Scully's Blog Spot

40 Coleridge Road To Be Flattened

2009-11-18T22:30:00.004Z

I'm not sure that I have been so appalled at a decision taken at Development Control Committee as tonight. After the fourth time of asking a planning application to demolish a perfectly good family house to build four houses in the back garden was approved after all bar one Liberal Democrat voted it through.

There were so many reasons why I feel disillusioned by the people that have run our borough for so long tonight after they demonstrated their total inadequacy tonight.

1. Two ward councillors from both political parties, both who know the area very well, spoke robustly against the application.

2. The person who has to live next to the site complained about having to live next to a 66 metre long, 8 foot high fence and four houses.

3. The back garden currently floods. This water will now be in someone's front room.

4. If No. 38 decided to put up a fence, the sightlines from the new 4 houses would be totally obscured making the road a real hazard.

5. The houses are an over-intensification of the site. Planners refused to make the Poet's Estate an Area of Special Local Character (ASLC). This is the result.

But there are three more reasons which makes my blood boil and should cause those who supported the application and let their own experienced political colleague down to hang their head in shame:

6. In May the same committee refused to take a decision on a similar application on the same site because they did not have full details of the levels of the sloping site, the flood risk, an ecological habitat survey, landscaping to the south, security, and maintenance of the drive. Today officers stated that they still did not have enough details on four of these six issues, yet the committee decided that they no longer cared enough about investigating these.

7. Both Conservatives and LibDems have made a lot of noise about opposing back garden development. The Conservatives in opposing the application showed that they meant what they say. The LibDems in surrendering to the application in an area that they have written off politically showed that they are more interested in collecting personal data in a petition rather than believing in the very issue that they are petitioning on.

8. Probably the most ridiculous comment of the night was from Councillor Simon Wales who represents Sutton West. After declaring that the flooding issue had been dealt with to his satisfaction, he stated that he would support the application because "we have seen what happens when we go against officers' recommendation" referring to the about-turn that the council made which will ensure a tarmac recycling plant gets sited close to houses around Beddington Lane. We have some excellent planning officers who do a difficult job, often caught in the cleft stick that is our planning framework. However this comment signalled a simple derogation of duty.

Cllr Wales, you are elected to make decisions. If officers are left to decide what our borough looks like, then you are no longer required. Give your £10,000pa allowance back to the taxpayer and go and do something more worthwhile. If you decided that this application should be granted having considered the arguments then fine but simply to rubber stamp decisions which have been taken without giving you all the facts makes you redundant as an elected representative.

I have been to many planning meetings over the last 3 years where residents have left disappointed. As a member of the committee on many occasions, I know that tough decision have to be taken on occasion, this was not one of them. We just wanted an approach that was consistent with that of the committee just six months before. Tonight I saw residents leave whose area will be changed forever by the spineless, ill-informed approach of a few.

A Personal Link To Armistice Day

2009-11-11T19:01:00.003Z

This morning I joined the Mayor, councillors and Philippa Stroud at the Millennium Gardens in Sutton High Street for a short Remembrance Service on Armistice Day. It was well attended as has been the case over the last few years.

This follows the Civic Service in Wallington which I wrote about earlier. At that service, the vicar asked the congregation to have a brief chat with the person next to us about what Remembrance Sunday meant to them. Beyond singing an uplifting hymn, I don't really like my church services too interactive, so I raised a sceptical eyebrow. However, my friend and colleague Cllr Cliff Carter told me how he had lost two brothers in the Second World War, both served in the Navy and were missing presumed dead off the coast of Portugal. The sense of loss was clear to see; raw after nearly 70 years. Cliff would have only been a child then.

I heard stories about the war, second or third hand from family members unaware of any loss. One grandfather had been a fireman in Nottingham, extinguishing bomb damage. The other worked in the port in Rangoon. It was his duty to destroy his entire working environment so that the Japanese could not use it as a base to launch attacks. My grandmother had taken my two aunts into India. They did not know whether they would see each other again, eventually meeting some months later in India. I remember the story of the family that proudly invited my gran to shelter in their strong brick house in case of an air raid. My gran preferred to take her chances in her own home. Having dusted herself down after a bombing raid, she left her house to see the rubble of the newly-built brick house. Everyone had died.

