Richmond upon Thames Council's Corporate Plan for 2025/26 has revealed a mixed bag of performance results, with some areas showing significant improvement while others lag behind targets. The Policy and Performance Review Board met on Thursday, July 16, 2026, to scrutinise the end-year performance data, as detailed in the Public reports pack.
The review highlighted successes in areas such as Adult Social Services, where smoking cessation rates increased by 38%, and safeguarding enquiry outcomes remained high at 98.6%. Education and Children's Services also saw improvements, with a reduction in the number of looked-after children placed far from home and an increase in care leavers securing employment, education, or training.
Environmentally, the council reported a 10.9% reduction in household waste per head of population and an increase in the percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling, and composting, reaching 46.2%. Physical visits to library sites also saw a 6.6% increase.
However, the report also detailed areas of underperformance. Admissions to residential and nursing homes for those aged 65+ rose to 425.3 per 100,000 population, exceeding the target. This increase, from 359 in the previous year, is attributed to a rise in the complexity of need, later life frailty, and changes in the profile of people requiring support, rather than demographic growth alone. Factors influencing this include changes in the prevalence of frailty and dementia, hospital discharge patterns, the capacity of informal carers, and housing circumstances. The indicator is particularly sensitive to a small number of residents with very high needs. Additionally, an increase in former self-funders approaching the council after depleting their assets, coupled with significant rises in care home fees above inflation, has contributed to the trend. The average age of admission to care has risen from 84 to 86, suggesting residents are being supported to remain independent for longer.
The number of affordable housing completions was also impacted by delays, with only 37 units completed against a target of 88. The underperformance was primarily due to the delayed completion of 63 homes at the Ham Close regeneration project, where on-site issues, including legal discussions over a substation, pushed the handover to June 2026.
To address the shortfall in affordable housing, the Richmond Growth Plan supports the delivery of 5,500 new homes over the next 10 years, including up to 500 affordable homes in the next five years. The specific forecast for 26/27 is to be confirmed, with an updated annual report on affordable housing delivery due in the Autumn. The council is also utilising its Richmond Housing Grant and has secured £11.8 million from the MHCLG's local housing fund to purchase properties for temporary accommodation, with a further bid submitted to the GLA program.
Transport and Air Quality indicators showed particular concern, with only 28% of monitoring locations achieving Nitrogen Dioxide air quality objectives against a 100% target. The council acknowledges this target was aspirational and long-term, and with hindsight, phased targets should have been set. The air quality team is exploring target profiling for the 26/27 corporate performance targets. Richmond has adopted the World Health Organization interim target of 20 microgrammes per cubic meter for Nitrogen Dioxide, to be achieved over the next five years, supported by a robust Air Quality Action Plan.
The number of on-street cycle parking spaces added also fell short of the target, with 216 spaces installed against a goal of 400.
