Labour's 2022 South Cambs District Council manifesto. Version for SE Cambs CLP web site-compressed
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LABOUR’S MANIFESTO
ONE SOUTH CAMBRIDGESHIRE
FAIR FOR ALL
PUTTING THE VOICE OF THE COMMUNITY
AT THE HEART OF THE COUNCIL
Promoted by David Jermy on behalf of South East Cambridgeshire CLP all at Alex Wood Hall, Norfolk Street, Cambridge, CB1 2LD.
Labour’s SCDC manifesto 2022 Page 1
A manifesto for a modern, community-focused Council
On 5 May you elect a new District Council.
We are proud of our vision for a green,
well-run, open and trusted South Cambs.
Our manifesto builds on the success of
other Labour Councils. For example,
Labour in Cambridge City leads the way
on the environment, anti-poverty and
affordable homes.
South Cambs has suffered from years of
dominance by just two parties: first the
Conservatives and now the Lib Dems.
The ruling Lib Dem group asks you to
‘trust them’ yet they have failed to issue
any audited accounts since taking charge
four years ago 1.
A Labour council will:
★ Act on the climate and biodiversity
emergencies.
★ Work closely with the Labour Mayor of
Cambridgeshire to deliver the Climate
Action Plan. And operate to recognised
United Nations climate and biodiversity
agreements.
★ Create the Council’s first-ever antipoverty
strategy to address effects of
poverty e.g food parcels and tackle the
causes e.g. pay the Real Living Wage.
★ Be responsible in budget setting. Ensure
openness, transparency and
accountability in decisions and in
spending taxpayers’ money.
There is little accountability in planning as
many decisions are made by officers.
Labour wants community involvement in
decisions, with a bigger say for Parish and
Town Councils through a Parish Forum. We
will hold ‘Leader of the Council Question
Time’ so the public can quiz the Council.
Last May, Labour’s Dr Nik Johnson won
the directly elected Mayor of Cambs and
Labour gained seats to be part of the Joint
Administration at the County Council.
Voters are turning to Labour’s positive plan
and our track record of delivery. It is time
to change to Labour in South Cambs.
★ Insist on at least 40% affordable housing
across new build sites. The default will
be Council homes for social rent.
★ Exercise the Council’s powers for good
e.g. local and ethical buying. Enhance
natural habitats through Biodiversity Net
Gain targets in developments.
★ Follow planning laws and encourage as
much participation as possible. Update
the planning portal for easier use,
version control and good archives.
★ Apply good business practice by
publishing dashboards that show
targets, current status and best
achievements by similar councils.
1 Correct at 18 March 22
Labour’s SCDC manifesto 2022 Page 2
A green Council acting on climate and biodiversity
Any growth must start from community
needs and be based on the green agenda.
We’ll work with communities, landowners
and Parish Councils to create robust Local
Nature Recovery Plans. We’ll end
glyphosate use and aim to be Peat-Free.
South Cambs Council should be doing far
more to address the climate and
biodiversity emergencies. Lib Dem SCDC
ranks a poor 86 th out of District Councils in
an assessment by Climate Emergency UK.
Household carbon emissions here are the
highest in the county.
We will protect our environment and help
to deliver the Cambridgeshire Climate
Action Plan, and we’ll operate to evidencebased
United Nations frameworks.
We’ll use planning controls and buying
power to promote a green economy: low
carbon, resource efficient and biodiverse.
Labour will give the Climate Lead
Councillor a seat at the Cabinet table.
Labour is committed to reconnecting our
villages with a good bus service. We’ll
work with Mayor Dr Nik Johnson and with
other Councils to achieve this.
We’ll make sure there are safe and good
quality foot and cycle paths. And bring
community e-bikes to more villages.
A Labour Council will:
★ Become a 100% net zero council by
2030. Labour in Cambridge is doing this.
The Lib Dems in South Cambs fall short
at a 75% reduction by that date.
★ Adopt a local version of the UN
Biodiversity Framework and set clear
targets to be measured by a regular
Biodiversity Audit.
★ Stimulate the Green economy. Work with
the Mayor for green apprenticeships.
★ Ensure everyone has access to nature.
Create community gardens and set up
schemes such as a Tree Canopy project.
★ Shake up Community Transport to give
real emphasis to reducing reliance on
cars and lessen rural isolation.
★ Install more electric vehicle charging
points to increase from the current 43.
★ Raise additional funding through a
Community Municipal Investment fund
(ethical crowdfunding for local people to
invest in a greener community).
★ Work with farmers and landowners to
enhance natural habitats including
grasslands, wildflower meadows, chalk
streams, woodlands and fens.
★ Protect our communities from the
impact of climate change with naturebased
anti-flood measures and doing
the basics of keeping gullies clear.
