The Right Honourable Rishi Sunak MP was elected as new Leader of the Conservative Party on Monday and was yesterday invited by the King to form a new government.

London Councils will be writing to Prime Minister Sunak on behalf of London local government to congratulate him and set out the key challenges for boroughs as they look to work with government to deliver their shared ambitions for London, address cost of living pressures and support their communities.

At a time when Londoners are facing increasing cost of living pressures, London boroughs are a source of vital support for their communities, just as they were during the Covid-19 pandemic, London Councils Chair Cllr Georgia Gould says in this week's MJ.

Analysis by London Councils, however, shows that surging inflation and demand for services mean boroughs in the capital need to make more than £400 million of savings this year, rising to £700 million next year. 

 "It will be impossible to achieve these levels of savings without cutting the very services that our communities are reliant on", says Cllr Gould.

"Ministers know the pivotal role we play in supporting our communities through tough times. The prognosis might be grim, but it is not incurable. Now more than ever, we need to work together to securing the funding that will make the most difference on the ground, delivering lifelines to those who are struggling."

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Boroughs in the capital have warned of worsening pressures on adult social care resources, with concerns about the potential impact on London’s health and care system this winter and beyond.

London Councils’ Executive Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Care Cllr Nesil Caliskan, said: “This is set to be a very challenging winter for health and care services across the capital.

“We’re deeply concerned about the impact of worsening financial pressures on London’s adult social care sector. Adult social care plays a vital role in supporting older and disabled Londoners, but also in ensuring the smooth-running of London’s NHS. This was particularly pronounced at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, and boroughs remain committed to working in partnership with the NHS to serve London’s communities as best we can.

“We were pleased to see the government announce the £500m adult social care discharge fund, but we need urgent clarity on what extra resources are coming to councils to bolster services this winter.

“Looking to next year and beyond, the current timetable for reforming adult social care funding looks increasingly unrealistic and risks destabilising services already under immense pressure. We hope ministers will listen to councils’ concerns and work with us to find a better way forward, including the long-term funding solution the sector still desperately needs.”

The London Office of Technology and Innovation (LOTI) and the Helix Centre have developed an easy-to-use toolkit for organisations looking to develop new hybrid approaches for supporting people living with dementia in the community and helping them live safely in their own homes.

The toolkit is an output from the Digital Inclusion Innovation Programme (DIIP). Led by the GLA and LOTI working with partners in the public, voluntary and private sectors, the programme looks to use innovation methods to discover, design, develop and scale initiatives that support digitally excluded Londoners who are particularly vulnerable since the Covid-19 pandemic.