Monday 18th May 7pm

 Annual Council

This is the mayor making council meeting and Councillor Margaret Court was duly appointed the Mayor of Sutton for 2009/10 with Councillor John Leach as her Deputy Mayor.

This meeting also dealt with the appointment of members to committees for the forthcoming year.

 

Thursday 7th May 7.30pm

Health & Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee

This committee was an additional meeting focusing entirely on mental health services. It was an important session as we had managed to pull together all the key mental health commissioners and providers so that the committee had the opportunity to ask questions covering the whole spectrum of mental health issues. There were also representatives of service users and carers invited to the meeting to contribute their views on the service.

The presentations and questions covered the issues of secure holding suites for people picked up by the local police and suspected of having mental health issues; relationships and joint working with social services and voluntary organisations; the reduced day service facilities; and the training and knowledge of GPs in mental health issues.

 A number of concerns and matters arose from the meeting and it was agreed that the committee would want to follow up on some issues and scrutinise them in more detail at future meetings.

The detailed briefing papers and full minutes of this meeting can be accessed via the council’s website.

Tuesday 28th April 7.30pm

Scrutiny Overview Committee

The main issue on this meeting’s agenda was an update on the Sutton Life Centre. The meeting papers incuded a detailed report on the construction and operation of the Centre together with the detailed Operating/Business Plan and Equalities Impact Assessment.

Superintendent Warren Shadbolt, head of the Safer Sutton Partnership introduced the item as project sponsor.

There were questions around how the current economic downturn might impact on the funding of the project.

Councillor Jerome and myself both emphasised the importance of the marketing plan and ascertained that the Safer Sutton Partnership would be leading on the stakeholder management and marketing.

In response to a question about his experience as a project sponsor Superintendent Shadbolt explained that he had specific training in project management, held a first class degree in management systems and had extensive previous experience of managing large programmes. It was obvious from his comprehensive answers to questions throughout the meeting that Superintendent Shadbolt was very familiar with all elements of the Life Centre project.

I enquired how outcomes and benefits of the project were going to be measured as such benefits were likely to be non tangible. It was explained that use would be made of performance indicators currently used for the library service and others developed looking at proportion of time facilities were in use and throughput.

I also obtained confirmation that the building would be built to Disability Access standards.

Wallington Day Fair This Saturday

Saturday 27^th June 2009 10am – 3pm

The Friends of Wallington Library and Gardens are holding their second Wallington Day Fair on Saturday in the library gardens. There will be a variety of stalls and entertainment and the Wallington South Ward Councillors – Richard, Colin and myself are having a Councillors’ Cake Stall. You can choose from a selection of homemade cakes to eat immediately or take home for later. My locally renowned chocolate beetroot cake is in the oven as I write and you will have the opportunity to try a piece on Saturday if you come along.

 Keep your fingers crossed that the good weather extends into the weekend.

Monday 27th April 7pm

Full Council

The main debates at this meeting were around Council leisure provision with focus on Cheam Baths, and the Sutton Life Centre.

 

The motion on Leisure Provision in the borough was moved by Cllr. Chris Dunlop who sadly and suddenly died a little while after this meeting and has prompted the Nonsuch by-election. Cllr. Dunlop spoke confidently and eloquently on the motion which stimulated an entertaining debate. It is perhaps a fitting tribute that he took a prominent role at one of his last public meetings on a matter that was relevant to his ward.

Whilst there was general agreement from the Liberal Democrats to the underlying sentiment of the motion, Cllr. Graham Tope had submitted an amendment to the motion to clarify the circumstances securing the future of Cheam Baths. The amendment set out an assurance that Cheam Baths will remain open and operating in its present building until 2015 at least. In the meantime plans will be prepared and consultation undertaken to replace Cheam Baths with a new leisure centre within the same catchment area in the west of the borough with a target opening date of 2015. The precise location will be subject to public debate.

 There was some back and forth banter with accusations of Tory scaremongering and their refusal to see what was being put in front of them.

