Big Society

Building the Big Society

Our Conservative - Liberal Democrat Government has come together with a driving ambition: to put more power and opportunity into people’s hands.

We want to give citizens, communities and local government the power and information they need to come together, solve the problems they face and build the Britain they want. We want society – the families, networks, neighbourhoods and communities that form the fabric of so much of our everyday lives – to be bigger and stronger than ever before. Only when people and communities are given more power and take more responsibility can we achieve fairness and opportunity for all.

Building this Big Society isn’t just the responsibility of just one or two departments. It is the responsibility of every department of Government, and the responsibility of every citizen too. Government on its own cannot fix every problem. We are all in this together. We need to draw on the skills and expertise of people across the country as we respond to the social, political and economic challenges Britain faces.

This document outlines the already agreed policies that we believe will help make that possible. It is the first strand of a comprehensive Programme for Government to be published in the coming days, which will deliver the reform, renewal, fairness and change Britain needs.

1. Givecommunitiesmorepowers

␣ We will radically reform the planning system to give neighbourhoods far more ability to determine the shape of the places in which their inhabitants live.

␣ We will introduce new powers to help communities save local facilities and services threatened with closure, and give communities the right to bid to take over local state-run services.␣ We will train a new generation of community organisers and support the creation of neighbourhood groups across the UK, especially in the most deprived areas.

2. Encourage people to take an active role in their communities

␣ We will take a range of measures to encourage volunteering and involvement in social action, including launching a national ‘Big Society Day’ and making regular community involvement a key element of civil service staff appraisals.

␣ We will take a range of measures to encourage charitable giving and philanthropy.

␣ We will introduce a National Citizen Service. The initial flagship project will provide a programme for 16 year olds to give them a chance to develop the skills needed to be active and responsible citizens, mix with people from different backgrounds, and start getting involved in their communities.

3. Transferpowerfromcentraltolocalgovernment

␣ We will promote the radical devolution of power and greater financial autonomy to local government, including a full review of local government finance.

␣ We will give councils a general power of competence. ␣ We will abolish Regional Spatial Strategies and return decision-making

powers on housing and planning to local councils.

4. Support co-ops, mutuals, charities and social enterprises

␣ We will support the creation and expansion of mutuals, co-operatives, charities and social enterprises, and support these groups to have much greater involvement in the running of public services.

␣ We will give public sector workers a new right to form employee-owned co- operatives and bid to take over the services they deliver. This will empower millions of public sector workers to become their own boss and help them to deliver better services.

␣ We will use funds from dormant bank accounts to establish a Big Society Bank, which will provide new finance for neighbourhood groups, charities, social enterprises and other nongovernmental bodies.

5. Publishgovernmentdata

␣ We will create a new ‘right to data’ so that government-held datasets can be requested and used by the public, and then published on a regular basis.

␣ We will oblige the police to publish detailed local crime data statistics every month, so the public can get proper information about crime in their neighbourhoods and hold the police to account for their performance.

Deputy Mayor, Councillor Ken Smith JP

On the evening of Wednesday 19th May 2010, Councillor Chrissie Hitchcock, Mayor for the 2010/2011 municipal year, chose Councillor Ken Smith JP to be her Deputy Mayor and his wife, Mrs Madeleine Smith, is the Deputy Mayoress.

Councillor Ken Smith JP, is no stranger to public service, being a former magistrate and JP. He also has a proud background in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces, having been a regular soldier in the Airborne Regiment spending most of his service overseas, and is currently Chairman of the Parachute Regiment Association of the Croydon Branch covering SW London, Kent, and Surrey. He is also a member of the New Malden Royal British Legion and a member of the Surbiton PROBUS Club. A local activist for twenty years, he finally decided to enter elected politics four years ago.

Born in Bath Somerset and evacuated to Wales during the War, he was employed for 31years in the field of metallurgy . Before retirement, he worked in management at a multi national company

The Deputy Mayor has pledged his support to the Mayor’s charities, Cairns House, (part of the Kaleidoscope Project) and Fircroft, supported by Mind. He vowed to represent the people of the Royal Borough with pride and dignity, adding ‘I feel honoured to find myself in this privileged position and look forward to representing the residents of the Royal Borough. I’m also eager, along with members of the Conservative Group, to support the Mayor’s charities, all of which do excellent work in our community.’

New Year

Wishing you all a very Happy and Healthy New Year

Supporting local Business

NEW MALDEN BUSINESS FORUM HAILED ‘A SUCCESS’

Planning the way ahead...Councillors from the Conservative-led Maldens & Coombe Neighbourhood Committee met with representatives of the New Malden business community, and Council officers, to help boost local businesses in the current financial climate.

Local Councillor Ken Smith said ‘as a Committee, we intend to work closely with the community to advance businesses on New Malden High Street and we’ve already ensured funds will be directed that way.’

Maldens & Coombe Neighbourhood Committee Chairman, Cllr Patrick Codd added ‘we aim to provide a major new boost which will put New Malden firmly back on the map and highlight the variety of shops and services available in the area.

The area already has a wide selection of shops, including a department store and the large Korean community give it a special appeal with their shops and restaurants. Our aim is to emphasise why New Malden is a destination people will want to visit.’

