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A West London council at ‘risk of bankruptcy’ intends to raise council tax by the maximum amount legally possible. The decision has not been approved by full council however the proposals have been approved by the Cabinet.
Hillingdon Council continues to face significant financial pressures, with the authority admitting that it will not be able to legally balance a budget without a bailout from the government. According to the council, even with an increase in funding from government thanks to the Fairer Funding Settlement, Hillingdon would not be able to create a balanced budget, and thus relies on Exceptional Financial Support being approved for at least three years.
Hillingdon Council also intends to raise all discretionary fees and charges in the borough by 10 per cent. This is the second year in a row tax and fees are increasing in a borough which once prided itself on being a low tax low fee borough.
At a meeting of Cabinet on December 23, Cllr Eddie Lavery, Cabinet Member for Finance & Transformation, cited inflation, the government decision to increase the minimum wage, and costs associated with people arriving from the Chagos Islands as cost pressures on the council. He added: "The proposed council tax rise is 4.99 per cent, including the social care precept. The budget has assumed a fees and charges increase of 10 per cent, with continued residents discount, including parking."
The highest amount a local authority can raise council tax by is 4.99 per cent each year without holding a referendum, or in special cases, unless given specific powers by the government to raise it higher. Most councils in London utilise the power to increase council tax by 4.99 per cent year on year.
As a result, properties in every tax band will pay at least £1,000 in Hillingdon Council tax for the first time. Not including Greater London Authority Tax, Band A properties will now pay £1,023.31 - an increase of £48.64.
Band B properties will face an increase of £56.74 per year with a new annual total of £1,193.85 per year. Band C properties would pay £1,364.41 - an increase of £64.85 per year.
For those living in a Band D property, once likely approved by full council, your Hillingdon Council tax will increase by £72.95 per year to £1,534.95. Band E homes will see an increase of £89.17 to £1,876.06 per year.
Band F tenants would have to pay £2,217.16 every year, an increase of £105.38 from current council tax levels. For Band G properties, council tax paid directly to Hillingdon Council would increase by £121.59 per year - to £2,558.26. Band H properties will pay £145.91 more each year with an annual payment of £3,069.91.
All fees and charges will increase by 10 per cent across the board. This means from things such as parking, to leisure centre fees and civic and registration charges, residents will have to pay more post-budget.
This means that the contentious green waste collection fee, which currently sits at £70 per year, is likely to increase to £77 per year.
Cllr Lavery said after the meeting: "While we welcome the recognition that Hillingdon needs more funding from 2026/27 to meet residents' current needs, it doesn't allow us to 'get back what has been lost' nor ensure we have the immediate funding we require.
"We're still fighting hard to combat the real-time impacts of increasing demand for services and prolonged underfunding. And while this has meant we've had to seek EFS, we are also proactively continuing to prioritise the delivery of our savings programme to further cut costs and identify efficiencies while remaining committed to ensuring residents don't pay as much council tax as others."
Councillor Sital Punja, Deputy Leader of Hillingdon Labour has described the current administration as a "failure".
She said: "Residents are paying the price for Conservative financial mismanagement, with a blanket 10 per cent hike in fees and charges across services.
"That is 15 per cent in two years and the council is still broke and relying on expensive borrowing to balance the books. This is not sound financial leadership, it’s failure passed onto residents."