Councillor John Warmisham's Blog

Finance chief hits out at Council Tax ‘bogus claim

2012-01-24T16:43:00.000Z

Salford’s finance chief Cllr Bill Hinds has described a promise that Council Tax will be halved if people vote ‘Yes’ in Thursday’s referendum for a directly-elected Mayor as “a complete lie”.

He said: “The referendum is about how Salford should be run. The level of Council Tax has nothing to do with the constitution of the Council which is the only thing affected by the referendum.

“The promise that a Yes vote will mean Council Tax being halved is a completely bogus claim which most people will take with a pinch of salt.

“This referendum is about whether we vote ‘Yes’ so the city is run by a £100,000 a year dictator or we vote ‘No’ to that and save our traditional impartial Mayor.”

Cllr Hinds said that people did not believe the tax could be halved because many of the cuts promised by the ‘Yes’ campaign were impossible or unacceptable.

The Yes campaign had promised to illegally cut

Care for children at risk irrespective of need
Statutory planning duties
Even minimum highways repairs to keep roads safe
They had also promised to

Cut care for 6,000 vulnerable elderly people
Remove all school crossing patrols
End road safety schemes

End of the NHS as we know it? / Features / Home - Morning Star

2012-01-21T07:26:00.000Z

End of the NHS as we know it? / Features / Home - Morning Star

Face your demons! Salford City Council launch Stop Smoking Campaign

2012-01-18T11:51:00.000Z

Unhappy? Unfit? Feeling the effects of Christmas on your wallet and annoyed that your new year’s resolution hasn’t gone to plan? Don’t bury your face in the sand – get ready to face your demons for a healthy and happy 2012!

If you’re looking to boost wellbeing, fitness and the health of your bank balance... and you’re a smoker, Salford City Council together with a number of partners in the city are here to help.

If you’re looking to reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke, alter your smoking habits to protect children and pets or feel ready to take the plunge and quit altogether, there are a range of services to help you on your way to taking the first steps towards a more positive future.

Councillor John Warmisham, Lead Member for Adult Social Care and Health said:

“A huge percentage of people living in Salford smoke. This campaign will highlight the range of services we offer without preaching, blaming or guilt-tripping. Any kind of positive change in smoking behaviour is a good thing and our team have worked with hundreds of people just like you over the years that started out by cutting down or ‘practicing to quit’.

“We know that by simply offering a one size fits all approach just doesn’t work, each individual has their own special relationship with smoking and motivations for seeking help. What we do know however is the value of accessing support, reflected in the high quit rate of those we work with.”

The Salford Stop Smoking Service, which has been established for twelve years, has some great success stories, with 60% of participants achieving their goals, whether it be reducing their smoking or giving up. The service run drop-in sessions across the city where you can just turn up, or you can arrange a one to one appointment at a time and place to suit you.

This campaign aims to increase the awareness of the Stop Smoking Services support available in Salford, and the different ways and products that can be used to achieve success.

A special event in Buile Hill Park on Wednesday 14th March, National No Smoking Day, will celebrate the positive steps towards a smoke free future. There will be the chance to meet other people from the community who share similar motivations for quitting or preparing to quit. Lanterns will be lit and there will be the chance to pledge your commitment and reasons for wanting to give up.

Councillor Warmisham continues:

“Smoking is a huge problem for our city and it affects the physical, mental and the financial health of our residents. With a little help and support, some tips and advice from those who have been through it, we hope to engage those people, who in the past didn’t think they could change their smoking habits, showing it is possible to tackle those demons.”

For further information visit www.faceyourdemons.co.uk or to reach the Stop Smoking Service directly call 0161 212 4050.

Sir Alex Ferguson opens Disabled Living Centre in Salford

2012-01-13T10:13:00.001Z

Manchester United Manager, Sir Alex Ferguson has taken a break from the stressful world of football to help Salford City Council and Disabled Living launch their new £750,000 purpose-built, state of the art ‘Disabled Living Centre’.

Sir Alex spent an afternoon learning all about Disabled Living’s new headquarters and range of services, taking a tour of the brand new building, meeting staff and users and unveiling a special plaque.

Located in Burrows House, Worsley, the Disabled Living Centre has been developed in partnership with Salford Disability Equipment Services to provide a ‘centre of excellence for assistive technology.’

The Centre will provide free independent advice, and information to ensure disabled people living in the Northwest are able to make informed choices to lead an easier, safer and more independent life.

The centre will include ‘real life’ demonstration areas such as a living room, bedroom, bathroom and two kitchens for users to try out equipment in a safe environment.

There are also a number of training areas for health and social care professionals. The New Year will see the opening of a Simplyhealth retail shop to compliment existing services.
Debra Evans, Chief Executive at Disabled Living said:
“Our brand new Disabled Living Centre has been many years in the making, a real challenge and a true delight. It hasn’t always been easy in the tough economic climate in which we find ourselves, making today’s launch even more special. It was a real pleasure to welcome Sir Alex and we really appreciate him taking time out of his busy schedule to meet staff and users.”
Councillor John Warmisham,Lead Member for Adult Social Care of Salford City Council said:
“This year the city of Salford has enjoyed some great achievements, and the opening of the Disabled Living Centre in Worsley gives us another reason to celebrate. Despite all the economic woes affecting local authorities and charities alike, the team at Disabled Living are providing a great service to ordinary men, women and children, as well those who support them. With people living longer and wanting to remain independent for as long as possible, we must work hard to continue to meet individual needs. As Greater Manchester’s oldest charity, it seems only apt that we welcome the Premier League’s longest serving Manager who has never forgotten his roots and is proud to put something back into Salford.

For further information visit www.disabledliving.co.uk

MPs disown pro-Mayor campaigners

2012-01-09T23:02:00.002Z

Roger Lightup

Salford MPs claimed to be backing the ‘Yes’ campaign for a directly-elected Mayor have come down on the side of ‘No’ campaigners.
The ‘Yes’ campaign put out leaflets saying that Labour’s Hazel Blears and Barbara Keeley were supporting their bid .
But in a joint statement the MPs said: “We have never endorsed the ‘Yes’ campaign. We urge citizens of Salford to vote ‘No’ in the referendum on January 26th. Statements appearing in the ‘Yes’ campaign leaflets are out of context.
“We are proud to have belonged to a Government that gave people the right to decide on a directly-elected mayor. Believing that people should have a choice does not mean that it should be in favour no matter when or where.”
Ms Blears added: “I remain in favour of elected mayors but believe they are most effective when they cover large areas such as Greater London, encompassing a number of local authorities. In single Council areas there is a danger that the costs are disproportionate to the benefits.
"At this time when the Government is inflicting severe cuts on Salford Council, now is not the time to be incurring extra costs which would be better spent on frontline services.”
Ms Keeley said: ““I do not support the idea of a directly-elected Mayor in Salford as I believe we do not need an American-style City Boss here.
"Salford Council has to deal with deep budget cuts from the Government. The referendum is a costly distraction from the council’s important work of keeping services going and developing the local economy.”

No Campaign chair Roger Lightup welcomed the clarification. He said: “The Yes campaigners cannot be trusted. This is the second time they have been caught out.
“In the public debate before Christmas they admitted that their main claim that the Council Tax would be halved was not true. They admitted a directly-elected Mayor could increase Council Tax.
“All moderate, sensible political parties think this is the wrong time for a costly referendum which will bring no benefits.”

First foot forward for 2012 / Comment / Home - Morning Star

2011-12-31T07:48:00.000Z

First foot forward for 2012 / Comment / Home - Morning Star

Given a bad rep... / Features / Home - Morning Star

2011-12-27T08:22:00.000Z

Given a bad rep... / Features / Home - Morning Star

The Lib Dem irrelevance / Comment / Home - Morning Star

2011-12-22T07:37:00.000Z

The Lib Dem irrelevance / Comment / Home - Morning Star

Rich and powerful feeding far right / Britain / Home - Morning Star

2011-12-12T06:46:00.000Z

Rich and powerful feeding far right / Britain / Home - Morning Star

Winter Weather Warning

2011-12-06T09:07:00.001Z

Making sure you have a snow plan could be the key to surviving the winter weather.

Salford City Council is advising residents, especially the elderly, to get prepared, just in case snow hits the city again this winter.

Having plenty of non-perishable food in the house and a few days’ supply of any essential medicines means those unable to venture out in the snow can still keep healthy in the winter months.

Anyone with elderly or vulnerable neighbours or family is being asked to check on them in the winter months, offering to pick up shopping and making sure they’re keeping warm.

Having arrangements in place just in case the schools have to close can also make life easier for parents and carers, just in case there is snow.

Councillor John Warmisham, Lead Member for Adult Social Care at Salford City Council, said: “We need to make sure we have plans in place to make sure we can cope with heavy snowfall, as the past couple of years have shown this is a distinct possibility.

“At this time of year pulling together as a community becomes all the more important. Just calling in on a neighbour to make sure they’re OK and offering to pick up some bread and milk could make a huge difference.

“At the council we do have plans in place to contact the most vulnerable and offer support, but any help the community can give to check on people is very much appreciated. We have a great community spirit here in Salford and this is just the time when we need the community to pull together and watch out for one another.”

If there is heavy snow the council will post information for residents at http://www.salford.gov.uk/winterweather.htm, or you can contact Salford City Council on 0161 794 4711.

NO TO MAYOR

2011-12-06T07:12:00.001Z

NO TO MAYOR

Salford’s campaign to stop our traditional, impartial Mayor becoming a party political American-style city boss

Press Release December 5th 2011

Referendum ‘no’ vote campaign launched

Salford’s former First Citizen Roger Lightup is to head the campaign for a ‘no’ vote in the mayoral election.

He was elected to chair the campaign committee set up by Salford City Labour Party at a meeting in Swinton .

Mr Lightup said: “I know from direct experience how much the people of Salford value the traditional, impartial mayor who acts as a figurehead and ambassador for the city.

