Past financial year suggests prudent Hammersmith and Fulham on top of public spending

By Ben Lynch, Local Democracy Reporter

Hammersmith and Fulham council has revealed it spent £300,000 less in 2023/24 than expected, despite challenges including inflation and uncertainty over Government funding.

The local authority said the budget surplus has been achieved while simultaneously preserving front-line services and boosting investment in areas from fly tipping to temporary accommodation. The funds have been added to the council’s general balances.

The surplus was revealed in the council’s Provisional Revenue Outturn Report 2023/24, presented to Cabinet last week, in which details were provided on both its General Fund and Housing Revenue Account (HRA) for the last year.

Cllr Rowan Ree, cabinet member for finance, said while councils across the country are experiencing a ‘difficult’ time, residents in Hammersmith and Fulham can be reassured the local authority is managing its finances in a ‘prudent and sensible way’.

The council had previously projected an overspend of £1.5million for the financial year for its General Fund, for which the £300,000 surplus was recorded. The position is still subject to audit, with council officers noting the review of the balance sheet ‘continues’.

According to the report, the council, similar to many others, recorded higher than anticipated costs in areas including housing, providing specialist support and independent living, and the public realm.

Increasing demand for temporary bed and breakfast accommodation in particular affected a departmental division labelled ‘housing solutions’, which reported an overspend of £2.3million.

Council officers wrote: “The strategic operating environment in 2023/24 was very challenging. There continues to be cost pressures arising from increasing demand, rising inflation and acuity of need.

“These pressures have been experienced across statutory services in adult social care, housing and children’s services. This has been worsened by the needs of an ageing population and the ongoing cost of living crisis. This is against a backdrop of uncertainty around levels of government funding and continuing annual grant settlements that restricts financial planning and resilience.”

Commenting on the budget surplus at last week’s meeting, cllr Ree told his fellow cabinet members: “We were able to do all this whilst protecting frontline services, avoiding cuts to the services that residents rely on, as well as maintaining all of those things that make Hammersmith and Fulham such a unique borough to live in.”

In a council newsletter, cllr Ree wrote the surplus was achieved against the backdrop of 14 years of Government austerity, ‘which saw our funding cut by 54 per cent in real terms’.

“The budget surplus means that we are adding to our reserves, putting money aside for a rainy day, at a time when most councils are using theirs to balance the books,” he added.

(Picture: Pixabay/StefanSchweihofer)