★ Increase renewable energy capacity and
back the Local Electricity Bill so that
electricity generated can be sold to local
people. Divest from fossil fuels.
★ Introduce more ways to reuse e.g. repair
cafes, car clubs and a ‘library of things’
where you borrow rather than buy new.
Labour’s SCDC manifesto 2022 Page 3
Fair for all: creating pathways out of poverty
Over 10% of children in South Cambs are
entitled to Free School Meals. It’s one of
the fastest rising rates in the country.
Labour County Councillors delivered our
pledge for meals to continue in the
holidays. And to help struggling families
with everyday costs.
The dignity and well-being of all local
residents matters to Labour. We cannot
claim progress while some are left behind
in poverty.
The Conservative Government has
reduced benefits for the poorest by £1000
a year. The current Lib Dem Council does
not even have an anti-poverty strategy.
With soaring costs of living, energy prices
shooting up and National Insurance hikes
hitting, more families than ever are facing
tough choices of which bills to pay.
The structural causes of poverty are lack of
well-paid secure work, rapidly rising living
costs, inadequate social security, and
racial injustice. For real reform we need a
different Government. But there’s still
plenty that a Labour South Cambs Council
can change. We will tackle the root causes
of poverty and address its effects.
We will create and implement the first-ever
South Cambs anti-poverty strategy. We will
involve people living on low incomes,
public agencies and voluntary groups. Our
anti-poverty strategy will include health
inequality and build on the Labour Cambs
Mayor’s public health focus.
A Labour Council will:
★ Become Real Living Wage accredited. A
permanent commitment to pay Council
staff and contractors enough to live on.
We’ll encourage local businesses to do
the same.
★ Accelerate home insulation and install
eco-heating pumps. Take action against
private landlords renting poorly insulated
properties (which the current Council
hasn’t done since Minimum Energy
Standards were introduced).
★ Sign up to the ‘Right to Food’ campaign
to end the scandal of food banks.
★ Tackle digital exclusion through digital
champions and projects to support lowincome
residents to acquire skills. Run
sessions including for tenants,
leaseholders, and in sheltered housing.
★ Provide Poverty advisors. Expand the
welfare advice services that Labour
Councillors made sure are funded.
★ Work with organisations helping with
basic needs, preferring cash-first
approaches to food insecurity.
★ Address period poverty by providing free
sanitary products in community centres
(e.g. ‘blue bag’ at Cambourne Soul).
Labour’s SCDC manifesto 2022 Page 4
Building genuinely affordable homes
Decent housing is a fundamental human
right. Too many local people live in overcrowded
houses because renting and
buying are so expensive. Fewer than half
of homes in South Cambs are wellinsulated
and are expensive to run.
Labour will insist on 40% minimum
affordable homes in new developments.
Lib Dems and Conservatives have failed to
deliver this. We lost 1100 affordable homes
at Waterbeach New Town when the
requirement was slashed by a quarter
We will follow Labour in Cambridge and
change the scope of the South Cambs
Investment Partnership to make building
Council Homes its main purpose.
A Labour Council will:
★ Insist on the 40% minimum affordable
homes target in new developments and
focus on homes for social rent. Our
target is to build 50 more Council Homes
a year by 2024 than the current plans.
★ Develop better strategies for ending
homelessness. Some families have been
waiting a year for permanent housing.
We must do better. And South Cambs
should look at innovative approaches for
rough sleepers such as housing pods.
★ Make all of our new housing accessible
to people with disabilities, with at least
5% specifically adapted.
★ Support Community Land Trusts —
democratic, non-profit organisations that
own and develop land for and with the
local community.
★ Back tenants to stand up to private
landlords so that their homes are
maintained properly, making better use
of inspection and enforcement.
Our housing programme will be ambitious.
When we say: ‘affordable’ we are clear that
we mean Council Homes providing secure
tenancies at social rent. We want new
homes at net zero carbon standards.
We’ll work with villages interested in Rural
Exception Sites. This means small patches
of land can be used to provide affordable
housing for local people.
Under the Conservatives, the council
housing stock in South Cambs reduced
and the Lib Dems have done little to turn
this around. They have added a mere 109
homes (2% increase). Yet there are 1700
families waiting on the housing register.
★ Bring the 300 non-decent Council
homes in South Cambs up to standard.
★ Safeguard sustainable futures in new
developments, with large green spaces,
community facilities and quality active
transport links (using Section 106
agreements). No more waiting years for
a proper High Street as Cambourne has.
★ Work with the Domestic Abuse Housing
Alliance to improve the response to
domestic abuse. Housing is the main
barrier to fleeing violence (for women,
especially).
