The Public Cabinet meeting of Bexley Council was scheduled to discuss the council's financial position, including the Budget Monitoring Report for February 2025 and the Medium Term Business Plan for 2025. Attendees were also set to review the Bexley Status Report for Quarter 3 and consider the 2050 Vision for Bexley.

Budget Monitoring Report 2024/25 (February 2025)

The meeting was scheduled to receive an update on the council's revenue and capital budget monitoring position as of February 2025. The revenue budget was forecasting an overspend of £2.898m against the net budget of £215.027m. This represented a favourable movement of £0.607m compared to the previous month's report. Key factors contributing to the forecast overspend included contract inflation, demographic pressures, and income shortfalls.

The capital budget for 2024/25 was forecasting an expenditure of £41.775m, a decrease of £3.626m from the revised budget. Significant movements included slippage in Children and Education, Finance and Corporate, and Places and Communities directorates, primarily due to project delays, grant agreement issues, and changes in timelines for drawdowns.

The report also detailed the council's agency staff spend, which was projected to decrease by £1.852m compared to the prior year. Mitigations and reserves were also discussed, with a total mitigation target of £9.552m and a forecast of £7.440m achieved to date.

Bexley Status Report Quarter 3 (October to December 2024)

This report was intended to provide an update on the performance of the council's Corporate Performance Indicators for the third quarter of 2024. The report highlighted 16 performance 'exceptions', categorised as positive, for information, or for consideration.

Positive exceptions included improvements in the proportion of safeguarding enquiries where desired outcomes were met, care leavers in suitable accommodation, and the percentage of Bexley nurseries judged good or outstanding by Ofsted. For information, the report noted a downward shift in the rate of children subject to a child protection plan and a lower than expected outlier for repeat incidents of domestic abuse. For consideration, the report flagged a downward shift in the proportion of first assessments completed within four weeks and a lower than expected outlier for the percentage of Education, Health & Care Plans (EHCPs) delivered within 20 weeks.

2050 Vision for Bexley

The meeting was scheduled to consider the 2050 Vision for Bexley, a long-term plan developed in partnership with residents and stakeholders. The vision outlines shared ambitions and aspirations for the borough, focusing on five key goals: Bexley as a great place to be, raising its profile to attract investment, improving health, wellbeing and fairness, becoming a green innovator and leader, and preparing residents and businesses for future skills and employment opportunities. The report detailed the consultation process, key findings from the survey, and proposed actions for each goal. The Cabinet was asked to note the vision and refer it to the Council for discussion, with the Leader of the Council intending to take an Executive Decision to adopt it.

London Borough of Bexley Medium Term Business Plan 2025

This report introduced a medium-term approach to business planning, aiming to provide a strategic overview of priorities and resource allocation. The plan for 2025/2026, a transitional year, was set to cover cross-cutting council commitments, high-level directorate objectives, workforce data, the procurement plan, and legislative horizon scanning. The plan had been consulted with Overview and Scrutiny Committees. The report highlighted that while there is no specific legal requirement to produce such a plan, it is considered good practice and aligns with the council's financial strategy and transformation programme.

The meeting was also scheduled to cover standard agenda items including apologies for absence, minutes of the previous meeting, and disclosures of interest.