Kensington and Chelsea Council is set to miss out on £82m in fundingLord Bailey (left) alongside Kensington and Chelsea Council leader Elizabeth Campbell outside the Houses of Parliament in London, UKKensington and Chelsea Council is lobbying the House of Lords(Image: RBKC)

A West London council has lobbied the House of Lords to axe the Government’s funding cuts proposal. Kensington and Chelsea Council leader Elizabeth Campbell met with Lord Bailey of Paddington on Monday (November 10) to campaign against the £82m in funding cuts the council faces under the Fair Funding Review.

She was joined by the leader of the Conservative group at Westminster City Council, cllr Paul Swaddle. The councillors want the Government to ditch plans to cut £700m in funding from London local authorities before the Autumn Budget on November 26.

The Fair Funding Review 2.0, which analyses the ways that local authorities are handed cash settlements, does not include the cost of housing deprivation – a key driver of poverty in the capital, according to Kensington and Chelsea Council.

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 04: Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves delivers a speech in the media briefing room of 9 Downing Street, ahead of the forthcoming Budget, on November 04, 2025 in London, England. During her speech Rachel Reeves put the country on notice that tax rises are coming in the upcoming Budget saying “each of us must do our bit”. The Chancellor declined to recommit to Labour’s manifesto commitments not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT, saying “we will all have to contribute”. (Photo by WPA Pool/Getty Images)The budget is due at the end of November(Image: WPA Pool, Getty Images)

Central London Councils are campaigning to change the formula to include housing, reflect the pressures on the capital’s increased daytime population and allow more time for the changes to happen. Lord Bailey spoke up on the future of local government funding in a debate on Monday (November 3), raising concerns about how the formula assumes a drop in social care needs when allocating funding for children’s services.

Cllr Elizabeth Campbell, leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council, said: “We are facing cuts of £82 million because of the Government’s fair funding review. It is our biggest budget challenge yet and it means very tough decisions ahead.

“Our voice is not the only one, there are others singing from the same hymn sheet. Councils, Lords and MPs are all asking if the Government has really got this right.

“We are hoping they listen and change the funding formula to acknowledge the unique pressures that London councils face, like the cost of housing and a population that doubles during the daytime.

“In the meantime, we have no choice but to prepare for the worst and consult our residents on a very difficult budget, because we won’t get our Government funding confirmed until late December.” Members of the public will have from November 13 to January 9, 2026 to comment on the council’s budget proposals for 2026/27.

The council is currently consulting on reducing council tax relief by up to 20per cent and is carrying out mass voluntary redundancies which is set to save up to £4m. The council is also considering providing a “bare minimum” service to residents and could hike council tax, and close family hubs to plug the looming financial black hole.

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