LGA Corporate Peer Challenge: London Borough of Bromley

A team of local government peers, led by the Local Government Association (LGA) delivered a Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC) of the London Borough of Bromley from 10 to13 March 2026. This was the council’s first CPC. 

CPC is a well-established and respected improvement and assurance tool that provides robust, strategic and credible challenge and support to councils. Further details about the CPC process can be found in Appendix A.

The peer team consisted of highly experienced and knowledgeable senior local government councillor and officer peers (see section four). We considered the five core areas covered by all CPCs: local priorities and outcomes, organisational and place leadership, governance and culture, financial planning and management and capacity for improvement. 

This report provides the London Borough of Bromley with feedback on the peer team’s findings. It provides the council with a set of high-level recommendations alongside further suggestions for improvement within the body of the report. The council is expected to publish this report together with a clear action plan to respond to all the recommendations highlighted.  

Bromley is a well-performing council with a track record of delivering good outcomes at comparatively low cost. The borough has benefited from longstanding political and managerial stability, and the peer team observed a positive culture that has permeated through the organisation. The council has an earned reputation for sound financial management and value for money, although significant and growing financial risks have emerged. Many services are performing strongly despite operating within the lower quartile of spend per head across London.

The council is, however, operating in a significantly more challenging context. The impact of the Fair Funding Review, increasing demand in key service areas such as social care and housing, and the scale of the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) gap means that Bromley will need to take increasingly difficult decisions to maintain financial sustainability.

The council’s long-term Corporate Strategy, 'Making Bromley Even Better (MBEB)', sets out a well understood organisational vision. Since its adoption in 2021, the operating context has changed significantly, and the peer team recommends that the council uses the period following the May 2026 elections to refresh MBEB to ensure it remains deliverable and reflects the priorities of the organisation and the wider borough.

Bromley benefits from effective organisational leadership. The peer team observed constructive member-officer relationships and heard consistently positive views about the Chief Executive and senior leadership team. The council is able to demonstrate many achievements, and the peer team would encourage it to build on this by confidently celebrating its successes, both internally and externally. At the same time, the council can be perceived as insular or "flying under the radar" compared to other authorities. There is an opportunity for the council to take a more outward-facing approach across the organisation - engaging more actively in regional and sub-regional partnerships, particularly at political level - to share strong practice and learn from others, given that a number of the financial challenges facing Bromley are shared across the sector.

The peer team regards effective communications and engagement as a key enabler of organisational and service transformation. There is an opportunity to modernise the council's approach, making greater use of digital platforms and video to deliver more engaging and targeted messaging to both internal and external audiences.

Partners spoke positively about the council as a trusted and constructive organisation with whom it is possible to have difficult conversations. Established partnerships, including the One Bromley Partnership and the Safer Bromley Partnership, appear to be operating effectively. However, it was also suggested that these could be more effective when working across service areas, with some frustration at ‘silo working’.

The council has also made positive progress in strengthening its approach to economic development and inward investment, notably through the establishment of Opportunity Bromley, which is seeking to position the borough as a pro-growth, business-friendly location. Building on this, the council should consider refreshing its Regeneration Strategy (2020 - 2030) to articulate an ambitious and cohesive borough-wide vision for regeneration and growth. While there are good examples of regeneration activity at a local level, a clearer strategic narrative - potentially supported by the master planning of key sites - would help demonstrate the council’s intent and provide greater confidence to partners and investors.

The peer team agrees with the external auditor that there are generally sound governance arrangements in place. However, the persistence of statutory recommendations issued following the 2023/24 audit, which have been carried forward into the 2024/25 audit, is a concern and requires urgent attention. The council has recognised this and identified additional resources through the 2026/27 budget to strengthen capacity and support the audit process.

The council appears well prepared for the May 2026 elections, with a refreshed member induction programme in development. This provides a valuable opportunity to strengthen the wider member development offer and ensure councillors are supported with appropriate training and development throughout the electoral cycle.

Financial sustainability represents the most significant challenge facing the council. While Bromley has historically taken a prudent approach, and kept costs low, the increasing reliance on using significant levels of reserves to set and balance the budget is not sustainable. The council needs to act now to address this reliance and avoid embedding a culture in which reserves are used to support recurrent expenditure.

Despite the scale of the financial challenge, there are a number of levers available which should be actively explored. These include maximising income generation, developing commercial opportunities, considering the role of council tax and making more strategic use of the council’s asset base. Bromley holds a substantial estate of over 4,000 assets and has undertaken significant work in recent years to optimise this, including generating over £30m in capital receipts through disposals. This positive progress should continue, supported by a clear long-term approach to asset optimisation and disposal where assets no longer support strategic priorities or deliver value for money.

Given the scale of Bromley’s financial challenge, the council will have to consider all options, move at pace and be willing to take increasingly difficult decisions, something which shall require political resolve and full transparency.

The Transforming Bromley programme is the council's primary vehicle for meeting this financial challenge. The programme is broad in scope, capturing all activity that contributes to savings, and is well known across the organisation. To date, it has delivered considerable savings through a range of improvement and efficiency activities.

However, given the scale of the MTFS gap and intensifying demand pressures, the nature of transformation will need to evolve. The next phase of Transforming Bromley should focus on a smaller number of genuinely transformative, cross-cutting opportunities, with greater emphasis on prevention, early intervention and demand management. Alongside this, the council should articulate more clearly what a transformed Bromley will look like - setting out a compelling future vision for the organisation and engaging staff, partners and residents in shaping it.

The peer team also recommends strengthening the council’s HR and organisational development (OD) offer to ensure it is equipped to support the next phase of transformation. This includes ensuring sufficient capacity within the HR service to provide both operational and strategic support, updating core policies to ensure compliance and investing in leadership development to build capacity and capability.

