The London Borough of Bexley has underlined its commitment to providing value for money and good quality services, in agreeing to a transformative approach that focuses on innovation, efficiency and outcomes for residents.
At last night’s Public Cabinet meeting (10 July), the Council unveiled a new programme of transformation as part of its latest Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS), setting out how it will continue to deliver high-quality services for residents while tackling a significant funding gap.
The Council successfully set a balanced budget for 2025/26 against a series of challenging circumstances, including a growing and ageing population, an increase in demand and cost of services, policy changes such as the increase in National Insurance Employers Contribution and an elevated interest rate environment compared to previous years.
Many of these challenges continue, particularly within Children’s and Adult Social Care, SEN transport and Housing, where there is increasing demand, higher unit costs and greater competition because of changing market conditions.
Current planning assumptions point to a significant funding gap over the medium term. The transformation portfolio is the Council’s primary approach for setting a balanced budget for 2026/27, while also improving services for residents through innovation and efficiency.
The new transformation portfolio, approved last night alongside the MTFS, will reshape how the Council delivers services. Five initial transformation programmes will lead this work:
- Customer Experience – improving how residents access services and get support
- Children’s Services – enhancing early help, family support and placement outcomes
- Commercial – strengthening income generation through contract management and debt recovery
- Culture – building a modern, collaborative and forward-thinking workforce
- Corporate Core – simplifying internal processes and improving digital systems and data
This balanced approach means transformation activity will be delivered alongside a range of other steps, allowing the Council to respond to financial pressures without reducing the quality of frontline services.
In addition to the transformation programme, the Council is also carrying out:
- Comprehensive service reviews for all functions not primarily impacted through any of the five transformation programmes
- Technical accounting reviews, looking to cost options for savings in – for example - the Collection Fund, Pension Fund, Insurance Fund and Treasury Management budgets
- Reserve reviews. Following a comprehensive review in 2024/25, considering the forecasted use of reserves to ensure the Council retains a prudent level of reserves over the medium-term, a further review will take place within the 2025/26 financial year. Officers will continue to keep all planning assumptions supporting the MTFS under review and will provide a further update to Public Cabinet in late 2025
Leader of the Council, Cllr Baroness O’Neill of Bexley OBE, said:
The financial challenges we face are real but so is our determination to continue delivering for our residents. We are proud of our history in delivering good quality services that represent value for money. Our transformation portfolio is about doing things differently, not doing less.
We continue to actively seek new approaches and ways of working differently, that will avoid a reduction in service levels and reduce the financial and operational risks to the Council. By embracing change and focusing on what matters most, we can protect vital services, invest in our communities and build a stronger, more sustainable future for Bexley.”
Further transformation programmes will follow over the coming years, aligned to the Council’s priorities in the Bexley Plan and the borough’s long-term 2050 vision.