A Timeline of Warnings, Shifting Explanations, and Internal Failures

Hillingdon Council’s financial crisis has not happened overnight. It has unfolded through a sequence of predictable steps, starting with the drawing down of significant sums from reserves – which last December’s Cabinet report described as being in “steady decline over the last four years” and “too low for a borough of our size and complexity” to cover overspending services.

Formal warnings about the budget’s weakness were issued in February 2025 by the council’s own Chief Finance Officer, Richard Ennis. In his public Section 25 Report to the full Council meeting, he said a full balance sheet review was necessary because the council has had disclaimed statutory accounts since 2021/22 (meaning its auditors refused to sign them off as they could not prove the numbers on the balance sheet were accurate).

Despite this, the political leadership approved the high-risk budget. As this budget and its savings plans began to fail, huge financial holes emerged, and the council leadership offered a series of shifting public explanations to account for the growing deficit.

Crucially, this period of escalating crisis also saw instability in the council’s leadership, a clear component of the “ineffective governance” the external auditors later warned about. The volatility was not just financial – with three different Chief Financial Officers between February and September 2025 – but also extended to legal oversight, with four different Monitoring Officers in four years. This kind of high senior staff turnover has cost residents dearly: the late-published draft 2024/25 accounts show nearly £3 million in exit payments to staff over the last two years.

Following the departure of Richard Ennis by early May 2025, a decision was signed by the Leader of the Council, Ian Edwards, on behalf of the Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Goddard. This decision commissioned Grant Thornton to conduct the necessary financial review, instead of CIPFA as Ennis had originally planned.

Simultaneously, a parallel controversy unfolded concerning Grant Thornton’s council contracts and transparency, adding another layer of scrutiny. This timeline tracks these key events using the council’s own reports, meeting minutes, transcripts, and official communications.

Timeline of events

11 February (Audit Committee):

Finance Chief Raises Alarm

The council’s Chief Financial Officer (Richard Ennis) verbally briefs the Audit Committee on the severe risks in the upcoming budget.  He warns the estimates are “not sufficiently robust,” reserves are “very low,” the £34 million savings target is a “significant risk,” and the new finance IT system is causing “poor data quality”.
To address this, he announced a two-year budget to bring in CIPFA for a “Financial Improvement Program” (FIP) to audit the balance sheet and fix the unreliable Oracle finance system. External Auditors (EY) supported the move as a “very helpful” and “useful exercise”.
The FIP’s core purpose is to tackle the acknowledged “financial skills need” in the Civic Centre by boosting the “capacity and capability” of the Finance Department staff to improve financial acumen and take ownership of budgets.

Head of Internal Audit’s report

At the same meeting, the committee heard the devastating “No Assurance” opinion.  A “No Assurance” opinion means that the Head of Internal Audit cannot provide any confidence that the council’s core systems for managing its money, risks, and governance are working.  These weaknesses are so severe that the auditors concluded they could “seriously prejudice the achievement of the Council’s objectives”.

20 February (Cabinet Papers):
Formal S25 Warning Published

The official Section 25 Statement from Richard Ennis is published within the Cabinet budget papers.  It formally repeats his warnings that the budget estimates are “not sufficiently robust” and reserves are a “marginal call judgement”.  Despite this formal warning, Cabinet recommends the budget for approval.

27 February (Full Council):
High-Risk Budget is Approved

Accepting the Chief Finance Officer’s formal published warning, the council leadership approves the high-risk 2025/26 budget with votes only from the Conservative councillors.  Labour councillors abstained from the budget vote because they did not believe the budget estimates were sufficiently robust to achieve the £34m in required savings, posing an unacceptable risk to the council’s financial stability. They expressed this disagreement by moving an objection amendment (which was lost) rather than opposing the final budget.  The new £70 garden waste charge was introduced at the same meeting, to address “significant underfunding from the government” and ensure the service is paid for by users rather than all taxpayers.

9 April (Ruislip Residents’ Association public meeting):
The First Public Explanations

The Council Leader, Cllr Ian Edwards, publicly explains the reasons for the last-minute budget gap and the new garden waste charge. He cites the government breaking its promise on National Insurance funding, a change in the Bank of England’s inflation forecast, and wider economic uncertainty stemming from global events and US economic policy.

8 May (Full Council):
The Narrative Shifts & Finance Chief Changes

The focus of the public explanation changes.  In his formal speech, the Leader now states that “significant financial pressures” are primarily “due to the high number of asylum seekers” and Chagossian arrivals.  At the same meeting, Andy Goodwin is appointed as the interim Chief Finance Officer, as Richard Ennis has now left the council.

25 June (Hillingdon People Extra):
Explanations Linked to Garden Waste Charge

In an email to all residents, the council explicitly blames the new £70 charge on “ongoing government funding shortfalls, including £16 million outstanding in asylum costs and the additional £500,000 cost…  from the government’s National Insurance increase”.

Early July: Council Blacklists Local Press

Sometime in early July, the council’s press office informs MyLondon that it will “no longer be engaging” with journalist Philip Lynch, who covers Hillingdon (and two other local boroughs, who have no such complaint) for the Local Democracy Reporting Service which provides local democracy news for outlets including MyLondon, Uxbridge Gazette, London Standard and BBC.

10 July (Full Council & News):
Contracts Scrutinised as Asylum Costs Blamed

Two stories emerge.  Inside the council chamber, the leadership tables its motion stating the government owes £16 million for asylum support.  Outside the chamber, the LDRS reveals Hillingdon Council paid over £1 million to Grant Thornton, the former employer of the Cabinet Member for Finance, Cllr Martin Goddard.

