Our budget at a glance
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has a proud track record of delivering great services and keeping taxes low. But the next four years will be the biggest challenge we have faced in more than a generation.
Rising costs, inflation, government changes to national funding and growing demand for statutory services mean we expect to have over £120 million less than needed to deliver services over the four years.
This means public money must be focused where it makes the greatest difference, with stronger value for money, less waste and duplication and clearer choices about what we can and cannot do.
How we spend every £100 of council tax for 2026 to 2027
70% of the council budget is spent across children’s and adult’s social care and supporting people with housing.
This demonstrates our commitment to spending money where it is needed the most and we will continue to consult on budget plans annually, so that residents can tell us their views on how to meet the challenge ahead.
Figure 1: How each £100 of council tax is spent
For every £100 of council tax, we spend:
- £27 on adult social care
- £27 on children's services
- £16 on housing and social investment
- £10 on clean streets, parks and waste collection
- £7 on London-wide payments and levels
- £7 on communities
- £6 on customer and corporate services
As part of the consultation for this Council Plan, residents were clear about which areas they would most like to protect from reductions:
- 65% said community safety and tackling anti-social behaviour
- 55% said keeping streets clean and well-kept
- 44% said care and support for older and vulnerable people
- 44% said parks and green spaces
These priorities have influenced the choices in this Council Plan. We will continue to return to residents as those choices get harder.