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Happy New Year to all readers of Gateway News, I hope you had a good Christmas and New Year holiday......even though they already seem something of a distant memory!
Things are as busy as ever in Bexley, and to add to the fun we are now in the run-up to the next round of local elections. This is the opportunity for all registered voters to make a choice about the political make-up of Bexley Council and its priorities.
Are you registered? In September 2005 Bexley Council wrote to the known occupiers in every one of Bexley’s some 93,000 homes, and asked people to confirm everyone living in that home was listed.
Completion is a legal requirement and almost every household complied. Those that didn’t were chased and we hope the register is as accurate as possible.
However mistakes and omissions can occur and people move in and out. It is not too late to add your name to this important list. If you are unsure whether you are listed, or need to register, call Bexley Council’s Electoral Registration team today on 020 8303 7777.
Who can you vote for? Well it could be yourself. Anyone over 18 who lives, or has a clear business connection, in Bexley can put themselves forward as a candidate for one of 21 wards.
Some people, like myself stand on a ‘party ticket’, others stand as independents. Then as electors we can choose up to three people to represent our ward.
Councillors are the voice of the general public in decision-making and are supported by a team of very capable professional officers who implement the decisions of the Council.
The Council is a complex organisation, which spends around £1,000,000 a day on services to 220,000 people.
People often vote at national elections, but not locally, even though, in many cases decisions made in the Council Chamber will have more of a direct impact on our community than those made in Parliament.
Voting by post or in person takes only a few minutes once every four years. The outcome can affect your life every day for those four years.
Who you choose to vote for is a matter for you - clearly I have my own preferences! But do think about the issues, read and challenge what you hear, look around and see what you think about where we live as a place, and what has changed, and then choose who you think will best help improve the place that we all live in.
Decisions are made by those who show up - we all live with the consequences.
On a final positive note, I would like to congratulate all of my colleagues and officers as well as the Council’s partners and members of the public for helping deliver a ‘four star’ rating for Bexley Council from the independent Audit Commission.
They look at all our services, our management and efficient use of money. For the fourth year in a row Bexley Council has received the highest award you can, nationally. It is a tribute to thousands of people. I will give you more details next month, of what were seen as our strengths, and areas that we need to improve further.
The issue of racial equality in sport has been scaling new heights, with Bexley Council and its partners publicly declared their commitment to addressing racial discrimination by signing up to a ‘Sporting Equals’ Charter at ‘the cAve’ climbing wall in Thamesmead.
The Racial Equality Charter for Sport is a public pledge signed by the ‘leaders of sport’, committing them to use their influence to create a world of sport in which all people can participate in watching, playing and managing sport without facing racial discrimination of any kind. The Charter has been devised by Sporting Equals, a nationwide initiative funded by Sport England and the Commission for Racial Equality, and supported by the Local Government Association.
Cllr Geoff Hacker, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Arts & Culture, Matthew Roberts, Regional Director of Parkwood Leisure (who manage the borough’s leisure centres), Toni Ainge, Head of Cultural Services and Ray Harrad, Chairman of Bexley Sports Council, all took part in the signing earlier this month. Cllr Manny Blake, Cabinet Member for Social Inclusion, Community Cohesion & Housing, and members of the Council’s Cultural Services team were also present to witness the event in Thamesmead, an area with one of the highest percentages of people from ethnic minority communities in the borough.
The event at the cAve also doubled up as a public consultation workshop for the draft Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, which aims to tackle issues raised by ethnic minority groups from across Bexley with regard to barriers to participation in sport and physical activity.
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