This meeting was scheduled to include a discussion about the Council's finances for the coming year, including updates on complaints made to the Council, as well as its Community Investment Programme.

The Council's 2025/26 budget

The Committee was scheduled to receive a report about the Council's finances for the year 2025/26 (2025 2026 Revenue Estimates and Council Tax Setting). This document recommends an increase to Council Tax of 4.99%, including 2% for adult social care. The report is an overview of the budget and includes what is referred to as the Executive Director Corporate Services assessment of the robustness of the budget and the adequacy of the general balance.

The report also notes that the Council is forecasting an overspend of £19m for the current financial year, noting that:

These permanent additional costs to the Council need to be reflected in the 2025/26 budget and the Council will need to commit most of its new resources to ensuring these services remain properly funded and are able to provide vital support to the most vulnerable residents in the borough.

The report notes that the Council was due to receive £2.7m from the government to cover the cost of the increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions, but that this:

does not fully cover the anticipated increase in the Council’s direct costs, nor any indirect costs likely to be passed on by suppliers.

The report also included a section about the Council's capital spending plans. Amongst the proposed investments included in the report are £11.1m for the purchase of new homes for children in care, and £10m for the purchase of new social housing. It also notes that the Council is developing plans to purchase properties to house care leavers.

The report pack also included a summary of the legal framework within which the Council is required to make budgetary decisions (Appendix A - The Legal Framework for Setting the Council Tax). This appendix explains the legal processes, considerations, and duties that the Council must fulfil in setting its budget. It also includes details on the specific process for setting the Council Tax (Appendix B - Statutory Determination of Council Tax 2025-26).

The report pack also included a summary of each of the directorate budgets (Appendix C - Directorate and Departmental Budgets and Levies), as well as a number of appendices describing fees and charges that the Council was scheduled to be asked to approve (Appendix D - Fees and Charges).

Finally, the report pack included a breakdown of how the budget contributes to the Council's climate ambitions, as well as an Equality Impact Assessment (Appendix E - Camden Climate Budget) (Appendix F - Equality Impact Assessment Form).

The Council's complaints

The Committee was scheduled to receive the London Borough of Camden’s Annual Complaints Report 2023/2024. This report included an overview of the complaints received by the Council between 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, as well as descriptions of how the Council has responded to the complaints received.

The report highlighted a 39% increase in the number of complaints received by the Council, noting that this increase:

corresponds with a rise in complaints reported by most local authorities, particularly those in London.

The report also included summaries of the main sources of complaints received, including:

• Property Management
• Housing Management
• Housing Support
• Parking Operations
• Environment Services
• Adult Social Care and Health

People and Inclusion Service

A report was also scheduled to be given about the People and Inclusion Service. This report included an overview of the work of the People and Inclusion Service, which includes supporting the Council to attract, retain, and develop its staff. It also provides support for Camden's schools and some other organisations.

The report highlighted how the People and Inclusion Service was adapting to the Council's desire to become what it calls a 'relational, people-focused organisation', noting that:

Camden is on an organisational journey: transitioning from a bureaucratic, process-focused organisation to a relational, people-focused one. This shift requires a fundamental review of how staff work to support this transformation.

The report provided a number of details about the Council's workforce, including its composition, wellbeing, pay, and development.

Community Investment Programme

A report was scheduled to be provided on the Council's Community Investment Programme (CIP). This included an update on the programme's progress during 2024.

The report noted that CIP had delivered more than 1,700 homes since its inception, 70% of which are what the Council calls genuinely affordable. In 2024, CIP completed three residential schemes. These were at:

• Tybalds Estate
• Central Somers Town
• Agar Grove Estate

CIP also completed two non-residential projects:

• Liddell Place Workspace
• Highgate Newtown Community Centre

Work continued on three other residential projects at:

• Abbey Phase 3
• Godwin and Crowndale
• Agar Grove Estate Phase 2a

Finally, the report noted that work had begun on the construction of two new hostels to provide temporary accommodation:

• Camden Road
• Chester Road

The report described a number of other projects that are either scheduled to start on site soon, or are at earlier stages of development, as well as providing updates on the programme's finances.

Work Programme 2024/25

Finally, the committee was scheduled to discuss its Work Programme 2024/25, including any outstanding actions that the Committee has requested from the Council (Action Tracker 2024-25).