Enfield Council’s Budget consultation closes soon.
Enfield Council wants to hear your views and priorities as it works towards setting its budget for 2022/23, against a backdrop of having to address a budget gap of £11.641million as reported in the January MTFP update. The net impact of full year effect savings is a further pressure of £0.705m due to reversals of one-off savings, so a gap of £12.346m needs to be met through new savings initiatives. Within the October Cabinet report and the January Leader of the Council Decision, new savings totaling £8.614m have been put forward to help bridge this gap and work towards a balanced budget being set for 2022/23. The current remaining gap for 2022/23 is £3.732m.
The Council is operating in extremely uncertain times and is having to continually revise its assumptions and forecasts. The Spending Review announced in October provided some level of detail with further confirmation on the funding allocation for Enfield arriving in the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement (PLGFS) announced on 16 December. Final proposals on the budget will be provided to Cabinet and full Council in February and will include the detailed feedback from the Budget Consultation.
Since 2010, Enfield Council has had to save £206.8 million because of Government spending cuts and increasing pressure on services. Robust financial planning over this period has enabled the Council to effectively manage its finances, however the coronavirus pandemic has placed further financial pressure on the borough as Enfield Council worked to support vulnerable residents and businesses. There is still considerable uncertainty around the potential impact of the Omicron strain if further lockdown measures are required. Indeed the financial impact is still being felt in certain areas from the previous measures taken to control the virus. No further Covid funding is expected from Government in 2022/23 and beyond although the current situation may potentially change that.
Your views will help to shape the budgetary decisions the Council is due to make and inform the way the Council will respond to the financial challenges it faces.
Cllr Mary Maguire, Enfield Council’s Cabinet Member for Finance & Procurement, said:
“Our funding is under considerable strain because of the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 crisis and growing pressure on our services through inflationary pressures and demographic pressures meaning more people require key services such as Social Care.”
“In the October Cabinet report and through the report of the Leader of the Council in January (published 4 January), we have reviewed our financial forecasts and proposed the agreement of new savings and income generation proposals of £8.614m. These are significant savings that we need to make in 2022/23 and it is only right that residents contribute to that discussion.”
“However, we still face a gap of £3.732m for 2022/23 and a gap of £41.083m over the medium term so will continually need to make further savings in the years to come, to cover the gap.”
“Despite these challenges, we remain hugely ambitious for the borough and will continue to deliver services and initiatives that benefit all Enfield residents.”
You can read our Budget summary (PDF), Budget facts and figures (PDF) and the Savings proposals (PDF). The latter lists the actions the Council is proposing to address the budgetary issues we face. You can also read the Leader’s Report (PDF) for further details on the budget.
Who can participate
Residents and representatives of voluntary and community sector organisations and local businesses.
How to tell us your views
Questionnaire (webpage)
Easy read questionnaire (webpage)
Closing date
11 February 2022 (5.00pm)
Further information
If you have any queries or require assistance in sharing your views, please email [email protected]
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