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Your weekly London local government update

08 May 24

Mayoral and Assembly Elections

Sadiq Khan was re-elected as Mayor of London following the polls last week.

London Councils congratulated Sadiq Khan on his re-election and reaffirmed its commitment to working with City Hall on tackling the capital’s key challenges in the years ahead.

Cllr Georgia Gould, Chair of London Councils, said: “I want to send my congratulations to the Mayor on his re-election.

“Close collaboration between London boroughs and City Hall is vital to achieving our shared priorities – from tackling the cost-of-living crisis and reducing homelessness, to boosting economic growth and delivering net zero.

“Boroughs are determined to help create a fairer, greener and more prosperous future for Londoners. We look forward to continuing working with the Mayor and national government to deliver our priorities.”

In addition to voting for the Mayor, voters in the capital also elected 25 members of the London Assembly. Overall, the Conservatives lost a seat while Reform UK gained one, leaving the new makeup of the Assembly as: Labour 11, Conservatives 8, Green 3, Lib Dem 2 and Reform UK 1. Full details of the Mayoral and Assembly election results are available on the London Elects website here. ( [link removed] )

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By-election results

Council by-elections in 15 wards (in 12 boroughs) also took place at the same time as the Mayoral and Assembly elections on 2 May. You can find the results for each of these (wards in brackets) below:

Bromley (Shortlands & Park Langley) ( [link removed] ); Camden (Frognal ( [link removed] )); Croydon (Park Hill & Whitgift ( [link removed] )); Croydon (Woodside ( [link removed] )); Hackney (De Beauvoir ( [link removed] )); Hackney (Hoxton East & Shoreditch ( [link removed] )); Hillingdon (Hillingdon East ( [link removed] )); Hounslow (Brentford West ( [link removed] )); Islington (Hillrise ( [link removed] )); Kensington & Chelsea (Norland ( [link removed] )); Lambeth (Knight's Hill ( [link removed] )); Lambeth (Streatham Common & Vale) ( [link removed] ); Lewisham (Deptford ( [link removed] )); Sutton (St. Helier West ( [link removed] )); Wandsworth (West Putney ( [link removed] )).

London Social Work for Children

Social workers improve people’s lives by helping with social and interpersonal difficulties and promoting wellbeing. They protect children and adults with support needs from harm.

From helping keep a family under pressure together, to supporting someone with mental health problems, social work is a varied, demanding, and very rewarding career.

Councils across the country are facing difficulties recruiting and retaining social workers and the issue is particularly acute for children's social work in the capital.

The London Social Work for Children ( [link removed] ) (LSWC) website has been established as a one-stop shop to showcase the employment and professional development opportunities in children's social work across all of London's 33 Councils.

An initiative for both practicing and prospective children's social workers, LSWC is delivered by London Innovation and Improvement Alliance (LIIA), which is the Association of London Directors of Children’s Services (ALDCS) sector-led improvement partnership.

Launched in July 2023, and with more than 1,000 registered users already, LSWC brings together the extensive and diverse range of career opportunities that are on offer in the capital, where you can explore career opportunities, find out more about a career in Children's Social work and all the latest social work news.

By registering with LSWC, you can stay up to date with job opportunities that are tailored to you and your career goals. You can find out more, register and receive regular updates here. ( [link removed] )

Pan-London Grants Programme

London Councils' Grants Committee has launched a consultation ( [link removed] ) asking for views about a new four-year pan-London Grants Programme.

Responses to the consultation will help London Councils shape recommendations for a potential new programme to the Grants Committee.

Rough Sleeping Charter and Census

London Councils has collaborated with London boroughs, homelessness charities, faith groups, businesses and the Mayor of London to develop London's first ever Charter to End Rough Sleeping.

London council Leaders are being invited to sign up to the charter. The Charter now has its own social media channels, which you can follow and engage with, Twitter ( [link removed] ), LinkedIn ( [link removed] ), Facebook ( [link removed] ) and Instagram ( [link removed] ).

Yesterday also saw the publication of a report on the results of the first national census of women sleeping rough in England ( [link removed] ) that reveals gender bias in government counts, meaning that women are likely to be significantly underrepresented in rough sleeping data.

London Councils’ Rough Sleeping Programme Director, Michelle Binfield,  said: “With London’s homelessness crisis as bad as ever, it’s vital that service providers in the capital have clear and robust information on how many women sleep rough in London. This data is critical for shaping our strategic response and ensuring support services can meet these women’s needs.

“Alongside our partners across London’s homelessness sector, boroughs are committed to doing all we can to assist women off the streets and into safe accommodation.”

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In the news this week...

Sadiq Khan vows to make London a ‘byword for opportunity’ in third term as mayor
Evening Standard ( [link removed] )

Challenges ahead for Sadiq Khan in round three
BBC News ( [link removed] )

Chris Hayward: The City stands ready to help Sadiq Khan deliver growth for London
City AM ( [link removed] )

Councils pay £1m in data breach compensation
The MJ ( [link removed] )

Angry LGA leaders write to Gove over Oflog league table story
The MJ ( [link removed] )

Number of women sleeping rough on England's street may be nine times higher than government thinks
BigIssue ( [link removed] )

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What topics are you interested in? Click here to let us know ( [link removed] )

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The latest blog in our Climate Unit series introduces Agathe de Canson and Caelan Knight, who share their experience and current work focus in building London's climate capacity. You can read the blog here ( [link removed] ) (or click on the image above)

The Centre for Ageing Better are hosting an online (Zoom) introduction to their Age-friendly Communities webinar on 15 May 10am-11am. If you would like to attend, you can register here ( [link removed] )

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London Councils is the collective of local government in London, the 32 boroughs and the City of London.We also run pan-London services like Freedom Pass and Taxicard. 59½ Southwark Street, London SE1 0AL | [email protected] ( [email protected] )

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