Newham Council achieved 85% of its savings target for the 2024/25 financial year, according to a report presented at the Audit and Governance Committee meeting on Wednesday 16 July 2025. The council is already planning for the next financial year, with a total savings target of £39.1 million for 2025/26.

The council aimed to achieve £32 million in savings, with an additional £10 million carried over from previous years. However, the Savings Delivery AC July 25 Cover Report revealed that £27.3 million in savings were delivered, with £1.9 million in slippage and £2.8 million not delivered. The report indicates that the £2.8 million in undelivered savings is attributed to some harder to achieve savings from prior years. The specific services or programs affected are not detailed in the summary, but the MTFS Savings Tracker 2024-25 Outturn provides a breakdown by directorate.

One-off savings accounted for £3.5 million of the delivered savings. These savings were not delivered on a permanent basis, indicating they are not sustainable in the long term, according to the MTFS Savings Tracker 2024-25 Outturn.

Savings Programme Dashboard 24-25 showing total savings RAG rated by directorate.
Savings Programme Dashboard 24-25 showing total savings RAG rated by directorate.Source: Audit and Governance Committee papers, 16 July 2025

The Public Reports Pack broke down the savings delivery by directorate. For example, in Children and Young People, £2.2 million of savings were undelivered, as detailed in the MTFS Savings Tracker 2024-25 Outturn.

The Audit and Governance Committee also discussed a range of other topics, including the GDPR Annual Report, contract waivers, internal audit updates, risk management, and counter fraud progress. These will be covered in separate reports.