Transcript

Good evening. I'd like to welcome everyone to the meeting this evening, including members, officers, members of the public and those watching at home. I'd like to remind everyone that all phones should be on silent, and members should remember that they can't tweet, but members of the public can. Please check that you have the following agenda documents, the main agenda, the supplementary agenda, and that's it. May I remind all members that all debate should be done through the mayor and without interruptions. And, of course, respectfully. The budget setting meeting is one of the most important meetings of the year, and we need to help a full and fair debate to take place, which is best done by letting people speak without being interrupted. May I also remind you that points of order can only be about breaches of the Constitution or the law. Members will also be aware there are two by-elections taking place next week, on the 6th of March, for the vacancies in the Brentford East Ward and Sion and Brentford Lock Ward. This means we are all bound by the legal requirements of the pre-election rules during tonight's meeting. To clarify, while it's perfectly legitimate to have a political discussion on items on tonight's agenda, I would ask members to avoid acting in ways that may appear to be electioneering. In practice, that means that whilst members can make political contributions to any debate, I do not want to hear any members using their contribution to exhort people to vote for one party or another, or for any particular candidates. Finally, please do not turn on your microphones until I've asked you to speak, to avoid this moving the webcasting camera too soon. Thank you. We'll now move on to the first item of the agenda. Item number one, apologies for absence. Apologies have been received from councillors Unsa Chowdhury, Bandana Chopra, Ranjit Gill, Ajma Gurawal, Pritam Gurawal and Aftab Siddiqui. Are there any others? Madam Mayor, yes. Councillor Chopra did actually make it to the meeting, which is good news. So can we remove that apology, please? There she is. I've also got apologies from councillors Jagdish Sharma and councillor Sukmir Dhaliwal, and apologies for lateness from councillor Yates. Thank you, councillor Stroudtet. I understand we've also had apologies from councillor Mann. Thank you. I'd like to draw members' attention to the document in the Agenda on Declaring Interests, which is the supplementary agenda. Are there any declarations of interest from members? No? Lovely. Then we can move on. Agenda item two, announcements. I'd like to start the meeting today with the happy news that councillor Unsa Chowdhury has recently given birth to a son. I know all members will want to join me in sending her and her family our congratulations and best wishes. And continuing the positive news to open the meeting, I would like to welcome Benita Edwards, the council's new director of law and governance. She will formally be joining the council next week, but she's present this evening to observe the meeting, so I hope that we'll give her a good impression. As some of us will recall, Benita worked for the council some years ago, so this is a happy return. On behalf of all members, I'd like to welcome her back to the council, and we all look forward to working with her in the future. And that means, sadly, Louise Round, who's been our director of law and governance on an interim basis since last summer, leaves us at the end of this week. Members will know what an asset she has been to the council, and so on behalf of us all, I would like to thank her for our hard work for the council and for the people of Hounslow. And I wish her great success in all she does in the future. Okay, we will now move on to the next item. Agenda item three, petitions. Watteappen one, for us Hi. Do members of the council have a или as well? No Robot Come on in the comments. Anoja item is on the panel. How can we present was a especialmente in place to amuse? Our support students, do members, new petitions to present? So, we can attempt to present. Pardon me. And dois, in the south side questions? So sorry. ..are. So, do any cabinet members have any announcements? This is not good stuff. Councillor Chowdhury. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Thank you so much. In October 24, Ofsted and Care Quality Commission, CUQC, jointly inspected the arrangement across education, health and care services to evaluate how well members of Hans Loboro-based partnership work together to improve the experiences and outcome of children and young people with SEND. The inspection recognised the improvement the area has made since its previous inspection in 2022 and assessed LBH at the middle ranking. Inspectors noted there are lots of positive changes happening in Hounslow to make things better for children, young people and their families. However, some of the changes are new and it's too early to see the sustained impact of the local areas work. There is lots of passion and ambitions from the professionals to make the lived experience of children, young people and families better. Leaders across the partnership are accurate in the self-evaluation of their work. They know that they are on journey, but there is strong evidence that this journey is going in the right direction. As a result of the inspection outcome, the written statement of action was closed with 99% completion of the milestones and the final milestone completed from April 2025. The majority of key performance indicators have improved in present of our position in 2022 to 2023. So there are significant improvements in children, young people and their families, including telling us that they are more involved in education, healthcare, plan, process and that the EHCP is providing them with the right help at the right time. They are more informed about SEND activities in the borough. That EHCP reflects children's young people aspirations and supports their educational progress and outcomes. So a few areas were identified for improvement in October 2024. Ofsted and CQC inspection report in response to the borough-based partnership have worked together to develop a single strategic improvement plan, which address both those areas identified by Ofsted for improvement and wider changes we are making to improve the experience for children's and young people and their families. So our safety plan has also been aligned to the single strategic improvement plan, which was agreed by the DfE on 30th of January and was published on 7th of February 2025. On the new co-produced local offer website, which can be accessed via the council website. So I would like to say thank you very much to all the staff in the children's services and the SEND team for doing an amazing job they are doing and well done to them. And thank you, Madam Mayor. Thank you, Councillor Chowdhury. Councillor Rajwat, did you want to speak? Thank you. Thank you very much, Madam Mayor. On a happy note, members will recall about this time last year, Council unanimously passed a motion to designate January Tamil Heritage Month. We have come through with our commitment to mark that month with an event just last week in the presence of yourself, Madam Mayor, Councillor Mashisho and Councillor Alan Joseph as well. The event was, I think, a great success, a great first step in marking Tamil heritage and Tamil culture. As we know, that's not based on a single religion or single ideology. It is about nature and humanity and our place within it. There was a lot of teachings about Tamil heritage, which I think was very well received by the audience. Both you and I learned something new, as did Councillor Mashisho, I think, about it. And of course, at the end of it, there was some yummy South Indian food as well. But I wanted to put on record my thanks to the team here at the Council and also the Tamil Heritage Trust, who helped organise the event. I think it was a great success and we look forward to marking it next year as well. Thank you, Councillor Rajamat. Are there any other announcements? In which case, we'll now move on to petitions. Do we have any new petitions? I saw Councillor Nagra put her hand up and Councillor Mashisho if Councillor Nagra would like to first. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I have received this petition in January relating to a noise nuisance that residents have been experiencing in and around the Bedford Lane area within my ward of Altham North. The petition has been signed by 58 residents demanding the Council take action. I am pleased to announce that since the petition was received in January, the community safety enforcement team supported by some of the petitioners took immediate action and the case appears to have been resolved. I am bringing this to this meeting of Borough Council, Madam Mayor, purely for recording purposes. Thank you. Thank you. And Councillor Mashisho. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I'm here to present a petition signed by over a thousand concerned residents pleading with the Council to reverse their decision to dim street lighting across the borough. As you know, street lighting in this current climate in West London is not a luxury, it's a necessity. And the safety of our residents, particularly women, the elderly and the vulnerable, should never be sacrificed to save 200,000 pounds. Reducing street light levels at night is an invitation to crime. That's according to one signatory. So I bring this petition to you, Madam Mayor, as the first citizen of the borough to reflect on the concerns of your fellow citizens. Madam Mayor, if we are a listening borough, what cause withhold us now to stop listening to over a thousand residents concerned for the safety of each other? Be the undersigned, urge the Council tonight to reverse this decision. I present the petition to you. So I'd like to thank Councillor Nagra and Councillor Mashisho. We now move on to the second part of the process. We have no petitions for consideration at the Council meeting itself this evening. So may I ask members to note the petitions listed in the report. Agenda item four. We now move on to agenda item four, which is the external audit completion report. I would like to invite Councillor Rajawat to propose and introduce the report. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I get the impression that there's not going to be much debate, so I'll keep this brief. This is a report that would normally go to the Audit and Governance Committee. However, as we know, there has been a national shortage of auditors and audits being completed, which has led to some issues with Council audits across the country, including ours. The government of the day is working very hard to resolve that. However, in order not to fall foul of a backstop position that they have put in place and the timing of Audit Committee, the report before you presents the audited accounts, both for the general fund and the pension fund as well. Normally, as I say, this would be presented to the Audit and Governance Committee, who we delegate authority to approve these. And I can assure Council from next year that that will revert, but as a timing issue, it is before Council, and it is within our competency to approve these accounts. So I move the report. Thank you, Councillor Rajawat. Do we have a second, Councillor Bruce? Yes, thank you. Very happy to second and reserve my right to speak. Thank you, Councillor Bruce. Does anyone want to say anything at this stage? No? Lovely. Then I would just like to move to the vote. Lovely. Thank you. So are we all agreed? Are there any against? Any abstentions? Marvellous. Thank you. We now move on to Agenda Item 5, which is about the Council Tax Support Scheme. And again, I would like to invite Councillor Rajawat to propose and introduce the report. Thank you very much, Madam Mayor. This report is a reference back from the Cabinet, as members will be aware in the context of the financial challenge we find ourselves in, that no doubt we'll be talking about very, very shortly. Every option has been on the table, and our Council Tax Support Scheme is one of those. We went out to a lengthy consultation a number of months ago that closed, and we've reflected on the outcomes of that consultation in the Equalities Impact Assessment that is included within the document. We still feel, based on the responses and the scheme and the need to find savings within the budget, that the scheme is right. It is much more targeted towards families, larger families, and still protects the most vulnerable. However, there is a principle in there that everyone who contributes to the borough has a stake in the borough, which I think is absolutely the right thing to do. In considering some of the responses to the consultation, the Equality Impact Assessment quite rightly points out that the creation of a hardship fund is the right thing to do, that will offer transitional support for those most affected. And it would be remiss of me to say that this change, should it be agreed this evening, does not come in on isolation. I've been working very hard with officers, the Citizens Advice Bureau, and Liberata, our provider of corporate services in the background, around the support, signposting, and help that residents will have. That will start very, very early, and certainly before Council Tax bills start falling, acknowledging that some people may well be paying for Council Tax for the first time. So I've moved the report, and happy to take questions and comments. Thank you, Councillor Rajuat. Councillor Bruce, would you like to second this? Yes, happy to second, and reserve my right to speak. Thank you. So if we