Jocelyn Cruywagen, Lambeth Unison’s branch secretary, said it was ‘wrong time’ for the council to be deleting jobs in the Contextual Safeguarding Team, which works to protect vulnerable young people in the borough from exploitation.
Councillors waved through proposals to redesign the team, which is expected to save Lambeth Council £424,000, at a meeting last Wednesday (March 5) as part of its 2025/26 budget.
A day before, on March 4, teenager Lathaniel Burrell was murdered near Stockwell Tube station, in Lambeth.
Omer Prempeh, 32, from Forest Hill, and a 17-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons have been charged with his murder.
Ms Cruywagen told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that the incident highlighted the need for the council to maintain services which protect children and young people in the borough.
In an email, she wrote: “The current service is highly intelligence-led, a specialist role, and staff and Unison think this aspect would be lost and less effective with the proposed changes.
“In light of the tragic shooting of [a] young man [in] Stockwell last week and other ongoing issues in society, grooming gangs, inquiries into failures to protect young people from exploitation elsewhere in the country, gang violence and knife crime, we believe this is the wrong time to be cutting back this service.”
The Children’s Services Contextual Safeguarding Team was set up two years ago by the council as a pilot and many staff are on fixed-term contracts, which can come to an end at some point or be extended.
According to Lambeth Unison, some posts are being deleted as part of the team’s ‘redesign’, while others are being regraded and job descriptions rewritten. The union says there will be an overall loss of staff as a result of the restructure.
Lambeth Unison is demanding the council pauses the team’s redesign and makes no compulsory redundancies.
The union also wants the council to consult staff about the changes to the safeguarding team, which it claims Lambeth hasn’t yet done.
There is a higher level of violent crime committed against children and young people in Lambeth than other similar London boroughs, such as neighbouring Southwark.
A City Hall report from 2019 found that 90 per cent of wards in Lambeth had above average levels of serious youth violence, compared to 81 per cent in Southwark.
A Lambeth Council spokesperson said: “Following a very successful two-year pilot, Lambeth Council is seeking to strengthen our direct work with children and young people at risk of exploitation.
“Early intervention, prevention and trusted relationships are key to protecting our young people.
“While information gathering is crucial, and remains a core part of our work, we are strengthening our approach by increasing direct support, befriending and multi-disciplinary interventions.
“This will ensure that all vulnerable young people receive the direct help they need at the earliest opportunity.”
