Lambeth Conservatives

Labour’s Folly

Under Labour the health and well being of Lambeth residents have been neglected. Only one leisure centre remains open and opportunities to develop new facilities have been squandered.

Conservatives’ Answer

“We will invest in our crumbling libraries, encouraging more community involvement and reversing the years of Labour neglect in maintenance and repairs.”

“We will support the continued independence of Upper Norwood Joint Library, an ideal model for local control of community assets.”

We will:

• See the Norwood Hall site in West Norwood regenerated for community use. Leisure facilities are needed in the area. We have concerns that Labour have not properly costed the current plans and query if they are affordable and best suited to local need.
• Get Streatham and Clapham swimming again. Despite Labour’s promises the proposed leisure hubs at Clapham and Streatham have failed to move forward and the only remaining place for swimming is the Brixton Rec. We will conduct an urgent review of these projects to get Lambeth swimming again.
• Support new care packages based around post hospital (intermediate care), home care, mental health, residential care and ‘extra care’ housing, disability home improvements, day care, transport, community health provision and carer respite are all key areas where further innovation and improvement are vital.
• Ensure people have more control of their own care through direct payments and individual budgets.
• Ensure that social care provided by the Council works ever more closely with the PCT and acute hospital trusts to provide a seamless service. We will put a renewed focus on the prevention of illnesses as well as educating our population in healthy lifestyles and eating.
• Ensure money being spent on ‘poly-clinics’ does not jeopardise the treatment provided in our hospitals and existing GP practices. Lambeth PCT has already been told by the Government to make savings of £161 million by 2013. This must not happen at the expense of reduced health care for Lambeth patients.
• Invest in our crumbling libraries. We will identify efficiency savings and add extra cash where appropriate to improve library standards and vary library hours to meet the real lifestyle needs of local communities. It should not cost the Council £28 to buy a book that sells on the Internet for £8.50.
• Encourage more community involvement in our libraries and reverse the years of Labour neglect in maintenance and repairs. They should be well equipped community hubs with books at the heart of the service to encourage more people to read for leisure and learning.
• Support the continued independence of Upper Norwood Joint Library, and work with Croydon to ensure it is properly funded.