New Mayor of Wandsworth Takes Up His Role |
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Cllr Jeremy Ambache plans to support children with special needs and the bereaved The new Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Wandsworth The new Mayor of Wandsworth Cllr Jeremy Ambache says he will be supporting charities helping children with special needs and bereaved people during his mayoral year. Cllr Ambache worked in children’s and adult’s social care as a social worker, manager and director for several local authorities and has advised central Government on policies around health, social care and tackling abuse of vulnerable adults. Since retiring he has been a trustee of Age UK Wandsworth, a board member of the Wandsworth Clinical Commissioning Group and has promoted patient and public engagement within the NHS. He has been a councillor for Roehampton and Putney Heath, and now the new West Putney ward, since 2014 and helped to build community infrastructure in Roehampton alongside My Roehampton, the Roehampton Response Network, the Roehampton Community week project and the Roehampton Partnership. He has two daughters and six grandchildren and enjoys walking, cycling, swimming and tennis. He has chosen to support two charities, SEN Talk and Wandsworth Bereavement Services. SEN Talk helps provide better outcomes for children with special educational needs and is dedicated to improving the social and emotional mental health of children with autism and ADHD. Wandsworth Bereavement Services provides one-to-one counselling for people who have suffered a bereavement, including children. Cllr Ambache said, “‘I am honoured to be mayor for the coming year and to work with the deputy mayor Sarmila Varatharaj. Both the organisations I have chosen to support do an excellent job in their field and are much needed as we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic. “Sarmila and I will engage with voluntary and community groups across the borough. We will reach out to all communities to recognise and encourage their rich and diverse contributions to the vibrant life of Wandsworth.” The new deputy mayor is Cllr Sarmila Varatharaj, who represents the new Wandle ward. She was born and raised in the borough and is a human rights activist. She volunteers for Global Human Rights Defence and has been the spokesperson to the United Nations Human Rights Council since the age of 21. The new positions were endorsed on Wednesday (25 May) night at Wandsworth’s annual council meeting. In addition seven cabinet members who each take responsibility for shaping work around their individual service or policy area – for example parks, business support, housing, transport, schools, the environment, finance and health – were appointed. The new Council Leader, Cllr Simon Hogg, said: "Following last night's annual council meeting we now have the new administration and cabinet members in place. Our team is committed to working with residents, community groups and partner organisations to be a strong voice for the people of Wandsworth and run a council built on fairness and equal opportunities for all." The council social media accounts will be posting the videos of the new cabinet members over the next three weeks. The first video is by Cllr Clare Fraser who is the cabinet lead for transport. She has responsibility for transport improvements and infrastructure, including roads, pavements and parking.
May 27, 2022
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