The Committee has already allocated £3,500 to promote businesses in the High Street, and several schemes are being worked on by Council Officers to raise the profile of the Town Centre.

Committee Chairman Cllr Codd, on far left, Leader of the Opposition Cllr Howard Jones, head of table on left, & Cllr Ken Smith, taking photograph

Freedom Pass Info

Renewing

At the moment, you should carry on using your current Freedom Pass but you will need to renew your pass some time between January and early March 2010. All current Freedom Passes will cease to work on 31 March.

The pass is normally renewed every two years to help prevent fraud but your new pass will be different in a number of ways:

• your new style pass will be valid for five years
• for additional security, your new pass will include a photograph of you on the card itself rather than on a separate photocard
• your new card will take up to 10 working days to arrive and will be sent to you in the post

For holders of the older persons pass:

We’re starting to renew Freedom Passes from 4 January 2010. To avoid a big rush we’ve allocated dates alphabetically by surname for you to apply for your new Freedom Pass. From January 2010, you'll be able to download the new style application form from this website which you can then take to any London Post Office branch, or pick up a printed version from the local Post Office. Use the list below to work out when you should go to the Post Office to apply.

• A/B/C/D/E surnames: 4-16 January 2010
• F/G/H/I/J surnames: 18-23 January
• K/L/M/N/O surnames: 25-30 January
• P/Q/R/S/T/U/V/W/X/Y/Z surnames: 1-6 February
• If you miss your week, please apply 8-13 February

Take a look at what the renewal advertising campaign will look like

Don't panic! You will have plenty of time to apply for a new pass and you will still be able to use the old one until your new one arrives in the post. If you miss your alphabetical slot, you will still be able to apply for your new card.

Holders of disabled persons passes will be contacted by their borough individually and advised what to do.

From One of my Ward Residents, please give support

Dear Colleague,
PLEASE DO NOT BIN THIS E-MAIL,

IT COULD BENEFIT ALL OF YOUR
STAFF.
WOULD YOU LIKE A GREENER SCHOOL?
Cycle to Work Schemes encourage people to cycle to work and
become healthier and offer the purchase of a bike and
accessories at up to 50% discount.
Unlike many other authorities, RBK are not signed up to a
scheme and are stopping us all from taking advantage of this
great offer. Buying a bike and cycling to school sets a
brilliant example to our pupils, keeps us healthy and should
be encouraged by a borough that considers itself
“green”. I intend to file a petition at the next council meeting on
24th November to persuade the council to join a scheme and
give us the benefits that other employers offer.

If you think a Cycle to Work Scheme should be implemented
please sign my petition by cutting and pasting the following
statement to jsmith17@rbksch.org

RBK should implement a Cycle to Work Scheme allowing all
employees to purchase a bike at a reduced cost to enable
them to cycle to work.
Please state your name, position and place of work.

Thank you taking the time to read this email. Please forward
it to any other RBK employees you know.

Julie Smith,
Deputy Head Teacher,
Robin Hood Primary School, Bowness Crescent, Kingston Vale,
London SW15 3QL. 020 8546 7388

Could you run your household on the hope of a tax Return ?

What a mess, the following is a copy of a report in the Comet, if true it shows that not only are we the highest paying rates payers in London and the third highest in the country, but that the lib/dems could not manage a chip shop let along a multimillion pound Athority

Kingston Council has been forced to commit an entire £5m reserve fund to plug holes in this year’s budget - and could still end up £700,000 in the red.

The council has taken a string of blows to its planned budget because of the recession, while the desperate need to build a new secondary school in north Kingston means it has to find up to £9m in three years, to fund the bid for Government money.

More than £2m of grants designed for “14 to 19 projects” has already been used to fund the council’s bid for £280m of Building Schools for the Future funds, while another £2m has been taken from the strategic investment reserve.

Low interest rates meant £700,000 was wiped from the council’s predicted income for the year, while its “worst case” scenarios for providing home and residential care for adults would see the budget outstripped by more than £1.6m.

The council also had to stump up hundreds of thousands of pounds to retrain staff in the wake of the Baby P tragedy, replace vandalised ticket machines in car parks and help Coombe Boys’ and Holy Cross secondary schools manage their own financial recoveries.

Another £370,000 has been drained from the coffers since the council evicted squatters from Raven’s Ait island in May, through the clean-up operation, security and marketing to sell off the island.

Council leader Councillor Derek Osbourne said there had been some “slippage” in the budget, but added the financial pressures the council was feeling were “entirely predictable” given the recession.

He said: “It absolutely highlights the pressures we are under across the whole range of budgets. There’s nothing new there.”

The council plans to claw back much of the deficit thanks to a recent court judgement, which has allowed it to pursue VAT refund claims from as far back as 1973.

More than £1.7m has already been recouped following the judgement, with two further cases in line to net the council another £584,000 if successful.

The authority’s One Council programme to permanently reduce its base expenditure was supposed to save more than £1.6m this year, although actual savings now look to be less than a quarter of that sum.

Kingston Council hopes the project will slash £8.5m in costs in three years, by reducing IT costs, grouping local services in “community hubs” and working better with partner organisations.

The council still needs to slash £12m from its budget in three years though, to avoid further increases in what is already the highest council tax in London.

ken smith