“This would be swept away by a directly-elected mayor and we would instead have a party-political mayor, more like an American-style city boss.

“That is why I urge a ‘no’ vote in the referendum and why I am privileged, as an ordinary citizen, to lead the fight to keep a voice for Salford people.

“I campaigned 20 years ago to set up community committees and I am proud of the way the city has used these to spread out decision-making.

“It would be a step back in time to move from a system where local councillors and communities have a real say to one where all power is placed in the hands of one person.”

Although Labour-led, the campaign welcomes support from all mainstream parties and individual citizens.

Leaflets will be delivered throughout the city during December setting out the arguments against a directly-elected mayor. The campaign has also set up a Facebook site: Notomayor

Rally & March November 30th

2011-11-24T08:08:00.001Z

Salford LEaDing the way in street lighting.

2011-11-22T12:54:00.002Z

At a time when many other local authorities across the UK are
having to switch off their street lights to save money, Urban
Vision, working on behalf of Salford City Council, have devised
a plan to improve the street lighting performance in Salford
and save the Council money at the same time. This innovative
new scheme is expected to initially save the Council at least
£40,000 each year in reduced energy costs, and is likely to be
significantly more due to the energy inflation levels predicted
over the coming years. This would see the Council save around
£800,000 over the 20 year life span of the new LED lantern.

Following recent trails, we are extremely pleased to announce
that 2000 new LED street lights will be retrofitted on over 300
streets across the City with Salford City Council being one of
the first local authorities to introduce this initiative within the
Region. The new LED lanterns will be supplied by LED Roadway
Lighting, a leader in this field, with installation anticipated to be
completed by the end of the year.

The LED street lighting uses around half the amount of
energy currently used by the existing street lights and with
the enhanced durability of the LED lighting technology, it will
require only minimal maintenance over its life span.

In addition to the reduced carbon savings and value for money
benefits, community safety will also be enhanced, as the light
produced from the LED lighting is a high quality white light with
an excellent colour definition, making the streets brighter at
night for pedestrians and local residents.

Following the fitting of the new street lights, the next stage is
look to develop a plan to roll out this LED initiative across the
City to bring further efficiencies, savings and improved lighting
to the residents of Salford.

Above is an article by Urban Vision. I'm pleased to announce that Langworthy Ward will be having some of the initial lights installed. Sites identified are :

Almond Close

Amersham Street

Brentwood

Citrus Way

Clementine Close

Coconut Grove

Coomassie Street

Culverwell Drive

Mango Place

Melksham Close

Melon Place

Sandy Grove

Tenbury Close

Time to end the grumbling / Comment / Home - Morning Star

2011-11-22T05:48:00.000Z

Time to end the grumbling / Comment / Home - Morning Star

Dangerous vodka seized in Salford

2011-11-21T16:13:00.000Z

Dangerous vodka seized in Salford

Dangerous fake vodka, which could cause poisoning if drunk, has been seized in Langworthy and Broughton.

Residents and retailers are being warned not to buy the fake products being sold as 70 cl bottles of 'Smirnoff' and unknown brand 'Drop' vodka.

The fake Smirnoff is recognisable by how the labels have been applied - by hand - often not quite straight and using dollops of glue which are visible.

Trading Standards officers are working extra hours to make sure all off licenses in the city are visited, so far seizing 150 bottles of the counterfeit bottles.

Retailers have been grateful of the warning about the fake products and have been reminded to buy only from reputable sources.

The dodgy booze contains ‘denatured alcohol’ more usually used as fuel for camping stoves and therefore unfit for human consumption. If drunk this can cause serious poisoning with symptoms of flushing, headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting and could even induce a coma.

Trading Standards' investigations into anyone found to be selling these products are ongoing.

Cllr Ray Mashiter, Salford City Council lead member for environment said:

“We can’t stress enough how dangerous this vodka is and the serious health consequences it could have if drunk.

Council officers from three departments are working extra hours to make sure we visit every off licence in the city and seize any of these products.

I’m very grateful to the resident who came forward as we have been able to act swiftly to try and avoid any harm being caused to unsuspecting customers. We rely on the public making reports to us alongside our regular inspections.

If anyone thinks they have bought these products they shouldn’t drink them and they should contact our Trading Standards team on 0161 925 1346.”

Six weeks left to save the Star / Britain / Home - Morning Star

2011-11-16T06:24:00.000Z

Six weeks left to save the Star / Britain / Home - Morning Star

Pro-privatisation peers in health firms' pockets / Britain / Home - Morning Star

2011-11-03T08:11:00.000Z

Pro-privatisation peers in health firms' pockets / Britain / Home - Morning Star

Lifting the lid on Beecroft / Comment / Home - Morning Star

2011-10-27T07:44:00.000+01:00

Lifting the lid on Beecroft / Comment / Home - Morning Star

2011-10-21T16:30:00.002+01:00

Bellow is a briefing in relation to the Blue Badge Scheme.

Cllr Norman Owen Salford Liberal Democrat Leader has criticised the fact that we are having to charge for this.
It is down to HIS ConDem Government that these charges are being brought in due to the changes in administration being charged to local Authorities.

Briefing re the National Blue Badge Scheme.

Changes to the Scheme

After a review of the Blue Badge Scheme by the Department for Transport a number of changes to the administration and issue of Blue Badges are being put in place from 1 January 2012. The measures are to counter fraud and misuse and have resulted in the following changes:-

• Extending the grounds available to local authorities to refuse to issue and to withdraw badges

• Implementing a new badge design that is harder to copy, forge and alter

• Implementing arrangements for the secure printing, personalisation and distribution of the badge

• Introducing more effective monitoring of cancelled, lost and stolen badges

• Developing a common database of Blue Badge holders and their key details, thus preventing multiple and fraudulent applications

• Improving validity checks

• An on-line eligibility checker and application form (a paper-based application will continue to be available).

The main changes relating the local authority role is that a new, single, national supplier has been engaged to securely print, personalise and distribute the badges. This replaces work that was previously undertaken by the council.

Local authorities will remain responsible for the decisions about whether or not the applicant is eligible for a badge, for referrals for medical assessments and for checks on an applicant’s residency and identity.

The new National Supplier of Blue Badges

The Department for Transport has contracted with Northgate Information Systems in partnership with Payne Security to provide parts of the Blue Badge Service on a 5-year term from 1 January 2012. Northgate is an established provider of services to 90% of local authorities, including Salford.

Northgate’s core services for badges will include:-

• A way of ordering badges
• Facilitating interaction with existing systems
• Creating a national Blue Badge data base
• Providing an on-line eligibility checker and an on-line application form that will be available via the DirectGov website
• Managing Payne Security in the production, supply and distribution of badges
• Answering first line enquiries from the public and signposting to their correct local authority
• A help line to assist applicants with queries
• A five day turn around on completed applications
• New badge design to improve security, incorporating built-in security enablers, constructed in a similar way to that of driving licences but remaining the same size as the current badge

Charges for a Blue Badge

The local authority is allowed to charge up to a maximum of £10 per badge issued. This will provide the local authority with the scope to cover the costs the council will incur as a result of the new arrangements. For example, we now have to pay for each badge issued by Northgate and also have to change the way we keep and transfer information.

The £10 charge for Blue Badges will apply to new applications and renewals as they are made and, as the badges last for 3 years, the cost is spread over this time.

Councillor John Warmisham, lead member for Adult Social Care and Health, said::

“ The Department of Transport (DoT) has introduced changes to the Blue Badge scheme that will affect all Blue Badge holders across the country from the 1st January 2012. The DoT has adopted new arrangements for the production and distribution of Blue Badges aimed at improving security and reducing misuse. They have appointed a single company to produce the badges across the country. Like other local authorities, Salford council will incur additional costs arising from the DoT’s changes for administering the scheme locally and to pay the company for the production and issue of each badge. The £10 charge for Blue Badges in Salford will apply to new applications for Blue Badges and renewals and is being made to cover the cost to the council resulting from the DoT’s changes. Blue badges are issued for a period of three years, so the cost will be £3.34 per year.”

MPs tell Miliband to get a grip after miners snub / Britain / Home - Morning Star

2011-10-20T07:38:00.000+01:00

MPs tell Miliband to get a grip after miners snub / Britain / Home - Morning Star

A cosy Dale Farm myth / Comment / Home - Morning Star

2011-10-20T07:33:00.000+01:00

A cosy Dale Farm myth / Comment / Home - Morning Star

Lansley's pincer attack tightens / Features / Home - Morning Star

2011-10-19T06:13:00.000+01:00

Lansley's pincer attack tightens / Features / Home - Morning Star

Salford March Against the Tories! March for the Alternative!

2011-09-14T07:50:00.002+01:00

Sunday October 2nd.
Assemble: 10.30am - Fire Station Square(off the Crescent, opposite Salford Uni).

The Salford march will join a massive national Trade Union demonstration taking place in Manchester(details below).

Salford March supporters so far....

Salford Against Cuts
Salford TUC
Salford City Unison
Salford District Labour Party Local Goverment Committee
Unite/0538
Greater Manchester TUC

March and Rally - Manchester for the Alternative Date: Sunday 2 October
Assemble 12 noon Liverpool Road (off Deansgate)

This year the Conservative Party are having their annual Conference in Manchester and the TUC is organising a march and rally to show opposition to the Coalition Government's disastrous policies of pay freezes, cuts and attacks on public services that are producing rising unemployment, cuts in living standards and stagnation. The march will also show the support for The Alternative. We need jobs, growth and justice for a sustainable future and this event will send that message loud and clear.

We call for the maximum support and are specifically asking unions and trades councils to:

• Encourage all your members to attend, a flier is available to download [PDF] and printed copies are available, to order leaflets e mail NWMarch@tuc.org.uk clearly stating the number of leaflets wanted and a postal address for delivery, allow 5 working days for delivery ,

• Let us know if you are booking transport and we can give advice on drop off, parking and collection,

• To ensure that we have an effective and safe event we need a number of stewards and all affiliates are asked to nominate a number of stewards, please e mail contact details of potential stewards to me,

• Consider making a donation to help fund the campaign.