This afternoon, my uncle shared news of members of our family that did lose their lives in that terrible time. My gran lost two brothers within a couple of weeks of each other. Her parents lost two sons. I remember when my father died twenty years ago, my personal grief was forgotten for a short time when I saw the devastation that happens when nature turns on its head and a mother realises that she will outlive her child. There were villages and towns throughout this country and the world where everyone knew someone that this happened to. Still now, this happens as can be seen from the regular processions through Wootton Bassett.

Tonight as I write this before putting away my poppy for another year, I'll spend a few moments reflecting on the short lives of my great uncles, Lieutenant Terence Callaghan who died aged 36 on the 20th June 1942 whilst serving in the Army in Burma, Reserve of Officers and Private Patrick Callaghan 7525020, who fell less than two weeks before on the 8th June 1942 aged 24, whilst serving in the Royal Army Medical Corps. They are remembered in the Rangoon Memorial (pictured above right) at the Taukkyan War Cemetery, some 35km north of Rangoon alongside 26,855 brave members of the Commonwealth Land Forces who have no grave but are commemorated in perpetuity by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Remembering Those Gone, Helping Those Alive

2009-11-08T21:50:00.002Z

This morning, I joined politicians, council officers, policemen and service men at the Civic Remembrance Sunday service at the Holy Trinity Church in Wallington. This concluded with a parade along the main road to the War Memorial on Wallington Green.

There was a particular poignancy about services up and down the country with the horrific numbers of casualties in Afghanistan. It is vital that we both remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, as well as fully supporting our troops still in active service. Next Saturday, my friend and colleague Ahzaz Chowdhury is setting off to trek across the Sahara in order to raise money for Help for Heroes. This phenomenal charity has spent more than £13m supporting wounded servicemen and women in the 2 years that it has been in existence.

Az will be walking 100km in 45 degree heat and roughing it, camping in temperatures dipping to -3. If the worthwhile aim of the charity is not enough for you to part with a little of your hard-earned cash, I hope that Az's supreme effort will push you into doing that little bit extra from the comfort of your office chair. Donating is easy via his website at Just Giving.

Go on, please make the effort and help him reach his sponsorship target. Sometimes a minute's silence just isn't enough. Click here to donate.

Nudging Towards Tidier Parks

2009-11-06T10:59:00.008Z

A few days ago, I posted a video which showed Volkswagen's brilliant way of encouraging people to use the stairs instead of an escalator. They have been at it again with 'The world's deepest bin', encouraging people to throw their litter away. The results speak for themselves.

Brown Moves From Anger To Denial

2009-11-05T17:08:00.002Z

Sometime ago, I signed a petition on the No. 10 website asking for Gordon Brown to resign. I was reminded about this yesterday when an email told me that Gordon Brown had posted a reply to the petition. 72, 231 of us received the response:
"The Prime Minister is completely focused on restoring the economy, getting people back to work and improving standards in public services. As the Prime Minister has consistently said, he is determined to build a stronger, fairer, better Britain for all."
So refusing to address the point isn't just reserved for PMQs on a Wednesday afternoon then. A petition asking Gordon Brown 'not' to resign has attracted 72 signatures.

Recession Business Fund Plundered for Controversial £8.5m Life Centre

2009-11-02T18:43:00.003Z

Outraged Sutton Conservative councillors have unearthed shocking plans from the Liberal Democrat-run Council’s finance chief to plunder 70% of money from a fund set up to help local businesses in order to plough cash into the controversial £8.5million Sutton Life Centre.

Budget papers set to go before the Council’s Executive tomorrow morning (Tuesday 3 November) show plans to take £181,000 from the £256,000 ‘Local Authority Business Growth Incentive’ Grant (LABGI) to cover start-up costs for the Sutton Life Centre. If approved, the measure will leave only 29.3% (£75,000) of the fund left to spend on measures to help Sutton businesses through the recession.

The Conservative Opposition’s Finance and Value for Money Spokesman, Councillor Tim Crowley, has slammed the Lib Dems’ finance chief by calling the raid on the LABGI fund as a betrayal to local businesses favouring pet projects over helping people through the recession.

