Concerns are growing over a lack of action on a public safety review for Ruislip Lido, which was personally promised by the Leader of the Council, Cllr. Ian Edwards, more than six months ago. He gave us the assurance at our AGM and public meeting in April 2025, following residents’ concerns about chaotic overcrowding and […]
Archive | Issues
The Finances of the London Borough of Hillingdon
An Attempt to Shed Some Light for Residents You may have heard that Hillingdon Council is in financial difficulty, with a cabinet member stating on national media that “we’ve run out of money”. Council finances are a complex issue, so together with HARA (the Hillingdon Alliance of Residents’ Associations) and all of the other residents’ […]
If the council goes bankrupt, what differences would residents see?
Councils can’t actually go bankrupt, but their equivalent is declaring ‘Section 114’. We understand that once that happens, how the council spends money changes – and the council’s Monitoring Officer and the Chief Finance Officer become responsible for signing off all spending. We have asked them what plans they have: the Monitoring Officer has said […]
A “Bailout” Explained: What is Exceptional Financial Support?
Since July’s Cabinet meeting and as recently as this week’s Cabinet meeting, Hillingdon Council has regularly confirmed it is in discussions with the central government to secure “Exceptional Financial Support” (EFS). But what does this mean? In simple terms, EFS is a government bailout for a council that can no longer meet its financial commitments. Councils […]
The Council’s Financial Crisis Explained
The council’s finances are in a worse state than the headline numbers suggest. The true total hit to reserves this year is £31.6 million, which will leave the council with a -£24.9 million negative reserve balance because a £14.1m ‘historical error’ left them with only £6.7 million in reserves to begin with. Whichever of these […]