There will be provision for marchers with disabilities, including a short route. It would be helpful if organisations could give as an indication of what their members access requirements are and we will do our very best to ensure that they are met.

Exclusive: Give us minister, says Grey Pride / Britain / Home - Morning Star

2011-09-12T08:19:00.000+01:00

Exclusive: Give us minister, says Grey Pride / Britain / Home - Morning Star

A Taste of Salford

2011-09-04T15:50:00.004+01:00

Cllr John Ferguson ready to meet the public.

Cllr Antrobus pushes MC & Cllr Rochford out of the way to get at more Eccles Cake Ice Cream !

Cllr's Pat & Brendan Ryan with Grandson.

A Taste of Salford Marquees.

Millionaires aren't bothered / Comment / World / Home - Morning Star

2011-08-15T07:55:00.000+01:00

Millionaires aren't bothered / Comment / World / Home - Morning Star

KEY MESSAGES TO FAITH COMMUNITIES

2011-08-11T17:40:00.000+01:00

More than 60 people have been dealt with by the courts in Manchester already, many of them jailed. This is a fantastic result and there is more to come
We will be publicising details of the court results throughout the day via various media channels

The criminals who attempted to destroy the spirit of Greater Manchester have failed with communities from every background standing against them in solidarity. The support shown to the police has been overwhelming.

We know that people from faith communities are out and about in their local area attending events in the community during the evening. We also recognise that some faiths are attending places of worship more often at present therefore we are asking all communities in Greater Manchester to support the police by:

• Supporting young people in the community to be responsible citizens and encouraging parents to supervise them appropriately

• Ensuring that if they are attending an evening event, to consider returning home promptly after the event has finished

• Contacting us with any information regarding potential for disturbance

• Members of the community can email information to fib.communityintelligenceteam@gmp.pnn.police.uk or call 0161 872 5050
• If you feel immediately threatened or in the event of an emergency please call 999

• Police have started to release the first set of images of people
suspected of carrying out last criminal damage and disorder in
Manchester and Salford www.flickr.com/photos/gmpwanted

• Anyone who recognises the people in the images can call the Greater
Manchester Police information appeal line on 0800 092 0410 or
Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111

We ask for your continued support in catching those responsible for the sporadic disorder and acts of criminality we witnessed earlier this week. Please contact the police if there are any problems, so that together we can continue to keep the communities of Greater Manchester safe and secure

We are working on a specific Crimestoppers campaign to tap into the mood of the public details of which will be released tomorrow

Video: Clean-up effort begins as community spirit shines | Salford Advertiser - menmedia.co.uk

2011-08-11T17:34:00.000+01:00

Video: Clean-up effort begins as community spirit shines | Salford Advertiser - menmedia.co.uk

Salford is returning to normal following last night’s disorder.

2011-08-10T16:40:00.001+01:00

Members of the public and councillors joined the council’s Environmental Services team this morning to clean up the mess vandals caused around Salford Precinct. The precinct was back to normal before 10am.

Officers from the City Council’s Business Support Team are now speaking to the affected businesses to see what they can do to help get the businesses back on track.

Councillor John Merry CBE, Leader of Salford City Council, has said: “In the past 24 hours we’ve seen the best and the worst of Salford.

“The number of people who offered to help clean up their community has been really heart warming. The majority of the people living in Salford are, quite rightly, disgusted by what they saw happening in their city last night.

“Throughout the night we have been working closely with the police and I can honestly say they’ve done a brilliant job of getting this difficult situation under control. I’ve had similar reports from members of the public who were really pleased with the way the police responded.

“We now need to make sure these mindless thugs are caught and brought to justice. There was absolutely no reason for this disorder, other than to destroy and steal from our city. I would urge anyone who knows anyone who was involved in last night’s trouble to contact the police. These individuals should not be allowed to get away with it and we need to take a stand against them and show Salford will not tolerate this abhorrent behaviour.”

Vandals set fire to the former Broadwalk Library and Salford housing office, which was being used for storage of books, causing significant damage.

A number of Salford residents who turned up this morning to help with the cleanup have explained why they wanted to help:

Becky Fitzpatrick from Pendleton said: “I took the day off work today to come and help clean up. I live here and I want my little boy to grow up in a nice place.”

Tracey Kelly from Irlam, said: “I’m from Irlam where we have a great community spirit and I’ve come to show my support to the local community and local councillors. All the 999 services and agencies have done a brilliant job in the circumstances and it’s just mindless criminality.”

Paul Hutching from Langworthy, said: “This is my community and I want to make it better. I’ve lived here for 10 years and want to help rebuild what’s been damaged. I’m pleased to see the efforts from the council and agencies that have gone into helping the clean up.”

Mr and Mrs Cooper from Langworthy, said: “We just live around the corner from Salford precinct and have come down with our daughter to show that not everyone in Salford is like those people rioting last night.”

Joe O’Malley, Secretary of Spruce Court Tenant’s Association turned up with brooms to help out with the cleanup. He said: “The reason I came down to help the clean up is to show that we’re not letting these people get the better of us – we want to fight back. I’m really shocked at what’s happened and it’s putting the precinct to a halt. People are scared and frightened and there’s no way we will let these people involved in the riots get to us.”

Irena Kuszta from Monton, said: “I was watching it on the TV like everyone else last night and thought, we’ve got to do something to help. I love Salford and it’s a shame people targeted a deprived area. They are stealing from themselves and their parents and just being here today is helping to lift spirits and morale. I’d like to thank everyone who responded to messages to come down and help the clean up.”

Joe Macer from Broughton, said: “I was going to go to work this morning to do some window cleaning but I’m disgusted with the riots. I am annoyed that the youth can trash their city. I’m here to just see how I can help and speak to the community. I’ve come with my broom and a bag and have helped to clear away glass and wood from the damaged shops.”

Fanning the flames of hatred / Features / Home - Morning Star

2011-08-08T06:48:00.000+01:00

Fanning the flames of hatred / Features / Home - Morning Star

Cameron's big society begins to crumble / Britain / Home - Morning Star

2011-08-03T10:07:00.000+01:00

Cameron's big society begins to crumble / Britain / Home - Morning Star

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/content/view/full/107729

2011-08-01T06:55:00.000+01:00

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/content/view/full/107729

Unity is the way to fight the far right / Features / Home - Morning Star

2011-07-29T09:22:00.000+01:00

Unity is the way to fight the far right / Features / Home - Morning Star

Landmark Pendleton Project Gets Go Ahead

2011-07-22T12:39:00.002+01:00

Planning Consent has been successfully granted for a 140,000
sq ft Tesco superstore on the land next to Salford Shopping City
in Pendleton, creating 750 jobs and a much needed boost to
the local economy.

However, bringing this development to site was not
straightforward and Urban Vision’s Property, Planning,
Engineering and Design Teams have worked long and hard in
conjunction with Salford City Council to bring a 25 year journey
to a successful conclusion.

The History
In the mid 1980’s the Council wanted to locate a large modern
food retail superstore in Pendleton to work hand in hand with
Salford Shopping City. However, due to relatively low land values
at this time and issues relating to the current land usage, the
project didn’t progress.

In early 2000, the Council took the initiative to progress this
opportunity. Although the majority of the site was in the
ownership of the City Council, three private properties remained,
which included; a Roman Catholic Primary School, a Methodist
Church and a laundry building.

Negotiations from Urban Vision’s Property Team commenced to
acquire both the RC Primary School and the Methodist Church on
the basis of a Compulsory Purchase Order, which required the
Council to relocate and fund the rebuilding of the Church and
School at alternative locations. The work to achieve this was
both detailed and complex, however sites for these facilities
were successfully secured in Langworthy and Seedley, further
contributing to the regeneration of that area.

As the Council wanted a scheme that would link with the
existing shopping centre, Supplemental Planning Guidance was
developed and issued indicating how the development of the
site should be taken forwards.

The proposals have been the source of considerable debate
and dispute with the former and current owners of Salford
Shopping City, involving a number of Judicial Review decisions
that have been successfully overcome, leaving the path clear for
development works to commence.

Planning consent has been secured and the sales agreement
represents the single largest capital receipt the City Council has
ever received.
We are pleased to announce that the construction of the
superstore is anticipated to start in autumn 2011.

Thanks to Urban Vision for this article.

Punctured arrogance / Comment / World / Home - Morning Star

2011-07-19T07:37:00.000+01:00

Punctured arrogance / Comment / World / Home - Morning Star

Goodbye Mr.Fry

2011-07-15T10:46:00.004+01:00

I had the pleasure last night of attending the leaving do of Liam Fry, Head Teacher of Lark Hill Primary School.

Liam has been head 25 years +(he stopped counting at 25 years)of firstly the old West Liverpool St, then the newly formed Lark Hill Primary. In that time he has educated thousands of children from Langworthy,Seedley and Pendleton.

He along with his staff over the years have worked tirelessly to give those young people the best possible start in life.

It has been my privilege and pleasure to work with Liam as a governor of the school and see first hand his care and commitment to the children and the community as a whole. He will certainly be missed.

I'd like to wish him well on his retirement, which he plans to spend on the golf course and to be a doting Grandad.

A man after my own heart, he plans to spend more time watching Manchester United.

Good luck Liam.

Government backs Pendleton revamp plans

2011-07-13T12:18:00.000+01:00

A multi-million pound regeneration project which will create 1,600 new homes in Salford has been approved by the government.

Housing Minister Grant Shapps has signed off the next stage of an investment programme for Pendleton after being reassured it will deliver improvements that are value for money for local people.

Since the October public spending review, housing private finance initiative (PFI) projects nationally have been put on hold to undergo further scrutiny from the Homes and Communities Agency.