can now move on to the debate. Councillor Emsley. Yes, thank you, Madam Mayor. I know this is the warm-up act for the main show later. No one is here to watch. Me and Councillor Rajuat talk about this, so I will be brief. I do support the proposals in this report. I think all of us on this side do. The principle that everyone should contribute something is one that I think everyone here has been calling for for some time, so I'm glad that there is now, I think, across Council consensus on that point. It's not a totally pointless speech. There is a point to it. It's quite a boring, non-political point, but I made it in OSC, so I feel like you invited comments and questions, so I will add it to the record. The issue around consultation responses, it was quite a low response rate. I think there were 124 responses out of the thousands who were in receipt of this current scheme. If I could just make two suggestions for how potentially this consultation could have elicited some more responses. I think the first one is one that we proposed as a scrutiny committee back in September under Councillor Razza, and that was if at the halfway point of the consultation it does look like responses are low, I think there should be a bit of reflection, a bit of a review, and maybe a plan B to see what we could be doing differently. I'm not sure I saw that in this report, but I think maybe in the future it would be better just to react to a situation accordingly and adapt as needed. I was also just, not concerned, it's the wrong word, but slightly concerned that the consultation didn't come to all of the area forums. I know it was a very tight turnaround, but Councillor Mishisa and I asked, I think, for it to be extended by three days so it could come to the Chiswick Area Forum. That didn't happen. We raised it anyway. But I think some residents did feel a little bit let down that Chiswick didn't get that chance to discuss it at the area forum, and I think extending it just by three days wouldn't have changed the timeline, but may have just elicited a few more responses. So support the report, support the proposals. I think there's an opportunity just to reflect on maybe some tweaks we could make in future consultations in future. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Emsley. Councillor Mishisa? Thank you. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Like Councillor Emsley said, in principle, we agree that everyone should contribute to the working of the council. No matter how dysfunctional or however it has been over the last 15 years, we all have to contribute. So I welcome that indeed. But there are some issues that we need to address. First, the hardship fund, as much as I welcome, and I welcome the impact assessment that was attached to the document, but the hardship fund has issues that I want to see addressed going forward. First, the accessibility. The council has pushed applications for hardship funds entirely online, despite knowing that many elderly residents, disabled residents, and low-income residents struggle with digital services. They say support is available, according to this report, but in reality, many will be locked out simply because they lack internet access or the skills to navigate the increasingly complex bureaucratic system. The second part that I'm concerned about is about the awareness. The hardship fund exists, but do those who need it most even know about it? Was the faint consultation the actual outreach that we needed? Did we really work collaboratively with communities flexibly and digitally across historical and traditional silos, as we have once stated? Where is the effort to ensure that every eligible resident understands how to apply? And the third concern is to do with timing. Councillor Elmsley has already mentioned the duration of the consultation, which ended on the 9th of December. And yet, the changes will hit residents' bills in April 2025. For many of them, it will be the first time they hear of it when that bill lands on their doormats. The hardest to reach residents, the very people that Labour claims to protect, will be blindsided. And is that what we mean by one-hands-lost spirit? So, Madam Mayor, the consultation responses made it clear that this process was inadequate. So I asked the lead member directly, and the leader directly as well, that when these inevitable problems arise, will the council step up and deal with each case on an individual basis and on its own merits? Or will we see the usual cold, bureaucratic, computer-says-no response that would perpetuate our already vulnerable, fragile, and struggling residents? Can the lead member, therefore, assure the chamber tonight that he understands the pitfalls and will report back either to the chamber or to the area forums in six months' time in September to give us an assessment of the effectiveness of this hardship fund in addressing these concerns? That pledge alone will cut across historical, traditional silos that often overlook real-life experiences of vulnerable residents using our council services. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Thank you, Councillor Mashi. So, if nobody else wishes to speak, I'd like to ask Councillor Rajwak to sum up. Oh, Councillor Bath, sorry. Thank you. I wasn't going to speak. I've actually got a sweet in my mouth, because I wasn't actually planning on speaking. But I did want to speak on this, and it's because Councillor Mashiwak raised an important issue around the hardship funds and how to apply for that. I just wanted to make it clear for the record that actually most local authorities have exactly the same system where you apply online. And the reason for doing that is that when you apply for a hardship fund, the whole point is that you might need it quickly, and that's why it's done online. But if you also go to our website, it actually says you can ask a family member, friend or neighbour, anyone, to fill it in for you so that they can do it. So, I think it's important to make that distinction so that people are aware that, yes, if they can't apply online, they can get someone else to do it for them. But the whole point of it is that it's quick. Thank you. Thank you for letting me know. Thank you, Councillor Bath. No, I'd just like to add that I've completed a number of applications for residents on their behalf, with them, so I don't see what the issue is. But also with housing, if people are moving into council accommodation, and they're finding it difficult, a recommendation, a referral is automatically done. So, and that is dealt with through the housing officer at the time of doing the allocation. So, it's picked up. So, it's not that people are left, they're not. But certainly with, you know, say, private residents or people in hardship, you know, they've come to me. A number of us have done it. Thank you, Councillor Samson. And now I definitely ask Councillor Redrat to sum up. Thank you. I was almost there. So, in response to Councillor Onesley's point, look, you can take, you can have a thousand responses, you can have a hundred responses. It's how you actually respond to those responses that is important. And I think, actually, if you look at the Equality Impact Assessment, it is a very, very comprehensive document that actually looks at some of the issues that were raised around the scheme. And some of it is explaining it. Some of it is different. Some people have not, who will be affected by these changes, have not ever had to pay a council tax. So, I appreciate it is difficult. But I assure you, I wasn't, halfway through, we did actually look at the number of responses. And I would draw your attention to page 268 of the published agenda, which talks about the consultation steps. It was very, very comprehensive. Of course, there is always learning. I'm not saying that there isn't. However, we did take pause halfway through and look at not only the number of requests, responses, but the sort of responses we were getting through and redoubled efforts in that respect. And I think that's reflected in the EQIA. Colleagues have spoken about the hardship fund. But just to be clear, again, it comes back to that point. A lot of people will not have paid council tax before. So, we need to be tooled up, absolutely. And that is referrals. But it's also, I'm sorry, I'm going to say it now, places like our Community Solutions team that you're proposing changes to in your amendment that will be able to make referrals. And we have invested in citizens' advice as well. So, there are a number of avenues in that I think will cover it. And, of course, it will always remain under review. Once something is agreed, we are duty-bound to look at it again and again. Thank you very much, Councillor Breshoat. So, we now move to the vote. Could I ask all those in favour? Lovely. Lovely. Anyone against? And any abstentions? Lovely. Thank you. So, that is carried. And we thank everyone for their contributions and move on to the next item. Agenda item six. And we now move on to this, which is the budget report. May I remind members that the law requires the council to hold recorded vote on all substantive decisions relating to the budget or council tax. Therefore, all votes taken in relation to the contents of this report and the supplementary agenda will be recorded. However, just so we're clear, votes on purely procedural matters will be taken in the usual way, unless members specifically ask for them to be a recorded vote. I also intend to allow both party leaders to speak for 10 minutes in their main speech. This is the usual custom here in Hounslow. Do members agree to our waiving standing orders to permit this? Thank you. So, members will see there is a supplementary agenda containing a proposed amendment from the Conservative group, which we have received. The way the debate will work is this. The proposer and seconder of the original report speak first. We'll then move on to the proposed amendment and deal with that next, with a recorded vote at the end of the discussion on it. We'll then finally debate the substantive item, and after this, taking into account whether it has been amended by the previous debate, and then we will vote on that. All votes will be recorded votes, as this is required by law in the budget debate. Therefore, I invite Councillor Shantanu Rajuat to introduce the original report. You have 10 minutes. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I'm really, really proud to introduce my Labour Administration's Council budget for this next year. A budget for the future. A budget which protects the most vulnerable. A budget which supports our communities and businesses. A budget which continues investment and promotes growth for all of our residents, all across Hounslow, from Bedfond and Feltham in the west, to Brentford and Chiswick in the east. It is no lie, Madam Mayor, that years of chronic underfunding by the previous government, spiralling costs and increasing demand, have left many councils, regardless of their political colours, in a very dangerous place. While, thankfully, we are not one of those, we have to continue to act now to ensure our finances and our residents are protected for the future. We have been open and honest that, due to external pressures and the economic climate, we have inherited and we will have to address a £30 million budget shortfall. As much as the opposition would love to spread misinformation regarding this amount, this is not a situation unique to Hounslow. Open up any news media or news channel and you will see that local authorities across the country have long been affected by the 14 years of the conservative chainsaw to public finances. Some have gone into special measures due to these cuts and some have had to go bankrupt, leaving their residents at risk. This is certainly not the case for Hounslow. Due to years of prudent financial management, every year we have delivered a balanced and sustainable budget, which not only has included an ambitious agenda for our residents, but delivered results. Our focus is not cutting services, but delivering efficiencies in order to plug the shortfall. Cutting bureaucracy to ensure the most vulnerable residents across our borough are protected and key frontline services are modernised. In this budget, we commit to invest for growth by building on our business case for growth and putting £2.2 million to stimulate Hounslow's economy, which will create 28,000 new homes and 18,000 new homes and 18,000 job opportunities. £2 million transforming our services and bringing services closer to residents' doorsteps. And we will absolutely protect the most vulnerable, investing £3.7 million worth of funding to the Council's adult social care provision, which supports the most vulnerable residents in Hounslow. And also £3.2 million to tackle homelessness in the borough. In being open and honest with our residents about the challenges we have, not shirked from making difficult decisions, our residents more than ever rely on our services, as well as our leadership in difficult times. And in taking these difficult decisions, our residents have no time for spin, for bluster, for soundbites or gimmicks, just a sustainable budget for the future, which I move tonight. Thank you, councillor Rajamat. Now I'd like to ask councillor Tom Bruce if he'd like to second the report. Very happy to second and we'll reserve my right to speak. Thank you. Thank you, councillor Bruce. So, as I said, we now come to the proposed amendment, which members will find in the supplementary agenda papers. I therefore invite councillor Gabriella Giles to propose this amendment. You have five minutes. Thank you very much, Madam Mayor. And I would