SOUTH London's crime-ridden estates could get even worse if plans to scrap key police officers are accepted - reports the South London Press.
An official document has revealed the Met is facing a massive cash shortfall.
It means police chiefs across Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham and Wandsworth are bracing themselves for a series of cutbacks which could cripple services.
One area they have been told they must rein in is spending on crime prevention - with nearly all South London's specialist officers now facing the chop.
The South London Press understands their vital work handing out advice to the public and "designing out crime" on building projects will be taken over by safer neighbourhood teams.
But senior police sources have warned the cutbacks could have "critical implications" for crime prevention across South London.
One said: "Each crime prevention officer [CPO] has developed skills in particular areas of the profession and acts as an unofficial consultant for others who have not got the same amount of knowledge in that aspect of that field.
"Sadly, with the continued expansion of housing and the static size of the number of officers, the importance of well designed new builds is critical. Otherwise I suspect there will be a steady increase in crime."
In a leaked note, the Met's deputy commissioner, Paul Stephenson, warned every borough in the force faces serious challenges ahead.
He said: "Based on current predictions, the Met is facing a shortfall in funding for the next three financial years. Each business group has been asked to offer up a minimum one per cent of their budget as savings.
"The position is challenging. We are required to deliver a balanced budget, deliver efficiency savings to a nationally agreed level, but at the same time meet stretching performance requirements for tackling crime and keeping London safe."
It is believed the minimum one per cent cut represents tens of millions of pounds from each force's budget.
Showing posts with label lambeth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lambeth. Show all posts
Monday, 27 August 2007
Tuesday, 26 June 2007
Lambeth: 'Chilling' plans for the elderly
A hospital boss has criticised a council's plan to restrict care provision to elderly and disabled people - reports ICSouthLondon.
Patricia Moberly, chair-woman of Guys and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, has described Labour-run Lambeth's plan to restrict care to people in critical need as "chilling".
She said: "We have been trying over the years to make things better for vulnerable people in our society.
"It's much better for people to be looked after at home.
"The potential of these cuts is actually quite chilling."
Under the plan, elderly and disabled people in "substantial need" of care would no longer receive support services from the council.
The council also plans to ramp up care charges for things like home help from £7.55 to £17.50 per hour. It would see the council make a profit out of the service.
The plans met with a massive backlash when they were published this year.
Around 450 pensioners, disabled people and carers marched on Lambeth Town Hall in protest.
The backlash forced the council to extend a consultation into the proposals prior to their implementation.
A decision will be made next month whether or not to press ahead with the plans.
Ms Moberly made her comments at a meeting of Lambeth's health and adult services scrutiny committee on Wednesday night.
Other health professionals also slammed the strategy.
King's College Hospital stakeholder relations manager Phil Bollman said: "It seems to me that this will only shift care back to the hospitals and have an impact on care. People will end up stuck in hospital blocking beds."
Lambeth's cabinet member for health and adult services Councillor Donatus Anyanwu insisted efforts had been made to try to avoid the proposed cuts. But he warned Lambeth did not have the cash to prevent them.
He said: "We can't invent money, we can't make money. We can't rob some other area to pay for these services."
However, the government could afford to give Lambeth a bigger grant to maintain these services without cuts or increases in fees charged to vulernable people if it wasn't planning to gift an extra £2.5 billion a year to the audit-failing EU ... despite the EU's on-going failure for twelve years now to explain how the "majority" of its money is being spent.
So how is local MP Kate Hoey going to vote, when the EU budget deal comes up in Parliament for approval? In favour of lavishing billions more pounds on the EU without justification? Or in favour of saving public money from waste and its investment in better local services instead?
Patricia Moberly, chair-woman of Guys and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, has described Labour-run Lambeth's plan to restrict care to people in critical need as "chilling".
She said: "We have been trying over the years to make things better for vulnerable people in our society.
"It's much better for people to be looked after at home.
"The potential of these cuts is actually quite chilling."
Under the plan, elderly and disabled people in "substantial need" of care would no longer receive support services from the council.
The council also plans to ramp up care charges for things like home help from £7.55 to £17.50 per hour. It would see the council make a profit out of the service.
The plans met with a massive backlash when they were published this year.
Around 450 pensioners, disabled people and carers marched on Lambeth Town Hall in protest.
The backlash forced the council to extend a consultation into the proposals prior to their implementation.
A decision will be made next month whether or not to press ahead with the plans.
Ms Moberly made her comments at a meeting of Lambeth's health and adult services scrutiny committee on Wednesday night.
Other health professionals also slammed the strategy.
King's College Hospital stakeholder relations manager Phil Bollman said: "It seems to me that this will only shift care back to the hospitals and have an impact on care. People will end up stuck in hospital blocking beds."
