Council tax in Newham could go up by 9 per cent again next year while children’s’ centres, bin collections, jobs and pay could all be cut.
This is according to early budget proposals set to be presented to senior Newham councillors in a financial report next week.
In his introduction to the report Zulfiqar Ali, Newham Council’s cabinet member for finance, said the council faces “difficult decisions” and a £53 million funding gap next year.
Cllr Ali said: “We are doing what good councils do in difficult times: planning ahead, protecting what matters most, and ensuring that every pound we spend delivers maximum value for the people of Newham.”
The financial report indicates that the council could ask the government for permission to raise council tax by 8.99 per cent from April 2026.
If it does, it would be the second such increase in a row – after Newham council tax went up by 8.99 per cent in April this year.
The proposal is one of a package of suggestions presented to the council’s cabinet when it meets next Thursday.
Other options for consideration include increasing fees and charges, closing children’s centres, moving to fortnightly bin collections, reducing street cleaning and cutting staff.
The first draft budget for 2026/27 is set to be published in December, at which point it should become clear what options have been chosen.
This month’s finance report says that the council would save £10 million if it adopted all of the proposed measures. However, it says it may still have to ask the Treasury for a package of exceptional financial support next year.
Such packages can include permission to increase council tax beyond the normal 4.99 per cent cap. They often also include permission to use the proceeds of property sales to pay for day-to-day spending.
The council was among one of 30 local authorities to be granted exceptional financial support this year. It says as many as 100 councils could request this next year.
Local authorities across the country are still struggling to cover spending as demand and costs for services rise – particularly for social services, and for temporary homelessness accommodation.
All of these are services the council legally must provide.
The financial report to Newham’s cabinet says the rise in councils seeking exceptional support shows there remains a “gap” between what local authorities are required to provide and the money they have to fund them.
The cost of providing temporary accommodation in Newham is forecast to grow by £12.8 million next year, it states.
However, the report also says the council still has “considerable agency” in how it spends its money and cabinet members will have to make “political choices” over which of the “savings” proposals it chooses to include in its budget.
Here are some of the proposals that residents might notice the most.
The proposals suggest asking the government for permission to raise council tax by 8.99 per cent.
Council tax increases are normally limited to 4.99 per cent. But an increasing number of local authorities have asked the government for permission to raise council tax above this cap as they face rocketing costs.
If the council increases the amount it charges by 8.99 per cent next year, a Band D property’s annual bill would rise to £1,488.35. That’s an increase of £122.77.
This doesn’t include the amount that the Greater London Authority charges, however.
The council says that even with this increase, Newham’s council tax would still be below the London average. It says that, assuming all other London councils raise council tax by 4.99 per cent next year, the average amount for Band D properties in the capital would be £1,592.63.
Bin collections and street cleaning
General waste and recycling waste collections could be reduced from weekly to fortnightly according to one proposal. In other areas where this has happened, this usually means they are collected on alternate weeks.
Proposals also say this could mean “reducing pool staff in the waste management service”.
Weekly collections would stay for flats, however.
Street cleaning could also be reduced. The proposals say a 20 per cent reduction would save the council £1.3 million. “Tidy teams” who tackle fly-tipping could be scrapped or reduced.
Schools, children and education
Stratford Youth Zone could be closed, while children’s centres could be merged with family hubs.
Proposals also suggest “reviewing the delivery model” of services at Fairplay House, an outdoor children’s activities centre the council owns in Witham, Essex. They say the council could consider “an outsourced alternative”.
School crossing patrols – “lollipop” people – could be scrapped, according to a separate proposal.
The number of child social workers could also be reduced, and caseloads would increase for those who remain.
More families needing temporary accommodation to avoid homelessness could be housed “in more affordable areas” outside of Newham, according to the proposals.
The rising demand for temporary accommodation, and the cost of providing it, is a major pressure on the council’s budget.
By law, councils have to provide temporary accommodation to vulnerable people facing homelessness, such as families.
But rising costs and demand mean that “Newham is facing a housing emergency of unprecedented scale”.
The council says temporary accommodation costs £100 million a year.
Its plans to reduce costs include finding more long-term homes for homeless families, and also renegotiating fees it pays to temporary accommodation suppliers who charge nightly rates.
However, the council also says the availability of suitable, affordable homes in Newham is “insufficient”. That means it will review its policy on where it could place homeless families.
This could include “increasing use of out-of-borough placements in more affordable areas”.
Care packages for adults could be changed.
The proposals say the council wants to reduce the number of small care packages it provides for older people, and make “deep dives into high-cost packages”.
The budget for events, heritage and culture could be reduced “to a minimum,” according to the report. It warns: “Only a select number of events would continue to be supported.”
Council staff could face a number of changes to their pay and conditions.
One proposal says the council could “amend” its London Living Wage commitment.
The commitment means the council pays all its own staff at least the London Living Wage and only commissions services from companies that do the same.
The proposed change says this would remain in place for “key London based workforces”. But there would be “more flexibility” for commissioned services “which are less London focused”.
In other changes, the council could end the three-day shutdown of its offices over Christmas, exit national pay and conditions agreements, and “changing and improving” sickness absence management.
Staff on teachers, public health or NHS terms could also be moved on to local authority pay, terms and conditions.
The proposals say: “At the extreme end, exiting national pay terms and conditions and then not granting a pay award would save around £5 million.”