Demolition of community asset Dartmouth House goes ahead despite community action

Demolition of Dartmouth House in Blakenall goes ahead despite battle by residents supported by their local Labour cllrs to save this registered community asset.

6^th June One of the last acts of this current Tory Council has been to authorise the demolition of Dartmouth House, Ryecroft Place Blakenall, now taking place.

 Walsall Council recently agreed to list and register this building as a community asset under the terms of the legislation provided by the Localism Bill. The local community supported by Dartmouth Neighbourhood Forum were excited at the prospect of assembling a sustainable business case to take over running this building for the benefit of the large number of local elderly residents. Under the legislation, the community should have been allowed up to 6 months to finalise such a plan but this has been denied by the  Tory run Council . This decision to demolish has also been fully supported by local independent Councillor Peter Smith in contrast to a total opposition to such a demolition by local Labour Councillors Ian Robertson and Ann Young and the Labour Group in Walsall.

If Dartmouth House had been saved, the community had planned to run a day centre with meals, evening entertainment, health facilities, welfare advice and eventually a tenant Management Association for the benefit of the 350 local elderly residents.

Dartmouth House was forced to close by Walsall Council and the welfare rights service moved to the Civic Centre , the NHS given notice to quit ( and gone to Short heath at enormous cost to the NHS) and now the local community has been totally ignored and snubbed by carrying out a demolition order, despite a vigorous campaign by local residents and the 2 local labour cllrs. This even involved direct appeals to the secretary of State Eric Pickles whose  Localism Bill was designed to support such bids to save important community assets.

The local community have a case under ‘Wednesbury reasonableness ‘ case Law to take Walsall Council to court and claim substantial damages and the Officers who authorised this demolition could be held personally liable.

This is a bad decision and not listening to residents is unforgiveable. Waiting for but a few weeks for any start to a demolition ,until the new administration is on place and who runs Walsall Council would have been fairer to all.

more information from

Cllr Ian Robertson 01922 634642  or 07956 829549

Some face a bleak Christmas. Scrooge is alive and well and lives at No 10 Downing Street.

Disabled people hit by changes to the benefits system are having to rely on food banks, according to a coalition of disability charities. The Disability Benefits Consortium (DBC), which is made up of 50 charities and other organisations such as the MS Society, Leonard Cheshire Disability and RNIB, is warning the situation will get even worse as the government implements more changes.


A survey of nearly 4000 disabled people, carried out by the DBC, reveals that of those hit by housing benefit changes – such as the ‘bedroom tax’ – more than one in ten (12 per cent) have needed to use food banks to feed themselves and their families.

There have also been changes to council tax that have hit some disabled people hard, increasing the amount of money they have to pay when they were previously exempt. A similar number of people affected by those cuts – 9 per cent – have also needed to use food banks.

Among those people unfortunate enough to be affected by changes to both housing benefit and council tax, as many as 15 per cent are using food banks.

The DBC is warning the government that even more disabled people and their carers are going to be forced to rely on food banks as benefit changes continue to come into force.

The Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is currently being replaced by Personal Independence Payment (PIP). PIP is supposed to help disabled people with the additional costs of living with a disability, but under the plans more than 600,000 people will no longer qualify for support. It will leave them even more likely to need help with the costs of housing and council tax.

News from Blakenall

Interesting mess being created with the debacle around the land issue where at present Bloxwich baths stands.
We have the past announcement that these baths and leisure centre will be rebuilt with lottery grants.. however who actually owns the land on which this Leisure centre stands? Have the Miners charity who left the open space of Leamore Park for the continued benefit of the people of Blakenall been consulted?  How incompentent can you get? and risk losing precious regeneration funds?

