Lambeth Council has been hit by the biggest cuts to local government in living memory. The Tory- Lib Dem Government is slashing funding to Lambeth by a third over the next three years, which includes a 12% cut this year.
The Tory- Lib Dem Government has chosen to target poorer inner-city areas like Lambeth for the biggest cuts. By comparison, wealthy areas like Surrey, Dorset and Buckinghamshire are only facing cuts of a couple of percentage points.
Over the past four years Labour has been proactive in making efficiencies in Lambeth – cutting £30 million from the budget to prioritise frontline services. We now have to make £79 million is savings in a shorter period of time. We will do everything in our power to save money by cutting management costs and the back office, but cuts on this scale will result in reductions to services. We hope new cooperative models of ownership will allow some services to be delivered in new, more efficient ways.
Lambeth’s proposed 2011/12 budget has a sharp focus on residents’ priorities – tackling crime, protecting the most vulnerable, and ensuring frontline services like schools, street cleaning, and youth services are preserved.
Policing
We will continue to fund the extra Council-funded PCSOs on the Prince’s ward Safer Neighbourhoods Team.
A reorganisation of Lambeth Police will mean extra officers released to work exclusively in the North Lambeth Area
Adult social care
Eligibility criteria will not be changed, so the Council will still provide care to those in both critical and substantial need.
Meals on Wheels will continue to provide a daily hot food service
Children and young people
We have protected frontline social workers so they can continue to protect Lambeth’s most vulnerable children
Services for children with disabilities and special needs will be protected
Council-run adventure playgrounds like Lollard Street will stay open, but have their management transferred to the voluntary sector
Libraries
No library closures have been announced, but big savings in libraries need to be made. We pledge to work closely with the Friends of Durning Library to identify savings and new ways of working to try to ensure we can keep Durning Library open.
Environment
Weekly refuse collections will continue.
Recycling will be made compulsory.
The Tory- Lib Dem Government has chosen to target poorer inner-city areas like Lambeth for the biggest cuts. By comparison, wealthy areas like Surrey, Dorset and Buckinghamshire are only facing cuts of a couple of percentage points.
Over the past four years Labour has been proactive in making efficiencies in Lambeth – cutting £30 million from the budget to prioritise frontline services. We now have to make £79 million is savings in a shorter period of time. We will do everything in our power to save money by cutting management costs and the back office, but cuts on this scale will result in reductions to services. We hope new cooperative models of ownership will allow some services to be delivered in new, more efficient ways.
Lambeth’s proposed 2011/12 budget has a sharp focus on residents’ priorities – tackling crime, protecting the most vulnerable, and ensuring frontline services like schools, street cleaning, and youth services are preserved.
Policing
We will continue to fund the extra Council-funded PCSOs on the Prince’s ward Safer Neighbourhoods Team.
A reorganisation of Lambeth Police will mean extra officers released to work exclusively in the North Lambeth Area
Adult social care
Eligibility criteria will not be changed, so the Council will still provide care to those in both critical and substantial need.
Meals on Wheels will continue to provide a daily hot food service
Children and young people
We have protected frontline social workers so they can continue to protect Lambeth’s most vulnerable children
Services for children with disabilities and special needs will be protected
Council-run adventure playgrounds like Lollard Street will stay open, but have their management transferred to the voluntary sector
Libraries
No library closures have been announced, but big savings in libraries need to be made. We pledge to work closely with the Friends of Durning Library to identify savings and new ways of working to try to ensure we can keep Durning Library open.
Environment
Weekly refuse collections will continue.
Recycling will be made compulsory.
Charges will be introduced for green and bulky waste collection
The current road and pavement resurfacing programme will continue, though some smaller potholes will go unrepaired.
The current road and pavement resurfacing programme will continue, though some smaller potholes will go unrepaired.
Though not directly part of the budget, proposals have already been anounced to increase fees for parking permits
Parks
More events will be allowed in Lambeth’s parks (like Kennington Park and Clapham Common) to generate more income for the Council
The work of the Council’s Park Ranger Service will be split between Grounds Maintenance Staff and the police
Staff
Many residents of our area are employed by the Council. Cutting management and ‘the back office’ means making people’s jobs redundant. There will be significant job losses as management and service structures are reorganised.
Asset sales
Lambeth desperately needs to raise money to pay for crucial capital works – like expanding schools, resurfacing streets and pavements, and improving leisure facilities. We have to sell assets which are not being used fully. In Prince’s ward these are likely to be:
Parks
More events will be allowed in Lambeth’s parks (like Kennington Park and Clapham Common) to generate more income for the Council
The work of the Council’s Park Ranger Service will be split between Grounds Maintenance Staff and the police
Staff
Many residents of our area are employed by the Council. Cutting management and ‘the back office’ means making people’s jobs redundant. There will be significant job losses as management and service structures are reorganised.
Asset sales
Lambeth desperately needs to raise money to pay for crucial capital works – like expanding schools, resurfacing streets and pavements, and improving leisure facilities. We have to sell assets which are not being used fully. In Prince’s ward these are likely to be:
- Beaufoy Institute, Black Prince Road – The Beaufoy has lain empty for many years. Considerable time and money has been spent by the Council on examining options for its use, including a studio school proposal which did not proceed. In the absence of any viable proposals for its use as an educational site the Council proposes to sell the building and the site to raise money for Lambeth’s top priorities.
- Shelley site, Oakden Street – in recent years this school site has housed the Michael Tippett School and the Olive School. It has been empty since summer 2010. The Council does not need the site for further school ‘decants’, and there is no projected demand (or funding) for expansion of primary schools in North Lambeth. A recent survey of residents in the area carried out by councillors indicated that a majority would support selling the site for housing development. We will work closely with local residents on the details of how we go about selling the site, and will support Archbishop Sumner’s School in looking at other options for their aspiration to expand in the future (sadly, no funding is available to meet that aspiration currently).
- Half of the Old Lilian Baylis site, Lollard Street – Thanks to Labour the Sports Action Zone has been using the site for sports and youth activities, and other community groups have used buildings on the site. The Council is working on a proposal to transfer ownership of half of the site to a community trust to continue the sports, youth and community work on the fantastic facilities the SAZ have developed. In the next year we hope to sell the other half of the site (containing the listed school buildings) to a developer to enable a well-designed mixed-use proposal to be developed. Again, we will work closely with the community on the details of this development.