Westminster City Council's capital programme has been significantly reprofiled due to a substantial underspend of £132.5 million in the 2025/26 financial year. The Cabinet met on Monday, July 13, 2026, to approve the financial outturn for the year and discuss the necessary adjustments to future spending plans, as detailed in the Public reports pack.

The capital outturn revealed an underspend of £92.9 million for the General Fund and £39.6 million for the Housing Revenue Account (HRA). These figures, totalling £132.5 million, have necessitated the reprofiling of the capital programme into subsequent years. The report attributes these underspends to various factors, including delays in acquisitions, on-site issues, and the impact of a cyber incident that affected the council's financial systems.

A significant cyber incident in November 2025 impacted the council's network and financial systems, disrupting the delivery of the Temporary Accommodation (TA) strategy. For three months, the loss of key IT systems delayed property purchase completions and slowed the supply of new, lower-cost TA. This also hindered the council's ability to prevent homelessness and secure affordable placements due to the unavailability of case management systems, and slowed the allocation of social housing voids. This incident was a contributing factor to the overall underspend.

Councillor Paul Fisher, Cabinet Member for Value for Money and Finance, noted the financial performance, stating, The capital outturn for the General Fund showed an underspend of £92.9 million, and for the HRA, an underspend of £39.6 million. He added that the Cabinet approved the reprofiling of the 2025/26 capital programme to future years, a move deemed necessary to ensure the accuracy of the 2026/27 capital budgets. The total value of the capital programme reprofiled beyond the 2025/26 financial year is substantial, with £97.035 million from the General Fund and £31.197 million from the HRA being moved to future years. Further slippage of £10.161 million from the HRA is also set to be reprofiled beyond 2026/27.

The £92.9 million underspend in the General Fund capital programme was attributed to several specific project delays. These include:

  • Temporary Accommodation Acquisitions - In Borough: An underspend of £37.470m due to the cyber incident impacting original completion timelines, leading to reprofiling to 2026/27. Only 219 completions were achieved against a target of 300 units.
  • Seymour Leisure Centre and Marylebone Library: A budget of £14.242m was reprofiled to 2026/27 due to a 28-week project delay caused by unforeseen issues, including remedial works and heritage requirements.
  • Westminster Builds Investment: A budget of £7.985m was reprofiled to 2026/27 due to a slight delay in the completion of the Westmead Intermediate homes acquisition.
  • Church Street Acquisitions Sites ABC: A budget of £4.847m will be reprofiled into 2028/29 due to a slower-than-anticipated acquisition rate.
  • Church Street Site A - Partnership Investment: A budget of £3.185m has been reprofiled to 2026/27 because the joint venture outperformed its sales forecast, requiring less equity contribution from Westminster City Council in 2025/26.
  • Major Works on TA and Intermediate Housing Acquisitions: An underspend of £2.763m due to lower-than-anticipated volume of works, with the budget reprofiled for spend in 2026/27.
  • Data Operating System: A £2.015m underspend will be reprofiled into 2026/27 due to a six-month delay in Phase 1 progress, primarily caused by the cyber incident.
  • Regent Street: A budget of £1.945m has been reprofiled to 2026/27 due to an adjustment in design deliverables and programme timescales.
  • Landlords Responsibility Budget: A £1.882m underspend will be reprofiled to 2026/27 due to unforeseen delays in obtaining planning decisions and procurement challenges.
  • Lisson Grove Programme - Main Budget: Professional fees of £1.744m have been reprofiled to 2026/27 due to the RIBA Stage 2 process finishing later than expected.
  • WCH Development Loan & AHF - Victoria Phase 2 & Harrow Rd: A budget of £1.683m will be reprofiled to 2026/27 as a loan drawdown was not required by Westminster Community Homes for the MOT yard scheme.

The £39.611 million underspend within the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) capital programme is primarily related to variances across Development and Regeneration budgets totalling £37.371m. Key housing projects affected include:

  • Ebury Phase 1: £11.964m underspend, with £4.286m reprofiled to 2026/27 and the remaining £7.660m as an underspend of unrequired contingency.
  • Church Street Site A: £8.478m underspend, reprofiled due to a moved unconditional date and outperformance of sales forecast.
  • Carlton Dene: £5.557m underspend due to resequencing of works and a short delay to the construction programme.
  • Package B Infills: £1.904m underspend for outstanding payments and works to be reprofiled.
  • Ebury Acquisitions: £3.859m underspend, with properties expected to be acquired in Phase 3 of the Ebury regeneration, reprofiled into 2029/30.
  • Church Street Acquisitions: £6.302m underspend mainly related to the reprofiling of the construction forecast, to be reprofiled into 2028/29.

The reprofiling of the capital programme means that expenditure originally planned for 2025/26 will now occur in future financial years. This includes the Temporary Accommodation Acquisitions - In Borough, Seymour Leisure Centre and Marylebone Library, Westminster Builds Investment, and Regent Street projects, all reprofiled to 2026/27. The Church Street Acquisitions Sites ABC and Church Street Acquisitions projects have been pushed further into the future, with reprofiling into 2028/29. The Data Operating System budget will be reprofiled into 2026/27 and 2027/28. The HRA capital budget shows slippage from 2025/26 to 2026/27 totalling £21.036m and slippage beyond 2026/27 of £10.161m.

The Cabinet approved these adjustments on July 13, 2026, as documented in the Decisions.