The Residents' Services Select Committee was scheduled to discuss community cohesion and the Safer Hillingdon Partnership. The committee was also set to review enforcement activities related to Public Spaces Protection Orders, street trading, and fixed penalty notices, alongside budget monitoring reports and the council's forward plan.

Community Cohesion

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the work being undertaken in Hillingdon to build stronger communities and promote community cohesion. This included an overview of activities aimed at addressing challenges arising from national and global events, a rise in hate crime, and the influence of extremist ideologies. The report also outlined work related to the government's Prevent duty, as mandated by the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015, and the national counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST. Recommendations included noting the activity undertaken to build stronger communities and promote cohesion, and noting the work done in relation to delivering the Prevent duty.

The report detailed the concept of community cohesion, describing it as the social glue that binds communities together, encompassing a sense of belonging, valuing diversity, tackling inequalities, and promoting positive relationships. It highlighted five interrelated conditions that shape social cohesion: participation, belonging, democracy, trust, and safety. The report also addressed the Prevent duty, which aims to prevent individuals from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. It noted the evolving threat landscape, including the rise of right-wing extremism, incel ideology, and fascination with extreme violence, as well as the significant impact of online disinformation. The report detailed specific projects funded through the Community Cohesion Resilience Programme, which worked with local organisations such as REAP (Refugees in Effective and Active Partnership), Bell Farm Christian Centre, the Hillingdon LGBT+ Network, Hillingdon Women's Centre, and the Hillingdon Inter Faith Community network. These projects aimed to foster integration, resilience, and positive relationships within diverse communities.

Safer Hillingdon Partnership

The committee was scheduled to receive reports from the Metropolitan Police Service and the London Fire Brigade, alongside an update on the work of the Safer Hillingdon Partnership. This partnership is the statutory community safety partnership for the borough, responsible for developing and implementing a community safety strategy. The report detailed the process of developing this strategy, including a strategic assessment of crime and anti-social behaviour trends and public consultation. The final strategy, adopted by Full Council on 26 February 2026, was supported by a partnership delivery plan outlining specific actions, timescales, and responsibilities. The report also highlighted the use of data and insight to inform decision-making, with a focus on integrated multi-agency data to identify risks and measure the impact of interventions.

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) report detailed their fire safety awareness initiatives, including proactive communications and messaging on social media. It outlined the requirement for fire stations to dedicate at least 12% of their time to prevention work, such as home fire safety visits and engagement with vulnerable individuals and schools. The LFB also highlighted its active Fire Cadet programme and the annual Junior Citizens event, which provides safety advice to Year 6 pupils. The report noted the LFB's data sharing with the GLA and its participation in the Safer Hillingdon Partnership to support council strategies.

The Metropolitan Police Service report provided an update on crime and community safety in the borough. It detailed recent performance data for neighbourhood crime, including increases in theft from the person and theft of motor vehicles, while noting decreases in residential burglary and interfering with motor vehicles. The report also covered serious violence, with an increase in violence with injury, and violence against women and girls (VAWG), including rises in domestic abuse-related VAWG and rape reports. The report detailed the use of Stop and Search, noting an increase in searches and positive outcomes, with body-worn video used in the majority of encounters.

Enforcement of Public Spaces Protection Orders, Street Trading & Fixed Penalty Notices

This agenda item was scheduled to provide information on the Council's responsibilities and enforcement activities related to Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs), street trading licensing, and the use of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs). The report aimed to give an overview of activity, trends, and enforcement cases. The recommendations were for the committee to note the content of the report.

The report detailed the legislative framework for PSPOs under the Antisocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, including Hillingdon's specific orders for Parks & Public Places and Private Hire Vehicle & Taxi. It outlined enforcement activity, which focused on behaviours identified by the orders, such as alcohol consumption, drug influence, engine idling, e-scooter misuse, urination, defecation, spitting, and dog control. The report also covered enforcement of street trading under the London Local Authorities Act 1990, detailing the Council's Street Trading Policy and the use of graded interventions including warnings, FPNs, seizure, licence non-renewal, and prosecution. The role of APCOA, the contractor for Environmental Enforcement Officers (EEOs), was also described, outlining their patrols and monitoring of environmental byelaws, and their authority to issue FPNs for offences such as littering, fly-tipping, and breaches of PSPOs. The report provided detailed figures on PSPO-related Fixed Penalty Notices issued by offence type and month, highlighting the significant number of notices issued for Private Hire Vehicle (PHV) related offences in resident areas. It also presented income generated from PSPO FPNs, showing a seasonal trend. Business-related FPNs were also detailed, with advertising offences being the primary driver. Case studies were included on street trading licence refusals and non-compliance issues.

Budget and Spend Report

The committee was scheduled to review the budget monitoring position for the Council as a whole and for the services within the remit of the Residents' Services Select Committee as of December 2025 (Month 9). The report indicated a forecast net overspend of £35.9m on the Council's core operating activities, with pressures identified across service operating budgets, the use of reserves, and centralised corporate budgets. These pressures were partially offset by interventions and mitigations. The report detailed the savings programme for 2025/26, outlining the progress and challenges in delivering these savings across different directorates. For the Residents' Services Select Committee's portfolio, a projected overspend of £6.9m was forecast, with specific pressures noted in the Place directorate due to income shortfalls and in Homes and Communities due to increased demand for homelessness support. The report also provided a detailed breakdown of the budget monitoring position by service area and a summary of the savings position by directorate. The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) was forecasting a breakeven position, with ongoing market and demand risks being monitored.

Forward Plan

The committee was scheduled to review the Cabinet's latest Forward Plan, which outlines key decisions and other decisions to be taken by the Cabinet collectively and by individual Cabinet Members over the coming year. The report detailed the actions available to the committee in monitoring this plan, including providing comments on future Cabinet reports, requesting further information, and identifying items for post-decision review. The Forward Plan itself listed several items relevant to the Residents' Services Select Committee's remit, including decisions on rough sleeper prevention and recovery services, the Local Plan scoping consultation, extensions to temporary accommodation contracts, the HRA Business Plan, and the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy.

Work Programme

The committee was scheduled to review its Work Programme for the current municipal year. This report aimed to allow the committee to note future meeting dates and to forward plan its work. The report listed forthcoming meeting dates and highlighted site visits that had been undertaken by committee members. The multi-year work programme also indicated planned reviews and monitoring activities for the current and upcoming municipal years, including regular service and performance monitoring, budget and spend reports, and specific review topics such as the CCTV service, the infrastructure funding statement, and the Safer Hillingdon Partnership.