James Barber

Hi reeks, Thanks for pointing this out. I'll ask the council trading standards to investigate. Hi buddug, Yes I'm sure you've quoted me correctly if partially and out of the large context I gave. Excuse my cynicism but you've indicated you're a journalist to ex.journalist and removing the context isn't very fair.

Hi buddug, That's not really. what I said.

Thought it perhaps worth adding link to ground floor showing library, flats entrance and shop unit plans: http://planningonline.southwark.gov.uk/DocsOnline/Documents/139585_1.pdf

Hi singalto, That did conjure a wonderful picture in my mind me wearing a batman outfit and somewhere a batman spotlight in East Dulwoich. Great for a dreary Friday morning. Thank you. Hi buddug, You're very welcome to shadow me to discover the work I do for residents. Casework over the last month - successfully helping a family 5 years of escalating debt and avoid them losing their home (one of my favourite bits of casework this year - bit cheaty of me because it was resolve in the last month but came to me 6 months ago), a home swap, business rates chaos that nearly killed a local shop, two residential council tax cases, Plough Lane wheelie bin invasion from Landells Road, road and pavement maintenance complaints, primary school problems, new schools, new cinema, admissions problem, new neighbourhood watch scheme, loft insulaiton for a council home (hope to extend this to all in ED), dog poo bin move away from immediatley outside someones front door, police enforcement of white lines, missing street name plate, new Grove Vale library, lastly being available to answer issues and queries such as yours and other more casework oreintated issues. I have to be honest I do now try and keep some emotional detachment from peoples dreadful problems. When I first started I didnt and it really got to me but more importantly was affecting my family home life. It can be really quite depressing as well as uplifting helping so many people. So I hope I'm still empathetic and really helpful but I can't solve every problem myself. I do try within the limits of being a councillor to do my best, trying to engage help from others, sign post people to help where others can more obviously help. I'm sure you along with me will welcome a test case reported this morning where a blind man has successfully argued he didnt have a spare bedroom but rather a store for essential equipment to help him manage life being blind. Good call by the judge from what I've read. It would take primary legislation I believe to undo this judgement and the implications for all disabled residents. I would even argue this would/should extend to those on housing benefit in private homes. The Southwark Council home swap information is here: http://www.southwarkhomesearch.org.uk/data/asppages/1/1178.aspx The mechanisms can also be used to move anywhere in the UK or RoI. Yes the council does support people downsizing properties: http://www.southwarkhomesearch.org.uk/data/asppages/1/1305.aspx It's not as generous as it used to be. The sums seems tiny now. And the lump sum is suspended at the moment. The incentive to move is curreently much higher so Labour Southwark Council has withdrawn this incentive of several thounsand pounds.

Hi buddug, Yes I have met families experiencing this. One with a disabled parent wanted to downsize to no longer have a spare bedroom as they have seen their housing benefits cut by 14%. 14% on ?100pw rent to many wouldnt be a problem but clearly for many on benefits it a disaster. I put them in touch with the home swap process. I also explained they could rent out the spare bedroom. But as a nation subsidising people in social housing to have bedrooms they're not using while paying large sums to rent homes for people isnt sustainable. Housing officers have been matching people up and some really good swaps have occurred on same estates. One example they discovered someone not claiming state pension. I agree it's harsh for someone who has had a council home for years to be faced with moving. It's also harsh for people with mortgages to be faced with moving or indeed outright home owners who find it hard to run a home without enough income. As per our PM's I would prefer the UK to emulate the German system. If you'd like to continue debating what is national policy and not local issues I can fix then perhaps we should continue this in the lounge?

Yes you're right that the regulations do affect people of working age who are disabled and have a 'spare' bedroom/s that the disabled householder feels they need for space for extra kit. Clearly this part of the proposal is nonsensical and I hope will be amended as indeed it was related to disabled children. However, all local authorities are being provided extra money to decide if they wish to pay the gap in such cases. They've also been given the ability to charge council tax for second homes at a premium rate raise extra funds to decide locally how to ameliorate or not welfare changes such as these. Southwark has decided not to ameliorate the changes using this power. If they had a large extra tracnhe of money would have been provided - effectively an incentive to local authorities to play ball on bhealf of their resudents.

Hi John K, buddug, The numbers I've been told affected for East Dulwich are here: http://jamesbarber.mycouncillor.org.uk/2013/02/11/welfare-reform-cap-and-spare-bedrooms/ Buddug happy for you to post my PM. Southwark have huge over 10,000 people on its council housing waiting list - huge proportion due to over crowding ie. not having enough bedrooms. At the same time the subsidies that council housing receive are being spent on providing some homes with more bedrooms that occupants. I think the changes should have been staggered but the economic climate and so many people living in over crowded situations have encouraged the government to act faster. The new rules for council owned social housing have been in place for people on benefits renting in the private sector since the last government. What am I personally doing? When people have contacted me about this I've encouraged them to try swapping homes. The last Lib Dem led council introduced financial incentives to encourage such swapping as it makes such a difference to those in overcrowded situations. Ask whether people would consider renting out any spare bedroom - they can do this for up to ?80pw without being tax or affecting beneifts - whereas the changes are circa ?20pw so potential to be much better of. If they have a medical condition then Helping them get that recognised. One area the rule changes havent gone far enough is homes that have been specially adapted at great cost to the council/tax payers for specific issues the resident has.

