A north London council has said it will need an extra £84 million from central government to balance its budget this year as the capital’s town halls continue to struggle with the rising cost of providing services.
Labour-run Haringey council is proposing to make £23.2 million of savings this year on top of the £30 million of cuts signed off in its 2025/26 budget.
The town hall said it will target support “for the borough’s most vulnerable residents”, with a £222.9 million investment in adults and children’s social care, £42.9 million on preventing homelessness and £34.4 million on supporting low-income residents with council tax bills.
Council tax is expected to rise by 5 per cent in the borough in April, meaning a £106 increase for benchmark Band D households including the City Hall precept.
Council leader Peray Ahmet said: “Despite our difficult financial circumstances, we are determined that vital resources go where they are needed most to realise that vision.
“These decisions don’t come about by accident. They are the result of deliberate choices. For years we have been under-resourced to meet the needs of our communities.
“This is why we are delighted that the government has recognised this in its most recent Fair Funding Assessment for local government. As a result, Haringey will see a much-needed uplift – amounting to £35 million over the next three years.
“The government was never going to be able to reverse more than a decade of austerity in one go, and we welcome the additional resource that is much needed by our residents.
“If funding had been allocated on the basis of need over the past 15 years, Haringey would not be facing such a challenging financial picture today.”
Last year a record seven London councils - Croydon, Lambeth, Newham, Haringey, Havering, Enfield and Barnet, applied for emergency government money to balance the books. This is up from two in 2024.
Haringey applied for £37 million of Exceptional Financial Support to be made available for 2025/26 to help it cover its £51.4m funding shortfall.
There are over 2,600 families in the borough living in temporary accommodation at the same time as rental costs across London have skyrocketed and the council said it is struggling with a dwindling supply of homes.
This year thousands more Londoners will face average council tax bills of over £2,000 for the first time, analysis by the Standard has found.
Band D households in half of London boroughs will see hikes of over £100 to their annual levy from April if bills increase by the expected 5 per cent.
It means Hackney, Hillingdon and Lambeth residents face paying more than £2,000 for the first time.
This includes the City Hall precept, which is added by the Mayor of London. Sir Sadiq Khan announced in January that he will increase his share of council tax bills by £20.13 a year to help pay for a crackdown on crime and the London Fire Brigade.