Conservatives are also voicing their concerns that despite committing over £8million of taxpayers’ money to the Life Centre, the Lib Dem administration is allowing the cost of the project to swell and to impinge on other council budgets. The plunder on LABGI is causing particular anger among Conservatives because the fund could prevent local businesses from going under thus preventing further increases to Sutton's unemployment. Official figures show that Jobseekers’ Allowance claims in Sutton have risen by 88% over the last year.

Councillor Crowley commented: “The Council’s Lib Dem finance chief is hoping to plunder a fund set up to help local businesses so he can pay for the controversial Sutton Life Centre’s start up costs, leaving only 29.3% to be spent on its original purpose.

“With the UK economy still in recession and its impact being felt in Sutton, this is an act of betrayal because the LABGI fund should only be spent on what it is intended for - helping local businesses, not propping up vanity projects. This shows contempt for business locally - if elected next year, Conservatives will never take business for granted like this.”

Pint Sized Controversial Life Centre costs £3000

2009-11-02T18:34:00.002Z

Sutton’s Liberal Democrat administration is under fire for spending the equivalent of two households’ annual council tax on a pint-sized version of the controversial £8.5million Sutton Life Centre.

Hot on the tail of our Value for Money motion at Monday night’s Full Council Meeting, forensic questioning forced the project’s supremo, LibDem councillor Graham Tope, to reveal the cost of promotional material for the Sutton Life Centre. Conservative councillors and residents in the public gallery were aghast to discover that a scale model for the infamous pet project cost the taxpayer £3000.

The costly model now features in pride of place in the Civic Offices, St. Nicholas Way, ironically situated next to a new machine designed to make paying council tax easier!

The scale of the model looks like 1:100, unfortunately even at the sum of £3,000, the scale of the cost of the model is something like 1:2,800. It’s quite incredible how far the ruling Lib Dems will go to squander local taxpayers’ money. Two Band D households’ worth of council tax has paid for this scale model and we think this sends out entirely the wrong message.

In all seriousness, the model might be small but the principle is not, town hall bosses must stop treating the public purse as a plaything. When we debated value for money on Monday, our message was clear: a Conservative-run Council will cut waste, move heaven and earth to ease the burden on household budgets, and demand that every penny of council expenditure justifies itself.

This is the Conservative model for Sutton Council and all it will cost residents is a vote.

LibDems Cave Into Tory Freeze The Tax Demand

2009-10-19T13:45:00.004Z

Sutton’s Liberal Democrat administration has finally caved in to the Conservative Freeze The Tax Campaign in a shock announcement that Sutton Council will freeze the council tax for the first time in its history.

In a panic-stricken departure from its high-tax approach, Sutton’s LibDem town hall leadership has buckled under Conservative pressure to follow Boris Johnson’s example of freezing the tax burden in a time of economic hardship.

Now in a period of deflation, Conservative councillors are defying the Lib Dems’ finance boss to go one step further and to actually cut the council tax in Sutton to reflect the fact that the cost of living is going down nationwide.

Earlier this year in February, Conservative councillors launched their campaign for a tax freeze arguing that the Lib Dem Council should have made a real difference to hard-pressed local taxpayers worried about their jobs, mortgages, savings and rent.

We have welcomed the Lib Dem Council Leader’s U-turn following his comments in The Evening Standard, only a year ago, when he said that a council tax freeze was “a quick fix now with years of misery to follow” and that “this could only be achieved by cutting vital services”.

Councillor Tim Crowley, our Opposition Spokesman for Finance and Value for Money, said: “We welcome the fact that the LibDems have finally caught up with our thinking, namely that Sutton Council should move heaven and earth to ease the burden on household budgets via lower council tax.

“It is a shame that it takes a looming election for them to do so. I am delighted that the LibDem Council Leader has U-turned on his opposition to a freeze in council tax. Now if they’re really serious about easing the tax burden, they will go one step further and cut the council tax. We will campaign for a cut.”

Councillor Crowley concluded: “After sixteen years of relentless council tax increases, Sutton taxpayers will see straight through this announcement and not be taken for mugs by the ruling LibDems.”

