London,
22
November
2017
|
09:29
Europe/London

Budget 2017: Camden Leader calls for Government investment in housing and community safety

Ahead of today’s Budget announcement Councillor Georgia Gould, Leader of Camden Council, has said:

“Public services are straining at the seams – and today’s Budget needs to both respond to the terrible tragedies Britain has faced this year and the longer-term public service issues that are a result of austerity that is failing.

“The Met Police chief Cressida Dick has said clearly that more cuts will mean she doesn’t have the resource to deal with rising crime – and in Camden we’re seeing moped attacks, drug activity, youth violence and rough sleeping, which all require very different responses from highly-trained police officers and our partners.

“We need Government investment in public services to keep our communities safe – investment to help councils deliver vital fire safety works, investment in the agencies that will help people on our streets rebuild their lives this freezing winter, investment in the emergency services we rely on not just in times of crisis, but every day of our lives.

“For too long successive Governments have not dealt with Britain’s housing crisis and Camden is asking that today’s Budget marks a turning point.

“Through working closely with our residents and partners in our Community Investment Programme, we’ve built the first council housing in a generation, new community centres and schools.

“But if we’re to maintain this progress, I’m clear that Camden Council needs funding and greater powers and flexibility to expand its housebuilding programme and to deliver a new standard of resident safety across all our homes.

“I want to see Government providing funding and flexibilities around the use of right-to-buy receipts and the Housing Revenue Account borrowing cap. The Council also wants an ongoing partnership with central Government and other public sector partners to test, trial and innovate to reduce the cost of construction and increase the availability of land.”

Camden joins with Mayor of London in letter to the Chancellor

Ahead of the Budget, Camden has joined forces with the Mayor of London and 20 other London borough councils in writing to the Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond MP to urge Government to give London the powers and investment it needs to build more council and genuinely affordable homes. You can read the full details on the Mayor of London's website.