Council Finances, a Snooper's Charter and Welcome to a New Colleague

Firstly, before I continue with my blog, I would like to first welcome my newest colleague to the Conservative Group, Cllr Karamat Malik (Heston West ward). Karamat joins us from Labour, a party he describes as ‘driving our community and the country to the brink’ and I cannot agree more and you will see why from my blog. Karamat is a respected and well-known hard-working councillor who has always put residents first and now his adhesion to the Conservative Party is testament to that. He, like many others, has seen firsthand how Labour is failing our borough and we need change. We need renewal and we need change. May 2026 is our chance to show Labour enough is enough.

From National Commitment to Local reality in Hounslow

Regrettably, as previously forecast here, the Borough Council meeting in Hounslow on 25th November was a familiar process. The Leader of the Council (who also holds the Cabinet Post for Finance and Budget) was sadly absent and we had to rely on Cllr Tom Bruce (Labour, Hounslow South) to provide information about the Cash Management (or Lack of It) of the council for the first half year of the Finance Period (from 1st April 2025)

This report summarised the Council’s Treasury Management activity, borrowing, and for the six months ending 30 September 2025.

Key highlights in Local Finance included:

That all activity was in line with the Treasury Management Strategy (TMS) approved by the Labour Administration at the Borough Council on 25 February 2025, which has turned out to be no more than confetti at a wedding.

Total borrowing reduced from £608.1m to £594.8m, a net decrease of £13.3m. but hiding a hole in the current account where Cllr Jack Emsley (Conservative, Chiswick Homefields) identified a shortfall of some £80 million !!!!! on the horizon if the council did not curb its current expenditure projections.

History shows that the regular promises of a balanced budget (required by law) actually end up with an accumulation of annual deficits (shades of Jim Callaghan) and the use of reserves and contingent funds to stop up the leaks in the dam; which means that budget discipline is lost and balanced outcomes disappear into a black hole

The General Fund and Housing Revenue Account (HRA) overall borrowing reduced from £10.1m to £9.9m £432.6m to £419.4m. but borrowing, for the expensive (and out of control-with no profits in sight) council trading subsidiary Lampton Group, remained unchanged at £175.4m (all of which is guaranteed by the taxpayers of Hounslow).

Treasury investments decreased from £66.2m to £49.6m, a net reduction of £16.6m; a direct result of the payment schedule on slightly reducing the debt burden.

SCRUTINY AND RESPONSE TO THE MEDIUM-TERM TREASURY REPORT

No breaches of prudential indicators occurred during the reporting period according to the Report Writer, but the unsaid information is that future forecasts are now showing huge pressure on the council's Cash Management. The report was passed with all its deficiencies by the cabinet on the 11th November

The unspoken low lights were the complete lack of any coherent response to the contingency funds being used to fill financial holes and the failure of the Council to hold itself to account in January of 2026 when, for the previous twenty years, we have always debated the government settlement and the outline of the council budget going to Cabinet and hence the terms of the council tax for April 2026 onwards.

NATIONAL POLITICS

This was a council meeting the day before the Chancellor’s statement to the House of Commons. This was about the National position and the Budget for 2026/27 made on 26th November by the Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

She is continuing to spend ~ when a call to the IMF is just around the corner and asking householders (many in Chiswick, Brentford and Bedfont) to pay for it in new capital taxes which were not in Labour’s manifesto. Does she think the population is stupid? And where is the money to be spent on the security of our realm and of Europe?

LOCAL POLITICS

The Council meeting in February has also been put back from 26th February to 10th March so there is a three month’s plus long gap for any sort of rational scrutiny (and we are meant to be living in a democracy). The problem lies with the administration.

Elected with 52 out of 62 councillors on the Borough Council the tale of woe and misconception began almost immediately; between then and recent times they have shed members (councillors) to the Greens, to Independents and of course to the Conservatives and this has begun a panic over loyalty and patronage in their ranks, with membership of committees of the council now being recast (to reflect the growing number of councillors no longer associating with the Labour Party).