The following are the peer team’s key recommendations which have been prioritised on the grounds of urgency and importance. 

3.1 Recommendation 1: Immediately address the reliance on reserves to balance the budget

Set a clear expectation that the 2027/28 budget and refreshed MTFS are balanced without the use of reserves. This should be underpinned by a strong, council-wide focus on reducing demand and managing unsustainable growth in high-cost services, working with partners to drive system-wide change and going further on income generation and savings. As part of this, the council should consider the role that council tax will need to play in securing medium-term financial sustainability.

3.2 Recommendation 2: Evolve your transformation ambitions and programme

Build on the success of Transforming Bromley while sharpening the programme’s focus on a smaller number of genuinely transformative, cross-cutting opportunities. This next phase should place greater emphasis on prevention, early intervention and demand management. The council should work to articulate what a transformed Bromley will look like and how this differs from the organisation today.

3.3 Recommendation 3: Unlock the opportunities from digital, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and customer services transformation

Review and update the digital and AI strategy to ensure that it is firmly grounded in service redesign rather than technology alone. Ensure strong alignment between Transforming Bromley and digital programmes, with digital positioned as a key enabler of transformation. This should support a more consistent, digital-first approach to customer services, improving user experience, increasing productivity and delivering sustainable savings through channel shift.

3.4 Recommendation 4: Celebrate your achievements and learn from others

Adopt a confident and consistent approach to celebrating the council’s achievements: internally, with residents and across the wider sector. Undertake a more concerted organisational effort to learn from others and share Bromley's best practice. Ensure the council’s narrative strikes an appropriate balance between acknowledging financial challenges and communicating the strong outcomes being delivered, in a way that motivates and empowers the organisation to take the necessary decisions ahead. This should include the organisation being open and transparent about areas for improvement as well as celebrating success.

3.5 Recommendation 5: Refresh the Corporate Strategy

Refresh the Corporate Strategy to reflect the significantly changed context since its adoption in 2021, using the post-election period as an opportunity to update priorities and organisational vision. Ensure the refreshed strategy is clearly aligned with political priorities, the MTFS and a refocused transformation programme.

3.6 Recommendation 6: Develop a clear, unified borough-wide vision for regeneration and economic growth

Set out a single prioritised framework to unlock commercial, development and investment opportunities across the borough, incorporating the different roles and identities of Bromley’s key economic assets. This should be closely aligned to the emerging Local Plan and provide a strong, accessible narrative for investors, partners and communities, clearly articulating Bromley’s long-term vision and ambitions as a place.

3.7 Recommendation 7: Unify the council’s approach to resident and service user engagement

Bring together the insight and data collected across services into a stronger corporate framework. Reduce fragmentation, enable a clearer whole-organisation view of demand and resident experience, and support more evidence-led decision-making and improvement. Similarly, develop a more consistent corporate approach to managing councillor enquiries, reducing siloed systems and improving oversight, responsiveness and organisational learning.

3.8 Recommendation 8: Develop a more engaging and modern approach to communications

Refresh both the internal and external communications approach with greater use of digital platforms, video and more proactive storytelling to better engage staff, residents and partners. Treat communications as an underpinning enabler of transformation to develop a clear programme of targeted campaigns aligned to the council’s priorities and transformation ambitions, building on the ongoing programme of foster carer recruitment and the Shared Lives campaign.

3.9 Recommendation 9: Strengthen human resources (HR) and organisational development (OD)

Review and update core HR policies and strengthen the council’s OD offer, including more robust succession planning for key roles with a clear recruitment and retention strategy. This should be complemented by targeted leadership development opportunities and a significant improvement in appraisal completion and recording rates.

3.10 Recommendation 10: Strengthen the member development offer

Use the 2026 elections as a catalyst to enhance the overall programme, including a comprehensive and engaging induction for new and returning councillors. This should be complemented by tailored training and ongoing development for key roles (for example, portfolio holders, planning, audit and scrutiny and committee chairmen), drawing on external support where needed to enhance the offer. Ensure there is a sustained member development training programme across the electoral cycle.

Peer challenges are conducted by experienced LGA peers, including elected councillors and senior officers. The composition of the peer team was shaped by the specific focus of the challenge, with the LGA selecting peers based on their relevant expertise. The peers for this CPC were:

• Stephen Evans, Chief Executive, Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead
• Baroness O'Neill of Bexley OBE, former Leader, London Borough of Bexley
• Kathy Freeman, Strategic Director of Resources (S151), London Borough of Havering
• Rachel Crossley, Corporate Director of Service Reform and Strategy, London Borough of Brent
• Adam Bryan, Director of Place, Medway Council
• Gavin Handford, Director for Policy, Change and Customer Services, Reading Borough Council
• Emily Nice, Director of Human Resources & Organisational Development, London Borough of Sutton
• Harry Parker, Peer Challenge Manager, Local Government Association.

5.1 Local priorities and outcomes

Bromley is the largest borough in London by area, located on the capital's south-eastern edge, bordering the London Boroughs of Croydon, Southwark, Lewisham, Greenwich, Bexley and Lambeth, Kent and Surrey. It is characterised by a distinctive mix of urban and rural communities, with several town centres alongside extensive green belt land covering over half of the borough. Bromley is the eighth most populous London borough, with a population of over 330,000. The borough has a notably older demographic profile, with the largest population of residents aged over 65 in the capital (circa 58,000). Its population is also becoming increasingly diverse, with 23 per cent of adults identifying as being from Asian, Black and other ethnic heritage backgrounds at the last census. 

The council’s strategic direction is set through its 10-year Corporate Strategy, 'Making Bromley Even Better' (MBEB) 2021 - 2031, which articulates a vision for the borough through five ambitions: for children and young people, for adults and older people, for a thriving economy, for a safe, clean and green environment and for high-quality public services. These ambitions are translated through annual Portfolio Plans into delivery targets and key performance indicators (KPIs) across each Cabinet portfolio. The peer team found the overall vision of the MBEB to be well understood by members and officers, reflecting the benefits of Bromley’s long-term political and organisational stability.

