The Cabinet of Barking and Dagenham Council met on Tuesday 14 July 2026 to approve a new Change Strategy and Plan, A Better B&D, aimed at transforming council services and ensuring financial sustainability. They also approved the Looked After Children Sufficiency Strategy 2026-2030, which outlines plans to provide sufficient high-quality placements and support for children in care. Finally, the Cabinet noted the Corporate Plan 2023-2026 Outcomes Framework Performance Report for Q3 and Q4 of the 2025/26 financial year.

A Better B&D: The Council's Transformation Strategy

The Cabinet formally adopted A Better B&D, the Council's overarching framework for transformation over the next three years. This strategy is designed to address the significant challenges faced by the council, including rising demand for services, increasing complexity of needs, and long-term financial pressures, which necessitate a clear, whole-council approach to change. The strategy evolves from the previous Neighbourhoods Programme Outline Business Case, integrating neighbourhood working as a core component within a broader change portfolio.

The strategy is guided by three key shifts: from Reaction to Prevention, Complexity to Simplicity, and Surviving to Thriving. These shifts aim to move the council towards anticipating issues earlier, simplifying processes for residents and staff, and building the financial and organisational resilience needed for long-term success. The plan acknowledges that this transformation will not be easy, with a risk assessment highlighting insufficient organisational capacity to deliver change alongside business as usual as a significant challenge. The decision to approve the strategy was made to ensure the council can provide value for money, respond to opportunities and risks, and align change activity with the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS).

Looked After Children Sufficiency Strategy 2026-2030

The Cabinet approved the Council's Looked After Children Sufficiency Strategy 2026-2030. This comprehensive document sets out the council's plan to ensure a sufficient range of high-quality placements and support for children in care and those at risk of entering care. The strategy acknowledges the increasing complexity of children's needs and the rising costs of residential placements, particularly for those with complex mental health needs and autism spectrum disorder.

Key actions outlined in the strategy include the development of three new in-house children's homes, providing 17 placements by 2028, which aims to reduce reliance on expensive external placements and improve local control and oversight. A joint venture with the NHS for a crisis centre for children with learning disabilities and autism spectrum disorder is also planned. The strategy emphasises a whole-system approach, including prevention, family help, fostering, residential care, and support for care leavers. The council is also investing in its in-house fostering service, recognising the invaluable role of foster carers and the need to recruit and retain them, particularly in specialist roles. The strategy aims to improve placement stability, reduce the use of unregistered placements, and ensure children in care have better life outcomes.

Corporate Plan 2023-2026 - Outcomes Framework Performance Report Q3 and Q4 2025/26

The Cabinet noted the report detailing performance against the Corporate Plan Outcomes Framework for the third and fourth quarters of the 2025/26 financial year. The Corporate Plan, adopted in May 2023, is supported by a framework of 54 outcome measures designed to drive continuous improvement and assess progress towards the council's seven key priorities. These priorities include supporting residents through the cost-of-living crisis, ensuring safety and protection for vulnerable individuals, promoting healthier and independent lives, fostering education and employment, driving inclusive growth, creating safer and greener neighbourhoods, and ensuring good housing and preventing homelessness.

The report highlights areas of strong performance improvement alongside ongoing challenges. Specific deep dives were conducted into rent collection rates and the proportion of 16 and 17-year-olds not in education, employment, or training (NEET). While rent collection performance remained strong, the NEET figures showed a recent improvement after a post-Covid increase. The report also noted that the council is committed to tackling food insecurity, with initiatives like the Good Food Plan and the development of a food distribution hub. Safeguarding measures for children and adults were also discussed, with positive performance in reducing repeat child protection plans and ensuring risk reduction in safeguarding enquiries. The report indicated progress in increasing the percentage of children living in foster care and improving care leaver outcomes in employment, education, and training, although placement stability for children in care remains a challenge. The council is also working to address fly-tipping incidents and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while also focusing on improving street cleanliness and tackling anti-social behaviour. The report concluded by noting the ongoing efforts to improve housing stock quality and reduce homelessness, with a focus on preventing households from becoming homeless and increasing tenant satisfaction.