Budget special 2009/10
Council tax down 3 per cent for the third year running…
Residents in Hammersmith & Fulham will see their council tax bills drop by the biggest amount in Britain – for the third year in a row. Council tax bills are set to tumble by three per cent again as Hammersmith & Fulham Council continues to help residents suffering as a result of the credit crunch.
"At a time of great financial uncertainty for many families we are once again taking the lead in Britain and are set to cut council tax by three per cent for the third year in a row," says Council Leader, Councillor Stephen Greenhalgh. "It is essential councils like ours do all we can to help hard-working families struggling to make ends meet by taking less of their money while delivering quality frontline services."
Experts give council top rating
Last year the Government's official watchdog – The Audit Commission – put H&F in the elite band of top-performing councils. Inspectors gave H&F the maximum four stars.
"This shows once and for all that you can reduce the tax burden on residents while improving the way the council runs vital services."
Councillor Stephen Greenhalgh, Leader of the Council.
The council tax cut – how it was done
After three years of tax cuts, residents in H&F are expected to be £175 better off compared to the average London borough - a massive boost when residents are struggling with the cost of living. So how is it done?
Less red tape
More than £12 million of efficiencies will be delivered in 2009/10 by cutting red tape, reducing staff numbers and office space, making better use of IT and other cost cutting initiatives. The council is also improving customer access while saving money, for example, by allowing people to renew parking permits online. Overall the council’s award winning Customer Access Strategy has delivered £4 million in savings while substantially improving the service to residents.
Reducing our headcount and agency bills
Staff numbers have fallen by 566 through efficiency measures and agency spend has tumbled from £22.7 million in 2005/6 to a predicted £19.7 million in 2008/09.
Cutting debt
Before we spend a penny on services, we currently have to spend £10 million of taxpayers’ money just servicing our historic debt. For every million we can trim off that bill, we are saving taxpayers £100,000 a year. Reducing the debt bill means there is more to spend on services. Debt is being slashed by £20 million, producing annual savings in borrowing costs of around £1.7 million a year.
Market testing
We are market testing £90 million of services, producing savings of £1.3 million in 2008/9. The council has already outsourced the refuse and recycling collections to a company called Serco and the maintenance of the borough’s parks to Quadron.
And we are spending more…
Schools
The council is planning for £200 million of upgrades to redevelop every secondary school in the borough. The plans will extend choice for parents and their children, and ensure that residents feel increasingly confident when choosing local schools.
Parks
The council’s successful ParkLife campaign is improving parks and open spaces to the tune of £8.1 million. The cash injection includes£4.8 million for Shepherds Bush Green.
Major improvements have also been carried out at many of the borough’s other flagship parks, including Normand Park, South Park and Frank Banfield Park.
In addition, the council has teamed up with Quadron Services, one of Britain’s most highly-respected grounds maintenance companies, to ensure parks and open spaces in the borough are maintained to the very highest of standards.
Same day refuse and recycling
For the first time residents have weekly bin collections with recycling, refuse and street cleaning all on the same day. Since February 2009, refuse and recycling has been collected on the same day, making the system as easy as possible for residents, helping the drive to make Hammersmith & Fulham a cleaner, greener borough.
"This is a commonsense council that is leading the way in delivering quality services at the lowest possible cost. Our tax cuts are affordable and do not increase our debt burden," said Councillor Greenhalgh.
More bobbies, more arrests, safer streets
Hammersmith is the latest town centre to benefit from extra beat Bobbies as the council is spending £1.15 million on extra police. The move follows the ground-breaking trials in Fulham Broadway and Shepherds Bush Green which will also continue thanks to the extra funding.
» Continue to Your budget questions answered
Page last updated: 27/03/2009