This stability has enabled a consistency of vision with the purposively long-term MBEB. However, the peer team sees an opportunity to refresh the Corporate Strategy following the May 2026 elections to ensure it reflects the significantly changed financial and operating context since its adoption in 2021. This refresh should be co-designed with partners and align with the MTFS and a refocused, prioritised transformation programme.

Bromley has a strong track record of delivery, with Children’s Services a particular strength. The service was rated ‘Outstanding’ in all areas by Ofsted in 2023, representing a significant improvement from an ‘Inadequate’ judgement in 2016. This is complemented by an ‘Outstanding’ rating for the Youth Justice Service from HM Inspectorate of Probation in 2025, alongside consistently strong education outcomes, with 95 per cent of pupils attending schools judged ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’. Notably, these outcomes are achieved within a comparatively low-cost base, with spend per head on children’s services (£1,253) below the London average (£1,588) in 2024/25.

However, the council faces a significant and growing challenge in relation to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Bromley has the highest rate of Education, Health and Care Plans in London, placing considerable pressure on services and contributing to a rising Dedicated Schools Grant deficit. The in-year overspend is forecast at £17m, with the cumulative deficit projected to reach £77.5m by 2027/28. The council has developed a deficit management plan, but delivery will require sustained focus and pace in implementing transformation across SEND services and home-to-school transport.

The SEND Governance Partnership Board is preparing for an imminent SEND inspection, providing an opportunity to reflect on performance and implement improvements and service transformation.

Bromley’s large and growing older population is driving sustained demand for Adult Social Care. The borough benefits from a generally strong care market; however, it is characterised by a high proportion of self-funders (around 60 per cent compared to a London average of 23 per cent). While this can reduce reliance on council-funded provision, it also creates affordability challenges for Bromley contributing to higher placement costs for council-funded residents. This reinforces the importance of continuing efforts on demand management and prevention. The council would benefit from drawing on learning from comparable authorities, including those outside London with similar demographic profiles and market conditions. The recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessment, once finalised, should be used to inform a clear and timely improvement action plan.

The peer team heard strong examples of services focused on early intervention and prevention activity such as the Tackling Loneliness Strategy (launched in 2022), a system-wide approach to addressing social isolation. Co-produced with over 200 voluntary and community sector (VCS) partners, it reflects effective partnership working and a sustained focus on prevention, and has received national recognition, including a Gold iESE Transformation Award in 2024.

Bromley continues to face persistent pressures in relation to temporary accommodation, which represents a major cost driver for the council. While the borough’s rate of households in temporary accommodation remains lower than the London average, a limited supply of social housing has increased reliance on costly nightly paid provision, which accounts for around 85 per cent of placements. The council has taken some positive steps to manage demand, reducing numbers from around 1,600 in August 2025 to approximately 1,475 in March 2026.

A key element of the council’s response has been the increased use of direct property acquisitions for temporary accommodation. The council has made effective use of government flexibilities - successfully lobbied for by Bromley - to expand its housing stock outside of a Housing Revenue Account. This approach is helping to reduce revenue pressures; however, as the council’s role as a landlord grows, it will be important to ensure robust governance and oversight of housing management responsibilities.

Looking ahead, there is a need to continue to focus on prevention, including supporting more households into the private rented sector (PRS) and enhancing its role in PRS brokerage and market management to reduce inflows into temporary accommodation. The peer team also encourages the council to articulate a clear long-term vision for housing and homelessness, balancing the needs of homeless households with those on the wider housing waiting list. This should be supported by regular review of the housing allocations policy and register.

The council’s environmental services are a particular strength and a source of pride. Bromley has achieved the highest recycling rate in London for the third consecutive year in 2024/25, with over 50 per cent of household waste recycled, alongside maintaining a weekly waste collection service. Electrification of the refuse fleet is taking place alongside investment in waste transfer facilities. The peer team noted that the refuse service has not universally adopted wheely bins, and it is worth exploring with the council’s supplier what efficiency opportunities this may provide.

The council has set an ambitious target to become net zero as an organisation by 2027 and has developed a Climate Change Action Plan to support this. There has been positive progress in areas such as estate decarbonisation and initiatives like “Treemendous”, which is supporting large-scale tree planting in partnership with local community groups.

However, the peer team did not see this ambition consistently reflected as a clear corporate priority with delivery to date uneven. It is highly unlikely that the council will meet its 2027 net zero target, with significant work still required, particularly in areas such as building retrofit. Achieving the stated ambition will require substantial investment, which may be challenging in the current financial context. The council’s net zero action plan primarily focuses on its own operational emissions; there is an opportunity to work more closely with partners to develop a broader, borough-wide approach to net zero and climate action.

Performance

Bromley operates a largely devolved approach to performance management, with accountability held at directorate and service level. This reflects a conscious decision to empower services and strengthen local ownership of performance. Regular monitoring is in place through monthly highlight reports for directorate management teams, tracking progress against KPIs set out in Portfolio Plans. Performance information is also reported quarterly to Portfolio Holders and through relevant Policy Development and Scrutiny (PDS) Committees. At a corporate level, the Chief Officers’ Executive (COE) receives a high-level performance dashboard, with RAG-rated indicators for discussion and escalation where required.

While the council is committed to this approach and values the accountability it creates at service level, the peer team heard mixed views on its overall effectiveness. There is a risk that the devolved model can lead to siloed working and limit the organisation’s ability to maintain a clear, corporate grip on performance. The council should ensure that performance issues are identified and addressed in a timely and co-ordinated way, and that there is a consistent, organisation-wide understanding of performance across services. There is an opportunity to strengthen this further through greater use of digital tools to provide accessible, real-time performance information and to track actions to effectively manage risk.

