Published: Thursday 4 March 2021
Kensington and Chelsea Council has voted to approve its budget for 2021/22, with Grenfell recovery remaining a top priority.
The full budget for the Council in 2021 is £630m.
The Council has protected its £50m Grenfell Recovery Fund and plans to spend £10.5m next year.
Spending next year also includes £277m of capital investment as part of a larger three-year capital programme to invest in the borough’s roads, infrastructure, homes and buildings.
The budget has also earmarked an additional £8m to help mitigate the longer-term economic, social and health damage caused by Covid-19.
This year Council Tax will rise by 4.99%, an increase of £45.18 a year for the average band D household. The first is a Council Tax increase of 1.99%. The second element is a 3% increase towards meeting the demands for adult social care services. The Council currently continues to offer the maximum local Council Tax relief for the 13,000 residents on the lowest incomes. Council Tax bills will still remain some of the lowest in the country.
| Budget expenditure | (£’000) |
|---|---|
| Adult Social Care | £69,212 |
| Public Health | £20,117 |
| Education and Children's Services | £69,368 |
| Schools - Dedicated Schools Grant | £78,074 |
| Environment and Communities | £ 99,400 |
| Grenfell Corporate Costs | £4,000 |
| Housing and Social Investment | £61,695 |
| Finance and Customer Delivery | £80,105 |
| Housing Benefit | £117,664 |
| Grenfell Recovery | £10,500 |
| COVID-19 Recovery Framework | £8,000 |
| Contingency | £5,201 |
| London wide Levies | £11,336 |
| Other Corporate Budgets | (4,463) |
Cllr Mary Weale, Lead Member for Finance and Customer Delivery said:
“Our residents have told us what they would like us to focus on: housing, education, clean and safe streets. This year we will spend £630m on day to day services and £277m on new homes and the borough’s roads, streets, and green spaces.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the Council had significant financial challenges ahead. We have a balanced budget for 2021/22 but still face a budget gap of £30m from 2022. The pandemic has created additional financial pressures for the next year and beyond, and we will need to work hard to mitigate its worst effects. While we have welcomed significant financial relief from the government this year, the full economic impact remains unknown.
Despite these significant challenges, I am pleased we have managed to set a prudent and balanced budget for 2021/22 whilst keeping our Council Tax rates comparatively low”.
Further details on the budget and Council Tax will be published from Monday 8 March webtest.rbkc.gov.uk/counciltax