Waltham Forest Council reveals £18m cuts in budget

Councillors at Waltham Forest will vote on the budget on 29 February.

A London council has published a set of "tactical management actions" to cut spending by £18m.

The cuts were revealed in Waltham Forest Council's 2024/25 budget.

Most of the 105 reductions for the next two years are summarised in a document listing savings ranging from £5,000 all the way to £1.8m.

Savings were agreed in November last year in a bid to close a budget gap of up to £30m over the next three financial years, the council said.

According to a statement by chief financial officer Rob Manning, the council is facing "unprecedented levels of demand" on its services.

This particularly includes adult social care, children's welfare, special needs support and temporary housing, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The cuts will affect a range of services including care and support for the elderly, services for the disabled, temporary housing for homeless families and council departments such as the communications team.

They do not include the council's voluntary staff redundancy scheme, which aims to save £2.5m.

According to the document, Waltham Forest will look for opportunities for "additional commercial return" of about £500,000 by reviewing the council's 300 properties.

These could include selling buildings or "asset-led service transformation", the council said.

Ten of the cuts will require consultations, either of council staff or borough residents.

These cuts include reviewing the operating model of library services, recycling centres and a realignment of a grant for free swimming for over 60s and children.

Councillors are expected to publicly discuss the plans at a budget and performance scrutiny committee on Tuesday.

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