Strand on the Green raising money

Last weekend I was at the Strand on the Green school fete.

There was a fabulous crowd of people there as usual. I bumped into Cllr Peter Thompson and his family amongst the crowd - everyone seemed to be really enjoying themselves in the sunshine. It was different to last year when the heavens opened mid afternoon.

The food was excellent... I arrived just in time for lunch! Cllr Sam Hearn was helping at the burger stall but I headed for the excellent Thai food with Cllr Paul Lynch and his wife.

Well done to Mark Newton and the school staff, as well as the parents and locals who make this event a great success every year. Hopefully lots of money was raised for the school!

Photo: Mark Newton (Head of Infant School) with Mary and Cllr Paul Lynch at Strand on the Green school in Chiswick

They have done it again! O% Council Tax Increase

Congatulations to Hounslow Council, who this week agreed to once again freeze its share of the Council Tax. Another zero% tax increase!

Hounslow has now moved from charging the 5th highest council tax in London, to the 11th highest. This is definitely heading in the right direction.

Council Leader Peter Thompson said, "Since council tax was introduced in 1993, the average bill in Hounslow has more than doubled. This has particularly hit residents with low to moderate fixed incomes, such as pensioners, who have struggled to meet continual rises. This year has been particularly difficult for us. Most of what we spend comes from Government and we received the worst settlement for a decade. The below inflation settlement unfairly penalises both the council and local residents. We have had to take some tough decisions about to how spend residents money, and we have made savings by identifying where we can do things differently or more efficiently. We have also increased our investment in services that local people have told us matter to them without dipping into our reserves. We are also putting aside £5 million for essential growth over the year."

Well done to all the Councillors, especially Cllr Peter Thompson and Cllr Gerald McGregor, who have worked tirelessly to deliver a budget that is right for the Borough. Thanks also to the rest of the Councillors who work hard to make sure that locally, residents get the services they need. This has been achieved, whilst still managing to ncrease the efficiency and performance of the Council. No easy task!