Agenda and draft minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Omid Miri.

Councillor Victoria Brocklebank-Fowler and Neil Thurlow, Assistant Director of Community Safety, Resilience and CCTV were attending remotely.

If a Councillor has a disclosable pecuniary interest in a particular item, whether or not it is entered in the Authority’s register of interests, or any other significant interest which they consider should be declared in the public interest, they should declare the existence and, unless it is a sensitive interest as defined in the Member Code of Conduct, the nature of the interest at the commencement of the consideration of that item or as soon as it becomes apparent.

At meetings where members of the public are allowed to be in attendance and speak, any Councillor with a disclosable pecuniary interest or other significant interest may also make representations, give evidence or answer questions about the matter. The Councillor must then withdraw immediately from the meeting before the matter is discussed and any vote taken.

Where Members of the public are not allowed to be in attendance and speak, then the Councillor with a disclosable pecuniary interest should withdraw from the meeting whilst the matter is under consideration. Councillors who have declared other significant interests should also withdraw from the meeting if they consider their continued participation in the matter would not be reasonable in the circumstances and may give rise to a perception of a conflict of interest.

Councillors are not obliged to withdraw from the meeting where a dispensation to that effect has been obtained from the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting as an accurate record and note any outstanding actions.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting held on 18 November 2025 were agreed as accurate record.

On matters arising from the last meeting, the Chair informed the Committee that three members had taken part in the Police’s live facial recognition operation to observe the deployment in action at Westfields near the end of last November.

This report provides an update on the overall preparation and proposals for the 2026/27 revenue budget, risks, financial resilience, and the impact of those proposals.

Councillor Rowan Ree (Cabinet Member for Finance and Reform) gave an overview of the 2026/27 Medium-Term Financial Strategy (pages 26 to 33), covering the strategic context (including Chancellor’s Budget Statement), policy statement on Fair Funding Review, the revenue budget strategy and Budget 2026/27, essential pressures and savings proposals 2026/27.

Kellie Gooch (Head of Finance – Place) presented the revenue budget 2026/27 in respect of social inclusion and community safety, including key budget changes and budget risks. She also outlined the impacts of the initiatives of investing in keeping local people safe and investing in social inclusion,

NOTE: The presentation slides are attached in Appendix A

Councillor Victoria Brocklebank-Fowler said she shared the disappointment on the Fair Funding Review as it was not fair to H&F’s residents for the devastating cut.  She sought clarification whether the reduction of £135 m would span across two or four years.  She remarked that austerity of such a scale never happened to this council before and it  would put the next Administration in a difficult position. 

Councillor Ree acknowledged that it was not a fair settlement to LBHF. He said that the funding formula was set on deprivation and LBHF was positioned 120 out of 296 local authority districts. Given nearly 60% of local authority districts were less deprived than LBHF, it was bad to see this council still got a reduction in funding. He noted that the impact of Fair Funding Review, as shown on page 30, would phase in over three years and the reduction in 2026/27 was £8.9 m.  As such, £135 m for two or four years was not a recognisable figure. The current settlement lasted for three years, and the council needed to do a lot of work to tighten its belt and put aside resources to dampen the transition.

Councillor Brocklebank-Fowler noted that the Collection Fund which was mainly made up by the double council tax payable in respect of the lots of second homes which was a policy she disagreed with.  She was also very concerned about raising the collection rate to 98%. 

In response, Councillor Ree considered the second homes premium was a fair scheme for people having second homes in H&F to contribute more to council tax. He noted that the council had already hit past the 97% collection rate, that was why 98% was put up in the budget to reflect the efficiency at collecting council tax. Addressing her further concern about bailiffs, Councillor Ree said according to LBHF’s debt collection policy, bailiffs were used only for people who could pay but choose not to do so while enjoying the services.

Councillor Brocklebank-Fowler asked how the Homeless Reduction Strategy helped save £1.2 m in 2026/27. Councillor Ree highlighted that a lot of savings and efficiencies in the proposals stemmed from solving the problems before they developed into bigger ones. The Homeless Reduction Strategy was a case in point.  If the potential client’s problem was tackled before they were out on the streets becoming  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

This item provides an update on the work of the Law Enforcement Team between April 2025 and December 2025. This is provided for information only.

Mo Basith (Law Enforcement Manager) presented the report on the work of the Law Enforcement Team (LET) between April and December 2025. He highlighted the impact of an inhouse built “LET App” on service delivery including faster response times, greater ground coverage, improved resident experience, enhanced data accuracy and operational efficiency. He also gave a performance analysis for the said period.

Councillor Sally Taylor asked whether all officers on patrol carried Naloxone, a medication that reversed opioid overdoses. Mo Basith said the life-saving medication were kept safe on the vehicles around the patrolling areas. Sometimes, the LET worked in partnership with the CCTV team and Police in administering Naloxone.

Councillor Lucy Richardson noted that there was a lot of crimes near the area of Charing Cross Hospital and Margravine Cemetery, some of which were associated with individuals who worked in the area having mental health problems and/or substance use issues.  She asked whether the LET would act according to the crime demographic and target the specific area in question.

Mo Basith acknowledged the situation and added that students from a nearby college were seen congregating in the cemetery vaping/smoking, with some said to be taking drugs. The LET, upon receiving reports, had spoken to the students, the head teachers and teachers at the school. As regards handling individuals with mental health issues, the LET’s community safety officers, similar to the Police, would refer those adults to the safeguarding team of adult social care. 

On Councillor Victoria Brocklebank-Fowler’s question about staff strength in each ward, Mo Basith noted the varying levels of service demand among the 21 wards, so staff would be moved around to provide the required support while there was always one named officer for every ward. 

Councillor Brocklebank-Fowler was concerned that the South had recorded the fastest growth (+27.9%) of anti-social behaviour (ASB).  Neil Thurlow (Assistant Director of Community Safety, Resilience and CCTV) said the design of the LET was to build trust and confidence in the community. It was a positive sign to see an increase in reports to the service of ASB which was one of the LET’s core pillars at the start.  The increase might mean that residents were comfortable and confident to reach out to the LET. Neil noted that in line with the nature of 24/7 services, the LET would move resources around to help areas in need. He added that the night teams were not ward specific and could be moved around.

As regards the changes in the budget for the LET over the years, Mark Raisbeck (Director of Public Realm) said he understood the budget was sufficient to fully fund the 72 full-time equivalent officers.  He undertook to provide the relevant figures after the meeting.

ACTION: Mark Raisbeck

Questions from the floor

Casey Abaraonye (Resident) asked about the installation of a defibrillator outside his work premises. Mo Basith agreed to contact him after speaking with the council’s first aid team.

ACTION: Mo Basith

Councillor Rebecca Harvey (Cabinet Member for Social Inclusion  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To note the following dates of future meetings:

·       27 April 2026

The Committee noted the next meeting would be held on 27 April 2026.  The Chair reminded members that the meeting would be cancelled if the date fell within the pre-election period.