Labour’s SCDC manifesto 2022 Page 5
Co-operating across South Cambridgeshire
We will always remember that the Council
is there to serve local residents. We know it
isn’t possible to please everyone all of the
time, but we believe that the Council must
do better than its present performance.
We will build on the values of the
Co-operative Movement to help us to
listen to what residents want, to build trust
and to benefit every town and village.
Labour will work with community
organisations to aid volunteering, providing
funding and supporting events. Labour will
deliver high quality essential services in the
face of Government cuts.
We’ll support local businesses, through a
new Economic Recovery Officer, and work
to keep our village high streets accessible
and lively to attract shoppers.
The planning process must be more cooperative
and welcome local knowledge.
We’ll set up a water management review
involving local groups and experts. The
council must play its part in ending overextraction
and sewage overflow.
Thanks to a Labour initiative there’s now a
Cultural Strategy process. We will make
sure South Cambs is a welcoming place
with something for everyone.
A Labour Council will:
★ Work with Parish and Town Councils to
create a Parish Forum as a trusted
partnership. The Forum will share good
ideas, influence to improve residents’
lives, and co-ordinate environmental
stewardship across South Cambs.
★ Explore ways to put community assets
under the control of local people through
the use of Community Land Trusts.
★ Increase engagement in consultations.
There will be better publicity. More ways
to take part to suit people’s preferences.
And fewer closed questions.
★ Strengthen the network of Community
Centres to deliver a broad range of
clubs, sports, leisure activities and
entertainment for all ages. Involve
disadvantaged groups.
★ Promote physical activity: children’s play
apparatus and outdoor gym equipment.
★ Communicate the work of the Council
including a monthly briefing for Parishes.
Make sure that schemes that the Council
funds are clearly identified as such.
★ Tackle the growing problems of
loneliness and isolation through
outreach work with a focus on new
communities e,g, Cambourne,
Northstowe, Waterbeach New Town.
★ Help stop fly-tipping with Community
Skip Days. Prosecute rubbish dumpers.
★ Monitor air quality by major roads and
schools (today, just three locations are
monitored). Find mitigations for plans
such as for the Waterbeach New Town
School being built next to the A10.
★ Provide training for councillors on
support services to help with their case
work and to comply with anti-corruption
and data protection legislation.
Labour’s SCDC manifesto 2022 Page 6
Using the Council’s powers to deliver fairness for all
Labour will establish a Community Wealth
Building Strategy for local prosperity.
When awarding contracts, we’ll consider
the overall benefit to our community.
We’ll target investment on high-skilled jobs
and to help young people be job-ready.
We’ll support community owned
businesses and co-operatives.
A Labour Council will promote the benefits
of Union membership. Workplaces with
unions are safer and have higher pay.
Employers benefit from well-motivated
staff and higher customer satisfaction.
Local people have little real say on major
planning decisions; too often they are
‘done deals’. Labour will rebuild trust in the
process by involving communities early on.
We will review planning delegation so that
key decisions are made by elected
councillors rather than officers.
The Council doesn’t regulate large
infrastructure, but can influence for good.
The Council must push for a stronger
green focus at the outset and seek better
mitigations as decisions are made e.g.
East-West Rail and moving the Waste
Water Treatment Plant.
A Labour Council will:
★ Stop investing in office buildings and
instead focus on projects that benefit the
community such as renewable energy
generation and leisure facilities.
★ Add good practice endorsements to
‘Visit South Cambs’ e.g. Ethical
Accreditation and ‘Safer Spaces Kite
Mark’ (welcoming the LGBT community).
★ Negotiate a comprehensive Trade Union
Facilities agreement with relevant public
sector unions. Endorse the TUC’s ‘Stay
Safe, join a Union’ initiative.
★ Decide development sites based on
community needs. Support residents to
be involved as much as possible in the
earliest stages of planning discussions.
★ Strengthen Building Control rather than
companies monitoring themselves.
★ Link good employment practice to
Council contracts, insisting on jobs and
apprenticeships for local people.
★ Use licensing powers for the good of the
community e.g. on alcohol licences and
street traders, balancing the need for a
healthy social scene with preventing
anti-social behaviour.
★ Update Community Grants to include
education e.g.‘Hope not Hate’.
★ Take a stand against men’s violence
against women and join the four other
Cambridgeshire Councils who have
‘White Ribbon’ accreditation.
ONE SOUTH CAMBRIDGESHIRE
FAIR FOR ALL
PUTTING THE VOICE OF THE COMMUNITY
AT THE HEART OF THE COUNCIL
Promoted by David Jermy on behalf of South East Cambridgeshire CLP all at Alex Wood Hall, Norfolk Street, Cambridge, CB1 2LD.