Newham Council warns of 'impossible problem' as it goes £25m over its temporary accommodation budget
| Published date | 25 April 2024 |
| Publication title | MyLondon (England) |
During Tuesday's meeting, scrutiny chair Anthony McAlmont began by saying he found the £25m overspend 'alarming'. Cllr McAlmont said: "For me the figures are alarming... I am surprised and alarmed that the council does not seem to be able to get the projections right.
"Every quarter we are getting a new set of figures and what is worse is the figures are not projecting downwards, which would be a welcoming position, they are projecting upwards." Zulfiqar Ali, cabinet member for finance and resources, said it was clear that housing and temporary accommodation was having the 'biggest impact' on the council's finances.
Cllr Ali said: "I know you said obviously it is our problem, clearly it is our problem, but housing is a national policy failure and this is happening across the country. You've seen in the [council] report that other [local] authorities are having similar problems, we're not alone in it but I agree that this is our problem and we need to resolve it effectively."
Cllr Ali said the council departments for finance and resources will be coming back to the committee to present a new set of proposals to tackle the temporary accommodation black hole. He added: "...clearly this isn't a mismanagement of the council's financial resources, it is a situation which is national and I agree we need to manage that."
Cllr Terry Paul, a member of the overview and scrutiny committee, followed by asking: "What has gone wrong Being where you are now, what would you have done differently over the past year" Cllr Ali responded, and said: "The situation we reported at the time was accurate... but clearly things have changed, it's very difficult to stop people coming to the door.
"You've seen the number [of households in temporary accommodation], how they've changed and similarly with children in care." Cllr Paul then asked the latter question again, and said: "Whatever you have done in your transformation plans have not...
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