The Croydon Council Scrutiny & Overview Committee met on 22 July 2025 to discuss the council's financial performance, transformation plans, and future scrutiny work. The committee was also scheduled to review and approve recommendations from its sub-committees. The meeting was scheduled to take place at the Town Hall, Katharine Street.

2024-25 Provisional Outturn Financial Performance

The committee was scheduled to review the 2024-25 Provisional Outturn Financial Performance Report, which was also due to be considered by the cabinet the following day. The report provided the council's provisional financial performance for the general fund¹, the housing revenue account² (HRA), and the capital programme³. The committee was asked to consider its conclusions on the delivery of the 2024-25 budget, and whether any action was required, that needed to be recommended to the cabinet for further consideration, or prioritised within the Scrutiny Work Programme for a future deep dive.

The report noted that the council's historic borrowing and debt burden continued to be critical to the non-sustainability of the council's revenue budget, with over £60 million annual cost for the council to service the debt. It stated that dialogue with the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) continued around options of further financial support from the government in regard to the level of structural indebtedness to ensure the council can deliver sustainable local government services.

The report summarised the financial performance as follows:

The report also detailed the directorate variances, financial recovery plan, homelessness financial recovery plan, children's social care placements financial recovery plan, and SEND transport financial recovery plan.

Target Operating Model Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the council's Target Operating Model (TOM). The Target Operating Model Update report stated that the Future Croydon Transformation Plan (2024–2029) is one of the largest in local government and is central to Croydon's ongoing improvement journey, which began in 2020. The report provided an overview of the council's progress with the TOM, governance, and risk management. It also included individual project progress in Appendix 1 TOM Project Progress and the detailed risk register in Appendix 2 - Transformation Risk Register.

The report stated that the council worked with Boston Consulting Group between June and October 2024 to develop a new TOM, that radically transforms the council into a more efficient, responsive, and resident-centred organisation. The new TOM was agreed at cabinet in February 2025 and is aligned with the council's strategic priorities, the Mayor's Business Plan and MTFS supporting improved service delivery, smarter use of technology, and long-term financial sustainability.

The report also provided an update on the mobilisation of cross-council teams, benefits realisation, support partners, and the Star Chamber process.

Scrutiny Work Programme 2025-26

The committee was asked to agree the underlying principles to guide the work of the council's scrutiny function for 2025-26, the provisional work programme for the committee and its sub-committees, and the request for an additional meeting of the Homes Sub-Committee. The Scrutiny Work Programme 2025-26 report noted that the work programme may be subject to change depending on the government's decision on its intervention at the council and any emerging risks during the year. It also noted that the Scrutiny & Overview Committee meeting scheduled for 21 April 2026 would be cancelled, due to the pre-election period, and replaced with an additional meeting in autumn 2025.

The Appendix Work Programme 25-26 Draft Version set out the working version of the Scrutiny & Overview Committee work programme, as well as the working version of the Children & Young People Sub-Committee, Health & Social Care Sub-Committee, and Homes Sub-Committee work programmes.

Scrutiny Recommendations

The committee was asked to review the response provided by cabinet to recommendations made by the Scrutiny & Overview Committee, and approve the recommendations made by its sub-committees for submission to the cabinet for their consideration. The Scrutiny Recomendations - 22 July 2025 report included the cabinet response to recommendations made by the Scrutiny & Overview Committee on the Equalities Annual Report in Appendix 1 - Equalities Annual Report, the Gambling Act 2005 in Appendix 2 - Gambling Act 2005, and the Annual Complaints Report 2023-24 in Appendix 3 - Annual Complaints Report 2023-24. It also included the recommendations arising from Streets & Environment Sub-Committee meeting on 24 June 2025 in Appendix 4 - SE 24-06-25 Recommendations, and the recommendations arising from Homes Sub-Committee meeting on 19 June 2025 in Appendix 5 - Homes 19-06-25 Recommendations.

The Streets & Environment Sub-Committee recommended that the emissions reduction expected should be listed against each individual identified action, where possible, so that this can be tracked (following the completion of the Climate Risk Assessment), and that the council accelerates cross departmental plans to rollout technology to improve the effectiveness, efficiency and experience for council staff.

The Homes Sub-Committee recommended that the departmental stabilisation plan included specific housing-related targets that are parts of the cross-cutting priorities in the corporate Stabilisation Plan, for example how the Housing directorate was planning to reduce their agency spend, that post-placement contact with residents in out-of-borough placements is extended and embedded as a business as-usual process, that the inclusion of compensation clauses in out-of-borough contracts is explored if providers fail to deliver the agreed number of properties, that in addition to demand modelling for temporary accommodation placement and, a wider impact assessment be undertaken on how housing actions affect other department and the voluntary sector to identify the potential unintended outcomes, and that extra care and sheltered accommodation voids are included in the Stabilisation Plan to explore options to encourage residents requiring additional support to downsize from larger social housing accommodation.