Since her election as the Member of Parliament for the Hornchurch & Upminster constituency, Julia has been fighting for a better deal for Havering residents, and more funding for Havering Council to help put it on a sustainable footing. Currently, Julia is campaigning to reform the Local Government Funding Formula. At present, the Formula is not up to date and does not take into account changes to Havering's population, including a huge increase in the number of young people in the Borough. This means that the demand for services currently outstrips the Council's ability to supply them.
Updates
- November 2025 - Ahead of the November Budget, Julia writes to the new Secretary of State, Steve Reed MP, asking for him to adequately address her concerns with reforms to the funding formula - https://www.julialopez.co.uk/news/lopez-urges-new-minister-deliver-fair-funding-havering
- June 2025 - Following publication of the Fair Funding Review, Julia writes to the Deputy Prime Minister to seek assurances that councils like Havering will not be penalised under the new arrangements to shift council funding from the South to the North of England
- June 2025 - Julia asks Local Government Minister to confirm that the Government's Fair Funding Review will report before summer and that it will address disparities between inner and outer-London.
- March 2025 - Julia speaks in a Westminster Hall debate, making clear the need for reform to the Local Government Funding Formula. She highlights the further financial damage done to Havering Council due to the Government's October 2024 budget.
- March 2025 - Julia updates residents on the work she has been doing with Havering Council and the Government to ease financial pressures on the Borough. The Government grants Havering Exceptional Financial Support, but this is only a temporary measure.
- January 2025 - Julia helps to secure a meeting with Havering Council's Chief Exec, and the Local Government Finance Minister, Baroness Taylor, once again calling for the Government to look at how the Local Government Funding Formula works.
- May 2024 - Following her efforts to help Havering secure emergency financial support to help it set a balanced budget, Julia meets with Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for Local Government, to discuss how to put the Borough on the path to long term financial stability.
- Late January 2024 - Following multiple meetings with ministers, the Government announces that it will put a £600m funding uplift into local government. Havering will benefit from a share of this funding to help ease pressures on social care.
- Early January 2024 - Julia meets with the new Local Government Minister, Simon Hoare to discuss the continued financial pressures which Havering Council is under.
- October 2023 - Julia leads another delegation to meet with Minister Lee Rowley to discuss the Borough's finances following more warnings to the media that it was coming under increasing financial pressure.
- December 2022 - Julia leads a successful delegation from Havering to meet with Local Government Minister Lee Rowley. Following the meeting with the delegation, Secretary of State Michael Gove MP confirms extra funding for Havering Council.
- January 2022 - Julia meets with Secretary of State Michael Gove MP to discuss how the Thames Freeport can help provide the funds which Havering Council needs.
- February 2021 - Julia welcomes news that an extra £1.3bn worth of funding has been provided to London authorities to help deal with the effects of the COVID pandemic.
- November 2019 - Julia's Parliamentary Team meet with government Minister to lobby for more funding for Havering Council. This comes following Havering Council's decision to introduce new parking charges in the Borough, citing funding pressures as the reason for the change.
- May 2019 - Julia highlights that more social care programmes could be used to tackle knife crime in the borough if the Local Government Funding Formula was reformed. She speaks about her efforts to lobby the Government to amend the Formula under the Fair Review.
