A word from Councillor Rachel Heywood

I was delighted to be asked by the Leader of the Council, Steve Reed, to take on a new role as Deputy Cabinet member for Community Cohesion and Involvement. My portfolio includes supporting better community engagement and consultation, equalities issues, and working with the third sector, as well as helping to build an ever stronger and more successful partnership between the council and you - our faith groups and communities.

I am greatly honoured to have been elected to serve the population of a borough which I love, and in which I feel very lucky to live. When I stood as a councillor I made a promise to promote inclusive, safe, tolerant and respectful communities and to champion the immense wealth that lies in both our diversity and that which we have in common.

As you know a cohesive community is one in which people from different backgrounds are able to work together to exchange ideas, to provide ambition and to create new ways of addressing challenges like resolving conflicts or finding solutions to difficult problems.

The Council recognises the pivotal role that Faith Groups play in community cohesion and I greatly admire the work that has already been achieved by faith communities in Lambeth to improve our local neighbourhoods and to tackle some of our most deep rooted issues. We face some especially challenging problems in this borough of ours, and it is just as well that we have some extraordinary people working with such dedication and care to overcome them.

We have an exciting year ahead, with a number of key events and activities coming up including: the publication of a few short guides to different faiths, Peace Month in September, the Safeguarding Children’s Conference in October and the launch of an independent Multi Faith Forum where I hope that I will have the opportunity to meet many of you. I’d also like to visit as many faith organisations as possible to discuss how we can work together to promote cohesion in the borough - please contact me on 07961 100198 or at rheywood@lambeth.gov.uk if you would be happy for me to come and see you.

Finally, I would like to thank my colleague and predecessor in this role, Councillor Lorna Campbell who is now Cabinet Member for Adult and Community Services. I am lucky to be benefitting from all the hard work she has put in during the last two years and I’m delighted to say that she will be continuing to contribute to this vital area of work.

Together with my cabinet member, Councillor Donatus Anyanwu, I look forward to working in partnership with all of you, and with all the faith communities in Lambeth. By working together, by keeping faith, I believe we can do almost anything.