The Overview & Scrutiny Committee is scheduled to discuss the council's budget, the cost of living crisis, and the annual workforce report. The committee will also review its work programme for the coming year.

Budget Introduction and Scene Setting

The committee is scheduled to receive a presentation on the budget introduction and scene setting from Councillor Stephanie Cryan, Cabinet Member for Equalities, Democracy and Finance, and council officers. The presentation is expected to cover training, fair funding consultation, and the current financial strategy.

The report pack includes a finance update that highlights key headlines regarding funding reform, including a review of the formulas that determine the council's relative need and resources. It notes that changes to the children's social care formula will massively affect London, with the capital losing £700m as a result. The report also states that the deprivation formula uses Indices of Multiple Deprivation¹, but its measure recognises income before housing costs, which makes London look less disadvantaged.

The report pack estimates that Southwark Council could face a grant loss of £30m-£40m, which will be phased in over a three-year transition period. It also notes that balancing the budget will likely require up to £90m of savings over three years, which would be the first time in 20 years that the council has had to make savings on this scale.

The report pack includes a timeline for the 2026-27 budget setting process and an extract from the Budget Setting Report presented to the Council Assembly in February 2025. Councillor Stephanie Cryan notes in the foreword to the report that the council set a three-year budget in 2023 to better plan finances and ensure the delivery of vital front line services. She also welcomes the government's commitment to a three-year funding settlement, which will allow the council to plan into the longer term. However, she notes that the Policy Statement on the funding settlement means that Southwark will be looking at a funding gap of £60m - £90m.

The report pack recommends that the committee note the update to the local government funding arrangements, the approach to setting the 2026-27 budget, the proposed options to help achieve a balanced 2026-27 budget, and the draft fees and charges schedules.

Cost of Living - Southwark 2030 Goals Including Economies

The committee is scheduled to receive a presentation from Councillor Stephanie Cryan and officers on the cost of living and Southwark 2030 goals, including economies.

The presentation is expected to cover the council's cost of living response from 2022 to 2025, including help with bills through the Cost of Living Fund, the Right to Food Borough initiative, and efforts to create more better jobs. It will also cover cost of living support for the winter of 2025/26 and the shift from emergency support to preventative support.

The presentation notes that the cost of living crisis that emerged in 2022 was a consequence of huge increases in global energy prices and higher inflation globally. The council's response focused on helping low-income households to pay for essential bills and maintain a decent standard of living.

The presentation highlights the Southwark Energy Savers (SES) initiative, a joint initiative between the council and Southwark Citizens Advice, which offers dedicated help to residents needing advice due to energy bill debt or other disputes with their energy supplier. The presentation also mentions the council's efforts to boost Pension Credit take-up among Southwark's older low-income residents.

The presentation discusses the council's declaration of Southwark as a Right to Food Borough in 2022, committing to work with local businesses, community groups, and schools to ensure that everyone in Southwark has access to healthy, affordable food. It also highlights the council's efforts to create more better jobs through the London Living Wage (LLW) accreditation programme and various skills and opportunity initiatives.

The presentation notes that this year marks a shift in the council's approach to cost-of-living support, moving away from short-term emergency help with bills towards building longer-term financial and community resilience. The council is rebranding the Cost-of-Living Fund as the Better Living Fund and pivoting toward a more preventative approach.

The presentation also mentions the UK Government's announcement of a new Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF), which will provide a safety net for those on low incomes who encounter a financial shock.

Annual Workforce Report

The committee is scheduled to receive the Annual Workforce Report from Councillor Stephanie Cryan and officers.

The report includes data and analysis against 16 key metrics that provide insight into the size and diversity of the council's workforce, sickness absence, turnover, and the use of agency workers. These metrics are commonly reported by most London boroughs, and benchmarking data is available via the HR Metrics Service provided by London Councils.

The report identifies a number of actions that are underway or will be initiated to address the council's position against some metrics, including:

• Developing an action plan to increase the representation of women in senior roles
• Running a campaign to encourage more employees to declare their disability status
• Developing an action plan to increase the representation of disabled employees in senior roles
• Delivering a project to review and improve the council's approach to managing sickness absence
• Introducing an exit interview process to better understand why employees leave the council
• Developing an action plan to reduce the use of agency workers

The report notes that Southwark's headcount is the highest of all the London boroughs, in part reflecting the council's commitment to in-house service delivery. It also notes that Southwark has a lower proportion of women in its workforce than any other London council, largely due to decisions about in-house and outsourced service delivery.

Work Programme

The committee is scheduled to note the work programme as at 11 December 2025. The report pack includes the proposed remits of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and its commissions based on the cabinet portfolio responsibilities set out in the council constitution and the Southwark 2030 Goals.

The committee established four commissions for the 2025-26 municipal year at its meeting held on 17 May 2025:

• Education and Local Economy Scrutiny Commission
• Environment, Community Safety and Engagement Scrutiny Commission
• Housing Scrutiny Commission
• Health and Social Care Scrutiny Commission

The work programmes are a standing item on the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and commission agendas and enables the committee/commissions to consider, monitor and plan issues for consideration at each meeting.