Croydon Council Faces £98 Million Budget Gap

Croydon wants to revamp how they run things. They want to make public services better and safer. The council faces big money problems now. More people need help with housing and social care costs more too. Kids’ housing and placements have also risen. These things hurt Croydon’s finances badly this year.

Croydon is a big London area where almost 400,000 people live. It has many homeless people, so they need £136 million from the government. That cash is for the year 2025/26. The mayor says they’ve made things better already, but costs are rising everywhere.

Savings alone are not enough, but the mayor won’t make locals pay more. The council wants to fix its money issues and they don’t want to cut services. They won’t raise tax too high either, but they want to raise council tax by 2.99 percent. They also want a 2 percent social care levy.

The plan uses tech to help staff work better. Council contact will be easier too and customer service should improve a lot. The goal is to be more efficient fast. They will work with charities more closely, which is about stopping crises early. They will offer services in local centers.

These changes are for the town center plan too. The plan aims to boost investment and growth. The council spoke to many people about this, including residents, businesses, and experts. The council will save money each year.

If approved, the changes take four years. They hope to save £27.7 million annually by 2029. This alone won’t fix everything, though. The council talks to the government a lot as they want a long-term debt solution soon. They don’t want to borrow more money.

The mayor says they must be more efficient to protect public services now and later. It will help residents and customers greatly. They need to work with partners, too. The budget ideas are online, and the council will all vote on the plan next.