The Public Cabinet of Bexley Council is scheduled to meet on 27 November 2025 to discuss the council's financial strategy, budget monitoring, and transformation plans. The Cabinet will be asked to note the latest budget monitoring information, an update to the medium term financial strategy, and a progress report on the Future Bexley transformation programme.

Budget Monitoring Report

The Cabinet will be asked to approve the Revenue Budget Monitoring report for September 2025, which forecasts a £2.371m overspend against the net budget of £253.425m.

Adult Social Care is reporting an overspend of £3.621m, which is attributed to increased placement activity. The report notes that the service is working through its Financial Intervention Strategy, and £3.260m of new mitigations have been identified.

Children's Services is forecasting an overspend of £1.620m, which has increased by £0.276m since the last report. The report states that the increase in forecast is within the Education Service and results from a ruling by the Department for Education that the cost of personal transport budgets must be charged to the Education budget and not to the Dedicated Schools Grant¹.

The Finance and Corporate Services directorate is forecasting an overspend of £0.668m, a decrease of £0.072m from August 2025. The Place Directorate is forecasting an underspend of £0.638m.

The report also includes details of the Capital Programme monitoring, and the proposed additions and deletions to the capital programme.

Medium Term Financial Strategy

The Cabinet will consider an update on the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) ² for 2026/27 to 2029/30. The report pack states that the council faces financial challenges including contract inflation, difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff, and increasing demand for services. The report pack also highlights proposed policy and legislative changes that could have significant operational and financial impacts on the council, including the Children's Wellbeing Bill, and the resetting of the business rates retention system.

The report pack states that the council is continuing to review all options to ensure it is able to deliver a balanced budget for 2026/27, including transformation, service reviews and technical reviews.

The report pack sets out the planning assumptions used in the MTFS, including that the council will agree a council tax increase of 4.99% from 2026/27 onwards, and that grant income will be received as anticipated.

The report pack also sets out the council's risk strategy and reserve and contingency strategy.

Future Bexley: Transforming Our Borough Together

The Cabinet will receive an update on Future Bexley: transforming our borough together, the council's corporate transformation portfolio. The report pack states that the portfolio is structured around five transformation programmes:

• Culture Programme
• Corporate Core Programme
• Customer Experience Programme
• Children's Services Programme
• Commercialisation Programme

The Culture Programme is working to confirm the Future Bexley brand identity and is using staff survey feedback to focus on areas including inter-departmental working and communication, and leadership development. The Corporate Core Programme is procuring the cloud-based Microsoft Fabric solution and building a continuous improvement capability. The Customer Experience Programme has established a roadmap focused on the assessment of resident-facing service lines. The Children's Services Programme is identifying cost-saving opportunities in placement commissioning and enhancing the Family Help and Intervention model. The borough's first Family Hub at West Street in Erith has now opened. The Commercialisation Programme has presented a draft Outline Business Case to Transformation Board, which identified a pipeline of financial opportunities.

The report pack also states that the Transformation and Programme Management Office (PMO) Team is being enhanced to secure the successful delivery of the Future Bexley portfolio.

Declarations of Interest

The Cabinet will be asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests or other significant interests. The report pack includes guidance for councillors on declaring interests, with definitions of disclosable pecuniary interests and other significant interests. Disclosable Pecuniary Interests are those prescribed by The Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012. Other Significant Interests include those which affect the financial position of an Associated Person or relates to the determination of your application for any approval, consent, licence, permission or registration made by, or on behalf of you and / or an Associated Person . An Associated Person means (either in the singular or plural):

• a family member or any other person with whom you have a close association, including your spouse, civil partner, or someone with whom you are living as husband and wife, or as if you are civil partners; or
• any person or body who employs or has appointed such persons, any firm in which they are a partner, or any company of which they are directors; or
• any person or body in whom such persons have a beneficial interest in a class of securities exceeding the nominal value of £25,000; or
• any body of which you are in a position of general control or management and to which you are appointed or nominated by the Authority; or

• any body in respect of which you are in a position of general control or management:

  • exercising functions of a public nature; or
  • directed to charitable purposes; or
  • one of whose principal purposes includes the influence of public opinion or policy (including any political party or trade union).