Children’s services could be cut in council’s efforts to balance budget

Lambeth council is considering cutting the number of children’s centres in the borough in response to its £69million funding gap.

The local authority faces major budget pressures from demand for emergency housing, which it says will see vital services cut back to “legal minimum levels” in the next two years, unless there is further government support.

Cllr David Amos said: “This is the worst funding crisis that the council has ever faced, and we need to be open with residents that saving this amount isn’t possible without having a major impact on the services people rely on.”

The council has drafted a set of proposals in a bid to save £50million, which will be considered on Monday.

These include dimming streetlights during the middle of the night, renting out space in council offices, increasing charges from services like parking and events in parks and consulting on reducing the number of children’s centres.

There are currently 24 children centres located across Lambeth. The centres are available to all families with children aged between 0 and 5 years old and offer affordable care and education.

These include Coin Street Nursery in Stamford Street Waterloo, part of the Coin Street social enterprise, Ethelred Nursery School & Children’s Centre in Gundulf Street, Kennington, and Lark Hall in Smedley Street, Clapham.

Cllr Amos said: “The need to find these significant savings is driven by over a decade of austerity by underfunding by previous central governments, rising inflation and demand for public services biting down hard on the financial sustainability of local government services.”

Lambeth’s core government funding has reduced by 34 per cent in real terms since 2010, despite population increase combined with an unprecedented demand for services, including temporary accommodation which is up by a third since 2023.

There are currently 4,600 families living in temporary accommodation in Lambeth. Providing emergency accommodation for families costs the council more than £250,000 every night, coming to £90million a year – £29million forecasted over budget.

This means the council needs to make savings of more than £69million over the next four years.

Cllr Amos said: “Because the council is legally required to fund these services and legally required to set a balanced budget, that forces on us impossible choices that mean cuts to other services.”

The council has already put in place emergency spending controls, ended agency placements and consultancy and advisory contracts – unless they deliver essential services for residents – to deal with a projected overspend of £34million this year.

Cllr Amos said: “We are proud that we have managed to maintain funding for vital services that support vulnerable residents, from our major cost of living support package and services that support care leavers to refuge beds for women and girls who are victims of violence and domestic abuse.

“Our aim is to maintain those services, but the financial situation we face is stark and substantial, and without more government support councils face impossible choices about their future.”

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has been approached for comment.

(Picture: Pixabay/Alicja)