Budget 2017: Delivering more with less

Published: 3 Mar 2017

The Budget that the Redbridge Council delivered and passed last month speaks to our values and our vision; it provides the foundations for this Labour administration to deliver its aims and ambitions for Redbridge and to transform the way we operate.

With unprecedented cuts by the Central Government to local Councils, the world of public administration continues to change at a dramatic speed, providing new challenges that we need to overcome.

The indisputable fact, that Redbridge, as one of the fastest growing boroughs in the country, will have had its budget cut by over £125 million. Quite simply this council must provide much more for a lot less!

We must transform, we must invest, and we must at the same time become more effective at delivering the services our residents expect.
Despite the financial doom and gloom, this budget lays the foundation to deliver the aims and aspirations of this administration over the coming five years.

This budget delivers:

• Around a £1m to help residents develop skills, access training and secure jobs, improving their lives and helping to reduce demand on public services
• £47m for school places to continue to provide excellent education for all the Borough’s children
• Funding to deliver community, leisure and cultural facilities in Ilford Town Centre & a new swimming pool for Wanstead.
• Investment in more efficient street cleaning services and continuing support for enforcement officers to crack down on fly tipping and anti-social behaviour
• £4.4m for a Borough wide programme of LED replacement of street lights, to improve safety, reduce electricity costs prevent anti-social behaviour, Whilst saving the planet
• After lobbying the Mayor of London, every Redbridge ward will now have extra dedicated Police Officers, that means there will be 102 uniformed officers dedicated and ring fenced for Redbridge, whilst delivering an annual saving £480K.

This administration pledged to always do what’s right for Redbridge, this is our 3rd budget and I can proudly say that we have:

• More cleansing officers cleaning our streets then before;
• More Redbridge Enforcement Officers then before;
• More dedicated police officers keeping us safe then before;
• More school places then we have had before;
• More leisure facilities for our residents then before our legacy will be 5 pools as opposed to the one we inherited;
• All our libraries have remained open;
• We reopened the public conveniences closed by the previous administration.

This has all been achieved despite the £100 million taken from us by the Central Government in the past 3 years.

Our team will be working hard over this coming year to deliver on our promises, balance the books and ensure that vital services