Hi Pugwash, Universal Free School Meals will be reviewed at a scutiny committee late October chaired by Cllr David Hubber. He has agreed to ask questions to answer your query. So it will be some time before I can accurately answer. Regards james. Pugwash Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > James - I was always wary about the Free School > meals in Southwark's primary schools for various > reasons. One of the questions I put to the last ED > labour candidates was success may need to be made > in measure of wastage. Kids can be very fussy > eaters and waste food - so free meals does not > always mean the food is going in the stomachs of > the kids. > Is there any feedback from the schools as whether > the free meals have a high or low 'wastage/swill > bin'?

1.6M commuter journeys pa with valid tickets that the train company can tell involve East Dulwich. So more footfall than that. Hi jeremy, If you're talking about 41-43 East Dulwich Road then ground floor a shop unit. Hi easytiger, The controlled Parking part of the section106 was planning officers insisting it be present. The developer didnt ask or wont it and owuld have preferred to pay more towards fitting out the new Grove Vale library that is part of the scheme.

Hi Serena2012, The size would be similar to the space occupied by M&S at London Bridge. So for both Waitrose and M&S they obviously have bigger asperations for the area.

Interesting article in today's Evening Standard stating that on London every day 66 motorists hit and driver away without stopping - a 12% rise over the previous year.

M&S and Waitrose were clear to me that they didn't want to occupy this shop unit. I've not visited Morrissons local so keen to see how it works out.

Clearly grown-ups shouldnt cycle on pavements - unless a shared use path. And I would expect police officers and commu nity wardens to stop pavement cyclists. But a bigger local issue is motor vehicles speeding along roads. Local Police are doing very little to enforce speed limits despite being provided with speed guns by East Dulwich councillors. If you look at www.crashmap.co.uk (they've recently added 2012 crash data) its clear we have a large number of crashes locally involving motor vehicles mostly and sadly some extremely seriously injured people.

That's because I've asked the Police to intervene. Complicated by the homes being thE Peckham Rye ward side of Crystal Palace road. So I've asked East Dulwich police SNT to talk and agree a plan with the PKR police SNT as undoutedly criminals can cross the road. I've referred the vulnerable adult issues to social services for them to investigate. And I've contact the Housing association asking they investigate the alledged sub letting.

Local NHS review of SE London A&E taking place. If you have 2-3 minutes please do complete their survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9MM3Z6Z

Hi pugwash, I don't know is the short answer. I will try and find out. regards james.

I found the attached on their website: http://www.haaf.org.uk/index.php?/about/newsletters/

Hi david_carnell, Nick Clegg's pledge for universal Free School Meals (FSM) for the first three years of school life and then gradually increasing it cover all reception to year 6. FAB. I used to be more than wary of this idea. I don't think it has any impact on obesity as some claim. But in my mind it helps with social justice and making family lives that bit simpler. This is why in Southwark Lib Dems have pledged to keep universal FSM. The one fly in all this. The Pupil Premium has been incredibly successful. Extra ?1,300 given to schools for each deprived child using the definition of claiming free school meals. Where universal FSM has been rolled out the numbers claiming FSM has fallen sharply - not surprising - clipping significant Pupil Premium sums from some school budgets. So we'll need a way of accurately assessing where Pupil Premium funds should go.

Hi ADOC, They blew the budget and 50% more. I don't see any extra money being spent on this flawed work. I'd be delighted to be wrong. Let me find a train company official and meet with them.

Hi Kim, Further update the CGS scheme opens for 2014/15 bids 28 September.

Hi ticket2ride, We've 249 local families supporting two new Harris primary schools being built locally in East Dulwich area. The agreed vision is schools aiming for progress and results in the top 10% for England & Wales. Selection on distance. Do we need them? We appear to have a stark choice. Expanding existing schools above the ideal size for the children and getting/keeping great experiences and results OR more schools. Tony Blair introduced that the only way to build new schools is via Academy/Free schools. Harris have an amazing track record of creating new schools. No local authority can match them. I can't say where Harris have been parachuted in it's looked great - such as the two examples you've given. And yes the Harris Federation have been helpful to the SoS in such contentious situations. But that's not what is happening locally. Harris are not being asked to take over existing schools. To be honest I'm not bothered whether Harris funded by a Tory supporter or within reason any other type of political supporter. It's about ensuring great school places for local children not about political preferences.

Hi Nigello, philosophie, I've asked the lead manager at Southwark why we don't use section 215 of the Town & Counrety Planning Act 190 to serve an 'untidy land notice' onyjhr landowner. If they then fail to clean it up the council can clean it up under section 219 of that act and sned the bill to the landowner. I'm awaiting council officials to tell me whether they'll do this or whether the suggestion will be enoguh to get Network Rail to act.

Hi buggie, They are clearly close but with the catchment areas for some schools being 250-400m even short distances can make a huge difference. Hi Mugglesworth, Coping with the odd bulge class is quite different from adding permanently 420 more children to a school. Ivydale having 840 pupild is getting secondary school size. It would be better to open a new school on Stuart Road with 60 pupils per year. Same overall pupil numbers but a better experience for the children and better chance of creating an outstanding school.

Hi Kim, Most years the council has a capital funding stream called Cleaner, Greener, Safer. Full humps costs around ?1,800 each, need to be placed every 50m, and require community support. If you email me I'll put you in touch with th council officers that run the scheme so you wil ldefinately be told when it opens next. To show community support I'd suggest you run a petition asking peolle whether they support it or not. It would add singificant weight if it showed a majority when councillors decide how to allocate funds. If I can offer any advice please don't hessitate to ask.

I have read the thread. But wanted to know what people thought once they knew the ridiculous price.