Cllr Anood Al-Samerai

Cllr David Hubber

Opposition councillors have welcomed a change of heart by Southwark Council on fees charged for adult learners.

The council has said it will now scrap the controversial ‘repeat fee’ for concessionary learners, introduced by the Labour administration in late 2010 for people who had already been on a course before. It meant that people on low incomes were being charged more than 300% of the normal concessionary price for some courses, even if they were going on to do a follow on course.

A course on CV writing and interview skills, for example, costs a jobseeker £46.50, as opposed to the £111 standard price. However, for anybody who has already undertaken a course of adult learning, the ‘repeat fee’ price would shoot up to £165.

Concerns about the new fees structure have been raised a number of times at meetings of the council’s cross-party Education, Children’s Services and Leisure scrutiny committee, with representations made to the committee on behalf of students.

Campaigners from Save Southwark Adult Learning have been critical of the ‘discriminatory” repeat fee, and have also presented a deputation to Council Assembly.

The ‘repeat fee’ will continue to be charged for non-concessionary learners, however.

Basic adult learner fees will also now be frozen, according to the new pricing schedule announced by the council.

Welcoming the move, Cllr David Hubber, Liberal Democrat chair of the scrutiny panel, said:

“This is good news indeed for those people who are keen to continue on adult learning courses, but felt they couldn’t afford the repeat fees after their initial course.”

“I am very pleased that the Cabinet member for Communities and Economic Wellbeing has listened and responded positively.”

Work on the new Elephant and Castle leisure centre is now underway, marking an important step towards returning lost sports facilities to the area. Residents will now want to be reassured that they are getting a good deal on the site.

When the deal on the neighbouring St Mary’s Residential tower was originally agreed, the council talked a lot about the contribution the developers would make towards the construction of the new leisure centre, with council leader Peter John even saying “without the tower being built we would not be having a new leisure centre on this site because we couldn’t afford to do it.”

But a closer look at the details shows that the developers have contributed only £3.5m towards the £20m cost of the leisure centre. That’s only 17.5% of the funds required, with the balance being made up from the sale of other council assets. When you consider that even this small contribution was made only at the cost of all affordable housing in St Mary’s Tower, many will feel that residents have again lost out as the council rolls over to the demands of big developers.

Lost facilities

Local Liberal Democrats have long been concerned about the limited facilities that will be on offer at the centre, compared to the old centre. The loss of squash courts and reduction in the size of the sports hall will be keenly felt, at a time when the council should be doing all it can to encourage residents young and old to keep active and live healthy lives.

Despite these problems, it is good to see the project get off the ground, and the new leisure centre will no doubt become a well-used resource. Southwark Lib Dems will continue to put pressure on the council to ensure the project now delivers all it can for the local area. When it comes to sports and leisure facilities in Southwark, you can be sure the Lib Dems are on your side.

Danny Alexander MP: “Lib Dems have cut your taxes”

Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander MP, has said that people should check their new pay slips to see how much tax they’ve saved through Lib Dem Income Tax cuts.

This week millions of people across Britain will have received their first pay slip since the Income Tax personal allowance was raised from £8,105 to £9,440. When Liberal Democrats came into power in 2010 this was just £6,475 – meaning low and middle income workers will be up to £600 a year better off compared to what they were paying under the last Labour government.

Raising the tax-free allowance is the Liberal Democrats’ flagship policy and has so far seen more than 2m people on low pay lifted out of paying Income Tax altogether, including almost 10,000 people in Southwark.

The tax-free allowance will rise again next year to £10,000, fulfilling a commitment from the front page of the Liberal Democrats’ 2010 General Election manifesto and resulting in a total tax cut of £700. It means that in 2014, someone working full-time on the minimum wage will see their Income Tax bill cut by almost two thirds compared to what they were paying under Labour.

Labour’s record of unfair taxes

In contrast to Lib Dem tax cuts for lower and middle income earners, the Labour government cut tax for millionaires every single year until their last month, while increasing tax on low earners by scrapping the 10p tax rate. Under Labour, someone on the Minimum Wage paid £1,000 in Income Tax.

For all but one month of Labour’s 13 years in power the top rate of tax was 40p. Top earners are paying more in tax every year under the Coalition Government.

The Liberal Democrats have also said they want to increase the tax-free allowance further so no one earning the National Minimum Wage pays any Income Tax.

Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander MP, told reporters yesterday:

“Take a moment to compare your pay slip to last month’s. You’ll see that Liberal Democrats have cut your taxes.”

