The Scrutiny Commission of Leicestershire County Council met on Monday, 11 May 2026, to review the outcomes of an Efficiency Review and a revised Transformation Programme. The meeting focused on a comprehensive report detailing numerous opportunities identified to improve financial sustainability and service delivery across the council.

Efficiency Review - Outcomes and Revised Transformation Programme

The primary focus of the meeting was the Efficiency Review - Outcomes and Revised Transformation Programme report, presented by the Director of Corporate Resources. This report detailed the findings of an independent, council-wide Efficiency Review commissioned to identify opportunities for improving financial sustainability while protecting resident outcomes. The review, conducted by Newton Consulting Limited between November 2025 and April 2026, aimed to identify savings and income opportunities, assess existing Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) initiatives, and ensure all proposals were evidence-led, deliverable, and aligned with the Council's strategic priorities.

The Efficiency Review identified 13 benefit proposals with projected financial benefits totalling £27.2 million over the MTFS period, with a further £5.3 million anticipated beyond this timeframe. These opportunities are guided by principles to drive better outcomes for residents, create a strategic and unified change programme, build on Leicestershire's positioning as a high-performing authority through innovation, support and develop staff, and establish best practice as part of a One Council approach. Many of these opportunities are concentrated in social care, reflecting its significant budget allocation and the ER's focus on prevention and demand management.

The report outlined a revised Change and Improvement Programme, which incorporates new ER opportunities and has been streamlined to strengthen delivery. This programme comprises 58 prioritised initiatives with a total projected financial benefit of £58.8 million. Seven strategic change and improvement themes have been identified to unify the Council's approach to change and improvement: Commissioning and Market Shaping, Demand Management and Maximising Independence, Maximising Income, Physical Assets, Prevention, Procurement & Supply Chain Management, and Resident Focused Organisation.

The report also detailed the significant implementation support required, including an estimated £28.2 million in implementation costs over the MTFS period. Financial benefits are projected to accrue beyond 2029/30, with a payback period of 3.3 years. The report highlighted the potential for material improvement in the Council's financial position by 2029/30, taking into account both the ER outcomes and potential SEND funding. However, it also acknowledged downside risks, such as increased inflation impacting the Council's cost base.

The report concluded by seeking feedback from the Scrutiny Commission prior to Cabinet consideration. It detailed the proposed governance approach, which aims to use existing structures where possible, and outlined seven critical enablers for effective programme delivery, including programme vision, leadership alignment, communications and engagement, change capability, governance, digital, data and technology, and specialist support.

Several specific benefits proposals were detailed within the report, including:

• Adults Commissioning for the Future: This proposal aims to address market failure in residential and nursing care for older people by developing new, high-quality capacity. It identified a significant under-provision of specialist older person housing in Leicestershire and projected potential savings of £1.59 million over the MTFS period through income generation from leasing new care homes and more effective commissioning.
• A&C Targeted Prevention: This initiative focuses on helping residents achieve better outcomes and live more independently for longer through targeted early intervention. Evidence from case reviews suggests that a significant proportion of long-term care starts for older adults could be prevented through earlier identification and connection to existing support services, with a projected financial benefit of £3.90 million over the MTFS period.
• CFS – Commissioning for the Future: This proposal aims to increase sufficiency of high-need regulated provision for children and young people, reduce reliance on unregulated provision, and lower unit costs by commissioning new provisions for children with complex needs. It identified a national and local context of increasing spend on children's residential care, with a projected financial benefit of £1.03 million over the MTFS period.
• CFS Targeted Prevention: This initiative seeks to improve outcomes for children and young people by working with families and their networks earlier to prevent escalations, particularly along safeguarding pathways. It aims to enable more children to safely remain within their family network, with a projected financial benefit of £1.12 million over the MTFS period.
• Family Based Placements: This proposal aims to support more children and young people in care to live in family-based placements by providing the right support for carers. Evidence from case reviews suggests that a significant proportion of children currently in residential care could be supported in family-based settings, with a projected financial benefit of £1.75 million over the MTFS period.
• Independence Outside of Residential Care: This initiative aims to enable more residents to live in independent settings outside of residential care, with a projected financial benefit of £0.50 million over the MTFS period.
• Independent Travel Training: This proposal outlines the implementation of an Independent Travel Training (ITT) programme to train children and young people with SEND to travel independently, with a projected financial benefit of £0.54 million over the MTFS period.
• Maximising Independence for Working Age Adults: This initiative aims to enable residents with lifelong disabilities to live more independently through progressive reviews, with a projected financial benefit of £0.78 million over the MTFS period.
• Procurement and Third Party Spend: This proposal focuses on reducing spend on procurement and third parties through negotiation, market strategies, and contract management, with a projected financial benefit of £1.48 million over the MTFS period.
• Reablement: This initiative aims to increase the capacity of the HART service to support more residents accessing reablement, thereby increasing independence and reducing the need for ongoing commissioned care, with a projected financial benefit of £2.65 million over the MTFS period.
• Resident Focused Organisation: This overarching initiative aims to ensure the Council is organised to deliver its objectives efficiently and effectively through optimising organisational design, reducing agency spend, reviewing operational delivery models, and exploiting technology, with a projected financial benefit of £8 million over the MTFS period.
• Reunification: This proposal aims to enable more children and young people to achieve permanence and exit care through reunification, with a projected financial benefit of £1.01 million over the MTFS period.

The meeting also included standard agenda items such as declarations of interest and declarations of the Party Whip. The date of the next meeting was scheduled for 10 June 2026.