Politics
Camden Local Government Services Allocation Policy: Per Resident Funding Set at £1,450
Camden households will see council-funded services such as libraries and parks supported at £1,450 per resident under the updated allocation rules, a figure below several neighbouring London boroughs.
How we reported this
The mayor's office released the 2026-27 Local Government Services Allocation Policy on 7 July, setting Camden's per-resident funding for core services at £1,450. The policy applies to all 270,000 residents and covers day-to-day operations of libraries, parks maintenance and street cleaning.
National changes to the Local Government Finance Settlement, published in the March 2026 budget papers, prompted the update. Camden must now align its spending plan with revised grant formulas that reward boroughs reporting higher population density and deprivation scores.
Under the policy, residents in the Kentish Town and Gospel Oak wards will continue to receive the same number of weekly bin collections and the same opening hours at local libraries as last year. Households in Highgate will see no immediate change to park staffing levels, which remain at 14 full-time equivalent workers across the borough's 74 hectares of green space.
Comparison with other boroughs
Camden's £1,450 per-resident figure sits £180 below the amount allocated to Islington and £95 below the figure for Hackney, according to the same settlement documents. Westminster reports £1,620 per resident under identical rules. These differences translate directly into the number of street-sweeping shifts scheduled each month and the size of discretionary grants available to community centres.
The policy document projects that Camden will spend £392 million on these services in the coming financial year. Local advocates note that the lower per-resident total will require the council to draw £4.2 million from reserves to maintain current service volumes.
Council officers will publish the detailed ward-by-ward spending schedule by 1 September. Residents can submit comments on the draft allocations through the council's online portal until 15 August, after which the final budget will be presented to the full council for approval in October.