LB Hounslow to raise Council Tax and social rents by maximum while making £8.7m in cuts

Image: Hounslow Council Leader Shantanu Rajawat; Photograph The Chiswick Calendar library

Leader of Hounslow Council says there is “little choice but to cut” 

Labour-run Hounslow Council have outlined their budget proposals for the year 2025/26, which include a 4.99% increase in Council Tax, the maximum increase usually permitted, and millions of pounds worth of cuts to services.

The increase for a Band F property is £144, from  £2,875.90 to £3,020, which does not include the additional tax set by the GLA.

The Council said they need to make savings in some areas to address a £30 million funding shortfall and protect core services, such as adult social care, tackling homelessness and caring for children with disabilities.

Despite the cuts, they describe it as: ‘a budget that is about protecting core services while investing in opportunities that will bring growth to our borough.’

The budget allows for £2.2million to stimulate Hounslow’s economy, which they say will create 28,000 new homes and 18,000 job opportunities.

Cllr Shantanu Rajawat, Leader of Hounslow Council, said:

“We must continue to keep an iron grip on our finances to protect Hounslow’s future and to ensure long-term growth.  Years of chronic underfunding by the previous government, spiralling costs and increasing demand have left many councils in a very dangerous place, and while we are not one of those, we have little choice but to reduce our spending.”

Misty winter’s day on Chiswick High Rd – Photograph of the day by Jon Perry – enlightenshade

Image: Misty winter’s day on Chiswick High Road, Photograph by Jon Perry

Cuts include dimming street lighting and reviewing spending on transport for children with special educational needs

LB Hounslow’s proposed cuts to services include:

• Street lighting reductions (£200,000 saving) – A review of lighting controls is expected to confirm that street lights will be dimmed or selectively switched off.
• Cuts to parks maintenance and festive decorations (£70,000 savings) – Includes scaling back tree maintenance and reducing financial support for community events.
• Review of SEND transport funding (£200,000 savings) – A restructuring of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities transport services aims to cut costs ‘without reducing access’.

The Chiswick Calendar asked Cllr Rajawat for details of the impact the cuts will have in these three specific areas, but as all three are still subject to a review, he said details were not finalised.

The Council’s proposals to raise extra revenue include:

• Council Tax rise (£6m revenue boost)
• Increasing social housing rents by 2.7%. For someone living in a two bedroom Council flat, if they paid the current average of £126.99 per week, this would mean an increase of around £3 per week.
• Fixed Penalty Notice increases (£276,000 extra income) – The Council plans to raise fines for littering and fly-tipping to the maximum legal limits.
• Increased leisure fees (£200,000 revenue) – Fees for swimming lessons and sports facilities will be raised ‘to match London-wide averages’.

The total package of budget proposals would bring in almost £12.1 million, (£12,088,000) they estimate. The rest of the shortfall they plan to cover by using the Council’s financial reserve.

Images: Homelessness has skyrocketed in London; Photograph The Chiswick Calendar library

Hounslow to tap into “rainy day” funds to cover shortfall, as London councils face “perfect storm”

As part of its financial strategy, the Council will use £14 million from reserve funds to balance next year’s budget. Another £14 million from the reserve has been set aside to cover ‘unexpected’ risks.

When a council uses reserve funds, it means they are drawing money essentially from their emergency savings – though politicians tend not to call it that. Cllr Rajawat said the money was kept for “a rainy day.”

Reserve funds can be used to cover budget shortfalls, unexpected costs, or other financial pressures. Hounslow Council said they aim to replenish reserve funding within three years, in part due to savings made in this budget.

Cllr Rajawat told us this year’s budget settlement had been “incredibly challenging” for all London councils, who are facing a “perfect storm” of increasing demand and increasing costs.

He added:

“We cannot drop our guard now: this budget, and the commitments it represents to growing our economy, modernising service provision and protecting the most vulnerable, will secure the future of Council services and the best interests of our residents for many years to come.”

Image: Cost of adult social care is increasing as the population ages; Photograph The Chiswick Calendar library

Homelessness leaving London councils “at breaking point”

According to analysis from London Councils, the organisation which represents the 32 London boroughs, the cost of homelessness has left London boroughs strapped for cash and some could face effective bankruptcy unless the Government provides more funding.

The cross-party group said in September 2024 that the capital’s borough councils faced a collective £700m funding shortfall, mainly due to housing and homelessness pressures. Following up on the report in January this year, the group said that homelessness was leaving many councils at “breaking point.”

Those who are homeless include nearly 90,000 children, meaning, on average, every London classroom has at least one homeless child.