 The Conservative’s position as stated at the meeting was that they wanted to see the Baths rebuilt on the existing site. What threw me about them taking this position is that that would be the route which would lead by necessity to Cheam Baths being closed for at least a year or so in order to undertake the rebuild. Our proposals mean that there would be no such disruption in service.

 Cllr Gleeson took the opportunity to explain that the existing site would not be large enough to erect the new facilities to the standards that we wish to provide.

Cllr. Jerome highlighted that the commitment not to remove Cheam Leisure facilities has been Sutton Council policy for ages. The guarantee that the opposition have been demanding since the Cheam by-election has been in front of them but they seem unwilling to accept it.

 Cllr. Leach made the point that the last administration to close leisure facilities in the borough was when the Conservatives were in control. This was in stark contrast to the opening of Sutton Arena and the Phoenix Centre which the Lib Dem run council had overseen.

 The debate around the Sutton Life Centre started with quibbling over the availability of information led by Conservative Cllr. Kennedy which seemed designed as obfuscation to put off the debate.

 Many of the arguments put forward by the Conservatives have been discussed before. In his speech responding to Tory claims that the Lib dems were ‘robbing social services’ Cllr. Tony Brett-Young stated that we should not attempt to confuse the public for political purposes by misusing the capital versus revenue debate, to which Tory Cllr. Crowley interjected loudly, “Why not?”

 There was difference of opinion within the Conservative lines over the value of the Life Centre. Cllr. Moira Butt stated that elements of the scheme were “Not without merit” but suggested the facilities were put into Sutton arena or the Sutton Tennis Centre instead. However Cllr. Carter demonstrated how out of touch he is with young people as he totally denigrated the value of the proposed youth facilities. He saw no value to providing young people with rooms to meet in or comfortable chairs to sit on.

 Cllr. Jenny Slark contrasted Sutton’s investment in library facilities in the borough to guidance circulating amongst Conservative policy makers that to save money library staff should be cut and the libraries turned into revenue-generating cafes.

 Cllr. Crowley launched an attack on local policing referring to the provision by the council of youth facilities as bailing out the police at taxpayers’ expense.

 Cllr Bailey pointed out that the Life Centre would be an asset to the borough in the form of an architecturally interesting building and would also provide employment for local people.

Cllr. Tope summarised the debate as a useful illustration of the divide between the two parties: the Liberal Democrats could be seen to be forward thinking and positive whereas the Conservatives were negative, proposing no solutions and with no imagination. He said that they exhibited classic Conservatism, knowing the cost of everything but the value of nothing.

 I didn’t have the opportunity to contribute to this debate so I amused myself by noting the number of times the Conservative members used the phrases ‘pet project’, ‘vanity project’ or referred to the Life Centre as ‘controversial’. Cllr Crowley kindly clarified the message they were trying to convey when he described the Life centre as being ‘a monument to Cllr. Tope, a mausoleum.’

 I left the meeting with the impression that it had been a bit of a ‘pick on Cllr. Tope night’. Fortunately Cllr. Tope is more than capable of taking it all on the chin.

 Hear the full debate for yourself on the Sutton Council website.

Monday 27th April 11am

Sutton Mental Health Foundation Drop in Centre Visit

I went along to the drop-in centre in Belmont along with some other members of the Health and Well Being Scrutiny Committee to see the work of the Foundation in action.

The Foundation is an independently managed charity which offers additional services to people with mental health issues.

We were shown around the centre by David Jones and Carol Jacques the service manager and I had the opportunity to look in on a creative writing group.

David talked to us about some of the outreach work being undertaken. We heard about the peer support programme and spoke to a volunteer who had undergone the special training to become a peer supporter. The local NHS mental health trust is very supportive of this programme.

It’s Carers Week

The 8^th to the 14^th June is National Carers Week and this year’s theme is:

Carers…the UK’s Secret Service.

This is in recognition that many carers are not known to local authorities or carers organisations and therefore do not have access to the support or assistance that is available to them. Many carers would not see themselves as a carer.

Being a carer can be hard work and stressful, often impacting on the carer’s health and working life.

