Haringey seeks £7.6m savings after £138m government bailout

Detailed summary

The local authority is aiming to make a dent in mounting financial pressures that have seen it rely on a £138m bailout

Haringey Council has unveiled plans for £7.6 million of savings after relying on £138 million of emergency government support to avoid effective bankruptcy

Johann Beckford, the cabinet member for finance at Haringey Council unveiled a raft of measures that the Green Party-led administration hopes could save about £7.6 million next year.

The local authority is aiming to make a dent in mounting financial pressures that have seen it rely on £138m of “exceptional financial support” from the UK Government – effectively an emergency loan to stop it from going bust – over the past two years in order to balance the books.

Mr Beckford said the Greens, which have minority control in Haringey, would be calling for reforms from Westminster to better support struggling local authority budgets.

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

Mr Beckford acknowledged the seriousness of the situation when opening Tuesday’s cabinet meeting.

He said: “Haringey’s financial position is perilous – there’s no point in lying about that.”

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

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 from the culture, strategy and communities budget.

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