Salford's plans survived the review which means the city council can now push forward with its plan to completely redevelop Pendleton with a mixture of new housing and improvements to some 1,200 existing homes.

The council will now put together a full business case to submit to the government for further review.

A decision is expected in the next few months after which a preferred bidder to carry out the work will be chosen.

Councillor Peter Connor, Salford City Council's lead member for housing said: "Our plan for Pendleton will give residents a better choice of affordable housing and we're pleased the government supports us in what we're trying to achieve.

"There is still lots to do but this news allows us to move to the next stage which is to submit further plans to the government so we can move to financial close and start work."

Leader of Salford City Council, Cllr John Merry said: "This review compared many PFI projects so for the Government to choose to support us shows our plans are very well thought out and good value for money for the people of Salford."

A spit in the face of grief / Comment / World / Home - Morning Star

2011-07-06T07:18:00.000+01:00

A spit in the face of grief / Comment / World / Home - Morning Star

The NHS is 63 tomorrow, but will it reach 64? / Britain / Home - Morning Star

2011-07-05T07:11:00.000+01:00

The NHS is 63 tomorrow, but will it reach 64? / Britain / Home - Morning Star

Tie a knot in it to save the planet, say the Greens.

2011-07-02T06:36:00.002+01:00

Yes, there's trouble at the Green party, as we reported yesterday, with claims of internal strife and accusations of secrecy. But we shall not dwell on them here, for there are issues more pressing that impact on the future of mankind. The fact is there are too many people closing the curtains, dimming the lights, doing what people do with all the traditional repercussions. Caroline Lucas, the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, says we need a good talking to about this. Interviewed by the politician/writer Dominic Carman, Lucas says this level of procreation may be OK in the developing world. But societies like ours need a rethink. "You are arguing for a shift in thinking in Britain where it is socially unacceptable to have more than two children?", asked Carman. "Yes, I am suggesting that a public debate may well lead in that direction," said Lucas. No legislation. This isn't China. Just a general frowning, perhaps, towards the careless; the excessively libidinous. Still, tell that to Peter Allen, who fought the Oldham byelection for the Greens earlier this year. He's a father of six.

From Hugh Muir's Guardian Diary.

Online forum to help carers share stories

2011-06-15T08:30:00.000+01:00

Carers in Salford are being encouraged to share their stories as part of a national campaign to raise awareness of what life as a carer is like.
Salford City Council has set up an online forum (http://services.salford.gov.uk/forum/) where carers can talk to each other about their experiences to help create a network of support in the city.
It is being launched to coincide with this year's Carers' Week (13 - 19 June) campaign - 'The True Face of Carers'.
One person keen to tell his story is 47-year-old Mark Lloyd who is a full-time carer for his wife who has long-term health conditions.
Mark lives with his wife, Caroline, 49, in New Broughton, Salford. He has been her carer for over eight years, helping with her medication and the cooking and cleaning.
To support him as a carer, Mark has just bought a laptop with money from Salford City Council as part of a personal budgets programme.
It means he can now chat to other carers online and access a whole range of support services.
He said: "Over the last few years our lives have revolved around hospitals and health centres and with not getting out much the laptop has been a big help to us as we can chat to family abroad and friends."
Personal budgets allow carers to apply for extra financial help for things that will support them in their caring roles as well as their own personal lives.
Talking about being a carer he added: "We gave up our three bedroom house last June because it became too much to look after as well as caring for my wife.
"We moved to a ground floor, two bedroom apartment which we both really love. It's a lot easier to maintain and we're just having a wet room done so Caroline can use the shower without the bath, which will be a big help to her."
Carers also have access to support through the Salford Carers' Centre - a service commissioned by Salford City Council and the Princess Royal Trust for Carers network.
Based in The Angel Healthy Living Centre in Chapel Street, carers' support workers work with carers of all ages from as young as eight. This includes help with schooling and onto further education.
Cllr John Warmisham, Salford City Council's lead member for adult social care said: "The aim of this project is to get carers talking to each other and the more people who come forward to share their experiences, the more people can learn from it.
"Some people might not think of themselves as a carer and national Carers' Week is about showing carers the support that's out there and that their not alone."

NHS Bill "not fit for purpose" / Britain / Home - Morning Star

2011-06-13T09:01:00.000+01:00

NHS Bill "not fit for purpose" / Britain / Home - Morning Star

Willow Tree Primary School Opening

2011-06-09T16:47:00.003+01:00

Really pleased today (9/6/11) that Andy Burnham MP was able to come to Langworthy Ward to officially open Willow Tree Primary School. The school is an ultra modern two form entry primary school, providing capacity for 420 children reception to key stage 2 and a 60 place nursery. The interior and exterior have been designed to ensure the children have a fantastic learning experience. Talking to the children on a tour round, they thought it a fantastic place to learn so much better than the old schools that they had come from. I was very impressed with the children who were so polite, engaging and confident. If this is the future generation of Langworthy we should do all we can to encourage and nurture them. A big thanks to Headteacher Mrs.R.Munro, staff and governors for making us so welcome. This school will serve future generations thanks to the investment of a Labour Government working with a Labour Council.

Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month 2011

2011-06-06T09:40:00.001+01:00

Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month 2011

Throughout the month of June activities and events will be taking place around the country in schools and community centres to celebrate and raise awareness of Gypsy Roma Traveller and Showman culture and heritage. Salford City Council will once again be an active supporter of this initiative and will host a variety of workshops, activities and events that in the City. We will be jointly working with Manchester City Council on some activities, reflecting the strong links between communities in both cities.

There is a difference this year because rather than stage all our activity in June we are planning to kick things off then but have a series of events through summer and autumn to maintain the momentum. Further information will be added as projects are finalised.

Events in Salford

Community Celebration
Saturday 18th June 12.00pm - 5.00pm
Venue: Irish World Heritage Centre, Queens Road, Cheetham Hill

This event will be an opportunity for different Gypsy Roma Traveller groups, officers, partners and members of the public to come together and learn more about the culture and heritage of these often misunderstood communities.

The highlights of the day will be “Travellers Got Talent” show a chance for individual and groups to show off their ability as singers, dancers and all round entertainers in front of a panel of expert judges! The winners and runners up will receive prizes.

There will also be a professional storyteller, Roma portrait artist, life-size bow top wagon, traditional Irish and Roma music and dancing and much more. Examples of good practice and successful educational projects will also be showcased at this event.

Events for young people and schools

1) The internationally acclaimed Roma artist, Ferdinand Koci and local members from the Showman’s guild will be running art workshops on the 14th and 17th June in primary and secondary schools in the city to give an insight into Roma, Traveller and Show people culture. Pupils will also have the opportunity to experience what traditional Gypsy and Traveller life was like by taking part in storytelling workshops inside a traditional life-size Gypsy wagon (known as a Vardo). Details of the schools involved will appear here shortly.

This year there will also be a national competition for children of all ages called a “Moment in Time” where entrants can create a story, poem, painting, photograph or even a piece of music or song that captures a moment in Gypsy, Roma and Traveller culture or history. Prizes will be given out in each category in the autumn term.

2) The Broughton Trust in partnership with Lower Broughton Children’s Centre will be offering Taster workshops in Hair and Beauty and Well–Being aimed at young Traveller women in order to help them develop skills for employment. The workshops will be taking place at Lower Broughton Children’s Centre during June, and further details of the exact dates will be added soon.

For more information contact Natalie Stables, Ethnic Minority & Traveller Achievement Service (EMTAS) on 0161 921 2202 or by email on Natalie.stables@salford.gov.uk

BOGUS CALLER

2011-05-29T09:48:00.006+01:00

I have been informed that there is a bogus caller targeting the older population in Langworthy Ward.

He is posing as a gardener, taking the money upfront,does a bit of digging, says he is going to the shop, then disappears.

He is described as a thin white male on the scruffy side.

Please warn elderly relatives/neighbours in the ward.

If you have any information please contact GM Police 0161 872 5050

SALFORD DEFEND THE NHS RALLY - Salford Star - with attitude & love xxx

2011-05-19T15:06:00.000+01:00

SALFORD DEFEND THE NHS RALLY - Salford Star - with attitude & love xxx

Victory for Salford Council in Tesco land deal battle paves way for new superstore | Salford Advertiser - menmedia.co.uk

2011-05-19T09:23:00.000+01:00

Victory for Salford Council in Tesco land deal battle paves way for new superstore | Salford Advertiser - menmedia.co.uk

Back health campaign call from Salford Labour Party

2011-05-15T15:56:00.001+01:00

Salford City Labour Party is urging everyone to back the pensioners’ campaign to defend health services.

An afternoon ‘Defend the NHS’ rally will take place at the Unite union offices next Friday (May 20) at Salford Quays.

The rally, organised by the Unite Greater Manchester Pensioners, will be addressed by Manchester Central MP Tony Lloyd. The meeting will be chaired by ex-Salford Labour Mayor Bill Moores.

Cllr John Warmisham, Labour health spokesman on Salford Council, said: “It is vital that everyone takes every opportunity to get home the message that the NHS is not for sale.

“The Tory-led Government promised no more top-down reform of the health service and have put in place the biggest and costliest pro-market reform ever.

“The Tory right make no secret of their wish to see an American-style health service where the credit cards in your pocket are checked before you health.

“Next Friday is an opportunity for Salford people to make their views known and to join with others who share their passion for our health service.”

The rally starts at 1.45pm and is due to end at 4pm.

No wiggle room for Mr Lansley / Comment / Home - Morning Star

2011-05-10T15:03:00.000+01:00

No wiggle room for Mr Lansley / Comment / Home - Morning Star

Hope Not Hate

2011-05-09T09:54:00.000+01:00

Dear John,

I’m writing to you with some great news. For the second year running the BNP has been routed in British elections. They have been wiped out in Stoke-on-Trent, lost all but one of the 268 seats they was contesting in English council elections and saw their vote collapse in the Welsh Assembly elections.