News also that the Ryecroft NRC based in Ryecroft Place is to close along with the adjacent health centre facilities. All those using Ryecroft NRC will be expected to move to the Dartmouth centre based in New Forest Road .. the welfare rights service and the ryecroft training unit.. Have the people of New Forest Road been consulted? Not a bit.. we have sent round a consultation paper to seek their views and most feel that the Dartmouth Centre in new Forest Road should be considered for demolition.. they already have too many cars parking there on the road and to increase usage by making the Dartmouth centre the hub of a gigantic spoke will vastly increase the car parking.
Ryecroft NRC I in the right place and if Dartmouth centre was demolished , the land sold for housing, some of the proceeds would cover doing up Ryecroft NRC and expanding into the adjacent health centre.. to be used as a day care centre for the elderly living in the area for lunchtime meals etc
.. a much more sensible plan,.. needs proper meaningful consulting of course .. but your local independent councillor Peter Smith accepting this way forward with £200K to facilitate has done this without asking all local residents about it.. the idea makes good headlines but local residents have to live with the consequences.!

We have news that the Goscote area will be offered up for development... all that debate about the open space called the Lea.. in reality there was never any probable cause for alarm that the Lea would be built on.. the essential first step was to get the advert out to see if any major developer would come forward to talk about it.. as we stand the save the Lea campaign has just delayed the talking and allowed the tipping paradise open space to remain for longer.
WHG should concentrate on looking after their tenants as a priority and I fear that too many times they have lost sight of that with distractions into too many other areas

We have been asking many residents on the effect they see of the introduction of the so called bedroom tax.. a great many horrific personal stories of residents caught up for no fault of their own in the accompanying cuts to their household incomes and so reducing their standard of living to below the poverty line... guilty of ruining peoples' lives... there will be more evictions, family splits and domestic violence and continued wrecking of lives... those who are well off can just shrug off these changes... those in charge have lost touch with reality.. time to turf them out!!
Ian Robertson

What future for our NHS?

Our National Health service seems to be continually under attack by often misguided politicians and also from within by those who work in this sector but forget the basic principles of how to select treatment plans using evidence based medicine .




We have a Government that . has caused a crisis in A&E and cut 4,000 nurses while wasting £3 billion on a damaging reorganisation of our NHS, founded 65 years ago on Friday this week .







People worried about difficulty in getting medical advice with their own GPs now often opted out of out of hours cover go to where they know a place is open and even with a horrendous wait at A and E will eventually get that medical care. This ha created serious pressures on those who are trying to cope with running this part of the service and where sifting through the patients attending is often down to the non medical person sitting on the reception desk. Of course there are many who attend A and E who have relatively minor medical needs and have come to the wrong ‘medical bus stop’ and so hamper health care delivery elsewhere in the system.



The NHS appears to use their resources inefficiently. A health service has the prime objective of treating ill patients , getting them better quickly and helping them to return to normal living and to continue as independently as possible. We also allow public companies whose main interest is producing a profit for their shareholders to write contracts that have so many self interest clauses in to protect those profits and so cost us the tax payers dear. How can these highly paid executives in our NHS and elsewhere be so naive and such poor negotiators?



However we use enormous resources to screen large sections of the public … screening for breast cancer, prostrate cancer, aneurisms, colon cancer which do find some early signs of disease but when you look closely at the figures these numbers are very small ( unfortunately) screening should only be targeted at very high risk groups.. otherwise the only use is to raise awareness of future signs of ill health.



We are now going along the trail of preventative medicines .. such as statins when the proper and only real ‘prescription’ is an adoption of a more balanced and healthier diet maybe with evidence based knowledge of how for example the diet pattern in Southern Italy results in much lower incidence of CHD.



We do not support and coordinate the voluntary sector who are absolutely vital to the sustainable care of the vulnerable, elderly and those convalescing after recovering from illness or supporting with dignity those who are terminally ill.



We must save our NHS from itself becoming terminally ill and drifting into a privatised service where the size of your bank balance determines the quality and speed of access for treatment of your illness.

Death by a thousand cuts.

Death by a thousand cuts


News that Walsall Council will be obliged to make £80 million more cuts over the next 5 years could ring the death knell for services for the vulnerable who are the weakest in our society and who have the most to lose in quality of life. We in the labour Party will do our utmost to ensure that we help those who are already falling through the net and are facing a very bleak future for no fault of their own.

How to move forward?

As a start a serious cull of those in upper management must occur… we do not need an army of over paid civil servants.. as the Gilbert and Sullivan song goes.. they will not be missed…

As a Council we are not anything like skilled enough in the art of robust and fairly ruthless negotiation of contracts and getting the best possible deal for the Council tax payer.

