The Budget Scrutiny Committee of Waltham Forest Council met on Tuesday, 17 February 2026, to review the council's financial position. The meeting was scheduled to discuss the latest budget monitoring report for the 2025/26 financial year, the proposed budget and council tax setting for 2026/27, and the council's scrutiny report, which included its forward plan and action tracker.

Budget Monitor Month 9

The committee was scheduled to review the Budget Monitor report for Month 9 of the 2025/26 financial year. This report provided an update on the forecast outturn position for revenue expenditure in the General Fund, which was projected to have a service overspend of £32.973 million. The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) forecast showed a net nil variance after additional transfers to reserves of £3.430 million. The Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) forecast indicated an in-year deficit of £9.464 million, primarily within the High Needs Block, which would bring the cumulative deficit in this block to £18.336 million by the end of March 2026. The capital programme forecast for 2025/26 was £171.958 million against a revised budget of £239.845 million, representing an underspend of £67.888 million due to budget corrections and adjustments to align planned expenditure with delivery plans.

Budget and Council Tax Setting 2026/27

A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to the proposed budget and council tax setting for 2026/27. This report outlined the council's proposed budget, building on the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) presented in September 2025. The report detailed the financial challenges faced by the council, including increasing demand for services, rising costs, and uncertainty surrounding local government finances. It also outlined the funding received through the 2026/27 Provisional Finance Settlement and the actions the council was proposing to address these challenges, including savings and transformation programmes, and an application for Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) of £19 million.

The proposed council tax increase for 2026/27 was set at 4.99%, comprising a 2.99% increase for core council services and a 2% increase for the adult social care precept. This would result in a Band D council tax of £1,876.45, an overall increase of 4.80% when including the Greater London Authority (GLA) precept. The report also detailed the projected budget for 2026/27 at £607.255 million and noted the council tax base for 2026/27 as 82,991. The report included appendices covering the proposed budget, Section 25 Local Government Act 2003 advice, flexible use of capital receipts, the MTFS, service pressures, savings proposals, reserves strategy, capital programme, capital strategy, equalities assessment, and advice from the Monitoring Officer.

The Scrutiny Report

The committee was also scheduled to review the Scrutiny Report, which included the draft forward plan and action tracker. This report provided an overview of ongoing municipal year work and captured actions required of officers from previous meetings. Members were invited to review the forward plan for the remainder of the municipal year and suggest any items for inclusion in the 2025-26 cycle. The report also highlighted key decisions falling under the remit of the scrutiny committee in the upcoming Cabinet Forward Plan, including financial monitoring and the budget for 2026/27.