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Caption: Councillor Billy Christie, Cabinet Member for Corporate and Finance.

This year our biggest focus has been on supporting people in Merton through the cost of living crisis. We've also held a Big Sports Day to kick off our goal to become London's borough of sport. We've nurtured civic pride across the borough by cleaning up and investing in our town centres and high streets, and we've laid the foundations for a sustainable future by planting 10,000 trees and developing our plan to build hundreds of new council homes. Like you, although we've been very careful with our money, the council is facing increasing pressures on our budget including record high inflation, rising costs and increased demand for the services we provide. Underfunding from the government has left us facing some tough choices about how we run the essential services that local people rely on. We're proud of what we've delivered this year and there's a lot more still to do but before we finalise our plans for next year we want to know what matters most to you.

Introduction

We have carefully managed public money over recent years to ensure that we can balance our budget, protect frontline services, and deliver you value for money. However, this is becoming increasingly challenging due to continuing reductions in government funding for essential services that our residents rely on, added to increased costs and inflation.  

Previously, we have focused on tackling the cost of living crisis, by providing practical help to people in Merton who are struggling to make ends meet. We have also been able to make progress on making Merton London’s Borough of Sport, nurturing civic pride, and building a sustainable future.  

Last year, we sold CHAS, a successful council-owned company, bringing a much-needed boost to our finances. This money is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Merton and we are asking residents what you think we should invest this in to have the greatest impact for people who live here, as it can only be spent once – and therefore cannot be used to support providing frontline services.  

As well as this online survey, we held a series of events across the borough to speak to as many people as possible about what they think the council’s priorities should be for 2024/25.   

Online survey

Thank for taking part in our engagement on the budget for 2024/25 which has now closed. What you have told us will be reported to our cabinet to help inform them about the decisions they need to take.

Budget setting process

In December 2023 we expect the Government to announce the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement, the level of funding it will provide to councils in 2024/25, and set the threshold for increasing council tax without a referendum. The Cabinet will also meet to discuss savings proposals. 

In January 2024 Cabinet will meet again to discuss final savings and then the Overview and Scrutiny Panels will scrutinise these plans. 

In February 2024 Cabinet will meet to consider any recommendations from Scrutiny and agree a final budget proposal. This plan will then be debated and voted on by the full Council meeting on 6 March 2024.