Democracy 1 Bullies 2
I was ashamed to be part of the planning process on Thursday night where the committee granted permission for a change of use of a corner shop to become a fish and chip outlet.
Officers, the police and 150 residents opposed the application, the petition raised by the applicant was shown to list signatures without any address , a petition without any heading as to what the petition was about and the rest from homes which had signed for and against. I visited a number of those who had signed both ways and they admitted they had done so because of the intimidation by the applicant They are all against this application both for safety reasons at the busy junction and the smell and nuisance form having such a take away next door with a flue overhanging the pavement... what an eyesore … he also had attacked the owner of the Chinese take away who was collecting a petition ( on police record) attacked the lady in the post office and threatened the crossing lady. That is the bully bit.
He got the permission because of a letter from the club next door allowing the applicant to have access to their car park adjacent to the proposed fish and chip shop for customers to use. This is in spite of the fact no details of times, whether this car park can be left open in spite of the club only being open occasionally for functions in the evenings. There are already drug dealers operating on the pavement of Essex str and I fully expect them to move into the opened car park where they will then be hidden from view.
Democracy and fairness has been lost to the actions of an arrogant bully who as a major owner of properties throughout Walsall , he believes he can try and manipulate the names and views of local residents on petitions and conditions of planning approval to suit his aims.
Democracy 1 Bullies 2 What an appalling result. Residents call foul.
This may not be the final score... we shall play into extra time and maybe score a couple of penalties
Friday, January 28, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Are we being ripped off, vandalised and abandoned by Walsall Council ?
Are we being ripped off, vandalised and abandoned by Walsall Council ?
I read that Walsall council have ‘saved’ over £1million each year on the contract for recycling by renegotiating the contract. We learn that there are negotiations to reduce the cost of the SERCO contract that Walsall by £2.5Million ( £7.5 over 3 years) to look after education in Walsall. Walsall signed an extension of this contract for another 12 years . This in spite of the fact that education standards in Walsall are at a dismal failure being 151st out of 171in the Country this new contract pays them £345M over these next 12 years..We have improved a bit but basically we continue to fail most of our young people.. if we did not have the results from Queen Marys’ schools we would be even lower. I suspect that now Walsall education is the only education contract run by SERCO ( all other councils have given them the sack) all failing schools will be forced into becoming Academies to allow SERCO to make a good profit for their shareholders and not lose out by imposition of any penalty clauses… our children are of course not the priority… the shareholders are!! Such a rip off! How long have we been overpaying for these services?
Then we have the Tarmac contract with clauses here which cost us dear when we wish to install for example dropped curbs at pavement level to allow wheelchair access where the cost has jumped from £350 under the Council to over £1000 under Tarmac. What value for council tax payers of Walsall.
We had the AMEY contract that cost us Council tax payers £7.5 Million due to a set of clauses so badly checked by Walsall Council allowing another private company to walk all over us and take us again to the cleaners.
We have at the moment the tabled acts of vandalism …
Closing 6 libraries and I suspect more next year.
Closing school swimming pools
Serious risk to all of the Walsall Music service
Cut to the Debt counselling service at a time when they are needed more than ever.
More cuts of support to the Domestic violence support service ( report due out in early February)
What support will be there post end of March for LINK… the local watchdog checking on our local health service?
What chance to properly repair our roads , especially with a private company Tarmac setting the price?
What effect on the most vulnerable in our society who depend on Walsall Social services for respite for their carers.?
Will SERCO sell off all the failing schools to private companies and form more academies to leave only those under Walsall Council those which are ‘profitable’ to SERCO?
More items to come as the budget cut debate unfolds.
What sort of Borough and Council will we be left with? Not the sort to be proud of or to attract new communities vital to our futures
I read that Walsall council have ‘saved’ over £1million each year on the contract for recycling by renegotiating the contract. We learn that there are negotiations to reduce the cost of the SERCO contract that Walsall by £2.5Million ( £7.5 over 3 years) to look after education in Walsall. Walsall signed an extension of this contract for another 12 years . This in spite of the fact that education standards in Walsall are at a dismal failure being 151st out of 171in the Country this new contract pays them £345M over these next 12 years..We have improved a bit but basically we continue to fail most of our young people.. if we did not have the results from Queen Marys’ schools we would be even lower. I suspect that now Walsall education is the only education contract run by SERCO ( all other councils have given them the sack) all failing schools will be forced into becoming Academies to allow SERCO to make a good profit for their shareholders and not lose out by imposition of any penalty clauses… our children are of course not the priority… the shareholders are!! Such a rip off! How long have we been overpaying for these services?
