Tower Hamlets Council will meet on Tuesday 8 March seeking to agree budget proposals that will see £55m worth of savings made to the council’s expenditure. Mayor Lutfur Rahman has published his revised proposals following the first full council meeting on Wednesday 23 February, when the council effectively agreed to approve the original proposals but amended by the Labour group and incorporating elements of the Liberal Democrat amendments. 95% of the budget had been approved at the initial meeting; a second budget meeting is required to iron out the last £600,000 of savings.
Amongst the mayor’s revised proposals to be debated in the council chamber on 8 March, are the following: Employment – accepting a Liberal Democrat proposal to spend just over £1m from reserve funding to support apprenticeships and graduate initiatives over three years Affordable housing – allocating £3.5m to increase affordable housing in the borough, using £600k from reserves and £2.9m from capital receipts. This is based on an amendment from the Liberal Democrats. Housing Link – agreeing to continue the service, albeit with a 25 per cent reduction in funding. A review of caseloads, costs and relationships with other services will inform this saving, and this move follows a proposal from the Labour group.
Support to mayor and councillors – a Labour group proposal to reduce non-staffing budgets in this area by £82,000 and staffing budgets by £230,000 has been accepted by the mayor. Extended schools – agreeing to offer the Junior Youth Service for both working and non-working parents through at least nine schools, by providing an additional £60,000 worth of funding. This is an acceptance of a Liberal Democrat amendment, which delivers the same outcome as a similar Labour group proposal.
East End Life – a Labour group proposal to save £200,000 from the East End Life budget has been accepted, but the proposal also included a move to publish East End Life quarterly rather than weekly. The mayor has not accepted the latter part of the proposal, and instead proposes the existing review of East End Life continues and any decision on its frequency is made once that review is concluded in May.
Community safety – a Labour amendment to replace the Tower Hamlets Enforcement Officers (THEOs) with a police officer per ward, an addition of 17 police officers has not been accepted by the mayor. The mayor believes the THEOs complement the work of the police very well, and offer great value to local residents. The mayor is also in advanced discussions with the borough commander to provide 21 additional police officers in Tower Hamlets – using money from the GLA’s new Community Safety Fund and drug action grant funding. The mayor is confident these discussions will result in the additional police offers being deployed in Tower Hamlets.
Mayor Lutfur Rahman said: “As a direct result of cuts to our funding from central government, we have to make some very difficult decisions regarding our finances. However, I believe that as a council, we have a responsibility to make sure we protect services for our vulnerable residents, and that all members should work together to agree a budget that is fair and continues to ensure local people get the support they need.” “My first budget is aimed at safeguarding frontline services while maintaining vital support for key services across the borough.
My priority is to protect vulnerable people and ensure that youth services, community safety, children centres, housing investment, schools and homecare in particular are protected.” He continued. The next full council meeting which is open to the public will take place in the council chamber at the Town Hall, from 7.30 pm on Tuesday the 8th of March. It is hoped this budget meeting would not have a fraught atmosphere as the last where disagreements led to resident