like to propose this amendment. We've been told this evening that we are presented with a budget for the future. A budget is a fiscal roadmap for an organisation to showcase where its priorities are. And in the case of a local authority, demonstrate what the administration thinks will create a real sense of value. In the case of Hounslow, we've been told consistently that the aim of this administration is to be ambitious for Hounslow by leading with the heart, do new, pass on the power, harness the mix and be a rock. By taking these values to heart, we have looked at the proposed budget and decided to focus on five changes and a statement of intent that demonstrates how we would prioritise the needs of the borough while still remaining ambitious. We want to be both efficient and effective. Our amendment might be small, but it is mighty. It is fully costed and it has the approval of both the monitoring officer and the section 151 officer. It also takes into consideration the operational aspects of service delivery within the council. For example, we have chosen to keep tree maintenance and the responsibility of replacing felled trees within the remit of the Hounslow highways PFI. Why? Why is this? Because, and to put it quite simply, there is no other department within the council who could deliver this service without a major change. As councillors, we have been elected to represent our communities and residents often pass on the power to us to advocate for them within the council and other bodies, such as our ward police panels, where we are often told about areas in our wards that need to be better lit. Following the census murder of Severa Everard in 2021, the Metropolitan Police established the street safe site to report areas where they feel unsafe. And now we don't solely have to rely on anecdotes. Since January 2024, the data from this site indicates that there are 30 locations listed which have been reported predominantly due to poor street lighting. Unfortunately, some of these locations, such as Hanworth Park and the alley to Chiswick Village in my own ward, have been the site of stabbings and indecent exposure. Since 2018, this council has reduced street lighting by 45%, so to see yet another reduction in lighting in the proposed budget is disappointing. Especially when, as the petition presented earlier demonstrates, this is something that the public really do worry about. It is the reason why we have decided in our, in our amendment to prioritise street lighting. And of course, for many of us who traverse our roads at night via bicycle, this is also a welcome change to the budget. Especially when we, as the conservative group, are asking this council to keep our road quality at current standards. Within the original budget, the cuts to highways maintenance and lowering of standards would mean the threshold needed for repairs on our roads would be higher, resulting in larger potholes and longer time between repairs. Again, speaking as a cyclist within the borough, this is a concern and it is a topic that has been raised with us as councillors on many occasions. In speaking with officers from the traffic and transport team about a few specific roads, it would appear that these, it would appear that a few of these roads haven't had full repairs or been resurfaced since, and I quote, since records began. Which makes us wonder how much longer that would be without our proposed amendment. So, how are we looking to fund this? As I said earlier, this has been reviewed and approved by relevant officers, and while some of our choices may seem controversial, it is all part of us wanting to do new. We are privileged to have been elected to represent our wards. Part of that role is to engage with community groups and act as a liaison between them and the council and vice versa. That is why we find it concerning that the budget for the community solutions and resident experience team is so large. We would like to acknowledge that many of the officers in this function are excellent in their jobs. What is alarming is that, and having viewed many of the area forums, they have demonstrated an in-depth knowledge that many of us would expect from our councillors. 30 seconds. It's really embarrassing, really, and we agree that taxpayers shouldn't have to pay for this twice. As such, we would like to look at removing areas where the role of this team overlaps with the role of elected councillors. In that same vein, we'd be harnessing the mix to shape the current administration's mindset to review some of the SRAs, including the role of, as listed below. It shouldn't be surprising to anyone in this room, as we've made these suggestions before. As a council, we have a responsibility to deliver value for money, and as our amendment demonstrates, we're looking to be a rock while leading with the heart. Thank you, Councillor Giles. Thank you. I'd now like to invite Councillor Jack Emsley to second the proposal. Thank you very much, Madam Mayor. Fundamentally, budgets are about choices. What do councillors choose to fund? What do they choose to cut? How much of a burden do they put on the taxpayer? I think the reality is, and to be fair to Councillor Rajuat, this budget was always going to be a difficult one to deliver. But I fundamentally, we fundamentally, disagree with some of the political choices that this Labour administration has made. And this amendment spells out where those disagreements are and what we would do differently. So we fundamentally disagree with Councillor Rajuat's decision to make our streets less safe by dimming street lighting. Labour want to turn your street lights off? Conservative councillors would keep the lights on. We fundamentally disagree with Councillor Rajuat's decision to slash the budget for road maintenance. Labour want dirtier roads and deeper potholes? Conservative councillors would ensure that streets are safe and properly funded. And we fundamentally disagree with Councillor Rajuat's decision to slash the budget for replacing trees. Labour wants to cut corners with our environment. Conservative councillors would protect our trees. But this budget isn't just about saying where we disagree with Labour's cuts. It's all about putting down a marker for how we'd spend taxpayers' money differently. We wouldn't see this council continue to bury its head in the sand about Lambton. We'd begin unpicking the mess and working to create a more efficient way of delivering services for our borough. We wouldn't spend hundreds of thousands on asking a council department to fill in where elected councillors aren't fulfilling their roles on area forums or community engagement. We shouldn't have to pay the cost of councillors who aren't doing their jobs. And importantly, we'd claw back the tens of thousands of pounds per year in allowances given out by this administration for non-jobs. Now, Madam Mayor, I was horrified to learn this week that Labour Council spends nearly £50,000 of taxpayers' money on cabinet assistance each year. Three of those cabinet assistants sent just a single email to cabinet members related to their role since being given the allowance last May. Over £9,600 to send an email. I think many residents will see that and wonder why on earth councillors are being paid £9,500 to send a single email while streetlights are being switched off, roads are left in disrepair, and our council tax once again hits new heights. Madam Mayor, it doesn't have to be this way. Our amendment axes the waste, ends the Labour gravy train, uses the money to properly fund our streetlights and our roads instead. That's what residents want in this borough, and that is what we will be voting for this evening. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Emsley. Councillor Raduak, can I ask if you're prepared to accept the proposed amendment? No, Madam Mayor. Councillor Raduak, can I ask if you're prepared to accept the proposed amendment? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We will therefore now debate the proposed amendment. May I remind members, you may only speak once in this part of the debate. Councillor Shivraj Gurua, did you want to speak? Yes, thank you, Madam Mayor. Madam Mayor, in reference to the amendment which has been presented by the opposition, I will first bring the streetlighting issue here. I would like to make it very clear that there is a lot of misinformation being spread regarding this saving proposals on streetlighting, and it is unfortunate that this is purely for political gains on the Conservative Party and parts not for the benefit of our residents. And now I would also like to bring it to the House is that light dimming has been taking place since 2016, and lights have been dimmed in the borough on residential streets and not on the main streets, and they have been done in consultation with the Metropolitan Police Safety Team, as well as the Community Safety Team. And I also like to stress that we will not compromise the safety of the residents. The proposal on the streetlighting clearly identifies that a review will be taking place, and that the review will look not only at the areas where the lightning can be dimmed, but also areas where we need to increase the lightning. For example, areas where there is heightened fear of crime or in crime hotspots. I see this is a really positive step to improve lightning across the borough, reducing the carbon footprint, reducing the energy usage across the borough where it is not needed, and increasing it where it is needed with the added benefit of cost saving. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Gurawal. Councillor Mishiso? Thank you, Madam Mayor. Quite interesting news there. I think the petition has worked. I'm hearing that there will be increasing street lighting in areas. I welcome that. Brilliant. The petition is working already. So that's good news. Because as far as I can see in the report, there isn't any mention of increasing street lights or dimming it. But Madam Mayor, you know, I read quite a bit of literature and a bit of theology and a bit of philosophy. And one certain phrase says, what profits a man if he shall gain the world and lose his soul? And Hanzlo Council is slowly but painfully losing its soul. For 15 years, Madam Mayor, Labour has ruled Hanzlo in service of itself. Winning local elections seems to be the only purpose that they have. And our purpose would always be to serve the public. How many times do we hear about backroom deals, leaks to Brentford TV, special responsibility allowances, allowances that carry no actual responsibility? That's what makes them special, I guess. But the style of patronage has not, has not got a place in public life as far as we are concerned here on these benches. Yet it has flourished under Labour in Hanzlo. The councillors are getting paid more to do less, while the need of our residents play second fiddle to them. Fifteen years ago, we thought we had seen the back of the Labour infamous Mr. and Mrs. expenses. We are now focused on duty above personal expenses, I thought, but nothing seems to have changed. Labour are still squabbling over their own expenses. As conservatives here, we have an inbuilt dislike for bloated bureaucracies and something-for-nothing culture that has infected our society. Well, there is something, something that has been rotting in the pipes of Hanzlo's local democracy. It's called bureaucracy. It has served, above all, to obscure incompetence, mismanagement and decline. Bureaucratic machines have ensured that failure continues to go funded and funded again. Our amendment before us tonight looks to start the process of reconstruction, the process of renewal. And after a decade and a half of waste and decay, that's how we build a budget fit for the future. The triumph of this borough should not come down to filling in a form and awarding ourselves the title of Councillor of the Year. That should never again be the high watermark of any administration in Hanzlo. We have talented officers here tonight and many more watching at home. Officers who are waiting to be unleashed with their creativity and potential with a new administration under conservative leadership. A council that recognizes that local, that the role of the local government should be to keep us safe and protect our freedoms and protect our private possessions. Instead, we have resources being wasted on bureaucracy, setting up in-house entities that leak millions out of the public purse. We have a community solutions team that is attempting to work and do the work of elected officials. Why were we elected in the first place, I ask? As a democracy, so as a democracy turns to bureaucracy, our democracy will start to fail. And then it becomes pointless to be elected, ladies and gentlemen. It means we only get elected to serve a leader that holds a patronage to us all, whereas we should be answerable to our residents. And that's what's led us to the special responsibility allowances. Our budget amendment is a commitment to serve the people of Hanzlo, not to rule them. We are clear to the point of transparency above all. The voters can see exactly where we stand. Thank you. Thank you. Does anyone else wish to speak at this stage? If not, then I would like to ask Councillor Rejuat to sum up, please. Thank you very much, Madam Mayor. So... No. Nope. I sum up. Sorry, Jack. As good as. If not better. No, no. Not from Gabriella. Not from Gabriella. Madam Mayor, the opposition that criticised me just last month for writing letters has written me a letter. The irony was not lost on me. However, Madam Mayor, they've made four key mistakes. I'm sorry to say to them, they've made four very, very big mistakes. The first mistake was Councillor Mishisho's speech. He can apologise that for himself. The second apology, and this is probably the most important one, is that first line of that letter needed to say, we are sorry to the residents of this borough for 14 years of their government. 