“From this month, the Liberal Democrats will have lifted 2m people out of Income Tax and given a tax cut of £600 to more than 20m people. It has taken the Liberal Democrats being in Government to deliver the largest programme of tax cuts for working people for a generation.”

“The Liberal Democrats are the only party that will radically cut taxes for people on low and middle incomes to build a stronger economy and a fairer society so that everyone can get on in life.”

Liberal Democrats in Southwark have called for reform of the council tax system following damning figures about non-payment in London.

New figures showed that across London local authorities have failed to collect £640m of council tax, with Labour councils having by far the worst record.

Labour-run Southwark Council has the 10^th worst council tax arrears in the city- and the 15^th worst in the country.

Councillor Tim McNally, Southwark Liberal Democrats’ spokesperson for Finance & Resources, said the council needed to deal with the problem of council tax arrears, but added that the whole council tax system needs to be looked at again.

Liberal Democrats have long advocated scrapping council tax and replacing it with a fairer system of local income tax with payments based on income rather than a flat rate per household.

Commenting, Cllr McNally said:

“Clearly there is a big problem in Southwark with council tax not being collected which needs to be dealt with, and it’s not right that some people are getting away without paying whilst others have to.”

“The Lib Dems have always said the whole council tax system needs looking at again because it a pretty crude and unfair way of collecting money, particularly if you are a pensioner or on a low income. It would surely be better to have the amount you pay linked to how much you earn.”

Schools in Southwark will get a £631,000 cash boost from September to help get kids active through sport.

The Coalition Government has announced that every state primary school in the borough will receive the extra sports funding in 2013/14 and 2014/15 – an average of just over £9,000 per school.

The ‘Sport Premium’ funding is the equivalent of around two days a week of a primary teacher’s time to provide more sport for their pupils.

The Government is providing £150 million in each of the next two years to support the delivery of PE and sport in primary schools throughout the country, which is ring-fenced and given directly to schools.

Commenting, Southwark Lib Dems’ spokesperson for schools & young people, Rosie Shimell, said:

“This money means children in Southwark will be able to take part in more sport in primary schools, helping children to keep healthy and build confidence.”

“Liberal Democrats are determined to make sure we take advantage of the enthusiasm we saw during the Olympics last year. The best legacy of the Games would be more children taking part in sport and learning how to live a healthy lifestyle.”

Millions of pounds has been paid out to people injured using London buses and trains in the last three years, according to new figures obtained by Southwark Liberal Democrat councillors and covered in today’s Evening Standard.

Transport for London (TfL) has regularly been paying out tens of thousands of pounds for individual cases of travellers tripping over, getting caught in Tube doors, and slipping on wet platforms.

A total of £4.76m was paid to members of the public since 2010 to compensate accidents and injuries incurred using public transport or whilst at TfL property.

Amongst the list of highest claims was a blind person paid £34,030 after being caught in an automatic door, £15,168 for somebody who had their elbow trapped in a Tube, and a would-be traveller given £10,050 after a seat on a platform collapsed.

In one case a British Transport Police officer got £11,575 after apparently falling from a chair in London Underground premises.

The highest pay out since 2010 was £158,584 for somebody who tripped over a pillar on a pavement.

The list of compensation claims was revealed in a response to a Freedom of Information request by Southwark Liberal Democrats.

Commenting, leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Southwark Council, Cllr Anood Al-Samerai, said:

“These are extraordinary figures which yet again show we’re living in a compensation culture gone mad.”

“If somebody is seriously injured and TfL is at fault then clearly there is a need for compensation to cover medical bills and time off work. But with so many large claims going through the system, I would question why TfL aren’t saving themselves some big payouts by upgrading safety standards for travellers.”

“Londoners spend a lot of money on bus and Tube fares. They want to know it’s being used to invest in a modern public transport system, not going up the wall on hundreds of expensive compensation payouts.”

Council bosses have been left red-faced after a burnt out museum was robbed of precious artefacts – despite security guards being on duty at the time.

Thieves stole valuable antiques from the Cuming museum, which was severely damaged in a huge blaze last month, after walking in to the site at Walworth, South London.

The council has confirmed that an ornate Asian tray was taken, as well as personal possessions. It is still establishing whether anything else was taken.

Liberal Democrat councillors have reacted with dismay at the robbery, which happened whilst two security guards were on duty to protect the building.

The Cuming museum, which is housed in the old Walworth Town Hall building, was founded in 1906 and is home to priceless artefacts from around the world, including China and Africa. Over 100 firefighters and 20 fire engines fought to tackle the blaze on 25 March.

