Published: Tuesday 14 January 2026
The Council's budget and council tax reduction scheme consultation have now closed. In total, 979 people responded across the two consultations, an 841 per cent increase on engagement from last year.
On Tuesday 13 January, the Council's leadership team recommended the difficult decision to reduce the amount of support available for people on its Council Tax reduction scheme, to save £441,000. Those currently receiving 100 per cent relief on their bill will now receive 90 per cent relief, subject to agreement at Full Council in February. So those currently paying nothing will pay 10 per cent of their bill. The scheme is related to working age people and does not affect pensioners receiving relief as part of the national scheme.
The consultation also asked residents if they supported a 20 per cent reduction in the scheme, but the leadership team was unwilling to place the additional tax burden of a bigger reduction on residents.
The decision is the first on measures to close the budget gap. The budget consultation also included introducing a second homes premium and increasing Council Tax by five per cent. Decisions on these things, along with the rest of the budget proposals, are due to be made by the Leadership team on 11 February. The final decision on all budget matters, including the Council Tax reduction scheme, will be made by Full Council on 25 February 2026.
The Government's Fair Funding review
On Wednesday 17 December 2025, the Government announced how much local councils across the country will receive under the new funding settlements. Six councils are particularly negatively impacted by the fair funding review, including five in London. Kensington and Chelsea Council is expected to lose over £108 million over the next four years.
The Council had expected to lose around £82 million over four years, so the outcome is worse than anticipated and means councillors are required to consider tax rises and changes to services.
The budget consultation
Here are some of the early findings of the Council's budget consultation, which closed on Friday 9 January 2026. A full report will be available in February.
- 433 people responded
- 84 per cent of respondents said they understood why the council was having to look at reducing services, make savings and increase fees/taxes
- 48 per cent supported a 5 per cent increase in Council Tax
- 60 per cent supported a second homes premium
The Council Tax reduction scheme consultation
The consultation on the CTRS received 546 responses, 375 of those were from people currently being supported under the scheme. The results found that 62 per cent of respondents to the survey indicated that they disagreed, to some extent, that the Council should look at changing the Council Tax Reduction Scheme, while 28 per cent of survey respondents agreed, to some extent, that it is fair that all working age residents will be asked to pay some level of Council Tax.