1 April 2008
Dear reader,
Council tax is one of the ways the London Borough of Hounslow raises money to pay for local services such as refuse collection, care for the elderly and libraries.
When you pay your council tax you quite rightly expect value for your money - and quality, efficient community services.
This year has been particularly difficult for us. Most of what we spend comes from government and we have received the worst settlement for a decade. The below inflation settlement unfairly penalises both the council and local residents.
No account has been taken of the wide-ranging additional pressures that we face in London as a top world city, particularly those of a rapidly expanding population.
However, despite all this, we have fulfilled our pledge to freeze our element of the council tax in 2008/09. For the second year running, you will not pay anything extra to the council.
We will be increasing our spending on services that you have told us matter to you. In addition we have squeezed over £8 million savings by identifying where we can do things differently, or more efficiently.
Sadly, despite all our best efforts, your overall council tax will go up. All of the increase in your bill is due to the precept you pay the Mayor of London, which has risen by 2.4 per cent this year.
2008 will be a real year of delivery for the London Borough of Hounslow. As always our priority remains focused on delivering the services that make the biggest difference to our community.
For the full story, see the latest Hounslow Matters (
PDF Help, size 1351kb).
Cllr Peter Thompson
Leader Of The Council
London Borough of Hounslow