Then we have the Tarmac contract with clauses here which cost us dear when we wish to install for example dropped curbs at pavement level to allow wheelchair access where the cost has jumped from £350 under the Council to over £1000 under Tarmac. What value for council tax payers of Walsall.
We had the AMEY contract that cost us Council tax payers £7.5 Million due to a set of clauses so badly checked by Walsall Council allowing another private company to walk all over us and take us again to the cleaners.
We have at the moment the tabled acts of vandalism …
Closing 6 libraries and I suspect more next year.
Closing school swimming pools
Serious risk to all of the Walsall Music service
Cut to the Debt counselling service at a time when they are needed more than ever.
More cuts of support to the Domestic violence support service ( report due out in early February)
What support will be there post end of March for LINK… the local watchdog checking on our local health service?
What chance to properly repair our roads , especially with a private company Tarmac setting the price?
What effect on the most vulnerable in our society who depend on Walsall Social services for respite for their carers.?
Will SERCO sell off all the failing schools to private companies and form more academies to leave only those under Walsall Council those which are ‘profitable’ to SERCO?
More items to come as the budget cut debate unfolds.
What sort of Borough and Council will we be left with? Not the sort to be proud of or to attract new communities vital to our futures
Will the Music Stop for our children?
Prepare to mount the biggest and noisiest ever demonstration in protest seen in Walsall if those in the current Tory/ Liberal alliance down in London decide to pull the funding..
published by electronic means by Ian Robertson 87 Belvidere Rd walsall WS1 3au tel 01922 634642.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Where now our precious NHS? The new Ryanair model?
21st January
Our NHS has been around for over 60 years and has been the subject of many radical changes by successive Governments. Health care is costly however especially in an ageing population and to maintain a high standard. We have been falling behind in some outcomes in for example areas of cancer treatments.
The latest proposals by the Tory/Lib coalition who now wish to tear up the present structure in a change more radical than anything done before to our NHS. More broken promises and some of the small print not visible in the pre election manifestos... for example no mention there that PCTs would go.
Putting 80% of the NHS budget into the hands of doctors has rung a number of alarm bells... there are some GPs who relish the idea and are capable of running what would be a multi million pound business to commission health care for their patients as a group.. Many others are not so good at it, will waste our money, not being good at running a very large health team and just wish to get on with what they do best ... caring for their patients. There are at least two GP groups at the moment gearing up to try and run the service in Walsall and no doubt there will be a patchwork quilt of groups coming forward to run our NHS post 2013 .. However who will be picking up the bill if any of these holders of our health budget get it badly wrong and go bust? The belief of the Tories has always been 'let the market decide' How happy will you be to find that your operation will be done by a hospital bidding to get the business of doing your operation with the money needed by the hospital to keep in business? All our hospitals will become independent foundation trusts. where will be the democratic accountability of all these health organisations which will be spending most of our health care money? How will the standard of care and support be maintained or will this new model become the Ryanair equivalent in health care?
Why tear up the PCTs , why cannot these organisations be the vehicle for delivery of health provision by the GP's? It will cost over £1 billion to wind up the PCTs with redundancies.. all money that is not spent on health care. I fear that our NHS is in danger... I pray that this patient is not suffering from a terminal illness.!
Our NHS has been around for over 60 years and has been the subject of many radical changes by successive Governments. Health care is costly however especially in an ageing population and to maintain a high standard. We have been falling behind in some outcomes in for example areas of cancer treatments.
The latest proposals by the Tory/Lib coalition who now wish to tear up the present structure in a change more radical than anything done before to our NHS. More broken promises and some of the small print not visible in the pre election manifestos... for example no mention there that PCTs would go.