A Musical Nudge

2009-10-15T09:39:00.002Z

In our recent report, 'State of Sutton: A Borough of Contradictions' the Sutton Conservative group of councillors talk a lot about Nudge Theory, a concept designed by two American academics which helps change people's behaviour by small actions that are easy to take but not laid down by diktat. This is something that the Conservatives will look at more fully when finalising our manifesto for the next election. We are committed to the carrot not the stick.

I can't promise you musical stairs around Sutton but this video is a brilliant illustration how a bit of lateral thinking makes a massive difference.

Sutton In The News

2009-10-12T09:40:00.004Z

One recent piece of media coverage passed by the communications team who compile a weekly report of Sutton's coverage in the news. Reports that I had fasted for a day have reached further than Sutton. I was amazed to see this in a newspaper that I was unaware of - for reasons which become apparent when you see the picture. The fantastically named Daily Jang is an Urdu paper distributed in London, Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi. I have no idea whether that means my mugshot has gone out around Pakistan. I started this blog to make Carshalton Central. Sorry to have strayed off my main path!

Anyone read Urdu?

My Small Footnote In Manchester

2009-10-09T10:06:00.003Z

No WiFi meant no blogging at our party conference in Manchester, although I tried to battle network congestion to keep people updated with what was happening on Twitter. Most of my time was spent at fringe meetings pertaining to local government and meeting as many council leaders as I could to grab some great examples of how Conservative local authorities are tackling the issues that we face here in Sutton.

However, I did manage to make a contribution on the main stage, asking Shadow Leader of the House, Sir George Young what measures he would put in place to increase direct democracy and what he thought about a mechanism to recall bad MPs. He cited the example of the open primary in Totnes where any voter in that constituency could help choose the Conservative candidate. He also covered several proposals for local government which I will cover in more detail in another post, but included changing planning to make it bottom-up rather than top-down, referenda on council tax and elected police commissioners. He was keen to explore a recall mechanism to add an extra safeguard in between the more extreme automatic disqualification in the rare cases of having a criminal conviction or being made bankrupt.

Interestingly, the media kept true to form in my title as shown in the picture below. The BBC had already called David Cameron Prime Minister, Liam Fox Defence Secretary and ITV had promoted George Osborne to Chancellor. No-one in the Party is in any doubt that there is a long way to go before the election and we have more to do to demonstrate that we will be best placed to address the vital issues that we face. This is also the case locally. So when I fleetingly became the Leader of Sutton Council I allowed myself a little smile before getting back to the real world and the hard work that is required to make it more permanent.

Manchester Beckons

2009-10-04T07:41:00.003Z

I'm off to Manchester in a few minutes to join the tens of thousands of Conservatives descending on the city for the last conference before the General Election. The mood is buoyant whilst realising that there is still plenty of work to be done to inform members of the public exactly what we will do in Government. Expect plenty of policy this week, such as the home protection scheme which will end the desparate situation of elderly people having to sell their home to pay for care.

People know in Sutton and across the UK that we need change. I fully expect this week that the Conservatives will demonstrate that we are ready for change.

Cells Crowded in Sutton Police Station

2009-09-25T09:06:00.002Z

Sutton Police Station's police cells were overflowing last Sunday, not with criminals, but with curious residents who came along to the open day organised by new Borough Commander, Guy Ferguson. An estimated 1800 visitors had a rare opportunity to see the custody suite and the CCTV system as well as exhibitions which held the interest of all ages.

Police dogs, horses and vintage cars were on display. An 'angry man' - in reality a policeman prepared to brave the unseasonal warm weather in the biggest padded suit I've ever seen - was the subject of a demonstration in subduing offenders. Children queued up to batter him with soft truncheons. Hendon training, this was not. Meanwhile, the Parks team, the Licensing team and others were around to talk about all issues, building relationships and passing on serious messages about crime awareness and prevention. From meaning to just pop in for a short time, I was enthralled for a couple of hours in seeing everything that was on display and meeting police officers who had all given up their Sunday on a voluntary basis to make the day a real success.

Carshalton Association for the Elderly

2009-09-16T09:38:00.002Z

The Indian Summer that we have enjoyed over the last few weeks has greatly benefited a few local charities and voluntary organisations. The week before last saw sunny weather encouraging local Carshalton people out to support the annual Charter Fair in The Square, outside Carshalton Library.

