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Waste and red tape must go to fund investment in future
• WE’VE just announced a record £540million investment in Islington, to fund first-class educational facilities, flagship leisure centres worthy of the Olympics, improvements to roads and streets – and to build Islington’s first new council housing for a generation. And the council is promising to deliver these major projects while keeping council tax increases below inflation and council tax well below the London average.
So I was astonished to read the report criticising us for getting rid of office space that is either empty or under-used (Offices sell-off will force staff to ‘hotdesk’, February 15). The reason the council can pay for these exciting projects is because we manage residents’ money carefully – and this includes cutting out waste.
Although the Tribune might think differently, I believe Islington residents think new schools and housing are more important than council bureaucrats having fancy private offices. That’s why we have introduced a “smart working” policy – which you are quite right to say does involve some hotdesking to save space – so we can spend our money on more important things.
The move has been popular with staff, who understand the reason for the change and prefer a modern working environment and more flexible working policies. It has helped us to cut back on environmental waste too, as we have reduced the amount of paper we store and use. We have already been visited by other councils looking to follow in our footsteps. I share our residents’ vision to build a better Islington. Like them, I want the modern schools our young people deserve, leisure facilities where everyone can enjoy sport and affordable homes for the families stuck on the housing waiting list.
Funding these projects sometimes involves taking some tough action on waste and red tape. More than 2,000 people took part in our budget consultation for 2008-9 – more than ever before – and we’ve listened and based our plans for spending on what they told us they want. So I can’t wait to see them become a reality.
Cllr James Kempton
Lib Dem leader, Islington Council
• THE Lib Dems’ move to outsource dozens of council jobs to Manchester (including, bizarrely, the Contact Islington service) is yet another example of how its policies are destroying the health of the borough. Just as with the shops sell-off, the priority is short-term financial gain, with no understanding of the long-term consequences and their cost. In this case, the massive long-term cost of youth unemployment.
Unemployment in Islington is running at twice the national average; and there has to be an urgent emphasis now on getting our young kids into local jobs, and giving them the training they need for such employment. This council cannot claim to care about crime, anti-social behaviour and youth disaffection if it is at the same time taking job opportunities away from our young people. Building youth clubs just doesn’t cut it.
The Green Party has campaigned for all services and products used by the council to prioritise local content and local employment. How can we expect the private sector in Islington to contribute to the local economy if the council itself is undermining it?
Michael Coffey
Islington Green Party
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