More than 5,000 Lambeth residents fed back on how the local authority could direct its spending over the next four years. This comes at a time where rising demand for essential council services, and the rising costs of providing those services, is putting huge pressure on the council’s budget.
Lambeth, in common with many councils across the capital, faces a serious financial challenge due to both funding levels and rising demand for vital services.
Savings worth £84million must be found by Lambeth Council over the next four years to set a balanced budget as required by law, meaning difficult choices must be made about prioritising where the remaining money will go.
Residents said the council should prioritise spending on waste and street cleaning, tackling violence and anti-social behaviour and services that support vulnerable residents. They also suggest making efficiencies like renting out council buildings and increasing income by holding more commercial events as ways to help close the budget gap.
The new council report sets out how the feedback will be put into action.
Cllr Judith Cavanagh, Lambeth Council’s interim Cabinet Member for Finance, said: “We thank the thousands of residents who shared their ideas for how we can best meet our budget challenge.
“Like many councils up and down the country trying to balance the books due to demand pressures on statutory services and a generation of chronic underfunding by previous governments, Lambeth faces a significant funding crisis. Despite growing demand for essential services, council’s finances have faced real terms cuts in central government funding since 2010.
“We are determined to protect the frontline services our most vulnerable residents rely on the most, but it’s really important we do that with the input of local people, getting their views on where we can best spend our remaining budget.”
In addition to the 5,155 people who completed the budget survey, discussions were held in person at in-person meetings, and an easy read version was produced for people with learning disabilities.
To have more detailed discussions with under-25s the council held conversations at the in-person Children in Care Council meeting, the SEND Youth Council meeting and a meeting of the Youth Council.
When asked for their top three priorities for the council to spend money on, the most selected priority was ‘cutting violence and anti-social behaviour’. This was chosen by 40 per cent of respondents. The second and third-most popular priorities were ‘waste, recycling and street cleaning’, and children’s social care, which were chosen by 39 per cent and 31 per cent of respondents, respectively.
The new report also sets how efficiencies are being made in the council’s budget in line with residents’ ideas, including renting out council office space, cutting the number of senior managers, moving more services online using digital technology and artificial intelligence which provides opportunities to improve services for local people, and raising more income through holding commercial events.
As part of this budget update, the impact of the national funding changes and provisional local government finance settlement have also been set out for the first time following the government’s national consultation in 2025.
Cllr Cavanagh said: “ The first multi-year settlement from government in nearly a decade is welcome and provides stability for councils to take a longer-term view.
“The council’s lobbying for changes to the consultation to support inner-city areas like Lambeth has had some success, with additional support for the council over the next three years. Additional funding above our expectations is welcome and while these positive changes are encouraging, they cannot undo over a decade of structural underfunding from previous central governments.
“The overall funding position and the challenging financial situation means the council will need to find more savings ahead and will have to apply for further financial support from the government. This additional support will enable the council to make the necessary transformation that will ensure we are able to deliver our savings whilst protecting services putting us on a path to a secure financial future.
“We are proud that we have managed to maintain funding for vital services where possible that support some of our most vulnerable residents. Councils will need further, sustained support to protect the services their residents depend upon, and we will continue making the case to government and lobby for more resources on behalf of Lambeth and our residents.”
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