14 years where they have decimated services. They are so desperate to forget those 14 years that they've just put up that amendment. And that is the final apology that they needed for putting up this amendment. It's a spin doctor's dream. It's full of bluster. It's full of untruths. And you have been exposed. But let's go through it. Let's go through it again. Councillor Garawal has addressed the first three of your amendments. They're completely wrong. God knows where you got them from. They are just things that you are doing. But let's talk about Lambton. Let's talk about Lambton to start with. It is a complete untruth what they are talking about. They cannot unwind the companies. In fact, the most reckless financial thing that they can do is unwind Lambton because it crystallises those losses and puts it onto our balance sheet. They are trying to tell us that it's currently that we are subsidising Lambton for their losses. Actually, they need to go back and look at the shareholder report. It is very clear those losses sit with Lambton. There is an action plan for that that is being monitored by the shareholder committee and the cabinet as whole. So they are not being truthful with the public here. They are wrong and instead their amendment seeks to put this council in jeopardy. And let's not forget the services that Lambton offer across the piece that I'm sure many of their constituents and they themselves may well enjoy including waste and recycling. Maybe one day they want to move to three weekly collections when they bring it all in-house having exposed this council to so much risk. Then they talk about non-jobs. Well, you know, let's talk about two non-jobs. The deputy leader and chief whip of the opposition group. A group of nine. Now, I know Councillor Elmsley is their new spin doctor. He's been spinning those plates, talking to journalists all over the place. But let's face it. He wants to attack the cabinet assistants that do do work and he measures it by emails. How foolish he is. But he is in charge of a group of nine. A group of nine councillors with nine different factions. They all hate each other. So what on earth is he doing? Maybe, maybe the answer is that he wishes to give up his special responsibility allowance and lead from the front. Come on. Come on, spin doctor. Spin away. Spin away. And cutting of bureaucracy, they talk about area forums. But that is just one aspect of what that department does. And they are willfully ignoring everything they do. Warm words for certain things. But actually, what this proposal is, is putting good jobs, doing good work at risk. And here is the point of this, I think. I have warned this council year after year. They have gone after our reserves year after year. And if we'd taken it, we would have been bankrupt by now. We know why they want to do that. They want to sell this council off to the highest bidder. Probably because their mates in the private sector hold shares or whatever. But this is more dangerous. Luckily we didn't take that. Luckily we didn't take that. But what this is significant of is a fundamental attack on our communities. Tonight, they are saying that they are willing to sell off this council. And then also our communities. So dare you in our communities be vulnerable. Dare you need support because they are not standing by you. They will pat you on the back and give you warm words. And then send you on your way because they've got rid of the team that supports them. Shame on you. Shame on this amendment. Shame on you. Shame on you. Shame on you. Shame on you. Shame on you. Shame on you. Thank you, Councillor Adouat. And so we now move on to the vote, which will be a recorded vote. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I will call out all members' names in alphabetical order. Please indicate if you are for, against or wish to abstain in relation to the amendment. I'll commence. Councillor Aksa Ahmed. Against. Councillor Mohamed Shaquille Akram. Against. Councillor Medea Asim. Against. Councillor Harleen Atwalhir. Against. Councillor Lily Bath. Against. Councillor Rashid Bhatti. Against. Councillor Joanna Biddorff. Four. Councillor Dan Bowring. Against. Councillor Tom Bruce. Against. Councillor Ghazala Bhatt. Against. Councillor Samia Chowdhury. Against. Councillor Bandha Chopra. Against. Councillor Amy Croft. Against. Councillor Catherine Dunn. Against. Councillor Jack Emsley. Four. Councillor Adesh Farmahan. Against. Councillor Richard Foote. Four. Against. Councillor Richard Foote. Four. Again, sorry. Against. Against. Against. Sorry. Councillor Richard Foote. Against. Councillor Richard Foote. Against. Against. Councillor Gabriella Giles. Four. Councillor Councillor Against. Councillor Gabriella Giles. Four. Councillor Guy Lambert. Against. Chibraj Garawal, councillor Vikram Garawal, councillor Riaz Gol, councillor Bishnu Gorong, councillor Alan Joseph, councillor Farah Kamran, councillor Afsal Kiani, councillor Germal Lal, councillor Guy Lambert, councillor Tony Lukey, councillor Karamat Malik, councillor Gerald MacGregor, councillor Junu Mir, councillor Hina Mir, councillor Alan Mitchell, councillor Ron Mishiso, councillor Samina Nagra, councillor Chantinu Rajwat, councillor Saya Raza, councillor Walah Vahyar Karhan Rayman against Councillor Danish Saeed against Councillor Sue Sampson against Councillor Salman Shaheen against Councillor Marina Sharma against Councillor Emma Sidhu against Councillor Ragwinder Sidhu against Councillor Karen Smith against Councillor John Stroud Turb against Councillor Aisha Tariq against Councillor Kourdeep Tak against Councillor Peter Thomson Councillor John Todd Councillor Mohamed Amir and Councillor Emma Yates The motion is lost. The amendment is lost. Thank you everyone. We now move on to the debate on the substantive report. May I remind members you may only speak once in this part of the debate. Okay. So Councillor Bowering, Councillor Thomson. Okay. So Councillor Bowering would like to start. Thank you, Madam Mayor. So we've heard tonight from the leader about the structural challenges we face in this borough. 14 years of persistent underfunding by the Conservative government, rising inflationary pressures and increased demand for our services, including ones that we have a statutory obligation to deliver. Now, the Tories just proposed to absolutely gut the funding for officers who, with councillors, put on area forums. And support local groups. I've worked with these officers and support local groups. I've worked with these officers and they do an outstanding and vital job in the community. But this budget, this budget meets those economic pressures head on. The gap is balanced thoughtfully across the triad of reduced spending, council tax income. And drawing down on reserves. To do otherwise would place unsustainable strain on either residents, core services or our financial security. This budget builds the foundation for financial stability in years to come. It protects the most vulnerable. It delivers growth. It improves services and it's financially prudent. I'm grateful to officers, to cabinet who've worked exceptionally hard to delicately find savings across multiple departments and operational departments and operations, rather than the extreme and blunt measure of ripping away over half the budget for a vital community resource. That's what the Conservatives want to do. Madam Mayor, it's clear that this budget will meet the financial challenges head on, whilst protecting services, building for the future and being ambitious for Hounslow. Thank you, Councillor Bowering. Councillor Mishiso? Thank you, Councillor Bowering. Councillor Mishiso? Oh, would you like to speak first, Councillor Thompson? You want to speak later? Okay. Right. I do feel slightly conned here, because my heart drops when they remind me that I have 10 minutes. So I went away and crafted more words than usual. And then the leader, I don't know, must have condensed it to about three or four. So anyway, you're going to get the 10, I'm afraid. So here goes. So during the election campaign, bigger picture stuff time now, our now Prime Minister stood before us and clearly promised that a Labour government would freeze council tax this year. He looked us in the eye and declared boldly that you could take that council tax rise you just got and rip it up, proudly boasting that this freeze would be a tax cut for 99% of working people. Yet today we find ourselves reaching for the sellotape to piece together the very council tax notice that we were promised that we could discard. Once again, Labour has said one thing to get elected and is doing precisely the opposite. Now it's in power. I think on this side we do strongly regret that we are joining that 99% of councils across the country in raising taxes by 4.99%, the maximum allowed without a referendum. I suppose perhaps we should be grateful that we are not facing even more punishing tax hikes like Newham's outrageous 10% increase. But such consolation is small comfort to residents who are struggling. Council tax has risen 15.7% in the last four years. Fees and fines have now become a major revenue stream, adding further pressure to our residents. Even more concerning is that the government is now changing the methodology behind council tax and effectively pressurising councils into these tax rises by threatening to slash revenue support grants for those who refuse. This perverse incentive punishes prudent councils, though clearly Hounslow is not one of these. T.S. Eliot said that April was the cruelest month. Well clearly he predicted Labour's economic plans well before we did. Because this April, across the field, Labour's broken promises will begin to harm our economy, businesses and hardworking families. Already 28,000 older people in this borough have lost their winter fuel bill. Employers' national insurance contributions will jump significantly, costing our council an extra 2.1 million and straining low-paid and part-time workers. At the same time, businesses face staggering rate increases as various reliefs expire. Hospitality in the borough and leisure enterprises will see their bills more than double. Our local pubs will have to sell an extra 60,000 pints a year just to break even. That's 170 extra pints in a single day. Perhaps Labour expects us all to spend our every evening down at the Bell just to keep our favourite establishments open. Britain's first world-class private equity industry will be severely weakened due to increases in capital gains taxes, forcing jobs and investments overseas. Private schools, well they've been clobbered already, but now they're going to lose their charitable business rates, which could potentially put even more pressure on our overstretched state schools. First-time buyers and families face harsher stamp duty thresholds. People won't be just climbing the property ladder, they'll need an actual ladder to get on the bottom rung. Vehicle exercise duty is set to double, hitting electric and hybrid vehicles, punishing those who are adopting greener options. And, of course, the council tax is going up. I'll tell you, the first week in April is really going to be council tax, or just generally tax, horror week. Yet, despite the evidence of real financial strain in the country, Labour makes cuts in essential areas by spending, perhaps unnecessarily, in others. There is, despite what we heard earlier, this issue of Lambton. You know, it's this commercial arm that's already reporting losses of 13.4 million. And yet, inexplicably, this budget is giving them an extra 2.3 million to potentially bail it out, with further funding expected. We've been putting so much money over the last few years into the Lambton Group black hole that I fully expect Stephen Hawkins to turn up sometime and be giving us a lecture. The Lambton Group has become a financial black hole. And it's time to review, that's what we said in the amendment, review this, I would say, failed experiment. It's been leaking money faster than my plumbing at home. But at least with my pipes, there's hope of getting somebody in to fix it. We're approving, and much of this I support, a 73 million pound capital program. And yet, we're making cuts to some important elements of the council. Our borrowing is set to rise to an alarming, sorry, to an alarming 651 million, which must be a serious threat to our long-term stability. Reserves are dwingling. Yes, I know in the past we've asked you to use them. But let's face it, if we keep on doing what you've done today, withdrawing 6.2 million, I don't know what we're going to be doing next time round. The new emissions-based parking strategy, under the language and the guise of environmental action, is going to disproportionately affect those who can at least afford it. Those who can't afford to buy a nice new EV or hybrid. It's a further burden on our residents. It claims to be helping the environment. But the only thing that's being recycled is Labour's old habit of reaching into your pockets. We're increasing fines. We're cutting 300,000 from housing stock maintenance. We're reducing 200,000 from street lighting. The leader said that the cabinet member explained or dealt with that issue. I don't think he did. I don't know where that saving is coming from if nothing's going to happen. If some are going down and some are going up, where is the 200,000 coming from? Reducing that lighting will undoubtedly