The town hall overspent last year by £24million, which is £3m more than initial projections, reports Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter

Waltham Forest Council will need to keep “digging deep” to avoid financial doom, top councillors say.

The town hall overspent last year by £24million, which is £3m more than initial projections, according to recently published figures.

The biggest drains on the council’s coffers are providing temporary accommodation for at-risk residents and adult social care, which accounted for £15.1m of the overspend.

Councillor Paul Douglas, the cabinet member for finance, said on Tuesday (15th July) said the council “must continue to dig deep and reduce costs”.

If not, the council could be forced to borrow millions from the government within the next 18 months, Cllr Douglas warned.

Labour councillors have approved a range of cuts in recent months, such as slashing council tax support for thousands of residents and cutting extra financial help for people receiving home-based care.

Some authorities in London have sought “exceptional financial support” from the central government to avoid effective bankruptcy.

Havering Council, in east London, has faced similar pressures on its housing and social care sectors. It entered the current financial year with a budget gap of £74m, which was only plugged by a £88m bailout it will spend the next two decades repaying.

In 2024, Waltham Forest overspent by £18m – indicating a steady climb in costs.

Councillor Grace Williams, leader of the council since 2022, told the cabinet it was a “collective challenge” and the council needed to be “focused” on meeting it.

She said “efforts were already being made” but it was clear it was a “changing picture”.

There was no end in sight to the pressures from temporary accommodation, which stretched Waltham Forest’s budget by £10m, she said.

In most cases, councils are obliged to offer housing to residents at risk of ending up homeless on the streets. Due to a shortage of housing across London, they are often forced to put them in expensive hotels for months at a time.

Since 2010, when the Labour group first formed a majority after the local election, the council has worked to become a “leaner and more efficient operation,” Cllr Williams added.

Last October, staff members were told the council would be making a raft of internal cuts. These included freezing new hires and “significantly” reducing agency spending.

Many council leaders in London, such as Ray Morgon in Havering, have said that “real-term cuts” since 2010 have greatly impacted their ability to fund public services.

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