A number of services could be provided by the not for profit sector in many cases, much cheaper and more effectively than

We need a streamlined joined up organisation of the voluntary sector who , if given a seat at the top table in joining in a proper partnership can deliver vital support to our caring services but they need proper acknowledgement of this important role.

All partners need to join forces whether it be housing, social services, the police, the NHS along with the voluntary sector to avoid duplication of effort and resources.

Peter Smith is a Tory

In May 2012. A year has passed since the local elections in Blakenall which resulted in defeat for myself as the Labour Party candidate and the election of the Independent candidate Peter Smith. His vote supporting the Tory group on the Council tipped the balance to keep Walsall Council run by the Tories and his vote again in May 2013 has directly prevented the Labour group from again taking over. I still however continue to fight for your futures.


What damage has happened over this last year? Over 400 households in Blakenall have suffered from the imposition of the ‘bedroom tax’ penalising households who happen to have a spare bedroom , often with a genuine need to have one available. No availability of any smaller property to move into will result in a forced housing benefit cut. Peter Smith again keeping these Tories in power will lead to further big blanket cuts to the budget for care of the more vulnerable disabled and elderly residents living in Blakenall and over all Walsall.. the continued disastrous outcomes of education for our children in Walsall and unacceptable levels of unemployment ; the continued favouritism of budget spends in road and pavement repairs for the more prosperous Tory wards leaving Blakenall behind yet again We continue to lag behind in ill health statistics while the resident tat wagons still plague our neighbourhoods supported by Cllr Smith.

There will be local elections in Walsall in 2014. For the sake of the more disadvantaged wards such as Blakenall, I hope that Labour will win back at least one seat and so put a more caring Labour party in control and so stop independent Cllrs such as Peter Smith from blocking and defeating the Labour Party

Is Peter Smith a Tory? Walsall residents are again condemned to suffering a Tory/ Liberal run Council until 2014 when the ballot box can change the balance of power after 14 years under the Tories.

The three Independent Councillors who are not members of the Labour Party Peter Smith from Blakenall ward and Paul and Chris Bott from Darlaston, two of the more disadvantaged wards of Walsall Borough have for the second year running refused to vote with the labour group of councillors and so allowed the current Tory/Liberals to continue in power and so in control of the budget.This last year has seen failure of the Tory Council in their job creation schemes, overseeing child protection services judged inadequate on inspection, a failure in securing the future of our Town centres and threatening to close our Gala swimming baths… while the ruling Tory Councillors awarded themselves this year a massive pay rise. How Councilors such as Smith and the Botts can allow another year of a Tory run Council who have a record of letting the weakest in our Town go the wall with their policy of ‘let the market decide’ OK for those who earn lots or live in the more prosperous parts of Walsall. Here we have three who profess to be concerned about the most disadvantaged in their wards and end up abandoning their so called principles in return for a promised seat at the top table.

We note that Councilor Smith is now installed to be Mayor in 2014, while residents in his ward suffer increased unemployment, increased fly tipping, and disastrous effects on the many very poor residents in his ward unable to avoid the cuts caused by imposition on their families with the ‘bedroom ‘ tax.

We now see the reality of the effects on our NHS by the so called re-organisation with accident and emergency departments finding at times unable to cope, while those who were in the top management of our NHS for example at Stafford Hospital where hundreds of patients died prematurely due to concealed continued incompetence claim to be ‘not guilty’ and announce their intention to retire with a nice £2 million pension.

There is a more positive way forward .. a council driven by a partnership of organisations who are determined to address the unfair inequalities in our society, are committed to social justice and recognize that our children deserve a better future by receiving an education that is not judged as at present near the worst in the Midlands and to live in a Town that is not amongst the worst in the Country for hosting empty shops … we are all in this together but the Tories are in it for themselves and their friends…. Please join us in helping to gain those crucial extra 3 seats for Labour and so enable a caring and listening Labour group to take control of Walsall council after 14 years of mismanagement by the Tories.

