At the latest Corporate Parenting Panel, councillors were presented with worrying new data on the educational achievement of looked after children.

In 2011 no looked after children who received alternative educational provision achieved 5 A*- C grades at GCSE, in total only 14% of looked after children as a whole in the borough achieved 5 A*- C GCSE grades.

The data which became less surprising when data showed that half of the children were not entered for any qualifications.  Reasons given by the council for such performance included:

 

• changes of care placement
• changes of educational placement, 
• "frequent absconding and engaging in crime"

Cllr Adam Thomas who sits on the panel said "While many of these children have very challenging circumstances, it must be incumbent upon the borough to do its utmost to give these children the best start in life.  

The fact that so many looked after children are not even entered for qualifications coupled with the disruption that some children face to care and educational placements, which to some degree the borough controls, means that the borough has to get a grip of this issue.

I have specifically asked officers to look at the alternative provision that the borough provides as well as its use of external providers as this service, which is required for the children with the most challenges, is clearly not fit for purpose."

The Mayor Boris Johnson has announced in final budget papers today, the first ever cut in the City Hall share of the council tax (GLA precept). This follows a three year freeze of the precept.

The Mayor has allocated funds in next year's budget to the issues that matter the most. He has secured an extra £90m from government to ensure that police on London streets can remain high for the foreseeable future, quadrupled the provision of rape crisis centres on the capital and is on course to deliver 55,000 affordable housing by the end of the year.

Having got to grips with the bureaucracy and spending at City Hall the Mayor is in a position to not only freeze his portion of the council tax but to offer a modest cut in the precept of  1 per cent, underlining the sensible savings he has achieved over the last three years.  Since 2008, with an unprecedented three year freeze and today’s reduction, Boris Johnson’s budgets have delivered Londoners a 16 per cent saving in real terms for his portion of the council tax. Under the eight years of the previous administration, the GLA precept rose by 152 per cent, which is equivalent to the impact of a cumulative increase of £963.58*.

The Mayor Boris Johnson said: "We should never take a penny off hard-pressed Londoners that is not needed to guarantee the safety of the city, to invest in the infrastructure that is vital for London's long-term survival or to help grow the economy. Thanks to the sensible savings we have achieved over the last three years we can deliver on all our priorities and hand some money back to Londoners. I am proud to have ended eight years of relentless rises in council tax, freezing the precept for the last three years and now take this small step towards easing the burden further."

The budget will allow for significant investment to be made to help regenerate London and will also protect the capital’s police numbers - at the end of this Mayoral term there will be around 1,000 more officers than at the beginning. It  will also ensure that Crossrail and the Tube upgrades will be delivered and fares will be held down as  much as is possible, whilst maintaining neo-Victorian levels of investment in transport infrastructure- helping the city  to emerge from the current economic difficulties more competitive than ever.

The budget will be subject to final approval by the London Assembly when it meets on Thursday 9th February.

Eltham South councillors, Adam Thomas, Matt Clare and Eileen Glover attended the AGM of Friends of Avery Hill Park Group on Saturday.

There was a great turnout to the event held at the Park Cafe, with over 50 people attending and taking part.  The event highlighted a number of the changes taking place in the park including the new plans for the Winter Gardens, the potential for new cycle pathways and the work that has been taking place with the Young Friends Group.

The AGM also saw the election of Nuala Geary as the new Chair of the Group's committee.

Cllr Adam Thomas said "It's great to see so much interest from residents in the work of the Friends Group, as our green spaces are so precious in Eltham.  The Eltham South councilors will continue to support the Group at this important time in the park's development."

If you are interested in taking part in the Group's activities, please contact Nuala Geary on averyhillpark@hotmail.co.uk

 

Cllrs Adam Thomas (far left) and Matt Clare (second from right) with members of the Avery Hill Park Friends Group Committee

Local Conservative Councillors Working Hard For You

As your local councillors we want to give you an update on some of the things we have been working on/securing delivery of in the immediate area as well as reiterating that we are on hand if you should need assistance from any of us.

• Court Road’s anti-skid surface has now been extended beyond the entry to the golf course following campaigning by Councillor Matt Clare
• We continue to ask for mobile speed patrols and that a permanent camera be considered on the A20-bound side of Court Road subject to residents approval
• Litter bins are now in place near the Royal Blackheath Golf course Bus Stops
• Chevron signs near Woodmere are now fixed to prevent vandalism
• Pushing for an additional council focus on clearing and preventing dog mess between Middle Park Avenue and Mottingham Station
• Extra parking patrols on Tarnwood Park requested and now taking place
• Grove Market Place- Councillor Adam Thomas led the campaign against this 7 storey development. We continue to monitor the situation and will influence where we can to ensure the best result for Eltham
•  401-419 Middle Park Avenue– Guttering repairs/cleaning have been requested. We also successfully fought against the erection of a phone mast
• The Tarn- Your councillors are strong supporters through regular volunteering, with the Friends Group

 

Eileen, Adam and Matt are passionate about defending your needs and protecting/enhancing the local area. In addition to the above we often work with residents on planning matters on your behalf and are continually trying to keep the area cleaner and tidier.

