Most of what councils do involves caring for those unable to do so themselves. Looking after children and young people at risk of harm, providing for those with special educational needs, or caring for vulnerable elderly people is a complicated and expensive set of legal responsibilities and moral obligations.

With austerity-depleted budgets under constant pressure, we’ve had to prioritise the things that people need. This has meant some very painful decisions over the past decade. Thousands of jobs lost, libraries closed, community centres shut down, schools making cutbacks, road and pavement repairs done differently, changes to waste and recycling, fewer police on the streets, and an NHS under enormous pressure.

Brent & Kilburn Times: Cllr Muhammed Butt has had to increase council tax for Brent residentsCllr Muhammed Butt has had to increase council tax for Brent residents (Image: Francis Henry)

Yet again, councils across the country have had to decide between protecting local services and increasing council tax. Here in Brent, our services, and the people who rely on them, cannot cope with any more austerity. We don’t want to put pressure on household finances, so if there was another way, we’d take it. But there isn’t – if we froze taxes now and made the harmful cuts that others have proposed – cuts that could deny people a living wage, or risk preventing homeless families from being housed, or that expose critical services to economic shocks – we’d be causing a permanent and potentially life-threatening wound to this borough’s financial future.

As a responsible administration, we won’t pretend there are easy answers to the challenges we face. Indeed, for as hard as this past year has been, with unprecedented loss of life and livelihood, the year ahead will not be without further hardship. That’s why we’ve focused so much on protecting vital services. It’s why we’ll continue to do whatever it takes to ensure the help people need is there when they need it most.