This weekend it was the turn of the Carshalton Association for the Elderly or Cafe for short. They held a fete in the grounds of the Ecology Centre with a few stalls, tea and cakes and a jazz band. The unseasonal sunny day helped draw the crowds out allowing Cafe to raise more than £500 on the day.

Paul Kelly, Moira Butt and I went along. I was pleased to win one of the games, pushing Tom Brake MP into third place. Let's hope that is the start of a new trend.

Fasting for Ramadan

2009-09-14T16:43:00.002Z

Last Thursday Cllr Barry Russell and I observed a fast for Ramadan this year following Mayor Boris Johnson’s suggestion earlier this month. We then broke the fast at 7.31pm on Thursday 10th September with the ‘Iftar’ meal as a guest of the Sutton Islamic Centre in Oakhill Road, Sutton, Surrey.

Our friend and colleague Cllr Misdaq Zaidi was an excellent host, spending time explaining the roots of Islam and the significance of Ramadan. We broke their fast with water and dates as per Islamic tradition, alongside a dozen regular worshippers at the Centre.

The London Borough of Sutton has a Muslim population numbering roughly 5000. I found it very illuminating to be welcomed to the Iftar meal to break the fast. It is abundantly clear that the strong Muslim principles of community, hospitality and duty are enduring values and as conservatives we share them. I am very grateful for the copies of The Qur’an presented to us by Misdaq.

It is important that Sutton’s Muslim community feel even more engaged and involved in our public life to promote these common values. Fasting was a real challenge but one that I enjoyed. Watching colleagues eating lunch wasn't the greatest hardship; having a dry mouth for the day was. Some may dismiss this as a stunt. Others, more worryingly, may baulk against this. This misses the point. The Conservative group want to represent everyone. It is important to understand people to be able to represent them. Spending one day in their shoes gave me more understanding than a raft of 'community engagement' events.

UK Tax Handbook Continues To Bloat

2009-09-07T12:24:00.004Z

The Daily Telegraph reports that the UK now has the longest tax code in the world. Tolley's, the handbook of tax legislation is now an astonishing 11,520 pages long. This is 10% longer than last year and more than double the number of pages from 12 years ago, when Gordon Brown started spinning his web of complexity.

It is hardly surprising that the Government cannot keep a handle of tax avoidance and that they cannot maximise the amount of revenue within the existing framework. The more complicated you make anything, the more people will distrust your motives and seek to get around the rules. Although it may be counter-intuitive to some, it has been known for 700 years or so that simpler rules and lower tax rates will lead to increased revenue for the Treasury. I'm not sure how much scope George Osborne will have to change the latter in the short term, but I hope he addresses the former and starts to simplify the unwieldy legislation in one of his first budgets.

State of Sutton: A Borough of Contradictions

2009-09-02T11:27:00.006Z

The London Borough of Sutton is spending £437 million of taxpayers’ money in 2009-10. Like the proverbial iceberg, many of the services are not always visible. Many services affect everyone, others affect the most vulnerable in our society. Either way, they matter, contributing to the quality of life of every resident in Sutton.

The State of Sutton: A Borough of Contradictions is one part of a once in a generation opportunity to conduct a thorough investigation of the relationship between Sutton Council, other service providers and residents. Conservative councillors in Sutton have listened to experts, politicians and residents. This is the only way to achieve the balance between a range of priorities while ensuring no-one is left behind. All but one preconceived idea was kept out of the investigation; one of the few rules that we are not prepared to be diverted from is that we must always achieve the very best value for money, making the most of every penny of tax and council income spent in the Borough.

As the Borough changes, we want residents to help manage that process ensuring that they continue to live in a place that represents their views and aspirations and one that reflects their concerns. This report is the first step in renewing the connection between politicians and residents. It is the first move in starting the debate about the changes needed in Sutton.

I'll be going through each area in turn over the next few days. In the meantime, you can read our report by clicking on the picture on the right or the link above. As ever, let me know what you think. It's your borough too.

Another Award for Scully's Blogspot

2009-08-23T18:33:00.004Z

I was really chuffed to hear that I had made it as the 4th top councillor blog in the survey carried out by Iain Dale for Total Politics. Thanks to everyone who voted for me. I've been slack about posting over the last few weeks after a hard-fought by-election and my summer holiday but hopefully this will inspire me to work harder.

