Lewisham could scrap local assemblies in bid to save cash following Covid crisis

By Grainne Cuffe, Local Democracy Reporter

Local assemblies in their current form might be scrapped in Lewisham, according to draft budget cuts.

Lewisham council has identified nearly £27 million in possible cuts, out of £40 million planned over the next three years.

Assemblies were cancelled this year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a bid to save £223,000 over three years, the council is proposing to scrap the scheme, which involves residents meeting in a venue in their ward to get updates on local issues.

If approved, the cuts will mean two full-time staff members, a ward officer and manager, are made redundant.

Assemblies are part of the council’s constitution and are currently the main way Lewisham consults and engages with communities.

There are four meetings per ward every year and ward councillors also attend.

The council is reviewing how it could organise an “alternative forum to facilitate community engagement” such as virtual meetings.

Lewisham’s mayor Damien Egan said the residents who attend assemblies are not “necessarily reflective” of the community as a whole, and the council wants to “diversify” engagement.

According to an appendix attached to the budget cuts report: “The assembly programme is currently being reviewed in light of the democracy review, and the seldom heard voices report, with a view to exploring different approaches to engaging with communities, consulting with them and ensuring better representation.

“It is anticipated that as a result of this review, engagement and consultation with communities at ward level can be undertaken in a more efficient and innovative way by officers directly working with communities, engaging councillors and community organisations as needed.”

Mayor Egan said: “I’m really proud of the assemblies programme – we have 18 ward assemblies, up to 100 people come to talk to us about local issues and hear about what the council is doing.

“We need to think about the best way to run local assemblies in the future and the idea of everybody coming to a hall on a cold evening.

“I’m really grateful for everybody that comes, but the people coming to assemblies aren’t necessarily reflective of the community that we serve.”