Renewed Demand to Restore Ward Forums in Ealing
Lib Dems say council has failed to deliver viable alternative
Cllrs Connie Hersch and Gary Malcolm
November 18, 2024
The Liberal Democrats on Ealing Council have renewed their call for the restoration of Ward Forum meetings.
There used to be regular public meeting for 24 wards in the borough but these stopped taking place before the pandemic.
The council said that they were to be replaced with seven Town Forum meetings but no details are available of the format these would take. This is despite the council spending £70,000 on consultancy fees to draw up a new procedures for the meetings. The Lib Dems say that it is unclear how often these meetings would take place, who chairs them, who will be invited and what kind of objectives they have and what decisions power on how the money is spend.
The Lib Dems published an alternative budget earlier this year which they claimed showed that Town Forums and Ward Forums could have been paid for a reduction in the use of agency staff. In their plan, the Town Forums would focus on general topics with Ward Forums focused on local issues.
Cllr Connie Hersch, Opposition Spokesperson for Crime, Communities and Town centres, said, “After many years Labour Ealing have neither had Ward Forums nor the promised new Town Forums. Expensive strategies have been developed at a cost of £70,000 for consultants, various meetings and training sessions but it is still not clear how these Town Forums will work. What is the role of Councillors and residents, who leads, contributes and organises, what are the objectives and targets? How do we decide what a certain budget can be spent on. Clear answers are still needed. We have been for many years without ward forums and many roads safety schemes have not been implemented. We want these to be reinstated to discuss with local residents and councillors how Council monies should be spent in their wards.”
Leader of the Opposition, Cllr Gary Malcolm, said, “Labour Councillors seem to be totally afraid of being in front of the public to face criticism. The Liberal Democrats want to see a more developed process where residents at both ward and town level can discuss either local ward ideas or strategic town topics, whilst the money for many environmental projects can be developed at the lowest appropriate level. Labour’s ‘top down’ approach is their way to spend our taxes without wanting to hear people’s ideas.”
An Ealing Council spokesperson said, “We will be working very closely with residents in each of the borough’s 7 towns to help them create Your Voice Your Town Forums which meet their needs, and which reflect each of their unique identities.
“A one size fits all approach to engaging with and empowering local people doesn’t work as we have seen when reflecting on the Ward Forums. After engaging with multiple stakeholders and local people, we found that many felt that Ward Forums were spaces where the same voices were heard over and over again.
“Ward Forums were also unrepresentative of the communities that they were supposed to serve and did not consider the needs or priorities of all residents. Our ambition for Your Voice Your Town forums is far more ambitious. We want to support and empower residents to connect with each other, and to make decisions that impact and shape their neighbourhoods.
“Residents understand their communities and where they live best. Your Voice Your Town forums will build on all the brilliant community work that already happens and will create a way for people to come together to decide on local priorities. Your Voice Your Town forums will also ensure that all voices are heard and listened to.
“After a competitive tendering process, we appointed consultants New Local to help develop the new forums. Their work included engaging with residents, voluntary and faith organisations, and anyone with a stake in their neighbourhoods, to design a model for the forums. New Local were paid £73,994 for this work. "
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