Lambeth Council expects to overspend by £9.3m this year. Parking income is £6.2m short and two cancelled park events cost £1.2m, Cabinet papers show.
Lambeth Council expects to spend £9.303m more than its budget this financial year. The biggest single reason is parking: the council now forecasts it will collect £6.2m less from parking than it planned.
The figures are in the council’s Quarter 1 financial performance report, which went to Cabinet on 23 September. It covers the position at the end of June.
The overspend has come down a little. The report says it is a “favourable movement” of £1.676m since the end of May, which puts the May forecast at just under £11m. That earlier figure is where the “£10m overspend” in this week’s coverage comes from.
Where the money is going
Before the council’s central budgets are counted, its departments are forecast to overspend by £21.028m. Corporate budgets, which hold contingency money for risks and inflation plus debt costs, are forecast to come in £12.601m under. That brings the total down to £9.303m.
The report’s own table gives these forecast overspends:
| Department | Forecast over budget |
|---|---|
| Growth and Environment (parking, parks, streets, planning) | £8.603m |
| Housing Services (mainly temporary accommodation) | £5.576m |
| Children, Families and Education | £4.825m |
| Resources | £2.098m |
| No Recourse to Public Funds | £0.875m |
| Integrated Health and Adult Social Care | £0.075m under |
Part of each department’s figure is a paper move. The council has moved £9m of staff savings out of its central budget and into the departments. The report says that raises department overspends “but does not impact the council’s overall position”.
Parking: £6.2m short
The council’s savings plan counted on £6.712m of extra parking income this year. It now forecasts £500,000. The report gives three reasons:
- schemes that have been paused
- “increased compliance”, meaning fewer drivers are breaking the rules and being fined
- a fall in PayByPhone transactions
A separate plan to raise £900,000 from electric vehicle charging points is also marked red, with nothing forecast yet. The report says a decision on it has been made and the effect on this year will be reported in the next quarter.
Our guide to parking in Clapham explains the zones and permits that this income comes from.
Parks and events: two cancelled summer events cost £1.2m
The parks events budget is £1.227m short “following the cancellation of two major summer event[s]”, the report says. It does not name the two events.
A wider savings target for events was £1.72m. The council forecasts £412,000 of it. Its note says talks are under way with event producers about major and large events for 2027-28, and that “demand is not an issue but large events face scrutiny”.
Other gaps in the same department include:
- £557,000 of savings in bereavement services not delivered
- £585,000 of market savings, and £383,000 of CCTV income, not achieved
- £882,000 of property savings not achieved, “particularly relating to Civic Centre lettings and Brixton House Theatre”
- £706,000 less income from developers for highway works, put down to “lower development activity”
The department’s first forecast was an overspend of £18.5m. It has been cut to £8.6m by £9.881m of planned actions, which the report says are still being checked “to ensure deliverability given the significant value”.
Temporary accommodation
Housing is forecast to overspend by £5.576m. The report says this is because savings due this year have not all happened yet, not because costs have risen. Spending is forecast to be £14.5m lower than last year.
The main plan was to replace 200 nightly paid homes, the most expensive kind of temporary accommodation, with leases of more than ten years. That has been slower than planned. The council says the number of households in temporary accommodation “has continued to reduce” in the early part of the year, and expects the full saving in 2027-28.
The council has since won £6.6m of extra government funding to tackle homelessness, which it announced on 22 September. The report covers the position at the end of June, before that award.
Savings: £19.8m at risk
Across the council, this year’s savings target is £44.494m. At the end of June, £19.803m of it was forecast not to be delivered. The report calls that “a worst-case scenario if no planned mitigations are successful”.
Growth and Environment accounts for £12.672m of the gap, against a target of £21.98m. Of 84 savings schemes across the council, 23 were rated red.
Council tax: more people on support are not paying
Council tax collection was £581,901 behind its target at the end of June.
The report points to one group in particular. Since the council changed its Council Tax Support scheme, the number of people on support who owe money and have paid nothing this year has risen by 77.68%, from 2,366 to 4,204. That is about 17% of everyone on the scheme, and the council puts the missing payments at about £180,000.
It also says 875 new homes are still waiting to be put in a council tax band by the Valuation Office, which is holding up about £1.8m of bills. Our council tax bands page lists what each band pays.
Older debt is large. Council tax arrears stood at £67.8m at the end of June, of which £19.9m is more than six years old.
Council homes and fire checks
The report’s list of targets rated red includes two about council housing, in Appendix 2:
- 16.2% of council homes do not meet the Decent Homes Standard, against a target of 11%. It was 11.5% a year earlier.
- 90.6% of homes had all required fire risk assessments done, against a target of 100%. That is up from 77.3% in March but down from 99.7% in June 2025.
The council blames delays at the Building Safety Regulator and a change of contractor.
How this fits with the £93m gap
This overspend is about the current year, April 2026 to March 2027. It is separate from the £93.218m gap in the council’s plans up to 2029-30, which we explained earlier this month.
The council is also still leaning on government help. In February, ministers agreed in principle to £116m of Exceptional Financial Support for the three years to 2026-27. The report says that, as a result, the council faces quarterly meetings with the housing ministry and an independent review by CIPFA, the public finance body. It plans to repay the support partly by selling property.
What it means for you
- Nothing changes on your bill this year. Council tax for 2026-27 is set. The pressure shows up in next year’s budget, which is set in February.
- You can have your say on next year’s cuts. The council’s budget survey, part of its Services Worth Fighting For campaign, is open until 7 October. Details are in our earlier story.
- If you get Council Tax Support and are struggling to pay, contact the council before you fall further behind. The report shows arrears among people on support are rising fast.
- Big events in the parks are a live question. The council wants more event income from 2027-28, but says large events “face scrutiny”.
The next update, covering the position at the end of September, is due at November’s Cabinet.
Sources: Lambeth Council, Quarter 1 Financial Performance Report 2026-27 and Appendix 2, indicators at red status, Cabinet 23 September 2026; Cabinet meeting papers.
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