Police need to continue to bond with teens and other community groups

Over the past number of years, the Met have had flash points with different groups, some of which have led to issues in how they are perceived negatively by residents in London.

Locally, in Chiswick, the police have been and are continuing to take a more proactive approach which is welcoming to see.

The Liberal Democrats know that if the police are to be trusted they need to not just stop crimes from happening, catch criminals but socialise with people from all backgrounds in life. If they are seen out and about where people meet then it is likely that people will trust them or speak to them if they have concerns.

At a meeting recently where the police were present they talked about initiatives where the local police team would drop in (to a drop ins) where lots of teenagers socialise. Just being present meant people saw the police as people having fun, playing table tennis and ready, if needed, to answer questions if anyone had matters they wanted to discuss.

At other times, the Southfield ward Forum, run by the Liberal Democrats in Southfield, have members of the local police team to update residents on crime in the area and what they have been doing to deal with and reduce crime. Their presence has allowed many residents a chance to ask questions of their local police team.

Southfield has a lower crime than neighbouring areas. Whilst crime is rising generally, in Southfield it is falling. Part of this is that we have a strong culture of local volunteering:

· The Police and residents monitoring speeding traffic ensuring that drivers speeding get warned to reduce the chance of future incidents of speeding.

· Southfield has a great set of neighbourhood watch volunteers who make use of information about local crime from the police to inform residents, so they can reduce the chances they become a victim of crime.

· We are luck to have an effective group to monitor the police’s actions and when feedback is given the police change some of their activities to help address information issues in Southfield. Being a part of the group shows how crucial it is for residents to support the police.

Myself and the other Southfield Liberal Democrat Councillors thank active members of the public and the police, for being proactive, working together to reduce crime.

Residents deserve more respect when they contact their elected representatives

Although I do not get many handwritten letters from constituents nowadays (mainly emails or phone calls), one I received made me very sad to read.

It was written by a very elderly lady who, in her own words, cannot get about easily. The block she is in, is not rated very highly by her or fellow residents. Getting around in her wheelchair is not going to be comfortable as we see so clearly with many of the life stories of the athletes in the Paralympics.

She wrote to her three Labour Councillors, and when ignored, then wrote to her MP. All four appear to have let her down.

Sometimes the most important thing a politician can do is listen and then return that phone call or speak to them so a complex problem can be simplified and hopefully solved.

Just because an issue that a resident raised might not be easy to solve, it does not mean it should be ignored. Sometimes all that is required is to give the correct advice so they resident can be helped or they know who to contact so they can be empowered to help themselves.

One of the important reasons why day centres serving many elderly and other vulnerable users, are crucial, is that they allowed them to get the care they needed in the company of others. Friends who they saw each day or a few times a week. This allowed them to be happier as well as each other helping each other out.

Now, since Labour-run Ealing Council, have closed nearly all of the day centres, many users have been left paying more for less. The evidence is that users left without access to groups are more likely to become depressed which is hardly going to help many users who can be very vulnerable, some without many visits from family members.

There are many areas in the past few years where Ealing Council's housing activity does not seem to have measured up well in providing a good service:
• Benefit claims are taking too long to be processed.
• There were far too many (and it has been increasing sharply) people living in bed and breakfast accommodation.
• Relatively recently, many tenants were not satisfied with the quality of repairs.
• People are still waiting a long time to speak to a member of Council staff either on the phone or when visiting the Council in person.

Liberal Democrats believe we should be not just building enough housing, but crucially making sure our existing management of our housing stock and estates is done to a high level of quality, treating all residents (regardless of their income status) with more dignity.