‘Challenging’: Council announces cost-cutting measures as it attempts to neutralise predicted £25m shortfall

Islington Town Hall. Photograph: Islington Citizen

Town Hall bosses need to save £10.9m to balance the books next year.

Islington Council is also planning a further £8m of savings between 2024 and 2026.

Without savings, number-crunchers are predicting a gap of £25m in the next financial year – and £59m by 2026.

Details of proposed savings will be pored over next week by councillors who sit on the policy and performance scrutiny committee.

Executive member for finance, Cllr Diarmaid Ward, said the council will continue investing in frontline services: “This includes protection of free school meals for every primary school pupil, keeping our libraries open, maintaining weekly recycling and rubbish collections, and a regular street-sweeping programme.”

The council blames its financial headache on rampant inflation, austerity cuts and other factors, including the fallout from the pandemic.

Cllr Ward said: “The budget-setting process for the 2023/24 financial year has been particularly challenging due to the national cost-of-living and energy crisis, and great economic and political uncertainty.”

The savings package could see £2m trimmed from adult social care – with another £2.5m by 2026.

It includes using a new seven-day recovery system for people discharged from hospital to reduce the need for ongoing home care.

The package of savings also features a “refresh” of older people’s day services.

The environment budget could see £1.7m in savings in the coming financial year and a total of £3.7m by 2026.

These include better chasing of penalty charge notice debts and removing parking machines that do not work.

The council also hopes to find £2m this year through voluntary redundancies and business efficiency.

Rents will go up seven per cent next year, so tenants paying an average weekly rent will have to pay an extra £8.44 a week, increasing it to £125.95 a week.

Council tax will be capped at the maximum of 4.99 per cent – the highest a council is allowed to put it up without asking residents to vote over the move.

This means a £1.26 a week increase for Band D properties, excluding the portion of council tax that residents pay to the Greater London Authority for services such as police and fire safety.

The Green opposition party will put forward its alternative budget proposals in the spring.