Hello
Everyone, I
hope you have had a good weekend so far! I’ve been out and about across Newham
today speaking with residents and seeing first-hand the difference we are
making across the borough as we continue with all the local investments in
Newham for our people in these tough times. As
well as all the road improvements happening across the borough, to repair
potholes and improve our footpaths and roads; there’s the brand new Shipman
Youth Zone over at Custom House that will be box-fresh finished in the next few
weeks. There’s also the thousands of homes our people can afford which are
being built across 31 sites that are peppered across the borough because we
want the investments we are making to benefit our residents across the entirety
of Newham. That’s
why on Monday, along with my cabinet colleagues, we approved our draft Budget
plans for the coming 2024/25 financial year. Our Local Investment for Fairness in Tough
Times draft budget plans sets out how we are proposing to inject £400m
of capital investments across the borough which will benefit all residents; as
well as make changes to how we will do things at the Council to protect, invest
and improve vital public services for you and all residents in Newham. Read our
budget proposals for the coming 2024-2025 financial year here. With
the Government continuing to fail to fund local authorities like Newham, it’s
been really tough process so far, not least because of the number of people
facing homelessness is rising, adding more pressure and costs on our housing
department. Added to that, the growing pressures in adult and children services
means our spending is having to increase to meet our legal requirements for our
most vulnerable. That’s why in our Local Investment for Fairness in Tough Times draft budget plans we have proposed a variety of measures to ensure that we can
continue to deliver quality services to achieve fair outcomes. We will continue
to invest in the things we know you care about most. For instance, to make sure
our streets are kept clean, we are tackling fly-tipping and improving our
parks. There’s also ongoing investments for our children and young people with
special educational needs. We will continue to the lobby the Government to
increase funding to local authorities. Just this week I wrote to the Chancellor demanding an extension
to the Household Support Fund which has allowed us to support those in our
borough who face real financial hardship as a result of the cost of living crisis.
Already, we’ve used it to provide free and confidential advice and grants to
over 30,000 households since 2021; and for our holiday activities and food
programme to support 19,000 children and young people during the school
holidays. As
we progress with finalising the draft budget for next year, we are undertaking
a range of engagement activities so that residents, including young people and
partners from the voluntary, community and faith sector can have their say
about the budget proposals. Come
and join in the conversations, there’s one taking place this coming Thursday 8 February, 6.30-8pm and you
can register via the event
web page! I’ll be giving you a rundown of what’s in our draft
budget plans for the coming financial year,what our plans mean for you and
other residents in Newham, as well as providing details about the challenges we
all face. This week, we also gave the green light to the
Beckton Parks Masterplan at Cabinet. The plan, which has been co-designed
with local residents, will transform the gorgeous and majestic 36 hectares of land in the south of borough with enhanced
parks, green spaces, woodland, and leisure facilities. It’ll be one of the
biggest urban green projects in London. You can find out more about the plan here. Newham residents are also set to benefit from an
additional health initiative, as this week we approved a brand new Healthier
Advertising policy, which will
ensure that all advertising spaces controlled by Newham Council will be free
from adverts promoting foods high in fat, salt, and sugar. This policy change is all part of our plans of building
a fairer Newham and tackling health inequalities and we continue to campaign on
behalf of our residents. That’s why I was pleased to see the Government has
listened to local authorities like Newham who have been calling for a ban on
disposable vapes, which harms the health of our young people and has a detrimental
effect on the environments! On Thursday, we raised the LGBT+ flag at East Ham Town Hall to officially launch Newham’s
LGBT+ History Month 2024. We have a packed schedule of events to mark this important
month, so check out what’s on here and come join! Until next week, stay well and take care!
Best wishes, Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz OBE Follow what I am up to via X/Twitter: @rokhsanafiaz | 
