Kensington and Chelsea's leaders agreed on 13 October to send the Government a formal appeal against a £108m funding cut, backed by 93% of 1,499 residents.

Kensington and Chelsea Council will send the Government a formal challenge to its Fair Funding formula. The council says the formula takes £108 million from the borough between 2026/27 and 2029/30.

Updated 25 October: the proposal has now been submitted. Council Leader Elizabeth Campbell took it to Whitehall on 21 October with the leaders of Westminster, Wandsworth and Richmond councils, which have joined forces with Kensington and Chelsea to use the same Act. The Secretary of State must now decide whether to accept all or part of it and give reasons. (RBKC, 21 October 2026)

The Leadership Team agreed the move at its meeting on Tuesday 13 October. The council announced the decision on Wednesday morning.

The challenge is a proposal under the Sustainable Communities Act 2007. It asks the Secretary of State to remove the barrier the funding change puts in the council’s way, and to find “alternative funding solutions”.

“Unfair funding, plain and simple”

Council Leader Elizabeth Campbell said the cut was more than 40 per cent of the money the council controls. In the council’s statement she said:

“The Government calls this fair funding, but taking £108 million from our borough - more than 40 per cent of our controllable budget - is the furthest thing from fair. This is unfair funding, plain and simple, and an unprecedented reduction that will mean incredibly tough decisions and stark consequences for our residents.”

She said she would try everything open to her:

“I have been clear from the beginning that I will exhaust every avenue to challenge this decision. As Leader, I could not stand in the Council Chamber and announce decisions affecting residents’ lives knowing there was more we could have done to persuade the Government to think again.”

And she said residents’ own comments would go to ministers with the proposal:

“And this is not just our fight - almost 1,500 residents responded to our consultation, providing more than 300 pages of comments about what these cuts would mean for them. I will be sending their words directly to ministers so they understand that it is not just the Council saying this is wrong, but the people we represent.”

What residents told the council

The consultation ran from Wednesday 2 September to Sunday 4 October. The council says it was one of the borough’s biggest responses:

  • 1,499 people took part
  • 93 per cent supported or strongly supported the challenge
  • residents wrote more than 300 pages of comments

The council says respondents most wanted it to keep more of the money raised locally, including a bigger share of business rates and other taxes. They also asked for more time to adapt to the change. Many raised fears for essential services and for vulnerable residents.

Half of those who answered were 65 or older, and the survey was not a poll of the borough. The breakdown by age, ward and theme is in our report on the consultation result, and the council’s consultation report is online.

The council’s case

The council argues the formula fails to recognise three things about the borough:

  • its high housing costs
  • its population density
  • the demand for its services

It also says the formula in effect penalises it for keeping council tax low.

What happens next

The council will now submit the proposal to the Secretary of State. Under the Act, the Secretary of State must consider it and decide whether to put it into effect, in whole or in part, and must give reasons.

Three neighbouring councils face similar cuts and are preparing their own proposals:

  • Westminster
  • Richmond upon Thames
  • Wandsworth

The law does not allow a joint proposal, so each borough submits its own. The council says the four are working alongside one another to strengthen the case.

The appeal does not change this year’s council tax, which is already set. The council’s report to leaders said its planning for 2027/28 continues on the formula as published, and that there is no guarantee the appeal brings in more money. Your band and this year’s charge are on our council tax page.

Sources: Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea news release, “Council takes ‘unfair funding’ fight to Government with residents’ backing”, 14 October 2026; “Implications of the Fairer Funding Review: Consultation Report”, October 2026; key decision report KD1014784, “Removing barriers through the Sustainable Communities Act”, for 13 October 2026.