The Hounslow Council Cabinet met on 2 September 2025, and Councillor Tom Bruce, Deputy Leader of the Council, chaired the meeting in the absence of Councillor Shantanu Rajawat. Key decisions included approving an additional licensing scheme for houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) across the borough, endorsing the Hounslow's Heart Business Improvement District (BID) Proposal and agreeing to hold a ballot, and approving a £0.926m capital budget for the council-resourced Electric Vehicle Programme. The Cabinet also discussed health integration, performance reporting, a residential project, an autism strategic plan, financial monitoring, treasury management, and delivery plan monitoring.

Here's a more detailed look at the topics discussed:

Additional HMO Licensing Proposals

The Cabinet approved a borough-wide additional licensing scheme for HMOs for five years, acting under Section 56 of the Housing Act 2004. Councillors Ajmer and Pritam Grewal declared an interest in this item, as they owned a HMO property. Councillor Katherine Dunne also declared an interest, as her home address was beneath an illegal HMO. The scheme applies to:

• All HMOs as defined by section 254 Housing Act 2004, which are occupied by 3 or more persons in 2 or more households sharing bathroom, toilet and or kitchen facilities.
• All HMOs, as defined in section 257 of the Housing Act 2004, which consist of self-contained units and where the building and all of the dwellings in the building are either in the same ownership or considered by the housing authority to be effectively in the same control.

The decision followed a 10-week consultation, which received 71 online responses and two formal submissions. While responses were split (47.9% in support, 47.9% opposed), there was strong support for tenant safety, neighbourhood improvement, and landlord accountability. Concerns were raised about enforcement capacity, fee transparency, and integration with planning processes.

The council committed to enhanced enforcement, full resourcing of the scheme through licence fees, and support for both landlords and tenants. The additional licensing conditions and the HMO licensing fee structure detailed in the appendices of the report were also approved.

Hounslow Town Centre Business Improvement District

The Cabinet endorsed the Hounslow's Heart Business Improvement District (BID) Proposal submitted by the West London Chambers of Commerce and agreed to hold a ballot on the proposal. Councillor Tom Bruce, Deputy Leader of the Council, is also the Cabinet Member for Assets, Regeneration and Development. The Hounslow's Heart BID would cover the core commercial and retail areas of Hounslow Town Centre.

The Cabinet requested that the Chief Executive as the Council's Returning officer and Ballot Holder make arrangements to hold a Ballot in respect of the BID Proposal, and delegated authority to the Director of Regeneration and Growth to vote in the BID Ballot on behalf of the Council, in consultation with the Lead Member for Assets, Regeneration and Development, as a non-domestic ratepayer of Council owned properties within the BID area.

Subject to a Ballot outcome in favour of the Proposal, Cabinet delegated authority to the Director of Regeneration and Growth to finalise and enter into necessary arrangements and associated legal documentation with the BID company, including the Operating and Baseline Services Agreements.

Financial Monitoring Update (Q1 2025-26)

The Cabinet considered the financial monitoring update for the first quarter of 2025-26, noting a forecast General Fund revenue budget overspend of £10.5m. They also noted the forecast Housing Revenue Account (HRA) budget position of an overall net nil variance, with a forecast contribution to HRA balances of £1.75m, and the forecast Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) position of a nil variance compared to the budgeted deficit of £4.2m.

The Cabinet noted the progress made in delivery of savings included in the 2025/26 budget, the forward-looking prudential indicators¹, and the capital programme budget following the re-phasing of the programme approved under delegated authority.

The Cabinet approved a capital budget of £0.926m for the council-resourced Electric Vehicle Programme from an allocation from the Unallocated General Fund capital programme budget, and approved amendments to scheme budgets within the HRA Council House Building capital programme, as set out in exempt Appendix E of the submitted report.

Electric Vehicle Programme

The Cabinet approved a capital budget of £0.926m for the council-resourced Electric Vehicle Programme, as set out in the Outline Business Case at Appendix D of the Financial Monitoring Update report, from an allocation from the Unallocated General Fund capital programme budget. The aim is to deliver 2000 new charging points by 2026, with a focus on residential areas.

West London Residential Project Strategic Business Case

The Cabinet approved the recommended option to design, develop and operate a new six-bed complex needs residential children's home at a confidential site. They also approved the appropriation of the site from the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) to the General Fund, subject to consent from the Secretary of State for the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). The project budget of £3.169m was approved and reserved in the unallocated General Fund capital programme (2025/26 – 2028/29).

The Cabinet agreed to apply for a £1.53m DfE Complex Needs Children's Home grant to part finance the project's capital costs and authorised the spend of £425k from the amount reserved for overall delivery of the project in the General Fund Capital programme for the project design stage. They also authorised commencement of the procurement of multidisciplinary design consultants for completion of the next stage of the project and delegated the Authority to Award to the Director of Regeneration and Growth.

All Age Autism Strategic Plan 2025-2030

The Cabinet agreed to the proposal for developing the All-Age Autism Plan 2025-2030. The plan will be co-produced with autistic people and their carer's/family members, and will require involvement from the health, education and voluntary sector.

Health Integration Update

The Cabinet endorsed the outline of the Model of Care and draft Service Specification to be tested at two sites for 12 months commencing mid-September 2025. The two sites are the Heart of Hounslow and Maswell Park health centres in Hounslow. The Cabinet endorsed the creation of two initial 'Hounslow Care Together' teams, as part of this 'test and learn' pilot, which will provide integrated health and social care support to older adults living with frailty and those with complex needs registered with GP practices at the two health centres.

The Cabinet noted the ambition to scale this team-based approach to delivering integrated care across the remainder of Hounslow Borough subject to refinement and evaluation of the model in the 'test and learn' phase from September 2025, and that officers will provide a further update on the progress of the 'test and learn' pilot in Spring 2026.

Quarterly Performance Reporting (Q1 2025-26)

The Cabinet noted the corporate performance measures for 2025/26 and the Quarter 1 (April to June 2025) performance data detailed in Appendix 1 of the submitted report.

Delivery Plan Monitoring (Q1 - 2025-26)

The Cabinet noted progress to date with the programmes within the People Portfolio, the projects within the Place Portfolio, the projects within the Capital Portfolio, and the projects within the Digital Portfolio as set out in the appendices of the Delivery Plan Monitoring report.

Procurement of Council Wide Insurance Policies

The Cabinet approved the proposed procurement exercise to secure council wide insurance policies including claims handling for a contract period of four years plus a two-year extension option and delegated authority to the Executive Director of Finance and Resources, in consultation with the Cabinet member for Strategy, Resources and External Affairs, to award the council wide insurances contracts and enter into the associated legal documentation.