Please do not hesitate to contact any of us if we can be of assistance.

Yours sincerely

Matt,Adam and Eileen

Your Councillors in Eltham South

Party co-Chairman Andrew Feldman announces plans for new party in Northern Ireland

Party co-Chairman Sayeeda Warsi has congratulated the Conservative Policy Forum on their first Winter Conference.

In an interview the Shadow Policing Minister, David Hanson, tried to contradict his own boss Yvette Cooper.

This evening Eltham North Councillor Spencer Drury met with Progress Residents’ Association Committee Member Keith Billingshurst and a Council Officer to discuss the future of the fencing at Lovelace Green.

 

The meeting was arranged after Cllr Drury discussed with local residents the poor state of the Green and the tatty state of the fencing.  At the meeting it was agreed that:-

 

·        As much of the remaining fencing as possible would be salvaged and used to provide a continuous fence along the eastern and northern sides of the green.

·        New fencing would be provided along the western and northern sides of the green to restore the fence to the whole edge of the green.  If possible this would be weathered to avoid any problems with different colours of wood between the two sets of fencing. 

·        The Council fill the hole in the main grass section of Lovelace Green and if possible, place new sections of hedge in the gaps which currently exist. 

 

Spencer said “It is always a pleasure to work with the Progress Residents Association to try and improve conditions on the estate.  I hope that the new fencing will help improve the look of the green, which had become a little tatty in recent months.”

 

If residents have any other issues to report, they should contact Spencer at spencer@spencerdrury.com.

Labour’s shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, has backed down and supported the Government’s pay freeze for police officers which will save £350 million.

At the monthly meeting of Greenwich Council, the Labour Cabinet Member for Community Safety & Environment refused to confirm figures for the number of police officers in the borough which had been used in her own party’s leaflets.

At the Council meeting Conservative Council Group Leader Cllr Spencer Drury asked the Cabinet Member to provide figures for the change in the number of regular (warranted) police officers in the borough since March 2008.  In response, the Labour Cabinet Member could only say:

“I thank Councillor Drury for his question and I will provide the information when I have been able to retrieve it.”

This lack of information contrasted painfully with the clarity portrayed in Labour’s leaflets distributed to select areas across the borough where it is claimed “the Tory Mayor is carrying on with his plans to cut 1,800 officers from our streets.”  The leaflet continues to claim that Boris Johnson is being hypocritical, however, this is charge which the Greenwich Labour Party appear to be vulnerable to, as local Conservatives did manage to find the figures for the changes to police number since March 2008 (when Boris was first elected).  In fact from March 2008 to February 2011, the number of regular police officers in Greenwich rose by 43 and the number of special constables by 69.  Indeed even the Labour pan-London figure appears to be completely inaccurate with an increase of 1,000 police officers in May 2012 when compared to May 2008 rather than the cut Labour suggests.

Leader of Greenwich Conservatives Cllr Spencer Drury commented “Labour’s inability to supply even basic figures on police number in Greenwich while making claims of cuts in their leaflets is a disgrace.  The people of Greenwich deserve better than the Labour Party trying to mislead them with fantastic claims and unsubstantiated figures.”

“I call upon the Labour Party to apologise for misleading residents and to publish the correct figures once the Cabinet Member has managed to find them."

The text of the Labour leaflet is shown below:

On Thursday evening Leader of the Opposition Cllr Spencer Drury revealed publically that the full cost of the new Equestrian Centre on Shooters Hill is more than £4m and called for it to be stopped as a waste of money.

 

In a speech to the Overview and Scrutiny Call-In Sub-Committee, Cllr Drury pointed out that the £3.1m cost previously mentioned in answer was simply the cost of construction, when in fact the whole cost (including fees and a ‘Pegasus’ horse crossing) was £4,046,694.  This meant Greenwich Council taxpayers were being asked to pay £3.9m (the British Equestrian Federation is contributing £170,000) for a centre focused on equine skills which would educate only 62 students each year. 

 

Cllr Drury also spoke of his concerns that a centre whose highest level qualification appeared to be a Level 2 (GCSE level) Diploma in Horse Care might not be equipping Greenwich residents with skills that would enable them to get jobs.  Cllr Drury asked repeatedly for estimates of how many jobs there were in the equine industry locally, but the only figures offered were national and appeared to come from the equine industry itself.  Under closer questioning it was suggested that most equine jobs locally would be in Kent or Surrey.

 

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee Call-In Committee disagreed with Cllr Drury and felt that spending £4m on an equestrian centre for 62 students each year was a productive use of taxpayers’ money.

 

Commenting after the meeting, Cllr Drury said “I am not disagreeing with the idea of skills centres and fully support those targeted at areas like engineering and construction but I really can’t see what this equestrian centre offers most Greenwich residents.”

