The Hillingdon Council Cabinet met to discuss a range of issues, including the closure of retail operations at the Rural Activities Garden Centre, homelessness prevention, temporary accommodation, education funding, and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The Cabinet agreed to cease retail operations at the Rural Activities Garden Centre, welcomed a report on homelessness prevention, noted an update on temporary accommodation, approved capital funding allocations for education, and approved allocations for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Closure of Retail Operations at the Rural Activities Garden Centre

The Cabinet agreed to cease retail operations at the Rural Activities Garden Centre (RAGC) in West Drayton on or before 31 July 2025, citing its continued loss-making commercial position and the public subsidy required. They also agreed to further consultation on the future of support services at the RAGC site for those in receipt of assessed social care services, with a commitment to ensure identified needs continue to be met. This includes considering relocating those with assessed care needs to the Civic Centre campus in Uxbridge to provide enhanced horticultural services and development opportunities.

Councillor Jonathan Bianco, Deputy Leader of the Council, clarified that the decision was specific to the retail aspect and not the broader social care services provided at the site. He noted a minor correction in the report, changing volunteers to gardeneers. He explained that the retail operations had been financially unsustainable, especially after the impact of COVID-19, and that this move aligned with other Council actions to eliminate subsidies in loss-making services.

Councillor Jane Palmer, Cabinet Member for Health & Social Care, stated that the proposed changes aimed to improve services by relocating support to the Civic Centre campus in Uxbridge¹, offering a broader range of activities. She assured that all individuals with assessed needs would be supported and that social workers were actively engaging with service users and families to ensure smooth transitions.

The Cabinet also noted the initial engagement with those with assessed social care needs and volunteers, duly considering the petitions and views received during a petition hearing held on 11 June 2025. They further noted that staff consultation had commenced and that there would be further consultation and engagement using independent advocacy where appropriate. Subject to the conclusion of the consultations and the Equalities Impact Assessment, authority was delegated to the Cabinet Member for Community & Environment to make a final decision on the future of the RAGC site and relocation of service provision.

Homeless Prevention and the Customer Journey

The Cabinet welcomed the Resident Services' Select Committee's report on Homeless Prevention and the Customer Journey, delegating authority to Councillor Steve Tuckwell, Cabinet Member for Planning, Housing & Growth, to implement the committee's recommendations. The report focused on enhancing the resident experience, ensuring process efficiency, staff support and training, and building on existing partnerships and collaboration.

Councillor Wayne Bridges, Chair of the Residents' Services Select Committee, presented the committee's report, which was warmly received by the Cabinet. Councillor Tuckwell expressed full support for the presentation and commended the Committee for their thoughtful and in-depth work.

The recommendations included:

• Referring to applicants as 'residents' rather than 'customers' or 'clients'.
• Creating a clearer Residents' Charter explaining each stage of the homelessness support process.
• Reconfiguring the Housing Reception Centre to provide a more welcoming environment.
• Continuing unannounced random checks/management oversight of calls and correspondence.
• Gathering feedback from residents regarding homelessness services.
• Actively promoting the suggestion box system for staff.
• Incorporating ways to help applicants check their eligibility online.
• Exploring automated text reminders for appointments and deadlines.
• Exploring a self-check-in system at reception.
• Reviewing and updating documentation and processes.
• Ensuring regular casework supervision and promoting staff welfare policies.
• Implementing a peer support and training programme.
• Creating a learning set of resources for staff.
• Building on existing partnerships with local organisations.
• Assigning named officers as liaisons for partner agencies.

Temporary Accommodation Action Plan Monitoring

The Cabinet noted the quarterly update report on the Temporary Accommodation Action Plan. Councillor Tuckwell presented the report, highlighting progress in increasing housing supply, reducing costs, and improving homelessness prevention, though demand remained high.

Key points from the report included:

• Temporary accommodation placements were down, and prevention rates had improved.
• The Council had increased private sector housing allocations and landlord engagement.
• The number of costly nightly rentals had been halved in two months.
• Leasing targets had been raised following the approval of new homes.
• Savings were being achieved, and governance and data oversight had improved.

The Deputy Leader of the Council welcomed the report as a positive step in addressing homelessness and easing financial pressures.

Capital Funding Allocation for Education and SEND

The Cabinet approved the creation of a budget from the Department for Education (DfE) High Needs Capital funding for the expansion of specialist provision in mainstream schools for 2025/26 and subsequent years. This will be achieved by rephasing £6.065 million from existing 2024/25 budgets to fund future Specialist Resource Provisions² and Designated Units³ in Secondary schools, mirroring those in Primary schools.

Councillor Susan O'Brien, Cabinet Member for Children, Families & Education, presented the report, explaining that the Council had a statutory duty to ensure sufficient school places for all children, including those with special educational needs. She noted that there were currently 81 more places in primary resource provisions than in the secondary sector.

The Cabinet also approved a capital release of £540,000 for internal adaptations to be carried out at Bishop Ramsey School to create a specialist provision of up to 32 places. Authority was delegated to the Cabinet Member for Children, Families & Education, in consultation with the Cabinet Members for Corporate Services & Property and Finance & Transformation, to decide which school capital projects will be approved from the budget and to release funding for the agreed projects.

UK Shared Prosperity Fund - 2025/26 Allocation

The Cabinet approved the proposed allocations for spending Hillingdon's 2025/26 UK Shared Prosperity Fund grant, delegating authority to the Director for Planning and Sustainable Growth to sign off on all expenditure of the grant and make procurement decisions on contracts below £100,000 in value.

Councillor Tuckwell presented the report, noting that the Council had secured £1.1 million in funding, including an additional £110,000 through a competitive tri-borough bid. The funding will be used to support town centre regeneration, business growth, and employment initiatives.

The capital portion of the funding will be used for improvements in Uxbridge and Hayes, including upgrades to public spaces and the development of a Business Innovation Hub in partnership with Brunel University and the Hillingdon Chamber of Commerce. Revenue funding will continue to support employment and training programmes, business mentoring, and procurement readiness for SMEs.

Public Preview of Confidential Reports

The Cabinet noted the reports to be considered later in private, including the purchase of street sweepers, fire safety works at schools, a contract for revenues, benefits, and housing systems, and non-domestic rate irrecoverable debt. Councillor Bianco announced that the Council would be holding a competition to name the new street sweepers, engaging children from local schools.