RBKC’s budget and Council Tax requirement for 2025 to 2026
The Council will spend £454 million in 2026 to 2027 on a wide range of day-to-day local services such as:-
- social care
- the environment
- leisure facilities
- highways
- transport services
- housing needs
- education and skills development
The charts and table below show the full breakdown of the budget (this excludes Housing Benefit payments and dedicated schools grant which are reimbursed by government).
| Service / Item | Net (2025-2026) | Spend (2026-2027) | Income (2026-2027) | Net (2026-2027) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult Social Care | 46,294 | 94,384 | (41,074) | 53,310 |
| Public Health | 0 | 26,931 | (26,931) | 0 |
| Children's Services | 48,908 | 74,117 | (23,067) | 51,050 |
| Environment and Neighbourhoods | 18,560 | 110,042 | (90,462) | 19,580 |
| Housing and Social Investment | 22,282 | 99,268 | (66,299) | 32,969 |
| Resources and Customer Delivery | 12,790 | 30,421 | (16,996) | 13,425 |
| Chief Executive | 13,119 | 17,177 | (5,711) | 11,466 |
| Grenfell Recovery | 2,810 | 0 | 0 | |
| Delivery of Grenfell work | 1,227 | 1,227 | 1,227 | |
| Total Service Costs | 165,990 | 453,567 | (270,540) | 183,027 |
| Levies | 12,555 | 13,393 | 13,393 | |
| Corporate items (inflation, NI increase, corporate savings, corporate contingency) | 16,699 | 16,655 | 16,655 | |
| Social Care Contingency | 1,831 | 1,217 | 1,217 | |
| Grenfell Support Programme 2024–2028 | 10,500 | 10,500 | 10,500 | |
| Grenfell corporate | 1,098 | 1,098 | 1,098 | |
| Capital, interest, and investment income | 5,368 | 12,333 | (5,971) | 6,362 |
| Transfers to/(from) reserves | 10,736 | (1,397) | (1,397) | |
| Budget requirement | 224,777 | 508,763 | (277,908) | 230,855 |
| Social Care Grant and New Homes Bonus | (21,712) | |||
| Retained business rates (includes Revenue Support Grant) | (76,218) | (76,335) | ||
| Collection Fund | (2,000) | |||
| New and additional grants | (4,844) | (19,966) | ||
| Use of Provisions for Grenfell Support | (11,417) | (11,417) | ||
| Total external funding | (116,191) | (107,718) | ||
| Council Tax requirement | (108,586) | (123,136) | ||
| Council Tax base | 98,606 | 106,506 | ||
| Council Tax per Band D without Garden Square levies | £1,079.08 | £1,132.93 | ||
| Greater London Authority Precept | £490.38 | £510.51 | ||
| Total Band D Council Tax | £1,569.46 | £1,643.44 | ||
| Council Tax per Band D with Garden Square levies | £1,101.21 | £1,156.14 | ||
| Greater London Authority Precept | £490.38 | £510.51 | ||
| Total Band D Council Tax | £1,591.59 | £1,666.65 |
Council Tax requirement
The Council Tax requirement after taking into account all income and Government funding is £108.6 million. This is an increase of £4 million from 2025 to 2026 broken down as follows:
| Budget Change Item | £'000 |
|---|---|
| Service Budget Pressures and Growth | 9,732 |
| Provision for social care and contract inflation | 10,887 |
| Provision for pay inflation 2026 to 2027 | 3,800 |
| Financing of Capital Programme | 2,539 |
| Collection Fund drawdown falls out | 2,000 |
| Increase in fees and charges income | (2,819) |
| Change in Employer Pension Fund Contributions | (7,598) |
| Reduction in Concessionary Fares and other levy charges | (552) |
| Service and Corporate Savings | (21,068) |
| Decrease in External Funding due to Government’s Fair Funding Review | 17,395 |
| Use of Additional Housing HPG Grant announced at Final Settlement | 236 |
| Total Increase in Council Tax Requirement | 14,552 |
| Increase in Council Tax Base | (766) |
| Council Tax Increases (5% rise, reduction in Council Tax Support & 2nd Homes Premium) | (13,786) |
| Total Change funded by increase in Council Tax | (14,552) |
What the Council spends on
The diagram ‘How each £100 of Council Tax is spent’, illustrates how each £100 of Council Tax is allocated to different areas of spending for 2026 to 2027. There are seven areas, and each of the areas receives the following amounts out of each £100 spent by the Council:
- Children’s Services - £27
- Adult Social Care - £27
- Housing and Social Investment - £16
- Clean Streets, Parks and Waste Collection - £10
- Customer and Corporate Services - £6
- London-wide payments and levies - £7
- Communities - £7
How is it paid for?
Council Tax is just one source of the Council’s income. The sources of funding per £100 of income is as follows:-
- Government and other grants give the Council £15
- Council Tax gives £22
- Dedicated Schools Grant gives £14
- Business rates and Revenue Support Grant give £13
- Rental income - the Council gets £9
- Parking income gives £11
- Fees and charges give £8
- Other income gives £8
Capital expenditure: investment into the borough’s homes, roads, schools, leisure facilities.
The figures below show how the money for capital spending in the borough is split by themes for 2026/27.
The total sum for capital spending is £71.212m. This is divided as follows:-
- £19.636m for new homes, housing works & temporary accommodation
- £2.109m is spent on schools
- £16.492m is spend on other operational property
- £4.145m is spent on information technology
- £5.256m allocated for highways
- £12.476m is spent on the environment
- £484k for early years
- £4.634m for Parks & Leisure
- £1.494m for Children’s Social Care
- £1.500m for Adult Social Care
- £2.986m for other capital spending
How the Council's capital expenditure will be funded in 2026 to 2027
These are the expected funding sources for the Council's general fund capital spending of £71.212m in 2026 to 2027.
Looking beyond 2026 to 2027
Although we have set a robust and balanced budget for financial year 2026/27, the financial position beyond 2026/27 is extremely challenging due to increasing service demand, continuing high inflation and Government funding reductions.
At present, the overall budget planning position indicates a forecast budget gap for 2027/28 of around £20.1m rising to £24.7m in 2028/29 and potentially £55.5m in 2029/30. It should be remembered though that these figures do not include any assumption of us levying additional Council Tax above and beyond the usual Council Tax referendum limit for 2027/28 and 2028/29 as allowed by Government in the Settlement. Also, as part of the 2027/28 budget process, we will be working hard to identify new budget savings to reduce the budget gap.
The Council’s Capital Programme, by its very nature, spans multiple years. The current Capital Programme covers the period 2025/26 to 2028/29 and further details of schemes beyond 2026/27 can be found in the main budget document and supporting appendices approved by councillors at Council 25 February 2026.