Barnet Council is still relying on an effective government bailout to balance its next budget, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

Hendon Town Hall and (inset) Barry Rawlings

The leader of Barnet Council has vowed the local authority will balance its budget despite a “difficult financial situation”.

The promise by Barry Rawlings came in response to opposition group leader Peter Zinkin criticising the council’s budget papers during a cabinet meeting yesterday (Tuesday 18th) saying only “part of the story” was being told.

In his new year message, Cllr Rawlings said the council was expecting to have a £52million budget gap for 2025/26, although the figure is now closer to £55m.

On top of £23.5m in proposed savings, including both spending cuts and income-raising proposals, the council has applied to the government to help access an additional £59m of exceptional financial support (EFS).

The council will know if the EFS support has been granted by the end of February.

Speaking on the fragile financial position, Cllr Zinkin told Hendon Town Hall: “There is nothing in this document to indicate where that £55m is coming from and I agree if the government gives us money, or if you find a way, that will be wonderful.”

The council’s new cabinet member for finance, Simon Radford, said the council had been “plotting a course through the current challenges”.

The three main priorities are further strengthening the council’s budget-planning and processes, protecting frontline services and investing in a plan for growth, and working with the new Labour government on options to fix the medium and long-term budget problems, which includes using EFS.

Council leader Cllr Rawlings said: “We’re quite determined, we will have a balanced budget every year, not just because you have to legally but because that’s the sensible and rational way of being in administration.

“We have a plan of how to get there and we’re determined to get there and we’re more optimistic. We’ll get through this difficult financial situation, and as a result of that Barnet will be a better place for its residents.”

Speaking on demand-led pressures, cabinet member Ross Houston pointed to the “unprecedented increase” in the number of pupils with education, health and care plans (EHCPs).

Cllr Radford confirmed that between 2015 and 2024 the number of pupils with EHCPs had increased by 120% and added this was “significantly higher” than the increase in the borough’s pupil population, which was just over 10%.

He said Barnet was “famous” for its schools and the council should be “very proud” of its special educational needs and disability (Send) provision, as it was a reason people moved to and stayed in the borough, but added it was a “challenge” financially.

On temporary accommodation costs, another demand-led pressure, the new finance chief said that in the first quarter of 2024 the council received “more than double” the amount of homeless applications than it did two years ago.

Cllr Radford estimated the cost to house homeless families in that first quarter was around £7m, and £8m in the second quarter. He added that Barnet had the sixth-smallest social housing stock in London.

Criticising the previous Conservative government, he added: “We’ve inherited a council with real financial fragility. With all these statistics going in one direction, we did have a period where the sun was shining and we could have mended the roof and we didn’t do any of that.

“Now it’s up to us [Labour] to fix the leak.”

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