Kensington & Chelsea (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Kensington & Chelsea Council warns of possible library closures and council tax relief cuts as it grapples with a staggering £82 million funding shortfall.
According to Kensington and Chelsea Council, it may also raise council taxes, postpone crucial safety improvements, and determine the “bare minimum” of services it might realistically provide without running afoul of the law.
During a meeting last week, Councillor Cem Kemahli informed colleagues that inner London boroughs were “punished” by the government’s Fair Funding review.
He claimed that housing prices and children in need of support were not sufficiently taken into consideration in the evaluation, which will ultimately determine how much grant money councils receive from the government.
Cllr. Kemahli, Kensington and Chelsea Council’s financial lead, presented a report on the council’s medium-term financial situation to the Audit and Transparency Committee. He stated that the planned changes might result in the authority losing up to £82 million in government funds over a three-year period.
The analysis estimates that the council will save £118 million over the next four years after accounting for current commitments.
He said:
“I don’t think, in fact, financially, London has seen such challenging times, in its metropolitan borough history. The figures in the report are very stark.
It’s what the knock-on of those figures mean for our residents in their homes, the services they receive. In truth, I think the scale of the challenge means our plans are not in disarray – they’re very well put together – but they’re lacking in their ability to meet this challenge. I think there are a number of unknowns still to come.”
The council is debating several “levers” it can pull to close the funding deficit, according to Cllr. Kemahli. These consist of:
terminating or resetting the yearly council tax relief program of £14 million. This program offers certain qualified groups, such as full-time students, hospital patients, and even monks and nuns, reductions on council tax.
thinking about charging the Second Homes Premium, which, according to rough estimates, could bring in £12 million. This basically involves raising council tax rates for those who own a second property in order to free up residences or generate additional revenue. Despite the government allowing all municipalities to do so starting on April 1, the council chose not to implement this in March of this year.
Stop the Portobello Road safety work. New barriers that “more efficiently restrict vehicle access during market hours” are presently being installed by the council.
increasing the annual council tax by 5%. While the majority of councils already do this, Kensington and Chelsea restricted it to 4% for 2025–2026, which included a 2% increase to pay for adult social care explicitly.
Implement a voluntary redundancy program for staff members.
Describe the council’s legislative duties so that it is aware of the “bare minimum” services that it must lawfully offer in order to stay out of trouble. This might entail closing all of the libraries that are not required by law to remain open.
Cllr Kemahli said:
“The simplistic view is statutory services is to have one library. We have six. You could have six operating at reduced capacity, [or] you could one of them operating at a 24-hour capacity. There are different ways of running the services.”
In June, the government launched a consultation on more detailed proposals on how local authorities will be funded from 2026/27. This was called the Fair Funding Review 2.0.
According to a council report, it is also reviewing all of its services and the operations of the authority.
In addition to examining fees and modifications “for where there is potential to increase, either because they are not capped by law or to ensure the full cost of delivery is covered,” the council is reportedly considering additional revenue streams like increasing community activities. Additionally, it is reevaluating its advertising plan.
Cllr Kemahli accused the government of “punishing” inner London councils by omitting the cost of housing from its formula. He said:
“[This] is one of the biggest factors of cost for inner London authorities and I don’t think they clearly understood quite the likely impact this will have on deprivation in boroughs which already have high levels of deprivation.”
The proposed changes to the funding formula are currently under consultation and a final decision isn’t due until late October. But the council expects the changes to come into force by 2026 and see a five to seven per cent reduction in funding in the first year.
They expect funding to stay flat for the following two years before falling off a “massive cliff edge” after year three.
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said:
“We do not recognise this figure. We are taking decisive action to reform the local government funding system and get councils back on stable footing so we can improve public services and deliver our Plan for Change.
Our changes account for specific demand on services in London and will deliver fairer funding for all councils, coming alongside £13.35 billion we have already made available for London councils and the Greater London Authority this year, a cash-terms increase of 5.8%.”
How might the library closures impact local community access to resources?
Libraries provide low-cost access to books, computers, internet, and study spaces. Closing libraries cuts off these vital services, leading to declines in library visits and circulation by 32-42% in affected areas. This is especially harmful in non-metropolitan or lower-income communities where alternative access is limited.
Studies show that library closures correlate with statistically significant drops in reading and math test scores among students living nearby, as libraries support educational development through resources and programming.
The loss of children’s programming, homework help, and safe study environments disproportionately affects youth.