Housing Minister John Healey MP has announced that Clapham Park Homes has been shortlisted for £9.5million of funding to support the building of new homes in the Clapham Park area and to provide new local jobs and apprenticeships.

The government’s Kickstart programme aims to support housebuilding sites which have experienced difficulties progressing in the difficult current economic climate. Housing associations like Clapham Park Homes have found it hard to secure bank credit for developments following the Credit Crunch.

The £9.5million earmarked for Clapham Park Homes is part of the second round of special Kickstart funding and follows £450million already released nationally to build 11,500 homes.

The funding announced comes on tough terms. 50% of it is recoverable by government and Clapham Park Homes would have to provide schemes for local labour and apprenticeships to secure the monies.

With half of shortlisted homes set to be for affordable rent or sale, this is a boost for first time buyers and prospective Clapham Park Homes tenants.

The project will now go through a rigorous final assessment by the Homes and Communities Agency to determine whether the Clapham Park funding will get the green light. As the funding is intended to support the housebuilding industry when it needs it most, Mr Healey has made clear that one of the key factors will be the ability to complete building work by March 2012.

Commenting on the announcement, Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for the Clapham Park area, said:

“I was delighted when the Minister’s office contacted me to let me know that Clapham Park had been shortlisted for these monies which will help bring new homes, jobs and apprenticeships to our area.

“This money is in addition to the £56million that we have been spending on regenerating the Clapham Park area since 1997.”

Housing Minister John Healey MP said:

“We are using the power of Government investment to build homes and support jobs at a time when the housebuilding industry needs it most.

“I’m making it a condition of getting this Government money that all builders offer recruitment of local people and apprenticeship schemes.

“With this money we’re kickstarting stalled developments, supporting new jobs, training future generations of construction workers and building the quality homes we need.”

Today senior Labour backbencher, Jon Cruddas MP, and Labour Parliamentary Candidate Chuka Umunna, launch a new website to scrutinize the activities of Conservatives who already hold power in the UK and to help voters make an informed choice in the 2010 General Election.

A General Election announcement could be less than 8 weeks away if the Prime Minister calls a March 2010 poll. Most think he will ask the Queen for dissolution in 3 months for a 6 May election date.

The campaign is already underway with multiple policy announcements expected from Conservative leader David Cameron MP and others from 4 January 2010.

Commenting on the election battle, senior backbencher and Labour MP for Dagenham, Jon Cruddas, said:

“In this campaign it is right to present the General Election as a choice between a Labour government that will act to support people through the recession and a Conservative administration ideologically opposed to intervention but, in so doing, it is crucial that we shine a light on what the Tories are already doing with power where they have it.

“We must look beyond Westminster to the Town Halls and regions where Conservatives presently hold power, as opposed to simply revisiting the actions of Tories in the ‘80s and ‘90s.”

Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Streatham, added:

“Over 9 million people under the age of 30 will be eligible to vote in 2010 – many for the first time – and most will have little memory of what the last period of Tory government from 1979 to 1997 looked and felt like.

“Many of the new generations of voter are already living under Tories locally – their local Conservatives provide important pointers as to what a national Cameron government would do when they consider how to cast their vote.”

Conservative leader David Cameron has sought to discard the “nasty party” image of his party and replace it with one that suggests his party is committed to social justice, environmentalism and the NHS, and describes itself as “the dominant progressive force in British politics.” In 2007 Mr Cameron said to Conservative councillors that they “demonstrate Conservative government”.

Messrs Cruddas and Umunna have set up a new website – Tory Stories – which aims to test these claims and scrutinize the activities of Conservatives currently in power.

The website, which already contains posts on various Conservative local government administrations, will act as a depository for well researched and evidence based articles on what Conservatives in local and regional government are doing. Messrs Cruddas and Umunna are inviting members of the public to send in stories of their experiences which will be posted up on the site.

The intention is that undecided and floating voters contemplating voting for the Conservatives at the General Election will easily be able to access information on the website relating to the Conservatives in action in a geographical region of the country and/or look at what they have been doing in a particular policy area.

Mr Cruddas used the services of Blue State Digital during the Labour deputy leadership contest of 2006/07, shortly before the same company was engaged by Barack Obama to run his presidential election campaign’s online operation. Mr Cruddas went on to win more first preference votes of any other candidate in the contest. Commenting on the launch of the site, Mr Cruddas said:

“Like in the US in 2008, the internet will play a far greater role here in 2010 than in any other previous General Election.

