Slough council approves amended financial plan after 'budget hiatus' causes anxiety

The leader of Slough Borough Council has apologised for creating ‘uncertainty and anxiety’ after the council had to revise its budget plans for the forthcoming financial year.

Slough’s Conservative-run council failed to secure approval from councillors for its budget for the 2026/27 financial year and its medium term financial plan during a meeting last week.

The meeting, which took place on Thursday , February 26, was adjourned, with the revised plans presented to councillors and approved yesterday (Thursday).

However, 10 councillors did not attend the meeting, including Labour, Liberal Democrats and two Conservative councillors.

Cllr Dexter Smith (Con, Colnbrook and Poyle), the council’s leader, ‘personally apologised’ for the delay in getting the budget approved.

“This current budget hiatus has caused uncertainty, anxiety and even fear about wages and payments being made on time,” Cllr Smith said

“I do think we have managed to turn this situation into an opportunity to do better and we have done better through the measures in this budget amendment.

“However, I am not advocating repeating this process, as I believe the approach taken in our transformation plans is preferable – and that is to get it right first time.”

The three changes proposed included to increase the council’s drug and alcohol treatment budget by an additional £36,000 and increase spending on the council’s scrutiny process by £50,000 so councillors are able to scrutinise budget matters before they are voted on.

Slough’s council tax hardship fund will also be increased by £100,000, but no changes will be made to the Council Tax Support (CTS) scheme.

The scheme allows non-working residents to get a 70 per cent maximum discount on their council tax bill from April, reduced from 80 per cent in the current financial year.

A 20 per cent reduction in the other discounts for working households, depending on income bands, will also be put in place. Pensioners will not be affected by the changes.

The hardship fund will be available to address this reduced support. Council tax will also be increased by 4.99 per cent – the maximum allowed without the need for a referendum.

But opposition members still had concerns about the budget being balanced ‘on the backs of Slough’s residents’.

Cllr Christine Hulme (Lab, Herschel Park) said: “I believe the administration are finally coming around to that realisation, hence the decision to increase the council tax hardship fund.”

But she still raised concerns about residents’ ability to access it, calling it a ‘bureaucratic nightmare’ – with 459 applications refused and 135 pending according to December 2025 figures.

Cllr Robert Anderson (Lab, Britwell) said he was pleased the Conservatives had been forced to make amendments to its financial plans but described the budget as ‘covered in sticking plasters’.

Cllr Anderson said: “To lose a budget vote to the opposition is an embarrassment but to lose a budget vote because you can’t get your own side to vote for it, that’s humiliation.”

He added that having only 16 councillors voting in favour of the budget last week, whilst 19 voted against it, was ‘truly shocking’.

The Conservative party holds 20 seats in Slough, with 11 Labour councillors sitting on the opposition,10 Liberal Democrats and one independent councillor.

Liberal Democrat Cllr Sabia Akram said she spoke to the council leader and lead commissioners twice since the budget meeting last week.

“However, it’s a shame it’s taken a budget at risk to get an audience at short notice,” she added

Cllr Akram hoped the council’s leader and cabinet members ‘finally understood’ what it means to lead a council with no overall control and ‘work together for the common good’.

Ultimately, the 2026/27 and medium-term financial plan was approved with 19 votes for and no votes against.

But 10 councillors abstained and three said they were ‘not voting’.