Contents

Priority theme 3

An efficient and effective council

  • outcome 11 – Lobbying for Bexley and on the side of our residents
  • outcome 12 – Taxpayers’ money is spent wisely and well
  • outcome 13 - Customers at the heart of what we do
  • outcome 14 – Rigorous procurement and contract management to get the best services
  • outcome 15 – Attract, retain and develop an efficient, diverse, and inclusive workforce

What our data shows

Despite ongoing cost of living pressures, the percentage of households in Temporary & Emergency Accommodation which are in rent arrears has reduced by 6.3% this year. Council Tax and Business Rate collection rates slightly reduced and while there's been an increase in the number of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) issued (for parking and moving traffic contraventions), there's also been a slight decrease in the percentage that are paid.

The ‘abandon rate’ for contact centre calls was slightly higher this year compared to last, but still well within our 10% target. Meanwhile, the percentage of stage 1 complaints handled within timescale slightly improved this year, as did the percentage of stage 2 complaints but the percentage of statutory complaints closed in timescale worsened. A smaller proportion of stage 2 complaints were referred to the ombudsman this year. Of the 59 cases referred to the ombudsman this year, 48 (81.36%) resulted in no further investigation / no fault found.

Priority theme 3 data table

RefPerformance indicatorFrequencyDirection of travel2023/2024 Outturn2024/2025 OutturnRAG
FC_01Percentage of invoices paid within 30 days of invoice dateMonthlyincrease89.02%91.21%Amber
FC_02Percentage of invoices paid within 30 days of receipt by Accounts PayableMonthlyincrease97.62%99.05%Green
FC_03Percentage of debts collected in 90 days by volumeMonthlydecrease91.27%90.04%Amber
FC_04Percentage of debts collected in 90 days by valueMonthlydecrease88.58%86.04%Red
FC_05Percentage of debt placed on query hold from more than 90 days based on value (excluding deceased and secured)Monthlyno changeNew indicator8.42%No Target
FC_06Council tax collection rateMonthlydecrease95.35%95.05%Amber
FC_07Business rates collection rateMonthlydecrease97.23%97.07%Amber
FC_08Percentage of Stage 1 corporate complaints closed on timeMonthlyincrease77.45%77.89%Red
FC_09Percentage of Stage 1 statutory complaints closed on timeMonthlydecrease87.10%72.73%Red
FC_10Percentage of Stage 2 corporate complaints closed on timeMonthlyincrease61.62%73.33%Red
FC_11Percentage of Stage 2 statutory complaints closed on timeMonthlydecrease40.00%21.43%Red
FC_12Percentage of Stage 1 complaints that progress to Stage 2Yearlyincrease21.08%23.15%Green
FC_13Percentage of Stage 2 complaints which are referred to the OmbudsmanYearlydecrease25.97%24.06%Green
FC_14Percentage of member enquiries closed on timeMonthlyincrease78.67%83.31%Red
FC_24Percentage of calls abandoned (Contact centre and Capita)Monthlyincrease7.28%8.33%Green
PL_08Percentage of households in Temporary & Emergency Accommodation in rent arrearsMonthlydecrease53.85%47.58%No Target
PL_24Number of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) issued by CCTV (parking and moving traffic contraventions)Monthlyincrease32,13537,029No Target

RAG: Red, Amber or Green rating comparing outturn for the year (year-to-date, latest period available) compared to target over that period. Green = equal to or better than target, Amber = within 5% off target, Red = 5% or more from meeting target.

Stepping away from the data, much has been achieved this year that furthers our Corporate Plan outcomes under priority theme 3. The following list provides a small selection of recent activity and achievements:

  • after setting a balanced budget for the coming year, we will be investing more than £500m in day-to-day services in 2025/26, as well as £262m over four years through our capital programme – including £86m in 2025/26
  • we participated in an LGA Peer Challenge review of Finance in 2025, designed to complement our own performance and improvement focus
  • we have developed and implemented a Transformation Programme this year designed to fundamentally change the way the council operates and deliver best value. The programme involves reshaping the council’s strategy, processes, culture, technology and structure to achieve significant improvements in performance, resilience and outcomes for residents and businesses. This programme will help us address the challenging financial context we face
  • we have instigated a Corporate Debt Board this year to improve our debt recovery and monitoring, improve cash flow and reduce the level of write-offs and bad debt provision
  • a Corporate Spend Panel has been meeting twice a week this year to review all expenditure
  • in addition, we have put in place a Transformation Board to drive change and continuous improvement and oversee delivery of five specific business cases
  • we agreed two new ground leases with New River Retail Ltd for Broadway Shopping Centre and Broadway Square, Bexleyheath, securing a premium to fund the Transformation Programme next year
  • our Customer Experience Strategy launched this year with its aim to put customers at the heart of what we do. A new call satisfaction survey has been launched and is giving useful insight into the quality of our call handling and customers’ confidence in our response. So far, 85.4% of respondents felt they were treated respectfully, 78.1% felt confident their issue was dealt with and 85.5% felt listened to. We expect all these figures to improve as the strategy is implemented
  • we have also completed the first phase in implementing a new case management system in our contact centre which will bring all contact centre systems into one place, streamline processes for staff, and improve the experience for customers who call us
  • we have completed a number of digital projects including developing a data warehouse that enables us to automate reporting and provide more timely management information to our service managers, automating the process for dropped kerb applications, improving ‘fix my street’, implementing ‘WasteWorks’ a new platform for reporting missed bins and trialling use of artificial intelligence solutions across the organisation
  • our new People Strategy has been agreed and sets out our approach to attracting and retaining a high-quality workforce who represent the changing nature of the Borough
  • over 100 applications were received for work experience, mostly from students at schools in the borough
  • in addition, we have continued to press the borough’s case with Government, TfL and the Mayor of London, opposing the new charges at the Silvertown and Blackwall tunnels that impact Bexley residents who need to cross the river for work and arguing for the Superloop to stop in Bexley Village