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Response to recession will be measures that really matter
London tends to be the first and hardest hit by recession. But there are key things a local authority can do, argues Camden leader Councillor Keith Moffitt
THE official statistics have confirmed what we have all known for weeks – the UK is in recession.
In Camden we are seeing the effects through more people claiming jobseeker’s allowance and housing benefit. This is worrying for a lot of people. Although we know, too, that many features of previous recessions are not showing through in Camden at the moment.
Crime is actually down and there’s been no increase in homelessness, for example. We haven’t seen more residents falling into arrears on council tax or council rent and the vast majority of businesses continue to pay their rates on time.
But we know that London tends to be hit first and hardest if the last two recessions are anything to go by. Scant comfort now but it’s worth remembering that London also tends to recover sooner.
Of course, no one can predict how deep or long the recession will be. One thing we do know is the key things a council can do at times like this is keep its tax as low as possible and work with partners to help people develop new skills and get job ready.
What do we know about how the recession is affecting people now? Many people on low incomes who work part-time are telling our welfare rights advisers they are worried about losing hours and how that will affect their benefits. We’re working with people to make sense of the benefits system and help them make the right decisions.
More women than men are losing their jobs, as happened in previous recessions, and Camden Working – the borough’s flagship employment initiative offering information, advice,
one-to-one support and access to local vacancies – is tailoring its support to offer the practical help people need with writing CVs and doing interviews.
Even during harder times there are opportunities in Camden, like the development at King’s Cross that’s going ahead despite the recession.
The council will get the keys to the King’s Cross Construction Centre next week and more than 100 people are already lined up for training for new jobs. They will also be in a good position to compete for work at the Olympic site between now and 2012.
Protecting vital services, like Camden Working and our support for small businesses will be a key priority in the coming year.
And although some private developments may go on the back burner, the council will be doing all it can to continue with our major investments in Camden’s social infrastructure, building a new secondary school and new care homes, refurbishing council homes, keeping the redevelopment of Kentish Town Sports Centre on track and continuing to address the backlog of housing and street maintenance. To provide the jobs the borough needs and employment opportunities for local people.
Our role is also telling people where to go for help.
The recession section on the council website – Camden.gov.uk/recession – received more visits than any other part of the site at the end of last year.
We’ve also made sure we access national help for local people through the mortgage rescue scheme that went live on January 1.
Camden was in the first wave of local authorities to make the scheme available.
But as the recession bites further in 2009 more help may be needed. That is why we’re working with partners on the effects of the recession and to keep in touch with what’s going on.
We also asked Camden residents what they needed from us. You told us that the single thing the council could do to help you weather the difficult times was to keep council tax down. We’ve heard that message loud and clear.
The council’s partnership executive will be proposing the Town Hall’s budget for the next two years to councillors in February.
We promised you we would use that opportunity to respond to the recession with further measures that would make a real difference and could be delivered. No gimmicks, just a continued drive to address the things that matter most like jobs, housing and regeneration.
As someone who lives and works in the borough, I know from the close, daily contact with Camden’s residents and businesses that people’s real experiences as well as statistics count when making tough choices about how to spend your money.
That’s why I am inviting you to email me at: keith.moffitt@camden.gov.uk over the next couple of weeks as we make these crucial decisions around the recession.
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