Archive | Issues

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 […]

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 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 […]

On October 24, 2025, Hillingdon Council shared a five-month-old video from London Councils via social media . The council’s post stated the video illustrates pressures like “rising inflation,” “escalating demands,” and Hillingdon being “severely underfunded.” The video itself talks about these issues developing since 2010 . However, the timing and content of this communication raise serious questions about […]

The council’s £31.6 million deficit is not a mystery, nor is it explained by the public reasons related to asylum seekers and/or Chagossian arrivals, National Insurance hikes or decisions the Labour government has made recently. It is the result of different individual reasons, but three specific internal failures were all long predicted or known about: A £17.8 […]