In percentage terms the funding boost for Enfield up to 2029 will be the second highest of any area in England, reports James Cracknell

Enfield Civic Centre with (inset left) council leader Ergin Erbil and (inset right) some cold hard cash (credit Colin Watts via Unsplash)

Enfield will enjoy the biggest percentage rise of local authority funding in London – and second highest in England – thanks to a government review that finally ends decades of “unfair” settlements for the borough.

In an extraordinary announcement, Enfield Council leader Ergin Erbil confirmed the borough would benefit to the tune of £203million over three years – representing a 58% rise in ‘core spending power’.

The Labour government’s much-anticipated Fair Funding Review has sought to rebalance local government funding based on key factors, including deprivation levels, with Enfield long being seen as one of the boroughs suffering most under the old, outdated funding formulas used to divvy up council cash from Whitehall.

Enfield’s £203m core spending power figure is used to show the scale of change in absolute terms compared to the previous trajectory under the old funding formulas.

While Newham in East London will receive slightly more, with an extra £217m over three years, the percentage rise for Enfield is the highest out of any in the capital.

Cllr Erbil said: “We have always pushed for fair funding for Enfield. I am very pleased that our hard work has helped secure this additional from the Labour government.

“Enfield has received the second-largest increase in funding in England, and the highest increase in London. Core spending power will increase across this parliament by £203m, that’s nearly 60%.

“Under previous Conservative governments, Enfield was the second-worst funded borough in London. Under Labour, we will be the best-funded borough in London. That is the Labour Party difference. Fair funding for our neighbourhoods and communities.

“With a Labour council, a Labour mayor of London and a Labour government, Enfield now has a strong voice. This means we can get the money we need to invest in our borough.”

For 2026/27 specifically, Enfield will benefit from an extra £47.5m. At a stroke, it effectively solves Enfield Civic Centre’s short-term financial difficulties, with a cabinet report last week stating that under a “favourable scenario” – which has now come to pass – the funding review would enable the council to deliver a balanced budget for 2026/27.

And while the fresh settlement does not immediately tackle the council’s debt of almost £1.5billion – still among the highest in the country – last week’s cabinet report stated that “any surplus” from the new central grant could be used to “reduce debt” as well as for “service investment” and “rebuilding reserves”.

The council has spent the last two years teetering on the edge of effective bankruptcy, with soaring homelessness costs in particular leading to successive overspends that were only paid off after the Treasury granted Enfield Civic Centre £30m of ‘exceptional financial support’ last January.

At a full council meeting in November Paul Dossett, a partner at auditors Grant Thornton, told councillors the firm had identified “significant” issues that required finance chiefs to “take action”, with the debt tied to the council’s Meridian Water housing project in particular coming in for criticism.

Recent years have also seen the council making significant cuts to spending, with the most controversial being the closure this year of seven libraries. The year previously, cuts made to Enfield’s council tax support scheme were slammed for hitting the borough’s poorest residents – something underscored recently with news that there had been a 10% rise in the council’s use of bailiffs to help collect unpaid tax debt.

It is not yet clear whether the additional resources now available to Enfield Council will mean any of these cuts can be reversed, but in his announcement yesterday (Wednesday 17th) Secretary of State Steve Reed said: “This is a chance to turn the page on a decade of cuts, and for local leaders to invest in getting back what has been lost – to bring back libraries, youth services, clean streets, and community hubs.

“Today we’re making sure every community has the funding they need to succeed.”

Cllr Erbil continued: “This extra money shows that the government understands the problems Enfield faces, like poverty, high housing costs and the rising cost of living. We are working hard to tackle these problems.

“We want to make Enfield a better place by building more affordable and council homes, helping working families buy their own homes, and lowering the cost of living.”

Also commenting on the funding settlement, deputy leader Tim Leaver said: “This is really good news for Enfield and for local people […] Even though we had very little money for many years, Enfield Council still managed to balance its budget and keep going, while other councils ran out of money. This shows how hard Enfield Labour has worked. We are also planning carefully to make sure the council stays financially stable in the future.”

The news has also been welcomed by Enfield North MP Feryal Clark, who said: “The days of Rishi Sunak shovelling money out of deprived areas then bragging about it at garden parties are over. For years, funding formulas were rigged against places like Enfield and I’ve been lobbying ministers to right these wrongs.

“And now change is happening. This massive 58% increase in funding, amounting to a £203m cash injection for Enfield, will make a real difference to people’s everyday lives by boosting the services we all rely on. It means more money for our high streets, our roads, youth services, community hubs and for cleaner streets – real improvements that residents across Enfield North will feel in their everyday lives.

“The Labour government is reversing Tory decline and investing in Britain’s renewal.”

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