On Budget day, Kensington and Chelsea's leader joined Westminster, Wandsworth and Richmond in a video telling ministers to rethink the £108m funding cut.
Kensington and Chelsea Council marked the Government’s Budget on Wednesday 28 October with a joint video from four council leaders, calling on ministers to rethink the Fair Funding Review. The council says the review will cost the borough £108 million over four years.
The 84-second film was posted on the council’s YouTube channel on Budget day. It was made with Westminster, Wandsworth and Richmond councils, the same three boroughs that joined Kensington and Chelsea’s formal challenge to the funding changes. The council’s post with it reads:
“As the Government shares its budget today, our budgets are being put under pressure like never before. The Fair Funding Review which will see us lose £108 million over four years. Alongside Richmond, Westminster and Wandsworth, we headed to the Treasury to fight for our residents.”
“Looting London is not the answer”
The leaders speak in turn, filmed outside the Treasury where they handed in their proposals. They say the four councils are under different political leadership and represent more than a million residents:
“We’re here outside the Treasury today to submit proposals under the Sustainable Communities Act challenging the government’s so-called fairer funding plans. Four councils under different political leadership representing over a million residents, because these plans are anything but fair. They threaten the future of our councils themselves, and they threaten the services that we provide for the communities and the residents who rely on us.”
They make the economic case for central London:
“London welcomes 20 million visitors a year and generates 25% of the economic output. It is vital that London works because when London drives the economy, it drives the UK economy. Government wants growth across the UK but that must include the capital. Looting London is not the answer. You don’t make Britain stronger by weakening London.”
And they say residents will pay for decisions made elsewhere:
“Residents will be paying the price of decisions made in Whitehall and not their own town hall. This isn’t about party politics. This is about standing up for residents and standing up for those services upon which they rely. So whether you live in Richmond, Wandsworth, Westminster or Kensington and Chelsea, we will keep fighting for you.”
The visitor and economic output figures are the leaders’ own claims in the video.
Where the challenge stands
The four leaders submitted their proposals under the Sustainable Communities Act in Whitehall, the council said in its update on 22 October. The Act lets a council formally ask the Government to make changes that would help its area. The Secretary of State must now consider the proposal and decide whether to accept all or part of it, giving reasons.
Council Leader Elizabeth Campbell said in that update:
“The so-called Fair Funding Review will strip £108 million from our budget, money that funds the vital services our residents rely on. That is unfair funding, plain and simple.”
“Central London helps power the nation’s economy, creating jobs, attracting investment and generating billions in tax revenues that benefit the whole country. Yet money is being taken away from Kensington and Chelsea to be spent elsewhere, leaving our residents to pay the price. How can that possibly be fair?”
“I will use every tool at my disposal to fight these cuts, stand up for our residents and secure the fair deal our borough deserves.”
The council went to Whitehall after a public consultation in which more than 90 per cent of respondents backed using the Act. The full figures, 1,499 responses and 93 per cent support, are in our report on the result, and the leadership’s decision to appeal is in our 14 October story.
What it means for you
Nothing changes for residents yet. The challenge is a request to ministers, and there is no deadline in the council’s update for the Secretary of State’s reply. The £108 million figure is the council’s estimate of what the funding change takes from the borough over four years, and its Council Plan to 2030 sets out how it plans to run services with less money. You can check your band on our council tax page.
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