Redbridge Council approves a balanced budget, protecting vital services, despite funding challenges

Redbridge Council approved a balanced budget for 2024/25 at Full Council on Thursday evening. The budget will protect vital services in Redbridge, prioritising services that matter most to local people, and will ensure the Council’s financial position is secure and stable.

In a climate where many local authorities have had to cut back as a result of cuts to Government Grant Settlement Funding, key services have been protected in Redbridge. The Council has vowed to support communities most in need and invest in local people’s highest priority services.

In a survey earlier this year, local people said their top priorities were for Redbridge Council to maintain a weekly bin collection, to keep streets, parks and town centres clean, tidy and welcoming, and to support local people impacted by the national housing crisis.

As a result, weekly bin collections will be maintained and investment will be increased in street cleansing. The capital budget will give greater ability for the Council to build and buy homes for social housing, where available, and to maintain those we already have.

As part of the budget Redbridge Council will be maintaining its £700k investment in programmes to help keep the borough safe. This includes maintaining its ground-breaking community engagement hubs service, which brings police and council services into the community, and enforcement patrols across the borough during the day and at night.

The budget has been balanced through improving efficiencies and increasing income to protect council services.

Since 2010, the Council has identified £250m of efficiency savings. This has been achieved by combining some services to do more with less, reducing costs such as pensions, and increasing fees on some services, including venue hire and licence applications.

Councillor Kam Rai, Deputy Leader of Redbridge Council and Cabinet Member for Finance and Regeneration said: “Funding cuts from Government, mean we have over £160m less to spend on public services every year, in real terms. And that’s before the impact of extra demand for social care, increasing homelessness, a growing population, and inflation. We are the third-lowest funded borough in London. If we received the average across the capital we would have £66m more each year to spend in Redbridge. The impact of this “fair” funding would be significant on the services we could provide.

“Despite reduced Government funding we always rise to the challenge of keeping vital services running in Redbridge, and investing in what matters most to local people.

We heard loud and clear from local people that a weekly bin collection is their top priority. That’s why we will continue to collect your bin every week, despite many other councils reducing this service. In a budget that required some difficult decisions to be made, in Redbridge, we listened to our neighbours.

“We are investing £13.3m on highways and pavement resurfacing, street lighting and other highways schemes, to help ensure our road network flows, and is safe and well-maintained for local people.

“The housing crisis is a national issue, and is sadly being felt deeply across London, but in Redbridge we are continuing to build council homes for local people, and find suitable accommodation for those who need it. There is no easy fix for this, as properties are scarce and expensive locally, but we are investing in housing where we can, to reduce the Council’s reliance on paying expensive private rents, and to help ensure everyone has a warm and stable home for their family.”

Local Government finances are on a knife-edge in many places across the UK, however Redbridge Council has again delivered a balanced budget that shores up its essential and most-valued services, and crucially ensures its long-term financial stability.

The full budget report can be read online