New Merton Cabinet Member for Education announced

19 April 2012
Merton Labour Group Statement
New Merton Cabinet Member for Education announced
Merton Councillor Maxi Martin is to become both Cabinet Member for Education as well Cabinet Member for Children Services.

Cllr Stephen Alambritis, Leader of the Council, said "Peter Walker has done excellent work on Labour’s policy of expanding our best performing schools to provide more places for local children. However I regard this conduct as wholly unacceptable. It is not the way the Labour administration does business. I have therefore immediately dismissed Cllr Walker as Cabinet Member for Education. Cllr Maxi Martin, who is in overall charge of Children’s Services, will take over."

Ends
For further information please contact:
Leaders Office 020 8545 3721 Letter from Cllr Peter Walker Dear Stephen I am saddened by your decision to dismiss me from the Cabinet as a result of a complaint from the “Save our Rec” Campaign. Illegal fly posting in my local park, Dundonald Rec, by Save our Rec supporters is wrong. As you know, the Council itself and the local park keeper have repeatedly had to take down their fly posts. I now find myself in the strange position for being sacked for doing what Council staff had been instructed to do. Namely to remove illegal flyposts put up by supporters of Save our Rec in my local recreation ground I am very grateful for the opportunity you gave me to lead the major re-structuring of Education in Merton over the last two years. I am particularly pleased to have facilitated the expansion of good and outstanding local primary schools often in the face of determined opposition. I was delighted to announce last week that Merton had secured an additional £7.3M for our school expansion programme, and last night I was able to tell the Council Scrutiny Panel that we will be able to offer places to all our 5 year olds this coming September. This is a direct result of the expansion programme that I have pursued and ensures that the 39% increase in 5 year olds that we have had in Merton will be accommodated . Last but not least, this all came after the best ever GCSE results by Merton schools last summer. It goes without saying that I will continue to support you and this Council’s policies loyally from Labour’s back benches, and will use all my efforts to ensure that the progress that schools in Merton made while I was Cabinet Member for Education continues. Best wishes Peter Walker

Pollards Hill stabbing fatality statement

This morning, I received the shocking and tragic news that a stabbing incident had taken place in Pollards Hill, and that a 28 year old male had died from his wounds. As you can imagine, it was extremely distressing and harrowing to hear this news, especially as Pollards Hill is normally a safe area with relatively low levels of crime. In my time as a councillor, we've had no fatalities in the ward as a result of knife crime, and to hear about a fatal stabbing incident was a bolt from the blue. My deepest condolences and sympathies goes to all his family at this difficult time, and may he rest in peace.

Given the seriousness of the issue, Siobhain McDonagh MP and the local councillors for Pollards Hill will be organising a meeting in Pollards Hill at 7pm at the Community Centre, South Lodge Avenue, Mitcham on Tuesday night(25 October). The meeting is to give re-assurance to the local community, many of whom are inevitably concerned at what has happened and to update them further. Tomorrow night (Monday 24), a number of people will be meeting outside the community centre at 5pm to talk to local residents about the incident and to let them know what is happening. A leaflet will also be distributed locally to residents in Pollards Hill. If you can help deliver leaflets, or talk to local residents please drop me an e-mail on martin.whelton@merton.gov.uk or call 020 8542 4835 or 07941514589.

The incident took place around 11.40 pm last night and if they're any witnesses or anyone with any information should call the Incident Room on 020 8721 4906 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Further information about the identity of the victim will be released shortly but today has been a difficult today for both myself and the community of Pollards Hill. I am proud to have represented this area for the past nine years on Merton Council, it's a diverse community with many fantastic people in the area. This incident is no-way reflective of everyday life, it is a tragedy, but I have no doubt that the community locally will come together after this terrible incident.

Letter to local residents from Siobhain McDonagh MP about riots in the Tandem Centre and Priory Retail Park

Dear resident,

I was out in Colliers Wood at midnight on Monday night as shops in the Tandem Centre and Priory Retail Park were being burnt and looted. I cannot remember when I was so angry. Kids are coming out and starting riots and adults are driving round in cars to see what they can steal.


I would ask all parents to keep their sons and daughters in over the next few nights. Many young people are getting caught up in these riots who have not previously been in any trouble - so the safest thing is for them to be off the streets altogether as they could easily be arrested and end up with serious criminal records that will affect them for the rest of their lives.

And as for the adults. They are preying on the most vulnerable people, taking or destroying property from people who have very little and often have no insurance. People’s jobs and livelihoods are being stolen from them. So can I ask if you know anyone who has looted, or if you are offered stolen goods, please call 999 and tell the police.

If you are worried about passing on this information then tell me and I will speak to the police and keep your details confidential. With Westminster in recess I am working in the constituency full time. So you can get me at my Morden office on 020 8542 4835. If I'm out on a visit then leave a message with Amy and I will call you back.


Can I also take this opportunity to say to parents that there are lots of events over the summer for children and teenagers. Here are examples of two free events in the next week -


Commonside Development Trust ‘Funday’

Saturday 13 August midday to 5pm

Donnelly Green

South Lodge Avenue

Pollards Hill

There is a day of activities and events for all ages, including army assault courses and a barbeque, and for younger ones there is also a bouncy castle, face paints and stilt walkers. There will even be an Elvis impersonator, so please come along. All are welcome!



Free Basketball Taster Day

Thursday 18 August 11am to 3pm

Lavender Park

Steers Mead

Mitcham CR4 3HL

All ages and abilities, including beginners are welcome. There will be expert coaching, skills and drills and prizes and giveaways. There will also be free weekly basketball sessions every Tuesday from 4-6pm at the same place for the rest of August and September.


I have also put together a full list of one off summer events, plus a booklet on regular all year round youth clubs. If you'd like copies of these, again call my office 0208 542 4835 or email me on siobhain@mmlp.org.uk. Or simply call in to my office at 1 Crown Road, Morden SM4 5DD (it’s just behind the civic centre) to collect your copy.



With good wishes,



Siobhain McDonagh



PS if there is any trouble at all local Councillors and I will always come out at night to make sure local residents are safe. This is our community and we must not let a minority wreck it. But please tell the police or me if you know anything. These mindless individuals are putting our neighbours’ livelihoods and lives at risk.

Message from the Leader of Merton Council and Merton Borough Commander

Message from the Leader and Borough Commander
As you have seen in the national media coverage, many areas of London suffered violence and looting over night. The Tandem Centre in our own Colliers Wood was targeted by criminals intent on committing both arson and looting.

Council officers have been working around the clock with very brave officers from the Metropolitan Police and the London Fire Brigade.

There can be no defence of this criminality, and the council will continue to work with the police to bring the perpetrators to justice.

We ask that if anyone has information about those involved in the violence and looting in Colliers Wood or at any of the other locations affected by the violence, they contact the police.

Leader of Merton Council, Councillor Stephen Alambritis

Chief Superintendent Dick Wolfenden

2012 Olympic Games & Merton

With it being a year to go until London 2012, things are moving apace and with only 366 days left until the opening ceremony it will be frenetic between now and next July. As someone who is passionate about sport, being awarded the Olympics back in 2005 was a dream come true. Yes it had sceptics along with those who thought it would cost too much, be a flop and of that London was incapable of hosting the games. They have all been proven wrong, to date it has run extremely smoothly, construction costs have came in under budget and ahead of schedule. No other games has better prepared at this stage than London 2012 and Seb Coe and all his team have done a fantastic job.

Of course the press have been looking for the negatives, the recent ticket allocation being a case in point and I speak as someone who got no Olympic tickets. Yes I felt the disappointment, but no other games has had this level of demand for tickets which is an amazing feat given that in Athens you could've bought tickets for the 100 metre final four weeks before the games. Hopefully further ticketing opportunities will arise before the games.

In Merton, we are proud to be the host borough for the tennis. Being cabinet member with lead responsibility for the Olympics, I'm aware of the many logistics and preparations that have to be undertaken for the games. As a council we're incredibly well prepared; were also lucky that Wimbledon tennis is the largest outdoor sporting event in the UK each year over a fortnight(except in 2012!) and we know what is required of us a council. However, the Olympics brings new challenges, next year it will follow just three weeks after the conclusion of the championships and many tasks will have to be carried out to make the ground ready to host, with LOCOG moving in straight after the championships. It may sound an easy task, but I can assure you it's a huge challenge.

In terms of promotion, Jonathan Edwards recently raised the flag at the Merton Civic Centre and shortly we'll be having the Cultural Olympiad in Pollards Hill on August 13 which a number of events promoting sport and culture will taking place. We also have Linford Christie, Olympic gold medallist form Barcelona visiting Mitcham in August. In the run up to the games, we'll also see further events take place as the excitement builds towards 2012.

I'm incredibly proud London is hosting the Olympics and despite the many challenges of the next year, I sincerely believe that the 2012 Olympics will be the best ever.

Merton Tories Caught Out Again

Thanks to Chris McKeown who has passed on a rebuttal by the Merton Park Independents on the latest leaflet to be circulated around Merton Park by the Conservatives. Sitting in the council chamber, I regularly hear the vilification meted out against the Merton Park Independents at council meetings especially by Cllr Richard Hilton who described them as "puppets".

The allegations made by the Tories are untrue and the Independents do make up their mind on an issue by issue basis. In the last council they voted most of the time with the Conservatives, much the consternation of the Labour Group. Despite their nasty campaign against them at the last election, the Merton Park Independents massively increased their majority over the Conservatives. After 22 years of electing Independents the Tories have repeatedly failed to win back Merton Park ward despite their best endeavours. They show no sign of winning it back anytime soon.

Merton Tories Caught Out Again by Chris McKeown
In Local Government, Tory Myths, UK Politics, Wimbledon on July 24, 2011 at 8:03 pm

Yesterday I received a leaflet from Merton’s Tories viciously attacking the Merton Park Independents (my ward’s three councillors upon whom Labour rely for their control of the council). Today, I received a copy of an email from the Independents refuting all of the allegations. Read on, it’s fairly damning:

Dear Resident,

As you know, we distribute email alerts to keep residents up to date on important local issues. We don’t believe you want to hear too much about party political posturing in the Council Chamber. However, you may have received a flyer from Merton Conservatives accusing your Independent Ward Councillors of failing to represent your interests. A number of residents have contacted us querying its accuracy. The simple response is that the claims are inaccurate and expose some muddled thinking. They are crudely made but require rather longer to refute. If you don’t want to read more then by all means “Look away now” but if you want to contrast reality with the allegations contained in the Conservative flyer then read on . . .

There are six bullet point arguments contained in the flyer, each of them short, pithy and misleading. They tell you that “Your Independent Councillors

“voted to abolish the free garden waste collection”

With just cause: this year’s Council Budget, which had to reduce spending by £26 million, removed the free garden waste collection. It was replaced by a paid-for service which began a few weeks ago. The previous service was costing £227,000 a year and collected 1,700 tonnes of garden waste from fewer than 14,000 properties (about 1 in 5 of the total in Merton) of which only a few thousand were regular users. It was not a statutory service (i.e. one they have to provide) and it seemed fairer to charge these households directly for collection than to subsidise it out of council tax. We know that many users are willing to pay for the service. In our current residents’ questionnaire on Council Services several residents have expressed the opinion that they would favour a paid for service. And across the Borough over 2000 households have already signed up for it. To be sure, the introduction could have been handled better by the administration. Preparatory work to plan a paid-for service was in hand in January and despite your Councillors urging all speed to have a replacement service in place to allow a smooth transition, there was a hiatus which we know caused considerable inconvenience to some residents.

