Southfield Councillors' Face to Face Surgeries Cancelled
But ward representatives say they are still here to help during lockdown
A socially distanced advice surgery at St Alban's Church on Acton Green
Earlier this year Southfield (which covers mainly Chiswick but some addresses in Acton) councillors reluctantly and with Council and Government advice, cancelled our ward surgeries. These were held on the first Saturday of every month between 10am and 12pm). However, due to Covid-19 and the emergency restrictions put in place to protect our residents and ourselves, preventing transmission from person to person this format was no longer possible.
Once the restrictions on meeting people were gradually relaxed, my colleagues and myself conducted ward surgeries as soon as it was deemed safe to do so. Over the summer, surgeries were held outside of the venue, at the building behind St. Albans Church, South Parade, Chiswick.
Liberal Democrats have always believed surgeries are an important part of our roles as, attending meetings and conducting ward forums, as it is another avenue for residents to come forward and speak to us, one-to-one with any issues you may have.
However the tiering system that was introduced by the Government in September, and London moving into Tier 2 measures last month, it has made it increasingly hard to carry out some of our normal duties and carry on with our face-to-face ward surgeries particularly now we are in a second lockdown.
Liberal Democrats have an open door policy where our constituents are always contactable whether it be by email, phone, post, or social media. Once we are out of the second lockdown and it is deemed safe to do so by the Council, Local Government Association and the Government we well restart our ward surgeries at the earliest and safest possible opportunity.
In the meantime, I would like people to contact us. Here are our contact details, if you need to get in touch with any issues we can help you with.
Councillor Gary Busuttil gary.busuttil@ealing.gov.uk / 07985443860 / @garybusuttil
Councillor Gary Malcolm gary.malcom@ealing.gov.uk / 07813205218 / @cllrgarymalcolm
Councillor Andrew Steed andrew.steed@ealing.gov.uk / 07736649664 / @cllrandrewsteed
Councillor Gary Malcolm
Southfield ward councillor for the Liberal Democrats
November 7, 2020