Hounslow Plans Cuts and Raised Charges to Reduce Deficit
Hoping to bring in extra £12 million through savings proposals
Swimming fee increases at local leisure centres are expected to raise £200,000
December 14, 2024
A programme of savings is to be presented to a forthcoming meeting of the council proposing a range of measures to reduce the budget deficit by £12 million.
The One Hounslow Financial Strategy includes are range of service cuts, fee increases and proposals to increase council revenue to achieve the planned saving. The report is due to be presented to the council’s cabinet on 17 December.
It describes the council’s financial position as ‘very challenging’ due to combination of macro-economic factors as well as the increasing demand for social care for both adults and children which has risen significantly in the current financial year.
A third of the total will come from the already announced changes to working age Council Tax support that will bring in £4million but money will also be raised by reducing schools funding, transport for special needs pupils, increasing swimming fees and the rate charged for Fixed Penalty Notices.
The council is hoping to make an extra £200,000 by increasing the fees for swimming in local leisure centres. This is part of a general uplift of fees and charges that seeks to raise an additional £400,000.
£700,000 will be gained by a larger top splice of the Dedicated Schools Grant for Early Years and Central School Service blocks, a measure that has already been agreed with the Schools Forum.
Spending on Special Educational Needs transport will be reduced by £200,000 which the report says is enabled by wider operating model changes.
£276,000 will be raised by a review of the Fixed Penalty Notice fee model and another £200,000 would be cut from the budget by a dimming streetlights.
Smaller amounts have been earmarked from a £20,000 cut in the parks maintenance budget and a £30,000 reduction in spending on Area Forums although the current number of meetings will be maintained. £25,000 is to be saved by withdrawing the subsidy for the Prison Library Service.
Other measures include a reduction in spending on Christmas lights and a policy of not replacing trees when they are felled.
Despite these proposed cuts, it is still projected that the borough will need to dip into its reserves taking out £14.7million. Although there are adequate funds to cover this, it is pointed out that reserves will need to be replenished in the medium term.
The report has been made to give the Cabinet an update on the current financial position and how it has changed since the last One Hounslow Finance Strategy was published in July of this year.
It is not intended to be a full budget report but an update on savings identification ahead the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement which is expected later this month. This will then determine the decision on the setting of council tax rates for next year with the maximum rise of 4.99% expected.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |