The details of the demand crisis are set out in a new report published today. It highlights how the rising demand for and cost of providing statutory services, in particular temporary accommodation but also other crucial social services for the most vulnerable residents, means the council is forecast to overspend its budget for 2024/25 by £34million.
Housing the homeless
This demand is being driven by the number of homeless families housed in temporary accommodation by Lambeth which has risen to 4,600 – an increase of 1,300 in just two years.
This means the council is having to rely more and more on expensive nightly paid accommodation. One in thirty households in temporary accommodation across the country was housed by Lambeth Council in March this year.
Alongside the growing number of homeless households, the income the council receives per household is increasingly below the growing costs of finding homes for those households. The council’s predicting that by financial year’s end, Lambeth will be overspending on temporary accommodation alone by nearly £30million.
Word from the Cabinet
Cllr David Amos, Lambeth’s Cabinet Member for Finance, said: “We are committed to finding housing for homeless families, as well as providing care to vulnerable adults and children who absolutely rely on our services.
“But because of how much housing in the borough and across London now costs, and because the costs of providing support services have risen so much, we are grappling with a large overspend, that is growing significantly.
“This increase in demand and rising prices has compounded the impact that 14 years of cuts which have put local government budgets under strain like never before and explains why we have seen a rise in councils unable to balance their books or are in an increasingly perilous financial position as a result of unsustainable demand and costs for statutory services. The figures just don’t add up.”
Lambeth Council has a legal duty to house homeless families within, or as close to, the borough as possible, with households being housed as close to London as possible, which costs more and means more use of expensive nightly paid accommodation.
Urgent action
The council has also just introduced new in-year action to tackle the overspend, reviewing what work can be stopped, a pause on current recruitment wherever possible, ending consultancy positions and advisory contracts, and bringing forward already planned future savings or income generation proposals.
Cllr Amos said: “As a council, we believe it important to manage our finances prudently and take action when needed, thus preparing for the worst of our assumptions and forecasts, identifying options for new ways of working to be more efficient and finding savings and income generation proposals over the coming years.
“These will be significant, and the sustainability of local services will face increasing pressures and local government’s financial sustainability will be tested like never before.”
More information
To read the latest council report visit: moderngov.lambeth.gov.uk
