Havering's food waste service now starts in April, not this autumn, a council budget report shows. It also puts this year's emergency borrowing at £54.2m.

Havering’s separate food waste collections will not start this autumn. A council finance report now says the service is expected to begin in April.

The date appears in the first quarter budget monitoring report going to the Cabinet on Wednesday 16 September. The council had set aside £1.5m for the service this year “in anticipation of a roll out of food waste in the autumn”. The report says: “The commencement of the service is now expected in April resulting in a one-off underspend in 2026/27.”

The report does not give a year. But it counts the £1.5m as unspent in the 2026/27 financial year, which ends on 31 March 2027. That points to April 2027.

A deadline already missed

The Environment Act 2021 required every English council to collect food waste separately by March 2026. Havering did not meet it.

In September 2025 the council said its collection vehicles were delayed by demand from other councils and expected in October 2026, so the service would follow “after this date”. It also said it had ordered the vehicles and was buying containers.

That news item is still the only detail on the council’s food waste collections page, which says it will be updated “when we have all the details confirmed”. On 15 September it had not mentioned April.

The budget report does not say why the start has moved.

Emergency borrowing: £54.2m this year

The same report sets out where the council’s finances stand at the end of June. The headline is better than the council planned, but it still depends on emergency support from government.

  • £54.2m of exceptional financial support is expected to be needed in 2026/27. The council’s own appendix describes this as borrowing.
  • £77.0m was the most the budget allowed for when it was set in March, including an £11.1m worst-case contingency.
  • £37.7m was what the council actually needed in 2025/26. It had assumed around £60m.
  • £22.8m is the forecast underspend against a £356.8m budget. That underspend is the reason the borrowing figure has dropped.

The report blames government funding formulas that use “outdated metrics” and do not reflect Havering’s population growth.

Havering's exceptional financial support and high needs spending Exceptional financial support: 2025/26 assumed at budget around 60 million pounds, actually 37.7 million. 2026/27 budget allowed up to 77.0 million pounds, forecast at end of June 54.2 million. High needs schools funding in 2026/27: budget 45.14 million pounds, forecast spend 90.49 million. Havering's money: planned against forecast £ millions. Exceptional financial support is borrowing agreed with government. Exceptional financial support 2025/26 assumed about 60 2025/26 actual 37.7 2026/27 budgeted, up to 77.0 2026/27 forecast 54.2 High needs schools funding, 2026/27 Budget 45.1 Forecast spend 90.5 Source: Havering Council, Quarter 1 Revenue and Capital Monitoring Report 2026/27 and Appendix 1, Cabinet 16 September 2026 Graphic by Romford Today
Bars are drawn to the same scale within each panel. The 2025/26 assumption is "around £60m" in the council's own words.

Where the pressure is

Council services are forecast to overspend by £7.1m in total. Savings in central budgets more than cover it. The biggest single overspend is £4.5m in Starting Well, the children’s side of the council, which the report puts down to:

  • demand for looked after children
  • support for children with disabilities
  • home to school transport

Adult social care packages are also costing more. The report says the number of people in the system is steady, but their care is more complex and more expensive.

Schools: a £45m overspend on special needs

The largest gap sits outside the council’s main budget. It is in the ring-fenced schools grant.

The high needs block pays for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. It has a 2026/27 budget of £45.14m and forecast spending of £90.49m, an overspend of £45.35m in a single year, according to Appendix 1. The report expects the total schools grant deficit carried into 2027/28 to be around £110m.

Schools themselves are under strain too. 17 Havering schools are in a budget deficit. Eight have a licensed deficit, and the other nine are still drawing up recovery plans. The report does not name them.

Savings and delays

The budget relies on £10.0m of savings. £7.6m has been delivered or is on track. Another £1.3m is uncertain, and £1.1m is unlikely this year. The report says most of that £1.1m is delayed rather than lost, including a lane rental scheme for highways.

Capital spending is running well behind plan as well. Of a £423.1m capital budget for 2026/27, the council expects to spend £296.4m, pushing £126.7m into later years.

The report is for noting only. It asks the Cabinet to make no decision.

What it means for you

  • Keep putting food waste in your black sack. Havering has no food caddy service, and on this report there will not be one this winter.
  • Watch the council’s food waste page for a confirmed start date and caddy delivery details. We will update our Romford bin collection days page when it changes.
  • Next year’s budget is still to come. The report says pressures that run beyond this year will be dealt with in the council’s medium-term financial planning, alongside the 2027/28 budget. Current bands are on our Romford council tax page.
  • If your child has special educational needs, the report proposes no change to support. It is a monitoring report, and it notes the overspend rather than acting on it.
  • The Cabinet meeting is public. It starts at 7pm on Wednesday 16 September at the Town Hall, and the papers are online.

Sources