Lower taxes and better services are possible

Hammersmith and Fulham Council has forced its way into the elite band of top rated councils for the third year running according to Government inspectors.

The council, which has just agreed the biggest council tax cut in Britain for the third year in a row, has received the top rating of four stars from the Audit Commission.

Overall 24 per cent of councils achieved an ‘improving strongly’ rating, although no others were cutting tax at the same time. 59 per cent of councils are ‘improving well’, 14 per cent ‘adequately’ and 4 per cent are ‘not improving’.

The glowing report says: “Hammersmith & Fulham Council is improving strongly. There are particular improvements in services for older people, children’s services and culture. Educational attainment, particularly at key stage three, has improved. This ambitious council has delivered the Westfield retail centre, improved public transport facilities, two new train stations and a bus terminal and the innovative 24/7 policing pilots, which have achieved reductions in crime. The council has worked successfully with health partners to reduce teenage pregnancies and is strong at delivering value for money.”

Meanwhile figures from the Annual Residents’ Survey 2008 show that compared to the 2006 survey, overall resident satisfaction is up 11 per cent, to an all time high of 64 per cent.

Council Leader, Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh, says, “This result proves once and for all that it is possible to deliver lower tax and top quality frontline services simultaneously. Hard work and determination, combined with sensible policies and a low tax ethos, have led us to where we are now.

“In the current economic climate, Hammersmith & Fulham is a beacon for others to follow and I am delighted that cabinet ministers and other councils are now asking how we have achieved so much.”

As well as enjoying top class services, after three years of tax cuts residents in H&F are expected to be around £175 better off compared to the average London borough - a massive boost when residents are struggling with the cost of living.

Last week directors and councillors unanimously agreed to a pay freeze as a signal of the council’s ongoing commitment to cutting costs.

Cllr Greenhalgh, continues: “Our approach in freezing member allowances and directors pay is symbolic of the value for money ethos which runs throughout the council. The rigorous scrutiny of every penny spent starts at the top and by combining this with a private-sector, customer-focused approach, we are able to drive down costs AND improve services.”

The council is cutting more than £13 million of red tape in 2009/10 by reducing staff numbers, office space and making better use of IT. At the same time extra cash is being found for front-line services like more beat Police, parks improvements and schools.

Cllr Greenhalgh concludes: “The mistake some people make is that higher tax equals better services and that lower tax means cutting services - it does not. We are proving that councils can deliver more for less. The credit crunch induced recession requires other councils to sit up and realise there is a new economic reality that means we all need to act in a more prudent way. 

“H&F is well placed to ride out the storm as we have been reining in unnecessary costs for the past three years but it is now time for the rest of the public sector to wake up and smell the coffee and realise lower tax and better services can be delivered simultaneously.”

Hammersmith & Fulham Council has received the highest star rating for each of the past three years but this year its future prospects or ‘direction of travel’ has been upgraded from ‘improving well’ to ‘improving strongly’ - the best result possible.

The Minister for Local Government, John Healey MP, visited H&F in January to see how the council is cutting tax and improving public services. Now Steve Bundred, who is Chief Executive of the Audit Commission - the independent body that checks whether public services are giving value for money, is set to visit H&F to see for himself how the council has achieved lower taxes and better services.

» Download the 2008 CPA scorecard (pdf 37KB)