Labour conference in Brighton was as interesting as ever.
I had a busy schedule of meetings with ministers, other council
leaders and events I was speaking at. As always, my top
priority was to secure commitments to benefit Lambeth’s
residents.
I met with Housing Minister John Healey to discuss our bid for
£250m to bring 10,000 sub-standard homes up to minimum
standards. That money will help fund new kitchens, bathrooms,
windows, doors and central heating. To qualify for the
funding, councils were asked to set up an arms-length management
organisation (ALMO) to run their housing service, which Lambeth did
last year when we set up Lambeth Living. When the new
organisation reaches two stars in an inspection, due in 2011, it
will be able to draw down the funding. I asked John Healey
for a public commitment that the funding will come through in full
when Lambeth Living passes its inspection. The council’s
already spending £2m a week to improve council homes but we need
the additional funding to bring every home up to standard.
It’s shocking but true that Lambeth’s Lib Dems and Tories had no
plans to get homes up to this standard during the four years they
ran Lambeth until 2006, and as a result of their dithering we are
some way behind other councils that started the work and got their
funding much earlier.
I met with the new Communities Secretary John Denham several
times, including speaking on a platform with him at a local
government rally. I wanted to give John our view that he
should support proposals for the new development in Doon Street,
Waterloo, that will deliver a new public swimming pool and gym
facilities for the area. The proposals are being opposed by
Tory councillors over the river in Westminster despite winning the
backing of Lambeth Council and local MP Kate Hoey. I also
asked for his backing for another development, Elizabeth House,
also in Waterloo, that will create nearly 250 jobs and regenerate a
near-derelict office site.
Speaking to ministers to secure jobs and funding for Lambeth is
an important part of Conference. But it was a particular
privilege to share the main stage with Schools Secretary Ed Balls
to say thank you to one of Lambeth’s outstanding social
workers. Coleen Myers is a children’s social worker in
Lambeth and spends her life protecting vulnerable youngsters.
She is committed to her job 100% and had been nominated for an
excellence award. I made the speech thanking Coleen before
she came up on stage to receive her award from Ed Balls and
comedian Eddie Izzard. Coleen won a standing ovation and
praise from the Secretary of State which I know she valued
enormously, and afterwards she had a private chat with Prime
Minister Gordon Brown. We don’t say thank you enough to our
hardworking public servants so it was a great privilege for me to
help put that right.
Schools Secretary Ed Balls MP honoured Lambeth
social worker Coleen Myers with an excellence
award
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