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Showing posts from 2015

One Tree Hill Concert - fundraiser for Nepal earthquake victims

There will be a summer evening concert on One Tree Hill in Southwark Woods at 6.30pm Saturday 23rd May. The venue is St Augustine's Church, One Tree Hill, Honor Oak Park. Suggested donation of £10.00 The  OneTree Hill Sinfonia  will be playing:- Grieg - Peer Gynt Suite 1 Varela - Urashima Taro Sibelius - Symphony No 2 in D Please do come along for an entertaining evening and to support this very good cause. 

Lambeth & Southwark Childcare Commission

As Southwark's Cabinet Member for Childcare and Schools I warmly welcomed this week's report of the Lambeth and Southwark Childcare Commission, chaired by Dame Tessa Jowell MP. Like our neighbours in Lambeth, we are firmly committed to giving every child the best start in life and helping parents find affordable, accessible and quality childcare. This report acknowledges the challenges faced by local families but sets out a range of options that could be used to tackle these by the Mayor of London, central government, local authorities and employers. There is no one solution to deal with the many problems parents in London face trying to get back to work while managing the burdens and prohibitive costs of childcare. The Council no doubt has a role to play in stepping up to deliver the options set out in the report but we also need to work with parents, businesses and the Mayor in open partnership to create a city that embraces parenthood and creates a world of opportunity for

Local cemeteries - What's going on?

Ahead of next week's public meeting to discuss our local cemeteries I just wanted to explain some of the background to the current situation.  There was a very extensive consultation on the cemeteries in 2012. The consensus was that people wanted the council to continue to offer burial space in the borough. I personally don't agree with this knowing the huge existing pressure on land but the point of the consultation was to listen and plan our future policy on peoples' views. Many options like out of town burial were explored as part of this process.   As ward councillors we all thought it vitally important to protect Honor Oak Rec. This is a green space used by local residents and also used by local schools and football clubs. Whilst I think many parts of Camberwell Old are beautiful and a haven for wildlife I think that sensitive reuse of parts of the cemetery which allow us to protect Honor Oak Rec are worth pursuing. All three of us are also committed to

A new approach to outsourcing and procurement

A report published today is recommending a new approach to outsourcing and procurement at Southwark Council.  Proposals include introducing an in-house "preferred provider" policy, a target for creating local jobs and apprenticeships with council spending and greater protection for the workforce. Southwark’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC) is publishing an investigation into the council’s approach to commissioning, procurement and outsourcing. You can see the full draft report  here .  Changes will be made to this following our OSC meeting on the 19 th  January where the committee will discuss the draft. This is a huge issue.  Southwark Council’s register of contracts with external organisations shows 220 different contracts for goods and services.  That accounts for a total contract value of £2.6 billion.  A huge range of services, from the building of new schools to employment support services to homecare for vulnerable residents, are procured by the counci