This blog was the 2nd highest place Conservative blog in the list. I was knocked off my overall 3rd place acheived in 2008, by a good friend, Richard Willis, who you may remember was our Parliamentary candidate in Sutton & Cheam at the last General Election. It's great to see him going from strength to strength as a councillor in Reading. He doesn't do things by halves so it's not surprising to see him hitting the top so quickly.

Update: 21st top Conservative blog and 44th top right of centre blog. Thanks again.

Dead Lady's First Floor Flat Put On Flood Risk

2009-08-11T11:06:00.002Z

Sutton Council recently sent a letter to a property in Cedar Road, Sutton with a booklet explaining how to clear up after a flood, how to claim on insurance, how to protect your property and about temporary housing. The Environment Agency includes such nuggets such as "wear your gloves when clearing up after a flood as water may contain sewage, chemicals and animal waste."

As you may have gleaned from the title of this article, the council-government partnership have a little to learn about target marketing. The addressee died over two years ago. The first floor flat, far from being first for the sandbags, would make a perfect mooring point should Noah need to drop in.

The only flood plain identified by the local authority is around the banks of the River Wandle in Beddington. Quite why flats in the middle of Sutton Town Centre are being targeted is beyond me. How much has this futile exercise cost?

A Cool £16,000 for Council Leader's Air-Con

2009-08-08T12:58:00.007Z

Sutton’s Liberal Democrat town hall leadership has been accused of insensitive “Emperor Nero-style largesse” after opting to spend over £16,000 on a specially tailored air conditioning system for the Council Leader’s Office. This rubs salt into the wounds of tenants of Sutton Council after they discovered that the plug has been pulled on desperately needed funding to bring tenanted properties up to the nationwide ‘Decent Homes Standard’.

Council housing in Sutton – managed by the Sutton Housing Partnership – has been labelled as amongst the worst in Britain by the Government watchdog, the Audit Commission. Housing Ministers added insult to injury last week by telling the Council that the option of £112.5million capital funding was being deferred.

After 23 years of Lib Dem administration council tenants have very little to show for it and that systematic neglect over that period has condemned tenants to more years of substandard accommodation. Conservative opposition councillors unearthed the controversial plans to spend £13,000 on the Leader’s air conditioning system, plus £3071 on ‘fees’, after they were buried in a ‘Delegated Decision Notice’.

I’m shocked and angry that the Lib Dem Council Leader is planning on billing the taxpayer for over £16,000 to pay for his luxury air conditioning after the devastating news for council tenants – frankly, it’s Emperor Nero-style largesse, while Rome burns.

This rubs salt into the wounds of tenants who have been sentenced to yet more years of living in substandard homes, missing out on Government funding because of long-term underinvestment in our council housing.

After all these years with Lib Dem council bosses in charge of housing it’s clear that tenants have very little to show for it. Argos is selling electric fans for £12.99 each; I’ll happily chip in for one to save Sutton taxpayers £16,000.

If Only The Voters Could See

2009-08-02T21:01:00.001Z

We don't have a video feed in our council meetings. This example from LibDem run Derby clearly shows why.

Door Slammed on Housing Cash

2009-07-23T12:17:00.003Z

The door has been firmly slammed shut on the Sutton Housing Partnership (SHP) by the Government for much needed investment in Sutton Council's housing stock. The hammer blow comes after SHP's failure to achieve the Audit Commission's 'Decent Homes Standard' for a 'two star' status last year.

Detailed in a letter to SHP from the Homes & Communities Agency, Sutton Council will not receive a penny in capital funding needed to raise the standard of its public housing, until at least 2011/12. It is the final blow for council tenants after two decades of failure in maintaining decent homes for council tenants, by the Liberal Democrat administration, condemning tenants to more years of misery in poor quality housing.

According to figures from the National Federation of ALMOs (Arm's Length Management Organisations) Sutton's social housing is in the bottom 11% of the 69 ALMOs across the country. 50 of the 69 ALMOs set up since April 2002 have been judged as either 'excellent' or 'good' - this means Sutton has some of the worst social housing in Britain.