READ ALSO: Homelessness leaving boroughs at “breaking point” say London Councils

Hounslow Council said that throughout 2024 it has reduced the number of households in temporary accommodation through a combination of “robust case management for households at risk of homelessness and actively increasing social housing stock to make permanent housing offers”.

£3.2m is being put aside to tackle homelessness in the borough. Council officials stressed that the largest cost pressure in relation to temporary accommodation remains the cost of housing supply itself, which continues to increase at a rate that far outstrips inflation, due to high demand.

The Council said it has undertaken detailed modelling to assess its future exposure to the financial impact of homelessness. It has used these projections to give them an idea of what is needed in the 2025/26 budget.

Images: Cllr Jack Emsley, Lampton 360 services; Photographs The Chiswick Calendar library

Council dismiss concerns raised about financial state of Lampton Group

The Council’s budget proposals have been criticised by the Conservative opposition who point to the Lampton Group, Hounslow’s wholly-owned trading company, running at a deficit. It recorded losses of around £11 million last year.

Hounslow’s Conservative Group said the proposed savings are a “drop in the ocean” compared with the money they believed would be required to bail out Lampton. The group was originally established to deliver a range of commercial and public services while generating income for the Council. Chiswick Homefields ward representative, Cllr Jack Emsley, told The Chiswick Calendar:

“If you’re having to make cuts to Council services to bail out companies that you own, you’re probably not running them very effectively.

“Our concern is that if we’re doing this every single financial year, because Lampton have never made a profit, they’ve always made a loss every year and that’s cost the tax payer millions of pounds, we’re probably not getting very good value for money.”

Council officials denied a direct bailout and said it was “unfortunate” that the numbers matched in terms of narrative, adding that Lampton’s deficit will be on the company’s balance sheet alone, separate from the Council’s budget.

Lampton operates as an arm’s-length organisation, meaning it is separate from the Council but still accountable to it through a ‘Shareholder Committee’.

Chiswick Homefields representative Cllr John Todd (Conservative) criticised the financial oversight of Lampton, pointing out that four out of five of Lampton’s Shareholder Committee meetings did not go ahead in 2024. The last meeting, which put into place an action plan for turning the company’s finances around, took place in December 2024.

On why the meetings had been cancelled, the Council blamed the unexpected General Election and planned London Mayoral Election in 2024 for disrupting their timetable.

Image: Felled trees in Grove Park; Photographs by Grove Park Group

Will felled trees be replaced or not?

We reported in December that the Council planned to stop replacing felled street trees as part of the cuts to tree maintenance. Initial budget documents explicitly listed ‘Do not replace felled trees’ with a cost saving of £20,000.

READ ALSO: Conservative opposition calls for Hounslow Council to rethink environmental cuts

In a more recent budget document, that wording has been replaced with the phrase ‘Review of tree maintenance across the Highways network’, but the cost saving remains the same.

Acknowledging the confusion, Cllr Rajawat said:

“I appreciate the title in the first paper was probably unfortunate.

“The title in the second paper is actually more accurate in terms of what we would do. So, yes, it’s more of a saving within the PFI (private finance initiative) contract that we’ve got, rather than a reduction in the actual service that’s offered.”

He insisted that the Council has not decided to stop replacing felled trees altogether but noted that specific locations and types of replacement trees are still under review.

READ ALSO: LB Hounslow assures residents it will replace felled street trees despite cost saving exercise

Image: Night time in Chiswick; Photograph Jon Perry

Review of street lighting scrutinised 

We also questioned the Council over the proposed review of street lighting controls, which has raised concerns among residents, particularly on the potential impact on public safety. The Council aims to save £200,000 by adjusting lighting schedules, which could include further dimming or selective switching off of streetlights.

Cllr Rajawat told us that while turning off lights completely is unlikely, the Council will explore options such as reducing brightness or alternating which lights remain on at certain times.

“The investment put into our network means we have some of the most advanced streetlights across London, [offering] a lot of flexibility. So, is it about dimming? Is it about turning off completely? Probably not turning off completely. But is it about having every other streetlight on? Because you could do that in the network.”

The Conservative opposition group says that reducing lighting could lead to increased crime, accidents, and residents feeling insecure. When asked whether police and community safety groups would be consulted, Cllr Rajawat confirmed that discussions would take place:

“This needs a very careful review. We’ve already dimmed some streetlights as part of previous savings, so we need to understand the impact of that before making further changes.”

A decision on the streetlighting changes will be made following the review, as well as the possibility of community consultations before the changes are rolled out.

The budget has yet to be passed by a meeting of the whole Council which is due to take place on Tuesday 25 February.

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