Diocesan Press Release

A New Vision for London

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 25 May 1999

"How can we stop the cycle that sees young people excluded, poor, failing educationally and socially, and drifting almost inevitably into a life of crime?" Heather Rabbatts, Chief Executive of Lambeth Borough Council, said that many young people slip inexorably into drugs and crime. And even young children from the age of four experience exclusion from school.

Ms Rabbatts was giving the second annual lecture for the South London Industrial Mission (SLIM) in Southwark Cathedral on May 20.

The framework of government is necessary, but it's what you do on the ground that is strategically important, Ms Rabbatts claimed. In Lambeth the persistent work at local level, among the people, has brought a change in the situation, she said. For example, where there were 24 schools under special measures, now there are just three.

There are 1500-plus young offenders in Lambeth, ranging down to eight and nine year-olds, she continued. Lambeth tackled the problem by bringing together the police and other agencies dealing with the young people, to get them sharing their experience and approaches with each other. Often the young offender was known to the agencies but none had ever sat down together to work out the best responses and strategies. It was a battle, but the effort has more than halved the rate of offending.

Drug abuse and teenage pregnancy are special areas of concern. "It's hugely complicated, as homeless youngsters in particular cross over all borders, they don't stay in one borough. And the conditions are endemic across London."

"The new Mayor of London will need to give voice to such young people and deprived people, and champion the projects seeking to address their needs," said Ms Rabbatts. "The Mayor will be able to give a sense of presence to young people across the city, and help give them access to employment."

People should not underestimate the impact when a Mayor begins to be a campaigner in the city - not party based, but having an impact as a personality. Where the Mayor goes the media will be, and whatever the Mayor shows an interest in will be the centre of immediate public debate.

The boroughs will be increasingly doing what they are doing now, and hoping for a happy coexistence with the Mayor and the London Authority. Ms Rabbatts affirmed that local authorities can combine running local services with the more caring outlook she spoke of. "We need to do something different to tackle family educational standards, unemployment, and rising criminality among young people. Every local authority will have a young offender team in the future. It has already started."

"It's important for the new partnership of London and local authorities to get regeneration right and help people celebrate it," she emphasised. We need new systems of dialogue, such as perhaps a regular question and answer session for leaders from all across London. "Otherwise we could have the situation where whoever grabs the Mayor's ear at a dinner will get the Mayor to open their event or visit their patch."

Ms Rabbatts summarised her vision for London with a question: "How can we achieve the situation where the people know that, whoever they are, old or young, 'the city belongs to you'? How together can we change the world for many people? I hope that value will be what inspires and motivates whoever becomes a candidate for Mayor of London."

Ends.