The Committee noted the report on the Local Council Tax Support Scheme 2025-2026, the Corporate Peer Challenge Action Plan, and the MTFS 24/25-27/28. It was agreed that the bi-monthly framework for monitoring assurance of MTFS savings proposals and the Council’s Transformation Programme should be made available to the Budget Scrutiny Committee. It was also agreed that the Committee should revisit the Local Council Tax Support Scheme in a future meeting to see if mitigating support had benefitted residents.

Local Council Tax Support Scheme 2025-2026

The Committee discussed the proposed changes to the Local Council Tax Support Scheme for 2025-2026. Mr Eamonn Hennessey, Acting Head of Benefits, explained that if the new scheme was adopted, it would cost £2.32 million less than the current scheme. The most significant change to the scheme would be the introduction of income banding meaning that the level of support working-age residents receive would be capped at 57% of their Council Tax liability unless they were part of a protected group, for example if they had a disability. The scheme would continue to offer a maximum of 85% support to pensioners.

The Committee was keen to understand the extent of the consultation undertaken on the scheme and what steps had been taken to ensure it was accessible to the diverse communities in Waltham Forest. It was proposed that Services explore the possibility of involving Streetbase in the engagement strategy to boost responses from young residents. The Committee also sought reassurance that the outcome of the consultation would be published and that adoption of the new scheme was not pre-determined.

Councillor Grace Williams, Leader of the Council, addressed this, explaining that:

The Council only consulted residents on decisions it was seriously exploring.

Councillor Williams emphasised the importance of considering resident feedback, particularly the potential impact of decisions on protected groups, and acknowledged the Council’s obligation to make savings.

Committee members suggested that demographic analysis on respondents and responses be carried out following the consultation to establish whether certain groups had highlighted particular concerns.

The Committee raised concerns about the clarity of the communication strategy associated with the consultation and the scheme changes. They asked what steps had been taken to ensure that residents were made fully aware of the changes and to reassure them that mitigations, such as the Discretionary Council Tax Hardship scheme, were in place to support those who might be adversely impacted. The Committee also sought clarity on the options other boroughs in a similar financial position were exploring.

It was agreed that:

• Services would consider sending consultation to Streetbase coordinators in an attempt to boost responses from young people.
• Services would ensure bespoke communications are developed for those adversely impacted by any change in the scheme, to signpost to other support available.

Corporate Peer Challenge Action Plan

Mr Dan Gardiner, Interim Head of Strategy and Design, introduced the Corporate Peer Challenge Action Plan. The Committee heard that the plan detailed the Council’s response to the recommendations made in the Corporate Peer Challenge feedback report following a visit by an LGA peer team in June 2024. The Council was required to publish this Action Plan as a live document; feedback from the Committee and other stakeholders would be used to refine the plan ahead of a progress review by the LGA in April 2025.

The Committee requested further information about the following recommendations under Theme 3:

• “Ensure that SLT continue to embed, on a quarterly basis, a proactive focus on organisation-wide assurance, covering audit recommendations, risk management, and statutory officers’ assurance.”
• “Build on the strength of the capital finance function to support development of a robust approach to revenue management using the CIPFA five-star model¹”

Ms Ursula Gamble, Corporate Director of Financial Services, explained that work was already underway in these areas. Services had been aware of the need to enhance the Council’s financial management capability before the peer review and had been working with CIPFA for 6 months to upskill budget holders.

The Committee requested sight of:

• The bi-monthly framework for monitoring assurance of MTFS savings proposals and the Council’s Transformation Programme
• The strategy to enhance financial management capability within the Council

MTFS 24/25-27/28

The Committee heard from the Director of Financial Services that the report on the Medium Term Financial Strategy 24/25 – 27/28 had been written before the Budget statement was delivered on 30 October. Services were therefore awaiting confirmation on the funding settlement the Council could expect, the indicative date for which was 19 December.

The Director outlined the challenges associated with temporary accommodation. The Committee was keen to understand the measures the Council was taking to ensure best value was achieved in this area. The Director explained that pressure in the private rental sector meant that the Council had to procure more expensive temporary accommodation than it would like. The Council’s preference was to prevent evictions and keep residents in long-term accommodation wherever possible. Options for achieving this included helping unemployed residents find work and utilising grant funding to purchase old social housing stock that could provide suitable accommodation.

The Committee was also interested in the steps the Council was taking to make savings in areas such as Adult Social Care. The Director explained that roughly £4.2 million of in-year savings was projected from this service area, a significant amount of which would be achieved through recovery of income from fee payers and prudent commissioning.

The Chair requested that the Committee be kept informed about the progress of all action plans to make savings in this and other service areas, noting that significant efficiencies had been proposed in Adult Social Care, Children’s Social Care, and Housing.

The Committee asked about new revenue streams that could help to close the Council’s funding gap and was advised that business rates were set nationally; the Council had no power to increase these.

The Committee also raised the following points from the recent Budget statement:

• The creation of a ‘mega fund’ pension scheme
• The increase to National Insurance

The Director explained that the Council was in favour of the proposed changes to pensions; administering local authority pension schemes was a resource-intensive process. It was not yet clear when the mega-fund would be implemented or the impact it might have on Waltham Forest.

On National Insurance, the Director advised that, as an employer, the Council would be compensated for the estimated £3 million impact of the NI increase but that the mechanism for this was unclear. The providers used by the Council would not, however, be compensated. The financial pressure this could cause was currently being evaluated.