The Public Cabinet meeting of Bexley Council, scheduled for Monday, 26 January 2026, was set to cover a range of financial and strategic matters. Key discussions were expected to include the council's performance in the second quarter of the 2025/26 financial year, a detailed budget monitoring report for November 2025, and an update on the Medium Term Financial Strategy covering the period from 2026/27 to 2029/30. Additionally, the cabinet was scheduled to receive a progress report on the Future Bexley: Transforming Our Borough Together initiative.

Bexley Status Report Q2 (July to September 2025)

The meeting was scheduled to review the Bexley Status Report for the second quarter of the 2025/2026 financial year, covering July to September 2025. This report was intended to provide members with the latest performance data for the Council's Corporate Performance Indicators. It was also planned to highlight any performance exceptions, which are indicators falling outside normal statistical variance or showing a sustained trend. The report was to include information on complaints and Freedom of Information (FOI) data, alongside the performance indicators. Members were asked to note the latest performance, the exceptions, and the complaints and FOI data, and to offer any feedback.

Budget Monitoring Report 2025/26 (Period 8 - November 2025)

A comprehensive budget monitoring report for the 2025/26 financial year, covering up to November 2025 (Period 8), was scheduled for discussion. This report was to provide an update on both the revenue and capital budgets. For the revenue budget, it was forecasting a favourable overspend of £1.938m against a net revenue budget of £253.425m. The report detailed variances against the budget breakdown by directorate, highlighting pressures in Adult Social Care and Public Health (£3.621m overspend), Children's Services (£2.186m overspend), and Finance and Corporate Services (£0.684m overspend). Mitigations and transformation savings were also detailed.

For the capital budget, the forecast as at the end of November 2025 was £48.778m, against a revised budget of £63.184m, indicating a variance of £14.406m. The report detailed movements by directorate, with significant slippage noted in Places and Communities (£7.396m variance) and Children and Education (£2.388m variance). The funding of the capital programme was also to be reviewed.

Medium Term Financial Strategy 2026/27 to 2029/30

An update on the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for the period 2026/27 to 2029/30 was a key item. The report highlighted the challenging financial landscape, including increasing demand for services, inflation pressures, and policy changes, particularly in Children's and Adult Social Care. The strategy aimed to address a projected budget gap, which was £11.794m for 2026/27, rising to £23.519m by 2029/30, based on previous assumptions. The report was to incorporate changes following the government's Autumn Budget and the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2026/27 to 2028/29. The initiatives to address challenges included the Future Bexley transformation programme and detailed Service Reviews. The report proposed a balanced budget for 2026/27 and a reduced budget gap over the remaining years. Key financial risks highlighted included contract inflation, pay inflation, increasing demand for services, potential reductions in Integrated Care Board (ICB) expenditures, and the impact of the cost of living on residents and businesses. Proposed policy and legislative changes, such as the Children's Wellbeing Bill and changes to the Business Rates Retention System, were also to be considered. Cabinet was recommended to note the planning assumptions, approve recommended fees and charges, note the proposed Council Tax increase of 4.99% for 2026/27, and note the revised Capital Programme and new capital bids.

Future Bexley: Transforming Our Borough Together

The meeting was also scheduled to receive the third comprehensive update on Future Bexley: transforming our borough together, the Council's corporate transformation portfolio. This report was to confirm a shift from strategic planning to measurable delivery, providing financial evidence to support the MTFS. It was expected to confirm £3.630m in validated savings for the 2026/27 financial year across three programmes: Customer Experience (£0.700m), Children's Services (£1.980m), and Commercialisation (£0.950m). The report was also to outline a strategic roadmap for an additional £7.000m in aspirational savings through to 2029/30. A significant development was the strategic reframing of the Children's Services Programme into Whole Life Transformation, integrating Adult Social Care and Health workstreams to enable a life-course approach and maximise service efficiency. Cabinet was asked to note the confirmed savings, the scope enhancement of the Children's Services Programme, and the Phase 2 strategic roadmap.