"Groundbreaking" budget leads local government sector

• Budget provides £65m new investment over the next three years, with £184m total investment on frontline priorities 2022-2028.   
• First council to provide universal school uniform grants for families with household income up to £50,350, benefiting 21,000 pupils.

• The only local authority nationally to provide universal free school meals and to restore Education Maintenance Allowance. 
• Second council in the country to introduce free homecare, costing nearly £4.9m per year.

• £3m to provide a Meals on Wheels service for vulnerable residents.

• £1m to support people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities with transition into adulthood.

• £3.1m energy support fund for low-income households, in addition to £1.8m for replacement Winter Fuel Payments for pensioners.

• Environment and safety a priority with £15m of additional investment into the waste service, plus a new Tackling Drugs Taskforce and enhanced CCTV.  

Tower Hamlets Council has passed its three-year budget with significant investment to provide new and improved support for families and vulnerable people as cost-of-living pressures continue to impact on residents.  

It leads the local government sector in providing intergenerational support from early years, support at school, college and university; to training, employment and housing support; right through to free adult social care home support, meals on wheels and support for energy bills.  

The budget, approved by a meeting of the Full Council at the Town Hall on Wednesday 26 February, also increases funding for a range of public services including the environment and community safety to help keep the borough safer, cleaner, greener.  

Blazing a trail in local government  

The council is already the only local authority in the country to offer universal free school meals for both primary and secondary school children, saving a family £550 per year, per child.  

It is the only council to have restored the Education Maintenance Allowance and one of a few to offer university and college grants with more than 2,350 grants awarded since 2022, and its new YoungTH youth service is on course to having a venue in all 20 wards with 18 already opened.  

Now, the council is setting aside £1m a year for school uniform grants for families with household incomes of up to £50,350. Families will be able to claim £50 per child entering primary school and £150 per child entering secondary school.  

The budget will ensure that 21,000 children are supported to buy school uniforms over the next three years. In January, Ofsted rated the council’s Children’s Services as ‘Outstanding.’  

Other highlights include new investment of more than £15m over the next three years will continue the work to make the borough cleaner and greener with more staff, improved equipment and extra collections to provide cleaner local streets, markets and estates.  

Tower Hamlets is one of the few local authorities to fund police officers as well as its own Tower Hamlet Enforcement Officers, having just launched a new Anti-Crime Taskforce with £4m investment in community safety.  

And being only the second local authority in the country to offer free homecare rather than charge for it. This is on top of providing a Meals on Wheels service for vulnerable residents.  

Executive Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman said:  

“I’m incredibly proud of this groundbreaking Budget. We are putting in an unprecedented level of investment to provide our residents with more support with the cost-of-living than any other council in the country. 

“This is a fully costed and financially sustainable budget, which retains £471m in our total reserves. We are setting a new standard in the local government sector and leading the way in showing how councils can fill the void created by national cuts and invest in communities, while ensuring balanced books and fiscal responsibility.  

“Residents will benefit from vital support throughout their lives - from free school meals and uniforms, to college and university grants and youth clubs in every ward, to comprehensive care for older residents, including free homecare, meals on wheels, and winter fuel payments for pensioners.  

“Our trailblazing initiatives to directly relieve cost-of-living pressures on our residents, as well as investments in housing, sports and leisure, community safety, the environment, education and youth and care services, improve the lives of people in our community and make Tower Hamlets an even greater place to live, work and visit.”   

Community Safety  

Tower Hamlets is one of a few London councils to pay the Metropolitan Police for police officers. It funds 26 police officers and is tripling the number of Tower Hamlets Enforcement Officers (THEOs) to 64, who work collaboratively with police officers as part of a new Anti-Crime Task Force.  

In addition to the existing £4m a year investment in community safety, a further £551,000 is being invested to create a drugs taskforce to work with the police to tackle drugs supply, dealing, exploitation and treatment, and a new dog patrol service to join the THEOs to conduct regular weapons and drugs sweeps in parks, open spaces, and estates. 

The council will also build on the £3.9m of investment it has made to create its state-of-the-art CCTV service with an extra £270,000 a year for the next three years to support its expansion, including commercialisation potential to help bring income back into the council.  

The budget measures were agreed as part of a fully costed budget for the next three years and an increase in General Fund reserves from £21.2m to £25m.  

Community Support Fund  

The £1m a year grants for school uniforms are part of a £2m a year Community Resilience Support Fund package to help residents and families facing ongoing cost-of-living pressures.  

Additional community and cost-of-living related funding proposals to be supported by the Community Resilience Support Fund, will be developed in the year ahead.  

The new school uniforms support is in addition to ongoing funding for universal free school meals in both primary and secondary schools, and the offer for students to apply for a £600 college grant or a £1,500 university bursary.  

Supporting our vulnerable residents  

The new budget gives extra support for qualifying vulnerable residents with £4.9m each year to fund free homecare services rather than paying for it themselves. In addition, the budget has set aside £3m for a new Meals on Wheels service.  

Younger people will also be supported with measures including £1million a year in new funding to help young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) to transition into adulthood. There is also £162,000 of new funding for extra befriending opportunities and short breaks for children with disabilities and their families.  

This added support is on top of the council stepping in to support residents impacted by the government’s removal of the Winter Fuel Payments for pensioners. Last year, the council introduced a local scheme to offer more than 5,000 £175 payments to pensioners who would otherwise miss out.  

Around 44% of older people in Tower Hamlets live in low-income households, the highest proportion in England. The new budget continues the ongoing financial support for the local scheme.  

Cllr Saied Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Resources and the Cost of Living, said:  

“Our new Budget demonstrates that councils don’t have to choose between fiscal responsibility and significant investments to improve people’s lives — we can achieve both and we urge other councils to follow our lead. Through careful financial management and reducing waste and duplication, we’ve increased public spending in a fully costed, balanced budget, while maintaining healthy financial reserves. 

“We’re investing to make Tower Hamlets greener, cleaner and safer and to safeguard essential services our residents rely on, as well as pioneering new initiatives to help cash-strapped households cope with the cost-of-living crisis. 

“This Budget reflects our commitment to ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to live a healthy, fulfilling life, from early years through to later stages of life, with the chance to thrive and reach their potential.” 

Ongoing council tax relief  

In line with government expectations, there is a 2.99% increase in general Council Tax and a 2% Adult Social Care precept to help pay for the increasing demand in services for older and vulnerable residents. The council is maintaining a freeze on council tax for low-income households, with the continuation of one of the most generous local council tax reduction schemes (LCTRS), which will see the poorest households paying no council tax at all. £34.5m has been saved by more than 28,000 households this year alone.  

The borough has the 6th lowest council tax rate in London. The expansion of the council’s new Council Tax Cost of Living Relief Fund will protect more qualifying households from paying the increase in council tax.