Barnet Labour is steering a course of tough decisions to bring the council to financial safety, after decades of Conservative misrule has left it seriously exposed to the current local government crisis.
Barnet’s Labour Cabinet will discuss their budget plans next week (Thursday 5th December) as councils across the country face a perfect storm of spiralling temporary accommodation costs and an escalating social care bill.
Barnet was left exposed after:
The Conservatives slashed national funding to Barnet. They halved the council’s budget since 2010.
The Conservatives crashed the economy. They sent interest rates, inflation and costs skyrocketing, causing demand for services the council has a legal duty to provide to surge beyond the council’s budget
The Conservatives trashed the council’s reserves. They pledged millions of pounds for capital projects with no realistic plan to fund them without raiding reserves, leaving the council without a safety net
Councils must by law provide temporary accommodation to homeless families and social care to adults and children they have a duty towards.
As the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite in household bills, driving residents to seek support, demand for these services has skyrocketed.
Nearly 2,000 more homeless families have approached the council for support this year.
Together with rising demand for social care, this is adding tens of millions of pounds to the council’s bills.
Eye-watering cost increases for these services, caused by the reckless Liz Truss budget in September 2022, started the spiral of council overspends resulting in:
a £22million overspend last year,
a forecast overspend of £26million this year,
and a budget gap next year of over £29million.
Barnet’s Labour Cabinet will be discussing options for a roadmap to financial sustainability, with £22 million of savings identified already for next year.
Council Leader Barry Rawlings said: “We are working hard to steer Barnet through this perfect storm created by the Conservatives.
“I need to be honest – it will mean making tough choices to protect residents’ priorities, frontline services for vulnerable people, and to plot a course to financial sustainability.
“But while we are taking the responsibility to do this, I am clear the blame for this mess lies squarely with the Conservatives.
“They know their government slashed funding for the council by 50 per cent.
“They know Liz Truss crashed the economy, sending inflation spiralling.
“And they know this has trashed our reserves, after they signed Barnet up to millions of pounds of projects with no real plan to pay for them.
“It means any safety net Barnet may have had is a mirage, and we must now work even harder to clean-up the mess they left us with.
“Part of this is working in partnership with a new Labour Government on our options, including the possibility of applying for Exceptional Financial Support if this is needed.
“The good news is, we now have a government that is listening to local councils.
“They have already started to correct some of the structural problems we face.
“They are providing multi-year funding settlements so we can plan, and they are reviewing funding to ensure it’s fair and meets need.
“Meanwhile, we promised we would leave no stone unturned to protect key services to residents, and we are doing exactly that.”