compromise safety. Cutting street lighting to save money. Perhaps Labour thinks we won't notice their mistakes if we can't see them. We did not secure in 2008 the PFI for highways maintenance to sort out the £78 million backlog we inherited then and to transform our streets only now to neglect our infrastructure again and to take us down to the London average. Council debt has ballooned by £146 million, significantly highlighting financial risk. What sort of budget for the future is this? Interest payments alone on that debt have surged by 50.4%, which always is diverting money and resources away from community services. Labour's budgeting skills remind me of my DIY skills at home. They're ambitious. They're expensive. And ultimately I have to get somebody else to come in to sort out the mess. We need a different approach. One that prioritises real transformation, not this one Hounslow package that really ultimately is failing to deliver. We need to reduce barriers to service access. We need to lower costs. That's not selling off Hounslow to the private sector. I don't think the private sector are interested in us as the way we are. Our residents deserve effective accessible service tailored to their needs. There are some things this council does that we just have to stop doing because we don't do it very well and people don't want it. Every councillor knows that inefficiencies remain. Ever since I've been a councillor now for nearly, well, we're getting towards 25 years, it's been there's no money and services are doing. And yeah, I know, I know the bigger picture. I'm not defending what's happened in the past, but every year we come along and we find more millions to save, more millions that we can get rid of. And we're still here. We're having the same moans and groans, but we're still here later. Our approach is to let residents keep more of their hard-earned money, to foster a truly prosperous and resilient community. As Conservatives, we want, and I'll just be clear about this, we want smaller and leaner government. We want lower costs. We want true fiscal responsibility. We want fairness and we want improvement. Let us show that we stand with residents today and always. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Thank you, Councillor Thompson. Councillor Croft, please. Thank you, Madam Mayor. As a cabinet assistant, perhaps I can help shed some light for Councillor Thompson on the lighting issue. So, as a cabinet assistant with my fellow cabinet assistants, we were involved in the very lengthy budget setting process. And so I know firsthand how much effort went into the debates around how we were going to make the savings that needed to be made. Now, the opposition has very eloquently set out the amount of money that we needed to make and the savings we needed to make. But I just want to make it clear to everybody that a huge amount of effort went into this with officers, a huge amount of effort went into this with members to try and do the best that we could for residents while still making efficiencies. So, in relation to the street lighting, I did a little bit of research when we were doing this to try and find out if there were studies that looked into this in any great detail to see what the actual facts were rather than the misinterpretation of the facts that I think we've experienced here in a number of areas. So, there were only two studies I could find. One from UCL where they looked at 62 councils across England and Wales and looked at the effects of reducing street lighting. And what they came to the conclusion was that there were no adverse effects for crime when we reduced, when there was dimming of street lighting. So, apologies. So, there were no adverse effects of dimming street lighting. Crime was identified in areas where there were no street lighting. Second study is from the Policing Council, not the Policing Council, College of Police Studies, which again was looking at the effects of increased street lighting. And again, they found that there was benefits to increasing street lighting for the reduction of crime, but only in areas where there was no street lighting, not where there were street lighting dimmed. So, the whole point of this particular cost-saving mechanism is that it is a review, as you've already had explained to you by... So, the review will look at, as Councillor Giles pointed out, areas where there is inadequate street lighting. And those are fairly minimal areas. The cost-saving will go from dimming the majority of lights in brighter areas where it isn't needed. And if you look at both of those studies, both of them suggest that actually dimming in the way we're talking about won't even be noticed by the majority of residents. So, this is a review, and this is a review bearing in mind very clearly resident safety. We have nothing but safety in our priority for residents. But equally, if you read those studies, which clearly haven't, there are huge benefits to people's health by not having really bright lights shining in the windows. And it's also really beneficial for wildlife. Anyway, happy to give you more details after, but just thought that might be helpful. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Croft. Councillor Mishiso, please. Thank you, Madam Mayor. In the words of Councillor Lillibuff, I wasn't expecting to speak on this one, but I felt moved. I felt moved to say something. The Labour Group are, once again, blaming everyone but themselves for their dire financial state that the Barrow finds itself in. Once or twice would be okay, but 15 years of them being in charge. On one hand, they talk about chronic underfunding by central government, and then they talk of spiralling costs and a perfect storm, as if Hanslow is a victim of a conspiracy that they stand alone in this. The leader of the opposition, Councillor Thomson, has already mentioned that we understand the stresses and strains of this current budget, and we wouldn't wish that on anyone. However, when you look at what the Council has said in the past, they told us a few moons ago that they were on the recovery and renewal path, which was embedded, and they were now turned their focus to prosperity and place, actively supporting initiatives to boost local economies, working with voluntary sectors and businesses to ensure that they embed a community wealth building culture. Well, are we about building wealth, or are we about protecting our residents? The immediate tangible improvements in performances of Lampton investments and Lampton developments have all been an intervention trying to enlighten the local market. Lampton development is well on its way to delivering new homes, they tell us. Their aim was that their companies perform better, better than their private competitors, to demonstrate that municipal entrepreneurism is at its best. Really? The role of local government should be primarily to protect residents, not to make profits by enforcing the rules to allow people to go about their business, including street lighting, to make sure that they feel safe. It should be to protect and help its residents to keep their possessions and keep hold of their property. So when local government tries to rearrange our local economy, it always leads to inefficiencies, a bureaucratic mess that costs all our residents. And Madam Mayor, let's remember that this is a Labour Council. We live in a Labour-run London. And now we have a Labour government in Westminster. They have everything that they wanted. But at what price? The inboxes of many people are now learning that after Rachel Reeves' budget, that the Council will be 2.1 million pounds worse off as a result of the employer contribution that Rachel Reeves announced in her Broken Promises budget. How about our pensioners as well with their winter fuels? How about the business owners with also their national insurance contribution? What about the poorest in the community who would not be reached because these high taxes affect them the most? Borrowing was an earth-shattering 125 billion in this past year alone nationally by this national Labour government. Is that what they mean by going for growth? Madam Mayor, what we have here is a bureaucratic nightmare of Labour's own making. This is a leviathan that we have called Lambton Group. It is not down to underfunding alone, but it's because of wasteful management. We keep propping it up, not wanting it to fail. 30 seconds, Councillor Machine. Thank you. Of course, of course Councillor Rajwa talks about balancing a budget. I've heard him say this countless times. That's what you're supposed to do, balance a budget. That is not a victory. This council has an obligation to produce a balanced budget, but don't let those two words fool you. Madam Mayor, this budget is a confession of failure, of masquerading as a balanced budget. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Thank you, Councillor Mishinso. Councillor Stroud, please. Thank you very much, Madam Mayor. The leader mentioned it, but it didn't resonate with the future speeches. The Conservative group just are very keen. I think they've had a complete memory loss about the last 14 years and why we're here. And let's just put some of that into numbers. Since 2010, local authorities have seen their grant from central government cut by 50%. 50%. That, with inflationary pressures and other pressures, has led to a real-term spending drop for local authorities of 25% compared to 2010. These aren't made-up numbers. This is absolutely the reality of the position we're in. We have got to fill a gap in the budget. And it's not a gap we created. It's a gap entirely created by 14 years of mismanagement, despite what our own Adam Smith's just told us. So, we've had to do a modest dip. We've had- Yeah, you got that eventually. Yeah. We've had to do a modest dip into our reserves. But why can we do that? We can do it because this Labour Administration and previous ones have shown great stewardship of our budget. And we've husbanded our reserves. We've put them together so they're there to dip into when we really need them. Now, I've done a bit of research over the last two councils. And I'm just going to take you through some about what this party here's solution to every single budget problem was. 2018, anyone have a guess? Use your reserves. 2019, what did they suggest? Use your reserves. 2020. Use your reserves. 2021. Use your reserves. So, I mean, we've got the pantomime bill and we know they are. Now, had we followed that superb financial advice from the party opposite, we would have had no reserves to dip into. Not this year. Last year and the year before. We would now be in a position with many, many councils across this country where we would have to put in a section 114. Effectively, we would be bankrupt. Now, a section 114, particularly for people listening at home, what does it mean? It means we can do no further spending on anything. We have to do savage cuts across all non-statutory services. And council tax can rise by up to 15%. So, thank God we did not listen to the sage advice of this group over here in previous years. Thank you. Thank you. We read in various statements going around on the local and national press at the moment that there are other ways for councils to give a balanced budget other than rise council tax. But I really want them to share that advice, not just with Hounslow, but with every single council across this country, because they must be geniuses. They have worked something out that none of us can. As we heard from Councillor Thomson, almost 99% of councils across this country have raised their council tax by 4.99%. And across in London, 33 councils have done it. So, any financial geniuses out there, all suggestions on the back of a postcard, please send them in and we're willing to look into them. I'd also like to give a couple of phrases used, and this is once again for people who don't follow political doublespeak, from Councillor Thomson. Keep your hard earned money. Choice. Lean a government. Sounds great. What it really means is let's privatise everything for our friends and give it away. That's what they're actually telling you to do. There is no easy fix to all this. We will keep our services in house, keep delivering for our residents. We will not sell them off under leaner, cleaner, whatever came out from the other side. Sorry, sorry. Sorry, sorry. Some people are incapable of offering meaningful solutions. What they offer is bluster and criticism. We've seen it. This administration doesn't offer bluster and criticism. What we offer is real solutions that are designed to protect our residents and take Hounslow forward, as a prosperous, forward-looking, growing borough. And on that basis, I would really commend this Budget to Council. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Stroud. Councillor BIDOLF, please. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Three points. Street lighting again. Highways, maintenance, and litter. First, street lighting. My Conservative colleagues have spoken strongly and eloquently about this. You know what residents think from our petition. The Cabinet member complains of misinformation, but the report says review of street lighting controls, including dimming and or switching off lights. That's what we're debating this evening. I want to focus on one point. The damage reduced lighting will do to the borough's hospitality economy. The bars, cafes, clubs, restaurants, cinemas, theatres, and other entertainment venues established for everyone who lives, works, or visits the borough. I'll never forget the words of one trader, spoken whilst I was consulting businesses about policies for Chiswick's retail and hospitality economy. As we stood looking out of the window at about 5pm in winter, she gestured to the outdoors and said, why would anyone want to go out in that? Pavements covered in slippery leaves, waste sacks to be stepped over, and the then newly dimmed and trimmed lighting making our roads look inhospitable. The Labour Council was making hospitality inhospitable. Make sense of that. Cabinet members met Sadiq Khan's night czar, Amy LeMay, to discuss the borough's nightlife. They met in Chiswick. Chiswick councillors weren't invited. Well, of course not. Why seek local knowledge when the priority is your ideology? What came of that meeting? Did Amy LeMay advocate reduced lighting? Did she say lighting makes no difference to crime or safety? We don't know. But I do know that she supported a City Hall report about night-time workers wanting better street lighting. Night-time workers serve customers who also want better street lighting. Still, it's useful to know that Labour didn't listen to the Labour's mayor's night czar, just as it still doesn't listen to its own residents. This time last year, at the budget setting meeting, the then Cabinet member for Highways said, and it's in the minutes, the Council provided suitable street lighting all night, unlike some other local authorities where the street lights were switched off at 1am. It seems that Labour is now U-turning, lowering its standards despite criticising others for doing so. That's double standards. I urge you to drop this damaging policy. It will not support businesses. And to increase street lighting at peak times and keep street lighting on at night. To support night-time workers, the LGBTQ plus community, who often speak of feeling vulnerable at night, and people travelling late, including on night buses and the Piccadilly Line, runs through the borough 24 hours a day on Fridays and Saturdays. Their journeys between the bus, tube, homework and leisure must not put them at risk. If you have U-turned, that's great. Moving on to highways maintenance, the Council is known for its rigorous chasing of awards. It's also known for standards that slip. Maintenance isn't maintained. The former Cabinet member for Highways, him again, stood up in the Chamber to proclaim numerous times that the borough had come top in London three years in a row for its road maintenance standards. In the 2021 State of the City report, produced annually by the London Technical Advisors Group, Hounslow was found, for example, to have the lowest backlog of potholes to fix. Media reports noted that this was vital, this is inverted commas, vital for keeping the borough moving and the economy thriving. Now, rather than remain the best, Labour wants to reduce standards to the London average. So that's another U-turn. And it's another blow for all the borough's local economies and its residents, workers and visitors. Hounslow Highways is responsible for maintaining the roads in the borough. The Council has been taking the glory for the work of a private company's success. If Hounslow Highways has to perform to a much lower standard imposed by the Labour Council, will the Council take the blame? Or will it push it onto Hounslow Highways? Whichever, residents, business ratepayers, workers and visitors, whether they walk, cycle, drive or use the bus, will have to put up with increasingly bumpy journeys and consequent increased risks. It took over seven years for Windmill Road in Chiswick-Gunnersbury Ward to be resurfaced by the then best performing borough in London. How long will it take for borough-wide standards to be raised after being forced to fall so far? This dangerous policy must be dropped. Finally, litter. Has the promised litter pick after recycling and waste collections been implemented? If not, when will it be? Since May 22, it's been this year, next year, sometime, and as I said last year, never? Another Labour U-turn? Or was it just spin and bluster from Labour? Thank you, Councillor Biddarth. Councillor Shaheen, please. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Mayor. And thank you, Councillor Thompson, for bringing forward the points that you raised. I appreciate it was a very lengthy and very detailed alternative budget, so it's really on me. It's my bad. It's my bad if I miss the detail, and I apologise for that, where you proposed an alternative to raising council tax, where you detailed and costed the proposals that you had for which services you were going to cut. Because I think I missed that from your amendment. You also criticised Lambton, but when you put services in the hands of another organisation, who did you give it to? Under the previous Conservative administration's council, was it not Carillion? You mentioned the rise in interest payments. Well, why have interest rates gone up? There are four words for that. It wasn't the lettuce. And to the point about pubs having to serve 60k extra pints a year, well, no, that is a serious one, but I'm up for that challenge if you are. But listen, I won't, look, joking apart, I'm not going to pretend that this isn't a budget with difficult decisions in. Of course it is, we all recognise that. But in many ways, this council has achieved so much more with a lot less, and we do keep on delivering. I'm just going to talk about a few things that I've personally worked on. We're about to sow the sixth site of our Grow for the Future project, which after launching the first one with Downton Abbey's Jim Carter last year. Now, this is the UK's first ever policy to transform wasteland and turn it into educational opportunities for kids from deprived areas to learn about sustainability, biodiversity and to live healthy lives. And while we're talking about celebrity-backed programmes to help kids learn, to help kids lead healthier lives, well, we've just completed our partnership with Jamie Oliver, who came and launched the first ever programme of his to educate kids in primary schools, their parents, their teachers, on healthy eating. We've transformed our green spaces from Farnell Field to Northcote Nature Reserve. We've smashed our tree planting targets. I know you're very concerned about trees, and we all are. But we've planted 25,000 trees in the first three years of this administration. We're coming forward with our new 10-year culture strategy. And that's going to be a holistic strategy that's going to help put Hounso on the map as a destination bar. And I really do look forward to bringing that forward in the near future. We're transforming our libraries, whereas many councils around the country in the face of astronomical costs, astronomical issues brought about by conservative austerity, have cut their library services. We've expanded them. We've enhanced them. We're bringing them up to a fantastic standard with new digital enhancements. And we're also transforming them into community hubs as well. Now, these are just some of the many successes that I can talk to personally. My colleagues will have many more. Of course, completely, I recognise that there are many challenges going ahead that we face. But this is a budget for the future that equips us to be able to meet those challenges. And that is why I support this budget. Thank you, Councillor Shaheen. Councillor McGregor, please. Thank you, Madam Mayor. The issue we're faced with this evening is that we are dealing with a legal document. Once we pass this budget, it becomes legally enforceable. That's the law. And the limits, which Councillor Wajwat didn't talk about, are laid down by statute. So there's very little leg room, mover, wiggle room, whatever you like to call it, to make a change against that, because we are bound by our statutory requirements to pass a balanced budget. But the conjuring trick here is that Councillor Wajwat talks about a balanced budget. That's what happens on the 1st of April. And we all know what the 1st of April is. It's All Fools' Day. And the problem with All Fools' Day is you have reality days thereafter. So by the time you get to March 31st, 2026, just prior to the next council elections, you will find again and again and again and again and again, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, we have ended up in a situation where the balanced budget has disappeared, and you're having to force yourself into contingencies, cuts. It's history. Just wake up. The other issue that Councillor Shaheen, and I recognize Councillor Shaheen vehemently in favor of the policies and the issues that he wants to have put across, as we all do. None of us here is without a policy approach that we want to adopt. None of us. But he talked about the fact 25, was it 25,000 new homes? 23,000. Well, 23,000. Trees. Trees. Trees. Trees. Trees. Trees. Oh, well, okay. Well, the fact of the matter is, Hounslow isn't big enough to take the densification of that volume of new build, because the built environment, the built environment. I'm talking about houses. Trees. No, I'm talking about houses. Homes. Trees. Trees. Trees. Could we, could we, please, calm down. The growth of high-rises, going up, and up, and up, and up, is actually damaging the built environment for living in. Livable areas are being reduced by the point of densification of housing. Now, if you look at page 556 and page 556 of the budget report, you'll see how you're going to fund the gaps you've created from previous years. No one mentions the gaps in previous years because you want to hide that under the carpet. Now, you've said you've been in charge for 14 years and you had a terrible inheritance. No, you didn't. In 2010, this council had massive balances, few liabilities, and it had a £76 million reduction in the base budget. And it was a Labour government at the time, excellent, but they gave us no help. They gave us no help at all. And in fact, in fact, they gave us things like the PFI. What a rubbish scheme that's turned out to be. Huge cost to councils, huge costs around the place, huge costs in the future, huge costs in the past. Just cost, cost, cost, cost, cost. Another issue about costs. You look at the savings. Well, the savings you quote here. Talk about a group of people for the last six months working very hard and, okay. Actually, if you read that document on 642 and 643, you'll see spelling errors. You'll see syntax errors. God's sake, it's a legal document. Can't even get the typing right. It's not good enough. It really is not good enough. And that goes for the whole budget. Madam Mayor, I hope you find it within yourself to actually give us the vote this evening. Many thanks. Thank you, Councillor McGregor. Councillor Dunn, please. Thank you very much, Madam Mayor. I do always enjoy hearing Gerald go on about spelling errors. It just wouldn't be the same without it, would it? We put a few in just for you, Gerald. I would like to draw people's attention to the climate aspects of this budget. For the second year, we have included a climate action statement as part of the budget. And we are developing this into what will be a full climate budget from 26, 27 onwards. And the reason for this is that we have huge investments to make that will make great improvements to the borough whilst reducing carbon emissions. Now, lots of people this evening from both sides of the chamber have spoken about how this budget was always going to be a very difficult one, how difficult choices have to be made. And those of you who follow the cabinet meetings will, in January, have heard me speak about some of the really, really big challenges we have in fulfilling our promises to the borough when it comes to the climate emergency, to reaching our net zero targets and getting the council to net zero in its own emissions by 2030. We will need over £100 million in order to reach that target. And when we look at the wider borough, the people we serve, the businesses we serve, obviously not to think of paying for all this ourselves, but bringing in other investment, the figure we are looking at there is over £5 billion to get to net zero. And so we can't do that through traditional means, which is why we, as an ambitious, innovative council, have brought in new measures in order to make sure that we can raise that income, bring in the investment that is required in order to reach our ambitions. In the report, you will find information about our new climate investment board, which is chaired by the director of financial sustainability. This board is there to develop a coherent plan for securing the investment that we need to meet our target to decarbonise council operations to achieve net zero by 2030. It will help the council to prioritise where we apply our own capital for direct investment in climate schemes. We've already done so much in this area, decarbonising over 50 council buildings, starting to transform our council fleet, starting to transform council homes. But there's so much more to do. The investment board will help us to access external funding, both in the form of grants and also from private sector investment. And it will review innovative approaches to raising green finance. And I'd like to talk about one of those now. I'm proud to present the Hounslow Green Investment, which is an innovative financial strategy to help us fund low carbon infrastructure projects in the borough while steepening our relationship with the communities that we serve. This scheme goes beyond traditional borrowing. It will offer residents, businesses and community groups the opportunity to invest directly in Hounslow's future and to earn a return on that investment. Our goal is to raise five million pounds over the next five years to finance transformative projects across the borough. These will include things like renewable energy generation, advancing climate adaptation measures like flood protection and sustainable urban drainage, promoting greener travel through better walking, cycling and public transport infrastructure and improving biodiversity. And I'm not sure if I dare mention this by planting 22,000 trees. I don't know if Gerald's listening. But that's one for every child born in Hounslow. We'll also focus on fostering circular economy practices to reduce waste and grow the green economy, benefiting all of our new residents, creating new jobs and supporting local businesses. And it's just one of the things that we're doing. And your leadership of councillors will help us to make the most of this scheme. I will be writing to everyone so that it can be promoted to residents. It's just one of the things I'm proud of that this council is doing. And as we are doing across a whole host of areas. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Thank you, Councillor Dunn. Councillor Todd, please. Thank you very much. It's been very hard listening to some of the speeches from the opposition. I go to audit committee and what I hear there is different from what I've heard tonight. But just to congratulate Catherine Dunn, are we going to get some charging points, EV charging points before next year? Why have you still not done survey of every school in the borough dealing with its air pollution liabilities? And is it still right that we're spending £33 million buying electricity and gas that's not sustainable in any fashion whatsoever? I think you dabble at it with respect. I support you as much as you can. Interesting colleague in the front talking about Carillion. You need to look at the history of CIV that went bust by £6 million beforehand. I joined this council in 2006. There was no precedent there as lasted. My vivid memory is the IT staff were boiling up eggs on top of overheating equipment. But that's an ad hoc. But I want to come in particular with a lot of emotive conversation about Lambton. The concept of self-trading is very exciting and the potential is enormous. Other councils do very well. We mentioned it. We buy our electricity from Kent and they make millions. But I said on the audit committee, as I said, and in September 23, this report was published. It's an internal audit report, 2003-04. And if you know anything about audit reports, if you see page after page were read on, that indicates that all is not well. I'd like to quote, if I could, Madam Mayor. The review identified three high-risk findings, absent of any agreed contractual agreement, the council in Lambton, that defines the work to be completed. No ordering process in place. I'm summarising here. The council does not have a clear commitment position for budget control purposes. How can this carry on? Inconsistency and inaccuracies in the monthly financial information provided by Lambton monthly contract management group in meetings. Not always accurate financial data provided to provide sufficient evidence to justify the costs submitted. Now, these are not light touch cuts. This is devastating. And the tragedy is, I doubt if you believe this, this report was issued on the 1st of September 23, and has not been fully responded to. They gave an undertaking that this report would be funded, completed the review. I'm not very clear. The response from the council would come back by the 30th of June 24. There has been no response. The audit report, a public document shows, in progress, the laser resulted in missed targets, awaiting revised dates. How can I assess that? To me, that's nothing. What it does do, this has such a cutting edge. We set up a shareholder group. Three of our top people in the cabinet have meetings. A head of finance applied for £100,000 to help his review. I'm not quite sure he spent the whole lot, but he certainly applied for funding, which we support. And yet, look at the last report from this group. No mention of this outstanding, but we're getting massaged up to get rid of... We've now written to companies' house saying we're not going to be able to hand in the Lambton accounts. The report says, the last report says that we can't reconcile some accounts. Some of the schedules produced have gaps where they can't finalise the money. So, what that says to me, very simply, there is no audit, there's no contemporary audit, and there's no resolution. So, my final point is this. Why should the public, and why should anyone, tolerate this ongoing incompetence, loss, without draconian resolution? I don't want to see any £20 million loan or failure for next year, please. 30 seconds. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Tard. Councillor Bath, please. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Before I say a few words in support of the budget, I actually wanted to thank all the officers, the senior leadership team, Cabinet colleagues and Cabinet assistants, in helping us put forward the budget here tonight. I've been a councillor for a number of years, and it gets increasingly difficult every year to set a budget. But we've talked a lot tonight here in the Chamber around street lighting, lampton 360, trees, etc. But actually nobody has actually touched on adult social care pressures and the cost of providing adult social care and children social care. And I wanted to touch on that a little bit tonight, because that's exactly why we are making the choices that we make, because we do want to protect the most vulnerable. If you look at the budget report, you'll see that most of the large proportion of the spend is on adult social care services and it is on children social care. And it's not because we're not managing our finances efficiently, it's because by law, if somebody is eligible for that service, we have to provide it to them as a statutory duty that we have. And as you've heard in the council tonight, many, many times, the demand on our services has gone up, more and more people are approaching us for help, but we've got less money to spend because of the chronic underfunding over many, many years. So this is a national picture across the country, of course, and we are very lucky. You've heard it here tonight that we have actually got finances, that we've been financially robust over the last few years to have these reserves that we can use. But touching on my area, adult social care, if you look at the spend, it's actually increased 80% since 2010, which is a huge amount. And that is, I checked this tonight, actually, before writing this down, before making the speech, but that is projected to double over the next few years. So that's a massive amount. And I know that many of our residents will not be using adult social care and they won't be using children's social care. But when they do need it, it's absolutely right that we provide the best quality of support to help our residents. You'll also see in the paper saving proposals that we've made across the council. And I want to thank all of the officers for being very transformational and very innovative in terms of looking at efficiencies. We always strive to do as much as we can in adult social care. We are the lowest spending borough. So in other words, we are the most efficient, I believe, in the whole of the country, which is excellent, given the financial services situation that we are. We are aware of the financial challenges going forward. So we are looking at investing in extra care housing because we need, we know that's where the actual money is spent. We're also looking at targeting reviews, looking at joint commissioning and in general, just looking at how we can deliver services in the most efficient way. So I won't repeat what everybody else has said. I am absolutely commend this budget because I think it will not only does it put us in a good situation financially for the future, but it helps to protect and safeguard our most vulnerable residents. And as we've said tonight, many times it allows us to be ambitious for the borough, invest in areas that we really need to, to build more affordable homes, tackling our climate emergency commitments and investing in prevention because we've not talked about that. But that is what actually helps us to save some of the costs in the long run, connecting better with residents. We want community solutions because the more financially challenging our situations is, the better we need to be able to connect with our residents. And of course, through our community and family hubs. So in the words of Councillor Mishisho, I did write this down when you were talking, the role of local government is to protect residents. And this is exactly what this budget is doing. So I've done this budget. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Vath. Councillor Giles, please. Thank you very much, Madam Mayor. Sorry, I didn't know it was going to be my time. So for the last seven years, and that's the time I've been a councillor, so I won't speak to any time before that. I've heard excuse after excuse and blame thrown at the Conservative government. So for once, I'd like to see this administration take responsibility and not blame others for the state we're in. However, we are where we are. For at least the last month and in preparation of this meeting, Simply Red's song, Money's Too Tight to Mention, has been going round and round and round in my head. And a bit like that song, and this guys will know because I've been sending them the YouTube videos as well. There isn't much that hasn't been mentioned that, sorry, there's much that hasn't been mentioned in your pre-prepared speeches that have been read and not taken into consideration of what has actually been said in this place. While we've been criticised for parts of our amendment, and as I've seen after seven years, it's not what's said in this chamber or written in our reports, but what is not said and recorded. And to that point, I'd like to speak to some aspects of that budget that we didn't address in our amendment. So looking at the reports and listening to many of the officers that we've had time to speak to, there are many savings that haven't been found yet. They're indicators of what this administration wants to do, but there's no specification about the how. So at today's colleague briefing, and I don't know who was on it, but it was a very interesting call because there was a plea to all on the call for suggestions of where savings could be made and what could be new. And it's fantastic that officers at all level of this organisation are getting involved in that process. But I think it was quite interesting that there was a talk about efficiency and effectiveness. And as an example, there was talk of how residents are often passed through 10 different people before they get to a solution. I think as councillors, we're all fully aware that that's no surprise. We're often pushed from pillar to post in order to find a real solution that can bring value to our residents. We've been told that we, as a conservative group, want to privatise many services. However, on that same call today, there was a statement made that this organisation is going to go out to private companies to get them to use their corporate social responsibility budgets to help us, the Labour-run local authority, close gaps in their social care budgets. And please, don't get us wrong. We're not saying that money should not be spent on social care. This is absolutely something we support. But surely, it's a bit rich to cast dispersions in this way. But how about digital transformation? We need to be careful that investment in IT is not a panacea for all, especially the digitally disconnected. And believe it or not, there are many people who don't own a smartphone or still rely on cash. What is this authority planning to do for them? Or are we turning them into second class citizens? How about our maintenance and repairs budget? Why is that more money is put into repairs rather than maintenance? For example, there was a collapse of a flood defence in December that cost £70,000 to repair just three metres. A third of the money that's been invested in that site for the last 20 years. There are nine other areas that have been highlighted as need for attention on that one kilometre stretch. At this rate, there's an additional £63,000 that hasn't been included in this budget. Let's not even get started about fees and charges, and to be honest, I was expecting Councillor McGregor to be talking about that tonight. So while I may be criticised for the size of our amendment, or for aspects, it's interesting to see what hasn't been criticised. Maybe, like in previous years, perhaps we'll see it enacted in future budgets, because some of our suggestions are really quite sensible. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Giles. And Councillor Bruce, please. Thank you very much. The song that came to my mind after that last speech was Ironic by Alanis Morissette. But I don't think she had a line about someone reading off their screen and complaining about someone else reading off their screen. Anyway, in a budget meeting, and we haven't really, apart from one small mention, getting some numbers wrong, mentioned building homes. Steve Curran would be appalled if he were here, and talking about development and how that impacts positively on our environment and on our residents. I am pleased to say, over the last three years of this administration, and over the last 15 years since we took back control of this council, we have been building thousands of homes, hundreds of homes in the last couple of years, keys handed over to hundreds of residents, hundreds more in the pipeline, and hundreds more for private rent or purchase. The Residence Survey, as much as Councillor McGregor might complain about that, Residence Survey tells us that this is one of the highest priorities for residents. We are listening to residents and responding by building homes, enabling development and allowing homes to be built. And I am proud that we are doing that. I am proud when I go and open developments. I am proud when we hand over keys to our residents and enable them to have more dignity, sometimes, than they had before. Part of the development programme is also about the money that the council receives from that, the S106 and the SIL. I think we can be complacent about this money that comes in. If we had no development, if we had nothing happening, that money would not be there for us. We would not be able to spend it on other priorities that our residents have. It would mean that we couldn't do many of the projects that have been mentioned here already. And I talk about this and I say this here because of the HRA savings that have been mentioned in the budget papers. Not mentioned this evening, but I am mentioning them now. It is important to recognise the issues are not just with the revenue budget that we have in the council, but also the HRA account because for us as a labour administration using our HRA as powerfully as we can to build homes for people is at the forefront of our mind. We could have taken the political decision to stop a lot of that, but we haven't. We have taken some difficult decisions on that HRA to continue to push forward with development, new development, and re-energising and rebuilding some of our council estates. Now, it is interesting that the opposition on the one hand talk about criticising these 25,000 homes that General McGregor actually got wrong, 25,000 homes, 25,000 trees. But he is almost right. He is almost right. Because I was also criticised, or we were criticised, the Labour government were criticised, for downgrading our targets in our local plan against the previous government's priorities for building. I think that is really, really important. Both the last Conservative government and the current Labour government both say that building homes is important. And I explained why we weren't downgrading and that actually there was a misinterpretation of those targets. But what is important, that I would like to point out to everybody, that the target of almost 2,000 homes a year equates to almost 30,000 homes in the next 15 years. That's an incredibly important number. So, while he mistook trees for homes, actually, Councillor McGregor was on to something. And I am proud that we do this. I am proud that we use our HRA in this way. I am proud we use our S106 and SIL money. And I am proud of this budget. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Bruce. And Councillor Chowdhury, please. Thank you very much, Madam Mayor. I think I was waiting to just, from last so many years, not just the first year since I've become a councillor. I don't think, I don't know if my colleagues remember anywhere around the corner. First of all, thank you very much, Councillor Barth, that you have spoken about the children's, which is extremely important for us and our youth is our future. But when we talk about trees, street lighting and amendments and all that, that's kind of a thing which you feel. What our friends at the crossbench have been just talking about, dimming the lights. I have not heard not even one of them talking about our children, our children with special needs, what we are doing with our youth skills, employment guarantee. We haven't seen anyone talking about the children's model of care or saying a word about our youths. So, I just wanted to highlight a couple of things. And another thing, Councillor Giles, when she said that we have pre-written speeches, it's not pre-written speeches, sometimes a few people like to keep their notes with them. So, I'm just going to highlight our investment on the capital money approved by the Cabinet to build new children's home capacity, with the projected costs and reduction of 1 million in the future years, and the Cabinet approval to the further development of the investment, to move towards the placement of the Westbrook short break, and a new build, disabled children's home, with projected again 1 million a year reduction and the saving, right? So, we are focusing on developing our sufficiency plan and implementing a project to ensure that we maintain numbers of our own foster care and reduce reliance on external independent fostering agency. And I think everyone here will understand it has been a big challenge for us, as this costs us about 20k a year more per child. And we are continuing to ensure a safe control process for placing children onto the child in needs plan, child protection plans and moving into care proceedings, so that we only use these processes for the right children's way of support. Needs require this, and the associated costs, and continuing to maintain and develop our short-term early health intervention, to minimize unnecessary long-term support and costs, and highly affected in supporting children safely within their families, before we think about bringing them into the care or anything. or anything, but unless we are on target to plan in relation to controlling and bringing back into the balanced budget over the five-year safety valve and sand services, the high-needs block in dedicated school grants. I would like to thank Councillor Rajwand, I would like to thank all the finance team, but most importantly, all of my cabinet colleagues and my senior officers to work on this budget. I fully support this budget, but the most important thing is that we think about our children's future as well, and I would be really, really happy if we had a word from the other end to talk about our children's. Madam Mayor, a point of order. We've had a fascinating debate on this, which I'm sure it could go on all night, but I think the time's come that we put the question to council. Seconded. I was just about to ask Councillor Rajwand to sum up. Thank you. Thank you very much, Madam Mayor. What a rich debate, certainly from this side of the House. Councillor Todd, to your point, I think you're just wrong, I'm sorry to say. Looking at the audit report, it does point to the audit of the pension fund, so very happy to take that conversation with you outside. But there's a broader point here, Councillor Giles talked about what was not said, what was not said. Having agreed with 94% of our budget, they want to talk about what was not said. What was not said was what is your... Point of order, Madam Mayor, that the vote be put was put and seconded, so I think we have to decide on that before we do this. I don't know who seconded it, sorry. Do you need to vote on it, if you're agreeing? Is it agreed? Okay, is it agreed that we put... Agreed. Okay, so in that case, we move straight to the vote. Okay. No? Sorry. Okay. Madam Mayor, point of order, the proposer, even though we're going to the vote, does return the right to summarise their position. Okay. Sorry, Councillor Aguilar. You're all right, Madam Mayor, you're all right. On this one, I blame Councillor Elmslie. Thank you. Your fault. It's your fault. Where was I? Where was I? What wasn't said, Councillor Giles posed a question, and it's a good question, because they've agreed with 94% of our budget, including increasing council tax, including going through reserves and taking from reserves as well. So, really, the question isn't from you to us, Councillor Giles. It's what you haven't said, and what is your alternative? There is no vision in the Tory group. It's all very well them criticising us for criticising the previous government. But on paper, time and time again, we present comprehensive budgets that offer solutions for our most vulnerable. They grow our economy, and they talk to a better future. What do they talk about? Absolutely nothing. They have nothing to offer, nothing to say. They think they can stand up, and they can spin. They can take journalists for drinks and get things in papers. That is all that they can do. All that their whip has done is spin and spin and spin, but there is no alternative. The only alternative to them in 2026 is a Chiswick with Labour councillors, because they are the only councillors that will support our most vulnerable. We are the only party that offers a real solution for the most vulnerable. We are the only party that is talking about growth, but not only talking about growth, actually bringing it into the borough, and we are protecting our most vulnerable. They can bluster. We deliver time and time again, and I commend this budget to Council. Thank you, Councillor Adjuak. We now move to the vote, which again will be a recorded vote. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I will call each member's name in alphabetical order. Please state if you are for, against, or abstaining in relation to the recommendations. I, Councillor Axa Ahmed. For. Councillor Mohamed Shaquille Akram. For. Councillor Madea Azim. For. Councillor Harleen Atwell here. For. Councillor Lily Bath. For. Councillor Rashid Bhatti. For. Councillor Joanna Biddall. Against. Councillor Dan Bowring. For. For. Councillor Tom Bruce. For. Councillor Ghazala Bhatt. For. Councillor Samia Chowdhury. For. Councillor Bandhan Chopra. For. Councillor Amy Croft. For. Councillor Catherine Dunn. For. Councillor Jack Emsley. Against. Councillor. Councillor. Against. Councillor Adesh Barmahan. For. Councillor Richard Foote. For. Councillor Gabriella Giles. Against. Councillor Shivraj Garawal. For. Councillor Bikram Garawal. For. Councillor Riaz Gol. For. Councillor Bishnu Gorong. For. Councillor Bishnu Gorong. For. Councillor Alan Joseph. Against. Councillor Farah Kamran. For. Councillor Afzal Kiani. For. Councillor Germal Lal. For. Councillor Guy Lambert. For. Councillor. Councillor Alan Joseph. Against. Councillor Farah Kamran. For. Councillor Afzal Kiani. For. Councillor Germal Lal. For. Councillor Guy Lambert. For. Councillor Tony Lukey. For. Councillor Kamak Malik. For. Councillor Gerald McGregor. Against. Councillor Juni Mir. For. Councillor John Harkin. For. councillor heen amir councillor alan mitchell for councillor ron mishiso against councillor samina nagra for councillor shantanu raduat for councillor saya raza for councillor farhang raymond for councillor danish sayed councillor sue samson councillor salman shaheen councillor marina sharma for councillor emma siddu for councillor ragwinda siddu councillor karen smith councillor john stroud turp councillor asia tarik for councillor kuldeep tack for councillor peter thompson councillor john todd councillor muhammad umir councillor emma yates the recommendations are carried that concludes the debate on the council budget report and i would like to thank members for their input to this debate we now move to agenda item seven the appointment of an interim chief executive i would like to invite councillor raduat to propose thank you very much madam mayor mandy you almost need to turn around for this one um following the departure of uh nile bolger um we are in the position where we of course need to uh recruit a new chief executive that is a long process or it can take some time uh in order to uh have some continuity in the organization um it is proposed in this report uh that we appoint mandy skinner as our interim chief executive she was currently the assistant chief executive here here absolutely right absolutely right uh as part of that process uh the report also asks you to authorize uh the director of hr and od um to appoint an executive search agency to assist um me and the chief officer employment panel which i think consists of the leader of the opposition deputy leader and myself um or our representatives um to uh begin the appointment process for a uh a successor to nile in the long term uh so a fairly straightforward report uh with two recommendations thank you madam mayor thank you councillor raduat councillor bruce second i'm very happy to second madam mayor reserve my right to speak thank you councillor bruce um would anyone like to comment no no marvelous then we can move straight to the vote oh okay councillor mcgregor please before we move to the vote i'd just like to record my thanks for the work that nile bolger did over many years and he was an impressive individual and uh very sorry to to lose him thank you councillor mcgregor so we can now move to the vote so um um everyone in all agreed any against and any abstentions no thank you very much agenda item 8 um appointments to stat um to committees and other bodies this is a standing item on our agenda may i draw members attention to the supplementary agenda papers which include a nomination for councillor guy lambert to be appointed to the revenue appeals panel this nomination is being made to ensure the council fulfills the political proportionality requirements okay thank you is that agreed thank you very much and agenda item nine decisions taken under urgency arrangements i ask members to note the report thank you agenda item 10 there are no other matters that the mayor considers urgent so we move on to item of 11. the next ordinary meeting will be on tuesday the 25th of march 2025 and will commence at 7 30 pm i would like to thank everyone for attending here this evening i'd just like to to let you know the live stream broke quite early in the meeting but the meeting was recorded and will be available online for anyone who was if you know someone who was trying to watch they will be able to watch later um could could everyone sign the attendance book if they haven't already done so so that's the end thank you no i get that