“With this project we are seeking to harness the power of the web to highlight what Conservatives in government do today – it is anything but progressive and we need to tell voters.”

To visit the Tory Stories website, log on to www.torystories.com.

I just wanted to quickly wish everyone a very HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Best,

Chuka

The creation of a high quality, free and universal healthcare service for everyone in Britain is a great Labour legacy.

Since entering government in 1997, the Labour Party has worked to ensure that the NHS is constantly improving, saving lives and helping communities.

More investment in front Line services

There are now 44,000 more doctors, and 89,000 more nurses than in 1997. Labour has also placed more focus on community services by creating 90 new walk-in health centres, over 650 one-stop primary care centres and furthermore has pledged £750 million for the creation of a new generation of modern, convenient Community Hospitals.

The success of this investment is clear from the fact the in 2007, 33,000 more lives were saved from cardiovascular diseases than in 1996.

More operations and shorter waiting lists

There are now three million more operations carried out each year than in 1997, and double the number of heart operations. The waiting times for operations have also halved.

Since 1997 the Labour government has been committed to bringing down waiting lists and as a result, waiting times for treatment are at their lowest since records began.

Whatever your condition, you will not have to wait more than 18 weeks from a GP referral to the start of hospital treatment, and the overall number of people on waiting lists has been brought down by 600,000 since 1997.

Whereas in 1997 284,000 patients were waiting for over six months for treatment, today the average wait for inpatient treatment stands at 4.5 weeks. The Tories, however, plan to abolish targets for the reduction of waiting lists, which will risk a return to the days of long waits and a poorer quality of healthcare.

Increased choice and better information for patients

In order to allow individuals a greater degree of control over their treatment, the Labour government has introduced an online Choose and Book system. Once the patient and GP have agreed that specialist care is necessary, the patient can go to www.chooseandbook.nhs.uk and pick an appointment on a date and time that fits comfortably around their commitments, at a hospital of their choice.

Furthermore, over three quarters of GP practices have begun to offer extended opening hours for at least one evening or weekend session per week in order to allow greater access to medical assistance.

In addition, people can now visit the NHS website to read or contribute to reviews of GP surgeries. This comparison service encourages GPs to push harder to ensure the highest levels of quality healthcare for their communities.

Improved Cancer Care

The Labour government has guaranteed that anyone with suspected cancer will see a cancer specialist within two weeks, and all prescriptions for individuals receiving treatment for cancer will be completely free.

Since 1996 cancer mortality rates for under-75s have decreased by 18.2%, saving nearly 9000 more lives in 2007 than in 1996.

The government has also renewed its drive towards prevention of cancer, and has offered all teenage girls a vaccination against cervical cancer, alongside providing services to help individuals quit smoking and banning smoking in public places.

The Tories plan to undo all of the hard work Labour has put into ensuring that waiting lists are reduced by abolishing targets, and ignoring the benefits that they have brought to communities and individuals across the country.

All of the above successes demonstrate that the Labour party is committed to the NHS and dedicated to free and good quality healthcare for all.

Visit www.labour.org.uk/welovethenhs and www.twitter.com/welovethenhs

To find out about more about NHS delivery in the local area, follow this link

The government has launched new measures to tackle anti-social behaviour in local communities.

Lambeth has been allocated an additional fund of £54,000 to train front-line staff, empower local residents and fund local action to build on the successful fight against anti-social behaviour. Across the country, an extra £10 million is being invested.

Since Labour introduced tools such as anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) the majority of offenders have ceased their activity after one intervention. This combined with the general perception of anti-social behaviour as a local problem falling significantly since 2003 demonstrates the benefits to Streatham of Labour’s approach to law and order.

The new measures include:

- The training of community champions so that they can shape local decision making and challenge officials so that no problem is ignored;

- Training and equipping front-line staff to take faster and more effective action;

- A dedicated Housing Anti-social Behaviour Action Squad providing expert help and solutions for landlords.

- Empowering local residents with the information and tools required to report and tackle anti-social behaviour, for example ensuring that tenants are equipped to challenge social landlords, councils and police;

- Tools and guidance for social landlords along with a Respect Standard that they have to live up to;

- Small scale funding for local action such as environmental clean ups to deal with fly-tipping.

Labour’s approach is in stark contrast to that of the Tories who have constantly voted against tougher sentences and more effective police powers. Despite the impact of gun crime in communities across London they have previously voted against the banning of handguns and five year minimum sentences for carrying an illegal gun.

