Greenwich Council is set to raise its council tax by 4.99 per cent in April, resulting in a payment increase of £1.85 per week for a Band D household. The council is also proposing £7.1m in savings to balance next year’s budget, most of which will come from a review of children’s social care.
A report on the council’s medium term financial strategy for the next four years is going before its Overview and Scrutiny Committee on February 9. The report sets out how Greenwich Council will deliver a balanced budget for 2026/27, as well as setting out forecasted budget gaps for the future.
The cash-strapped authority predicts it will have a £35m budget deficit in 2027/28, increasing to over £100m by 2029/30. Following the government’s provisional Local Government Finance Settlement, Greenwich predicts next year’s budget gap will be £14m. It will attempt to bridge this gap by increasing council tax and making savings.
Council tax rise
Greenwich plans to increase its council tax by 4.99 per cent at the beginning of the next financial year. This consists of a 2.99 per cent increase in the main council tax rate and a 2 per cent increase in Adult Social Care precept.
This is the maximum amount Greenwich Council can increase its council tax without a local referendum. This 4.99 per cent increase results in Band D properties paying £1.46 more per week, and almost £76 more per year, which becomes £1.85 per week when the GLA precept is added. Greenwich believes this bump in tax revenue will raise £6.9m, plugging just under half of the authority’s predicted budget gap.
However, residents also have to pay tax to the GLA, with that money going towards TfL, emergency services and other citywide public resources. Mayor Sadiq Khan is set to increase the GLA precept by £20.13 for a Band D property, which means the total increase for those paying council tax in Greenwich next year will be 4.8 per cent.
£7.1m in savings
To plug the remaining £7.1m in its forecasted budget gap, the council has proposed several different schemes to make savings. The lion’s share of these is a review of children’s social care at the council.
This review is being sparked by the Department for Education’s Family First reforms. As well as a review of its operations, the management of children’s social care will also be looked at, with savings made by reducing the use of agency staff.
£508k will be saved by the council by improving its adult social care staffing models. It hopes to do this by transitioning to a neighbourhood-based model “which will bring support closer to local communities and make it easier for residents to access the support they need”.
The council is also reviewing how support for older people with mental health needs is delivered. It will consider “the most appropriate staffing arrangements” so it can find the best way to deliver a “high-quality, well-coordinated service that meets residents’ needs”.
The council will aim to save £500k by moving to a demand led model in its customer services. This essentially means that Greenwich Council will move its contact from phone to digital channels, and when staff in its contact centre leave their roles they will not be replaced. Automation will also be utilised more to reduce manual workload.
Greenwich hopes to save £600k by employing a new digital strategy. The new strategy includes several new measures, including a “reshaping of staffing to better align with current demand, review of operational budgets and the flexible use of alternative funding mechanisms such as capital receipts to cover resource costs for investment and change projects”.
Other saving projects include reviewing its reablement service (which helps residents who require social care regain independence), employing a new AI-based tool for its translation service and reducing staff within its benefits service as Universal Credit means there is a decline in its demand. Older staff in Greenwich’s benefits service are being offered “flexible retirement options” and their roles will not be replaced.