The BNP is now in disarray and huge credit must go to you. For the past few years HOPE not hate has campaigned in the areas where BNP support was strongest. We’ve exposed their racism, lies and incompetence and we’ve offered people a more positive alternative. This year’s campaign has been no exception. In Stoke-on-Trent alone hundreds of people have delivered almost 150,000 pieces of literature since the beginning of the year. Fifteen months ago the BNP had nine councillors in Stoke-on-Trent – now they have none.

The same is true in Thurrock, Burnley, Charnwood, Calderdale and a host of other areas we have campaigned in.

What do these results mean for you? We are creating a HOPE wall on our website and we want you to write on it.
https://donate.hopenothate.org.uk/page/signup/wall-of-hope

The BNP is on the verge of collapse. They have debts of over £600,000 and members and supporters are leaving in droves. They are rats leaving a sinking ship.

Next week we will be evaluating where the HOPE not hate campaign goes from here. Do we have a future if there is no BNP? How do we respond to other right wing parties or even a new far right party? Can we or should we get more involved in positive community cohesion?

These are questions for next week but for now let’s celebrate our success. We have brought the BNP to its knees. Me, you, all of us. We have made a real and meaningful difference.

Please leave a message on our HOPE wall
https://donate.hopenothate.org.uk/page/signup/wall-of-hope

All this has been achieved because of you. Thousands of you have donated to the campaign; many more have come out on the streets to deliver leaflets and newspapers. To those who say that ordinary people cannot change politics we say, look at the HOPE not hate campaign.

Thanks again for all your support. Let’s savour this victory and let’s continue to ensure that HOPE triumphs over hate.

Nick

Vote 2011: Lib Dem vote collapses in Salford

2011-05-07T14:27:00.002+01:00

Labour trounced the Lib Dems in Salford – winning 17 of the 20 seats up forgrabs.

The Lib Dem vote collapsed in the city, with the party coming last in eight of the seats they contested. Labour gained five seats in total - Eccles, Cadishead, Claremont, Weaste and Seedley, and Swinton South.

Labour leader John Merry said "We are obviously delighted with the result here in Salford tonight.

“I think it sends a clear message to the coalition government and also shows a vote of confidence in the council.

“What we have to do now is not betray the trust that's been shown to us by the people of Salford but we still have some very difficult decisions to take."

The barometer for the Lib Dem fortunes was Mary Ferrer in the Claremont ward. A hard working councillor, she lost the seat in a shock result last year.

This time around she was thrashed by 731 votes by Labour's Jo Murphy. In Langworthy, the Lib Dems were again unsuccessful.

Last year their candidate Steve Middleton tried and failed to oust political heavyweight John Warmisham after a bitter war of words.

This year Mr Middleton was defeated by Gina Loveday in his bid to get a much needed foothold in the inner-city ward.

Lib Dem group leader Norman Owen said "We've been hit by the national trend, that's clear throughout the region, with Manchester also suffering.

“We knew it would be hard but we didn't know just how hard it would be."

The Conservatives did well in their traditional heartland in Worsley, Boothstown and Walkden South.

Chris Clarkson pulled 1,761 votes in Worsley, ensuring the seat stayed in Tory hands.

Its previous holder, Ian MacDonald, retired after 15 years' service this year.

In Boothstown and Ellenbrook, the Tories' Robin Garrido held on to his seat, polling 1,521 votes.

Iain Lindley easily defended his Walkden seat. But the party lost Cadishead and Eccles to Labour.

Tory group leader Karen Garrido said: "I'm disappointed but we will bounce back."

Some familiar faces also returned to the fold. Val Burgoyne lost her Swinton South seat in 2008 while she was serving as mayor.

She returned this year to contest the Little Hulton ward where her husband Eric is also a sitting councillor.

She said: "It will be good to get back to work although there has been a lot of changes in the last three years."

The Green Party also lost out in its bid to get a first councillor elected. Council regular Joe O'Neill fought to regain his Swinton South seat after he lost it to Labour last year.

The former Lib Dem left the party just months before the 2010 election, forming a new coalition of independents on the council. But he lost his seat despite a strong personal vote and was again defeated by Labour this year.

Click here for the results in full

Story Pamela Welsh Manchester Evening News.

Care and profit just don't mix / Comment / Home - Morning Star

2011-04-30T07:34:00.000+01:00

Care and profit just don't mix / Comment / Home - Morning Star

26 new houses for Alder Street, Langworthy.

2011-04-27T09:15:00.000+01:00

Great Places Housing Group has started work on new family homes each created from two Victorian terraces.

A total of 26 two-up two-down terraces are being transformed into 11 three-bedroom and two four bedroom family homes at Alder Street; a £2.8m development that will also include 17 new-build two, three and four-bedroom homes.

Great Places is working in partnership with architects MBLA and North West construction firm Southdale who are building the scheme which is located between the successful Fitzwarren Street development, which Great Places completed last year, and Urban Splash’s renowned Chimney Pot Park.

The idea behind Alder Street was to create a development that took the best aspects of the neighbouring schemes and combined it with a fresh and individual new style.

Great Places hopes to repeat the success of homes for shared ownership at Fitzwarren Street which were all reserved within a couple of weeks of the sales launch, despite the economic downturn.

A total of 10 homes will be made available for sale to first-time buyers through Great Places’ ownership division, Plumlife, and 20 will be for affordable rent.

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has invested £1.15m towards the development, which is being carried out in partnership with Salford City Council.

The transformed terraces, which will keep their ornate period details, are set to reach an Eco-Homes rating of ‘very good’.

The new homes, featuring design details such as contemporary, projecting stone effect window surrounds, will share a gated back alley in which neighbours can socilaise. They each have a parking space, and are set to meet the exemplary Code for Sustainable Homes level four.

Stephen Porter, chief executive of Great Places Housing Group, said: “We’ve been working in Seedley and Langworthy for many years, helping to make it a popular place to live, and we’re delighted to be back again at Alder Street.

“Chimney Pot Park has lots of single, professional people and couples and Fitzwarren Street has more families. We’re aiming for Alder Street to be a really diverse and exciting place to live that’s home to a real mix of all sorts of people.”

Deborah McLaughlin, executive director North West at the HCA, added: “Working alongside our partners, Great Places and Salford Council, our investment in this unique scheme will help to provide a great mix of houses, addressing a clear demand from local people looking for a home in the area.”

Cllr Peter Connor, Salford City Council's lead member for housing said: “This development is a key piece in delivering the overall regeneration of the Langworthy area and the innovative scheme design is complimentary to the quality developments of Chimney Pot Park and Fitzwarren Street. We are delighted Great Places is now able to start this scheme as it will have a really positive impact for local residents.”

Paul Moore, managing director at Southdale, said: “Southdale are pleased to be working in partnership with Great Places Housing Group by developing a range of much needed family housing within the City of Salford. The Alder Street scheme goes some way to helping us promote the Southdale brand across the North West as we continue to expand our presence within this region.”

Source: Homes and Communities Agency.

Thanks to Salford Online for story.

Pope expresses concern for Roma seeking refuge in Rome basilica | CatholicHerald.co.uk

2011-04-25T17:30:00.000+01:00

Pope expresses concern for Roma seeking refuge in Rome basilica | CatholicHerald.co.uk

Labour NO2AV launch

2011-04-20T16:13:00.005+01:00

The Labour Party NO2AV Campaign was launched today in Langworthy Ward, Salford. Ward Councillor John Warmisham and MP's Hazel Blears and Tony Lloyd were there to support it.

WHY VOTE NO

2011-04-18T08:00:00.000+01:00

Why Vote NoAV makes elections unfair

AV breaks the principle of one person one choice, because supporters of fringe parties, such as the BNP and UKIP, end up having their vote counted several times while supporters of mainstream parties only have their vote counted once. Under AV the candidate that comes in third place can end up winning. Talented Labour MPs could be evicted in favour of mediocre compromise candidates. The Liberal Democrats hope to win many more seats through being everybody's second choice. Voters themselves should decide who the best candidate is, not the voting system.

AV is a politician's fix

AV is a politician's fix, taking power away from voters and allowing the Liberal Democrats to choose the government after each election. The only vote that really counts under AV is Nick Clegg's. Our current tried and tested voting system delivers clear outcomes and everyone's vote is equal. Where is the democracy in allowing the party that comes third to decide whether Labour go into government or not?

AV is complicated and expensive

Only three countries use the complicated system - Australia, Fiji and Papua New Guinea - and Australia has compulsory voting to make sure people turn up. AV would also be expensive, requiring councils to spend more time and money on vote counting, which would increase your council tax.

This referendum is a choice between a voting system that gives everyone an equal say, and delivers clear outcomes, and a complicated, expensive and unfair political fix. Defend one person, one vote

Vote NO to AV on 5 May 2011

NOtoAV is a campaign that has support from members of several political parties. More than a hundred Labour MPs oppose AV. The campaign is backed by Lord Prescott, Margaret Beckett, members of the shadow cabinet and leading trade unions

Salford Green Party

2011-04-18T07:43:00.003+01:00

Love this picture of Salford Green Party.

Cold-hearted Tories freeze out elderly

2011-04-10T14:37:00.001+01:00

Salford’s Older People’s Champion has spoken out against the latest Tory-led Government plans to cut winter fuel payments the elderly.
Speaking at Salford Forum of Older People today, Cllr John Ferguson, said a decision to cut the winter fuel allowance showed the Government was “as cold-hearted as the homes of many old people will be this winter”.
He added: “In Salford the Council has had to make £42 million cuts and we made a deliberate decision to protect the most vulnerable. We have maintained our standards of care for the elderly when others have reduced them.
“But this Government has cold-heartedly cut the winter fuel allowance and done so cynically in the small print of the Budget.”
The Conservatives and their Lib Dem allies both promised that they would not reduce the winter fuel allowance and Cllr Ferguson condemned “another broken promise from this Government”.
Despite soaring fuel prices and last year’s bitterly cold winter, the Tory-led Government has announced that the elderly will have their winter fuel allowance slashed by £50 for the over 60s and £100 for the over 80s.
Cllr Ferguson later said: “So much for Cameron and Clegg’s General Election pledge that the payments would stay in place. Nick Clegg, after the Budget, even tried to claim on local radio that winter fuel payments were ‘rising’.
"Nick Clegg needs to come clean with pensioners in Salford and correct his mistaken claim that winter fuel payments are rising. He must finally admit that this December they will be £100 lower for the over 80s and £50 lower for those aged 65-80.”

