Leadership of Place
A city with a home you can thrive in
Across our city residents have been let down by homes that don’t meet their expectations. A Liberal Democrat council will aim to create more housing suitable for all needs. We will ensure everyone has a home they can thrive in. We would set more ambitious targets for provision of affordable, social and rent-to-buy schemes with access to shops, services and transport connections. We want to see the extension of lifetime homes and specialist housing provision.
A city that addresses Crime and Antisocial behaviour
Too many of us are seeing issues where we live affecting either our property or feeling safe to be out and about on the streets near our homes. Newcastle Labour has deinvested in local policing and we want to see this turned around, re-instating the Safer Neighbourhood Action Panels (SNAPs) allowing residents to have a say on what needs to be done.
A city that cares about people in need
Health and Social Care is in crisis. As a society we have to decide how we manage mental health and we can care for the elderly and the disabled, treating them with dignity and respect. We must not pretend that the cost of social care and treatment for mental health issues have been sorted. We will encourage even greater integration of services, building on the success of Collaborative Newcastle. We will look to tackle social problems, not least the very high rates of child poverty in the city, tackling the causes and partnering with the voluntary sector to deliver on the ground support to families and children.
A city that helps with the Cost of Living
People are seeing more and more pressures on their daily budgets. We would help people out in 2 ways, by enabling access to the right support and by controlling the direct costs coming from the council. We believe that Council tax rises should be kept as low as possible and would ensure that what residents pay demonstrates value for money. If in power, Liberal Democrats would undertake a line-by-line review of the budget to look for efficiency savings in order to to shift resources into supporting front-line services