The devolved approach also extends to how resident and service user insight is gathered, with responsibility sitting within individual services. While this enables capturing information at a more micro level, there is a risk that insight is not consistently brought together to inform corporate decision-making. The council should ensure that regardless of its approach, it has a clear, organisation-wide view of demand, performance and resident experience.

The council should also satisfy itself that it is making systematic and effective use of all available data and insight, including customer contact and complaints information, to support a holistic understanding of service performance and enable informed, evidence-based decision-making.

5.2 Organisational and place leadership

Organisational leadership

Bromley has benefited from a high degree of political and managerial stability, which has provided continuity and consistent direction for the organisation. The council has been under Conservative majority control since 2001, with the current Leader in post since 2017. 

The peer team observed and heard described to them constructive and respectful relationships between members and officers, underpinned by a shared commitment to the borough and its residents. Reflecting good practice, in March 2026 Bromley adopted a member-officer protocol, helping to codify expectations and reinforce professional standards.

The Chief Executive, in post since 2019 and previously Deputy Chief Executive, is widely respected by members, officers and partners for his approachable and supportive leadership style. The peer team consistently heard that he has made a significant positive impact and role models the council’s REAL (Respect, Empower, Ambition and Learn) values. The wider senior leadership team were similarly described as supportive and compassionate, with good working relationships evident across COE.

Bromley's approach to communications remains largely traditional, with significant emphasis on established channels such as the quarterly Our Bromley magazine. There is an opportunity to refresh and modernise this approach. The peer team would encourage a shift towards more insight-led communications, making fuller use of the council's data and intelligence to deliver targeted messaging to specific audiences. In particular, the council should look to make greater use of video and social media to deliver more engaging and impactful communications. Other outer London boroughs have found these to be popular, cost-effective ways to reach communities across the borough.

There is also scope to strengthen how communications are planned and evaluated. Developing a clear communications grid would support better sequencing and alignment of activity, ensuring an appropriate balance between reactive and proactive communications, linked to corporate priorities and the transformation programme. This should include delivering targeted campaigns in key areas – such as the existing foster care recruitment campaigns. Alongside this, the council should move beyond output-based measures and place greater emphasis on evaluating the impact and effectiveness of its communications activity. There is an opportunity to learn from best practice across the sector, including emerging innovative approaches, and the council may wish to consider commissioning an LGA Communications Health Check or peer review.

The peer team heard generally positive views from staff about internal communications, including the organisational briefings and 'Ask the Chief Executive' sessions. There is, however, an opportunity to broaden the visibility of the wider COE and senior leadership team, with greater involvement in communicating key messages across the organisation. The council should explore more interactive and engaging approaches - including greater use of short video clips and contributions from leaders at different levels - and consider how the physical workspace can better support internal communications, for example through screensavers and digital displays across council office sites.

The council has made positive progress in developing its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy 2025 - 2028, supported by governance through a Corporate EDI Board and a network of EDI Champions. It is encouraging that the workforce broadly reflects the diversity of the borough, particularly in relation to race and gender, including at senior levels. There is scope however to strengthen this further by translating the EDI strategy into a clear, prioritised delivery plan with measurable outcomes. The council would also benefit from broadening its focus beyond race and gender to ensure a more consistent and comprehensive approach across all protected characteristics. 

Place leadership

Bromley demonstrates strong and well-established partnership working, with the council consistently described as an “excellent partner with whom you can have difficult conversations”, reflecting a high level of trust and maturity in its relationships. Statutory partners spoke positively about the council’s constructive approach and the strength of the longstanding relationships.

This is particularly evident through the One Bromley Partnership, which is operating effectively in supporting joined-up working across the health and care system. The co-chairing of the partnership by the council Leader and a senior health representative was widely praised, alongside the benefits of co-locating the Integrated Care Board (ICB) within the civic centre. There has also been a clear effort to align priorities across partnerships, with the MBEB ambitions reflected in partnership plans such as the One Bromley Plan.

The council also plays an active convening role across the borough, through forums such as the bi-monthly Borough Partnership Forum, which brings together public sector and VCS leaders to discuss cross-cutting issues.

The peer team heard positive feedback from VCS organisations about their relationship with the council, including the impact of initiatives such as the Innovation Fund, described as a “game changer” in enabling delivery and strengthening community capacity. Given its success, there is an opportunity to consider how this approach could be broadened beyond health and social care to support wider corporate priorities through closer working with the VCS.

However, VCS partners also highlighted that engagement with the council can at times feel siloed, particularly when working across multiple services. There is an opportunity to strengthen co-ordination of a whole-council approach to its VCS engagement, making it easier for partners to navigate and work with the organisation.

There is also a strong appetite - from both the VCS and the council - to further develop co-production. While there are good examples in practice, particularly within Adults and Children’s Services, such as the work with Bromley Together on learning disabilities, this approach is not yet consistently embedded. The council should build on the pockets of good practice and adopt a more systematic and participatory approach to co-production, making it part of business as usual.

The council’s approach to community and resident engagement is devolved, with responsibility for gathering service user feedback largely sitting within individual services and commissioned providers. While this enables locally responsive engagement, it is important that this rich insight is brought together corporately, enabling an organisation-wide understanding of resident experience and feedback. Given the length of time since a comprehensive benchmarked residents’ survey has been undertaken, the council should consider commissioning one to provide a broad view on the organisation, capturing the views of residents who may not routinely engage with services.

Bromley participates in regional and sub-regional partnerships, including London Councils and, more recently, Local London. However, there remains an opportunity for the council to take a more active role across these networks. The peer team heard that Bromley can at times be perceived as “flying under the radar” and is relatively insular compared to other authorities. There is scope to make fuller use of these partnerships to both learn from others and share Bromley’s own strong practice. Given the council’s track record of delivering good, value-for-money services, it is well placed to engage confidently at a regional and sub-regional level.

