The Croydon Council Cabinet was scheduled to meet on 25 June 2025 to discuss a range of issues, including scrutiny recommendations, a stabilisation plan, family hubs, the Mayor's business plan, climate action, financial performance, and a Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman report.

Stabilisation Plan

The Cabinet was expected to discuss and approve the Stabilisation Plan 2025, a key component of the council's strategy to address its financial challenges. The plan outlines actions to manage demand, reduce costs, increase income, and improve productivity, with a target of £27.3 million in savings for 2025/26.

The plan is a subset of the Future Croydon Transformation Plan and is intended to demonstrate to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) that the council is taking all possible steps to resolve its financial unsustainability.

The report notes that following the collapse of Croydon Council in 2020, the government appointed an Improvement and Assurance Panel (IAP). The IAP's role evolved following the Executive Mayor's 2022 Opening the Books exercise, which revealed further historical financial problems. In response, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) placed the IAP on a statutory footing in July 2023.

The report also notes that the Council was only able to set a balanced budget for 2025/26 by requesting £136 million in Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) from MHCLG.

The plan includes a series of corporate measures, such as withholding the inflation budget, holding back the contingency budget, and targeting overachievement of savings.

The report also notes that on 12 June 2025, the Minister for Local Government and English Devolution announced that the government is 'minded to' appoint commissioners in response to the unsustainability of the Council's budget.

Mayor's Business Plan 2022-2026 End of Year Performance Report

The cabinet was scheduled to review the end of year performance report against the five outcomes within the Mayor's Business Plan 2022-26:

• The council balances its books, listens to residents and delivers good sustainable services.
• Croydon is a place of opportunity for business, earning and learning.
• Children and young people in Croydon have the chance to thrive, learn and fulfil their potential.
• Croydon is a cleaner, safer and healthier place, a borough we're proud to call home.
• People can lead healthier and independent lives for longer.

The report highlights areas of achievement, such as non-domestic rate collection, rent collection on general needs stock, and average council contact centre call wait time. It also identifies challenges in meeting targets and the actions being taken to improve performance.

The report notes that the Executive Mayor is working to transform the Council's way of working, instilling financial discipline, making services more efficient, balancing the budget, changing how services are run, securing maximum value for money, instilling strong governance, listening to residents' concerns and restoring pride in Croydon. The Future Croydon Transformation Plan 2024- 2029 is a pivotal component of the Mayor's Business Plan and specifically underpins Outcome One: Financial Stability.

Climate Action Plan

The Cabinet was expected to consider a report on the council's progress towards carbon neutrality and to approve a revised Climate Action Plan. The plan addresses carbon reduction, climate adaptation, and mitigation, with defined timelines, sector-specific targets, and measurable outcomes.

The report notes that Croydon Council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and engaged with key partners which led to the creation of the Croydon Climate Crisis Commission to guide the council's response on climate action. The Commission identified five priority areas of action, resulting in the Carbon Neutral Action Plan (CNAP) approved on 7 February 2022.

The revised plan sets out commitments on annual reporting, review and more extensive engagement. It is recommended that the Carbon Neutral Action Plan is renamed Climate Action Plan to reflect the Council's commitment to a broader range of climate-related strategies.

The report also notes that a number of Local Authorities across the country are reviewing their progress to date, their current net zero carbon commitments and their ability to reach their targets.

2024-25 Period 10 Financial Performance Report

The Cabinet was scheduled to review the council's financial performance as at Period 10 (January 2025) for the General Fund, Housing Revenue Account (HRA), and the Capital Programme. The report provides a detailed breakdown of the council's financial position and the in-year challenges it faces.

The report notes that the General Fund revenue budget is forecast to overspend by £34.2m before non-recurrent mitigations, reducing to £4.3m after applying capitalisation directions, the risk contingency budget, and corporate earmarked reserves. The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) revenue budget is forecast to overspend by £8.0m.

The report also notes that the Council's historic legacy borrowing and debt burden and national, regional and local service pressures continue to be critical to the non-sustainability of the Council's revenue budget.

Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman Report

The Cabinet was expected to consider a report regarding a complaint made to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) by Miss X about the withdrawal of funding for nighttime care. The LGSCO found fault in the way the council did not meet Miss X's needs and manage her direct payments.

The LGSCO made several recommendations, including apologising to Miss X, paying her £1,000 to acknowledge the missed opportunity and uncertainty, making a symbolic payment of £2,500 for placing her at risk of harm, reviewing her use of direct payments, reminding staff of effective complaint handling, and putting measures in place to ensure all direct payment accounts are reviewed every 12 months.

Scrutiny Stage 1: Recommendations Arising from Scrutiny

The Cabinet was scheduled to receive a report setting out recommendations from Scrutiny for consideration. These recommendations originate from the meeting of the Homes Sub-Committee on 25 November 2024, the Streets & Environment Sub-Committee on 28 January 2025 and the Scrutiny & Overview Committee on 27 May 2025.

Scrutiny Stage 2: Responses to Recommendations Arising from Scrutiny

The Cabinet was expected to approve its response to scrutiny recommendations presented in the Stage 1 report to the Cabinet meeting held on 11 February 2025. The response includes action plans for implementing agreed recommendations, indicating where a recommendation is already in progress, or reasons for rejecting recommendations.

Other Matters

The agenda also included:

• Approval of the minutes from the previous cabinet meeting on 26 March 2025¹
• Disclosure of interests from any of the attendees.