Redbridge Council must save £12m in budget by next year

Council leaders have so far proposed £16 million in service “efficiencies” or new income but still have a gap of £57 million left to close by 2027.

A combination of Covid-related demands on services, lost income and receiving half the government funding it did a decade ago means the council must save £12 million by next year alone.

Deputy leader and cabinet member for finance Kam Rai told councillors earlier this week he has earmarked £5 million in savings before the budget deadline in February and is “working on closing” the remaining £7 million gap.

Speaking at the people scrutiny committee on December 14, he said: “I think everyone knows how difficult it’s been over the past 12 months.

“We have seen the impact of long Covid in terms of funding, but also in terms of income recovered over the past year.

“That’s carried on to this financial year because, while we have received Covid-funding in the early part of the year, we still haven’t recovered fully.

“The challenge has been to focus our savings on income generation and investing saving to improve outcomes – services cuts are the last thing we want to see.”

Redbridge will not be given Government Covid-19 funding to match last year’s £7 million.

This is despite ongoing pandemic-related financial pressures, such as higher numbers claiming council tax support, a low income from business rates and increased homelessness as the eviction ban was lifted.

Cllr Rai told the committee the council added support during the pandemic, with a new well-being service, extra domestic violence response, free school meals and the “everyone in” policy for the homeless.

To close the gap other measures are also being considered, such as selling or renting out office space, looking for more “commercial opportunities”, maximising debt collection and if unavoidable, staff cuts.

The short-term strategy is “investing to save”, by spending more money in social care to “improve outcomes” in the future.

He said: “It’s our thinking that spending on expectant mothers will reduce the need for them to come into our care.

“And at the other end identify the number of adolescents in very high cost packages of care, usually residential provisions.

“It is our working proposition that if we provide intensive work of therapy we believe we can support their movement back into their family or into lower cost foster care.”

Cllr Mark Santos said: “I pay real tribute that our teams have achieved these savings, it becomes harder each year and they are ones which are focused around improving situations for people.

“That’s always been the focus we have held but it’s becoming much more of a challenge and a worry.”

Government funding has halved since the Conservatives came into power in 2010, leaving the borough £87 million worse off, said Cllr Rai.

Per-head funding for residents is also in the lowest quarter in London – at £719, people in Redbridge are about £400 worse off than the average resident.

When asked what savings Redbridge has, Cllr Rai said: “We’ve got £63 million in earmarked reserves and if we include balances in the children’s fund, that comes to a figure of £88 million.”