The Cabinet agreed the construction of a new six-bed short break unit and six-bed children’s residential home at Vicarage Farm Road. They also approved an increase to council housing rents of 2.7%, agreed a plan for delivering the Climate Emergency Action Plan, and approved a grant allocation of £325,000 to Citizens Advice Hounslow.

SEND Children’s Home and Short Breaks Re-provision

The Cabinet approved the SEND Children's Home and Short Breaks Re-provision Strategic Business Case. This proposed the construction of a new six-bed short breaks unit and a six-bed residential home for children with disabilities at Vicarage Farm Road.

This significant financial disparity highlights the need for in house provision.

The proposed residential home will reduce the council’s reliance on external residential placements for looked after children with disabilities. It will cost £3.76 million to build, and is expected to deliver a net cashable saving of £564,000 per year once it is open. The short breaks unit will address the urgent need to replace the Westbrook Short Break Unit at 55 New Heston Road. It is expected to cost £4.64 million to build and will operate within the current revenue budget.

A capital budget of £380,000 was approved to fund development of the project to RIBA Stage 4¹, and the development of a Full Business Case which will be presented to Cabinet in the autumn of 2025.

2025-26 Housing Revenue Account Dwelling Rents and Service Charges

The Cabinet approved an increase in council housing rents of 2.7% with effect from 7 April 2025. This increase is in line with the government's rent settlement, which allows social landlords to raise rents by CPI plus 1%.²

Increases to tenant service charges were also approved. These are summarised in the table below:

The average increase in service charges was 4.8%. This is higher than the rent increase to reflect the impact of rising pay costs. For example, the proposed increase in the sheltered housing management charge will ensure the full cost of the service is recovered.

The Cabinet approved an average increase in District Heating consumption charges of £8.77 per week. They also approved the consumption charges for other utilities, and delegated authority to the Director of Housing, Modester Anucha, to approve rents and service charges for new homes that become available during the year. They also delegated the authority to set the tariffs at which utility costs will be recharged to tenants of schemes that have individual utility meters.

The Cabinet also agreed to offer extended payment plans for leaseholders facing large bills for major works. This will allow them to pay off the cost of major works over a 15-year period, rather than the current 10-year period, if they meet certain conditions.

Climate Emergency Action Plan - Fourth Annual Update

The Cabinet noted the progress that has been made in delivering the Climate Emergency Action Plan (CEAP). They also approved the plan for the coming year, which will include the development of an updated Climate Emergency Action Plan.

Cabinet is asked to … Note the development of the Climate Change Resilience Plan, which will be presented to Cabinet in the autumn of 2025

The Cabinet noted that a Climate Change Resilience Plan will be developed. This will assess the risks that climatic events pose on the borough and its residents, and the opportunities to prepare and respond to climate change. The development of the Climate Change Resilience Plan will be informed by the London Climate Resilience Review, which was published in July 2024.

The Cabinet also agreed to reallocate £150,000 of budget that was previously allocated to the Green Innovation and Enterprise project. This money will be used to procure consultancy support to help establish the commercial model(s) that will be required to attract the private sector investment needed to deliver the council’s climate ambitions for the wider borough.

A further £10,000 of underspend from the Green Innovation and Enterprise project will be reallocated to fund consultancy support to help develop the Climate Change Resilience Plan. A further £30,000 of underspend from Climate and Resilience Services will be added to this budget.

The Cabinet agreed the following amendments to the CEAP:

• Removal of the target to achieve a 50% reduction in council operational emissions by 2026.
• Amendment of the target to achieve zero emissions from corporate vehicle fleet by 2030 to a target to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030.
• Removal of all areas of social housing from the scope of the council’s operational emissions and reclassifying them as ‘wider borough emissions'.

Investing in Advice Services for Hounslow's Residents

The Cabinet approved a grant allocation of £325,000 per year from the General Fund for a term of five years to Citizens Advice Hounslow³. This will enable Citizens Advice Hounslow to continue providing social welfare advice services to residents.

Council Tax Base 2025-26

The Cabinet approved a Council Tax Base for 2025/26 of 92,108.8 Band D equivalent units. This is an increase of 1,408 units compared to the Council Tax Base for 2024/25. The calculation for this Council Tax Base does not include the impact of proposed changes to the Council Tax Support scheme from 1 April 2025 that were consulted upon between September and December 2024. To allow the outcome of that consultation to be considered the Executive Director of Finance and Resources, Jake Bacchus, was delegated the authority to amend the Council Tax Base calculation to reflect any changes to the Council Tax Support Scheme that are agreed by Cabinet. The Cabinet also noted that Mr Bacchus will be responsible for submitting the NNDR 1 return⁴ by the statutory deadline of 31 January 2025.