Here are some of the key decisions taken by Sir Steve Bullock, Mayor of Lewisham, at the meeting of the Mayor and Cabinet on 18 November 2009.
Strengthening Special Educational Needs Provision
The Mayor agreed to a proposal to consult informally on the development of a resource base for 16 primary school aged children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder at Athelney Primary School. The proposal is a specific part of the Council’s plans to improve the supply of places particularly for children with ASD.
Officers will report back to Mayor and Cabinet on the outcome of the consultation in February 2010.
Serious Case Reviews
The Mayor received reports on two serious case reviews carried out by the independent Lewisham Safeguarding Children Board.
Serious Case Reviews are held so that all agencies working with children can learn lessons from specific cases and how they were handled so that appropriate changes to services can be made, interagency working is improved and children are better safeguarded.
The Mayor noted the findings recommendations of these two reviews , the actions already taken and the plans for future action.
Local Development Framework – Core Strategy
The Mayor approved the Lewisham Local Development Framework Core Strategy and the accompanying Sustainability Appraisal report, for statutory public consultation in accordance with the Statement of Community Involvement, and recommended that the full Council do the same.
This strategy sets out the vision, objectives, strategy and policies that will guide development and regeneration in the borough over the next 15 years.
Major change is anticipated and the Council needs to plan for this, with a particular focus on Lewisham, Catford, Deptford and New Cross.
The strategy has already undergone extensive consultation in its preparation. It will be submitted again to public consultation one final time between February and March 2010 before it is submitted to the Secretary of State as we are required legally to do.
Local Assemblies and Mayor’s Fund
The Mayor noted the progress made by Crofton Park, Evelyn, Ladywell, Perry Vale, Sydenham and Whitefoot assemblies and approved the allocations of Mayor’s fund by the those assemblies.
Parking in Lee Green
The Lee Green Assembly has identified parking and traffic issues as its top priority. The assembly was keen to investigate ward-wide approaches to parking matters with tailored solutions for each local area. The Mayor agreed to a future strategy for Lee Green Ward that includes area specific consultations on controlled parking zones and the possible introduction of other safety measures.
The Mayor also noted an annual monitoring report from the Planning Service and the annual complaints report, and agreed responses to matters raised by the Overview and Scrutiny Business Panel and the Healthier Communities Select Committee.
For more details see the meeting papers