Putting 80% of the NHS budget into the hands of doctors has rung a number of alarm bells... there are some GPs who relish the idea and are capable of running what would be a multi million pound business to commission health care for their patients as a group.. Many others are not so good at it, will waste our money, not being good at running a very large health team and just wish to get on with what they do best ... caring for their patients. There are at least two GP groups at the moment gearing up to try and run the service in Walsall and no doubt there will be a patchwork quilt of groups coming forward to run our NHS post 2013 .. However who will be picking up the bill if any of these holders of our health budget get it badly wrong and go bust? The belief of the Tories has always been 'let the market decide' How happy will you be to find that your operation will be done by a hospital bidding to get the business of doing your operation with the money needed by the hospital to keep in business? All our hospitals will become independent foundation trusts. where will be the democratic accountability of all these health organisations which will be spending most of our health care money? How will the standard of care and support be maintained or will this new model become the Ryanair equivalent in health care?
Why tear up the PCTs , why cannot these organisations be the vehicle for delivery of health provision by the GP's? It will cost over £1 billion to wind up the PCTs with redundancies.. all money that is not spent on health care. I fear that our NHS is in danger... I pray that this patient is not suffering from a terminal illness.!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Oldham result gives message ' Come back Labour all is forgiven'
The voters in Oldham have shown on Thursday that the pathway of the Tory Liberal coalition is not for them.
Promises by the Liberal Party broken in joining an alliance with a past sworn enemy is unravelling.
A rise of VAT to 20%, threatened cuts to children's centres and Sure Start, cuts to future job's fund, cuts to police numbers, cuts to education maintenance allowance and tripling of student tuition fees will hit especially those young people living in disadvantaged communities and is treating the electorate with contempt as we are not getting what we voted for.
Some politicians appear to be prepared to sell their souls to get elected and that will be reflected in what could be a General election in the near future.
Promises by the Liberal Party broken in joining an alliance with a past sworn enemy is unravelling.
A rise of VAT to 20%, threatened cuts to children's centres and Sure Start, cuts to future job's fund, cuts to police numbers, cuts to education maintenance allowance and tripling of student tuition fees will hit especially those young people living in disadvantaged communities and is treating the electorate with contempt as we are not getting what we voted for.
Some politicians appear to be prepared to sell their souls to get elected and that will be reflected in what could be a General election in the near future.
Oldham result gives message ' Come back Labour all is forgiven'
The voters in Oldham have shown on Thursday that the pathway of the Tory Liberal coalition is not for them.
Promises by the Liberal Party broken in joining an alliance with a past sworn enemy is unravelling.
A rise of VAT to 20%, threatened cuts to children's centres and Sure Start, cuts to future job's fund, cuts to police numbers, cuts to education maintenance allowance and tripling of student tuition fees will hit especially those young people living in disadvantaged communities and is treating the electorate with contempt as we are not getting what we voted for.
Some politicians appear to be prepared to sell their souls to get elected and that will be reflected in what could be a General election in the near future.
Promises by the Liberal Party broken in joining an alliance with a past sworn enemy is unravelling.
A rise of VAT to 20%, threatened cuts to children's centres and Sure Start, cuts to future job's fund, cuts to police numbers, cuts to education maintenance allowance and tripling of student tuition fees will hit especially those young people living in disadvantaged communities and is treating the electorate with contempt as we are not getting what we voted for.
Some politicians appear to be prepared to sell their souls to get elected and that will be reflected in what could be a General election in the near future.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Lose some but live to fight again!
For those who missed the 'exciting' 3 hours of entertainment at full council on Monday evening... if you have problems with sleeping do come and practice in the public gallery at such times.
The Notice of motion calling for a fair pay to match our neighbouring Towns in paying for social workers ( we are 30% less than Staffs County Council ) was defeated by the Tory Councillors. While I agree that there are other factors such as conditions, promotion prospects, opportunities for training, schools for their children etc are always important it is the pay that will influence the final decision. we have only recruited one senior social worker in the past 3 years which should tell us something. the offer of the golden hellos of £1500 and the promise of a bonus of £1000 if you stay for three years still puts recruits way down on the pay scales. It costs us a fortune extra to employ up to 40 agency staff to fill in and despite I am sure agency workers trying to cover, this is not as good as having permanent staff. Still we tried but lost.