“voted to extend controlled parking, against your wishes”

Not true: your Ward Councillors voted for a consultation. The Council Budget includes a provision for an extension of CPZ restrictions to Saturdays. But the Conservatives themselves acknowledged in a previous flyer that any extension is explicitly subject to full consultation which can take up to six months. As you will know, we have been critical of the operation of the CPZ in the past and steered an amendment through Council over a year ago to cap CPZ charges and reintroduce the half day visitor permit (proposals that the Conservative administration actually tried to vote down). We are still waiting for the officers to announce their consultation plans. Not only will we be fully engaged in the consultation process; we shall be conducting our own surveys to ensure your opinions are fully represented.

“voted for wheelie bins costing over £4 million, despite 75% of you telling them you didn’t want them”

Not true: your Ward Councillors have not voted for wheelie bins. During the council debate on the issue, Merton’s Conservatives put forward a motion that your councillors could not vote for because it was misleading. In the debate, Cllr John Sargeant, who chaired the cross-party Task Group into Wheelie Bins, pointed out the logical flaws in their motion. For example, while the motion called for all the Task Group recommendations to be accepted, it also called for an immediate roll-out of food waste collections to every home in the Borough, which the Task Group, with its two Conservative members fully on board, expressly recommended against. (For the full text of John’s speech, click on the attachment.)

The three other issues in the flyer relate back to the debate on the Council Budget passed in March. Without being explicit, they simply refer to school standards, front line services and back office costs. Faced with the reality of less money, and more cuts to come, it is all too easy to decry the loss of some services. We could have followed the Conservative approach to spend an additional £1.7million beyond our means (equivalent to 2% on Council Tax) to postpone necessary cuts. But that would merely have built up even greater problems for future years. Throughout the Budget discussions we sought outcomes that would balance the budget while protecting the most vulnerable residents.

Many thanks to those of you who have contacted us to query the accuracy of these allegations. You are right to be sceptical. We, for our part, will continue to provide you with the facts, without spin or over-simplification. We are always keen to hear your views.

So, Merton’s Tories are at it again, deliberately misinterpreting the facts instead of actually doing their jobs.

Remembering Sheila Draper

This morning I heard the awful news that Sheila Draper, Labour Party stalwart in Mitcham and Morden, but also Mayoress of Merton from 2009-10 and husband of my Merton Council colleague Nick Draper had passed away.

Although she had been ill of late, this was a bolt from the blue. I considered Sheila to be good friend and I mourn her loss deeply. My most abiding memory of her was the night of Wednesday 13 May 2009, it was the night that I stood down as Mayor of Merton. Who was to succeed as the next mayor was a matter of great debate at the time as Merton Council was evenly divided, with 30 votes for the Conservative nominee, Cllr Gilli Lewis Lavender and the same number for the Labour nominee, Nick Draper. It required every Labour councillor to attend the meeting(which thankfully they did) and for the casting vote to be cast by myself as the outgoing mayor in the event that the votes were equal(and they where). After a nerve wracking roll call, Nick Draper became Mayor of Merton, it was sheer relief to us all as it was a tough battle to ensure Nick was elected.

In the corridor outside the chamber, I met Sheila, because she was so nervous and thought Nick would lose she wasn't planning to attend. However, at the last minute she changed her mind and attended. I remember hugging her in jubilation in the corridor, it was so emotive and the relief on all of us that Nick had been elected was palpable. I'm so pleased looking back that she had the opportunity to serve as Mayoress, and I know Nick wanted to become Mayor as much for Sheila as for himself, it was decision that changed her life.

Her year as Mayoress to Nick was an amazing time, she was a great ambassador to the borough, but also helped Nick raise over £50,000 for his chosen charities. Nick and Sheila made a great mayoral team and made a huge contribution to Merton during their time as Mayor and Mayoress, but also in the events they organised. I will never forget the Elvis tribute night which was a fantastic fundraiser as Sheila was one of Elvis's biggest fans. It certainly was one of the liveliest ever mayoral events, and it was all put together by Sheila.

Sheila reached out to all parts of Merton, sometimes civic office and the bling gives some individuals airs and graces, but through it all Sheila remained a down to earth person who performed the role admirably.

