The Cabinet of Lambeth Council met on Wednesday 1 July 2026 to discuss the council's financial performance and progress against its strategic outcomes. Key decisions included the confirmation of the minutes from the previous meeting, noting the council's draft outturn for the 2025/26 financial year, and reviewing performance against the Lambeth 2030 Outcomes Framework.

Budget Monitoring Report

The Cabinet received the Quarter 4 2025/26 Budget Monitoring Report, which detailed the council's financial position at the end of the financial year. Councillor Zvikomborero Chihoro, Cabinet Member for Finance and Community Wealth Building, introduced the report, highlighting that while the forecast service outturn showed an overspend of £15.9 million, there had been an improvement since the previous quarter. This improved position was partly attributed to encouraging projections in demand-led areas such as social care and temporary accommodation.

Despite the improvement, the council still faces significant financial challenges. Councillor Chihoro announced that officers had been instructed to commission an independent financial review to understand the causes of the overspend and to ensure transparency with the public. Councillor Danial Adilypour, speaking as a visiting councillor, emphasised the importance of the Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) provided to the council, which had enabled financial stability and the continuation of crucial frontline services. He questioned whether the savings programme and asset disposal strategy were non-negotiable to ensure financial stability. Councillor Judith Cavanagh raised several questions regarding workforce plans, savings from parks and libraries, asset disposal progress, the capital programme, and the deficit in the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG). Councillor Matthew Bryant also focused on the slippage in the savings programme and capital programme, and raised concerns about the Dedicated Schools Grant deficit and the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) surplus.

In response, Councillor Chihoro stated that the financial instability was a legacy of previous administrations and that the new administration was committed to bringing financial stability through an independent review. Councillor Scott Ainslie, Cabinet Member for Planning and Development, Built Environment, Parks and Public Realm, stressed the importance of development in Lambeth prioritising people and the planet, and asked for an outline of how the council was pushing for more council-owned homes and utilising empty properties. Councillor Jonathan Bartley, Cabinet Member for Safer, Thriving Neighbourhoods, highlighted potential savings from reducing litigation and improving the council's culture and engagement with residents. Councillor Pete Elliott, Cabinet Member for Housing, acknowledged the need for more work on the HRA recovery plan and business plan, and identified areas for savings within the housing portfolio, such as disrepair court costs and inefficient repairs contracts. Councillor Jeremy Isaacs, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care, spoke about the responsibility of balancing financial prudence with the need to support vulnerable adults and retain essential public services, referencing the previous administration's plan for the Central Hill Dementia Day Centre.

Officers provided responses to the questions raised, clarifying that the robustness of the budget was a key responsibility and that further details would be provided in upcoming reports. They also confirmed that the HRA surplus was partly due to an underspend in supervision and management costs, and that the surplus had been set aside for ongoing disrepair costs. Regarding savings delivery, officers acknowledged that some proposals from previous years were not as robust as current processes, but that savings would continue to be closely monitored.

The Cabinet noted the draft outturn and improved overspend position for the General Fund, the Housing Revenue Account, and the Dedicated Schools Grant. They also noted the delivery of 2025/26 savings and planned carry forwards, the draft outturn position on the Capital Investment Programme, and the draft position of reserves.

Outcomes Framework Performance: Q4 2025/26

Councillor Zvikomborero Chihoro also introduced the Outcomes Framework Performance report for Quarter 4 of 2025/26. This report detailed the council's performance against the Lambeth 2030 Outcomes Framework, which aligns with the council's borough plan.

The report indicated that overall performance against the outcomes framework was strong, with 76% of targeted indicators meeting their targets. Of those indicators with trending information, 28% showed a positive change in performance of at least 5%, compared to 20% showing a negative change.

Under the ambition Making Lambeth's Neighbourhoods Fit for the Future, 80% of targeted indicators were meeting target. Positive highlights included household waste recycling rates being approximately 10% higher than pre-pandemic levels, with estate household recycling rates at a record high of 24.2%. Adult social care teams also performed strongly, completing 525 reviews in a median time of eight days. However, areas such as litter and graffiti on streets, and the timeline for mould treatment and fire risk assessments, remained outside target levels, though mitigation measures were in place.

For the ambition Making Lambeth One of the Safest Boroughs in London, only 25% of targeted indicators were meeting target. The report highlighted that 67% of indicators with trending information showed a negative change in performance. Community safety was identified as the weakest performing ambition. Councillor Nanda Manley-Browne raised concerns about community safety, particularly regarding violence against women and girls and anti-social behaviour. Councillor Chris Nicholson questioned the measures used in the scorecard, particularly the lack of a measure for affordable homes and the performance on fire risk assessments and decent homes standards. Councillor Jonathan Bartley responded by emphasising a shift towards a neighbourhood approach and a public health strategy for safety, and a desire to move away from simply measuring activity to measuring outcomes. Councillor Samantha Dorney-Smith highlighted the positive community engagement in addressing anti-social behaviour and the need for a public health strategy. Councillor Pete Elliott discussed the need for clear goals and targets in housing strategies and expressed concern about the security of the private rental sector. Councillor Chihoro committed to working with cabinet members to ensure performance improvements. Councillor Scott Ainslie called for indicators related to carbon emissions from the built environment and sustainable travel options. Ryan Devlin, Director of Strategy, Communications and Change, confirmed that there were opportunities to revise the framework to reflect administration priorities.

Under the ambition Making Lambeth a Place We Can All Call Home, 80% of targeted indicators were meeting target. Satisfaction with housing repairs rose to 85.4%, and the average time taken to remove or treat mould fell by 24%, although a surge in demand in March narrowly missed the target. The number of households in temporary accommodation fell by 8.3% over the financial year, with 1,058 households moved out. However, the percentage of contact centre calls abandoned in Q3 was higher than the target, though additional resources in Q4 saw the abandonment rate fall to 7.8%. Councillor Danny Adilypour welcomed the reduction in households in temporary accommodation, attributing it to the previous administration's policies. Councillor Manley-Brown noted the overall strong performance but highlighted areas needing improvement, particularly in community safety. Councillor Chris Nicholson raised concerns about housing standards, including fire risk assessments and decent homes standards. Councillor Jonathan Bartley discussed the need for a public health approach to safety and community engagement. Councillor Samantha Dorney-Smith spoke about the importance of community operation and a public health strategy. Councillor Pete Elliott discussed the need for a refreshed housing strategy and expressed concerns about the private rental sector. Councillor Chihoro committed to ensuring performance improvements. Councillor Scott Ainslie called for indicators on carbon emissions from the built environment and sustainable travel. Ryan Devlin confirmed that the framework could be updated to reflect administration priorities.

The Cabinet considered and commented on the performance update against the delivery of the Outcomes Framework.

The meeting concluded with the next Cabinet meeting scheduled for Wednesday, 22 July 2026.