This meeting of the Safer Stronger Communities Select Committee will focus on the Council's budget, and hear reports on the Main Grants Programme, the Library and Information Service and proposed budget savings for 2025/26. The committee will also be reviewing their work programme.

Budget Savings 2025/26

The committee will be presented with draft proposals to reduce the council's budget, and consider their potential impact on the community. This report is in response to the agreed approach in the Medium Term Financial Strategy to identify savings in 2024/25 for implementation in 2025/26 and 2026/27, and the anticipated overspend in 2024/25.

In order to deliver this MTFS strategy, the Executive Management Team (EMT) undertook the process of engagement with services to both identify new budget savings initiatives and cost avoidance proposals to reduce the gross £31.500m overspend at that point.

Five proposals to reduce the General Fund Budget that fall within the remit of this committee will be considered:

• CX06 – People and Organisation Development Savings Proposal: This would reduce the People and Organisation Development team's budget for 2024/25 by £166,000 by streamlining or stopping some HR services to maintain essential operations. For 2025/26 and onwards, a further £100,000 of savings are proposed by undertaking a comprehensive review and redesign of the HR function. This review would be subject to consultation with stakeholders, and could involve reducing strategic business partner support, the Organisational Development function, or employee services and HR data insights.

• P01 – Ending the Funding for the Council run Assembly Programme: This proposal would see all funded and officer supported Assembly functions cease, delivering annual savings of £203,000.

  Assemblies are a commitment in the Council’s Constitution. The Constitution states: “The Council has established a consultative network of [nineteen] local assemblies. Though they are not decision-making bodies, the local assemblies are an important consultative mechanism and provide a conduit to the Council and other public service providers through which the local community can prioritise local issues and advise the Council, including on the determination of the locality funding.”

• P02 – Centralisation of back-office functions for Adult Learning Lewisham and the Library and Information Service: The proposal is to centralise back office functions for both the Library and Information Service and Adult Learning Lewisham, delivering savings of £211,472. This restructure would increase Adult Learning Lewisham's staffing budget by £135,889.

• P03 – Reduced Leisure Concessions: Savings of £80,000 per year are proposed by reducing the discount on leisure centre memberships and sessional activities offered to residents under the Be Active programme.

  Residents that fall within these eligible groups are entitled to discounts on leisure centre memberships and sessional activities. Evidence of eligibility must be provided by the resident for the category of concession that they wish to claim at the point of registration for the concessions programme.

• P05 – Reduction to the Main Grants Programme: This would see a reduction of £217,000 from the budget for the Main Grants Programme, with £103,000 coming from the General Fund and £114,000 from the Improved Better Care Fund. The reduction would be applied from 1 April 2026, when the programme is due to be re-let.

  The Main Grants Programme has seen significant reductions during each cycle over the last 10 years. Local and national research undertaken by Lewisham Local and by NCVO show that the VCS has been significantly impacted by austerity, the cost of living crisis and LA cuts.

Main Grants Programme Impact Report

This report will review the impact of the Main Grants Programme 2022-2025 in its second year of delivery.

This report provides data and insight from the voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations funded through the Main Grants Programme 2022-25.

The report will summarise the key challenges and positive benefits for organisations and show the value provided by the funded VCS to residents in Lewisham. The committee will also receive information about the next Main Grants cycle, due to commence in April 2026.

Library and Information Service – Annual Report

The committee will be asked to comment on the performance of the Library and Information service in the last 12 months, the review of the community library model and the development of a library strategy. The committee will also be asked to comment on proposals for savings to be delivered by the service.

The Library and Information Service operates through a network of four hub libraries (in buildings owned and staffed by the council) and eight community libraries (in buildings managed and staffed by partner organisations).

The service is proposing to centralise back-office functions, transferring some posts to the Adult Learning Lewisham service structure and delivering a reduction of £211,472 from the council's General Fund budget.

Select Committee Work Programme Report

The committee will review their work programme for 2024/25 and consider potential new items to be added for the next municipal year.

The work programme should be reviewed at each meeting to take account of changing priorities.

The following items are scheduled for the next meeting:

• Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour and Public Spaces Protection Order Update: A performance monitoring report.
• Lewisham Disabled People's Commission Response Implementation: A performance monitoring report.
• Police-Community Engagement and Tackling Crime Update: A policy development report.