Today, Andrew Rosindell and I took Havering’s Leader, Cllr Roger Ramsey and Chief Executive, Andrew Blake-Herbert, to meet new Local Government Minister, Rishi Sunak, and highlight to him the borough’s raw deal when it comes to our grant from central government.
For too long now, it has been assumed that inner London boroughs have the highest need due to their diverse and rapidly-changing populations and historical poverty levels. It is time now to look afresh at these outdated assumptions and catch-up with the growing pressures on outer London boroughs like Havering. Havering has the oldest population in London as well as the fastest growing number of children in any borough, placing twin pressures on our social care system and additional strain on housing supply, causing rents to leap. Central London boroughs are enjoying huge section 106 receipts from property development and, along with all local authorities, will soon get a cut of healthy business rate receipts which will help them pay for services and keep council tax low. Havering is doing all it can to be more efficient and financially self-sufficient in the long-term but in the short-term these measures will not be enough to offset the growth pressures being placed on council coffers.
The government is thankfully reviewing the grant formula in its Fair Funding Review, and our meeting ensured that Havering’s example will be fed into that process. However in the immediate term, we made a strong case for the continuation of the transition grant to ensure that the council can continue to provide borough residents with high-quality services. The disparity of treatment between inner and outer London is one of the things I pledged to raise with government when I first got elected in June, and our meeting with the Minister marks an important step in fulfilling that promise.