The Hounslow Conservatives say the plan “isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on”
Hounslow Council has announced its “fairer future” plan to tackle local inequality throughout the next four years.
Within the plan are 10 themes which several policies fall under. The themes include work, community life, early childhood, learning, and housing.
Tackling inequality has been dubbed the council’s “guiding star” to ensure lives are improved across the borough. In the foreword, Cllr Shantanu Rajawat, Leader of the Council, and Mandy Skinner, Chief Executive, said: “Hounslow should be a place where everyone thrives…
“We want Hounslow to be a borough people are proud to call home: a place where every neighbourhood feels cared for, every community sees itself in our future, and no place is left behind.”
To improve opportunities for children and families, the council is introducing newborn library cards, where every child automatically gets issued one, and will promote free books through the Dolly Parton Foundation to support early education.
Hounslow Council says it will also focus on delivering its “playground pledge”. This means the council will invest in playgrounds across the borough, with specific focus on improving accessibility, fostering imaginative play and improving children’s connection with nature.
When it comes to neighbourhoods and town centres, the council has guaranteed a 24-hour response to reported fly-tipping and offensive graffiti. Fly-tip fines are a topic of heated debate in the borough, with first-time offenders being slapped with a £1,000 fine over something as small as an envelope.
This led to Loretta Alvarez, a single mum and NHS mental health nurse, being fined £1,000 for leaving an envelope next to her overflowing council bins. This was during the same time that the council missed 2,000 bin collections.
Families and young people
The council has also committed to strengthen Family Hubs “as a front door to early help, bringing together health, parenting, childcare, education and support so families can get what they need”.
Aimed at Hounslow’s young people, the council has announced it will launch a mental health hub. This will be co-designed with young people to focus on accessible community-based support.
In employment, the council will launch an Adult Learning and Skills Programme which will enrol over 1,000 residents on courses that “build confidence, skills and routes into work and progression”.
The authority will also develop a Hounslow Skills Plan through a Skills Summit with employers, colleges and partners. The council says this will create clearer routes into work for young people and aligning training pathways to local growth sectors and residents’ future opportunities.
In community life, the council says it will expand unpaid carer support and recruit local carers alongside strengthening alternatives to traditional care.
To promote “healthy life” a Healthy Hounslow Hanworth Hub will launch, offering holistic wellbeing services such as support to stop smoking, weight management, and healthy eating. Additionally, a new drug and alcohol recovery hub will open at Oxley House.
Pledge to help build 2,500 homes
Hounslow Council has not guaranteed but rather stated it is an ambition to “support delivery of 2,500 homes”. The plan does not outline whether these homes would be affordable.
The governing Hounslow Labour missed its own promise made at the 2022 election to deliver 1,000 council homes by 2026. The council will also create a housing anti-social behaviour team to “manage cases end-to-end across the housing stock and strengthen victim-focused support”.
With funding awarded by the Government’s national Pride in Place scheme, the council has committed to borough wide improvements to “greening, seating… accessibility, shopfront upgrades, wayfinding, and public space”.
The Leader of the Opposition on Hounslow Council, Cllr Jack Emsley, said that the plan “isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on”. He said: “Councils should be judged on how well they deliver their corporate plans and, based on Hounslow Labour’s track record, this latest document isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.
“In the last corporate plan published in 2022, Hounslow Labour promised a 25% reduction in fly-tipping – the latest data shows it’s actually increased by 2%. They promised to rollout 2,000 EV charging points – the latest data shows they’ve delivered exactly zero.
“They promised to reduce violence against women and girls – in their last budget, they actually reduced the funding for the domestic violence team. They promised 2,000 new council homes – they’ve delivered less than half that number.
“Residents should judge this administration by what they achieve, not by what they promise. Instead of a glossy new 32-page plan, Hounslow Labour should be explaining to residents why they failed to deliver on so many of their promises in the last corporate plan.”
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