I am so pleased that she had the opportunity of being the Mayoress last year, and for the work she undertook during that year along with her support to Nick.

The Labour Party will also miss her deeply, she was treasurer of Mitcham and Morden and helped keep the accounts in order. She was also a great socialist, probably slightly old Labour, but very loyal to the values of the party.

I will miss Sheila greatly and my deepest sympathies and condolences go to your husband Nick, and to your children Gregory, Anthony and Caroline.Your memory lives on for many of us.

May you rest in peace.

West Barnes library update

My e-mail inbox has been full of representations over the past few weeks from residents in West Barnes that I am about to close their library. This followed a Lib Dem focus leaflet that I was to announce its imminent closure from next April, this of course led to a deluge of e-mails from local residents. This has now been followed up, belatedly, by a Tory leaflet. Of course my e-mail address has been on the leaflets and residents have understandably sent e-mails to me supporting the library. The running total is over 40 to date with no doubt many more to come.

Firstly, no decision has been made to close West Barnes library. As a council we only received our grant settlement today - and as expected it's not good news. Like many other councils faced with a similar position we are still analysing the full extent of the cuts we need to make, no area of council expenditure can be off limits for possible cuts.

From a child growing up with a wonderful library in Sutton, I know how pivotal they've been to my learning experience and I know how valued they're in the local community. However, with the level of savings that we need to make, we are having to make some very difficult choices at present. Merton as a council has already identified over £11m of savings so far and will still need to make further savings in the budget process beyond those already proposed.

In terms of the library itself, I don't want to be in a position to make a decision I don't really want to make. However, Tory minister Eric Pickles cuts are forcing us to do things that I never envisaged I would have to do in politics. Maybe both Conservative and Liberal councillors can join me in lobbying Eric Pickles for more money - with local MP, Stephen Hammond being his Parliamentary Private Secretary he may have some sway, though I am sure the queue is very long.

I also know the valuable role libraries play in the local community, especially in my own community of Pollards Hill, but also in other communities within Merton including Motspur Park and West Barnes.

In terms of libraries, I am already having to make savings. West Barnes library is proposed to close for another day each week, though it will now be opened at lunch hours which will only result in a small reduction each week in opening hours. Although hours will be reduced, in other libraries across the borough apart from Colliers Wood we'll be increasing opening hours. A further consultation will be carried out with users in the New Year but this is positive news in troubled times, and we'll be able to run the service at a low cost than at present with longer opening hours as well. Sadly Conservative councillors on Merton including their culture spokesperson, Cllr Samantha George seem to be opposed to these changes. They are being made in response to the many requests we've had from residents to open the main libraries of Wimbledon, Mitcham and Morden on Wednesday afternoon and to abolish lunchtime closures. So it's not all doom and gloom.

Across London, libraries are being proposed for closure by councils. In Conservative controlled Wandsworth they want to reduce their libraries from 11 to 5, a figure lower than in Merton which is a significantly smaller borough. We are not yet in that position in Merton and I hope it will remain that way, but thanks to Government cuts we have many challenges ahead in protecting our library service.

As a community we do need to look to the future in terms of libraries and I would welcome ideas, suggestions. I believe libraries do have a future, but their role has changed in recent years, and will no doubt change further in the years to come.

Local Government settlement

At last, the local government settlement has been made, and true to form Eric Pickles has certainly taken care of his mates in the Tory shires. whilst shafting the urban areas which are predominately Labour authorities. In London, the bias is also endemic where surprise, surprise the Tory boroughs have done much better than the Labour Boroughs, just like what happened under Maggie. Fair it isn't, but then again then they've never been known for that trait and they are still the same old Tories despite all the coalition gloss.

In Merton we will be required to make even larger savings than those envisaged previously. It is tough times, and it will mean taking some very difficult decisions in the next few weeks. One thing is sure, as a Labour Council protecting the vulnerable and those in need will remain paramount to our decision making and principles.