Waltham Forest Council is already on course for a £19million overspend this year, as its financial troubles worsen.
Here's the background. The town hall started the financial year with a £17m gap in its budget, and had to borrow £19m from the government to stay afloat. At the time, the former Labour administration said the loan would "help us protect our services that matter most to people" while "balancing the budget in the short term". Crucially, it was meant to remove the need for more borrowing in the future.
Now a recently published report says the Green-led council is operating in "exceptionally difficult circumstances with increasing demand and costs".
Where the money is going
The biggest pressures are ones that councils right across London are dealing with: adult and children's social care, schooling for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and housing homeless residents in temporary accommodation. The report says these costs are being driven by rising "demand, complexity, inflation and market challenges".
Temporary accommodation is where Waltham Forest is feeling the squeeze most, and it is set to go over budget there by £11m. The number of households in temporary accommodation has come down in recent months, but the council says the underlying cost pressures remain and that the market and demand are still volatile.
Why is it so expensive? Residents facing homelessness are commonly owed a housing duty by their council, which means the town hall will find them settled accommodation to keep them off the streets. But because of a city-wide shortage of social housing, councils are often forced to pay high sums to keep families in hotels and other bed-and-breakfast style emergency accommodation.
Social care, meanwhile, is set to go over budget by £7.5m.
What happens next
There is no indication that Waltham Forest will ask for 'exceptional financial support' from the government next February. But the report warns the council may need to dip into its £30m reserves.
This year the council hopes to make £18.6m in cuts. It also wants to raise £22m to fund schemes that will bring in savings further down the line, and is looking at selling off land and buildings it owns to do so.
