Norwood People First Expo - Question Time responses
A local Question Time session took place at the Norwood People First Expo event on 9 February 2008.
This session, which was led by the council, provided everyone with the opportunity to ask questions to the panel which was made up of:
Gerry Evans
Chair of Norwood Forum
Jimmy Lindsay
Chair of West Norwood Community Development
Angela Dawe
Director of Primary Care & Community Development,
PCT
Superintendent Jonathan Tottman
Metropolitan Police
Questions answered by the panel
What follows are the answers to the questions posed to the panel on the day.
People with learning difficulties are moving into independent living but there are concerns regarding safety. Can you advise? (Question from the floor)
Teams in Lambeth have an excellent structure in place to carry out suitable training. Commitment from Chair that further information will be provided for groups who provide safety training.
What is the PCT doing to provide specific services which are for Religious needs, i.e. Muslim women and choice agenda? (Ms S. Jaffer, Norwood Forum Officer).
There is a programme of work to deliver services for people. Acknowledged that work still needs to be done in this area and there was a need to make sure that people had options and standards of care available to them. Information provided should be made available in the appropriate languages and presented in a certain way. Services are available in Lambeth, i.e. Streatham and it was confirmed that the PCT were looking at other projects in the borough.
How effective is the CCTV in the borough, are they working? (Question from the floor)
There is not a lot of high quality CCTV in the borough and there was real concern regarding surveillance in society but digital CCTV does help to combat this. The Lambeth Team tend to use CCTV in a dedicative way, i.e. the police hope to make an arrest in the near future, as a result of a theft which took place in Streatham. However, there is always room for improvement of quality CCTV and need to make sure that cameras were situated in the appropriate places.
What is being done to inform residents of racially motivated incidents in the Tulse Hill? (Ms S. Jaffer)
Acknowledged that communication from the police to the society was low but technology issues were the problem. The police were disappointed that the Thurlow Ward Park Safer Neighbourhood Panel did not have effective links to provide information for residents. The police hope to provide newsletters electronically and send information by text in the future. However, it was felt that if information was provided, then this might deter some people from going out. Therefore, there was a need to communicate information effectively in the borough. It was confirmed that a small community team were in place who will work with colleagues in the Town Hall regarding this matter but there was still a long way to go.
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Officer responses to questions
What follows are the responses by council officers to questions not answered by the panel.
What are the terms of reference for the council’s overall waste strategy review? How can the members of the public influence the strategy? (Philip Godfrey details sent by officers via e-mail)
Waste Review (Malcolm Duesbury)
The authority is part of the Western Riverside Waste Partnership, being one of 5 statutory waste authorities that make up this group. The partnership produced a municipal waste management strategy which was adopted by Western Riverside Waste Authority on the 21st June 2006, and by all constituent authorities, with the exception of L B Lambeth at that time.
L B Lambeth’s Members rejected the strategy, and supported the recommendation not to adopt it. The strategy document calls for review on a 2 yearly basis, however as the Mayor of London is currently undertaking a review of the waste strategy for London, review of the Western Riverside Waste Partnership Strategy has been deferred. L B Lambeth will have input to that review.
L B Lambeth does not therefore have an adopted waste strategy. L B Lambeth produced a Waste Action Plan in 2005. this was undertaken as part of the work to establish the Western Riverside Waste Partnership strategy, building upon the outcome of the audit commissions service review, and National Waste Strategy and the Mayor of London’s Waste Strategy. That Action Plan recommended review after 2 years, and an Action Plan 2008, which is based on the new National Municipal Waste Strategy 2007, is to be presented to Members shortly. This action plan has been informed by stakeholder outreach, attitudinal surveys, satisfaction surveys and other consultations, as well as considering the financial consequences of inaction.
It is expected that the Action Plan will provide Members with options for future service developments, for which the authority will subsequently need to make decisions as to priorities and resourcing.
There is currently no defined timetable for the review of the waste strategy; it is understood that the Mayoral review is now ‘on hold’ pending the Mayoral elections although, as suggested above it is unlikely to be undertaken this fiscal year. L B Lambeth undertakes regular public consultations on waste issues. These are undertaken through a range of routes, including bespoke issue related consultation, wider attitudinal consultations e.g. through its arrangements with Recycle Western Riverside, etc. It is anticipated that the review of the waste strategy will again be a matter for consideration by Members, and that consultation will continue to be a part of the decision process.
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Plans for Norwood Road SE27 includes a pedestrian phase at Lancaster Avenue/York Hill junction - what is the situation with TfL over this?
