Published: Monday 1 December 2025
Update: Monday 1 December 2025
As a result of last week’s cyber attack where we confirmed that a data breach had occurred, we are still working hard to restore a full range of services.
A number of successful mitigations are already in place. Some systems, including phone lines, are disrupted. If you have an emergency, call us using our emergency phone numbers. We’ve activated business continuity and emergency plans to ensure we are still delivering critical services to residents, focusing on supporting the most vulnerable.
We know it is proving hard to contact some services, so we will once again be opening our Customer Service Centre at Kensington Town Hall, Hornton Street on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 December from 10am to 4pm. This is for emergency in-person queries only. Be aware we are unable to access many of our systems, so will do our best to answer your enquiry if you do have an emergency.
We know some residents have raised concerns about how to pay council tax. Be assured you can use your normal methods to pay council tax. However, there are issues if you pay by Direct Debit. Your payment will not be taken on the usual date. It will be taken later once our systems are back online. Keep the funds in your account so the payment can be collected when the service resumes.
With advice from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), we are encouraging all residents, customers, and service users to be extra vigilant when called, emailed or sent text messages.
Read and follow NCSC advice on keeping your data safe and what to do if you are worried about this data breach.
For any other enquiries, we encourage you to visit our contact us uspage for phone numbers, email contacts and the latest information on services. Be aware our phone lines are currently experiencing some issues, so if you encounter any problems, contact us via email.
You can find answers to some frequently asked questions by visiting our FAQ page.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Update: Friday 28 November
We can confirm that we are now investigating a data breach as a result of a cyber attack earlier this week at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. After discovering unusual activity first thing Monday morning, we have been taking all necessary steps to shut down and isolate systems and make them as safe as possible.
We have now obtained evidence on our systems that shows some data has been copied and then taken away. At this moment in time, we believe the breach only impacts historical data. It is important to say we still have access to this information, it has not been stolen, but it is possible it could end up in the public domain. As a priority we are checking if this contains any personal or financial details of residents, customers, and service users – but this will take some time. With advice from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), we are encouraging all residents, customers, and service users to be extra vigilant when called, emailed or sent text messages.
Read and follow NCSC advice on keeping your data safe and what to do if you are worried about this data breach.
Again, we apologise for the disruption being caused and the understandable concern this may cause.
We have started to bring systems and services back online with safety and data protection as a top priority. However, we do face at least two weeks of significant disruption, but our council services will continue to run. Our customer services centre is open and will have additional people available to help.
We will do our very best to answer any urgent enquiries and have some phone lines up and running. Please understand our staff may not have all the answers at this point in time. Due to the incident, we are opening our Customer Service Centre at Kensington Town Hall, Hornton Street on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 November from 10am to 4pm. This is for emergency in-person queries only. We are unable to access many of our systems, so will do our best to answer your enquiry if you do have an emergency.
For enquiries visit our contact us page for phone numbers and email contacts. Our phone lines are currently experiencing some issues so please do email if you are having problems.
We are working with the Met Police and crime agencies on an investigation, in an effort to establish who did this, why, and if at all possible, bring them to justice. We are continuing to update all relevant agencies, including the National Cyber Security Centre, Information Commissioner, and regulators where appropriate.
We will continue to update residents, customers, service users and partners over the coming days in an open and transparent way.
Guidance for residents and customers
If you have bought something from us, for example a parking permit. Our advice would be to make sure bank and card details are safe and secure, and be vigilant.
If you are worried about personal data that is not financial, please follow steps outlined in the advice above, and we will be working hard to contact people if we find anything over the coming days and weeks.
If you want to talk to us, some of our phone lines and Customer Services Centre are open, but please appreciate we may not have all the answers at this point.
Please be assured we are only sharing this update to alert people at the first opportunity and to make sure people have the chance to take action themselves.
Update: Wednesday 26 November
Our IT teams have worked through the night this week and have now established the cause of a cyber incident which was identified on Monday 24 November. We will not be giving out further details of the incident at this stage because the investigation is continuing with the National Crime Agency and National Cyber Security Centre to establish exactly how our systems have been impacted and protect them from any further impacts.
A number of successful mitigations are already in place. Some systems, including phone lines, are disrupted. If you have an emergency, call Kensington and Chelsea Council using our emergency phone numbers. We’ve activated business continuity and emergency plans to ensure we are still delivering critical services to residents, focusing on supporting the most vulnerable.
We are diverting more resources to manage this incident and monitor emails and phone lines. Our website is undergoing planned maintenance relating to ongoing management of the incident, so some pages may be in and out across the day and you may not be able to use our online forms. We are working hard to bring services online. We apologise to residents for any inconvenience and thank them for being flexible and understanding.
People may see some delays in responses and the services we provide over the coming days.