Ealing Council’s chief executive, Paul Najsarek, will visit ward forums this autumn and winter to update residents on the council’s progress since last summer’s Talk Future Ealing roadshow.

Like most local authorities, Ealing is adjusting to a decade of cuts to its government grant. Over the last 10 years, it has had a 64% cut in core government funding meaning for every £1 it used to receive, it now gets just 36p. What residents want and expect from their council is also changing; with new social, environmental and economic priorities on the agenda for many.

Future Ealing is the council’s response to the cuts in its government grant and rising demand. It aims to transform council services, making life better for local people in the face of its reduced funding.

The Talk Future Ealing roadshow took the council’s ideas for how to make the borough better to summer festivals and ward forums. It gave residents a chance to speak to the council’s top team and asked them to consider what they could do to help improve their local area.

Since then, the council has embarked on a series of programmes, including the most ambitious housebuilding programme in London, the creation of a new Ealing Parks Foundation to give local people a greater say in its green spaces and improving the way that it works with adults who may need social care, placing a greater emphasis on supporting residents to live independently for longer.

Paul will speak before taking questions at five ward forum meetings. Kieran Read, director of strategy and engagement, will do the same at two. Residents may come along to any of the sessions listed. They don’t have to live in the specific ward to be part of the meeting. The dates are:

• Acton Central- Wednesday, 11 September- Derwentwater Primary School, Shakespeare Road, W3 6SA.
• Walpole- Monday, 7 October- Room EALA021-23, Ealing & West London College, The Green, Ealing W5 5EW.
• Elthorne- Thursday 17 October- Oaklands Primary School, Oaklands Road, Hanwell W7 2DP.
• Greenford Green- Wednesday, 30 October- The Bridge Hotel, Western Avenue, UB6 8ST.
• Northolt Mandeville- Wednesday, 22 January- Northolt High School, Eastcote Lane, UB5 4HP
• Dormers Wells- Tuesday, 28 January- Dormers Wells High School, Dormers Wells Lane, Southall, Middlesex UB1 3HZ.
• Perivale- Thursday, 20 February- Perivale Community Centre, Horsenden Lane South, UB6 7NP.

All meetings start at 7pm.

Paul Najsarek said: “Last year, I was very grateful for the opportunity to speak to ward forum meetings about the challenges we face and how our Future Ealing plan is helping us to meet them.

“Most people understand the great financial pressures that local authorities are under and the challenges this creates for Ealing. These ward forum meetings will allow us to update local people on our activity over the last year and explain how our Future Ealing plan is starting to make a difference.

“Everyone is welcome and I am looking forward to meeting our residents there.”The dates, times and locations of Ealing’s ward forum meetings can be found at www.ealing.gov.uk/wardforums.