The Lib Dems have repeatedly tried to obstruct Labour’s measures on crime, voting against the successful Anti-social Behaviour Act along with extended police and local authority powers. These actions brought in parenting contracts which have reinforced positive behaviour and helped remove anti-social behaviour. Lib Dem run councils have a track record of being slow to tackle anti-social behaviour and to use the powers that the Labour government has given them.

That every British citizen is now less likely to be a victim of crime than at any other time in the last 25 years is a testament to Labour’s success on law and order.

First Capital Connect and Aslef have reached agreement on a revised pay offer but serious questions still remain for FCC.

A dispute over pay last month led to First Capital Connect (FCC), operators of the Thameslink train line in and out of London, only being able to run a skeleton service from Streatham, Tulse Hill and other train stations to central London, with as few as one train an hour remaining in operation.

Drivers angry at a pay offer offering a 0% rise this year and at least 3% next year, refused to work overtime and on rest days which led to FCC running the much reduced service. On 11 November 2009, Aslef - the train drivers union - announced that it would be balloting its 550-plus members working for FCC to take strike action over the issue.

On 19 November 2009 Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Streatham, wrote to Sir Moir Lockhead, Chief Executive FirstGroup Plc, to protest at the disruption caused to local residents. Umunna has asked to know why the situation was allowed to develop and what steps FCC were taking to resolve the dispute and get train services back running to normal levels. FCC have promised to provide a response to Mr Umunna shortly.

On Friday FCC announced that Aslef has considered a revised pay offer, equating to 5% over two years, and has agreed to recommend its acceptance to its members. Aslef have confirmed this . They are now working jointly to encourage drivers to resume rest day and overtime working. Services are not expected to return to normal until the New Year.

Commenting on this latest development, Mr Umunna said:

“Thameslink users will be delighted that an agreement has been reached and will look forward to a normal service being resumed as soon as possible but serious questions still remain.”

“First Capital Connect need to explain why on earth they have been operating a service without enough drivers – they should not be reliant on drivers agreeing to work overtime to provide a normal service.”

“I understand from reports that there are vacancies at Thameslink depots amounting to almost 10% of the work force. Why have First Capital Connect not recruited sufficient numbers of drivers to man their trains?”

Mr Umunna has also been running a campaign against proposals by Network Rail to terminate all northbound trains from Streatham and Tulse Hill train stations at Blackfriars. The Department of Transport is currently considering Network Rail’s proposals for the future of the line and Mr Umunna recently met with Minister of Transport, Sadiq Khan MP, to relay local residents’ views on the long-term planned changes to Streatham’s Thameslink service.

Hundreds of passengers have signed Mr Umunna’s petition opposing the changes and have joined his “Save Our South West London Thameslink Services” Facebook group.

Commenting on the future of Thameslink, Umunna said:

“Thameslink is an essential service for Streatham residents, linking the area with central London and beyond. That is why I have campaigned for an end to this dispute and against proposals to cut direct services to the City, Kings Cross and Luton Airport.”

Local residents across Lambeth will get extra help to tackle anti-social behaviour with up to ten thousand front-line staff and community champions receiving training and support to use tough powers and solve local problems, the government has announced.

Local councils and social landlords working with the police are tackling anti-social behaviour effectively and supporting victims.

Latest figures from the British Crime Survey show there has been a fall in people’s perception of anti-social behaviour as a local problem over the last six years.

But statistics are cold comfort to victims, and ministers are determined that everyone across the country should be working together in driving down anti-social behaviour and driving up people’s confidence.
Support and training needs to go further and deeper across communities.

The government is therefore calling on frontline staff from community safety teams to housing officers across England to make full use of the powers and tools already available, while giving more support to residents and community activists.

This drive, which is being funded by a £10m package, will target 130 local councils including Lambeth, which is set to receive a new tranche of funding.

This additional funding will support measures letting local residents know the rights and how to report anti-social behaviour through targeted leaflets, regional events and information for local media as well as extra training for frontline staff such as police and neighbourhood wardens.

It will also fund new clean-up campaigns, supporting community led projects to engage young people and creating more attractive public spaces.

Social landlords, including housing associations such as Clapham Park Homes will have a duty to take measures to stop anti-social behaviour, being required to sign up to a binding Respect Standard.

Where this is not upheld, people will be given support to challenge landlords and councils to make sure that action is taken.

A new Housing Anti-Social Behaviour Squad is being set up nationally to deal with crime in areas of social housing, providing help on the ground to deal with problems faced by housing associations.

Commenting, Chuka Umunna said: “Evidence shows that intervention against anti-social behaviour works, and the new measures and funding will help tackle the problem in our area.”

