Normally, parents look forward to kids going back to school but this year that excitement has turned into a nightmare due to disastrous oversight of school buildings and maintenance since 2010.
The Tory and Lib Dem Coalition immediately scrapped Labour’s ‘Building Schools for the Future’ programme in 2010 and have wielded the axe over education and opportunity ever since.
Now schools, children and parents are fearful of the impact with schools in some areas closed due to the fears of substandard concrete.
I am told by our Local education Authority that no school is affected in the borough thankfully, although one faith school is undergoing additional checks to be absolutely sure.
‘No council-run schools in Southwark affected by RAAC concrete,’ council confirms
Parliament is also now back too after a summer which saw: the Government’s literal flagship, the ship for asylum seekers, sunk by legionella disease; crime and antisocial behaviour soar; waiting lists for NHS treatments reach all-time records and the public left wondering if the Government could be trusted to run anything properly.
I’ve got a busy return to Parliament to try and hold Ministers to account. Some see which way the wind is blowing and have already announced resignations.
Labour’s historic win in Selby, overturned a massive 20,000 majority with a 23 per cent swing from the Conservatives may have helped some make up their minds to quit at the next election rather than face voters’ wrath.
I used the parliamentary break to engage further locally and always enjoy the love, support but also the frank and robust exchanges I get on the doors in Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, and Borough!
One issue which has been a major concern raised countless times is antisocial behaviour.
Under the Tories, police cuts and the virtual scrapping of PCSOs led to a dramatic increase in some crimes and antisocial behaviour across Southwark. There are still fewer police officers and PCSOs in Southwark than when David Cameron took power aided and abetted by Lib Dem, Nick Clegg.
The current Government still excludes fraud and IT crime in their statistics – just another example of the Tories cooking the books and fudging the figures sadly.
Ministers’ failures have a damaging impact on local people though, and I always encourage people who raise concerns to report all issues online at: www.met.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/ or use the 101 helpline as well as 999 in emergencies.
It’s crucial to report crime and antisocial behaviour. The police will not allocate resources to areas affected if there is no record of problems in an area.
I am also keen to hear any experiences that you might have locally, so please let me know by emailing me at: Neil.Coyle.MP@parliament.uk – including crime references numbers if you have them so that I can follow up incidents with the police.
Even with Westminster back in action, my work across our local community continues and I’ll be out every week on different estates, community centres and tenants’ halls.
I try to be as accessible as possible so if you’d like to book an appointment, or for me to visit or hold a ‘mobile surgery’ in your area, please get in touch!