Westminster council cuts 520 jobs in savings plan

More than 500 staff will be made redundant at Westminster City Council as the authority aims to become "leaner" and save £29m in the coming year.

The authority said 520 of its 3,720 staff posts would be cut, with the highest proportion coming from managerial bands and senior roles.

In July the council estimated it faced a £160m budget gap by 2029 due to changes in government funding, risings costs, demand for services and inflation. 

Paul Fisher, the council's cabinet member for value for money and finance, said the job cuts were a "difficult" announcement, but the council hoped the decision would pay dividends in the years ahead.

Fisher said the council planned to become more efficient and maintain "valued resident services" by increasing its use of technology such as artificial intelligence, and taking on commercial opportunities.

He added there would be further significant savings ahead, and the restructure was an "important step".

The council said the job cuts would save £29m over the coming year, and it hoped to save an additional £16m on contracts by the way it leased and rented buildings.

Ellie Ormsby, leader of the Labour group on Westminster City Council said: "Behind every job at risk is a person, and we are saddened that staff are facing uncertainty about their futures.

"We will be keeping a close eye on how this process is managed with staff and trade unions."

The council said the government's fairer funding programme, which directs cash to deprived areas, was the reason it faced a budget shortfall.

Westminster City Council received £219m in government grant funding in 2025/26. After the government's fair funding review, it was expected to decrease to £119m, a drop of £100m.

Because the cut is so large, the government said it would decrease gradually - the council will receive £20m less in 2026/27, with subsequent reductions averaging £25m per year until 2029/30.

The government previously said it was fixing an outdated funding system "so funding goes where need is greatest, while protecting councils through the transition".

The council said that the new budget meant inevitable Council Tax increases for 2027/28.

For the 2026/27 tax year, the standard Band D council tax in Westminster was £1,047.85 - making it the second lowest Band D council tax in the country.

Within that charge, £537.34 goes to the council, and £510.51 goes to the Greater London Authority.

No decision about the new rate has been made yet.

Staff at the council were told about the redundancies on Tuesday. Those affected will leave the organisation between April and December 2027, the council said.

By Susana Mendonça, BBC London political reporter

The savings outlined in the announcement on Tuesday are a drop in the ocean of the shortfall that is expected by 2029.

More cuts to council services will be likely in Westminster before the final budget is set in the spring and rising council tax seems inevitable too.

Although Westminster City Council has not announced its council tax for next year, sources told me last month that they might need to raise council tax by 75% to 100% next year.

This is because of a controversial programme called the Fair Funding Review 2.0, which has seen the government redistribute council funding away from some areas of the country towards others.

Several London boroughs, particularly those in central London, have been hard hit.

Westminster City Council will join the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Richmond Council and Wandsworth Council to formally challenge the government on it. They are expected to hand a letter to the government on the issue later this week.

The government previously said that the Fair Funding changes were made to "fix an outdated funding system so funding goes where need is greatest".

It has also given some of the boroughs that are losing funding the power to raise council tax above the usual 5% cap for two years.

While many London boroughs charge an average Band D council tax of more than £2,000, in Westminster the council tax has been very low.

Some critics argued that if Westminster and other central London boroughs could afford to keep council tax low, they may not need as much central government funding.

But their local leaders said they were being punished for spending more efficiently than high tax boroughs, and have not had time to plan for the changes.

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