Newham’s residents are invited to learn more about the council’s financial proposals and have their say at two online budget forum sessions.
The webinars on Thursday 28 January and Thursday 4 February will set out the council’s 2021/22 budget proposals, outlining spending plans that build on the investments made since 2019 in delivering the Mayor and her administration’s manifesto pledges and priorities, as well as council tax and where savings may need to be made in order to deliver a balanced budget – offering residents a chance to ask questions and share their views.
This year’s budget proposals will support the Council’s ‘Towards a Better Newham’ strategy to help the borough recover from Covid-19 and accelerate plans already underway to transform Newham for the health, wellbeing and happiness of residents – with investment in more genuinely affordable homes; opportunities for young people, and an on-going commitment to pay the London Living Wage to our care workers.
The budget proposals also set out potential options for savings as the Council will be delivering transformative services for the benefit of local residents while facing ongoing funding reductions as a result of reduced Government funding, rising costs and the cost of Covid-19 – which together have left the council having to save around £250million in the past 10 years.
Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz said: “During the Covid-19 pandemic, we have spent many millions of pounds protecting and supporting our communities, from distributing food to vulnerable families and the elderly, supporting young people and helping businesses to survive.
“We’re proud of the work we have done, but we are still losing out because the Government has failed in its promise to give us the money we need in the face of the biggest public health crisis this country has experienced. That’s why we’ve been calling for more money, and a Covid-19 Deprivation Premium for Newham, because we are facing significant funding gaps at the time of greatest need.
“Despite these huge challenges, we are determined to invest in our people to deliver on the promises I made when I stood as Mayor and in support of our Towards a Better Newham action plan to recover from Covid-19.
“These investments will be in projects and services that will have a positive impact on local people’s lives in services and programmes that will have a positive impact on the lives of our residents, by addressing inequality and poverty, promote good health and widen opportunities.”
Cllr Terence Paul, Newham Council Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Services, said: “The government’s repeated failure to adequately fund local authorities, combined with the double whammy of austerity, council tax freezes by the previous administration and unfair funding for Newham, has forced us to find budget savings of around a quarter of a billion over the past 10 years. It’s simply not possible to lose that level of funding without it having an impact on the Council.
“Our proposals include investing in new council homes and improving existing ones; creating new school places; supporting young people; maintaining weekly waste collections; keeping Newham’s libraries open; tackling poor air quality, and paying staff at least the London Living Wage.
“I’d encourage all residents to join one of our budget webinars to hear more about how we want to invest in improving your borough – and to let us know what you think about the plans.”
Find out more about budget proposals, how to join the online forums and how to have your say here.