The town hall budget for services will be cut by 46 per cent in the next five years but the council leader could not confirm which would be hardest hit.

The grant received from Government to spend on services will drop from £153.673 million to £82.168m by 2019.

This does not include funds the Government provide directly to schools.

Ealing Council leader Julian Bell said at this stage they do not know exactly what they will cut as this is the beginning of the process.

He said: “We will make savings with senior managers and we will look at renegotiating contracts when they come up for renewal like we did with Amey (refuse and recycling contractors - formerly Enterprise), looking to get better deals.”

When asked for a justification for the one per cent pay rise councillors could be getting in the midst of this financial crisis, Mr Bell said they will be making cuts to council support budgets (which cover councillor training sessions) that will more than cover the pay increase.

Therefore, he said, they are not adding to the budget, but subtracting from it.

Mr Bell added: “We have some of the lowest allowances in London and councillors spend a lot of time working on behalf of local people.”

The council’s cabinet reviewed the financial plan from 2014/2015 to 2018/19 on Tuesday (July 22)  and set out a saving target of £96m by April 2019.

The cabinet report states the council’s plan to protect the elderly, disabled, and young people; the most vulnerable people in the borough.

This latest saving target comes on top of the £87m of budget reductions the council has agreed since 2010. The majority of these cuts have already been made and the remaining £8.9m will be delivered by next April.

Councillor Yvonne Johnson, cabinet member for finance, performance and welfare, said: “Although the challenges ahead should not be underestimated, we have a good track record in handling difficult decisions and minimising the impact on front line services and this experience will be valuable over the next few years.

“No decisions have yet been taken about where the latest savings will be made. Over the coming months we will look at every council service and carefully consider how services could be provided at a lower cost.”