Bromley has made positive recent progress in strengthening its approach to economic development and inward investment, underpinned by the Bromley Growth Plan 2024 - 2027. The plan sets out an ambition to enhance business engagement and attract investment through a more co-ordinated, partnership-led approach. A key development has been the launch of Opportunity Bromley in September 2025, the borough’s dedicated inward investment service, positioning Bromley as a pro-growth, business-friendly location and promoting it as “London’s space to grow”.

Opportunity Bromley is a helpful step in raising the borough’s profile and addressing a recognised challenge that Bromley has historically “punched below its weight” in attracting inward investment. The peer team would encourage the council to build on this momentum by further strengthening engagement with businesses, developers and partners, including refreshing and relaunching the Bromley Economic Partnership to support a more co-ordinated approach to growth.

The council has an established Regeneration Strategy (2020 - 2030), which identifies key sites and opportunities across the borough. While there is evidence of positive activity at a localised level, the current approach can feel fragmented, being delivered through a range of plans and project-based initiatives. There is an opportunity to articulate a clearer, more cohesive borough-wide regeneration vision that brings together an overall ambition for place-making and growth.

The council should consider refreshing the Regeneration Strategy to support the development and communication of a more ambitious and unified vision, aligned with the Bromley Growth Plan and Opportunity Bromley. This could include masterplanning key sites and town centres to demonstrate the ‘art of the possible’ and provide greater confidence to partners and investors. Delivering this vision will require continued, and potentially strengthened, collaboration with strategic partners such as the Greater London Authority (GLA) and Network Rail, alongside the use of external expertise where appropriate. As a significant landholder, the council is well placed to take a leading role in driving regeneration by using its assets to unlock and accelerate development opportunities. The peer team recognises that this will not be straightforward; realising the borough’s full regeneration potential will require a confident and ambitious approach to shaping and delivering a clear long-term vision for Bromley.

The council is in the process of updating its Local Plan and is currently working towards an ambitious timetable for submission by the end of the calendar year. However, this timeline does not appear achievable, particularly as housing targets for the borough have not yet been confirmed by the GLA. In this context, the peer team would encourage the council to review the timetable and consider further consultation to ensure the plan is robust and deliverable. The council’s current position of not maintaining a five-year housing land supply increases the risk of speculative development, reinforcing the importance of progressing a sound and defensible Local Plan.

The council has recently adopted a Sport and Leisure Strategy 2026 - 2036, with provision delivered through a long-term partnership with Mytime Active. The borough’s leisure offer appears strong, supported by significant capital investment, including the refurbishment of the Walnuts and West Wickham leisure centres. As the lease arrangement with the contractor matures, and with income being a critical consideration for the MTFS, it is incumbent upon the council to proactively review the contractual arrangement to ensure the benefits for residents and the council are maximised, including through exploring wider commercial opportunities.

There has been some exciting progress on key culture and heritage sites and projects, but the peer team felt despite this, culture and heritage currently play a less prominent role within Bromley’s wider place narrative than they could. There is an opportunity for the council to take a stronger convening and curating role, working with partners to develop a more distinctive cultural identity for the borough. Linked to this, the borough’s night-time economy is relatively underdeveloped, and there is scope for the council to strengthen its approach in this area.

5.3 Governance and culture

Bromley operates a system of six PDS Committees, aligned to the council’s executive portfolios. All executive decisions are considered by the relevant PDS committee in advance, enabling cross-party input and providing backbench members with the opportunity to comment on proposals prior to Executive decision-making. The peer team heard that the PDS model is generally effective, supported by structured annual work programmes. However, the peer team heard that capacity constraints can limit the committees’ ability to undertake more in-depth policy development work. 

With all major committees and the PDSs being chaired by members from the majority group, the council should consider following best practice and having a chair from outside the majority group.

External audit identified a number of significant issues which require focused and timely action from the council. Following the 2023/24 audit, the external auditor issued three Section 25 statutory recommendations relating to the finance function:

• a review of finance workflow and responsibilities
• improvements to quality assurance processes for the accounts and supporting working papers
• addressing capacity issues within the finance team.

These recommendations have been carried forward into the 2024/25 audit, reflecting limited progress to date. The external auditor highlighted a key governance weakness in the quality of working papers and the council’s capacity to effectively support the audit process. Senior officers recognise these issues, and additional resources have been identified through the 2026/27 budget to strengthen capacity.

The peer team identified that the accessibility and readability of financial monitoring reports could be improved, making them clearer and easier for members and residents to interpret. Reviewing the presentation and communication of financial information would strengthen transparency and support wider understanding of the council’s financial challenges and the rationale for change.

Despite these concerns, the peer team agrees with the auditor’s assessment that there are generally positive governance arrangements in place, including effective oversight from the Audit and Risk Management Committee, which has two experienced independent co-opted members.

However, the persistence of the statutory recommendations is a concern and highlights the need for a more urgent and co-ordinated response. Addressing these issues should not sit solely within the finance function; it requires clear whole-council ownership and a collective commitment to delivering improvement at pace. The peer team also agrees with the external auditor’s assessment that financial sustainability represents a significant risk, particularly given the council’s ongoing reliance on reserves to set and balance its budget.

Internal audit is delivered through a mixed model, combining in-house capacity with external resource. In 2024/25, 84 per cent of completed audits received ‘reasonable’ or ‘substantial’ assurance, with overall assurance on governance, risk management and internal controls assessed as reasonable. There is also positive evidence of management responsiveness, with 93 per cent of recommendations accepted and an implementation rate of 80 per cent.

