Redbridge Council is eyeing cuts to its children’s centres and family services over the coming years to avoid financial doom.

The council is currently projecting a £33million overspend for 2024/25, as it faces growing demand on its housing and children’s services. By 2030, the town hall is predicting a budget deficit of £91m.

A report put before the cabinet on October 14 outlined plans to reduce the funding for children’s centre services by £238,000 in 2025/26.

Funding for supporting vulnerable families is also set to drop by £4.3m in 2025/26 and £2m the following year.

Vanisha Solanki, deputy leader and cabinet member for finance, previously described the council’s position as “unsustainable”.

She said: “We can’t continue to take money out of our reserves. It’s not sustainable.

“We need a more innovative way to balance the budget.”

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Around £25.5.m of the £33m overspend relates to “recurring commitments” that will continue into next year, which the council says will “significantly increase the budget gap for 2025/26 and future years unless they are fully and sustainably mitigated”.

Before the end of the financial year, the council will introduce mitigation plans across all sectors that are expected to rein in the overspend by around £14m.

She added the council was working “tirelessly” to “streamline operations” and “prioritise essential services” such as social care and housing, which is one of the biggest financial burdens it faces.

Due to a shortage of homes in the east London borough, the council is having to spend thousands housing homeless residents in hotels and bed-and-breakfast-style accommodation.

Despite approving scores of housing developments last year, the council hit just 14 per cent of its new housing target last year – falling short of the London Plan quota by more than 1,100.

It owns around 4,500 homes – the second lowest stock in the capital – but almost 8,000 are on the housing register.

Councils approve their budgets for the coming financial year in February. They cover a variety of expenditures, ranging from education and social care to housing and environmental projects.

Another challenge was that budgets can only be set for the next financial year, which Cllr Solanki said makes it difficult to “plan ahead”.

Redbridge is the third worst-funded borough in London, receiving around £867 per head according to London Boroughs.

Many councils, despite being better funded than Redbridge, are reporting financial difficulties.

In the neighbouring borough of Havering, the council signed off a budget with a deficit of £32.5m. It was rescued from bankruptcy by a £54m loan from central government, which it will need to pay back over the next 20 years.

Waltham Forest, in the north-east of the capital, is currently exploring staffing cuts amid a £17m overspend.

Redbridge's cabinet is expected to approve the cuts at its meeting in December.

. This story previously said all children's centre funding was planned to be removed in 2026/27. This was incorrect.

A report put before the cabinet outlined plans to reduce the funding for children’s centre services by £238,000 in 2025/26. No further cuts have been identified.