SNOOPERS CHARTER OVER RESIDENTS; CLOSED CIRCUIT CAMERAS

(And Grinding the Motorist and Taxpayer to pay for it.

And another nail in the coffin of freedom and liberty without any authoritarian oversight and control.

And we are sleepwalking back to 1984):

THE ENFORCEMENT REVIEW

The cabinet on the 11th November decided to buy 40 more public cameras for traffic infringement penalties and parking enforcement. The big focus was on the extra revenue and money to be raised by reorganising

Cabinet approved the recommended new Operating Model for Enforcement consisting of:

a) New, integrated council delivered Enforcement service

b) New contract for Parking Enforcement which includes the monitoring of CCTv cameras related to parking enforcement and moving traffic violations

c) Environmental Enforcement contract

d) Internal delivery of CCTv monitoring for community safety cameras

· Cabinet authorised the commencement of the procurement of a new Parking Enforcement contract and delegated the authority to award the new contract to the Director of Environmental Services in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Infrastructure Recycling & Transformation.

So who makes the decision?

· Cabinet approved the development of a design and supporting Full Business Case for an in-house model for the delivery of the CCTv monitoring function for community safety cameras.

· Cabinet delegated authority to the Director of Communities in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Customer Services, and Enforcement to either:

a) to approve implementation of the new in-house model, or

b) if the Full Business Case does not demonstrate that this is the best value for money option, to authorise commencement of the procurement of a new contract for this function (either standalone or included within the scope of another contract) and subsequently authorise the award of the contract.

In effect not keeping financial control on the project and giving delegated authority to an officer

· Cabinet approved a budget allocation, for programme management resource, equipment and technology, to enable the implementation of the recommendations of:

a) £84,000 to be funded from the One Hounslow Transformation Reserve

b) £30,000 from the Unallocated General Fund Capital Programme Budget.

I am sure that no one in Hounslow was aware that National Highways will now be be repaying the charges illicitly levied on motorists, but what about compensation when things go wrong because the technology failed?

TOTAL FOR COLLECTION REVEALED LAST WEEK

Al Murray (left) with Cllr Gerald McGregor; Mark James; Tony Currie; Cathie James and Elisabeth Whittaker

£30,000 plus raised in 2025 Poppy Fund Appeal for Service Charities and Veterans, up from less than £1,000 in 2024

Well done, Chiswick Residents

Cllr Gerald McGregor

gerald.mcgregor@hounslow.gov.uk

07866 784821

DEMOCRACY: DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Anyone can attend public meetings of the council. Most meetings take place on the 6th Floor, Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, TW3 3EB. Hounslow House is fully accessible. The nearest tube is Hounslow Central which does not have step-free access. Parking in local roads is limited.

Principal meetings are broadcast live on the Council’s YouTube channel

Council Meetings

Next Borough Council Not Till March!!!!!!

Tuesday 10 March 2026 7:30 pm Budget Setting Meeting for the Annual Budget 2026/27 (moved from 24 February 2026). Including setting the Council Tax for April 2026 onwards

There is public access for this meeting via a direct lift from the ground floor to the Council Meeting Room, so come and see your elected representatives in action.

Tuesday 3 February 2026 Audit and Governance Committee 7:00 pm

Chiswick Area Forum

Monday 17 March 2026 6.30 for 7.30pm

Normally at Hogarth Hall, Chiswick Town Hall, Heathfield Terrace, Turnham, W4 4JN, but moveable around Chiswick (please check the website)

Informal Meeting at 6.30pm Formal Meeting commences at 7.30pm

Both meetings are open from 6.30pm allowing residents to meet officers of Hounslow Council in Adult and Child care Social Welfare, Education, Housing and other Services (Residents are encouraged to stay on for the main agenda)

Emergencies

You can report emergencies outside office hours by ringing the council on: 020 8583 2222.

CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLOR SURGERIES

Chiswick: Every Saturday from 9.30am to 10.30am at Chiswick Library (the seven 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 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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