Council was aiming to reduce its Exceptional Financial Support¹ requirement for 2025-26 by £27.3m to £108.7m through the implementation of the Stabilisation Plan. The report stated that the updated MTFS model reduces the forecast budget deficits for the next three years, but that the Council's financial position remained unsustainable. The report also noted that the Council continued to work with government-appointed commissioners to identify potential solutions to restore the Council's financial sustainability.

The MTFS assumed a Council Tax increase of 4.99% for all years, which is the referendum limit for London boroughs for 2026-27. The MTFS also included proposed savings of £35.9m for 2026-27.

The report stated that the Council's historic legacy borrowing and debt burden was critical to the non-sustainability of the Council's revenue budget.

The MTFS included a response to the government's Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation, with the council stating:

There is currently a postcode lottery around the country. There is disparity in the level of services and support for residents, since funding levels no longer match population, deprivation and required service levels. A continuation of current funding allocations would continue to punish residents and local businesses who are currently not receiving their fair share of national funding.

2025-2026 Period 5 Financial Performance Report

The Scrutiny & Overview Committee was scheduled to review the latest Financial Performance Report, covering period 5 (August 2025), which was also due to be considered by Cabinet on 19 November 2025. The report provided an overview of the council's financial performance for the year to date, and included forecasts for the year-end position.

The report noted that the General Fund revenue budget was forecast to underspend at financial year end by £22.6m, contributing to the target as required by the Stabilisation Plan. This would reduce the necessary level of capitalisation directions from £136m to £113.4m.

The report also noted that service directorates had been asked to reduce their net expenditure below their budgets so that the annual budget could be balanced with reduced use of capitalisation directions, including achievement of the £27.3m Stabilisation Plan target.

Future Croydon Transformation Programme Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the Future Croydon Transformation Programme². The update included feedback from recent 'Star Chamber' meetings, and the government-appointed commissioners. The report stated that the Future Croydon Transformation Plan would:

• Deploy high-impact digital products.
• Redesign organisational structures.
• Strengthen commercial capabilities.
• Empower the Voluntary, Community, Faith Sector.
• Embed a culture of continuous improvement.

The report also included a summary of the risk management approach being taken to the transformation programme.

Scrutiny Recommendations

The committee was asked to approve recommendations made by its sub-committees for submission to the Executive Mayor and Cabinet for consideration.

The recommendations included:

• That the council publish details on which 'zone' roads had been categorised to, in addition to the date of their last street cleanse, expected grade, last grading, and how often the road should be cleansed.
• That the council provide more education to residents on how to correctly report waste events.
• That the council explore how AI can be implemented into the 'Love Clean Streets' app to determine waste event types or differentiate between public and private land through geographic intelligence.
• That, to improve Universal Credit payment collections, the Homes Directorate develops and implements a targeted strategy, with progress updates to be reported back to the Sub-Committee.
• That the Homes Directorate undertakes a detailed review and analysis of complaints within the service to identify key themes and areas for improvement.
• That the Homes Directorate conducts targeted engagement sessions, in addition to initiatives like anti-social behaviour bootcamps, to strengthen the Council's approach to tackling anti-social behaviour.
• That the Homes Directorate recommends the development of a resilience plan to address the high number of sickness absences and promote workforce wellbeing and stability.
• That consideration be given to introducing a recognition or accreditation scheme for compliant landlords, similar to Barking and Dagenham's landlord compliance awards.
• That, where appropriate, prosecution routes be prioritised for Houses in Multiple Occupation rather than relying primarily on financial penalties.
• That a robust monitoring framework be developed to ensure that property inspections are conducted not only following licence applications but also through unannounced and proactive visits to strengthen enforcement.
• That the communications strategy include clear guidance for tenants on the scheme, setting out landlords' obligations, the actions tenants can take if these conditions are not met, and accessible routes for reporting breaches or concerns.
• That the public consultation include a question on preferred enforcement models, specifically whether enforcement should be delivered in-house or through an external provider.
• That a comprehensive demand and supply analysis of housing in the borough be commissioned or produced.
• That the Housing Allocation Policy be translated into multiple community languages and that these translations be made available on the Council's website and upon request.
• That the impact on individuals removed from or refused access to the housing register be monitored.

The committee was also asked to review the response provided by the Cabinet to recommendations made by the Scrutiny & Overview Committee on the Croydon Community Safety Partnership.

Scrutiny Work Programme 2025-26

The committee was asked to note the most recent version of the Scrutiny Work Programme and consider whether any other items should be added. The report included the working version of the Scrutiny & Overview Committee work programme, and the items that had been scheduled following discussion with officers. The report also included the working version of the Children & Young People Sub-Committee, the Health & Social Care Sub-Committee, and the Streets & Environment Sub-Committee work programmes.