However, the peer team heard that significant resourcing pressures, particularly within internal audit and counter-fraud, where vacancy levels are around 50 per cent, may limit the service’s ability to provide sufficient coverage and assurance on a sustained basis. This presents a risk that control weaknesses or system failures are not identified and addressed in a timely way.

The council appears well prepared for the May 2026 elections, with a refreshed member induction programme being developed to support new and returning councillors. The peer team would encourage the council to build on this by providing a comprehensive and ongoing development offer across the electoral cycle, including tailored support for key roles such as portfolio holders and committee chairs. Positively, the council has introduced personal development plans for members to help identify individual training needs. It would be helpful for the member training to be reinforced through active support and clear expectations from group leaders to encourage participation and personal ownership of learning.

The forthcoming election also presents an opportunity to review the council’s approach to handling member enquiries. Currently, enquiries are sent directly to individual officers, which can lead to variability in responses and limits the council’s ability to capture and analyse this information corporately. The peer team heard examples of services developing local tracking systems; however, the absence of a consistent, organisation-wide approach results in fragmented oversight and an incomplete understanding of enquiries. 

The council may wish to consider introducing a more structured and centralised system, similar to those used for MP enquiries, Freedom of Information requests and subject access requests. This would support a more consistent member experience and strengthen the council’s use of data and insight, enabling better identification of trends. The council may also wish to draw on best practice from across the sector in developing and implementing such an approach.

Bromley benefits from a positive organisational culture, with staff and members demonstrating a strong sense of pride in serving the borough and its residents. The peer team consistently heard that staff are regarded as the council’s strongest asset. This is supported through initiatives such as the annual staff awards and biannual staff conference.

This culture is underpinned by the council’s established REAL values which are generally well understood and embedded through corporate induction and the ‘Discuss’ appraisal framework. There is, however, an opportunity to further strengthen their visibility through greater promotion across council buildings and communications. Given that the REAL values were introduced in 2006, the council may also wish to consider refreshing them to ensure they remain relevant and continue to resonate with the workforce.

The council last undertook a full staff survey in 2022 and has recognised through its workforce strategy that this is now overdue, with a new survey planned for 2026. This will provide valuable insight into workforce sentiment and enable benchmarking against other councils. The peer team encourages the use of sector-benchmarked questions to strengthen comparability. Looking ahead, the council should consider adopting a more regular and structured approach to staff engagement, combining periodic full staff surveys with departmental surveys and lighter-touch organisational ‘temperature check’ surveys.

While Bromley has many strengths, the peer team heard a perception that the organisation can at times place greater emphasis on highlighting positive achievements rather than openly addressing areas of challenge. Maintaining a balanced approach - celebrating success while also recognising and addressing where improvement is needed - is important in supporting a culture of continuous improvement. The council may wish to consider how it ensures it remains open to constructive challenge and is able to identify and address issues in a timely way.

5.4 Financial planning and management 

Bromley has a reputation for sound financial management and delivering good value for money, with many services operating within the lower quartile of spend per head across London while maintaining strong outcomes. The council has historically taken a prudent approach to financial management, supported by reserves (forecast at £128m as at 31 March 2026) and a low-risk profile. Notably, Bromley has no external borrowing and therefore no revenue impact from debt servicing. This places the council in a particularly strong position compared to its peers, with the London median for annual debt servicing at around 9 per cent of revenue expenditure in 2024/25.

However, the council’s financial position is at significant risk and is becoming increasingly challenged. The impact of the Fair Funding Review and wider funding changes has resulted in significant reductions in annual funding - £6.5m in 2026/27, rising to £22.2m by 2028/29 - alongside increasing demand and complexity in key service areas. For 2026/27, the council has built in substantial growth (£32.8m) alongside a significant savings requirement (£29.3m).

The council has drawn heavily on reserves in recent years to both set budgets and manage in-year pressures. In 2024/25, £24m of reserves were used, followed by £13.6m to support the setting of the 2025/26 budget, alongside a further forecast £16.1m to manage the in-year overspend. For 2026/27, £25.4m of reserves have been drawn down to set the budget. While this approach has helped manage immediate financial pressures, the scale and trajectory of this drawdown is not sustainable and presents a growing risk to the council’s financial resilience.

At the current rate of use, reserves would be fully depleted by 2028/29, or sooner if overspends continue or planned savings are not fully delivered. The council needs to urgently address a culture where reserves are relied upon to set and balance budgets, rather than being used as a one-off mechanism to manage exceptional pressures.

The peer team considers it essential that the council addresses this reliance and sets a clear direction to reduce and ultimately eliminate the use of reserves for recurrent expenditure. This should include establishing a clear expectation that, from 2027/28 onwards, the budget and MTFS are balanced without the use of reserves. Achieving this will be challenging and will require difficult decisions, with a particular focus on early intervention, prevention and demand management.

Demand pressures, particularly within housing and social care, represent the most significant risks to the council’s financial position. Recent budgets have included substantial growth to address these pressures and recurring overspends, including £16m for Adult Social Care in 2026/27. While this has stabilised budgets in the short term, it is not sustainable and contributes to an increasing budget gap that must be offset through further savings. The introduction of Growth Reduction Boards is a positive step in strengthening challenge and scrutiny of growth proposals. Building on this, a stronger, council-wide focus on demand management and cost control will be critical to the next phase of Transforming Bromley.

The council’s three-year MTFS clearly identifies the scale of the financial challenge ahead, with projected gaps of £43.4m in 2027/28 and £61.1m in 2028/29, even after planned savings. There are, however, a number of levers available which will need to be actively explored. Bromley has relatively low council tax compared to other outer London boroughs, and the council should consider the role that future council tax levels will need to play in supporting medium-term financial sustainability. Alongside this, there is scope to go further on income generation and commercial opportunities, building on existing examples of more enterprising use of assets and services, such as the redevelopment of West Wickham Library. This should include continued review of contractual opportunities, alongside regular benchmarking and review of fees and charges.

