Bromley Council is making strides in its four-year Transforming Bromley Programme, designed to ensure financial sustainability and deliver high-quality services. At the midpoint of its second year (2025/26), the programme is largely on track, with 96% of expected savings from Year One projects already realised.

The Executive reviewed the progress at a meeting on Wednesday 17 September 2025, noting that 84 out of 85 transformation projects launched in Year One (2024/25) are delivering £18.3 million of the £18.9 million target.

However, one digital transformation project is facing challenges. The report noted that £678k of savings for 2025/26 has not been met, representing 4% of the overall target, and the £1.624m target for 2026/27 is at risk. This means the council should anticipate a £678k shortfall against the £18.9 million Transformation Programme. The council will keep all digital opportunities under review with work ongoing to find other digital savings to address the shortfall.

The council undertook further scoping exercises for cross cutting corporate digital projects, which identified a potential for savings over five years. However, the level of upfront investment required, and associated risks were not acceptable under the current financial constraints, leading to the £678k shortfall.

A key component of the programme is digital transformation, which has contributed £3.3 million in savings during the first year. According to the council, departments have streamlined operations and embraced digital solutions, leading to quicker and more accessible services for the public. An overview of Digital, AI, and Digitally Enabled transformation initiatives can be found in Appendix One of the Transforming Bromley Programme Update 2025/26.

Objectives and progress of the Transforming Bromley program, showing financial sustainability, service improvement, and other key areas.
Objectives and progress of the Transforming Bromley program, showing financial sustainability, service improvement, and other key areas.

The council is using a Red-Amber-Green (RAG) status system to monitor the transformation projects. Green indicates that savings are being delivered on plan or ahead of schedule, amber indicates that savings delivery is at risk but there is a realistic plan to recovery, and red indicates that savings are off track and unlikely to recover.

Pie chart showing budget status: Green (14.61M, 79%), Amber (3.23M, 17%), Red (0.68M, 4%).
Pie chart showing budget status: Green (14.61M, 79%), Amber (3.23M, 17%), Red (0.68M, 4%).

The Transforming Bromley Programme Update 2025/26 also provided a special update on digital, artificial intelligence and digitally enabled transformation projects.

The Minutes 25062025 Executive from the previous meeting held on 25 June 2025, were confirmed.