Matron Lansley on the wards

2011-04-10T14:23:00.001+01:00

Excellent by Chris Riddell of The Observer on NHS cuts.

Call for Tory Councillor to resign.

2011-04-05T10:03:00.002+01:00

Salford Labour chiefs have demanded the resignation of Tory planning spokesperson Cllr Iain Lindley for ‘scaremongering ‘ about non-existent plans for an ‘incinerator’.
The call comes in a letter from planning lead member Cllr Derek Antrobus to Tory leader Cllr Karen Garrido.
In the letter he says: “Cllr Lindley is persisting in circulating a leaflet which claims the council is planning for incinerators at two industrial estates in Walkden.
“He knows from statements I made at the last meeting of the City Council, based on the impartial advice of officers, that this is untrue.
“There are no plans for an incinerator and the policy adopted by the Council says that those estates are inappropriate for incineration.”
Tracy Kelly, Labour’s candidate in Walkden South, said: “I have complained to Cllr Antrobus about this leaflet. It is totally untrue in its claim that there’s a plan for incinerators”.
“People are really angry about this scaremongering. The Tories don’t want a ‘Big Society’ but a ‘Frightened Society’ - It’s time they were stopped from misleading people.”
Cllr Antrobus said: “My main concern is with the unnecessary fear that Cllr Lindley is causing. It’s not about the election. The Tories used the same tactic in a recent by-election and their vote fell by 23%.
“But many vulnerable people will be scared by the messages Cllr Lindley is putting out and that is why I’m calling on Tory leader Cllr Mrs Garrido to sack him.”

Day of phoney promises / Comment / Home - Morning Star

2011-04-05T07:58:00.000+01:00

Day of phoney promises / Comment / Home - Morning Star

Tories ‘backsliding’ on Chapel Street vision

2011-03-16T21:41:00.002Z

SALFORD CITY LABOUR PARTY
PRESS RELEASE
2011/03/006 Wednesday, 16 March 2011

Salford Tories were accused of ‘backsliding’ on a key regeneration scheme after complaints that the plan will make it harder for commuters to get through the city into Manchester.
Work is due to begin next Monday on a £10 million scheme to refashion the Chapel Street area of the city which will bring in £500 million of private investment and thousands of jobs.
At the heart of the scheme is a vision for Chapel Street to become a ‘tree-lined boulevard’ with wider pavements and a new square.
Labour planning lead member Cllr Derek Antrobus said: “The fact that Chapel Street is a major thoroughfare makes it unattractive for residents and for business investment.
“By reducing the traffic along the street we will pave way for a future street lined with shops, bars and restaurants, new homes and new offices while preserving some of the splendid old buildings there.”
The scheme evolved from the biggest ever consultation in Salford when 3,900 people took part in producing the Central Salford Vision.
The detailed planning guidance, an outline planning application and highways orders were unanimously approved by the Council and its planning committee.
But despite earlier support, Tories called for the scheme to be withdrawn because it would lead to delays for commuters.
During a heated debated at today’s Council meeting, it emerged that Tory Cllr Robin Garrido had expressed concern that it would take longer for him to get into Manchester.
Labour’s Cllr Roger Jones insisted: “You should be thinking first about the people who live and work in Chapel Street. This is a Salford scheme for Salford people.”
And Cllr Antrobus said: “The bus lanes will be better so it will be quicker for commuters using public transport.
“We are just finishing off work to the Crescent to make it easier for drivers to use Albion Way and then Liverpool Street or Regent Road where junction and signalling improvements will create the capacity for the diverted traffic.
“We know that while the work is going on there will be delays and diversions. That is inevitable and we apologise for the inconvenience. But that temporary disruption is no reason to give up on the plan.
“We have given a pledge that we will reclaim Chapel Street for the people and businesses of Salford. We will keep our pledge in contrast to the Tories who seem to be backsliding on this.”

Issued on behalf of the Salford Local Government Committee
Press Officer: Derek Antrobus, 4 Temple Drive, Swinton, M27 4EB,
Tel: 0161 793 7713
E-mail: SalfordLabourPress@hotmail.co.uk

The City Party – officially known as the Local Government Committee – decides Labour’s manifesto, chooses candidates and runs election campaigns to win seats on Salford City Council. It consists of delegates from the Party’s 20 branches in the city – one from each ward – as well as delegates appointed by the three Constituency Labour Party organisations. Labour Group leader Cllr John Merry and Labour Group secretary Cllr John Warmisham are also delegates.

LONG SERVICE AWARD

2011-03-16T21:31:00.003Z

Presentation by The Mayor of Salford Cllr George Wilson.

Can't believe it's 20 years since I first became a councillor.As a born & bred Salfordian I feel proud and privileged to serve on the council and put something back into the city I love.

David Ottewell: AV, it’s the alternative no one actually wants | Manchester Evening News - menmedia.co.uk

2011-03-14T09:44:00.000Z

David Ottewell: AV, it’s the alternative no one actually wants | Manchester Evening News - menmedia.co.uk

The price of opportunism

2011-03-14T09:31:00.000Z

The Lib Dem Spring Conference has been an absolute joy to follow - if you are of a vindictive cast of mind or enjoy watching people suffering the consequences of treachery, betrayal and political opportunism.

Because what this conference has revealed is a party torn asunder, with no credibility left at all - even with its own members.

It's not something that the Lib Dem leadership can claim was not foreseeable, either. Even a very stupid politician could have expected painful and unpleasant consequences from getting into bed with the Tories, and that means that it certainly wasn't beyond the Lib Dem great and good.

But what goes around comes around, as they say. The Lib Dem leadership abandoned any claim to principle and any right to call themselves democrats by rushing gleefully into an illicit relationship with Cameron's unattractive mob for just a vicarious taste of parliamentary power, leaving their principles behind them in a tangled and discarded heap on the political bedroom floor in their haste.

So now they are paying the price for such unseemly behaviour. Party president Tim Farron probably put it as well as anyone could when he pinpointed Cameron as wrong in claiming that multiculturalism had failed and wrong in advocating NHS privatisation.

And the conference backed that simple analysis, damning Tory Health Secretary Andrew Lansley's vicious attack on the health service.

Lib Dem grandee and former Cabinet minister Shirley Williams warned that the "accountability proposals of the new structures are lousy" and private firms would "cherry-pick" any profitable services, while St Ives MP Andrew George claimed that the Lib Dems risked becoming "architects of the NHS demise."

With no hint of irony, the benighted Mr George insisted that "joining the coalition does not mean we have to turn into forelock-tugging automatons," which, it has to be said, is precisely what the Lib-Dems in Parliament have become already.

The conference organisers had, in the week before conference started, lived in fear of an angry demonstration outside its doors and they certainly got it.

But they need not have concerned themselves so much, because the anger inside almost exceeded the rage of the protesters outside.

But the delegates really ought to accept that there's no point in damning the senior partners in the governing coalition and all their works if your own party is falling over itself to support them in blatant attacks on working people and on the whole welfare state.

What might in other circumstances be praiseworthy anger and righteous indignation becomes merely blatant hypocrisy when what you are damning is being done with your own party's imprimatur.

One protester outside held a placard informing delegates that, "if you're not angry yet, you're not paying attention." But anger in such circumstances would also mean that the Lib Dems aren't paying attention to their own leaders' misdeeds.

There's only one thing that could possibly convince the electorate of Lib Dem good intentions and that's withdrawal from this evil and malicious coalition.

And since there's little or no likelihood of Clegg and Co abandoning their Tory masters, the Lib Dem councillors up and down the country had better prepare themselves for a rough ride in the local elections and disappointment over their shoddy little AV compromise.

They've backed their leaders in a shabby adventure in expediency and they will pay the electoral price.

Morning Star Editorial.

SAY NO TO AV

2011-03-13T21:22:00.003Z

Why Vote No

AV is costly
The change to AV will cost up to an additional £250 million. Local councils would have to waste money on costly electronic vote counting machines and expensive voter education campaigns. With ordinary families facing tough times can we really afford to spend a quarter of a billion pounds of taxpayers' money bringing in a new voting system? Schools and hospitals, or the Alternative Vote – that's the choice in this referendum.

AV is complex and unfair
The winner should be the candidate that comes first, but under AV the candidate who comes second or third can actually be elected. That’s why it is used by just three countries in the world – Fiji, Australia and Papua New Guinea. Voters should decide who the best candidate is, not the voting system. We can't afford to let the politicians off the hook by introducing a loser's charter.

AV is a politician's fix
AV leads to more hung parliaments, backroom deals and broken promises like the Lib Dem tuition fees U-turn. Instead of the voters choosing the government, politicians would hold power. Under AV, the only vote that really counts is Nick Clegg's. We can't afford to let the politicians decide who runs our country.

Vote NO to AV on 5 May 2011

NOtoAV is a campaign that has support from right across the country. Members of the public, trade unionists and members of several political parties are part of a campaign that has a common goal. Whilst we have many different views on what system of elections is best for Britain, we all believe that the Alternative Vote (AV) system will only damage Britain's democracy

Archbishop of Canterbury warns of people being forced into 'extremism' by budget cuts | Manchester Evening News - menmedia.co.uk

2011-03-01T17:34:00.000Z

Archbishop of Canterbury warns of people being forced into 'extremism' by budget cuts | Manchester Evening News - menmedia.co.uk

ConDem Toffs

2011-02-28T17:05:00.002Z

Salford Council Leader John Merry chases Cameron,Clegg & Osborne asking for the money back they have cut from the citizens of Salford. ConDems in action.

