"Be prepared to see reduced investment" Council warns

It has been widely reported that local authorities face severe financial challenges.

But the finance update that I will present to the Council’s Cabinet this month shows the full extent of this crisis here in Hackney.

We are a secure, well-managed council, as equipped to deal with this situation as we can be.

But despite already making £14.5m in savings, we are now expecting to spend £36m more than planned this year – an unprecedented overspend fuelled by the ever expanding cost of caring for vulnerable adults and children, and in particular nearly £20m extra spending on providing accommodation for more than 3,000 homeless households.

The new transformation strategy that we agreed this summer sets out how we can deliver on our ambition to work together for a better Hackney in spite of this financial crisis.

We are also joining colleagues across local government in making the case for change. We need longer-term, more sustainable funding, as well as targeted interventions in areas like social care and homelessness, which are decimating council budgets.

But in the meantime, with our current outgoings set to exhaust our reserves within three years, we can’t simply continue spending more than we have.

In November we intend to publish an updated medium term financial plan, setting out how we will manage our finances over the next three years to deliver the services our residents rely on, while maintaining a balanced budget.

With it will come tough decisions. Our residents will need to be prepared to see reduced investment in some areas, so that we can protect essential services in others – especially those for the most vulnerable.

Councillor Robert Chapman, Cabinet Member for Finance, Insourcing and Customer Services