Another one we lost was protesting at the loss of Educational Maintenance Allowance from last December which has removed support from about 4500 families in Walsall. I suspect that the numbers in wards like Blakenall are far higher than the average of 200 or so per ward. This is a kick in the teeth ot those young people from disadvantaged homes when we should be targeting them especially to encourage them into further education. Only one in a 100 goes for further education in comparison to 17 in 100 from other areas. The young people from wards like Blakenall can achieve as well as those from other wards... they do not have the parental support, self esteem and subsequently the ambition is lost. The removal pf EMA is a backwards step in addressing those inequalities.
News that 6 libraries will close as a result of budget cuts but this Sword of Damocles now hangs over the whole of Walsall and the library service The philistines in the cabinet do not realise that the battle to raise the dreadful level of educational achievement in Walsall is not helped by closing these lifelines to better education. I seem to recall in history those who destroyed libraries coming to a sticky end. Maybe this will happen to this lot.
Like many things that are happening under this hasty cuts regime we will live to regret and find it costs us dear.
One good point is that we all agreed that post offices are a vital part of any community. The move to privatised our Royal Mail service should worry us that very few post offices will be able to survive with that important source of income removed.
The Notice of motion calling for a fair pay to match our neighbouring Towns in paying for social workers ( we are 30% less than Staffs County Council ) was defeated by the Tory Councillors. While I agree that there are other factors such as conditions, promotion prospects, opportunities for training, schools for their children etc are always important it is the pay that will influence the final decision. we have only recruited one senior social worker in the past 3 years which should tell us something. the offer of the golden hellos of £1500 and the promise of a bonus of £1000 if you stay for three years still puts recruits way down on the pay scales. It costs us a fortune extra to employ up to 40 agency staff to fill in and despite I am sure agency workers trying to cover, this is not as good as having permanent staff. Still we tried but lost.
Another one we lost was protesting at the loss of Educational Maintenance Allowance from last December which has removed support from about 4500 families in Walsall. I suspect that the numbers in wards like Blakenall are far higher than the average of 200 or so per ward. This is a kick in the teeth ot those young people from disadvantaged homes when we should be targeting them especially to encourage them into further education. Only one in a 100 goes for further education in comparison to 17 in 100 from other areas. The young people from wards like Blakenall can achieve as well as those from other wards... they do not have the parental support, self esteem and subsequently the ambition is lost. The removal pf EMA is a backwards step in addressing those inequalities.
News that 6 libraries will close as a result of budget cuts but this Sword of Damocles now hangs over the whole of Walsall and the library service The philistines in the cabinet do not realise that the battle to raise the dreadful level of educational achievement in Walsall is not helped by closing these lifelines to better education. I seem to recall in history those who destroyed libraries coming to a sticky end. Maybe this will happen to this lot.
Like many things that are happening under this hasty cuts regime we will live to regret and find it costs us dear.
One good point is that we all agreed that post offices are a vital part of any community. The move to privatised our Royal Mail service should worry us that very few post offices will be able to survive with that important source of income removed.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Post Offices to become as rare as a hen's tooth
More than 1,000 post offices have shut or been put up for sale this year, with some not showing up in official closure lists, according to new research.
The Communication Workers Union said there was a "growing trend" of closures in 2010 which it warned would get worse if the Government pressed ahead with controversial plans to privatise the Royal Mail.
A study by the union showed that 162 post offices were listed as "long-term temporary closures" this year and over 900 were put up for sale,
Many are likely to stay closed indefinitely and those that do reopen are liable to provide a diminished service, such as an outreach van with no access to financial services, said the union.
The CWU said almost 10% of the entire network was currently up for sale, warning they could also be lost to the "temporary closure loophole".
Many subpostmasters are retiring or leaving the business because of the low levels of revenue generated in sub-offices, and in many cases it is difficult to find alternative premises or service providers, according to the CWU.
General secretary Billy Hayes said: "Post offices have been closing at an alarming rate this year, but didn't register because they are misleadingly classed as temporary closures. We're seriously concerned about empty government rhetoric on avoiding post office closures. These promises are contradicted by government taking business away from the Post Office and by the planned privatisation of Royal Mail.
"Post Offices rely on work generated by mails business and most would be unsustainable if this was removed. Many of the proposals in the Postal Services Bill, including privatisation of Royal Mail and splitting the postal group apart, seriously threaten mails business arrangements for the Post Office.
