Agenda item

Motion on the theme

The leader of the council and the deputy leader of the council and executive member for neighbourhoods, strategic planning, and wellbeing to present the theme for the meeting.

Minutes:

Councillor James McAsh, leader of the council, and Councillor Victor Chamberlain, deputy leader of the council, presented the motion in the themed debate.

 

Following debate (Councillors Sarah King, Rachael Penny, Hellen Benavides, Bill Williams, Callum Fowler, Francesco Guerrieri, John Batteson, Vanessa Threadgold, and Patrickson Obanya) Councillor James McAsh responded to the debate.

 

The motion was put to the vote and declared to be Carried.

 

Affordable, Safe, and Green: The Joint Administration’s ambitions for Southwark

 

  1. Council Assembly notes:

 

  1. The challenges this borough faces:

 

  i.  Child poverty after housing costs stands at 43.3% - among the highest in the country, driving families out of the borough.

 

  ii.  The impacts of climate breakdown - including rising temperatures, more frequent heatwaves, flooding, and poor air quality – is having on local residents.

 

  iii.  23,000 households and counting are on the council’s social housing waiting list, and 4,200 in temporary accommodation.

 

  iv.  41% of people in Southwark do not feel safe at night, with women, older people, and disabled residents reporting lower levels of safety.

 

  v.  Southwark has a recycling rate that has plateaued for years, and flytipping remains a consistent concern.

  vi.  A funding gap of £102 million – thanks to the Labour government’s so-called “fair-funding” review.

 

  vii.  Just 40% of residents feel they can influence decisions in their local area, and difficulties contacting the council and getting issues resolved quickly remain a persistent issue.

 

  1. The local elections in 2026 deprived Labour of a majority for the first time in 16 years – leaving no one group in control, and a clear mandate for change.

 

  1. Against this backdrop, the Green and Liberal Democrat groups put party politics aside to work together in the interests of Southwark’s residents, forming a new Joint Administration.

 

  1. This Joint Administration inherits a grim legacy from the previous Labour administration – including a housing department rated as having “serious failings” by the Regulator of Social Housing, and a budget gap that it neither prepared for, nor adequately challenged its own government on.

 

  1. The principles shaping this Joint Administration, that will deliver on their mandate of change, are to be:

 

  i.  Affordable: Making Southwark a place where everyone can afford to live, work and thrive by tackling the cost of living, increasing access to good jobs and affordable homes, and reducing inequality.

 

  ii.  Safe: Creating communities where people feel safe at home and in public, by supporting vulnerable residents, investing in young people, preventing crime and antisocial behaviour, and maintaining welcoming public spaces.

 

  iii.  Green: Tackling the climate and nature emergencies while improving everyday life through warmer homes, lower energy bills, cleaner air, greener neighbourhoods and climate justice.

  1. The shared priorities – shaped by conversations on the doorstep, from community organisations, representations in the town hall, and through casework – of the Joint Administration:

 

  i.  A borough we can afford

  ii.  Serious action on climate

  iii.  Tackling the housing crisis

  iv.  A safer Southwark

  v.  Clean and green streets

  vi.  Defending Southwark’s interests

  vii.  A council that listens, and that residents can shape

 

  1. This joint administration will also ensure that Southwark is a borough where people can grow up and grow old in.

 

  1. Council Assembly notes the progress that has already been made against these priorities:

 

  1. Launched a new programme for providing uniforms for families in need
  2. Accelerated Southwark's heatwave response via a borough-wide plan
  3. Launched a new empty homes task force to turn voids around quicker
  4. Invested £600,000 in Night Time Patrols
  5. Launched new community skips to encourage responsible bulky waste disposal and tackle fly-tipping
  6. Challenged the Government and Southwark’s MPs to demand more support to tackle the £102 million gap, and worked with other councils through an Anti-Austerity Summit to fight for a fair deal for Southwark
  7. Announced the return of community councils, one stop shops and committed to a major borough wide budget participation campaign, ensuring residents’ voices shape the budget.

 

  1. Council Assembly resolves to turn these priorities into a full Borough Action Plan guiding the Joint Administration’s work over the next four years, and will:

 

  1. Become a borough we can afford by ensuring that residents in Southwark find it easier to afford everyday essentials and more young people are in good and sustainable jobs and training.

 

  1. Take serious action on climate by delivering a step change in local adaptation measures with a focus on climate justice, enhancing Southwark’s biodiversity and green and blue space, further reducing the borough’s emissions, and recycling significantly more of our waste.

 

  1. Tackle the housing crisis by building more council homes, ensuring council tenants and leaseholders are satisfied with the service they receive, and reducing the number of void properties and the length of time properties are empty.

 

  1. Make Southwark safer by tackling crime and anti-social behaviour, putting prevention first and taking effective enforcement action to build safer neighbourhoods, and prioritising preventing violence against women and girls. We will also protect residents from accelerating climate impacts, such as extreme heat.

 

  1. Deliver clean and green streets with a focus on tackling fly-tipping, and improving air quality by increasing the number of journeys made by walking, cycling and public transport on our roads.

 

  1. Defend Southwark’s interests, so that residents think the council provides good value for money and stands up for local people. We will be loud and bold in our asks of this Labour government, who have left Southwark with a £102 million funding gap. We will also be honest about the financial challenges we face, tackle them together with the people of Southwark, and stand firm in our refusal to accept declining standards as inevitable.

 

  1. Be a council that listens, and that residents can shape. We will deliver community councils – so that residents who understand their communities the best can genuinely shape their local areas. We will also make it easier to contact the council and get the answers you need through one stop shops. We want residents to feel a change under this Joint Administration: that the council listens and acts on what they say, and that residents feel able to shape their communities.

 

  1. Ensure that Southwark is a great place to grow up and grow old. We will ensure that families can afford to live in Southwark, providing services and amenities for families. Through the council’s own delivery and with partners, we will also ensure that Southwark’s residents can age well – with homes and services that work for all.

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