Cash-strapped Slough Borough Council’s financial position is “about as bad as it gets”, an external auditor has warned, despite ongoing efforts to improve the authority’s finances.
The stark assessment came during a meeting of the council’s Audit and Corporate Governance Committee on Wednesday, 11 November 2026, when external auditors Grant Thornton presented an interim report for the 2025/26 financial year.
The report revealed that the council continues to have a “disclaimer of opinion”, meaning auditors have been unable to form an opinion on its financial statements.
The same disclaimer has applied to the council’s accounts from 2018/19 through to 2024/25.
Cllr Mark Instone (Labour, Langley Foxborough) questioned the seriousness of the situation.
He said: “I think we can all see this isn’t good. But I’m really trying to get a handle on just how bad this is.”
He asked whether the council’s position was “just bad” or “really, really bad”.
Barrie Morris, from Grant Thornton, responded that he believed “this is about as bad as it gets”.
Council insists progress is being made
Ian O’Donnell, Slough Council’s chief operating officer, acknowledged that the authority was “perhaps in more difficulty” than other councils he had worked for but disagreed with the auditor’s assessment.
“However having said that, I’m not sure that I agree that this is as bad as it gets,” he said.
“I think you have to look at Slough’s recent track record and acknowledge the fact that Slough has been on an improvement journey.”
Mr O’Donnell said the council was making progress, “albeit not as fast as we would like”.
However, Mr Morris maintained that although improvements had been made, the authority remained in a serious position.
“As far as the authority is concerned we are still in a position whereby we don’t have a clear path to recovering assurance yet,” he said.
He added that the council was “not in a good place”, pointing to its longstanding financial reporting problems and continued involvement of commissioners and regulatory authorities.
“There is still engagement of commissioners and a number of regulatory authorities where the services are not delivering. So it’s not just the financial perspective,” he said.
“It’s the council as a whole and the delivery of the services as a whole and making sure that all those services are being delivered.”
Auditors demand urgent action on finances
Despite the concerns, Grant Thornton acknowledged some positive developments, including the council’s transformation plan and a savings strategy agreed in March 2026.
However, the auditors called for “urgent and immediate action” to strengthen the council’s “corporate grip” and address weaknesses in financial management.
The report recommends a clear improvement plan, including measures to reduce Slough’s reliance on Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) from the Government.
EFS allows councils, subject to Government approval, to use exceptional financing arrangements to help meet day-to-day spending pressures.
Slough Council aims to end its reliance on this support from the 2028/29 financial year.
Auditors have urged the authority to review its asset disposal programme to ensure it is based on “reasonable assumptions” and to fully implement its savings strategy.
Selling council-owned assets forms part of the authority’s efforts to reduce its debt.
Councillors warn of mounting debt
Councillors also expressed serious concerns about the authority’s financial future, acknowledging that there were “red flags flashing at us”.
Cllr Subhash Mohindra (Conservative, Upton) said: “To me it seems [like] the council has actually lost control and [is] struggling to find the way out.”
He warned that without selling council-owned assets, there was “no way we can recover” and the debt would continue to “go up and up and up”.
The council now faces pressure to demonstrate that its improvement plans can deliver lasting financial stability and reduce its dependence on Government support.
