Wandsworth Council is facing a projected £1.6 million overspend, primarily driven by increasing demands on housing and health services. The council addressed these financial pressures at a recent Cabinet meeting.
The revenue budget forecast for 2025/26 reveals the extent of the financial strain, with the overspend representing approximately 1% of the approved service committee budget of £293.167 million. According to the Quarter 1 Financial Monitoring 2025/26 (Paper No. 25-328), the most significant budget pressures relate to housing and health.
In Housing, the £0.6 million cost pressure is largely attributed to the increasing numbers of homeless individuals and the associated expenses of temporary accommodation. To address this, officers are working on several initiatives to reduce the use of temporary accommodation. These include procuring more private rented homes for leasing as temporary accommodation or as a housing option for those at risk of homelessness. The council is also focusing on preventing more homelessness through casework-based interventions, reducing casework backlogs, and rehousing significant numbers of accepted homeless households via 'permanent' offers under the allocation scheme. Officers have previously developed a range of new initiatives including large scale leasing schemes, either within the borough or elsewhere in London, more condition and occupancy inspections and greater and innovative use of digital technology within the service.
Within the Health sector, the forecast includes £2.136 million attributed to demand growth throughout the year. A significant portion of this pressure stems from learning disability care services, where the estimated costs for individuals transitioning from Children's Services are exceeding the budgeted growth by £0.489 million.
The Cabinet noted that the budget variations approved in the agenda can be funded within the approved framework, according to the Budget Variations Paper No. 25-329.