The risks to those on benefits in Blakenall

17th September

You may know that this Tory Government plans to introduce Universal Credit in October 2013.
While I think everyone would accept that the benefit system needs a continuous reform process, this step will seriously affect many of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in Walsall and especially in Blakenall. I post the concerns of many organisations that deal on a day to day basis with those at risk.

The evidence shows there is widespread concern about managing Universal Credit online, the implications of it being paid monthly and being paid to one member of a household, and the gap when the current system is phased out and the new one starts.


Ministers are very keen to ensure that the new system should be "digital by default" - in other words, managed and run online.

The new universal credit system risks causing difficulties to the 8.5 million people who have never used the internet and a further 14.5 million who have virtually no ICT skills," says Citizens Advice.

Only one in ten of claimants think it would make their lives easier”

Women's Budget Group

The public sector workers union Unison makes a similar point, as does the National Housing Federation, the umbrella group for homeless organisations, Homeless Link and Community Links, a charity based in east London, amongst others.

Concerns are raised too about paying Universal Credit monthly.

The Women's Budget Group, which describes itself as an "independent organisation bringing together individuals from academia, non-governmental organisations and trades unions to promote gender equality," also makes some observations.

It tells the MPs: "The government says monthly payment of Universal Credit mimics life in work.

"But many on low incomes in work have wages and/or benefits and tax credits paid more frequently, which matches common budgeting patterns for those on low incomes.

"Only one in ten of claimants think it would make their lives easier. Women are likely to be hit harder, as in low income families they tend to make more frequent purchases that will be squeezed as money is stretched."

There are concerns too that the payment of Universal Credit to one person in a household could, in some instances, upset the family dynamic: potentially putting that individual in a position of considerable power and influence.

Many of those who have submitted evidence are worried about how some people will cope when the changeover from the current benefits system to the Universal Credit takes place.


Work and Pensions Secretary Ian Duncan Smith wants to overcome problems in the benefits system "What consideration has been given to providing grants to cover a shortfall when transitioning from fortnightly to monthly payments, rather than claimants having to rely on budgeting advances or 'pay-day loans' which need to be re-paid?" asks Gingerbread, the charity for single parents.

Manchester City Council raise a broader concern: the effects not just on people, but communities.

"We have concerns about the impacts on people but also on 'place' - either from large scale churn de-stabilising people and communities or reductions in income within areas with high concentrations of people currently on benefit."

Let's now turn to look at some of practical problems around making this change happen on time.

A wide range of organisations involved in meeting the government's deadline are clearly very worried about achieving it.

At the heart of the Universal Credit is what is known as the Real Time Information system. The aim is it will be much more responsive to people's changing circumstances.

It will require employers to report their employees' pay each time they are paid. In addition the self-employed will have to report their income every month instead of every year.

This will be a "significant and difficult burden, reliant on information from others", the Chartered Institute of Taxation tells the MPs.

The success of the Universal Credit depends on the new computer system being completed "under extremely tight timelines," the employers' organisation, the CBI says.

"The new system's tight delivery timetable, coupled with low awareness among companies, is a risk to business and to the implementation of the Universal Credit."

"There is a real risk that the central government Universal Credit IT systems will not be ready on time," adds the Local Government Association, which represents councils.

So how does the government respond? Radio 4's The World This Weekend invited a minister to appear on the programme, but the invitation was declined.

In its evidence to the committee of MPs, the Department for Work and Pensions claims that "digital skills are a factor in around 72% of jobs", and so encouraging people to manage their Universal Credit online is sensible. It also saves a significant amount of money.

Advice will also be available, the department says, for those recipients who need help with managing their family budget.

"Rigorous, integrated IT testing has also commenced," it adds, pointing out it has "some of the best contingency arrangements in place across government" if things go wrong.

Do you think that this Tory run Council cares a jot about the potential   effects on residents of Blakenall? And your new Blakenall Councillor Pete Smith voted with the Tories to get them into control of Walsall Council.  How can anyone who claimed to be a socialist do such a thing?

Please commit yourself to supporting Labour here in Walsall who cannot stop these changes but at least are compassionate on their effects and will ( if they are in charge) try to mitigate the disastrous effects on the most vulnerable in our society.
Please post support or otherwise!
Regards
Ian Robertson