Asset management will also play an important role in responding to the council’s financial challenge. The introduction of a corporate landlord model is a positive step, alongside recent work to improve understanding of the estate through condition surveys and valuations, overseen by the Corporate Landlord Board. The council has generated over £30m in capital receipts through disposals in the past year. 

Given the size of the council’s estate, containing over 4,000 assets, the peer team believe and heard a recognition during the CPC that there remains scope to go further in optimising asset use and bringing forward further disposals where assets no longer support strategic or financial priorities. Asset management is rightly positioned as a key enabler of transformation and the MTFS. In generating capital receipts, it will require strategic decisions about how the receipts are used, whether for capital reinvestment to offset borrowing and/or for flexible use for transformation.

The council has also taken a positive step in commissioning a Discretionary Services Review to better understand the balance of spend between statutory and discretionary services. The review provided a categorisation of discretionary, discretionary preventative, “Statutory B” and “Statutory A”, helping to clarify between statutory requirements and local choice. Using a ‘minimum viable council’ methodology, the exercise identified that around 90 per cent of the council’s expenditure is on statutory services. It also incorporated benchmarking against comparable authorities to identify potential opportunities for savings and income generation and is expected to generate a significant pipeline of savings of over £10m per annum.

Bromley remains in a relatively stable position in that it has options available. However, addressing the financial challenge will require difficult but necessary decisions over the coming years. The peer team’s view is that, given the scale of the challenge, all realistic savings and income-generating opportunities should be considered at an early stage. This will require political resolve and a willingness to challenge long-held assumptions.

If these challenges are not addressed, on the current trajectory the council is likely to need to seek Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) in the coming years. This would represent a significant shift for Bromley, moving from a position of no external borrowing to potentially borrowing to support day-to-day revenue expenditure. The peer team would encourage the council to fully explore all available options to delay or minimise the need for EFS.

5.5 Capacity for improvement

Transforming Bromley is recognised as the council’s umbrella approach to change and savings delivery and is well known across the organisation. There is strong awareness of the council’s financial context and the need for change, with staff understanding the rationale for transformation. The programme is broad in scope, capturing all activity that contributes to savings. The council has a strong track record of delivery, achieving £102m in savings during Transforming Bromley Phase 1 (2019 - 2023) and over £50m identified within Phase 2 (2024 - 2028), predominantly achieved through improvement and efficiency activities. Maintaining, and increasing, this momentum will be essential given the scale of the financial challenge.

Given the MTFS gap and intensifying pressures - particularly demand growth in high-cost areas such as housing and social care - the nature of transformation will need to evolve. The peer team encourages the council to build on its success to date by sharpening the focus of the programme towards a smaller number of genuinely transformative, cross-cutting opportunities. This next phase should place greater emphasis on prevention, early intervention and demand management. Positively, the peer team heard a recognition of this within the organisation, with an appetite to “be braver and more innovative and not just focused on cost trimming”.

The breadth of the Transforming Bromley programme can make it difficult for staff to clearly identify the council’s key transformation priorities. There is an opportunity to provide greater clarity by distinguishing between service improvement/efficiencies and transformational change. The council should also articulate more clearly what a ‘transformed Bromley’ will look like over the medium term, including how services and delivery models will differ from today. In doing so, there is an opportunity to engage proactively with staff, partners and residents to shape the future vision for the council.

Transforming Bromley is delivered through a hub-and-spoke model, with a small central team providing co-ordination and oversight alongside devolved responsibility to services. This approach aligns with Bromley’s culture of local accountability and ownership. However, the central transformation hub is lightly resourced, and as the programme evolves, the council may wish to strengthen corporate capacity for programme and project management to provide greater assurance over delivery and pace. The council should consider where additional or specialist external expertise could support delivery, particularly in driving forward complex, cross-cutting transformation – such as the commissioning of the Discretionary Services Review. Strengthening the approach to benefits realisation and validation will also be important, including making greater use of internal audit and, where appropriate, external audit to support independent assurance.

Digital is recognised as a key enabler of transformation, and the council has developed a Digital and IT Strategy supported by a pipeline of projects. This includes early work on artificial intelligence, with pilots underway in Children’s Services and planning. There is a clear ambition to use digital to support service improvement, and an opportunity to build on this by ensuring that digital transformation is increasingly aligned to service redesign and demand management, and identifying whole organisation transformation, rather than being technology-led alone.

The council’s devolved approach is also reflected in digital delivery, with services leading their own developments. While this supports local ownership, it can result in siloed solutions and missed opportunities for integration. The council’s Digital Strategy Board provides an important mechanism for co-ordination, and there is an opportunity to strengthen corporate oversight to ensure digital investment is prioritised and strategically aligned. Delivering meaningful digital transformation at scale will require investment, supported by robust ‘invest to save’ business cases, with a clear focus on initiatives that reduce demand and enhance the resident experience.

Improving the resident experience is a priority for the organisation, aligned with its digital ambitions to embed a digital-first approach. This should support a smoother user experience when engaging with the council, while also driving efficiencies through greater channel shift to digital platforms. The council’s website is a key enabler, which requires updating, with opportunities for improvement including the planned introduction of chatbots to support self-service and reduce avoidable contact. 

The council’s customer services approach is a recognised area for improvement, the customer centre is outsourced, and effective clienting of this arrangement will be essential to ensure that performance meets the expectations of both the council and residents. There is also an opportunity to improve the end-to-end customer journey, particularly where enquiries span multiple services.

Currently, only 61 per cent of complaints are responded to within 20 working days (2024/25), and the council’s one-stage complaints process does not align with the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) Code. The peer team would encourage a review of this approach, including consideration of adopting the recommended two-stage model. COE should provide continued focus on monitoring performance in this area to increase the timeliness of response, having recently increased capacity in this service.

