One City

One City 2008/09

Excellent Services - Strong Communities

Welcome to One City 2008, part of Westminster City Council’s five year vision to deliver a world class city, built on the delivery programmes of Order, Opportunity, Renewal and Enterprise. Our aim is to deliver strong communities, with low taxes and services of the highest quality, which are easy to access and available when people need them.

The One City programme was first launched in November 2005 and our progress so far has been excellent. This year, we set out a total of 30 separate initiatives to improve the lives of people living and working in Westminster. We will be building on our commitment to low tax, with a freeze in Westminster’s share of council tax; pushing forward with our Go Green plans to make Westminster one of the most sustainable cities in the UK; spending over £150m to improve our secondary schools and looking at exciting opportunities for new housing right here in the city.

Alongside responding to the challenges of climate change, a key priority for us this year will be working hard for Westminster’s younger and older residents, as well as speaking to parents about what more the council can do to support them as they manage their family role. Last year, we launched our leading Every Older Person Matters approach, including an enormously popular free tea dance at the Grosvenor House Hotel for over 1,000 older residents. This year, we will also be looking at new ways to involve young people in decisions affecting their leisure time and life in Westminster.

A further key focus will be working with families at risk of crisis or breakdown, whether because of substance or alcohol abuse, domestic violence, involvement in crime or anti-social behaviour or parenting problems. We believe that through working with these families in an intensive, joined-up way we can do a great deal to improve the overall quality of life for everyone in the community. Hence, we will be working with the police, health service, and benefits and housing services to change and improve their lifestyles and behaviours as part of delivering our commitment to create strong communities in Westminster.