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Reform UK’s flagship Kent County council has been accused of “hurtling towards financial oblivion” after new financial documents released show that Nigel Farage’s supposedly “cost-cutting” local authority has racked up a £46.5m budget overspend forecast for this financial year.
The overspend represents 3% of the overall budget and has increased by 66% in just three months – from £27.9m in the first quarter to £46.5m in the second. Reform was elected to lead the authority last May.
The council’s own analysis describes the situation as “critical”. In a report to Cabinet on November 19th, Reform deputy council leader Cllr Brian Collins and the council’s corporate director of finance state: “The scale of the forecast overspend is unprecedented and represents a critical risk to the financial resilience of the authority.”
“This situation demands immediate action. If not addressed in the current financial year, it will have a severe impact on our reserves and will impact our budget position for 2026/27.”
Reform UK had issued a leaflet ahead of May’s local elections which claimed the party would “reduce waste and cut your taxes” – complete with a smiling picture of Nigel Farage. The party went on to secure a hefty majority.
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It now appears almost certain that council tax will have to rise roughly in line with other councils also facing the strain.
Lib Dem opposition leader Cllr Antony Hook told Byline Times: “I think it will be close to 5%. The administration indicated as much in September.”
“We still don’t have a draft budget – usually we have one by November, but the administration won’t present one until January, leaving very little time for scrutiny or improvements. But budget assumptions so far are based on a 5% council tax rise and an expected 1.5% increase in the council tax base.”
That suggests that if the council tax rise is less than 5%, millions more pounds in cuts will have to be found.
“Even with those assumptions, the council still needs to find £46 million in cuts, and there’s been no transparency about how,” Cllr Hook added.
The figures show a £51m overspend on adult social care this year in the authority, often described as the largest in the country. Residential care services for older people are seeing a £22.4m overspend, and community-based services £16.3m.
It represents a 7.2% overspend in the department. Meanwhile, the council is set to miss its targets to find savings for adult social care spending by £20.9m this year.
The Reform-run council promised millions in social care savings “they knew they couldn’t deliver,” argues Cllr Hook.
The deficit in the council’s schools budget also appears to be spiralling out of control. The deficit forecast for the schools budget this year is set to reach £133.4m, up from £97.5m last year.
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Council officers originally expected to break even on the schools deficit by 2027-28 – but are now expecting a £125m deficit instead. Much of the surge relates to increased spending providing specialist provision to pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEND). The number of pupils requiring specialist support in the county has increased to 18,367, up from 17,209 last year.
Many of those are being sent to independent school placements, at an average cost of £55,727 per pupil, a figure which has also risen substantially over the past year. The council is educating a greater proportion of children in expensive specialist schools compared to other authorities. Longer-term, Kent’s ageing population is likely to limit this growth – but the pressures on social care budgets will only rise.
Any overspends by the council must be funded from their reserves, weakening the council’s financial resilience.
The Lib Dem councillor said Reform were now dealing with the realities of governing: “Brexit has reduced the number of people working or willing to work in the care sector. Over the summer, the Reform administration wrote to the government asking for an easier visa system for care workers.” Wage costs have gone up, exacerbated by a shortage of care workers – with major knock-on effects for the council’s care spending.
On care, Cllr Hook said he was concerned the council would “try to cut costs by moving residents to cheaper care homes, something we’ve already seen from Reform-run councils elsewhere.”
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“That is deeply unsettling for older people, who rely heavily on familiar surroundings and carers.”
Council officers have now ordered an immediate halt to all “non-essential spend”. Strict new oversight of staff spending in the largely outsourced adult social care sector in Kent is now being planned.
Budget managers will also be held to account through ‘review panels’, while a recruitment freeze is being implemented except for areas the council has ‘core’ legal duties.
These measures will “grind services to a halt,” Cllr Antony Hook warned.
“My impression of Reform at County Hall is that they are thinking very short-term. They appear more focused on political positioning before the general election than on long-term financial responsibility,” he added.
A spokesperson for Kent County Council told Byline Times: “Kent County Council’s latest monitoring report reflects the ongoing challenges the authority is managing, particularly within Adult Social Care, where sustained demand continues to place pressure on budgets.
“The service is currently forecasting an overspend of just over 7% against its overall budget. However, other council services are underspending, bringing the projected overall position to an overspend of around 3% of the Council’s total revenue budget.”
The spokesperson claimed Kent County Council continues to “manage” its financial position and is “confident in meeting its legal duty to set a balanced budget.”
“The Council expects to publish its balanced budget early in the new year once the final funding settlement from central government is confirmed. As is standard practice, a minimal use of reserves may be used to achieve this, something this Council and many others have done before. This is expected to be limited and likely to be no more than approximately 0.6% of the total budget.”
On whether council tax would rise by close to 5%, the council official added: “The rate of council tax for next year has not yet been set and will be determined as part of the budget-setting process.”
Reform have so far ‘lost’ nine out of its initial 57 councillors through suspensions, expulsions and resignations, since being elected in Kent just over six months ago.
What Reform UK Told Kent’s Voters
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