Greens forced to reckon with £19m budget black hole

Waltham Forest is facing the most financial stress when it comes to temporary accommodation, where it is sent to go over budget by £11million, reports Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter

Waltham Forest Council is already facing a £19million overspend this year as its financial troubles worsen.

The town hall entered the financial year with a £17m budget gap, and it was forced to borrow £19m from the government to stay afloat.

At the time, the former Labour administration said it would “help us protect our services that matter most to people” while “balancing the budget in the short term”.

Crucially, it would remove the need for further borrowing in the future.

The Green-led council is operating in “exceptionally difficult circumstances with increasing demand and costs,” a recently published report says.

The costs of adult and children’s social care, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) schooling and keeping homeless residents in temporary accommodation are all going up – an issue faced by councils across London.

They are driven by increases in “demand, complexity, inflation and market challenges”.

Waltham Forest is facing the most financial stress when it comes to temporary accommodation, where it is sent to go over budget by £11m.

While the number of households in such accommodation has reduced in recent months, the council says that underlying cost pressures remain and the market and demand remains volatile.

Residents facing homelessness are commonly owed a house duty by their local council, which means the town hall will find them settled accommodation to keep them off the streets.

But due to a city-wide shortage of social housing, councils are often forced to pay high sums to keep these families in hotels and other bed-and-breakfast (B&B) style emergency accommodation.

Meanwhile, the council is set to go over budget on social care by £7.5m.

While there is no indication Waltham Forest will seek ‘exceptional financial support’ next February, the report warns it may need to dip into its £30m reserves.

This year, the council hopes to make £18.6m in cuts. In a bid to raise £22m to fund various schemes that will bring in savings down the line, the council is looking at selling off land and buildings it owns.

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