Havering Council is urging residents to have their say on the borough’s spending plans for the next three years – following the impact of COVID-19.
The borough currently faces a £12 million pound budget shortfall in the wake of the pandemic. The Council wants to hear from residents and businesses on plans to balance the books while protecting key frontline services.
The budget consultation aims to:
- Get the views of residents and businesses on our budget strategy and savings proposals for the following three years (up to 2026).
- Establish how local people continue to be affected by the COVID pandemic and understand how the Council can continue to help.
- Learn which Council services are of most value and importance to enable us to present a budget strategy that focuses on the real priorities of residents.
- Explore more efficient and new ways of working. This includes better use of data to help us deliver services differently and make the Council even more accessible.
Councillor Damian White, Leader of Havering Council, said:
“Balancing a budget as we are legally required to do is always a challenge. Setting out our plans during this stage of the pandemic with the current increase in demand for our services and a backdrop of unprecedented financial uncertainty makes the task this time even harder.
“This will be one of the most difficult spending plans the Council has ever had to deliver. That’s why it’s so important for residents and businesses to join our consultation so we can continue to act on their priorities at an extremely testing time.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. It has caused a spike in demand for children’s and adults services and huge pressures across the whole range of our services. A balanced budget strategy will mean we can continue to be there to support our most vulnerable residents, while maintaining and improving key public services.
“By seeking the views of local people, we can listen and learn about what matters most, get feedback on our savings proposals and set a budget strategy for the next three years that truly understands and supports the needs of our residents.”
Residents can view the budget proposals and take part in the consultation at: www.havering.gov.uk/consultations. The consultation runs until 4 January 2022.
Following the public consultation, a draft budget report for 2022/23 will go before Cabinet and (if approved) will be presented to the Full Council (Council Tax setting) meeting in February 2022.