The budget isn’t an easy read – £3.25million less will be spent on adult social care and £3.2million less on support for children and families – but at least Southwark isn’t insolvent.
It seems crazy to be thankful that our local authority isn’t going effectively bankrupt but it really is good news.
Declining funding for local councils over the last fifteen years has plunged them into the perilous situation where one in five council bosses say their authorities are likely to go bust in the next fifteen months.
Southwark, on the other hand, has reassured us in our interview this week that its finances are robust and there are no fears of financial collapse.
This should mean our streets remain clean, our rubbish collected, and basic support services provided, for years to come.
For all the criticism the council comes under, it deserves a big pat on the back for keeping its finances afloat. It has endured violent headwinds in recent years – inflation, a pandemic and government instability – while continuing to keep the coffers from running dry.
Having said that, the Housing Revenue Accounts, separate from the main fund, do look precarious and will need carefully to be managed to avoid disaster over the next few years.
And yet, contrary to what Labour councillors might argue, it’s hard to see how a Keir Starmer government would change this. The Labour Party is refusing to commit to more public spending, even though that seems to be the only route out for under-the-cosh London boroughs.
If Westminster doesn’t have the political will to give our councils the helping hand they need, Southwark will have to make more cuts in years to come.