The council’s most-used public explanation for the financial crisis is a multi-million-pound cost for supporting asylum seekers and Chagossian arrivals, which it claims the government should be funding. The council has cited a cost of £16m for asylum seekers and of £2m for Chagossians. Even if those figures are genuine and don’t get reimbursed, the financial problems that the council faces are much worse than those figures – and besides, most of that £18m isn’t from this year anyway.
An analysis of the council’s own financial reports and a formal Freedom of Information (FOI) response shows this claim is a misleading distraction from the real crisis.
The £16m Claim is Cumulative, Not New:
The council’s public claim of £16 million is not a new hole in this year’s budget. In the July 2025 council meeting, the Leader clarified this figure was a total claim against the government, made up of £11 million from previous years plus a forecasted £5 million for this year.
The Real Figure is £5.7 Million
A Freedom of Information request asked the council to state its “total unfunded cost for 2025/26″ for these groups. The council’s official, written response was “£5,704,649”. This £5.7 million—the actual unbudgeted pressure for this year—is the figure the council is in a political dispute with the government over.
“So What?”
An actual unbudgeted pressure of £5.7 million does not explain a £31.6 million deficit.
The real deficit is caused by two, much larger, internal failings that account for over £31 million:
- A £14.1 Million “Historical Error”: A one-off adjustment for accounting errors “that dated back over 12 years” (July Audit Committee / Cabinet Report, 23 Oct 2025) .
- A £15 Million (£13.6m + £1.4m) Failed Savings Plan: The collapse of the council’s “high risk” £38.8 million savings plan, which is failing to deliver.
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