 

Spencer continued “I really think there are better ways of spending this money.  We need to be clear that there are jobs being lost across the Council, charges being raised and services like libraries appear set to be cut, but the Council has chosen instead to spend £4m training local people for a niche industry.  This does not seem to me to be a reasonable use of taxpayers’ money and yet again the Council are building on green space for their own purposes.  By the time future generations realise we have betrayed them by allowing this Council to borrow millions of pounds to destroy the grass, trees and other open spaces it will be too late – it will be like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.  As Councillors, regardless of party, we need to start challenging the spending and environmental priorities of the Labour Cabinet.”

Conservative Party co-Chairman Sayeeda Warsi has sent her best wishes to the Chinese community at the start of the Year of the Dragon.

The South West has today been named as the UK’s first Marine Energy Park placing the South West at the forefront of marine renewable energy.

The Prime Minister has announced plans to introduce a Co-operatives Bill that will cut red tape and help to build a fairer economy.

Housing Minister Grant Shapps and Communities Minister Andrew Stunell have called on councils to use every opportunity under the New Deal for Older People to give elderly people more choice and control over where they live, so they are not pressured to sell their home or move into residential care.

Ahead of a government summit on 'coasting schools' to be held at Downing Street, Ofsted's Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, has confirmed his intention to scrap the 'satisfactory' judgment for school inspections.

Schools will soon find it easier to manage their teachers and help ensure they are performing to the best of their abilities.

Greenwich Council has failed to address residents concerns about the introduction of parking charges on Eltham High Street and has instead given an irrelevant response to a petition with hundreds of signatures.

 

At a Highways Committee meeting on Tuesday (10th January) the response to a 255 signature petition ran to less than a side of A4 and amounted to little more than a repetition of Council policy.  The response made no attempt to address the concerns expressed in the petition about the damaging effect on businesses in Eltham High Street.

 

At the meeting Cllr Drury argued strongly that the response was shockingly inadequate as it made no attempt to address serious concerns about the impact of parking charges on the High Street.  Spencer pointed out that there was no attempt to gauge the likely effect on the High Street if the charges were introduced and this was absolutely essential before the Council moved forward with the plan.

 

 Spencer also pointed out that when the Council increased their charges from 40p to 80p at the Orangery Lane Car Park in Eltham at the start of this financial year, the first seven months had produced an increase in revenue of only 0.8%.  This effectively meant that a doubling in price had halved the number of people using the car park.  If charges on the High Street had the same effect then this would be devastating for Eltham’s businesses.

 

Lastly Cllr Drury raised concerns (which were shared by Blackheath Councillor Geoffery Brighty when he spoke about parking at the Dover Road shops) about the Council’s intention to only allow people to pay to park using mobile phones.  This was potentially discriminatory and could worsen the damage of introducing charges on the High Street as even those who wanted to pay might not be able to.

 

Spencer said “This is an inadequate response and the Committee should have recognised this and asked for it to be rewritten.   In my opinion, they have to do a proper analysis of the impact that introducing parking charges might have on our High Street.   As always this Woolwich based Labour Council is trying to sweat more cash out of Eltham without caring what damage it does to our struggling High Street.  Introducing parking charges could devastate Eltham and the Council should change its mind about this policy.”

 

More general information

 

1.  The wording of the petition reads:

 

We the undersigned are aware that Greenwich Council intends to introduce parking charges for the spaces on Eltham High Street which are currently free but time-limited.  We urge the Council not to go forward with this proposal as we consider that the charges are likely to have a damaging effect on businesses on Eltham High Street.

 

 

2.  The full response to the petition reads as follows:

 

The following petitions were presented to Council on 1 December 2011

 

6. Petition – Opposing the introduction of parking charges in Eltham High Street

 

6.1 A petition containing 255 signatures was presented to Council by Councillor Spencer Drury on 1 December. Of these 210 are residents of Greenwich and 93 of those residents within 1 kilometre radius from Eltham High Street.

 

6.2 Current situation

 

6.2.1 On 14 December 2010 Cabinet agreed as part of the budgetary strategy 2011/12 to 2014/15 to introduce new areas of paid for parking. Eltham High Street was one of the schemes listed in the report.

6.2.2 Currently Eltham High Street has 30 minutes short term free bays parking and DRES is currently developing proposals which include 1hour paid for parking bays.

6.2.3 The methods of payments being considered for the paid for parking is pay by mobile phone only.

 

6.3 Future action

 

6.3.1 Residents and business will be consulted as part of the statutory consultation on the paid for parking proposal in 2012. Any objections and comment will be reported back to committee.

Conservative Party Co-Chairman Sayeeda Warsi has asked Ed Miliband to set the record straight after his misleading comments on rail fares during Prime Minister's Questions.

The Education Secretary, Michael Gove, has announced that the current programme of information and communications technology (ICT) study in England's schools will be scrapped from September.