Newham Council's Best Value Self-Assessment, presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday 17 March 2026, indicates significant progress in financial stability, governance, and service delivery, while acknowledging areas requiring further improvement.
The assessment, delivered by Interim Chief Executive Paul Martin, highlighted that the council has set a balanced budget for 2026/27 without requiring Exceptional Financial Support (EFS), a notable turnaround from previous years. The previous need for EFS was driven by spiralling costs of temporary accommodation
and pressures in major social care services,
leading to a £46m requirement for EFS in 2025/26. This necessitated an 8.99% council tax increase and the use of £51m in capital receipts to cover revenue costs. The current balanced budget is attributed to a very favourable outcome for Newham from the government's Fair Funding 2.0 review,
alongside a commitment to delivering £89.819m in savings over the next three years.
The Delivering Best Value for Residents Plan 2026/27
outlines the council's ongoing commitment to enhancing service delivery, financial sustainability, and governance. This plan sets out the high-level improvement priorities for the coming year, focusing on improving services for residents, ensuring financial sustainability, and strengthening governance, culture, and capability. The plan can be viewed in full here: Delivering Best Value for Our Residents Plan 2026-27.
However, the assessment also identified specific areas needing further attention, particularly within housing services and adult social care. The report noted that while progress has been made, further work is required to achieve full compliance with national health and safety standards in housing services and to embed robust systems and practices for future resilience.
The council has not yet fully met national health and safety requirements in its housing services. The Regulator of Social Housing issued a C4 judgement in 2024 highlighting fundamental failings, notably in compliance with key health and safety requirements.
While progress has been made in reducing the highest risks, the council is still not compliant with national requirements. A major improvement programme is underway, with a target to deliver 5,000 planned-works Fire Risk Assessment (FRA) remedial actions within 18 months, aiming for 80% compliance within 12 months. The council is also working towards entering a Voluntary Undertaking with the Regulator in spring 2026.
The council's response to the non-statutory Best Value Notice, issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in May 2025, has been a central focus. The notice highlighted concerns regarding value for money, culture and governance, and significant service delivery issues. The council was expected to improve financial stability, work with the independent Improvement and Transformation Board, review scrutiny processes, implement cultural change, ensure effective leadership, and deliver against recommendations from various reviews. The assessment acknowledges that while the council has made good and tangible progress, the journey to complete improvement will take time. The full assessment can be found here: NTIB BVN assessment.
Key risks identified include the upcoming change of administration following the May 2026 elections, the recruitment of a new Chief Executive, and the need to ensure core systems and processes are robust and efficient.
Plans are in place to address these challenges. The Whole Council Digitisation Programme is being mobilized as a major three-year initiative to improve the end-to-end resident journey and experience, optimize service design, and deliver better digital enablement. Housing Needs and Planning Services are part of the first delivery phase. A new procurement operating model is being developed to strengthen central control and ensure compliance, overseen by the Audit & Governance Committee. Furthermore, a new Data Strategy will be implemented to enhance data and intelligence across the council. The council also intends to refresh its approach to scrutiny post-election to ensure it remains fit for purpose for the next council term, as outlined in the OSC Work Programme 2025-2026.
In adult social care, following a CQC inspection that rated the service as 'Requires Improvement', a refreshed Adult Social Care Improvement Plan has been developed. This plan focuses on improving working with people, providing support through early intervention and prevention, ensuring safe systems and safeguarding, and strengthening leadership and governance. Current challenges include embedding a consistent culture and managing financial pressures common to the sector. The service is also working to embed the strongest cost management practices.
The council also has 18 Local Authority Trading Companies (LATCos), whose purpose and governance arrangements are being reviewed to ensure they are modern and appropriate. A shareholder governance framework and an ethical governance protocol have been added to the Constitution to align with best practice guidance.
