Brent Council overspends £18.3m as homelessness and care costs rise
Adult social care and housing services drove the deficit, with 8,800 homelessness applications in a year
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Uses council’s financial summary and quotes named councillors, providing specific figures and dates.
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Brent Council ended the 2025/26 financial year £18.3 million over budget, a deficit it attributed to rising demand in adult social care and homelessness services. The overspend was met using reserves set aside for financial pressures, the council said in its year-end financial summary.
The largest overspends occurred in two areas. Adult social care exceeded its budget by £7 million, while housing services, including homelessness support, overspent by £11.7 million. Brent Council also made £20.4 million in cuts to offset the deficit.
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The scheme moved households out of the borough after a surge of 4,400 new homelessness applications in 2025/26, offering supported rent‑controlled homes elsewhere.
Homelessness applications surge
Nearly 8,800 households applied to Brent Council as homeless in the past year, a 40% increase from March 2024. By April 2025, more than 1,400 households were living in nightly-paid temporary accommodation, the council reported.
Cllr Gwen Grahl, Brent’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources, linked the rise to London’s unaffordable housing market. She told a Cabinet meeting on 27 July that private rents had climbed beyond what many residents could pay. An ageing population and complex care needs also contributed to the overspend, she said.
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The Care Quality Commission’s October 2025 inspection gave the service four ‘Good’ scores and five ‘Requires Improvement’ marks, prompting the council to launch a robust improvement plan.
These are not pressures that can simply be switched off. They're the consequences of many other factors outside Brent's control.
Cllr Gwen Grahl, Deputy Leader, Brent Council
Council tax and business rates collection improves
Despite the overspend, Brent Council reported improvements in revenue collection. Council tax collection reached 91.6%, while business rates were collected at 94.1%. The council attributed the rise to increased staffing and earlier recovery action, as reported by MyLondon.
The council also allocated £1.5 million to a hardship fund, which supported over 13,000 households facing financial difficulty. Cllr Grahl said the fund was designed to help residents without aggressive debt recovery tactics.
What happens next
Brent Council said it would continue to manage the overspend using reserves but warned that cuts alone could not resolve the housing crisis or reform the care market. The council called for central government to intervene in the rising costs of social care and temporary accommodation.
Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council, said the authority was in a “fairly good position” given the challenges. He acknowledged ongoing pressures in adult social care and homelessness but said the council remained focused on delivering services for residents.
Questions this report answers
+How much did Brent Council overspend last year?
Brent Council overspent £18.3 million in the 2025/26 financial year. This deficit was covered using reserves set aside for financial pressures, as reported in the council’s year-end financial summary.
+Why did homelessness applications rise so sharply?
Homelessness applications in Brent rose 40% to 8,800 in the past year, with 1,400 households in temporary accommodation. The council linked the surge to London’s unaffordable housing market and rising private rents beyond what many residents could afford.
+What areas caused the biggest overspends?
The largest overspends were in adult social care, which exceeded its budget by £7 million, and housing services, including homelessness support, which overspent by £11.7 million. These areas drove the overall £18.3 million deficit.
+What does the council want the government to do?
Brent Council called on central government to address unaffordable housing and rising care costs, as these pressures were beyond the council’s control. The council warned that cuts alone could not resolve the housing crisis or reform the care market.
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