Dawn Dale

Tell us a little bit about yourself

I have worked in the voluntary sector for twenty years, empowering and advocating for local people to improve services the environment and social opportunities.

I am currently the Lead member & co-chair of the Education Children and Families policy committee and am standing for re-election with a strong track record of supporting residents of Shiregreen and Brightside.

I pledge to continue to work hard to make Shiregreen & Brightside a safer, fairer & thriving place to live for everyone.

What do you think makes a good local councillor?

I believe that a good councillor should:
1) Be accessible
2) Listen to the voices and opinions of residents and businesses in the ward
3) Stand up for the most vulnerable and demand that public services work for them.
4) Be able to facilitate positive working relationships with the community, service providers and stakeholder.
5) Support residents to campaign and problem solve and advocate for them.

Tell us three things you're aiming to focus on or achieve for your ward during your term as councillor

1) I will support residents worst effected by the cost of living crisis and those most vulnerable in our ward by ensuring that we have the best possible local provision in place, I will continue to call out instances where services are poor and work to bring in funds to reduce isolation and improve health and wellbeing.

2) I believe that every child should have the best start in life in order to improve life chances and eradicate poverty. I will ensure that we have quality youth provision, better services for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and good schools.

3) I will work with housing, environmental services and residents to ensure we have good quality housing and a clean green and flourishing environment

Tell us three things you're aiming to focus on or achieve for the city of Sheffield during your term as councillor

1) I will priorities making Sheffield a more equitable city. I will continue to tackle discrimination and do all I can to remove any barriers that prevent citizens from achieving their full potential.

2) I will ensure that Sheffield City Council is close to the citizens it serves, by delivering services at a local level in a way that is done in collaboration and is sustainable.

3) I will continue to protect front line services, fund community projects, and priorities those most in need. Focusing on prevention and early intervention services that keep people well for longer.

Environment: Sheffield City Council has stated that to reach its aim of net-zero by 2030, "change will be difficult... we will have to take hard decisions as a council on behalf of the city". If elected, what changes will you make to enable Sheffield to reach net zero by 2030?

I fully support Sheffield Labours commitment to moving to net-zero, including:

● Introducing a net-zero test for council spending, so that council projects are in line with
net-zero commitments.
● Expanding retrofitting of homes.
● Adopting ‘fabric first’ planning policies that eliminate domestic fossil fuel burning in new
developments.
● Supporting community energy schemes.
● Continuing our support of smaller businesses to improve their energy efficiency.
● Continuing to work with SY Mayor Oliver Coppard in bringing re-skilling and training
opportunities to Sheffield, building a new workforce to deliver carbon reduction projects.
● Remaining committed to getting buses under public control, so people have genuine
options to avoid private car dependency.
● Pressing the government harder to help us deliver an adequate EV charging network
citywide.
● Pro-actively implementing our commitment to Community Wealth Building, using more
local supply chains.
● Expanding the District Heating Network

Transport: Sheffield City Council, and the Mayoral Combined Authority, have been awarded multi-million pound pots to improve cycling and walking networks. What are your priorities for transport infrastructure in Sheffield?

We are steadfast in our commitment to bring buses into public control, like we have with the tram. Ensuring communities are served by good bus services that get people where they need to go is a vital element of the larger picture of non-car-based travel.

We are committed to using more of the power of local expertise, and we believe we can enable a much wider pool of residents to take up active travel. With the support of Active Travel England, we want to take a more informed, evidence-based approach to future active travel and low-traffic schemes.

Whilst developing active travel networks is essential, we will never side line those who have physical needs that prevent them from walking or cycling.

Local Economy: Sheffield City Council has a forecasted cumulative budget gap of £111million by 2026/27. How would you raise revenue for the city going forward?

We need to be ambitious for Sheffield. A core commitment in the Sheffield Labour manifesto is to grow the economy. I fully support the commitment to:

● Support the creation of thousands of new jobs in green manufacturing through Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District.
● Deliver a local plan focusses on local, sustainable growth.
● Make Sheffield a global hub for sporting and cultural events, and deliver a Gallery of the North, creating a new regional flagship artspace.
● Develop a Local Industrial Strategy.
● Establish Sheffield as a Centre of Expertise for Housing Retrofitting.
● Increase the number of apprenticeships.

Housing: On 14th December 2022 the council adopted a motion asking the housing policy committee to consider adopting further selective licensing throughout the city. Do you think Landlord Licensing in Sheffield should be extended, from currently applying to Abbeydale Road, Chesterfield Road and London Road, to covering more wards?

• Yes
• Unsure
• No

If you'd like to add details on your position, please do so here

Sheffield Labour is committed to using all powers available to improve housing standards throughout the city for social tenants and private renters. This includes selective licensing schemes where appropriate.