Brent Council overspends £18.3m as homelessness and care costs rise

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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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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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.