Commenting, Southwark Liberal Democrat councillor and local resident Cllr Graham Neale said:

“Firemen risked their lives to save these artefacts and now burglars are simply walking off with our heritage.”

“Why can’t Southwark Council even get the basics right when it comes to protecting the contents of a burnt out museum? Town hall bosses must be red-faced over this fiasco.”

Cllr Poddy Clark has written to the council leader about her campaign

Fallen war heroes from Southwark should have local streets named after them, a Liberal Democrat councillor has said.

Chaucer ward councillor Poddy Clark is urging the council to honour local service men and women killed in action by lending their name to new streets in the borough.

The call comes after war memorial plaques were rededicated at a service in the council’s Tooley Street headquarters last week [Wed 27 March]. After attending the ceremony, Cllr Clark has written to Leader of the Council Peter John to propose a lasting memorial to war casualties from Southwark.

The Lib Dems want the council to take up the suggestion when considering names for all new roads, in consultation with the bereaved families of those killed. It could also apply to any renaming of existing streets, they say, and redevelopment areas such as around Elephant & Castle.

Commenting, Chaucer ward councillor Poddy Clark said:

“Many local service men and women from Southwark have fought for our country over the years, through historical wars as well as current ones. I have asked the council to consider naming streets in Southwark after those who have not come back as a small gesture to formally recognise the sacrifice they have made.”

“Clearly some conflicts are divisive amongst the public, particularly in recent years. However we should all be able to acknowledge the tough jobs that men and women in war zones do on behalf of our country and make sure they are properly remembered.”

Councillor Clarks’ full letter to the Leader of the Council states:

Dear Peter

I am often struck by the depth of respect for our armed services amongst residents in our borough. As I’m sure you will agree, this was acutely demonstrated at the rededication of the First and Second World War memorials at the council’s Tooley Street offices recently.

I have keenly followed the progress of these important memorials as they were moved out of the old Town Hall and into their new home, where they will continue to act as a solemn reminder of the great sacrifice so many from the borough have made for their country – including in conflicts currently taking place in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

We have a long history across South London of young men and women dedicating themselves to the armed services – and sadly an equally long history of those same people being killed in action defending our own liberty.

I would therefore like to propose that Southwark Council considers bringing in a meaningful and lasting way to show the value we place on those who have served and been lost, by way of naming new streets after local men and women killed in service.

This would, of course, have to be done in consultation with the families of those who have died. I do, however, believe this would receive strong support from the local community, and would be a small but worthwhile gesture to ensure the council can show its recognition for the sacrifice local service men and women make for us. I also understand this is something that has already been implemented by other local authorities of all political colours.

I hope you will consider this proposal, and also consider other ways we can recognise Southwark’s fallen heroes both now and in future years. I would be grateful for your thoughts.

Best wishes

Poddy Clark

Councillor for Chaucer Ward

Labour councillors in Southwark have been slammed for cutting short a public meeting of the full council – so they can go to a swanky drinks reception with Southwark’s new Mayor.

Proposals pushed through at a Council Assembly meeting last night will see the length of the council’s annual meeting in May – where a new Labour Mayor will be chosen – cut from three hours to just 90 minutes.

This will, the council says, “allow the annual meeting to conclude so the Mayor’s reception could commence”. Councillors will then able to spend the rest of the evening at the after-party in the Mayor’s parlour rather than discussing council business.

Liberal Democrat councillors tried to block the plans, claiming it will limit opposition scrutiny of the council’s performance, but were voted down by Labour councillors. They say it is a waste of taxpayer cash when the meetings are costing taxpayers £12,500 each time in set-up costs.

Surrey Docks councillor Lisa Rajan put forward a motion to try to stop the changes going through at the meeting yesterday (27 March) – the last meeting of the full council before the changes apply.

The changes will apply to all future annual meetings of the council, beginning with the next Council Assembly meeting on 22 May.

The “mayor making” Council Assembly was combined with the annual council meeting under the previous Lib Dem administration to save council money.

Commenting, Surrey Docks councillor Lisa Rajan said:

“When the council is spending thousands of pounds putting on a public meeting, it has an obligation to make the most of it and get value for money for residents. Cutting public meetings short so councillors to go a swanky drinks reception is ridiculous and a complete waste of taxpayer cash.”

“Labour council chiefs cannot get the basics right on things like housing and street cleaning, yet they want to spend more time at private parties with the Mayor rather than sorting out local problems.”