I’m sure like me, residents across Croydon will have been shocked by the awful events in Ukraine over the past two days. The invasion of Ukraine is one of the most worrying military developments we have seen in Europe for many decades. Croydon stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, and with our Ukrainian residents, against Putin’s unprovoked and unjust aggression against a democratic and sovereign nation.
A sustainable budget for Croydon
Today we have published our proposals for a balanced budget in 2022/23, setting out how we will deliver the services our communities depend on while investing in their future needs.
We have come a long way since 2020. In the past two years we have transformed our financial situation, so that we are on track to deliver a balanced budget next year, with a predicted £1.8m underspend for 2021/22.
Despite our over a decade of government austerity and our financial challenges, the budget we are proposing keeps all of our libraries and children’s centres open, protects fortnightly bin collections, our youth and domestic violence services and other resident priorities.
Most of all, we have improved our financial management across the board to ensure we are offering our residents value for every penny we spend. Our budget proposals mean most residents will pay less than £1 extra council tax a week for local services. We’re also investing in our communities’ futures and building our reserves, to ensure that we are financially resilient and can be there when residents need us.
While we have made strong progress in tackling our financial challenges, we are determined to stay on track and become financially sustainable by 2024. To do this we must continue to make savings. We have listened to residents on how we do this and that is why we are continuing to protect essential services, and are focusing on becoming a more efficient council. I want to thank everyone who took part in our budget engagement earlier this year – your views have been invaluable and have helped to shape our proposals.
Living with Covid-19
Almost two years since the start of the pandemic, we marked an important milestone with the ending of Covid-19 restrictions on Thursday. Croydon’s director of public health has set out advice to help us all stay safe and well while living with Covid. It’s important to remember that Covid-19 hasn’t gone away and we all need to look after ourselves and each other in the coming weeks and months. Vaccines remain so important in protecting us all – so if you haven’t had yours, book today.
Croydon Together
Last weekend, we saw the best of Croydon’s community spirit as the borough united to respond to some of our worst weather in decades during Storm Eunice.
I want to thank our emergency services for all they did to keep us safe, and our own council staff and contractors who worked in the adverse conditions, from our waste collection and street cleansing crews, to those who worked tirelessly to remove fallen trees and make roads safe. Special thanks also to the council staff and partners who helped to get rough sleepers out of the storm and safely into accommodation. And of course, thank you to all the residents who got in touch to report issues and help us respond swiftly – as always, Croydon rose to the challenge together.
Have a good weekend,
Councillor Hamida Ali, leader of the council
