Cabinet member for finance admits Haringey Council's next budget looking 'perilous'

A raft of new measures which could save the council around £7.6million were discussed this week, reports Joe Ives, Local Democracy Reporter

Tottenham Town Hall and (inset) cabinet member Johann Beckford

Haringey Council’s finances have been described as “perilous” and “beyond critical” as the local authority looks at new ways of clawing back control of its budget.

A raft of new measures which could save the council around £7.6million were discussed at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday (10th).

The savings were identified by officers for potential implementation in the 2027/28 financial year, which will start next April.

They come as the council looks to make a dent in mounting financial pressures that have seen it rely on £138m of ‘exceptional financial support’ (EFS) from the government over the past two years in order to balance the books.

Johann Beckford, the Green-led council’s cabinet member for finance, acknowledged the seriousness of the situation, kicking off Tuesday’s discussion by saying: “Haringey’s financial position is perilous – there’s no point in lying about that.”

Around £1.3m of the new cost-saving measures would be subject to consultation. The remaining £6.3m would be achieved through “management internal efficiencies”.

The £1.3m to be saved across the council’s ‘directorates’ include £500,000 from adult and social services, £642,000 in housing, £140,000 from the ‘environment and resident experience’ service and a further £55,000 in the council’s culture, strategy and communities budget.

The proposals were described as “officer-generated savings and cost-reduction ideas for initial consideration” rather than any direct instruction to councillors.

They’re meant to “represent the start of a conversation” for the local authority’s draft 2027/28 budget, due to be presented to cabinet members on 20th February next year.

Together with previously approved cuts – and subject to the outcome of any new consultation – the council says it is currently on track for £20.4m in savings for 2027/28, assuming “that all current and previous years savings are delivered on a recurring basis”.

In their report, officers described Haringey’s financial position as “beyond critical”, with EFS becoming “the only option available” for the council to meet its obligations in recent years.

Cllr Beckford, who described EFS as “effectively an emergency loan from the government”, argued that, with well over 30 councils in England currently in receipt of this funding, Haringey’s situation is, in reality, “far from exceptional”.

The council estimates it has endured a £143m reduction in real-terms funding from central government since 2010. These cuts, the council says, have come at a time in which demand for statutory services like adult social care have been “escalating”.

Cllr Beckford said the Green administration, which came to power following this year’s local elections, was “demanding” immediate reforms from Westminster, including the introduction of a nationwide council house building programme and a national care service.

Referring to the Labour government, Cllr Beckford argued that these measures “cannot be dangled in front of voters as vague commitments for a future parliamentary term while national budgets continue to serve re-heated Starmerism”.

The stark comments from the Green administration come as part of its “commitment to transparency and accountability” which includes a new consultation planned to allow the council to “hear the voices of residents” in its budget-making process.

Speaking at cabinet, Labour councillor Dana Carlin questioned the necessity of this, pointing out that over 80% of the savings identified by officers in the new report could be carried out without the public being given a say.

Cllr Beckford responded, labelling the criticism as “disingenuous” and arguing that the potential cuts going forward to consultation were those that would “most directly impact the residents in our borough”.

He added that the local authority would be “continuously assessing the situation” over the coming months and that he “fully expects” new potential cost-saving measures to be part of the discussion around the council’s budget for 2027/28.

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