“People need to know that they are not alone – the government, council and police are on their side in dealing with problem neighbours, violence and vandalism.”

Chuka Umunna has joined with local campaigners to turn up the pressure on Tesco.

The retailer has cast doubt on the future of Streatham Ice Rink citing the credit crunch – despite announcing huge national profits and extensive plans for expansion.

At a public meeting in Streatham, Tesco – the owner of Streatham Ice Rink – refused to maintain its guarantee that the ice rink would remain open without interruption whilst the Hub scheme is developed, under revised proposals of its original agreement two years ago.

Contrary to these claims, Tesco just two days before the public meeting released interim results showing pre tax gross profits of £1.4 billion, up 1.5 per cent on last year’s interim results. The company also announced that it had signed an agreement to open 18 new hypermarkets in China, in addition to an extensive UK expansion including hundreds of new stores.

Local resident Georgia Hinault commented:

“Streatham Ice Rink is important to us, we use it all the time – how dare Tesco put the future of ice skating in South London at the mercy of their so-called ‘economic downturn’, they have not been affected by the recession at all ,in fact they have benefitted. Shame on Tesco!”

Chuka said:

“Tesco’s claims about the credit crunch and its affect on its ability to deliver the Streatham Hub scheme do not stack up – its colossal profits could pay for a new ice rink many times over so there is no excuse for failing to guarantee it will stay open whilst a new one is built.”

So far over 1,600 people have signed Chuka’s petition on and off-line and over 1,300 people have joined his “Keep Streatham Skating!” Facebook Group.

Chuka is a signatory to this letter, along with former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone and others, which appears in today’s Guardian newspaper:

Despite the government saving the financial sector from meltdown, City reaction to the PBR has been to promote scare stories of a so-called mass exodus of “talent”, questionable accusations from leading accountancy firms of a huge black hole in the public finances and, worst of all, plans to engage in tax avoidance in relation to the new windfall levy on bonuses (City tells Darling: you’re driving us out of Britain, 10 December).

Let’s not forget that it was the bankers who wrecked the economy in the first place and that we face a budget deficit that they significantly helped create – not least in part by the banks bailout. Let’s not forget too that despite the bailout, before the PBR, banks planned bumper bonuses forecast to rise 50% to £6bn. It’s in this context we feel the government deserves support in imposing the windfall levy on bonuses. We further welcome government efforts in advocating a financial transactions tax. These measures are important in making the financial sector as a whole more socially responsible.

We’d also urge the government to take radical steps in diversifying the economy and end the country’s overreliance on financial services for jobs, growth and tax revenue. Further, we don’t believe that public sector workers should be forced to pay for the mistakes of bankers through a real-terms pay cut. On the wider issue of excessive pay – while a bonuses windfall tax is good for the short-term, for the long-term we’d call on the government to establish a high pay commission.

The government’s Pre-Budget Report was delivered this week and will bring substantial benefits to local people, with specific measures aimed at helping families, pensioners and small businesses.

3,600 Streatham families will be better off as a result of changes announced by the Chancellor this week, getting help now when it is needed most. Child Benefit is being raised to £20.30 for the first child and £13.40 for other children. Child Tax Credit has also been increased.

In addition the Chancellor announced this week that free school meals will be extended to more children in primary schools.

Streatham’s 4,270 pensioners will receive extra support next year, with the basic state pension for a single pensioner increasing by £2.40 to £97.65 a week, while the full couples’ pension will rise by £3.85 to £156.15.

This winter, pensioners will also receive an extra £50 alongside their winter fuel payment – and an extra £100 if they are over 80.

Small businesses on Streatham High Road and through the rest of the constituency received a boost in the report with a freeze in the rate of corporation tax and a raft of new measures to support them through the recovery.

The government’s ‘Time to Pay’ scheme which allows businesses to spread out their tax payments has been extended, while the government is guaranteeing £500 million of loans to small businesses through its Enterprise Finance Guarantee.

Additionally, a new Growth Capital Fund will be set up in collaboration with banks to invest in small and medium enterprises.

Chuka Umunna, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Streatham said:

“I welcome the support for families, pensioners and small businesses in the Pre-Budget report.

“These measures will make a real difference for businesses and those who depend on them, providing assistance in weathering the current economic conditions.

“Families and pensioners are among the most vulnerable groups in society, particularly during the winter, and it is right that the government is providing extra help.

“This makes it all the more important that we ensure local residents are claiming all the extra benefits they are entitled to.”