You are a carer if you:

• Look after a sick or elderly parent.
• Are the parent of a child with a mental or physical disability.
• Help a relative who has mental health problems.
• Have a wife or husband who is ill or disabled.
• Help a neighbour with shopping, cleaning or personal care because they cannot do it themselves.
• Are a child who helps look after their disabled brother or sister.

If you are a carer and live in Sutton get in touch with the Sutton Carers Centre tel: 020 8296 5611 and see what support and advice they can offer you.

Sunday 26th April 2.15pm

 Sutton Scouts St George’s Day Parade

I attended this event as a parent rather than in my councillor role, however I have a lot of support and respect for the Scouting organisation and it was a great way to mark St George’s Day.

Seeing all the Sutton Scout groups gathered together highlighted just how many groups are active in Sutton, thanks to the hundreds of vol unteers who plan and co-ordinate all the activities. It must have taken nearly half an hour for all the groups to file past the Mayor, Cllr. Brendan Hudson as they paraded their flags through Sutton town centre.

 What I like about the Scouts is that they bring together children from all backgrounds, and give them the opportunity to experience activities and adventures that they might not otherwise have. I know that my children would probably not have the chance to camp out if it was left up to me, as sleeping in a field is not my first choice of recreational activity, but of course the kids love it. The ethos of discipline, respect and structure instilled by the Scout leaders means that they are then confident to let the youngsters in their charge participate in activities that will challenge and excite them.

When I sent my eldest off on his first camp I thought that being away from home for a couple of nights would be a good challenge for him. I was even more impressed when he returned to relate how he had been kayaking, ice skating and carting whilst there. I suspect there to have been some mud surfing too from the state of his clothes! The trip was a real boost to his confidence.

Try the Scouts website if you want to find out more about the organisation.

 

Friday 24th April 12 noon

Meeting with Mental Health Trust Chief Executive

Cllr Gordon-Bullock and myself as chair & vice-chair of the Health & Well Being Scrutiny Committee met with Judy Wilson the new Chief Executive of the South West London & St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust and Mark Clenaghan the Service Director for Sutton & Merton.

 This meeting served two purposes: to meet the new chief executive on an informal basis and to discuss the Trust’s Annual Health Check declaration.

Ms Wilson informed us that they were going to declare non compliance on the areas around infection control. We were advised that although hospital acquired infection rates at the trust were very low, there were not sufficiently robust governance procedures in place to be able to declare compliance. The measures being put in place to address these issues were explained to us and Stuart & I felt that there was no need for our committee to take this any further than requesting an update on progress later in the year.

 Ms Wilson & Mr Clenaghan highlighted the implications of the National Dementia Strategy and it was felt that this might be a good area for future scrutiny as it impacted on social services too.

 We discussed the relationship between the Health Scrutiny Committee and the Mental Health Trust and it was refreshing to hear Ms Wilson’s aim to be fully co-operative with the committee and that she was open to working with us to develop a good relationship; seeing the scrutiny committee as a ‘critical friend’. As the committee is currently focussing on mental health I am hopeful that we can build on this new relationship to get the best out of the service.

Friday 24th April 10am

Meeting with Sutton LINks Representatives

Cllr Gordon-Bullock and myself as chair & vice-chair of the Health & Well Being Scrutiny Committee met with Susanna Bennett and Roy Prytherch representing Sutton LINks – the Local Involvement Network bringing together local people, organisations and groups to help improve local health and care services.

The purpose of the meeting was for Susanna & Roy to update us on the LINks workplan and priorities so that we could see how their work and the work of the Health & Well Being Scrutiny Committee might best complement each other.

We were pleased to see that LINks had decided to have Mental Health as one of its five priority areas as our committee had also identified this area as one in need of closer scrutiny and have dedicated our next Health & Well Being Committee meeting on 7^th May entirely to this subject. We agreed that this was a large area where joint working between LINks & our committee would be most useful. LINKs members would be attending the May information-gathering meeting so we agreed to meet shortly after this to decide how best to progress having hopefully received a steer from committee.