The council’s workforce will be critical to delivering the next phase of transformation. The HR service is currently undergoing a restructure, transitioning to a new HR Business Partner model. This presents a timely opportunity to strengthen the service and ensure it is able to provide both effective operational support and strategic input. The peer team heard that HR capacity is currently constrained, and the council should assure itself that sufficient capability and resource are in place to support effective operations and Transforming Bromley.

There is a need to ensure that core HR policies and procedures are up to date and compliant with current legislation. Some policies are reported to be outdated and would benefit from review and refresh. The peer team also encourages the council to review delivery across the Workforce Strategy (2025 - 2028), Organisational Development Strategy, draft Delivery Plan (2026/27) and EDI Strategy (2025 - 2028), ensuring these are well co-ordinated. Given the significant synergies and interdependencies between these strategies, this will require clear alignment and sufficient capacity within HR, OD and the wider senior leadership team to support effective delivery.

Positively, the council has developed a draft OD strategy. However, investment in OD has been limited in recent years.  There is an opportunity to strengthen the offer through targeted leadership development programmes, including initiatives to support the progression of underrepresented groups, drawing on best practice from across the sector. Embedding OD across the employee lifecycle and linking it clearly to performance management and appraisal processes, would be a useful development.

The council should also strengthen its approach to staff appraisals. Completion rates are low, with only around 30 - 40 per cent recorded in 2024/25. The development of a digital monitoring system and a target to increase completion rates to at least 80 per cent are positive steps. These should be reinforced through a clear corporate expectation that appraisals are completed routinely across all services, underpinned by appropriate accountability expectations for managers.

The council has developed a recruitment and retention strategy with the council’s workforce strategy 2025-2028 has a priority to ‘Attract, Recruit and Retain Talent’ and is in a relatively strong position, with low vacancy rates in key areas and agency usage below 10 per cent in Adult and Children’s social care. The council has also benefited from a stable senior management team and a loyal workforce. Building on this, the peer team would encourage the council to more proactively position Bromley as an employer of choice, including by clearly articulating and benchmarking its attractive employment offer.

Looking ahead, succession planning for key roles presents a growing risk. While the council’s track record of internal promotion is positive, there would be benefit in complementing this with targeted external recruitment to bring in additional skills and diversity of thought, particularly at CLT-level. The council should also continue, and where possible expand, its ‘grow your own’ approaches, including apprenticeships and graduate programmes.

Bromley operates a functional contracts register, supporting governance and forward planning of its re-procurement pipeline. Positively, social value considerations are included in tenders, encouraging clauses for apprenticeships and the use of local supply chains. There is, however, an opportunity to take a more proactive and strategic approach to commissioning, including greater use of market shaping and innovation to drive efficiencies and improved outcomes.

The council recognises the need to further strengthen its contract management arrangements, including developing frameworks and building capacity across the organisation. Continued investment in upskilling staff and improving consistency in contract management practice will be important to ensure effective clienting of contractors to maximise value.

The senior political and managerial leadership of the council should review and reflect on the findings and recommendations from this CPC.

To promote the principle of transparency, it is a requirement of the CPC process that the final report is published in-full within three months of the review being completed, therefore no later than 13 June 2026.

There is a requirement for the London Borough of Bromley to develop and publish an action plan within five-months of the peer team being onsite, therefore no later than 13 August 2026. 

The action plan will also be central to the peer team’s re-engagement with the London Borough of Bromley through a progress review which is due to be completed and published by 13 March 2027.

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government have published the Best Value Standards for Local Authorities. These standards expect every council to engage in a Corporate or Finance Peer Challenge at least every five-years. It is therefore expected that the London Borough of Bromley would commission their next CPC no later than March 2031.

In the meantime, Mona Sehgal, Principal Adviser for London, is the main contact between Bromley and the LGA. Mona is available to discuss any further support you require and can be contacted on [email protected]. 

CPC is a valued improvement and assurance tool that is delivered by the sector for the sector. It involves a team of senior local government councillors and officer peers undertaking a comprehensive review of key information and spending four days at the council to provide robust, strategic and credible challenge and support.

CPC forms a key part of the improvement and assurance framework for local government. It is underpinned by the principles of Sector-led Improvement put in place by councils and the LGA to support continuous improvement and assurance across the sector. 

Scope and focus

The peer team considered the following five areas which form the core components of all CPCs. These are critical to councils’ performance and improvement.

1. Local priorities and outcomes - are the council’s priorities clear and informed by the local context? Is the council delivering effectively on its priorities? 
2. Organisational and place leadership - does the council provide effective local leadership? Are there good relationships with partner organisations and local communities?
3. Governance and culture - Are there clear and robust governance arrangements? Is there a culture of challenge and scrutiny?
4. Financial planning and management - Does the council have a grip on its current financial position? Does the council have a strategy and a plan to address its financial challenges? What is the relative financial resilience of the council?
5. Capacity for improvement - Is the organisation able to bring about the improvements it needs, including delivering on locally identified priorities? Does the council have the capacity to improve?

As part of the five core areas outlined above, every CPC has a strong focus on financial sustainability, performance, governance and assurance

The peer challenge process

Peer challenges are designed to support improvement, not inspection. They are not intended to provide a detailed or technical assessment of plans and proposals. Instead, the peer team uses its experience and knowledge of local government to reflect on the information shared with them, the things they observe, and the material they review.

To prepare, the peer team looks at a range of documents and information to understand the council and the challenges it is facing. This includes a position statement prepared by the council before the visit, which sets out the local context and highlights areas for the team to focus on.

The peer team then spent four days with Bromley. During this time, the team gathered evidence, information and views by meeting with council staff, councillors, and external stakeholders. This helps them build a rounded picture of the council’s strengths and areas for improvement.