Southend Council met 19 of its 31 performance targets from July to September and missed seven. Anti-social behaviour complaints rose to 252, from 174.

Southend-on-Sea City Council met 19 of its 31 performance targets between July and September 2026, and missed seven. Four more were close to target, and one is only measured at year end.

The figures are in the council’s Corporate Performance Report for the second quarter. Cabinet will note it on Monday 16 November at 6pm, and all four scrutiny committees will look at it too (cover report).

The council describes performance as stable since the spring. Two measures got worse: anti-social behaviour complaints went from green to red, and recycling at the tips went from amber to red. Three improved from amber to green: care leavers in work or education, families kept out of long B&B stays, and business rates collection.

Anti-social behaviour complaints jumped by nearly half

The council’s Community Safety Unit took 252 anti-social behaviour complaints between July and September. The target was fewer than 229.

That compares with:

  • 174 in April to June 2026
  • 193 in July to September 2025
Bar chart of anti-social behaviour complaints to Southend Council's Community Safety Unit: 193 in July to September 2025, 174 in April to June 2026 and 252 in July to September 2026, against a target of under 229.
Chart by Southend Today. Source: Southend-on-Sea City Council, Corporate Performance Report Q2 2026/27.
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The unit received 319 complaints of all kinds in the quarter, so anti-social behaviour made up 78.9% of them. More than half (55.4%) of the anti-social behaviour complaints were about neighbour nuisance.

The council says the figures are “broadly stable and in line with seasonal averages”. This measure counts only reports made to the council’s own unit. It is not a count of all anti-social behaviour in the city, much of which is reported to Essex Police instead.

The other six targets the council missed

  • Recycling at the tips. 58.12% of waste at the household waste recycling centres was recycled, against a target of 62%. The figure is SUEZ’s unaudited calculation for July and August only.
  • NHS Health Checks. 1,863 people have had one this year, against a target of 2,368. That is still up on 1,754 at the same point last year. The council has agreed a recovery plan with GPs and its provider, Everyone Health, including 750 extra outreach checks by March 2027.
  • Children in care. The rate is 82 per 10,000 children, against a target of under 75. It was 85.4 a year ago. At the end of September the council was looking after 325 children.
  • Pre-school places in the poorest areas. 74.9% of under-fours in the most deprived parts of Southend were in pre-school activity or education. The target is 85%. The council says the September figure rose as funded places began for the autumn term.
  • Spending with local firms. 41.93% of council spending went to businesses in Southend, Rochford and Castle Point, against a target of 45%. Southend firms alone took 36.39%, or about £30.5 million across 1,047 suppliers.
  • Councillor training. 58% of councillors have completed four required courses, on data protection, cyber security, safeguarding and fraud. The target is 80%.

The four close calls

  • Complaints answered on time: 84.93% so far this year, against 85%. Of 456 complaints answered between July and September, 390 were on time.
  • Gas safety checks in council homes: 99.58%, against 100%. Twenty homes are overdue because the council could not get in, and its legal team is seeking injunctions to gain access.
  • Electrical safety reports in council homes: 99.54%, against 100%. Twenty-eight homes still need one. The report says many are hard to access because of problems such as hoarding or bedbugs.
  • Adults with a learning disability in paid work: 9.1%, against 9.5%.

Where the council hit its targets

  • Bins: 3,153,510 collections were scheduled in the quarter, and 0.13% were recorded as missed. That is 99.87% on schedule. Your collection day is on our Southend bin collection days page.
  • Potholes: every inspected pothole that needed a repair was fixed within 28 days. All 737 road and pavement safety inspections were done on time.
  • Council tax: 52.2% of this year’s bill had been collected by the end of September, exactly on target. The council expects to collect 97.2% by March. Bands and charges are on our council tax bands page.
  • Homelessness: 99 of the 151 households the council helped at risk of homelessness kept their home or moved to a settled one without becoming homeless. That is 66%, against a target of 55%. No family with children spent more than six weeks in B&B.
  • Council homes: 98.7% met the Decent Homes Standard. The 77 that do not are in a programme of works, with the aim of full compliance by March.
  • Visits: museums, galleries, libraries, the pier and council leisure centres had 835,624 visits between April and September, against a target of 765,000.
  • Vaccinations: 95.5% of five-year-olds have had at least one dose of the MMRV jab. These figures run a quarter behind.
  • Hardship grants: Essential Living Fund applications took 13.89 days on average, inside the 15-day target but up from 7.98 days in the spring.
  • Freedom of Information: 91.79% of requests have been answered on time this year. The council received 468 between July and September, 83 more than in the spring.

The Local Plan is the one plan action marked red

A second report tracks the 39 actions in the council’s delivery plan (Appendix 2). Three are complete, 27 are making significant progress and seven are progressing. One is paused: the reorganisation of local government into a new South East Essex council. That programme closed on 25 September after the government paused it.

The only red action is the Local Plan. The update, written at the end of September, says the government’s 31 December deadline for submitting a plan under the current system “will not now be met”. Since then the government has directed the council to publish its draft plan, and the final consultation is open until 21 December. Our Local Plan story explains how to comment.

What it means for you

  • If you have a problem with neighbours or anti-social behaviour, you can report it to the council’s Community Safety Unit as well as to Essex Police. Reports to the council are what this measure counts.
  • If you have had a letter inviting you to a free NHS Health Check, the council is behind its target for the year and is adding 750 outreach checks.
  • The performance report sits alongside the council’s money worries. Its latest finance report forecasts an overspend of nearly £12 million this year, mostly in social care. In the spring, the same performance report showed complaints nearly tripling in two years.