We have published our draft Budget for 2026 to 2027, subject to Full Council approval on Thursday 26 February 2026.
This year’s Budget is focused on protecting the borough’s future, from securing everyday services, embracing new technology and ways of working, to supporting vulnerable children and adults, as well as continuing to ensure its strong, sustainable financial future.
Despite having to make £150 million in savings over the last 14 years, we have consistently set a legally balanced Budget without emergency support from the government. Like many other councils, demand for our services continues to rise due to population growth and need, as well as the cost of providing those services.
Councillor Anthony Okereke, Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, said: “Budget pressures have meant that over the last three years we have had to make some difficult decisions that not everyone will always agree with, but I’m proud that we able to continue funding our five Advice Hubs, provide a generous Council Tax Support Scheme, and retain a wealth of services that any borough would be proud to have.
“We welcome the government's introduction of a three-year settlement, something we’ve long campaigned for, as well as the announcement that it will take responsibility for children’s special educational needs funding in the future and its commitment to providing partial funding for the DLR to Thamesmead.
"We’ve been able to use one-off resources to create lasting impact too. In October we announced Getting Things Done which will see £60million invested across a range of areas that we know matter to residents such as safer and cleaner town centres, tackling fly-tipping, schools for children with SEND, fixing potholes and much more.
"Plus, we are investing £1 million in Freedom Passes, helping older residents travel freely across London to access services, social activities and opportunities. Our goal is to ensure a secure future for everyone in our borough, as we rise to meet national challenges.”
Councillor Denise Hyland, Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources and Social Value, said: “We’ve been able to balance our books despite dealing with huge financial changes. But we need to keep doing things differently and make changes to the way that we work to reduce costs and improve services.
“Last year we reduced the number of homeless families in hotels to zero, saving taxpayers £5.88 million, and this year we’ll continue to tackle the causes of homelessness to reduce households needing temporary accommodation.
“Protecting vulnerable adults and children alone accounts for more than 66 per cent of the entire Budget. We’re working to protect our future by helping people live well in their own homes for longer by using technology and bringing down the excessive costs of private children’s care placements.”
The funding the government has given us assumes it will raise Council Tax by the maximum allowed (2.99 per cent) and Adult Social Care by the same (2 per cent). This remains cheaper than neighbouring boroughs. For most residents, this will mean an extra £1.46 per week for the services that we provide and another 39p per week to the Greater London Authority for policing, transport and fire brigade. Raising Council Tax will only result in an additional £6.9 million towards the £45 million shortfall.
Our separate ring-fenced Budget for our social homes, known as the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), will be raising rents by 4.8 per cent, in line with the Rent Standard. However, rents remain some of the lowest in London. Last year we upgraded 1,500 council kitchens and bathrooms and made 12,000 homes warmer and cheaper to run, which we will continue to do in 2026 to 2027.
As part of the Budget, we have set out our plans for Treasury and Capital investment. The capital programme allocates funding to improve and create new public buildings for communities across the borough, alongside other long-term assets. Without this, projects like the brand-new state-of-the-art Woolwich Waves wouldn’t be possible, providing spaces for residents that support health, wellbeing and community life.
The draft Budget is subject to Full Council approval in February. Read the full report.