Policies and Pledges
STEVE BULLOCK WILL:
- Be open, be accessible and work in consultation with the people and the diverse communities of our borough on the major issues which affect all our lives;
Work with parents, teachers, governors and students to raise standards in our schools;
Lead a partnership between the council, community, private sector and other public services to improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of the borough;
Develop effective policies to create sustainable solutions to the current drain on environmental and other resources;
Campaign for the resources and investment our borough needs to thrive and prosper.
OVERALL STATEMENT
I believe I offer the right mix of experience and commitment needed to take Lewisham forward. Elect me and I will work with anyone and everyone who shares my desire to make our borough a safer, healthier place.
My first priority will be the quality of the basic services, whether provided by the council itself or other agencies. In my first few weeks as mayor I will start tackling the provision of secondary school places, making improvements in the basic environmental services and bringing together everyone involved in delivering services in the borough.
The spirit of partnership must extend to both the people who use those services and the people who deliver them. They have the detailed understanding of what is needed and how we can make things better. As mayor I will work closely with the representatives of service users and public service workers.
The mayor must be an advocate for the borough – arguing for extra resources and encouraging businesses to develop in Lewisham.
Above all the mayor needs to listen to your concerns and act on them. The mayor alone cannot change anything but together we can make Lewisham a place we can all be proud to call home. Please join me in making our borough the best it can possibly be.
REGENERATION
There is a strong history of partnership in Lewisham between the council, community, private sector and other public services. Lewisham needs a mayor who will build on that make sure services get better across the borough.
One of the most important partnerships will be between the mayor and the local councillors. Your Labour councillors and Labour mayor will work together to achieve continuous service improvements, raising the quality of life for Lewisham people and ensuring that the most vulnerable in society are protected.
“Delivering the improvements in health, security, education, housing and economic prospects which our borough needs requires leadership” said Steve. “and as mayor, I will work with all the agencies that deliver services in the borough to make sure we are pulling in the same direction.”
HEALTH
Health matters to me and to everyone in Lewisham. At Lewisham Hospital we have worked very hard in improving the service we offer.
As your mayor my top priority will be to secure improvements to all public services across Lewisham. This will only happen if everyone concerned works together. At the hospital we have been able to reduce waiting lists and are planning to build a new block to make sure that facilities for patients are of a high standard in future. This has been made possible by working closely with the Labour government and in particular with our three local MPs, Jim Dowd, Bridget Prentice and Joan Ruddock.
Lasting improvements to the health of people in Lewisham will require everyone involved – the hospital, social services, GPs and other services – to work together in partnership. The development of a Health Improvement and Modernisation Plan for Lewisham is great step forward. As mayor I will build on that partnership to make sure that Health is a priority. I will also tackle urgently the real financial pressures faced by Lewisham Council’s Social Services Vulnerable members of community must not be made to suffer while resources are allocated to lower priority activities.
One of the things makes a real difference to the health of individuals is having a decent home. As mayor I want to make sure that we invest to bring council homes up to standard. Each year we will be delivering a range of improvements including replacing heating systems as well as improving security and environmental works.
ENVIRONMENT
Whether it is keeping the borough looking clean and tidy or making sure that we don’t create unnecessary problems for future generations, Steve Bullock is determined to make a difference to the borough’s environment.
“I will be looking for fast improvements in the basic environmental services, such as disposing of the dumped cars rotting on our streets,” Steve said.
“But we need to go much further and develop effective policies that take seriously our responsibilities to future generations. As a borough we must recycle more of our waste and reduce how much we create in the first place. We face many challenges in Lewisham and we must make sure that we develop sustainable solutions. New buildings must meet high standards of energy conservation and have minimum impact on the environment.”
“ If I am elected, one of the first things I will do is to order a review of both the safety and cost effectiveness of the Combined Heat and Power Plant in Deptford.”
EDUCATION
If we do not provide our children with the sort of education that enables them to make the most of their talents we fail them not only today but for the rest of their lives. Our young people are the hope for the future and we must not fail them.
The Government has given Education priority and standards have risen as a result. In Lewisham there have been significant improvements in literacy and numeracy among many children leaving primary school. But the range of performance between schools is still too great. We have a number of “beacon” schools but others are still struggling and there is a great deal more to be done if all children are to receive the highest possible standard of education.
Many of our educational buildings are in need of urgent improvement so that we can build on the considerable investment made by the government in ICT and create schools fit for the 21st century.
As mayor I will focus on building a partnership with Heads, Governors and Parents to win additional resources in order to continue to drive up standards for our schools. An early priority will be to take urgent action to ensure that in future there will be enough secondary school places in the parts of the borough where they are needed.
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