Redbridge Extends Emergency Duty Team Service with 3 Boroughs

Redbridge Council has agreed to extend its Emergency Duty Team (EDT) service, providing a standardised service across four London boroughs. The decision, made at a cabinet meeting on 13 November 2025, ensures the continuation of the service with the London Boroughs of Havering, Barking & Dagenham, and Waltham Forest.

The EDT service, managed and delivered by Redbridge Council since its inception in 2014, provides a crucial point of contact for child protection and other emergencies outside of normal working hours. The four-borough service provides a standardised service across the London Boroughs of Havering, Barking & Dagenham, Waltham Forest and Redbridge. The 4-borough partnership was brought in to save cost and continues to be a cost-effective working arrangement. The agreement was reviewed in 2017, 2020 and 2023 and a decision made to continue with the current arrangements.

Councillor Lloyd Jacob Duddridge, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education, introduced the report, highlighting the cost-effectiveness and standardised service provided by the four-borough partnership. The current three-year agreement is set to expire on 31 March 2026.

The cabinet agreed that the Executive Director of People, with the agreement of the respective Cabinet Members, be authorised to negotiate the terms of and to enter into the necessary legal agreements to continue a children's four borough EDT service.

The London Boroughs of Havering, Barking & Dagenham and Waltham Forest will provide formal confirmation that they wish to continue with the four-borough arrangement via authorisation from their respective Cabinets. The Executive Director of People, with the agreement of the respective Cabinet Members, is authorised to negotiate the terms of and to enter into the necessary legal agreements to continue a children's four borough EDT service.

The decision was formalised in a resolution: That the Executive Director of People, with the agreement of the respective Cabinet Members, be authorised to negotiate the terms of and to enter into the necessary legal agreements to continue a children's four borough EDT service, be agreed.