Harlow Council achieves budget surplus in 2024/25 while freezing council tax
News / Wed 2nd Jul 2025 at 06:46am
HARLOW Council has recorded a healthy budget surplus for the 2024/25 financial year – despite freezing council tax and significantly increasing investment in local services.
A report going to Cabinet on Thursday 10 July confirms that the council ended the financial year (to 31 March 2025) in surplus, defying national trends where many councils are reporting overspending and council tax hikes.
Thanks to prudent financial management, Harlow Council not only stayed within budget but also maintained strong reserves and healthy account balances across the board. This robust financial footing has allowed the council to increase its budget for the current financial year (2025/26) by 41% – again, without raising council tax.
This investment is powering delivery of the council’s Building Harlow’s Future plan, with all six key missions now fully funded and showing real progress on the ground.
Commenting on the strong financial outturn for 2024/25, the Leader of the Council, Cllr Dan Swords, said:
“Strong financial management is crucial for every council – that means spending taxpayers’ money well and keeping to the budget we have set. So many councils across the country and struggling enormously at present with significant overspending and budget deficits being reported in nearly all councils whilst council tax increases. However, the story in Harlow is quite different.
“The report released this week on the council’s financial performance for the last financial year which ended on 31 March 2025 shows that we have again achieved a healthy budget surplus whilst freezing council tax.
“It is because of this financial management that we are able to increase our budget for this year by 41% whilst freezing council tax again and delivering more than ever before. Our Building Harlow’s Future plan sets out in plain sight what the council is spending taxpayers’ money on – transforming our town for a generation – which is only possible because of our strong financial management.”
Ted
2025-07-02 07:05:18
Well Done Dan
Paul
2025-07-02 07:26:33
Yes there have been a lot of Plans declared toward building Harlow's future but perceptibly few outcomes delivered. Continuing road works, empty blocks of homes, the Town Centre is a disgrace -works that are being carried out are slow and the new paving at the library end of Broad Walk is filthy dirty already. No wonder the budget is underspent. Residents pay council tax to see things maintained, delivered and improved not to fill the Town Hall piggy bank. Hopefully the next year will see some actual delivery on the plans that have been declared. Declare some milestone delivery dates and give us quarterly updates on progress toward their achievement. On a positive note the Water Gardens in front of the Civic Centre are looking good, a pleasure to walk around. The walled garden at Harlow Museum is fantastically maintained, by volunteers and a pleasure to visit.
adam
2025-07-02 08:20:59
Excellent when do I get my refund ? We can look forward to council tax being reduced next year then
David Forman
2025-07-02 08:52:44
See what a well run Conservative council can achieve. Well done on achieving prudent financial management.
Seamus
2025-07-02 10:16:20
Is any of this surplus down to money for projects but not being spent? Occasio house is a good example with nothing being done for 2 years after it being knocked down so would show for 2 years a surplus. Simply put, are you holding on to projects money for years to make it look like financial prudence on the every day accounts?
Tom Compton
2025-07-02 11:28:07
I am a life long Harlow resident and have voted Labour all my life. As much as it pains me to say it, this Conservative Council are Harlow focussed, improvement focussed and professionally run. We can all play tot for tat politics, which for many previous councils, Labour, Conservative and Coalition, has meant little was achieved. Not sure you have my vote yet, but please keep the Council Harlow focussed and fair play for the great work.
Nicholas Taylor
2025-07-02 13:10:41
With almost every council in the country on their uppers one has to delve a bit deeper to find out how Harlow Council is in such a robust position. Back in March 2023 the then Leader of Harlow Council was asked about council staff vacancies, his response was that 40 vacancies had been vacant for more than 6 months (jobs such as the Housing Fraud officer, Principle Environmental Health Officer, 2 Clerk of Works) and a furthetr 22 jobs had been deleted from the establishment (such as the Revenue and Benefits Manager and the Planning and Building Control Manager), whilst the 2023/24 budget was being being prepared. This is one way that the Council could freeze Council Tax despite rampant inflation. At the Full Council meeting of 7 Novemeber 2024 the Current Leader of the Council was asked again about staff vacancies. He responded by saying that he would provide such a list in writing and asked for details of where it was felt the council were not providing a good service. Despite providing some examples of poor service and numerous reminders, to date Cllr Swords has still not provided a list of staff vacancies or responded to the issues of poor service. I am afraid that just like the outstanding questions about the new flat block at Burnt Mill, Cllr Swords does not like to answer awkward questions.
Adrienne
2025-07-03 04:03:15
Let's not forget we still need our hospital renovated .When it's been fixed.Then we can build the new one on the other side of town.Two hospitals make more sense. We need this one ultimately it's is the only one we have.It also has it's plans drawn up for its renewal.We need a second one to service the new town ,with better access to the motorway. We have a growing population.Ultimately,we need a working hospital now,so why not do a proper refit hugs
Adrienne
2025-07-03 04:05:50
If you have got any more spare cash .the infrastructure roads and pavements could do with alot of money spent on them too.x
Realist
2025-07-03 13:06:27
I take my hat off to our Conservative council for the continuing progression of the work you are trying to achieve, we the sensible, know that Rome wasn’t built in a day, and some works will always take longer than others, with everything that needs to be put into planning before this work can commence, big jobs take more time, but I know you will achieve over time your goals. What worries me and maybe a lot of Harlow constituents, is will you get the time necessary to finish what you’ve started, now we won’t get the chance to say who we want to run Harlow. Thanks to the undemocratic way we had our votes taken away thanks to A. Rayner and her so called changes to how things are run in the future.
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