Agenda and minutes

The Mayor received a report on issues which he had previously considered that awaited the responses he had requested from Directorates.

RESOLVED

that the report be received.

The Mayor received a written reference report from the Overview & Scrutiny Business Panel concerning the London Borough Grants 2011-12 item he had considered at Mayor & Cabinet on January 19 2011.

The Mayor considered the suggestion made by the Business Panel but pointed out that as Chair of London Councils Grants Committee he was able to directly oversee the impact of the Judicial Review on the Grants Programme and he did not consider an immediate further report to Mayor and Cabinet to be necessary. He did however envisage possible future implications for the Council at the conclusion of the Judicial Review process which might require consideration by elected members.

RESOLVED

That the report be noted

The Mayor began by outlining the procedure he would be using to consider the budget and the representations that had been made and thereafter take individual decisions on each of the recommendations.

Councillor Maslin, the Cabinet Member for Resources, introduced the report and set out the background to the formulation of a very difficult and painful budget. He said he believed the levels of cuts being imposed by the government were unnecessary and grossly irresponsible. He acknowledged some cuts were needed but not at the levels that had been suggested and he suspected they were politically, rather than economically, motivated

The Executive Director for Resources, Janet Senior, presented an overview of the budget and its various components set out in the report.

The Mayor next received a number of presentations from representatives who had asked to address him and his Cabinet on the budget.

Martin Howie of Voluntary Action Lewisham spoke about Appendix Y4 and said he believed it was wrong to cut grants from voluntary bodies at a time when demands for their services were rising sharply. He outlined general concerns about cuts to the sector and particular worries about the effect on Voluntary Action Lewisham, as the post of their Children and Young People liaison officer had been placed in jeopardy.

Carol Mew of Lewisham Disability Coalition stated some of her members were not willing to attend the meeting following the violent scenes that had taken place outside the Town Hall in November 2010. She said many areas of cuts would affect disabled people, not just those under the jurisdiction of the council, but those of other public sector agencies as well. She pleaded for more detailed work to take place to assess the cumulative effect on disabled people of all public sector cuts.

Martin Powell-Davies of the National Union of Teachers spoke on behalf of all the borough’s trade unions. He believed the cuts were a false economy in general and he outlined concerns about specific savings, especially those impacting on Early Years services.

Estelle Currie of RELATE outlined the work done with new parents by her organization which was delivered via Childrens Centres. She requested that the cut proposed for RELATE be reduced.

Julie Rush highlighted the work being done by the St James Family Learning Centre in New Cross. She felt the Centre had been given insufficient notice of the withdrawal of grant and that there had been no analysis of the equalities impact or any community consultation. She was supported by Charity Izu, who recounted the help that had been given to her and her family by the St. James Centre.

Maria Dalrymple of Youth Aid explained the organization had been set up in 1973 and was based at 17 Brownhill Road. She outlined the role of Youth Aid and said the organization relied on the Council only for part payment of its rent. All other costs were met from elsewhere but the crucial loss of rent support could place 38  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.