By Cllr Rowan Ree
H&F Cabinet Member for Finance and Reform
Last week, Hammersmith & Fulham Council passed its budget for the coming year. This is a budget that funds the fight against crime and anti-social behaviour locally.
Keeping residents safe is our number one priority, and this budget provides record new investment in services to support the police and keep our streets secure.
We have built a balanced budget, with £12.3million of extra funding for local services, including:
- £2.1m for our local Law Enforcement Team, a service unique to this borough who patrol the streets to keep them safe and clean.
- £1m for our innovative Gangs Unit, which prevents young people falling into a life of crime, and chokes off organised crime at the roots.
- £250,000 of new funding to prevent violence against women and girls, after we became the first council in the country to impose a borough-wide ban on street harassment.
- An extra £4.5m to grow our CCTV network, with more cameras per person than anywhere in the country.
We've been able to maintain the third lowest council tax in England, run a budget surplus, and invest in our frontline services, because of our commitment to ruthless financial efficiency in how we manage our budgets and your money.
We're also investing in our care and waste collection services, as well measures to prevent homelessness.
It's all part of our work to build a safer, kinder, stronger borough.