Lambeth's cabinet member for health and adult services Councillor Donatus Anyanwu insisted efforts had been made to try to avoid the proposed cuts. But he warned Lambeth did not have the cash to prevent them.
He said: "We can't invent money, we can't make money. We can't rob some other area to pay for these services."
However, the government could afford to give Lambeth a bigger grant to maintain these services without cuts or increases in fees charged to vulernable people if it wasn't planning to gift an extra £2.5 billion a year to the audit-failing EU ... despite the EU's on-going failure for twelve years now to explain how the "majority" of its money is being spent.
So how is local MP Kate Hoey going to vote, when the EU budget deal comes up in Parliament for approval? In favour of lavishing billions more pounds on the EU without justification? Or in favour of saving public money from waste and its investment in better local services instead?
Tuesday, 5 December 2006
London: Health cash row in parliament
The escalating row over NHS funding in South London was taken to the House of Commons.
MPs Simon Hughes and Kate Hoey quizzed Health Minister Patricia Hewitt about the future of health-care last week.
Even though Lambeth and Southwark's primary care trusts performed well in their annual ratings, their budgets will be slashed and services hit.
Mr Hughes is spearheading the campaign to stop the cuts which will mean less cash spent across the services, with sexual health services the worst hit.
Last month he met with Ms Hewitt but said he was disappointed with the outcome.
During the heated Commons debate last week, Mr Hughes asked: "What changes in the budgets for 2006/07 for NHS trusts serving Lambeth and Southwark have been agreed?"
Ms Hewitt replied: "I asked NHS London to look again at budgets in Lambeth and Southwark. "It has confirmed that after other factors have been taken into account, Lambeth and Southwark primary care trusts were asked to contribute less to the London-wide risk reserves for this year than most other London PCTs."
Mr Hughes told the Commons he had thought that after meeting Mrs Hewitt a "fairer" allocation of money would be agreed.
He pointed out that despite Lambeth and Southwark being among the two most deprived boroughs in the country, an estimated £23million would be chopped from the budgets for Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley trusts.
However,the Secretary of State answered that Southwark and Lambeth would get the money back once the other badly performing London PCTs were up to speed.
Until then Lambeth and Southwark PCTs will have to continue to bail them out.
After the debate, Mr Hughes said:"I and the other South London MPs are upset that it appears the Government are refusing to budge on this."
Presumably both MPs Kate Hoey and Simon Hughes will be voting against the EU budget deal - a clear waste of billions of pounds a year of public money.
The government plans to give this money to an organisation that, for twelve years in a row, hasn't been able to get auditors approval for its accounts, while there's clearly not enough money to go around London's NHS trusts.
Blocking the EU budget deal and making this saving would be an obvious source of much more money than is needed to prevent these NHS cuts.
MPs Simon Hughes and Kate Hoey quizzed Health Minister Patricia Hewitt about the future of health-care last week.
Even though Lambeth and Southwark's primary care trusts performed well in their annual ratings, their budgets will be slashed and services hit.
Mr Hughes is spearheading the campaign to stop the cuts which will mean less cash spent across the services, with sexual health services the worst hit.
Last month he met with Ms Hewitt but said he was disappointed with the outcome.
During the heated Commons debate last week, Mr Hughes asked: "What changes in the budgets for 2006/07 for NHS trusts serving Lambeth and Southwark have been agreed?"
Ms Hewitt replied: "I asked NHS London to look again at budgets in Lambeth and Southwark. "It has confirmed that after other factors have been taken into account, Lambeth and Southwark primary care trusts were asked to contribute less to the London-wide risk reserves for this year than most other London PCTs."
Mr Hughes told the Commons he had thought that after meeting Mrs Hewitt a "fairer" allocation of money would be agreed.
He pointed out that despite Lambeth and Southwark being among the two most deprived boroughs in the country, an estimated £23million would be chopped from the budgets for Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley trusts.
However,the Secretary of State answered that Southwark and Lambeth would get the money back once the other badly performing London PCTs were up to speed.
Until then Lambeth and Southwark PCTs will have to continue to bail them out.
After the debate, Mr Hughes said:"I and the other South London MPs are upset that it appears the Government are refusing to budge on this."
Presumably both MPs Kate Hoey and Simon Hughes will be voting against the EU budget deal - a clear waste of billions of pounds a year of public money.
The government plans to give this money to an organisation that, for twelve years in a row, hasn't been able to get auditors approval for its accounts, while there's clearly not enough money to go around London's NHS trusts.
Blocking the EU budget deal and making this saving would be an obvious source of much more money than is needed to prevent these NHS cuts.
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