Havering Council welcomes £6.75m extra funding but says it will not close financial gap

The UK Government has allocated an additional £6.75 million to Havering Council. The money was announced by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government as part of a package for councils already receiving Exceptional Financial Support, aimed at transforming high-cost services and easing fiscal pressure.

Councillor Keith Prince AM, leader of the council, welcomed the funding, describing it as recognition of the extreme pressure Havering faces from statutory services. He said the extra cash will accelerate and enable trials of innovative ways to deliver some services, and that the announcement follows extensive work and conversations between council officers and the ministry.

Prince stressed that the borough will continue to lobby ministers and officials for adequate funding to close its budget gap and manage social-care and temporary-accommodation pressures. He reiterated that Havering’s financial strain is not the result of poor management, waste or reckless investment, but stems from chronic under-funding, rising costs and a rapidly increasing demand for legally required services, especially adult and children’s social care, homelessness and temporary accommodation.

The leader also acknowledged that the previous HRA administration delayed or made inappropriate financial decisions in some circumstances, which the council is now addressing. He highlighted that Havering has the second-oldest population in London, the biggest increase in the capital’s children’s population, and one of the largest rises in 0-to-4-year-olds nationally, creating growing and more complex needs that the current funding system has not kept pace with.

Funding announced

While any extra money is welcome, Prince warned the £6.75 million does not go far enough to fix the structural funding gap or relieve the unsustainable pressure on local taxpayers and frontline services. Even with rigorous financial management this year, the council had to rely on Exceptional Financial Support – effectively a loan – to set a legally balanced budget. He argued that borrowing is not a sustainable solution and that residents should not be forced to shoulder long-term loan repayments with interest caused by a failing national funding formula.

Council’s concerns and next steps

Havering is calling on the Government to scrap the requirement for the borough to repay the borrowing, or at least to remove the interest charges attached to it. Prince urged an urgent review of how social care is funded nationally, saying councils cannot continue to absorb unrealistic and growing financial burdens without a funding structure that reflects demand, complexity and cost. He concluded that the council will keep standing up for Havering, making its case to ministers and pushing for the fair deal the borough deserves.