Our budget and how we spend Council Tax

March 2024

Dear resident,

Spending your Council Tax on the things you care about most

The council is here to deliver the services local people need and want. Whether that means taking care of our wonderful parks, keeping our streets clean, supporting the vulnerable, or investing in community facilities, we are working hard to make every pound we spend on your behalf go further.

Not only have we kept all our libraries and leisure centres open, we are opening new ones, including the inspiring new Una Marson library and the brand new leisure centre and pool that we are building at Canada Water.  We also know safety is a top priority for our communities, which is why we continue to invest in community wardens, rolling out new CCTV cameras, and upgrade all streetlights across the borough.

We are working hard to support people across our borough through the cost of living crisis, getting over £35 million of help to those who need it most. We have expanded our free healthy school meals provision, already offered for a decade to all primary school children, and now extended to many more young people in need in Southwark secondary schools too. The work of the council’s planning and housing teams has led to more new truly affordable social rent homes being built in Southwark than any other borough in the country. Our Cost of Living Fund, our Energy Savers Service and Council Tax Support Schemes are some of the most supportive in the country. 

If you need help or support with the cost of living you can find it here.

Local councils across the country are facing difficult choices about how they fund vital services. The government has reduced its funding for Southwark Council by two-thirds since 2010. As a result we, like other councils across London, have had to make the difficult decision to increase Council Tax this year by 4.99%. This will mean an average increase of £1.20 a week for residents in band D properties, which includes 48p extra per week towards social care for vulnerable and older people.

Despite this increase, Southwark will continue to have one of the lowest Council Tax rates in London.

Whilst we work together to deliver for every part of our borough, during increasingly difficult times, I want to offer my heartfelt thanks to everyone who is working so hard to support our community.

Best wishes,

Councillor Kieron Williams, Leader of Southwark Council