No new savings proposed in budget as council invests for the future

There will be no new spending reductions proposed in Haringey Council’s 2022/23 budget in a significant shift after years of austerity-driven budget pressures.    

Despite a difficult period due to the ongoing impacts of the pandemic and continued lack of adequate and sustainable funding from central government, the council is putting forward a budget that will see more invested in services that matter most to residents across the borough.

After government austerity has necessitated a decade of spending reductions and efficiency drives, the budget for 2022/23 is the first in a decade to make no new savings proposals.  However, the council’s future financial position remains challenging due to ongoing pressure on services, with increased demand not being fully met by additional government funding in future years.

The budget will make an additional £113.8 million of new revenue and capital investments to address priority issues, including:

• Over £6 million to support our most vulnerable residents’ day to day needs, through increasing budgets for Children’s, Adults’ and Temporary Accommodation services
• Investment in long term assets to support our most vulnerable young people with £6.2m capital investment for residential care provision in Children’s Social care
• An additional £600K of council funding to enhance support for women and girls impacted by domestic abuse and other forms of violence
• An extra £500K towards tree maintenance, £500K for tree and wildflower meadow planting, and £300K towards improving highway drainage cleansing and maintenance, addressing the climate emergency and improving our physical environment for the benefit of all residents
• Over £10 million of investment to ensure the council remains able to deliver high-quality services, including via new digital technology.
• Significant ongoing investment in our public realm with over £3m investment in parks and park assets, £2.4m in the New River Sports Centre, £28m investment in roads and highways assets, and £30m investment to secure the future of the Civic Centre and bring this back into use as the council’s primary office location
• £100K to realise the council’s ambition of putting collaboration and co-production with residents and the heart of its work

In addition, an ambitious Housing Delivery Programme plans to deliver 3,000 new council homes over the next decade, as well as substantial improvements for existing council homes.

The budget will also help to ease the financial burden facing families in the borough through continuing the council’s extended free school meal entitlement to over 1,000 children and continuation of both the Haringey Support Fund and the council’s expanded Council Tax Reduction Scheme.

Consultation will open on 8 December, allowing residents to have their say on the plans.

Cllr Peray Ahmet, Leader of Haringey Council, said: “Over the last ten years, continual reductions in central government funding have meant our budget process has demanded that we make substantial savings year on year. I am proud that my first budget as Leader of the Council proposes no new spending reductions for the first time in a decade.

“Instead we’re putting more money into services in line with our values, including care for our most vulnerable residents and enhanced support for women and girls impacted by violence and abuse.

"As well as addressing the increased demand our services are seeing right now, this is a budget that looks to the future, investing to address the climate emergency and ensure that we remain a highly effective organisation in a fast-changing world.”