Cllr Grace Williams' letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer

Dear Prime Minister,

First and foremost, I would like to congratulate you on your election to government. 

I was pleased to receive a letter yesterday from the Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and welcome the new Government’s commitment to work with us to solve the challenges our residents face, after a sustained period of instability where our community has suffered and struggled, and public services have been stretched to breaking point.

In our full council meeting on 18th July, Waltham Forest Council formally welcomed the newly elected Labour government. I wish to set out our support for the Government’s plans and how we can work together to deliver for residents of Waltham Forest.

This council is committed, with the Labour Government, to breathe life back into struggling communities and rebuild vital public services which improve people’s lives and create opportunities for all. Providing people with the right support at the right time - which we have committed to in Mission Waltham Forest - has the potential to deliver socio-economic benefits and significantly better outcomes for our community. 

We support the Labour government’s commitment to deliver a radical transfer of power from Westminster to communities and work in partnership with local government. The government’s promise to reform local government funding and powers, re-introduce multi-year funding settlements and put an end to competitive funding pots, will help to provide the longer-term stability that we desperately need to address our budget gap, which is projected to be between £25-30 million by 2026/27. We welcome the Government’s promise to create a National Care Service and note that we will also need to work jointly on an approach to children’s social care and issues such as special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) homelessness and temporary accommodation. 

The Government’s clear commitment from day one to reform housing and planning in this country and provide decent homes that are fit for the future should also be welcomed. In particular, the promises to immediately abolish no-fault evictions preventing private renters from being exploited and discriminated against and raise standards by extending Awaab’s Law to the private sector, will change lives. We also support the plans to enable councils and housing associations to build their capacity to supply housing and make changes to the Affordable Homes Programme to increase the number of homes we can build. This is in line with our ambitious and recently agreed Local Plan and shows the importance of national housing targets across the country if we are to address this housing crisis. 

This Council has campaigned for a new hospital for many years. The previous Conservative government failed to deliver their promise from the 2019 election – withholding funds for the hospital. This Council therefore welcomes the Labour Government’s clear promise to rebuild Whipps Cross University Hospital and commit to the plans in full. 

Feeling safe is the number one concern of many of our residents. We welcome the Government’s pledge to crack down on anti-social-behaviour and crime by introducing a new Neighbourhoods Policing Guarantee, restoring patrols to our town centres by recruiting thousands of new police officers, police and community support officers, as well as special constables and specialist domestic abuse advisers. 

A new parliament presents a great opportunity for national and local government to work together in partnership and reset the relationship to deliver transformative change for our communities. This Council looks forward to working in partnership with a Labour Government to help rebuild services, contribute to national renewal and return government to public service.

Yours sincerely,

Cllr Grace Williams
Leader of Waltham Forest Council