FOI003537 FOI Finance, HR, Strategy, Waste Services, Enforcement, Economic Growth, Trading Standards

1. Where is residents' money going?
Please provide a clear breakdown of the council's spending for 2026/27, including:
• frontline environmental and neighbourhood services;
• waste and street cleansing;
• staffing and senior management;
• consultants and external advisers;
• transformation programmes;
• contractual and outsourced services;
• debt interest and financing costs;
• capital expenditure;
• reserves; and
• any other significant areas of expenditure.
I would particularly like to understand how much of the council's expenditure is actually reaching frontline services.
The council's published 2024/25 accounts also report £1.149 million in total remuneration for the listed top senior officers, including approximately £229,000 for the Chief Executive and £158,000 for the Executive Director of Place Services.
I am not suggesting that these salaries are inherently inappropriate, nor am I questioning the professionalism of individual officers. However, when residents are being asked to pay substantially more council tax while experiencing dirty streets, waste problems, rodent activity and a declining town centre, it is entirely reasonable to ask what level of accountability and performance management accompanies this expenditure.
I would therefore like to understand what measurable performance targets apply to senior management responsible for these services, how performance against those targets is assessed, and what action is taken when expected standards are not achieved.
2. What tangible improvements are residents receiving for the increased council tax?
You have said that residents are already feeling the "tangible effects" of Liberal Democrat leadership, while acknowledging that changes are not happening as quickly as you would like.
I would therefore like to know specifically what improvements residents should be able to identify during the next 12 months.
Please provide measurable targets rather than general statements about long-term transformation.
3. Why are basic environmental services still failing?
How can residents be expected to accept substantial council tax increases when streets remain dirty, rubbish is left for extended periods and rodents are visibly feeding around accumulated waste?
What additional resources have been allocated to street cleansing, waste management, environmental enforcement and pest-related problems, and what performance measures are being used to determine whether these services are actually improving?
4. What is happening to our town centre?
I am extremely concerned about the state and character of our town centre.
The impression increasingly is that there is very little left apart from vape shops, barber shops, estate agents and a diminishing number of independent retailers and businesses that give the town centre any real character.
And now, incredibly, we don't even have a Post Office serving the town centre.
I recognise that the council does not directly operate individual Post Office branches. However, the loss of an essential local service should surely be a matter of concern for an administration responsible for the borough's economic development and town-centre strategy.
What discussions has the council had with the Post Office regarding the loss of this service?
What representations has the council made on behalf of residents?
What assessment has been made of the impact on older residents, people with limited mobility, local businesses and those who rely on face-to-face services?
I am aware of the proposed redevelopment of the Nicholsons Shopping Centre, and I recognise that this is potentially an important part of the long-term regeneration of the town centre.
However, that is precisely the issue: it is a long-term project.
Residents are living with the current town centre now.
What is the council doing in the meantime to prevent further deterioration and to make the town centre more attractive, useful and economically viable while the Nicholsons project progresses?
What short- and medium-term measures are being taken to attract a broader mix of businesses and essential services?
How many vacant commercial premises are there, how has that figure changed over recent years, and what is the council doing about them?
5. What checks are being undertaken on businesses that cause concern?
I appreciate that it would be inappropriate for me to accuse individual businesses of criminal activity without evidence.
However, the sheer proliferation of certain types of businesses, particularly vape shops and barber shops, inevitably raises questions among residents about how these businesses are funded, how viable some of them are commercially, and whether appropriate regulatory and financial-crime checks are being carried out where concerns arise.
I therefore want to know:
• What role does RBWM Trading Standards and Licensing play in identifying potentially suspicious business activity?
• How many investigations or enforcement actions involving vape shops, barber shops or similar businesses have been undertaken in recent years?
• How many concerns have been referred to the police, HMRC or other appropriate agencies?
• What mechanisms exist for intelligence-sharing between the council, Thames Valley Police and other agencies where there are concerns about potential money laundering or other financial crime?
• Does the council proactively monitor unusual concentrations of particular business types as part of its town-centre and economic-development work?
I am not asking the council to make unsupported allegations against legitimate businesses. I am asking what due diligence, enforcement and intelligence-sharing mechanisms are actually in place and whether they are being used.