"With uncertainty hanging over Royal Mail and the post office network, it's no surprise that buyers are hard to find. The government must change its approach or face the decimation of our cherished post office network. Who's going to buy a business which stands to lose a substantial part of its income?"
Ministers have pledged there will be no repeat of the closure programme under the previous Labour Government, arguing that the plan to privatise the Royal Mail will safeguard the branch network.
There is a notice of motion down to debate at next full council in Walsall on the subject of post office closures. Many of us campaigned against closures of local post offices only to be ignored des[ite a lot of concerns by local residents. I cannot see the current colation of Tories and Liberals stopping the momntum of closures.. they are already on the way to privatising the Royal Mail which subsidises the Post Offices... can you really see a market economy run private company helping to subsidise a local post office?
This notice of motion was put down by the Walsall Liberals... a Party that has dug a big hole for themselves to now fall into... and the more they dig the bigger this hole will become and sure enough the Tories will welcome having a junior partner to pass all the blame onto!
The Communication Workers Union said there was a "growing trend" of closures in 2010 which it warned would get worse if the Government pressed ahead with controversial plans to privatise the Royal Mail.
A study by the union showed that 162 post offices were listed as "long-term temporary closures" this year and over 900 were put up for sale,
Many are likely to stay closed indefinitely and those that do reopen are liable to provide a diminished service, such as an outreach van with no access to financial services, said the union.
The CWU said almost 10% of the entire network was currently up for sale, warning they could also be lost to the "temporary closure loophole".
Many subpostmasters are retiring or leaving the business because of the low levels of revenue generated in sub-offices, and in many cases it is difficult to find alternative premises or service providers, according to the CWU.
General secretary Billy Hayes said: "Post offices have been closing at an alarming rate this year, but didn't register because they are misleadingly classed as temporary closures. We're seriously concerned about empty government rhetoric on avoiding post office closures. These promises are contradicted by government taking business away from the Post Office and by the planned privatisation of Royal Mail.
"Post Offices rely on work generated by mails business and most would be unsustainable if this was removed. Many of the proposals in the Postal Services Bill, including privatisation of Royal Mail and splitting the postal group apart, seriously threaten mails business arrangements for the Post Office.
"With uncertainty hanging over Royal Mail and the post office network, it's no surprise that buyers are hard to find. The government must change its approach or face the decimation of our cherished post office network. Who's going to buy a business which stands to lose a substantial part of its income?"
Ministers have pledged there will be no repeat of the closure programme under the previous Labour Government, arguing that the plan to privatise the Royal Mail will safeguard the branch network.
There is a notice of motion down to debate at next full council in Walsall on the subject of post office closures. Many of us campaigned against closures of local post offices only to be ignored des[ite a lot of concerns by local residents. I cannot see the current colation of Tories and Liberals stopping the momntum of closures.. they are already on the way to privatising the Royal Mail which subsidises the Post Offices... can you really see a market economy run private company helping to subsidise a local post office?
This notice of motion was put down by the Walsall Liberals... a Party that has dug a big hole for themselves to now fall into... and the more they dig the bigger this hole will become and sure enough the Tories will welcome having a junior partner to pass all the blame onto!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
what the cuts may mean for you.. to be updated!!
What effects of cuts to the residents of Walsall?
- national cuts… VAT up to 20% which will affect everyone but proportionally more those on low and middle level incomes. There will be an increase in unemployment and further pressure on unemployment benefit costs.
- Cuts of EMA ( education maintenance allowance) this is an amount up to £30 a week paid to families where there is a 16 year old and family of low income to encourage the 16 year old to stay on at school for further education. There has also been an up to 30% rise in tuition fees which risks future generation of young people who go to university only with a wealthier family background.
- There will be a 3% cut in real terms to the NHS ( after inflation, increase in demands etc taken into account) Primary care trusts will go and 80% of spend will go into hands of local doctors who will buy your NHS care. Some GPs may do this well but experience from the last move to GP fund holding showed a lot of GPs were very bad at handling such a vast budget.
- There will be a cut in the police budget which will mean less police. Exact numbers are being discussed by the Chief constable but I cannot see such a level of cuts being implemented without a marked cut in beat officers.
