Grace Williams has said financial pressures on the town hall’s budget are only getting ‘tougher and tougher’, reports Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter

Waltham Forest Council will need to make £15million in cuts this year as financial challenges continue to worsen.

Council leader Grace Williams said savings were needed to rein in a projected £31m overspend, but the situation was becoming “tougher and tougher”.

In order to balance last year’s budget, the council was forced to make £10m in cuts.

They included slashing council tax support for low-income residents, scrapping free parking across the borough, and reducing how much it spends on internal agency workers.

Council tax went up by 4.99% – an average of £100 a year for band-D properties – though Cllr Williams said authorities “rarely have a choice”.

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “We are constantly thinking about [money].

“Since 2010, we’ve made £140m in savings. Last year, we made £10m and this year we’ll need to make at least £15m. But every year, that becomes tougher and tougher.”

The town hall is set to reduce – and eventually scrap – a discretionary financial boost for residents receiving home care from November onwards. The cabinet is expected to approve the cuts at a meeting next week.

She added: “I don’t think we can expect there to be a magic solution. Whatever we do, we will need to deal with fundamental changes and there will need to be more savings.”

Though cuts are on the horizon, the Labour leader said “we have to find a way out of [our] problems.”

In reference to the overall shortage of homes in the borough, she said “we have to accept we don’t have enough affordable homes to house all the homeless families”.

“We have to build, but we need the government to help us prevent homelessness,” she added.

Housing homeless families is one of the biggest pressures on Waltham Forest’s coffers, with each family costing around £246 a week. Last November, a total of 1,549 households were living in temporary accommodation.

Waltham Forest’s funding is based on its status as an outer London borough, which means it brings in reduced business rates and council tax.

This ultimately leaves the town hall at a “bit of a disadvantage,” Cllr Williams said, which is “disappointing”. She described Waltham Forest as an “outer London borough with inner-borough need.”

Looking ahead, the William Morris ward councillor said the funding formula – which determines how much money councils are given each year – needed to be overhauled to better reflect councils’ needs in 2025.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is currently reassessing how councils are funded, and Cllr Williams said she was “optimistic” it will improve.

Funding settlements are expected to be unveiled near the end of 2025.

The town hall has recently launched Waltham Forest Together, a £62,000 initiative aimed at platforming local groups.

The leader said the council will be consulting with residents on how to tackle pressing issues such as the “housing crisis,” community safety and community cohesion, which is a “growing thing we have to contend with and find answers together”.

She added: “None of those things can be solved by one council alone. We need to work with our partners, businesses and community groups. Doing it together is going to make the biggest difference.”

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

In one of the most dire examples, Havering Council was approved for an £88million loan in February, in order to plug a budget gap of £75m.

Cllr Williams said the reality of Waltham Forest needing to borrow was “getting ever closer,” having previously said it could happen within 18 months.

“We’re not the sort of local authority that wants a hand-out. This is not about us not being financially well-run, it’s about the fact we’ve not had enough funding for 15 years.

“If we are to seek support from the government, it will be for things that can change the situation we’re in now, such as temporary accommodation.”

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