Elmbridge Borough Council
The challenge
The council had already achieved £15 million in savings and increased income between 2010 and 2020. However, the financial context remained difficult. The 2021/22 budget included a forecast of £2.37 million net impact from COVID-19. While progress had been made through investment in customer services, including an 80% first contact resolution rate, the council faced an ongoing £3 million savings requirement.
To respond, the council commissioned external support to test the robustness of its existing plans, bring challenge and insight and identify new opportunities for long-term sustainability.
The result
We delivered a structured engagement over eight weeks, using our Achieve framework and tailoring the approach to the council’s financial position and operating environment. The programme focused on four core elements:
Data-driven insight: we analysed budget data and applied benchmarking to understand current spend and income across services.
Collaborative design: we worked closely with senior leaders and service heads to shape realistic opportunities rooted in the operational context.
Opportunity assessment: we reviewed existing and new ideas, tested them through joint working sessions and prioritised the most viable options.
Implementation planning: for the top 10 priority areas, we developed short, practical action plans to enable immediate progress.
Key activities included:
Mapping 174 revenue outturn line items across services and portfolios.
Developing an analysis pack for service leaders, including spend and income breakdowns and comparator benchmarking.
Identifying opportunities based on historic data and internal insight.
Facilitating working sessions to shape a deliverable opportunity portfolio.
Supporting Heads of Service to present options to the Corporate Management Board.
Engaging elected members to shape and test emerging priorities.
Outcomes delivered included:
Portfolio of 195 opportunities for cashable savings, mapped to services, priorities and savings types.
Risk-weighted estimate of £3.8 million to £7.4 million per annum in potential opportunities.
Implementation plans developed for the top 10 opportunities.
Areas of focus included support services, strategic housing, and community and leisure.
Opportunities incorporated into the next Medium-Term Financial Plan, with elected member support.
What made it successful
Focus on impact: the eight-week timeline and focused outputs supported momentum and action.
Collaborative working: service leaders helped shape opportunities from the outset, increasing relevance and ownership.
Robust analysis: financial insight and benchmarking gave confidence in the scale and feasibility of recommendations.
Member alignment: regular engagement with elected members helped test proposals and build consensus.
Delivery focus: practical implementation plans made it easy for the council to move quickly on priority opportunities.