Conservative Opposition Housing Spokesman, Councillor Barry Russell, commented by saying: "This is a disaster for Sutton Council's tenants. Lib Dem town hall bosses have failed to maintain decent housing for council tenants over a twenty-year period. They have nowhere to hide on this issue and tenants are paying the price for their failure.

"By letting our council housing fall into such a state they have condemned Sutton Housing Partnership tenants to more years of uncertainty, living in substandard accommodation."

Just one of a number of examples of the poor state of housing was discovered by a fact-finding visit of our Housing Policy group members to June Close in Carshalton. The tenant who did not want to be named, is a working mother with two children. The photo shows her highlighting a plug socket located over a gas hob in contravention of basic safety regulations. On top of the mould in her young child's bedroom and single glazed windows, she could barely keep the flat at a habitable temperature, telling us, "It's like Russian Roulette with our heating. We had to get it fixed four times since the beginning of this year. In winter we have to sleep downstairs because the house gets so cold. There is a ice-cold draughty from the neglected windows and it's horrible when it snows. What do we pay our rent and Council Tax for? We love the area and we really don't want to move but the conditions are appalling."

The u-turn by the Government is a disaster for Sutton and its tenants. But it is one that has been compounded by a lack of attention from the council over many years. In setting up SHP, lead councillors were more interested in playing politics with the composition of the board rather than the quality of the service delivered to tenants.

Please vote for Scully's Blogspot

2009-07-19T13:57:00.002Z

It's that time of the year again when I come with my begging bowl. I write the blog to encourage communication with residents of the ward and the borough as a whole and I thoroughly enjoy doing it. I've been lucky enough to get some wider recognition for doing so, reaching the third most popular blog written by a councillor last year in the same award. I'll be doing well to hold that with plenty of new excellent bloggers around but I would be grateful if you would take a few moments to include me when voting for your top ten political blogs. I've reproduced Iain Dale's instructions for voting below. You can click on the picture to the right to go to the instruction page as well.

It's that time of year again, when Total Politics asks you to vote for your Top 10 favourite blogs. The votes will be compiled and included in the forthcoming book, the Total Politics Guide to Blogging 2009-10, which will be published in September. This year the poll is being promoted/sponsored by LabourList and LibDemVoice as well as this blog.The rules are simple.

1. You must vote for your ten favourite blogs and ranks them from 1 (your favourite) to 10 (your tenth favourite).
2. Your votes must be ranked from 1 to 10. Any votes which do not have rankings will not be counted.
3. You MUST include ten blogs. If you include fewer than ten your vote will not count.
4. Email your vote to toptenblogs@totalpolitics.com
5. Only vote once.
6. Only blogs based in the UK, run by UK residents or based on UK politics are eligible.
7. Anonymous votes left in the comments will not count. You must give a name
8. All votes must be received by midnight on 31 July 2009. Any votes received after that date will not count.

I can't help you with supplying a list of nine others to vote for. Last year, I provided a list of blogs in various categories that you might like to read, the blogroll on the right hand side of this page has a few links to others. You decide, but if you can shove me up at the top, I'd be much obliged!

Exploring Adult Social Services Part 3

2009-07-19T13:23:00.003Z

The last of my three trips around the social services in Sutton comprised of three parts. Oakleigh Care Centre has radically changed in the last few years. Care for the increasing numbers of people with dementia would have been limited to having them sit in a day centre just a few years ago. The manger of Oakleigh, Rick, has channeled his energy and enthusiasm into transforming Oakleigh into a place where those suffering from dementia can retain a comparatively high level of independence and certainly a far higher level of dignity that would have been thought possible in the past. Residents have made a groundbreaking film, having been taught to use the equipment, a petting zoo had come over the weekend with sheep and goats taking over the sensory garden and Ollie the pet dog has the run of the place. Actors say never work with children or animals. Dementia specialists go for completely the opposite. I was told of a wonderful example of a resident speaking for the first time in a year when she first petted the dog.

