Newham Council will discuss the 2019/20 budget proposals with residents at a series of People’s Budget Forums in January.
The People’s Budget Forums will be held on 16 January, 21 January and 24 January, giving residents a chance to speak with the Mayor of Newham, Cabinet members and officers about the budget proposals.
The proposals, which have been influenced by what residents have said during Citizens’ Assemblies, include investing:
The proposals, which have been influenced by what residents have said during Citizens’ Assemblies, include investing:
- £3m to pay our care staff the London Living Wage;
- £1.4m into youth services to keep our young people safe;
- £6.3m so that primary school children continue to eat for free;
- £10.6m into Children’s Services;
- £1.3m to support children with Special Educational Needs;
- £1.4m to support 19,000 lowest income households by cutting the cost of their Council Tax;
- £390,000 for free bulky waste collections;
- An additional £500,000 to accelerate social housing delivery;
- £250,000 to ensure residents are at the heart of our decision-making process.
In order to pay for this, a 2.9% increase in Council Tax is proposed alongside an Adult Social Care Precept of 2%. This additional payment of just 89p per week, for a Band D property, for the Newham element of Council Tax, alongside a planned programme of savings, will help fund new and improved services.
The Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz, said: “These budget forums are another example of how we are continuing to put residents at the heart of everything we do.
“Setting the budget for 2019/20 is an important step for this administration and we want our residents to be informed about the process.
“I’m encouraging everyone to get involved, including young people, to come along to these People’s Budget Forums to find out more about how we’ll spend money as a council in the next financial year and learn more about what we do.”
The forums are part of a series of platforms created by the council to enhance governance and transparency; and ensure that Newham residents are more involved with decision-making. They will provide an opportunity to discuss how the council is funded, its 2019/20 budget proposals, and how residents can be involved in future budget decisions.
There will be three Newham People’s Budget Forums, which will be held at:
The Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz, said: “These budget forums are another example of how we are continuing to put residents at the heart of everything we do.
“Setting the budget for 2019/20 is an important step for this administration and we want our residents to be informed about the process.
“I’m encouraging everyone to get involved, including young people, to come along to these People’s Budget Forums to find out more about how we’ll spend money as a council in the next financial year and learn more about what we do.”
The forums are part of a series of platforms created by the council to enhance governance and transparency; and ensure that Newham residents are more involved with decision-making. They will provide an opportunity to discuss how the council is funded, its 2019/20 budget proposals, and how residents can be involved in future budget decisions.
There will be three Newham People’s Budget Forums, which will be held at:
- Beckton Community Centre on Wednesday, 16 January, 6.30pm-9pm;
- Newham Town Hall on Monday, 21 January, 6.30pm-9pm;
- Old Town Hall Stratford on Thursday, 24 January, 10.30am-1pm.
The budget will be decided on at a meeting of Full Council on Monday, 18 February.