Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillors Abby, Ahmad-Wallana, Garelick, Gohil, Judge and Mand.

Councillor Peter Curling declared a non-pecuniary interest in Agenda Item 3, as he was a member of Hillingdon Radio, one of the current Mayor’s nominated charities, and stayed in the room during the consideration thereof. 

To elect a Mayor of the London Borough of Hillingdon to hold office from 8 May 2025 until his or her successor becomes entitled to act as Mayor.

i)       The retiring Mayor, Councillor Sullivan, to provide a summary of her year in office.

ii)      Nominations for Mayor invited by the retiring Mayor – election (if necessary).

iii)    The retiring Mayor declares the result.

The Mayor gave a summary of her year in office and noted that the role had been challenging but had celebrated her strengths.  She had worked with young people throughout the year and had formed many friendships and partnerships. 

The Mayor thanked her Mayoress, Mrs Anne Robinson, for the support that she had given her over the last twelve months and paid tribute to the Mayoral team and the Head of Democratic Services who had supported her during her mayoralty.  The Mayor was grateful to her Ward Councillor colleagues, Councillors and the Leader for affording her the opportunity to hold the position over the last year. 

Nominations were invited for a Mayor to hold office for the 2025/26 municipal year.  Councillor Corthorne was nominated by Councillor Riley and seconded by Councillor Smallwood.  There were no further nominations. 

RESOLVED:  That Councillor Philip Corthorne be elected as Mayor for the 2025/2026 municipal year. 

The Council adjourned for robing of the new Mayor at 7.49pm and reconvened at 8.04pm.

i)          The newly elected Mayor to make and sign the declaration of acceptance of office.

ii)         The Head of Democratic Services to declare the election of the Mayor to be complete.

The newly elected Mayor signed the declaration of acceptance of office.

To receive the Mayor’s appointment, in writing, of a Councillor of the Borough to serve as Deputy Mayor for the forthcoming municipal year.

The Mayor informed the Council that he had appointed Councillor Reeta Chamdal as Deputy Mayor.

RESOLVED: That the Deputy Mayor for the 2025/2026 municipal year be noted.

To receive announcements from the new Mayor.

The new Mayor thanked Members for electing him to the position for the new municipal year and those that had supported him over the last twelve months during his time as Deputy Mayor.  He advised that his Mayoresses would be his wife, Mrs Fiona Corthorne, and daughter, Ms Hannah James, and that his nominated charities for the year would be Hillingdon Stroke Support and SEND Family Support. 

i)       Vote of thanks to the outgoing Mayor to be moved and seconded – vote.

ii)      Presentation of Past Mayor’s and Past Mayoress’ badges.

Councillor Edwards moved a vote of thanks to the retired Mayor, Councillor Colleen Sullivan, and her Mayoress, Mrs Anne Robinson.  He congratulated the outgoing Mayor on the vast range of duties that she had undertaken during her mayoralty over the last year.

The vote of thanks was seconded by Councillor Curling.  Councillors Roy Chamdal, Lakhmana, Martin and Palmer spoke in support of the motion. 

The Mayor presented a Past Mayor's badge to Councillor Sullivan and a Past Mayoress’s badge to Mrs Anne Robinson.

RESOLVED:  That the vote of thanks to the outgoing Mayor, Councillor Sullivan, be agreed.

i)          APPOINTMENT OF CABINET

The appointment by the Leader of the Council of Councillor Bianco as the Deputy Leader, and the following Members as Cabinet Members, for 2025/2026 was noted:

ii)            APPOINTMENT OF STATUTORY OFFICER

Councillor Edwards moved, and Councillor Bianco seconded, the recommendation contained in the report.  Those speaking against the motion noted that this was a further interim appointment to the statutory role of Section 151 and Chief Financial Officer at the London Borough of Hillingdon and a permanent appointment needed to be made to provide the Council with some stability.  Those speaking in support of the motion noted that the interim nature of previous appointments had not contributed to the Council’s current financial position.  Action was now being taken to appoint to the position on a permanent basis.

RESOLVED: That Mr Andy Goodwin be appointed to the statutory role of Section 151 and Chief Financial Officer of the Council on an interim basis until such time as a formal appointment to the position of Corporate Director of Finance is made.

To determine the number and size of Council committees and allocate Members to serve on those committees based on the political balance of the Council, where required.

Councillor R Mills moved, and Councillor Edwards seconded, the motion as set out on the Order of Business and it was:

RESOLVED: That the appointment of Committees, Sub-Committees and their memberships, as set out in Minute Annex A, be approved.

To receive the annual report.

The Council received a report detailing the work covered by the Select Committees in 2024/25.  It was moved by Councillor Bridges, seconded by Councillor Denys, and:

RESOLVED:  That the report be noted.

In accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, to receive, without comment, a statement from the Leader of the Council.

The Leader of the Council had reported an unprecedented time of change and challenge for public services in May 2024 and this continued to be the reality in 2025.  The retreat from economic globalisation, weakening of long standing alliances and turbulent international relations had all impacted on Government spending priorities and, therefore, local government funding. 

The Government had been overspending with borrowing in March being higher than expected at £151.9bn (an increase of £20.7bn on the previous year and £50bn higher than forecast).  The Government’s spending review would determine the money that would be available and the local government finance review would determine how the funding was distributed to local authorities.  London Councils had warned that councils had overspent by £345m on housing in the previous year and that there would be a funding shortfall of around £15m per council in the current year.  The distribution of funding had been biased towards inner-London councils with Hillingdon being in the bottom quartile (the 14 lowest funded councils were in outer London and the 10 highest were in inner London).  It was not anticipated that the disparity in the funding formula would be addressed and no account was likely to be taken of population growth.  London Councils had requested that the formula take account of the preventative action being taken by councils in relation to children and young people. 

Whilst it was recognised that all London boroughs were in the same funding position, Heathrow Airport was based in Hillingdon.  The Government was aware of the worsening situation with regard to immigration, with the cost of unaccompanied asylum seekers coming through the airport being borne by Hillingdon residents.  In the last year, this had created an unforeseen cost of £14m with the same expenditure expected in the current year. 

There were a large number of hotels in Hillingdon but, when the Home Office evicted asylum seekers from these hotels, the Council was expected to cover the cost of supporting them (rather that spreading the support costs across the country through a national dispersal programme).  This additional demand on services was to the detriment of existing service users and cost Hillingdon residents around £5m last year.  The financial forecast for this year was expected to be the same so the combined cost for these two years would be the equivalent of around half of the Council’s reserves. 

It was costing around £4.6m per day to house migrants and the Home Office seemed to be ensuring that private companies were getting richer whilst councils and residents were worse off.  Hillingdon had the sixth highest level of business rates in the country but was unable to reap any associated benefits.  The Leader hoped that all three of the Borough’s MPs would join the Council in making a case to Government for an increase in its funding. 

The Council was aware of the financial challenges it faced and had put measures in place to mitigate these as much as possible.  Action was being taken to improve the delivery of services through the use of things like technology and the third sector.  The Council would be smaller in future and surplus assets would be disposed of but the local authority had continued to deliver excellent services and schemes.  Hillingdon’s adult social care had been rated as one of the best in the country and adult learning had also been rated highly.  The development of 95 new homes and a new library had started in Yiewsley and the road and pavement resurfacing programme would be continuing. 

The Council continued to put residents first and would be working with London Councils and others to try to get a fair funding agreement.  The Leader thanked all staff for their dedication and hard work and the Chief Executive and their Corporate Management Team for leading on the change programme.  He also thanked Members for the work that they undertook in their wards.