Housing chief Councillor Meric Apak

CAMDEN’S housing chief has delivered a grim finance warning that the council will stop doing some of the things it has always done next year because of a lack of money.

In an update to council tenants Councillor Meric Apak said this year’s rent increases were just covering the rise in inflation rather than paying for anything new, and said they had simply helped the housing department “to keep its head just above the water while the tide keeps rising”.

His report said more details of the funding gaps would be known in early 2024 but it was predicted that £200 million would be the difference between what Camden had available and what was needed to spend on its housing stock.

“Camden, like many other local authorities, won’t be able to do some of the things we normally would do for our residents,” Cllr Apak said.

In the world of local government, Nottingham City Council is the latest authority to run out of reserves and effectively declare itself bankrupt yesterday (Wednesday).