Simon Hoggart's week: It's like being nabbed by the Keystone Kops

2011-02-26T22:14:00.001Z

Johnny Depp as Edward Scissorhands: not best equipped to make balloon animals. Photograph: 20th Century Fox/Allstar

I suspect that, like me, habitual Labour voters deep down fear that, while the Tories might be horrible, hard-faced exploiters of decent working people, they are reasonably competent at what they do. Labour has its heart in the right place, it believes in fairness and equality, but somehow it gets things wrong in the end. Look at the last government.

And now look at this one. Competent? It is a bit like watching the Keystone Kops effecting an arrest. This week's cack-handed rescue operation in Libya. The privatised forest debacle. The coming catastrophe of NHS reform. The complete failure to do anything about bank bonuses except whinge. Almost everything they touch comes to pieces in their hands. As I've probably said before, it's like watching Edward Scissorhands trying to make balloon animals.

Simon Hoggart guardian.co.uk,

Jobless? This is all your fault / Britain / Home - Morning Star

2011-02-18T12:24:00.000Z

Jobless? This is all your fault / Britain / Home - Morning Star

They've made history, all right / Comment / Home - Morning Star

2011-02-17T12:10:00.000Z

They've made history, all right / Comment / Home - Morning Star

Proms in the Park axed and libraries closed as Salford council slashes £42m from budget | Manchester Evening News - menmedia.co.uk

2011-02-15T08:34:00.000Z

Proms in the Park axed and libraries closed as Salford council slashes £42m from budget | Manchester Evening News - menmedia.co.uk

Disregard the Cameron guff / Comment / Home - Morning Star

2011-02-14T23:20:00.000Z

Disregard the Cameron guff / Comment / Home - Morning Star

Police Cuts - too far, too fast

2011-02-14T09:23:00.004Z

The Tory-led Government is taking a huge gamble with our economy and is now taking an even bigger gamble with our safety by cutting the police budget by more than 20 per cent over the next four years.

Figures released in January show that recorded fell by seven per cent nationally in the year ending September 2010. Yet the Tory-led Government is risking this progress by cutting police funding.

Accountants KPMG have estimated that these cuts could mean around 18,000 officers could be lost while the Police Federation has suggested that around 20,000 police officers would be lost by the end of the Spending Review. A similar number of police staff – who help to free up police officers from administrative tasks to be on the frontline and involved in crime prevention and investigations – could also be lost.

In our area,GM Police face a reduction to their budget which could result in fewer police officers on the street to deal with crime and anti-social behaviour. It could also have a serious impact on other vital services such as the specialist officers used to deal with domestic violence and prevent child abuse.

I’m angry at the recklessness of their decisions and I don’t think they understand the impact that such a drastic reduction of police officers in Salford could have.

Furthermore, the Conservative-led Government also plans to waste £100 million on a new tier of politicians through imposing directly elected police commissioners. People will be rightly angry to hear that this money equates to 600 full-time police officers – at a time of savage cuts to police budgets, this money could be better spent.

The Tory policy of cuts to police funding is reckless and potentially damaging to our community – please join me in taking action to oppose their plan by signing our petition calling on Cameron and Clegg NOT to cut police numbers at campaignengineroom.org.uk/police.

Gypsies: tramps and thieves? | Columns | Progress

2011-02-11T22:50:00.000Z

Gypsies: tramps and thieves? | Columns | Progress

ConDem NHS MARKET

2011-02-10T09:06:00.001Z

Charity funding: Cam's grand sham / Britain / Home - Morning Star

2011-02-09T08:08:00.000Z

Charity funding: Cam's grand sham / Britain / Home - Morning Star

BBC to make history at Media City with Question of Sport - Manchester Evening News

2011-02-04T07:09:00.000Z

BBC to make history at Media City with Question of Sport - Manchester Evening News

NHS confirms maternity unit at Hope Hospital to close - but babies will continue to be born in Salford - Salford Advertiser

2011-02-02T16:51:00.000Z

NHS confirms maternity unit at Hope Hospital to close - but babies will continue to be born in Salford - Salford Advertiser

FIGHT THE CUTS

2011-01-31T15:15:00.000Z

Manchester Evening News | Latest Manchester News, Sport, Football, Entertainment, Business and more | Manchester Evening News - menmedia.co.uk

Councils warn of £165m black hole in the roads

2011-01-23T22:25:00.001Z

Councils in England face a £165 million funding gap to repair roads battered by extreme winter weather, local authority leaders have said.

The warning comes as highways officers up and down the country assess the damage caused to roads last month during the coldest December in 100 years.

The Local Government Association, which represents more than 350 councils, has warned that towns and cities face a double whammy of crumbling roads and swingeing cuts to their highways maintenance budgets.

Town halls, responsible for more than 95 per cent of the road network, fixed an unprecedented number of potholes last year, with LGA estimates suggesting that more than 2 million were repaired.

After large parts of the country were engulfed by snow and ice last month, councils are bracing themselves for another huge recovery operation this year.

But local authorities will receive £165million less capital funding from Government to fix roads this year than they did in 2010.

Cllr Peter Box, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Economy and Transport Board, said:

“Ensuring our roads are kept up to a safe standard for motorists is a priority for councils and we will be working flat out to repair as many potholes as we possibly can.

“The coldest December in 100 years will have taken a massive toll on our roads and this damage is coming at a time when councils are being made to scale back their highways maintenance budgets.

“Last year councils on average fixed one pothole every 33 seconds. With tens of millions of pounds being cut from road maintenance budgets this year it is going to be a huge struggle for already-stretched highways teams to keep up.”

Potholes form when water on roads seeps into the surface and opens up cracks when it freezes and expands. The process is repeated over and over again as ice and snow thaws and re-freezes during winter weather, cracking roads apart and leaving holes in their wake.

Examples of work being undertaken by councils to fix potholes include:

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council has fixed nearly 1,000 potholes in the past two weeks and has set a page up on its website to make it easier for people to report holes in the road.

Southampton City Council is predicting a 20 per cent increase in the number of potholes on city roads this year and has invested in a new instant pothole repair solution called Viafix which can be poured into potholes to provide a permanent fix

Lancashire County Council spent £16.9 million fixing potholes and resurfacing roads last year and expects to have to spend about the same this year.

Gloucestershire County Council repaired about 90,000 potholes in 2010 – more than the previous three years combined – and is now assessing the damage caused by last month’s extreme weather.

Dorset County Council has fixed about 3,200 potholes since October 2010. Its highways team is using an infra-red ‘Nu-Phalt’ cooker which repairs roads more quickly with less waste.

ENDS

Author: LGA Media Office
Contact: LGA Media Office, Tel: 020 7664 3333

NOTES TO EDITORS

1 Following the severe winter of 2009/10, the estimated additional cost of road repairs for an average shire county council last year was £5 million.

2 The average cost of fixing one pothole is £78 for English councils outside London, according to the Asphalt Industry Allliance’s 2010 Alarm report: http://www.asphaltindustryalliance.com/images/library/files/Alarm_2010_web.pdf

3 From April the Department for Transport will be cutting £65 million from the Highways Maintenance Budget funding it gives to councils in England to carry out road repairs. The Highways Maintenance Budget funding allowance for councils in England breaks down as follows:

2010/11: £871 million

2011/12: £806 million

2012/13: £779 million

2013/14: £750 million

2014/15: £707 million

4 Last year the Government also gave councils an additional £100million to fix potholes following extreme winter weather.

Councillor John Warmisham voices concern for local disabled people

2011-01-05T10:03:00.001Z

PRESS RELEASE
EMBARGO: Immediate Release

Councillor John Warmisham voices concern for local disabled people

Councillor John Warmisham has today written to Government Minister Paul Burstow to voice his concern about the long-term impact cuts to social care funding could have on disabled people in the local area.

Councillor Warmisham echoed the concerns of the Local Government Association (LGA) which has warned that ‘virtually all’ councils in England and Wales will be forced to abandon home help for elderly and disabled people due to the £3bn funding shortfall.

“I didn’t get into to politics to prevent people accessing the kind of services they need and I don’t think the Government truly appreciate the consequences of what these kinds of cuts mean to ordinary people” said Councillor Warmisham.

The leading experts in the field as the King’s Fund maintain that a 3% increase in social care funding is needed to meet the genuine need that exists in England and Wales.

“The Government’s decision creates a huge funding shortfall for local councils, but the practical consequence is that that disabled people could be denied the kind of vital social care services they need” said Richard Hawkes, Chief Executive of leading disability charity Scope.

Councillor Warmisham also raised concerns that money was being put before people in the race to make savings, adding that Councils were being placed in an ‘impossible’ position by Central Government.

“It is right and proper that Councils should voice their concern to the Coalition where they feel that the interests of their constituents are being overlooked” concluded Councillor Warmisham.

Lib Dem or Tory ?

2010-12-17T10:17:00.003Z

Seems the Langworthy Ward Liberal Democrat candidate is now showing his true Tory colours. Against workers rights and Trade Unions.

Many people won't have a job because oh HIS parties polices and the propping up of a Tory Government.

I've always known that the Liberal Democrat party in Salford have been the rump of the Salford Tories. Mr Middleton has now proved it.

SteveMiddleton To Heinz workers: my colleagues threatened strike action to get 3% (not more). Striking wrong anyway. Be thankful you have a job. #stupid

SteveMiddleton Never been in a union, never will.

