Cuts to policing, children's services and waste collection are just some of the measures Havering Council may be forced to make to avoid 'bankruptcy', a senior cabinet member fears.
Keith Darvill, Havering Council's cabinet member for climate change and housing, said "there's no easy way out of this" when describing Havering Council's financial predicament on Wednesday (October 4).
This comes after the council warned it could be six months away from filing a section 114 notice - the equivalent of bankruptcy for a local authority.
Cllr Darvill, who is also Labour group leader, said: “Various services that we run, or backroom staff, would all be cut to the bone, which creates more difficulties long-term."
Cllr Darvill added that the council may have to cut back on police officers it funds from council tax.
“It’s almost getting to the situation where you can’t provide those public services,” he added.
Andrew Rosindell, Romford MP, said bankruptcy would have serious repercussions for people in Havering.
“It is a grave concern for all of us,” he said. “It could lead to reduced public services, increased council tax and additional financial hardships for residents.”
In October's Hornchurch Residents Association Focus magazine, council leader Cllr Ray Morgon said that the demand for things like children's services has substantially risen and the costs involved were staggering.
He said one child the council had in place in a secure unit with a staffing ratio of 3:1 was costing the local authority £38,000 a week, or just under £2 million a year.
"It is time that health and social care should be funded nationally and not by local government," Cllr Morgon added.
But in a letter to Cllr Morgon, Jon Cruddas, MP for Dagenham and Rainham, claimed many constituents were contacting him weekly due to the council placing their children in schools unable to cope with their needs.
Mr Cruddas wrote to the council to oppose changes to its home to school transport policy, which was discussed at the authority's September meeting.
The project aims to deliver a personalised transport service while saving at least £1.4 million over four years, the cabinet report read.
Carley Monk, a resident, said the current lack of special education needs (SEN) placements in Havering was “shameful”.
“There are so few SEN placements available in Havering due to lack of funding, that some parents’ only option is [to] accept a school place out of borough,” she said.
“This is through no fault of the families and transport for those children is vital for them to be able access education at all.”
Both Cllr Darvill and Mr Rosindell - a Conservative - called for central government to fix the funding system, and Cllr Darvill said the council may be forced into unwanted cuts.
"People want their rubbish removed regularly, normally weekly, but if we were to say 'let's collect it once a month', for example, that wouldn't go down well," he said.
"I'm not saying we're doing this, but those sorts of options are there for us to take and that's what the Government might say we should do to set a balanced budget."
Agency staff may also be hit, he added.
"We might have to cut back on the agency staff that we have," Cllr Darvill said. "Another year without adjusting the formula and we could then be in a bankruptcy situation, because we couldn't set a balanced budget because we've got no further cuts to make, but we've still got to provide those services."
The government has failed to factor in Havering's growing children and elderly population, combined with an influx to outer London, he added.
But Dilip Patel, Conservative councillor for Mawneys ward, said the borough was not in a unique position and government funding had been cut London-wide.
“I was taken aback when I heard last week,” said Mr Patel. “But why aren’t other councils in the same position as us?
“I know they’re blaming central government, but each council has suffered this.”
A Department for Levelling Up spokesperson said local authorities have had an increase in core spending power.
They said: "For Havering Council, this represents an increase in core spending power of up to £18.5 million – making available a total of up to £218.7 million in 2023-24.
"We stand ready to speak to any council that has concerns about its ability to manage its finances or faces pressures it has not planned for," the spokesperson added.
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