Hillingdon Council is asking for a £150 million government bailout but it isn’t free money. It represents more than a £1400 debt for every single household in the borough, a burden we will be paying back with interest for the next 20 years—money that will service debt rather than fund local services. While the Council blames external factors like Heathrow, their own records tell a different story: one of systemic failure, disclaimed accounts, late-filed reports, and ‘unreliable’ figures.
The admission this week that the Breakspear Road closure notice “made no sense” is just the latest in a worrying series of administrative failures, secrecy, and financial mismanagement at the Civic Centre.
Whenever our Borough’s finances are discussed, residents are given the same explanation: Heathrow, asylum seekers, Chagossian arrivals – national pressures beyond the council’s control. It is a convenient story, repeated in most answers to questions at public meetings, and by the Leader of the Council in monthly emails and the Hillingdon People magazine.
It is not the one told by the Council’s own budget, or their external auditors. Buried in the late-published 2026/27 budget papers are a series of admissions that point elsewhere: long-standing accounting errors, savings plans that repeatedly failed to deliver, and years of budgets built on incomplete data and unrealistic assumptions.
“The Council faces systemic weaknesses in its financial governance arrangements, including weaknesses in budget setting, budget monitoring and financial reporting, resulting in unreliable forecasts.”
Read carefully, the budget does not describe a council overwhelmed by external shocks – it describes a council struggling with the consequences of its own decisions.
While mistakes happen, the frequency and nature of these errors suggest a systemic problem. The Residents’ Association has collated nine recent examples where the Council has either got the facts wrong, missed legal deadlines, or attempted to bypass scrutiny entirely. These articles are not about politics; they are about the transparency, accuracy, and accountability that residents deserve.
Read more of our February 2026 series
- Introduction: Mistakes, misjudgements, or systemic breakdown?
- 1. The £150m Bailout: “Accounting Adjustments” vs Reality
- 2. The Culture of “Late”: From Accounts to Budgets
- 3. The “Theo’s Café” Scandal: Claims of cronyism and confirmed secrecy
- 4. The Silent Treatment: 12 Weeks and Counting
- 5. Putting Residents First? Not always
- 6. An addiction to “Special Urgency” – for secrecy or last minute work?
- 7. The secret £3.3m planning system
- 8. Decision-Making Based on Flawed Data
- 9. Are they taking heed of the “Section 24” warnings?
- Summary: The Case for Concern – is something broken at our Civic Centre?
- What Now? What do you think? You have until Wednesday to tell the Council
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