Then to Ludlow Lodge in Wallington. Mainly an intermediate care service, the aim here is to work with residents who have come from hospital, either after an operation or a fall, to recover and regain confidence to return to their own homes. I met a lady who was being shown how to take a cup of tea from the kitchen to her seat using a trolley whilst carrying her stick. This is something that we take for granted. Now look forty years into the future and imagine coming out of hospital having had a gall bladder removed. Helping people back into their own homes is great for the person themselves and good economic sense for the council and the Health Service, meaning that beds can be used for others and scarce money can be better targeted.

Finally the Short Term and Re-ablement Team (START), based next to Ludlow Lodge. Sandra Roche who was my tour guide for the morning has introduced some brilliant entreprenurial ideas into this area. The senior management must be commended for allowing staff the freedom to innovate in this way. The START team will come into people's homes at an early stage to assess and give the support that the resident needs. Again, the aim is to reintroduce as much independence to their lives as possible, acheiving the ideal balance of improving people's lives whilst running an efficient department. IT systems are used well to ensure that team members are spending most of their time with residents rather than in the office or on the road. A body of evidence is building up to show quite how much money this is saving the authority.

I accompanied Senior Carer Lynne Locke to visit a family in Beddington. The husband had been diagnosed with a brain tumour. He was born in Burma, so we had a lot in common to talk about, including common family friends. He was at his most passionate though, when speaking about how the carers made him feel. Living through the terror of an uncertain future as well as the physical symptoms that had left him bed-bound, the carers restored a level of dignity. His direct quote, spoken with a tear in his eye, was that they made him feel like a human being again.

Now I hadn't realised that Sandra and Lynne were stars of the small screen otherwise I would have asked for an autograph, but a short film appears on the Local Government Channel website, where they talk about their excellent service in more detail. Well worth a few minutes of your time.

Exploring Adult Social Services Part 2

2009-07-17T06:58:00.003Z

Earlier this week, I continued my whistlestop tour of the borough's adult services, finding out more about how voluntary groups provide such valuable support for residents. Sutton Centre for Independent Living and Learning (SCILL) and Sutton Carers were perfect examples of the fact that Local Authorities are often not the right people to provide services themselves, instead supporting others who can be more responsive.

I've met both Sam Edwards who runs SCILL and Rachael Macleod (second from right in photo) from Sutton Carers on several occasions around a table. It is only spending a bit of time away from meeting rooms, seeing their work firsthand that you can get the fullest sense of the role that their organisations play.

First up, lunch at Sherwood Cafe. Based in SCILL, it is open to the public as well as people using the centre. Star turn was Charlie who served us and who had proved to be an excellent ambassador for the service at the Take Part, Take Pride stall in Sutton High Street earlier. We discussed the changes that were happening in Adult Social Care with the Government's "Transforming Social Care" agenda. The main thrust of this is to 'personalise' services so that the elderly or those with a disability do not simply get taken from home, left in a large room in a day centre and collected at the end of the day. Instead residents have access to Direct Payments, cash that they can spend on the help and support that they want. This helps pay for personal assistants, trips and other support when it is needed rather than being imposed. Sam's team handles this work, ensuring that it serves its purpose in being flexible, whilst maintaining the integrity of the system. I was especially impressed with the small but very able and creative team who worked with residents to go beyond just supplying basic support. They acted as life coaches, encouraging visitors to SCILL to look beyond the day to day and so investigate other areas that SCILL can help with to improve the quality of their lives and to find and build a level of independence.

Then onto Sutton Carers. I don't know many Canadians, but Rachael Macleod's default excuse for being a no-nonsense kinda gal, championing her cause is that she is from Canada. If that's the case, Stephen Harper must have a queue a mile long on Parliament Hill, with people fighting for what they believe. Persuasive, comprehensive and most of all passionate about her subject, Rachael is someone you want on your side and a real asset to Sutton Carers. Having spent sometime 'speed-dating' the staff, with 10 minutes or so looking at each area, I met someone who had dropped into the centre. Disabled herself, her husband was an alcoholic. Who else can you turn to in such an instance? Where else can you go? Both professional support and a friendly ear from volunteers who had been carers are available.

There is still more to be done to ensure that everyone knows about what is on offer and what they can acheive. We can always do more to support charities like Sutton Carers However, they are both excellent services and both great examples of what can be done when council officers have the foresight to set people free from the constraints of usual outdated practice.

Hat Tip: Radio Jackie for photo.