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Cllr Ben Rawlings
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Confusion reigns over respect zone
Muddle over support for scheme
CAMDEN has been singled out by the government’s controversial respect ‘tsar’ for special treatment.
The borough is one of eight in London invited to be a ‘respect area’ by Louise Casey, head of the Respect Task Force set up by government to clamp down on youth crime.
Only 40 of the most deprived and troubled local authorities in the country will the get extra funding to pursue New Labour’s anti-social behaviour agenda.
The respect areas are currently being kept secret by the Home Office until a formal announcement next week, but there was confusion yesterday (Wednesday) over whether the council supported the measure.
A press official confirmed that “we have been asked, but we’ve not yet had a decision, and the Respect Zone areas have not yet been announced”.
She later said: “We’ve bid, but we are still in negotiations with the Home Office over what is involved.”
However Councillor Ben Rawlings, the Lib Dem Community Safety chief, subsequently denied that Camden had officially applied for respect area status saying: “We’re still in negotiations with the Home Office over precisely what it means, and what’s required.”
The Home Office would only say that “the respect task force has told all areas who applied that we would very much like them to become Respect Areas”, adding that levels of funding were still under negotiation.
When the Lib Dem-Tory coalition came to power in May it inherited one of the country’s most high-profile, and controversial, anti-social behaviour units.
They quickly ordered a review of the policies which had seen Camden issue more Asbos than any other London borough, but Labour opponents have claimed ever since that the Tories were reluctant partners because they wanted to avoid appearing soft on crime.
The review, due in December, has since been delayed.
Yesterday, Cllr Rawlings said he had reservations over the respect area proposals, which will reward councils for performance in areas including parenting classes, “support for the most anti-social families” and “tackling anti-social behaviour where it happens”.
Conservative leader Cllr Andrew Marshall, deputy leader of the coalition, said last night that he was unaware that Camden was in consideration for the scheme.
Labour’s Cllr Theo Blackwell rounded on the administration. “They should stop faffing about and get on with it,” he said.
“We’ve basically had nine months dithering on anti-social behaviour. We’d want to be a respect area, and we’re really worried about the watering down of the anti-social behaviour policy that’s happened since May.”
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