- Cuts to the grant settlement to Walsall Council amount to 9% or £14M for 2011 budget on top of £10M of recent cuts this year. This will mean the loss of at least 450 Council staff plus the knock on affect on support services funded by the Council and supply services to the Council.. Those who get disability living allowance which has a mobility part to it will be expected to pay this towards transport costs. The levying of a cost of transport that was in a previous year’s budget will also be implemented for all. Care packages and respite care support will be cut to the statutory minimum. There will be much greater dependence on ‘telecare’.. detectors that send signal down telephone line to suggest that for example someone suffering from dementia has left the house and not returned for a while.
- Support for leisure centres and libraries is under threat. Some closures and further reduction in opening hours I am sure will be proposed. Swimming pools attached to schools, I am sure will suffer closures from the current level of 44 to around 6.
- The road safety budget ( education etc to young people about road safety ) has already been cut.
- Walsall are now the only Council using SERCO to deliver their education services… all other councils have not renewed their contract… does that tell us something about value for money? Walsall have signed up to another 12 years of SERCO who provide a wide range of services nationally such as transporting prisoners . I do not believe we are scrutinising their spend properly.
- We already contract out a number of services such as the road maintenance to Tarmac. I believe we pay far too much for their services in comparison to other Councils For example we are taking out a new recycling contract that will save over £1Million in a full year… does that not suggest we have been ripped off before?
- I believe that we have to reduce expenditure, but that there has been and continues to be large amounts of wasted or poor value expenditure, serious overlaps and duplication of services and costs, too little cross boundary cooperation, too little encouragement and support for local businesses to access contracts in the Walsall economy, a real threat to ‘spend a little to save a lot’ schemes which will build up much higher costs in the medium to long term. The cuts will fall more proportionally on the lower and middle earners than on the rich who also have the ability to organise their affairs to avoid payment. Maybe all has been decided before we try and protest... but at least we shall try and make those points!
- national cuts… VAT up to 20% which will affect everyone but proportionally more those on low and middle level incomes. There will be an increase in unemployment and further pressure on unemployment benefit costs.
- Cuts of EMA ( education maintenance allowance) this is an amount up to £30 a week paid to families where there is a 16 year old and family of low income to encourage the 16 year old to stay on at school for further education. There has also been an up to 30% rise in tuition fees which risks future generation of young people who go to university only with a wealthier family background.
- There will be a 3% cut in real terms to the NHS ( after inflation, increase in demands etc taken into account) Primary care trusts will go and 80% of spend will go into hands of local doctors who will buy your NHS care. Some GPs may do this well but experience from the last move to GP fund holding showed a lot of GPs were very bad at handling such a vast budget.
- There will be a cut in the police budget which will mean less police. Exact numbers are being discussed by the Chief constable but I cannot see such a level of cuts being implemented without a marked cut in beat officers.
- Cuts to the grant settlement to Walsall Council amount to 9% or £14M for 2011 budget on top of £10M of recent cuts this year. This will mean the loss of at least 450 Council staff plus the knock on affect on support services funded by the Council and supply services to the Council.. Those who get disability living allowance which has a mobility part to it will be expected to pay this towards transport costs. The levying of a cost of transport that was in a previous year’s budget will also be implemented for all. Care packages and respite care support will be cut to the statutory minimum. There will be much greater dependence on ‘telecare’.. detectors that send signal down telephone line to suggest that for example someone suffering from dementia has left the house and not returned for a while.
- Support for leisure centres and libraries is under threat. Some closures and further reduction in opening hours I am sure will be proposed. Swimming pools attached to schools, I am sure will suffer closures from the current level of 44 to around 6.
- The road safety budget ( education etc to young people about road safety ) has already been cut.
- Walsall are now the only Council using SERCO to deliver their education services… all other councils have not renewed their contract… does that tell us something about value for money? Walsall have signed up to another 12 years of SERCO who provide a wide range of services nationally such as transporting prisoners . I do not believe we are scrutinising their spend properly.
- We already contract out a number of services such as the road maintenance to Tarmac. I believe we pay far too much for their services in comparison to other Councils For example we are taking out a new recycling contract that will save over £1Million in a full year… does that not suggest we have been ripped off before?
