News From Southfield Forum

Updates on new policing figures, refuse and childcare costs

In this April edition of the Southfield newsletter the topics we have articles about are…

• Looks like our policing might be going back to the bad old days
• Enterprise – one year on
• Extra money for childcare
• Ealing Council continues to tender contracts which fail
• £700 off your tax bills

Looks like our policing might be going back to the bad old days

After a cross London consultation about policing, the Mayor of London announced a large number of police station closures and a smaller number of police that will be dedicated to Southfield ward.

We do know that Acton police station will stay open 24 hours a day but the number of police dedicated to Southfield will drop from 6 to 2! The full report can be found here: www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Ealing.pdf

Gary Busuttil said: “It is devastating that the Conservative Mayor is cutting local police by 67%. After successfully fighting to get out local police team back to full strength we now have to fight again or else the number of burglaries and other crimes are likely to rise.”

Enterprise – one year on

On April 1st the one year anniversary has passed since Enterprise took over the responsibility of collecting your rubbish and recyclables. Even though there has been some improvement many roads are still suffering with missed collections or an inconsistent service.

Councillor Andrew Steed said: “We still await Enterprise to pay a fine for their year of poor service. Liberal Democrats have stated that money gained from fines should go to improving recycling rates – this will save the Council money on the cost of sending waste to landfill.”

Extra money for childcare

Families in the borough, and across the UK, are to get greater financial support for childcare, thanks to a new Coalition Government initiative.

Councillor Gary Malcolm said: “Liberal Democrat analysis shows that the £1bn boost to help parents with childcare costs could save the typical working family with two children up to £2,400 a year.”

Ealing Council continues to tender contracts which fail

It was announced a few weeks ago that Labour-run Ealing Council are re-tendering contracts because the two contractors, Kiers and Morrison, that Ealing Council chose, have failed.

Gary Busuttil said: “These two housing repair contracts are important for many residents and alongside Enterprise no one can have confidence in the Council selecting contractors that will do the job they are paid to do.”

Gary added: “When the bids were being assessed they were judged with less emphasis on the quality of service delivery. Liberal Democrats believe that contractors who are awarded contracts need to deliver. Quite simple.”

£700 off your tax bills

In the March budget, it was announced that the Income Tax Personal Allowance will be raised to £10,000 in April 2014.

This will mean that nearly 130,000 working people in the borough will get a further Income Tax cut, bringing the total tax cut to £700 a year since Liberal Democrats joined the Coalition Government.

Councillor Harvey Rose said: “This welcome news also means that about 12,000 low-earners will have been lifted out of paying income tax thanks to Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government.”

Cllr. Gary Malcolm

Southfield Liberal Democrats

April 5, 2013