Kingston could become "one of London's lowest funded boroughs" the council has warned after the grant announcement from the Government failed to impress.

The grant the borough receives from central Government is to be cut by almost £20m over the next four years, the council predicts, while its costs could rise by about £15m, a swing of £35m.

Council leader Kevin Davis said: "We were expecting a tough settlement but this is worse than we could have possibly expected. Kingston Council is not alone and I will be speaking to other leaders of London councils who have also been adversely affected, to lobby Government for a fairer deal.

"We were expecting to have to deliver savings of £28.9m over the next four years to 2019/20, but these changes mean that we would need to find an additional £3.4m to balance the budget in 2016/17, rising to an additional £5.4m by 2019/20.

"The council now has a very short period in which to discuss these challenges with residents across the borough and attempt to come up with some very difficult decisions."

Kingston Council predicts the resources will dip from under £135m this year to just over £115m by 2019/20, while expenditure could rise from under £135m this year to about £150m.

To bridge this gap the council must either make cuts and or raise council tax.

Councillor Liz Green, leader of the opposition, said: "I agree with Kevin but why is he surprised?

"They were always going to make massive cuts to local Government.

"It is going to start hurting real services that people use and he [Coun Davis] needs to stand up and say 'enough is enough, stop cutting local government because other Government departments can't cut their spending'. And I'd join him."

Until the budget is signed off how these cuts will impact specific council services is unknown.

As part of the Kingston Conversations series, the council is holding three upcoming sessions to talk over the budget for 2016/17.

Councillor David Glasspool, cabinet member with responsibility for treasury, said: "The recently announced settlement for Kingston creates a very challenging situation for the council, as our central Government support is rapidly cut to zero while at the same time the financial pressures on the council in many areas, such as adult social care, are increasing.

"During the course of this year the council has introduced a new, community outcome-based budgeting process which has challenged all areas of council expenditure, with a view to achieving more from less.

"As a result of this speedy withdrawal of Government grants and other continued, rising pressures there will need to be more and significant changes in some of the services provided.

"We are about to embark in the New Year in a discussion with residents about ways forward, emerging from our outcome-based budgeting approach that tackle these challenges.

"There will be some very difficult decisions to take now, especially in the light of the recent settlement."

To attend a budget conversation, with limited places, fill out this form.

  • Tuesday 19 January, 7pm to 9pm
  • Tuesday 26 January, 7pm to 9pm
  • Saturday 30 January, 10am to 12 noon
  • Tuesday 2 February from 7pm to 9pm (only for local business owners)

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