Cllr Gerald McGregor
April 12, 2025
6th April is an auspicious date for individuals but not for government or local authorities where 1st April (no jokes please) is the key date and the start of the finance year. Hounslow Council with its massive Labour majority has started the year with “Ambitious plans for the future”, but without the wherewithal to carry their many supposed plans to fruition.
The local propaganda sheet “Hounslow Matters” pretends to have four pages about the budget set for this year. Unfortunately, the only concrete news is about the removal of financial support to large numbers of council tax payers under the Council Tax Support scheme; many of whom remain anxious about outcomes and which is a body blow to living standards. The Council is creating a hardship fund, but to date no details are available!
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT IN HOUNSLOW
I take my hats off to the accounting team of treasury, finance and management professionals who are providing a very high continuing level of service and support. The finance team, plus our Hounslow outsourced specialist partners, are all describing the general level of funding and financial management of resources as challenging. This is due to the economy generally being subject to buffeting financial and fiscal headwinds that lie beyond their control. The recent February figures for GDP are encouraging but the main headwinds, caused by disruptive economic messages from America, are not promising.
Hounslow, with one of the most cost-efficient social care departments in England is attempting to meet rising demand by better use of information, providing control of cases and rigid adherence to standards of increased delivery.
RISING LOCAL CONCERNS ABOUT HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE IN THE FUTURE
Hounslow works with a variety of partner authorities in education, health and dealing with mental health and social deprivation. These areas often create a long-term care concern. Hounslow works hard to achieve positive results for residents in the borough over prolonged periods of engagement and has a recognised commitment to excellence.
Your Councillors in Chiswick find that their regular Saturday surgeries are being visited more and more frequently by residents with social care issues, not always for themselves, but for close relatives, children, parents, siblings etc who need support. The main subject for this week is “how to access such support” in adult social care.
HOW DO YOU ACCESS ADULT SOCIAL CARE IN HOUNSLOW
If you come across an incident or are concerned about abuse or neglect affecting an adult in Hounslow, you should report a safeguarding concern.
Hounslow offer support to adults in Hounslow who have social care needs. This might mean:
WHEN YOU MIGHT NEED TO APPROACH SOCIAL CARE IN HOUNSLOW
There are many circumstances where you might approach Hounslow and this is often done via your GP or other health professional
They might include:
Details can be found via the Hounslow Borough website.
THE CARE ACT 2014 AND HOW IT PROTECTS YOU
This legislation aims to make care and support more consistent across England and Wales. It outlines:
You can read more about the Care Act on the GOV.UK website.
My personal ongoing casework in Chiswick frequently involves cases of social deprivation often through poor housing, educational difficulties and planning transition from child to adult care provision.
SURGERIES and CASE WORK
I had the pleasure of doing two recent surgeries at Chiswick Library. The case work and main concerns were accompanied by complaints about rising prices, rising council tax bills, failures to do council property repairs and maintenance (common across Homefields) and the state of the local built environment and inability to contact the council to discuss anything with officers (working from home perhaps).
My current casework portfolio includes a number of Statement of Educational Need (SEN) and Education and Health Care cases. The nature of these cases which I deal with (vulnerable children and adolescents) are highly confidential and go directly to the council department without reference to the case work system. So, there is detailed support required and a great deal of background work delivering that support. My colleagues, Cllr Jack Emsley and Cllr John Todd in Homefield Ward, never cease to amaze me by their diligence and ability to get results from these and other cases.
HOUNSLOW HOUSING
Hounslow holds too many individual houses across Homefields, Gunnersbury Park and Riverside wards in Chiswick, often acquired as part of road schemes and historic purchases more than 60 years ago. These individual houses are an anachronism because they lack any standard fittings such as heating boilers, kitchen and bathroom taps and electrical systems. This and their individual layouts make repair and maintenance very expensive and consequently a huge cost burden against the Housing Revenue account. The failures of maintenance can be a serious breakdown in services that lead to barely habitable accommodation.
The solution would be to sell these individual properties on the open market for others to repair and improve (particularly first-time buyers), and then use the proceeds to form the capital investment fund needed for higher quality public housing that reflects modern standards and current housing needs.
CASE WORK INCREASES AND BOROUGH COUNCIL REDUCTIONS
The case work carried by your local councillors is often a reflection of the poor political management, poor leadership and worse a poor financial policy now common in Hounslow and regrettably very common in other labour controlled local authorities in England and Wales. This is why the Conservative Group and your three local Homefields councillors always take a lead in discussing finance and budget at the Borough Council meetings, of which there are fewer and fewer. The Borough Council in 2025/6 now meets 6 times a year (down from 13 since 2010).
THE CONSEQUENCES OF DEMOCRATIC NORMS NOT BEING ADHERED TO
This lack of democratic control is a result of a series of constitutional changes.
The lack of discussion at the meetings that are actually held has created tensions in the membership of the council administration. Three prominent new independent councillors who were formally senior Labour cabinet spokesmen have left or been forced out of their group. This is symptomatic of a lack of respect for those who challenge the block vote and it also creates questions about those who speak truth to authority.
Where is the scrutiny in Hounslow Council?
Where is the audit commitment to good governance and listening to independent third-party advice and support?
QED
Cllr Gerald McGregor
gerald.mcgregor@hounslow.gov.uk
07866 784821
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 2025
Anyone can attend public meetings of the council at Hounslow House which is fully accessible. Most meetings take place on the 6th floor of Hounslow House which is at 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB.
15th April: 7:00pm: Cabinet
Council Meetings - Borough Council
There is public access for these meetings via a direct lift from the ground floor to the Council Meeting Room
6th Floor, Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB
Council Meetings – Overview and Scrutiny Committee
6th Floor, Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB
Council Meetings – Audit and Governance Committee
6th Floor, Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB
EASTER HOLIDAY SUPPORT
Important Current Local Issues
During weekends and regular Public Holidays, residents can still access council services on-line or via emergency numbers:
To inform the council of an emergency, please call 020 8583 2222
CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLOR SURGERIES
Chiswick: Every Saturday from 9.30am to 10.30am at Chiswick Library (the eight Conservative councillors take this surgery in turn).
Gunnersbury: First Saturday of the month from 10am to 11am at The Gunnersbury Triangle Club, Triangle Way, off The Ridgeway, W3 8LU (at least one of the Chiswick Gunnersbury ward councillors takes this surgery).
CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLORS and CONTACTS
Chiswick Gunnersbury ward
Cllr Joanna Biddolph joanna.biddolph@hounslow.gov.uk 07976 703446
Cllr Ranjit Gill ranjit.gill@hounslow.gov.uk 07976 702956
Cllr Ron Mushiso ron.mushiso@hounslow.gov.uk 07976 702887
Chiswick Homefields ward
Cllr Jack Emsley jack.emsley@hounslow.gov.uk 07977 396017
Cllr Gerald McGregor gerald.mcgregor@hounslow.gov.uk 07866 784821
Cllr John Todd john.todd@hounslow.gov.uk 07866 784651
Chiswick Riverside ward
Cllr Gabriella Giles gabriella.giles@hounslow.gov.uk 07966 270823
Cllr Peter Thompson peter.thompson@hounslow.gov.uk 07977 395810
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