July 23, 2025 (News Report):
Press Blacklisting Becomes Public

MyLondon publishes an article titled “‘Hillingdon Council is running scared…’” reporting that the council informed the newspaper earlier in the month it would stop engaging with the LDRS reporter due to an unsubstantiated claim of “political bias”.

24 July (17:00 – Audit Committee):
The Crunch Meeting with Auditors, Warnings and Admissions

At an explosive meeting, the external auditor (EY) and interim finance chief reveal the true state of the finances.

1. The “Section 24” Warning: The auditor formally issues their rare S24 Statutory Recommendation, stating they are “not confident that the Council has a clear understanding of its current financial position”.
2. The £14.1m Error: The finance chief reveals the real reason reserves are gone: a £14.1 million “one-off impact” from a “full balance sheet review” of “historical transactions”.
3. The bailout request is confirmed: The finance chief confirms the council is officially seeking a government bailout (EFS)
4. Internal Audit’s “No Assurance”: The external auditor from Ernst & Young stated that it was an extremely rare finding in his career, saying “what Hillingdon Council’s Head of Internal Audit reported at the last committee meeting, a nil assurance opinion, which in my career I’ve only ever heard twice.”

24 July (19:00 – Cabinet):
The Leadership “Spin”

Just quarter of an hour after the Audit Committee meeting ended, the Cabinet meets to publicly receive the report detailing the £14.1m error but does not acknowledge the Section 24 notice.  Instead, the Leader, Cllr Ian Edwards, says that the historical accounting issues came to light via “prudent activity commissioned by ourselves” and that “we are housekeeping ourselves and are not dependent upon external review and scrutiny”.  This is more likely to be a reference to the council’s new policy of refusing to engage with the LDRS reporter than an immediate pushback against the Section 24 notice, given that the latter didn’t become public for almost another month.

20 August
Section 24 Recommendations become public

The Section 24 Recommendations only became public when uploaded to the council’s website as part of the Agenda for the following week’s Audit Committee meeting: the council had received them four weeks earlier.  Being obliged to hold a public meeting with all councillors about the recommendations within 30 days, the council got special permission to extend this because of the summer holidays.  On 28 July, the full Council meeting scheduled for 25 Sept was brought forward to 11 Sept.

28 August (Audit Committee):
The “Car Crash” Admission

The interim finance chief, Andy Goodwin, admits the Oracle EPM finance system “has been a bit of a car crash” and was “at the heart of” the auditor’s warning.  The auditor adds the budget approved in February “was based on assumptions…  that were proved to be incorrect”.

11 September (Full Council):
Council Accepts Warning Amid No-Confidence Vote

With the new permanent Chief Finance Officer, Steve Muldoon, now in post, the Full Council formally accepts all the auditor’s recommendations.  At the same meeting, the Labour opposition tables a motion of no confidence in Cllrs Edwards and Goddard, which fails.

18 September (Cabinet):
First Report from New Finance Chief

Steve Muldoon presents his first public finance report.  It shows a £22.1 million overspend as of July.

25 September (News Reports):
“Already Bankrupt” & More Contracts Questioned

News stories quote a finance source claiming Hillingdon Council is “already bankrupt”. A separate report reveals a further £700k contract was given to Grant Thornton without a competitive tender.  One of Grant Thornton’s contracts replaces CIPFA (the decision made in February, which was welcomed by the auditors) with external contractors running a Finance Modernisation Plan – instead of the two year plan to improve Hillingdon Council’s own staff.

30 September (News Report):
Journalist Wins Award Despite Council Blacklisting

Philip Lynch (the Local Democracy Reporter previously blacklisted by the council in July for his reporting) is named a winner of the prestigious “Press 30 Under 30 Awards 2025” by the News Media Association. He was also shortlisted in the “Young Journalist of the Year” category at the Media Freedom Awards 2025 organised by the Society of Editors.

7 October (News Report):
Cabinet Member Blames Chagos/Asylum Costs

The Cabinet Member for Planning, Housing & Growth, Cllr Steve Tuckwell, gives an interview to the London Standard, blaming the crisis on the cost of supporting Chagossian arrivals (£2 million) and asylum seekers (£5 million).  He claims the council is at “breaking point”.

16 October (Video Interview Published):
“Basically Run Out of Money”

In a video interview published by the London Standard, Cllr Tuckwell repeats the £2m/£5m figures and explicitly states: “the council has basically run out of money”.

21 October (News Report):
Admission Hits Wider Press

MyLondon reports on Cllr Tuckwell’s video admission from 16 October, headlining their story “‘We’ve run out of money’ says senior West London councillor”.

23 October 23 (Cabinet):
Crisis Worsens, Narrative Returns to Underfunding

The deficit grows.  Steve Muldoon’s second report shows the overspend (as of August) has increased to £30.2 million.  The council’s official public response pivots again, blaming “ongoing pressures” and sharing a five-month-old video blaming “years of underfunding”.

October 24, 2025 (Social Media):
Council Promotes London Councils Video

Hillingdon Council shares the London Councils video on Facebook, stating it illustrates the pressures all authorities face, citing “rising inflation,” “escalating demands in social care and housing,” and awaiting the Fair Funding Review which indicates Hillingdon Council “has been severely underfunded”.  Cllr Susan O’Brien, another Cabinet Member, shares a similar message, adding Hillingdon has “additional pressures…  being a Port Authority.”