A council-wide transformation programme delivered only three-quarters of its planned savings last year, falling £6.2 million short of its targets.
Southampton City Council’s adapt | grow | thrive programme brought in £18.3 million in cost benefits in 2025/26.
This was 25 per cent short of the savings leaders had planned.
An annual report said the shortfall did not prevent an in-year budget surplus of £400,000, after the council called on money from specific reserves.
The report said the overall programme had achieved recurring savings of £28.3 million over its first two years, but warned there were still “persistent challenges” in some services.
It highlighted continuing pressure in children’s and adults’ social care
Children looked after costs remained high despite the number of children in care being down 10 per cent over two years.
The average cost per child increased by 5.8 per cent in 2025/26.
Adult social care continued to face pressure from the high cost of care packages for people with complex needs.
The cabinet report said: “Addressing these structural cost drivers through preventive interventions, market shaping, and innovation in service delivery remains a top priority.”
Key achievements in the first two years of transformation include the new school travel service, which has saved £3.2 million by optimising transport routes for pupils.
The report said this and other initiatives had contributed to a more effective organisation.
Labour council leader Sarah Bogle said: “We have made significant progress in our journey with transformation. We have made over £18 million of savings (in 2025/26) and we are definitely in a much stronger place overall as a council.
“We went from 28 strategic projects.
“We are now on around 15 so we have still got a lot of work to do.
“We’re not completely out of the woods but I am really grateful for the huge amounts of work that’s gone into delivery this year.”
The report said the third year of the programme sees a transition from the ‘adapt’ phase focused on stabilisation and cost control to an emphasis on ‘grow’.
It added: “This includes scaling successful initiatives, investing in digital and data capabilities, and embedding productivity improvements across services.
“Alongside continued focus on prevention, this phase will prioritise sustainable growth in service capacity, income generation, and long-term value creation.”
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