Ealing Lib Dems Budget Amendment Focuses On More Front Line Services
Ealing Lib Dems priorities focus on improving the community across the borough.
Ealing Liberal Democrats managed to find an astonishing £1.6m in their budget amendment to focus on keeping Children's Centres open, addressing the appalling state of our streets and roads through addressing pot holes and pavement repairs, new community skips to reduce fly tips and more street sweeping to address the spiral of decay blighting the borough.
There is also a plan for implementing lockable bins for flats above shops and more WEEE bins to enable households to recycle small electrical items.
Ealing Lib Dems have also found funds to reverse “Stop and Shop Plus” which is hitting hard pressed residents with unnecessary fines and impacting shopkeepers in their bid to revive local high streets across the borough.
Importantly, we have found money for an independent SUDs review of Lammas Park. This is to address the poor delivery of the scheme over a two year period which seems to have culminated in recent flodding in the Park outside of the newly dug drainage area, including preventing access to the play area. The recent rain also showed that the excess water was not draining into the expected areas (a machine dug channel to collect water) which suggests significant design issues as well as poor implementation.
Liberal Democrat Councillor Gary Busuttil, Shadow Finance Spokesperson for Performance and Council Honesty said: “Liberal Democrats are proposing a package of fully costed and practical measures to improve the lives of many in Ealing. Labour is actively cutting front line services for the most vulnerable residents through children centre and adult day centre closures. Recently, the Ealing Lib Dems have forced Ealing Labour to make U-turns on their price rises in green waste service and bulky waste collection charges, which was outlined in last year's Lib Dem budget amendment and have driven forward more initiatives to drive up recycling, including in hard-to-reach properties, such as flats above shops. Ealing Labour have been in charge for the last 15 years and they seem to have run out of ideas. It's time for change. It's time for the Liberal Democrats to run Ealing Council.”
Liberal Democrat Councillor Gary Malcolm, Leader of the Opposition said: “In the last 15 years, Ealing Labour has presided over a decaying borough in which residents and the local high street has been taken for granted. Lib Dems believe these should be cherished as the heart of our local communities, as high streets alongside the green lungs of our parks and commons are essential to community well-being. That is why we are calling for an independent review of the botched SUDs implementation of Lammas Park.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
1. See Annex A below for the Liberal Democrat Amendment for 2026/27
2. Lib Dem Budget Amendment for last year (2025/26)
Annex A: Liberal Democrat Amendment for the Budget Strategy & Council Tax 2026/27
Moved by Councillor Gary Busuttil | Seconded by Councillor Gary Malcolm
“Council agrees to the following in relation to this year’s Capital and Revenue budgets and amends the recommendations accordingly:
| Revenue alterations | Change |
|---|---|
| Reduction in Agency and Contractor staff* | Saving of £1,181,000 |
| Reduction in the non-statutory printing budget** | Saving of £453,750 |
| Keeping Children's Centres Open (10 scheduled for closure) | Cost of £368,000 |
| Additional street sweeping and removal of fly tips to keep our streets cleaner. | Cost of £500,000 |
| 24 additional WEEE bins (one per ward) to drive up more recycling. | Cost of £48,000 |
| Revenue to cover the £1M capital spend growth for pavement repairs and road resurfacing. | Cost of £100,000 |
| Fund for residual waste community skip events to reduce fly-tipping. | Cost of £10,000 |
| Targeted introduction plan for lockable bins for flats above shops with initial stage of about 20% of flats above shops targeted. | Cost of £252,315 |
| Independent review of Lammas Park SUDs scheme. | Cost of £10,000 |
| Reverse stop and shop plus across borough. | Cost of £200,000 |
| Capital alterations | Change |
| Additional pavement repairs and road resurfacing. | Cost of £1,000,000 |
* This is a saving on the fees of agency staff excluding Adult Services and Public Health, Children’s Services and Housing &; Environment. The Council review agency spending over the next year by reducing agency staff and focusing on permanent roles.
** The reduction in printing costs means that all statutory printing like Council Tax or parking letters will still get sent.