Lancaster Avenue/York Hill Junction (Hayden Tuck)
TfL Buses did have concerns regarding possible delays to buses as a result of the proposed pedestrian phasing. This has now been resolved and we are working with TfL and the Lambeth contractor to complete the implementation programme. The works are scheduled to commence very soon and will take 3-5 weeks to complete.
Hanging Baskets - Why have the baskets in Gipsy Road been removed? (Amet Patel - Silver Arrow Dry Cleaners)
Hanging baskets are provided by the Council’s Parks department. Hanging baskets will be provided this year if funds are available when the final budget decision is taken.
CCTV - is there any possibility of this area having access to CCTV? (Amet Patel - Silver Arrow Dry Cleaners)
There are no current plans to expand the Lambeth CCTV network to incorporate the Gipsy Road area although we are about to commence a strategic review of the Lambeth CCTV service. The review itself will focus primarily on current CCTV resources camera locations, crime hot spots etc unfortunately at present we are unable to expand the network due to budgetary constraints. We are also looking into the possibility of implementing a network of mobile CCTV cameras that could be used to tackle the transient nature of crime anti social behaviour. Gipsy Road will be considered as a part of this project.
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Traffic calming - This area needs measures to slow down traffic due to the proximity of local schools and nursery’s’ can anything be done about this? (Amet Patel - Silver Arrow Dry Cleaners)
There is positive news on this subject. As part of the school development there will be amendments to the existing traffic calming of a raised table and road narrowing, being replaced by two raised tables near the junctions of Gipsy Road Gardens and Bentons Lane. Officers are also considering an additional traffic calming feature between these proposed tables to further reduce vehicle speeds. This work will be funded as part of the section 106 developer contribution. All works are subject to consultation which should take place mid to late February.
We are a charity and we collect large items from Lambeth residents for free which is something that Lambeth would have to do if we didn’t. If and when we do not sell items, is it possible for Lambeth to collect these items for free? Currently we have to take them to the dump where we do get dispensation, but still have to pay something towards it. (Emmaus)
Response from Malcolm Duesbury, the council’s Head of Sustainable Waste Management.
Lambeth Council is responsible for collecting waste in the Borough, whereas Western Riverside Waste Disposal Authority (WRWA) is responsible for disposing of that waste. Councils have the power to charge for the collection of waste in certain circumstances. As a waste collection authority, this authority has decided that it will charge for the collection of waste from charities, although a free collection service is provided for recyclable material to those organisations entering into a contract with the authority.
As regards charging for the disposal of waste Western Riverside Waste Authority have adopted a policy to award registered charities with an allowance for free disposal of material, accepting that there will be an element of material that is collected for recovery or recycling which can not be recovered. Charities which exceed that allowance are required to pay for the disposal of any waste beyond the allowance.
The policy adopted by both this authority and WRWA is intended to support the activities of charities, whilst encouraging material recovery and waste minimisation. Charities are supported in other ways by the authority, with concessions in respect of Council tax charges etc.
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Over the years in Lambeth facilities for classes geared towards adults with learning difficulties have been significantly reduced, resulting in members sometimes waiting up to 4 years for a space to occur to be able to join a class - What is being done is wonderful - Are there any plans to re-establish some of the lost classes or to create more of the over subscribed classes, for e.g. mime classes, music, cookery and basic skills? (L’Arche Lambeth)
Lambeth Adult Learning Service is reviewing all its provision for 2008/09 including provision for people with learning difficulties or learning disabilities, to ensure that what we offer better meets local people’s needs and offers opportunity for participation to more learners. We do as yet not know which courses will be offered but we are working with our main providers and taking advice from Adults and Community Services to ensure the course offer is what people want and need and allows access to more learners than at present.
Q: Is there any truth in the suggestions that classes may become age limited for people with learning difficulties? (L’Arche Lambeth)
There is no truth in the suggestion that classes will become age-limited for those with learning difficulties or disabilities. Lambeth Adult Learning will act in accordance with age legislation requirements to ensure good access, for older learners, to its programmes.
People may come to meetings and events such as this if they knew about it. The advertising is always solely in English. Can translation (into other languages) be made as standard? (SOCFIA)
This issue has recently been reviewed by central government and the recommendations propose that translations are not provided as a matter of course. There are several reasons for following this view here in Lambeth. One is the cost of doing this for all publications and promotions. It would be logistically difficult and extremely expensive: We have over 150 languages spoken in Lambeth. The other reason is that it is seen as better for community cohesion to provide materials primarily in English. However we do offer a translation service on request. The area that we can improve is where we place information and how we present our information. Clearly written materials provided through communication channels that people are most likely to access is the best way to keep people informed.