Peckham Rye Labour

There has understandably been lots of concern in recent weeks about the levels of help and support for young people in Southwark. I thought I’d post some information about what the Labour Council is doing in this area. First things first, Southwark’s Labour Council believes in investing in our young people. That's why, despite receiving the worst government budget cuts in London, we are: - keeping all our Children's Centres open and funded at last year's levels - bringing in universal Free Healthy School Meals for our primary school pupils - helping tackle child obesity and putting money in parents' pockets just when they need it most - creating a new Youth Fund - investing £3m in helping young people stay on in education and get a foot on the jobs ladder. There are three strands to the youth fund: support for further education, support for tuition fees for higher education and employment opportunities. The higher education tuition fees strand was ...

Victoria, Renata and I would just like to add our voice to the many others calling for calm after the recent outbreaks of rioting and criminal behaviour. We welcome the decision to put more police on our streets, as reassuring local residents and shop owners at this time has to be everyone's top priority. The police have asked that people stay home tonight and encourage their children stay home as any disturbances will be easier to police as there will be less by-standers. If you encounter any disturbances yourself they have asked that these are reported to them by phoning 101. Obviously, if you consider the matter to be an emergency, dial 999. We're very proud that the council street cleaners, accompanied by local volunteers, made sure that our street were cleaned first thing this morning. We hope to see our community come together in the same way over the coming days and weeks, and not spoiled my a minority intent on violence and destruction.

Below is a news release from Southwark Labour which gives some details of a forthcoming review of leaseholder charging in the borough. My involvement comes from chairing the Council's Housing Scrutiny Committee. Leaseholders living in Peckham Rye may want to keep an eye on this. I'll post further updates as the review progresses. The original release is here (with a pic of me looking even more grumpy than usual!) _________________ Leaseholder charging review announced The Labour Chair of Southwark’s Housing Scrutiny Committee has announced a review of leaseholder charging in the borough. The review will look into all aspects of leaseholder service charges - including customer service to leaseholders and the accuracy of billing arrangements – as well as charges for communal repairs and major works. The review will also look at the progress being made in implementing the recommendations of the Grant Thornton audit of leaseholder service charges that was published in Septembe...