This job is about negotiation and persuasion and you can’t do it alone. It’s strangely rare for District Deputies to work together as a team, it’s vital and exactly what Deputies Martin, Wickenden and I have done, forming a united force, fighting for St Helier, one voice, commanding attention.
My bid in the States for £150,000 to fund an Area Improvement Action Plan for Green St. and Havre Des Pas lost by only 3 votes but put the issue on the map.
This year, thanks to the Constable, we have the money and the feasibility study has begun. We’ve impressed upon the engineers the paramount priority of tackling the road layout and traffic/pedestrian management of Green Street and Havre Des Pas Road as the primary objective.
The Government’s own Future St Helier project has so far yielded zero. Something’s wrong when it takes so long to get things done. The time and money wasted and stress caused by Government backing rule-breaking, grotesquely inappropriate planning schemes such as the original for Gas Place and the dreadful first plans for the Hospital is ridiculous. Things have to change.
I was proud to support the Tunnel St residents in their campaign against the Gas Place site and they won! Now we’ll get a better scheme and more Millennium Park.
There is nothing more important than homes for people. A housing deposit scheme, reducing social housing rent with an opt-in to a savings scheme generating a fantastic return through the common investment fund would get people on the property ladder.
Many highlight recent figures on the unacceptable levels of poverty but few are providing solutions. If children are attending school covered in rat bites or having to use a bucket for a toilet nothing short of an immediate response is required, these families can’t wait for adjustments in tax and social security to filter through.
Charlie Parker, now has oversight of Children’s Services, give him the autonomy, authority, first call priority on personnel and resources and the £1,650,000 Care Inquiry Contingency for rapid response task force action. From giving a child a toothbrush or daily nourishing meal to installing sanitation in a home, we must offer immediate help followed by long term assistance to recovery.
In the 21st Century putting children into institutions or sending them off-Island is an unacceptable option over properly resourced and trained Therapeutic Foster Parents providing one-on-one care at home. Placing 16 year olds in shelters alongside men with serious addictions is a pathway to disaster at the future expense of the state and their lives.
For more information on my manifesto please visit votelabey.com
Thank you for your trust and support and I hope you will again consider me for one of your votes alongside Judy and Scott.