Councils across England face an average to their spending power of 1.8 per cent – but Havering hasn’t yet worked out precisely how badly it will be affected.

Government minister Kris Hopkins last week announced the funding grants settlements for English local authorities, and said no council would face a loss of more than 6.4pc.

The announcement outlined what each authority will get from the government in the financial year 2015/16.

In response, Havering Council leader Cllr Roger Ramsey said: “We need time to fully interpret the draft settlement before we can fully understand the level of cuts for Havering.

“However we hope our planning and assumptions will be in line with changes.”

Spending power includes government grants and funds raised locally through council tax. Earlier this month, councillors rejected a motion, presented at full council, calling for a referendum – needed to raise the tax by more than a government-set limit that currently stands at two per cent.

Historically, Havering has received less generous settlements from central government than neighbouring boroughs such as Redbridge and Barking and Dagenham, where the levels of deprivation are higher.

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