The Cabinet agreed all of the recommendations in the reports that were presented. In addition, Cabinet agreed to exclude members of the press and public from the remainder of the meeting so that confidential matters could be discussed.

Resident Survey 2024 & Vision 2050

The Cabinet noted the results of the 2024 Residents' Survey, which showed that 82% of respondents were satisfied with Hounslow as a place to live, and 74% felt that the Council was doing a good job. In addition, the Cabinet noted the measures that are being taken to respond to issues raised during the survey.

The Cabinet also approved the launch of a ‘Vision 2050’ programme. This will be a borough-wide conversation with communities, to shape long-term planning and policy development. The programme will use the data from the 2024 Residents' Survey as a starting point and will conclude in 2025.

Councillor Shaheen said that he was very happy to see that 88% of residents are satisfied with libraries, as well as the fact that the residents survey showed that 82% are satisfied with parks. He attributed the high satisfaction with libraries to the Council's policy of no cuts to libraries, while he attributed the high satisfaction with parks to the Council's investment in the borough's parks. He cited the fact that Hounslow won 21 Green Flag Awards in 2024, the highest number ever won by the borough.

Councillor Dunn said that she was happy to see that the survey had showed that 75% of the borough's residents support the Council’s ambition to make the borough net zero. She said that she had asked specifically for questions to be included in the survey about the Council’s net zero ambitions and that the result was not complacent but would help to move the Council forward positively.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

The Cabinet noted the significant progress that has been made during the first year of the ‘A Fairer, More Equal Hounslow Equality, Diversity, Inclusion Strategy and Action Plan’, which was approved by Cabinet in June 2023. The Cabinet also approved the new cluster approach for delivering the strategy. This new approach will group the 30 Equality Opportunity Areas identified in the strategy into clusters of ten.

In addition, the Cabinet noted the first draft equality opportunity area action plan for North Hyde and North Cranford. Councillor Garrawal said that the plan had been developed following workshops held with internal and external partners.

Councillor Bath praised the strategy for showing how the Council had responded to the structural inequalities that had been highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. She was very positive about the strategy for seeking to address these inequalities through the Council's services and policies.

Care Quality Commission report

The Cabinet noted the outcome of the recent Care Quality Commission inspection of Adult Social Care services in Hounslow. Councillor Bath said that the CQC inspection rated the Adult Social Care services as 'good', adding that she was pleased with the outcome.

Finances

The Cabinet noted the 2023/24 budget outturn report. The Leader of the Council, Councillor Rajawat, said that the Council faced pressures as a result of 14 years of austerity from the previous national Government, inflation and the rising cost of living. He said that these were issues that the Council needed to monitor, while adding that Hounslow remained an ambitious council.

Councillor Bruce said that although the Council had a net overspend of £5.3m, he felt that this was ‘pretty good’ given the pressures of the previous year. He said that although multi-year financial settlements from the new Government were welcome, these would not mean that the Council suddenly had a lot of money, and that Hounslow would need to continue to be ‘efficient’.

In addition, the Cabinet:

• Noted the One Hounslow Financial Strategy Update, and approved the savings proposals in the report. Councillor Bruce said that the update showed that the Council was willing to have difficult conversations, while also highlighting the positive aspects of living in Hounslow.
• Noted the Treasury Management Annual Report.
• Noted the Quarterly Performance Reporting for Q4, 2023-24.

Productivity Plan

The Cabinet approved the Council’s Productivity Plan, which had been requested by the previous national Government. Councillor Rajawat said that he hoped the new Government would be open to discussions on how to reduce the bureaucratic burden on councils while ensuring they continue to report in a way that is adequate and reassuring.

Councillor Bruce said that he hoped that the new Government would be open to working in partnership with local councils, and that the relationship between central and local government should not be ‘us and them’.

Safer Communities

The Cabinet noted the Safer Communities Improvement Programme Outline Business Case. They also approved a Safer Communities Target Operating Model and a budget allocation of £128,000 to deliver Phase Three (Detailed Design and Initial Implementation) of the new model. The funding for this was agreed to come from the One Hounslow Transformation Reserve.

Councillor Siddhu said that the Safer Communities Improvement Programme was key to delivering the Council’s mission to make Hounslow a safer place to live. Councillor Siddhu said that the new model was holistic, inclusive and adaptive, enabling officers to engage with residents to understand their concerns and work together to develop tailored solutions. He said that the new model would result in an increase in focus on patrol and community outreach work.

Councillor Shaheen said that the programme was important to ensure that Hounslow remained a safe borough, adding that the work would strengthen and improve the community safety strategy.

Councillor Bath said that she supported the direction of travel for the model, which seeks to deliver more integrated working.

Transport

The Cabinet approved both the Kerbside Strategy and the Parking Strategy, including the new parking fees and permits schedule for implementation from September 2024.

Councillor Dunne said that she was pleased to introduce the Kerbside Strategy, which she described as ‘transformative’ for the borough. Councillor Dunne said that the strategy would deliver a range of measures including more secure cycle parking, more car club bays and the retention of the e-bike scheme subject to a full year of data review. She also said that the strategy would include more street trees, greening and placemaking features, more space for deliveries and servicing and increased consideration for taxi provision.

Councillor Shivraj said that the Parking Strategy would introduce several new initiatives, including emissions-based parking. In particular, the strategy would expand the current three emissions-based bands for charging to seven.

Councillor Shaheen said that although the parking strategy would not make anyone popular, he felt that there was ‘a lot to be positive about’ in the comprehensive strategy. He said that it would introduce a range of measures including virtual blue badges, new permits for new parents, and the option to apply online for visitor permits.

Local Plan

The Cabinet agreed to recommend the Regulation 19 Local Plan for approval by Full Council. They also agreed to delegate a range of powers to the Director of Planning and Buildings to progress the plan to examination, and its subsequent adoption.

Councillor Bruce said that although a Local Plan is necessary to have a sound development plan for Hounslow, the Council had decided to withdraw the previously proposed updates following an independent examination in 2020. He said that this does not mean that all that work was discarded, but that a new single Local Plan document, which brings together the focussed review of the Local Plan 2015-2030 and the proposed Local Plan updates into a single document, had been prepared.

Councillor Bruce said that the new single Local Plan had been informed by five previous rounds of public consultations (four on the Local Plan Review volumes, and one on the focussed review of the 2015 plan). He added that the Regulation 19 publication version of the plan had been updated to reflect the feedback received and that this was the version that would be submitted to the Secretary of State for examination following a Regulation 19 consultation.

Transforming Community Experience Programme

The Cabinet noted the work that has been completed in Tranche One of the Transforming our Community Experience (TCE) Programme, which was approved by Cabinet in February 2023. In addition, Cabinet agreed to approve both the design for the new Resident Experience and a budget allocation of £5.1m (comprising £2.2m from the One Hounslow Transformation reserve, £2.5m from the Digital capital programme, £0.3m from the IT improvement fund and £0.1m from UKSPF grant) to implement a new Resident Experience model and continue to deliver community hubs in the borough.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Rajawat, said that the TCE Programme was at the heart of the Council’s ambitions to transform how communities interact with the Council. He said that the programme would deliver a number of improvements, including a new resident experience, a new service model and structure, and an updated website.

Councillor Bruce said that the programme was an example of how the council was listening to its residents. He said that the programme would make residents’ lives ‘happier, healthier, simpler and just better.’