The Full Council meeting of Haringey Council on Monday 20 July 2026 addressed the borough's challenging financial situation, agreeing to implement recommendations from its external auditor, KPMG LLP, to increase savings targets and improve financial management. Councillors also debated and ultimately passed a motion to maintain the Council Tax Reduction Scheme without changes, ensuring continued support for vulnerable residents.

External Auditor Recommendations and Council Response

The council agreed to accept the statutory and non-statutory recommendations from its external auditor, KPMG LLP, aimed at improving the council's financial sustainability. These recommendations stem from concerns raised by KPMG regarding the council's financial position, including a significant decrease in reserves and a continuing reliance on Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) from the government.

The statutory recommendation requires the council to increase its savings targets for future years and deliver savings in line with these targets. A wider range of transformational savings must be identified and implemented to allow the Council to bridge the financial gap and reduce its reliance on EFS. The council's response, outlined in Appendix B of the reports pack¹, commits to developing a three-year Financial Resilience Plan focusing on key priority service areas such as Adult Social Care, Housing, and Procurement. This plan aims to reduce spending and increase income, aligning Haringey's spending with statistical neighbours. The council also committed to strengthening its financial governance, including enhanced spend control mechanisms and a more robust process for identifying and monitoring savings. Monthly monitoring of savings will be conducted by the Finance Recovery Board, with progress reported quarterly to Cabinet and Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Two non-statutory recommendations were also accepted:

1. To change the culture across directorates so that financial implications are given as prominent a focus as the quality of service. The council's response includes reviewing how reports are presented to Cabinet to highlight financial impacts and implementing a formal gateway approval process for new commissions over £160,000.
2. To demonstrate a commitment from the Cabinet and officers to increase the level of savings being delivered and to make the process of both identification and monitoring of savings more robust. The council will continue to brief all members on the financial position and support opposition groups in developing alternative budgets. A new tighter monitoring and reporting process for savings is in place for 2026/27, with identified leads accountable for delivery.

Windrush Champion Appointment

The council resolved to create the role of a Windrush Champion, an elected member tasked with acting as a point of contact for residents affected by the Windrush scandal. This champion will work to increase awareness and uptake of the Windrush Compensation Scheme and related support services, and make recommendations to the cabinet on improving accessibility. The motion also called on the Home Office to provide borough-level data on Windrush claims and publish an annual report. An amendment proposed by Councillor Beverley Berrick, which suggested a cross-party working group to select the champion from the community, was defeated. The council then unanimously passed the original motion, appointing a Windrush Champion.

Council Tax Reduction Scheme

A motion proposed by Councillor Seema Chandwani and seconded by Councillor Ibrahim Ali, aiming to ensure no changes were made to the Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS) during the upcoming budget round, was passed. The motion highlighted the ongoing cost of living crisis and Haringey's position as one of London's most deprived boroughs. It argued that charging low-income households is counterproductive and pushes people into debt, and that removing the CTRS would create a financial cliff edge for thousands of families. The council resolved to ask the Cabinet to continue finding ways to expand the Council Tax Hardship Fund and ensure the Crisis and Resilience Fund is used for anti-poverty strategies rather than substituting council revenue. An amendment proposed by Councillor Tammy Hymas, which sought to contextualise the issue within austerity measures and include a commitment to an ethical debt collection policy, was not carried.

Other Business

The council also noted the appointment of political assistants for the three political groups, agreeing to appoint three assistants on one-year fixed contracts pending a review of their value for money. Updates to the Council's Constitution regarding these appointments were also agreed. Additionally, the council approved updates to the Members' Allowances Scheme for 2026-2027, reflecting access to the Local Government Pension Scheme for elected members.