Residents are being urged to share their views on proposals from Barking and Dagenham Council’s budget for 2025-2026.
Councils up and down the country are facing unprecedented financial pressures which is being driven by rising demand for services, and the rising cost of services such as social care, especially in children’s services.
Barking and Dagenham has high levels of deprivation and demand for services is growing as residents face hardship and financial insecurity, following the cost of living crisis.
The borough’s population has also grown. 33,000 more people call Barking and Dagenham home today compared to 10 years ago and one in four residents are not old enough yet to have sat their GCSEs. All this has increased demand for services.
Councillor Dominic Twomey, Leader of the Council: “We’re facing a severe squeeze on our finances. Today we receive just 40% of what we received a decade ago due to a legacy of huge cuts in funding from the previous government. For every £1 we had then, we have just 66p today.
“And many people might not know this, but just 17% of our funding comes from local Council Tax from residents. That means we’re largely reliant on funding from central government. And it’s why we are making every penny count.
“Years of high inflation has also resulted in soaring costs for essential services, especially in children’s and adult services which has added pressure on our budget. For every £10 we spend, around £7 is spent on adult and children’s care.
“Inflation just hasn’t been matched by sufficient uplifts to our funding by the previous government and that’s put a huge strain on our budgets. Everything costs more meaning resources go less far.”
Despite the challenges, the council continues to support residents who are struggling with the cost of living crisis.
The council is providing face to face support at Community Hubs across the borough, and online support including essential support with energy costs, money concerns, food, and wellbeing.
Councillor Twomey added: “We already run an efficient, low-cost council and since 2010, we have made £181m of savings. We have strong financial management and we’re making sure we get value for money from every pound we spend. We’re already a lean council but we’re finding more and better, low-cost ways of delivering services, increasing income, and getting the best value from our assets. We’re also getting best value from everything we commission and using digital opportunities to transform our services while securing savings.
“As things get more challenging with reduced resources, we’re leaving no stone unturned to streamline how we do things, innovate and prioritise essential services such as social care to support local people. But we will need to make some tough decisions to balance our budget over the coming months, and we will consider all options.”
Due to the severe financial pressures, as part of the 2025/26 budget plans, the council is proposing a 4.99 per cent increase in Council Tax, including 2 per cent ringfenced for social care, which will add around £1.47 per week onto the average band D property (excluding the GLA element) from next April.
Cllr Twomey added: “We know this will be difficult for residents and it’s not a decision we want to take. But without more Council Tax we will be unable to deliver the public services residents depend on such as street cleansing, waste collections or libraries, and of course care and support for the most vulnerable in our society.
“Councils like ours desperately need fairer funding and we are working with the new Government to push for our fair share of resources, while we get best value for money from every penny of public money that we spend. And we welcome the government’s announcement of multi-year settlements for future years.
“But it’s really tough – we have all seen the huge financial challenges that this government has inherited. And the damage to local budgets can’t be undone in one announcement.
“We have to make the right choices, based our communities’ priorities and ambitions for the borough. So I would urge residents to give us your views by completing the survey. Your feedback is vital – we want to know what matters to you so we can do as much as we can to protect the services that are important to you.”
Have your say
Residents can have their say on the council’s 2025/26 budget proposals here. The consultation will close on Wednesday 15 January 2025.
Residents can also tune in to a special budget Facebook Live Q&A with Councillor Twomey, Leader of the Council and Councillor Worby, Cabinet Member for Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health Integration on Wednesday 11 December, between 6 – 7pm on the Leader’s Facebook page.
Residents can submit a budget question ahead of the session by emailing socialmedia@lbbd.gov.uk.