- I believe that we have to reduce expenditure, but that there has been and continues to be large amounts of wasted or poor value expenditure, serious overlaps and duplication of services and costs, too little cross boundary cooperation, too little encouragement and support for local businesses to access contracts in the Walsall economy, a real threat to ‘spend a little to save a lot’ schemes which will build up much higher costs in the medium to long term. The cuts will fall more proportionally on the lower and middle earners than on the rich who also have the ability to organise their affairs to avoid payment. Maybe all has been decided before we try and protest... but at least we shall try and make those points!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
what is in store for 2011?
The cuts brought about as a result of the actions of greedy bankers will cause hardship in many areas of our communities. Maybe those who are better off will not notice these cuts much, but there are many less well off who will find these cuts really hurt. The problem is that this Tory Government and so this Tory Council are cutting harder and faster than is needed. The cuts will hit areas that will have a higher cost long term
- trebling tuition fee limit which will make access to many universities restricted to young people with rich parents. This could have been prevented by Liberal MPs who broke their election promise. There is also the loss of the education maintenance allowance paid to 16 year olds help support them staying on at school .
- cuts in child benefit
- Those potholes in our roads I suspect will get bigger and cause more damage to both vehicles and pedestrians.
- Libraries will have both their opening hours cut and some will be axed altogether. Libraries used well can be vital to the progress of our children.
- Cuts to the music service based at the Forest will reduce access to music lessons and support over the whole of the schools in Walsall Borough.
- Support for the most vulnerable in our society, those with disability, the elderly, the mentally handicapped both young and old will see their support cut to the absolute legal minimum, loading carers to breaking point. Those who depend on the services of Social services will be very worried about their future level of support.
- Those who receive support from social service will be especially worried with reorganisation of the meals on wheels service and other support services.
- Cuts to the police force will mean a reduction in Officers available to deal with crime and criminal activity. I am sure the criminals will be waiting to take advantage.
- VAT will rise to 20% in 2011 which will mean most items will rise in cost … not much of a dent in the finances of the well off but will make a real impact for most of us.
- The future of our leisure centres , their opening hours and charges are also under the spotlight. This Tory Council would like to off load these to the private sector. Certainly I will expect that most of the swimming pools attached to schools will be closed ( there are around 46 pools which may well be cut to 5 or 6).
- We have to make the decision if we wish to maintain a quality of life that is fair for all our citizens young , old, disabled, handicapped or seriously disadvantaged. I fear that the current Tory direction will carry us towards a ‘ let the market decide’ economy where those with the savings, receivers of banker bonuses will survive and live excellent quality lives. Those who have much more limited resources will tell a very different story. Living in a caring society is the only sort that I want to live in. What do you think?
- trebling tuition fee limit which will make access to many universities restricted to young people with rich parents. This could have been prevented by Liberal MPs who broke their election promise. There is also the loss of the education maintenance allowance paid to 16 year olds help support them staying on at school .
- cuts in child benefit
- Those potholes in our roads I suspect will get bigger and cause more damage to both vehicles and pedestrians.
- Libraries will have both their opening hours cut and some will be axed altogether. Libraries used well can be vital to the progress of our children.
- Cuts to the music service based at the Forest will reduce access to music lessons and support over the whole of the schools in Walsall Borough.
- Support for the most vulnerable in our society, those with disability, the elderly, the mentally handicapped both young and old will see their support cut to the absolute legal minimum, loading carers to breaking point. Those who depend on the services of Social services will be very worried about their future level of support.
- Those who receive support from social service will be especially worried with reorganisation of the meals on wheels service and other support services.
- Cuts to the police force will mean a reduction in Officers available to deal with crime and criminal activity. I am sure the criminals will be waiting to take advantage.
- VAT will rise to 20% in 2011 which will mean most items will rise in cost … not much of a dent in the finances of the well off but will make a real impact for most of us.
- The future of our leisure centres , their opening hours and charges are also under the spotlight. This Tory Council would like to off load these to the private sector. Certainly I will expect that most of the swimming pools attached to schools will be closed ( there are around 46 pools which may well be cut to 5 or 6).
- We have to make the decision if we wish to maintain a quality of life that is fair for all our citizens young , old, disabled, handicapped or seriously disadvantaged. I fear that the current Tory direction will carry us towards a ‘ let the market decide’ economy where those with the savings, receivers of banker bonuses will survive and live excellent quality lives. Those who have much more limited resources will tell a very different story. Living in a caring society is the only sort that I want to live in. What do you think?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)