March 21st, 2011 by Mark Rusling

The previous Labour government started the Decent Homes Programme to bring all social housing up to a decent standard. The current government has stopped much of the programme, but we have been able to secure funding for £19 million of works to take place this year, improving 3,700 homes. Most will be completed by the end of March.

We have improved the procurement process, meaning that 1,000 more homes will be improved than originally planned, for the same amount of money. This will make a massive difference to hundreds of residents whose lives had been blighted by properties which were often barely fit for a family to live in.

Ascham Homes properties in the current streets in Hoe Street will be improved: West Avenue Road, Wingfield Road, Grosvenor Park Road, Orford Road, The Drive, Eden Road, Folkestone Road, Forest Road, Grosvenor Rise East, Hoe Street, Queens Road, Howard Road, Brantwood Close, Browns Road, Byron Road, Church Hill, Church Hill Road, Church Lane, Clarendon Road, College Road, Milton Road, Pembroke Road, Prospect Hill, St Mary Road, St Stephen’s Close, Shernhall Street, Stainforth Road, Tower Hamlets Road and Richards Place.

Quite a few streets! Contact us for more information about this real victory for residents.

October 29th, 2010 by Mark Rusling

The spending cuts announced by the Conservative-Lib Dem government this week are deeply regressive. Despite the government’s claims, the cuts in public spending will hit the poor 2.5 times harder than they will hit the rich. If you would like more details, email cllr.mark.rusling@walthamforest.gov.uk and I can provide them. Click here for a detailed explanation by the BBC.

The government has made no attempt to assess the impact of the cuts on gender, race and disability inequality. We expect that the decisions made will only serve to widen the existing unfairness.

Local government funding will be reduced by 27%, hammering our ability to provide services on behalf of our residents, particularly those who are most vulnerable. We will have to find at least £65 million savings in the next four years, excluding the £270 million of funding lost because of the withdrawal of Labour’s school rebuilding programme.

Grants to fire authorities are being reduced by 25% and police funding is being reduced by 20% – putting our residents at risk. Education budgets for the over-16s are all being slashed, hampering the ambitions of Walthamstow residents. Rents for social housing are being increased, at the same time as Waltham Forest faces an influx of thousands of people from inner London who have had their Housing Benefit capped at unreasonable levels.

Bus and rail fares are going up, reducing the ability of people from our borough to find work. Free prescriptions for people with long-term conditions, the right to one-to-one nursing for cancer patients, and the one-week target for cancer diagnostics – all introduced by Labour – are all being scrapped. Warm Front – providing free insulation for the poor and elderly – is also going.

All this amounts to a concerted attack on the poorest and most vulnerable members of our community. We do not deny that savings have to be made, but the decisions taken by the Conservatives and Lib Dems this week are not decisions that Labour would have made. We would not have chosen to balance the budget on the backs of those least able to bear that load. The cuts announced this week were not inevitable – the government has chosen to cut in this way. All Conservative and Lib Dem politicians – local and national – must be held to account for their choices.

August 25th, 2010 by Mark Rusling

The Conservative-Lib Dem government’s emergency budget will hit poorest households in wards like Hoe Street harder than it will hit richer households. The leading independent think-tank, the Institute for Fiscal Studies, has analysed the budget’s tax and benefit changes and found that low income families with children will lose the most from the government’s decisions. Cuts to housing benefit, disability allowance and tax credits will take nearly £500 from the poorest families.

The IFS noted that the measures within the budget which were fair were those introduced by the outgoing Labour government. The decisions taken by Conservative and Liberal Democrat Minsters have targeted cuts at the poorest – those least able to afford them. The report concluded: “Low-income households of working age lose the most as a proportion of income from the tax and benefit reforms announced in the emergency Budget”.

We do not dispute that savings have to be made. However, the decisions taken by the Tory-Lib Dem government to cut early and deep are choices, not necessities. The Tories and Lib Dems have chosen to target the cuts at the poorest in society. The government did not have to cut in this way – it is their choice. These are not choices that Labour would have taken.

The decisions to cut in this way will hit our borough hard – no more free swimming, an ending of Labour’s massive school building programme (which led to the fantastic Walthamstow School for Girls in our ward), no more park renovation (which would have re-built Wingfield Park). The list goes on.

We will continue to work for the people in Waltham Forest, but it won’t be easy – most of our funding comes from central government. The government’s choices have targeted poorer boroughs such as our own – when we don’t receive the money, we can’t spend it. However, we will always make our choices in a fair way - a way that has not been chosen by the Tory-Lib Dem government.

February 7th, 2010 by Mark Rusling

We spent much of this morning and afternoon on The Drive, talking to residents about crime and your concerns about Ascham Homes. Many residents were worried about gangs of youths in the area, particularly after dark. You also told us about your difficulties in contacting Ascham Homes and arranging for repair work to your properties. We heard of the problems caused by homeless people sleeping in disused garages in the area.

We are working with the police to increase patrols on The Drive and Attlee Terrace. You can contact the Hoe Street Safer Neighbourhood Team on 020 8721 2642.

Labour has also pledged an extra £200,000 to combat attack dogs in Waltham Forest – this money will directly benefit residents on The Drive.

We know that there have been a lot of problems with Ascham Homes. We are investigating ways of making them work better for residents, and we are looking to the new Chief Executive to improve Ascham Homes’ performance.

January 31st, 2010 by Mark Rusling

Over the last six months, Saima, Ahsan and I have knocked on every door in Hoe Street ward. We have listened to your concerns and views of where we are working well and where we could do better. We are putting together the Labour manifesto for the council elections at the moment and I think we’ve got some pretty strong policies.

We will be reducing residents’ parking fees and will be offering more free visitors’ permits. This will help everybody who has friends and family visiting them, even if you don’t own a car yourself.

We are pledging £500,000 extra for street cleaning. We know that the streets in Walthamstow can be filthy – street cleaning is a Liberal Democrat responsibility, and it is one that they don’t live up to. The extra money won’t go to Kier – it will go directly into improving services for our residents.

There will also be more money to combat attack dogs in the ward, and we are starting to build council housing for the first time since 1981.

So, good news for people in the ward – but you have to vote Labour for us to implement it! Let us know what you think – our contact details are on this website.