Wednesday, 26 November 2008

It can be done and any reader living in a Tory controlled borough who 
does not experience the same should make their councillors take up 
the invitation to visit H&F.  Too many coiuncils have had the sa,e 
party in power for too long and councillors get complacent and in the 
pockets of their paid officials, because they are often too lazy  to 
do the research and ARGUE!

Living about 800 yards outside H&F I can only marvel but we in Ealing 
turfed out Labour a year later and some distinct progress has been 
made already - but not enough!

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CONSERVATIVE HOME Blog   26.11.08
Hammersmith and Fulham cuts Council Tax by 3% again

Very proud to report that my local council, Hammersmith and Fulham, 
is cutting the Council Tax by 3% in the next financial year. That 
will be the third year in a row to have achieved a cut of that level. 
This achievement is all the more impressive given that it has been 
combined with paying off £20 million of debt, coping with a tight 

Revenue Support Grant settlement from a hostile Labour Government and 
achieving an improvement in services as evidenced from resident 
satisfaction surveys and the highest possible rating of four stars 
from the Audit Commission.

How have we done it?
. Reducing our headcount and agency bills - Staff numbers have 
fallen by 566 through efficiency measures and agency spend has 
tumbled from £24 million in 2005/6 to £21 million in 2007/8
. Cutting our debt by nearly £20 million, producing annual savings 
in borrowing costs of around £1.7 million a year
. Market testing £90 million of services, producing savings of £1.3 
million in 2008/9.
. Promoting smarter working - cutting accommodation costs is saving 
£1.1 million
. 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 our service to 
customers.

Council leader Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh says:
"At a time of great financial uncertainty for many families we are 
once again taking the lead in Britain by cutting council tax for the 
third year in a row. It essential councils like ours do all we can to 
help hard working families struggling to make ends meet, whilst 
ensuring we still deliver quality services.

"At the same time we are providing quality local services that people 
expect, spending money on things that matter.  We are improving 
schools, cutting crime and making our parks better. We are retaining 
weekly bin collections while making it easier for residents by 
ensuring that refuse, recycling and street cleaning happen on the 
same day.
"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. Instead we are 
cutting debt. I invite politicians of all parties to come to 
Hammersmith to see how it is done."

Shadow Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said:
"On a day when the government is raising taxation, putting the 
country deep into debt and placing burdens on ordinary working 
families, Hammersmith and Fulham Conservatives are reducing Council 
tax  bills for the third year running.  This demonstrates that for 
the residents of Hammersmith and Fulham tax cuts aren't just for 
Christmas, but are part of a long term plan to make life easier for 
the people we serve."

I do hope that other Council leaders will take the invitation to 
visit Hammersmith as serious and sensible rather than just rhetorical 
boasting. Often Council leaders say it is "not possible" for them to 
reduce Council Tax because their circumstances are different to those 
in Hammersmith. Maybe. Perhaps for instance they didn't have as much 
fat to cut in the first place as we did. On the other hand maybe at 
least some of the savings we are achieving they could copy. They 
shouldn't be too proud. After all we have achieved a large part of 
our success by copying Wandsworth.

One other point. These success stories in places like Wandsworth and 
Hammersmith and Fulham have an impact on the tax cutting credibility 
of  the Party nationally, as Philip Johnston argued in the Telegraph 
yesterday.