Leader’s
Notes
“Survey reflected support
for the council’s Future
Ealing approach.”
Councillor Julian Bell
Leader of the council
Brexit rolls on. With the
extension to the end of
October, the debate continues. The
council’s position remains firm: Give
the public a say on the options now
in front of us after three years of
negotiations and an ever-growing
awareness of the problems created
by leaving the EU. We need a
People’s Vote. And those citizens
from other EU countries who have
made their home here are very
welcome. If they have not done so
already, I urge them to apply for
settled status to make sure they are
covered, come what may. Visit
www.ealing.gov.uk/brexit
I am very grateful to everyone who took part in the recent residents’ survey
carried out independently on the council’s behalf.
It was encouraging to see 81% of people answering the survey said they were happy
and the majority liked where they lived. On the whole, they also felt positively about the
council. This is despite the council’s challenging situation of significantly reduced funding.
I am pleased the survey results reflected support for the council’s Future Ealing approach to
dealing with this financial challenge. It means focusing services on those in greatest need –
and three in four respondents agreed this was the right thing to do. More than seven out
of 10 people also wanted to protect services for the borough’s most vulnerable residents.
There is lots of feedback on individual council services which we are reviewing – and
which were discussed by the council’s cabinet. Some is very good indeed, while other
services have seen satisfaction levels fall since the last survey. We will continue to
seek to improve satisfaction with all services, especially those that have seen dips.
This includes street cleaning – which we are soon to take back in-house to give us
greater control to make improvements. Fly-tipping is a national problem which we are
taking steps to tackle, including issuing more fines than ever before. But there is more
everyone can do to help – like only using reputable clearance companies; not dropping
litter; and by volunteering to clean-up like the residents featured on page 25.
What fantastic news we
received in April when the
NHS announced it would no longer
be pursuing the ill-conceived plan of
closing the A&E departments at
Ealing and Charing Cross hospitals.
The council was at the forefront of
the community campaign across
north-west London to stop the
closures from happening and I am
delighted. However, we now need
to talk to the NHS about what future
health services will look like in our
area. We need to work closely – and
we need a fair deal for Ealing.
around ealing Summer 2019
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