Wanted: unions for the unemployed / Features / Home - Morning Star

2010-11-30T08:03:00.000Z

Wanted: unions for the unemployed / Features / Home - Morning Star

Iconic cranes at Salford docks to be saved - Salford Advertiser

2010-11-24T07:22:00.000Z

Iconic cranes at Salford docks to be saved - Salford Advertiser

Con-Dems on health: Like Thatcher on speed

2010-11-22T07:45:00.000Z

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/content/view/full/97881

Quacking like a dead duck

2010-11-18T11:20:00.001Z

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/content/view/full/97724

Plague on both their houses.

2010-11-17T09:14:00.000Z

Correspondence from Hope Not Hate.

Dear John,

Last week I wrote a blog that criticised the English Defence League and Muslims Against Crusades. I watched these two groups of extremists oppose each other on a west London street at 11am last Thursday. Their rival protests were timed to coincide with the moment the country remembered those who had died in past wars.

I was struck by the hatred shown by both groups. I felt that both thrived on the presence of each other. Although they came from opposing traditions and viewpoints there was a certain symbiotic relationship between the two. I felt they both needed the other to justify their own existence. I criticised both groups equally.

Was I right to criticise both groups? Read my blog and let me know what you think.
http://action.hopenothate.org.uk/page/ signup/plague-on-both-your-houses

Extremism only creates fear and hatred. Worse, extremism breeds extremism. As I wrote in my blog: "For the MAC the presence and activities of the EDL prove how white British society is the enemy. For the EDL the Islamist extremists are proof of the violent nature of Islam. They are two sides of the same coin of hate."

The Islamist extremists no more represent the Muslim community than do the violent racists of the EDL speak for every white person in Britain, but that didn't deter the tabloid press from its sensationalist reporting. Their lurid headlines vilified an entire religion and only whipped up more misunderstanding and hatred and, as a consequence, extremism.

Does extremism breed extremism? Let me know your views.
http://action.hopenothate.org.uk/page/signup/plague-on-both-your-houses

I wrote the blog because I felt it was time to take a stand. It is time to speak out against those who preach hate, from whichever quarter it comes. I believe it is also time to stop the lurid headlines that demonise communities, deepen divisions and only increase extremism.

I concluded by saying it was "important to criticise both groups publicly. Criticising one group but remaining silent about another leads, correctly, to charges of hypocrisy and double standards. Only by criticising the actions of tiny extremist groups can we say with any validity that neither speaks for the wider communities and religions they claim to represent."

I'm interested in your views and I would like your opinion about what we should do next.

Thanks

Nick

KEEP HOPE MATERNITY OPEN MEETING

2010-11-12T15:50:00.000Z

The Keep Hope Maternity Open Group invites you to a public meeting where we will
discuss the case for retaining full maternity services at Salford Royal NHS
Foundation Trust and debate the issues concerning the reconfiguration of maternity
services.

We are very close to decision time and we feel it is important that all the stakeholders involved come together to raise their concerns.

The meeting is to be held on Saturday 27th November, 2- 4pm at the St James Church Hall, Hope.

The Health Minister, Andrew Lansley, requested a review of the “Making it Better” decision made in 2006/7 in July of this year, setting out the 4 criteria, which needed to be met. He also met with us on the 17th September 2010, when he visited the Pendleton Gateway. Following that meeting he clearly stated on air that:
“We need to respect the choices that patients, or in this case for maternity services, mothers to be themselves, would make about where they want services to be provided to them. It needs to be clinically safe.”

Privately, he also told us that he did not understand why it had to be 13 maternity units reduced to 8 units and why it couldn’t be 9 units, especially as SRFT was one of the best performing Trusts in the country.

If you are not able to attend personally, a nominee would be welcome, as this is possibly the last opportunity to debate the issues which are very important to the families in Salford.

Kind regards

www.keephopematernityopen.com
Please view the facebook page and the online petition to get a flavour of the views of Salford Families.

John Healey MP speech to Adult Services Conference.

2010-11-09T20:17:00.001Z

John Healey National Children and Adult Services Conference 2010 Thursday 4th November 2010, 9.00am Manchester Central

Thank you for inviting to me to this important conference so early in my new job as Shadow Secretary of State for Health
If you think it’s been an early start from Rotherham and I haven’t shaved properly, you’re right. I’m growing a sponsored moustache during November – raising funds and awareness for the Prostate Cancer Charity. They tell me that 50,000 other men in the country doing it, but I haven’t met one yet.
Andy Burnham, having done this job before me, could have delivered my speech and then his own. I’m very pleased I follow Andy, who did a great deal while Labour were in Government.
I am less than a month into my new job, and I am here to listen as much to as to speak. I am looking forward to talking and working with you closely in the months to come.
And listening is no bad thing for a shadow minister to do for now. It’s what I – and my great Shadow team including shadow minister for social care Emily Thornberry – will do.
Labour lost the election. And for the moment there is a general good will towards the Government, towards two parties coming together in the national interest and attempt to put their differences behind them. But the public have not yet seen or felt the affect of the cuts and the changes to come.
If they have not felt or have not seen what is to come, you do. You are the professional experts and leading local politicians with unparalleled expertise in providing social services. I am very interested in your views.
It’s fair to see that we’re adjusting to opposition. As Minister of State for Housing and Planning I had nearly two and a half thousand people working for me. Since May I’ve been doing my own diary, and last week I had to order the replacement ink cartridge for the printer. Although, I have now been able to appoint one full time person to help me.
But Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are still adjusting to Government. They have to realise that they are making the decisions now, not us. They are the ones with responsibility for current and future care of elderly and disabled people. They are the ones entrusted with the future of our National Health Service.
Now it matters so much less what Labour planned, and so much more what the Tories and Lib Dems plan.
The debate is now no longer between what the Government is doing and what we would have done if we were in Government.
And the serious question is the difference between what they plan and what they do; and in particular the gap between what they say and what they do, what they propose and what they deliver.
It’s early days but the initial signs suggest serious grounds for concern for the future of social care and the National Health Service.
Let me quote a vision and a commitment:
“People should receive health and social care support, which promotes their recovery, independence, inclusion, health and wellbeing. People needing care deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. We understand the urgency of reforming the system of social care to provide much more control to individuals and their carers, and to ease the cost burden that they and their families face.”
1
Andy Burnham could have said that as Secretary of State, but it comes from the Coalition Agreement.
They are setting the right aims, but are they taking the right actions?
I see major flaws that risk serious errors in three main areas:
•
Funding
•
Powers
•
Philosophy
And my underlying concern for the essential services that you provide and commission – to which we are all committed – is that the national Government is setting up local government to fail on social care and health.
Funding
We’re all familiar with the figures on public spending in adult social care:
•
£14.4bn a year spent on adult social services, with a 4% pressure built into the system by increasing demographic pressures
•
Local authorities facing a grant reduction of over 25% - and many councils in the poorest areas face much more. Savings on the scale needed, even with 3% efficiency gains, an increase in charges, and some changes in the eligibility criteria “will be impossible to achieve within the current legal framework.”
That was your analysis; your warning to the Government in the submission made by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services to the spending review.
There is some extra money being out into personal social services, though I suspect that’s more a tribute to David Behan than Andrew Lansley. This is welcome, as it is for adult social care, but there is no guarantee that the money will be spent on social care because there is no longer any ringfence.
And we’ve seen already this year important funding streams consolidated in the local government grant, but non-ringfenced, being eroded in budget decisions across councils.
The Government claims that social care funding streams are being “protected” but the £1.1b billion in year council cuts show that promise to be not worth the paper the press release was printed on.
And it simply isn’t sufficient to meet the pressure of need.
Figures from Age UK this week claim:
•
Over 250,000 over 65s set to lose home care
•
There will be a 7% real terms cut to council social care spending
I will be more measured, and offer two objections on funding, both of which give us a glimpse of the emerging character of this new Government.
First, it’s fair enough for Andrew Lansley and Paul Burstow to make a lot of the extra £2 billion for social care – both did in the House of Commons this week at Health Questions.
But both must know that it won’t be enough to avoid severe funding shortages.
And both must realise that reading out word for word the Departmental lines to take – as both did in the House of Commons : “
“On this basis there is no need for local authorities to have to reduce eligibility to social care.”
We know from Government that if you adopt a policy, set a position, and become too rigid in repetition, you seem:
•
Out of touch
2
•
Not listening
•
Unwilling to take advice
Second, by all means point, as ministers do, to the extra money for social care. But don’t double count the credit and don’t double count the funding for both NHS spending and social care at the same time. Because when £1 billion switched from the NHS to social care is taken into account, the Government has not protected the NHS as it promised. It’s not the real terms increase of 0.4 percent they claimed, it’s a real terms cut of 0.5 percent.
Powers
The Government set out an important role for Local authorities in the Coalition Agreement in “joining up the commissioning of local NHS services, social care and health improvement,” by promoting integration and partnerships, and by leading joint strategic needs assessments.
We’ve some experience of how easy it is to say and how hard it is to do in practice: planning, housing, the local economy and of course in health and social care.
My fear is that local authorities will get responsibility without the resources or powers to do the jobs the Government says it wants councils and councillors to do. This will be a recipe for frustration and failure in local government.
The public health white paper will be a big test for the Government, and our two principal tests of the Government’s plan when it’s published will be whether local government is given the necessary resources and powers to take on responsibility for public health.
This is the right aim but it requires the right action to achieve it.
Philosophy
Anyone believing the new Government’s commitment to localism meant a commitment to local government will already be deeply disappointed.
On schools, on housing, on police, central Government is reducing and restraining, not reinforcing, local government’s role.
And councils were first in line for more than £1 billion cuts in May and frontline cuts in the spending review.
I don’t see the Government having a consistent belief, as I have, in:
•
Councils as first among equals of local agencies
•
Public accountability through elected representatives
•
The public service ethos as an essential part of the services many of us and our families rely on
I don’t see a consistent government commitment to the public service reforms I want:
•
Greater personalisation of services
•
Greater area not agency funding streams and pooled budgets
•
Greater integration of social care with health – planning, funding, commissioning and delivering
•
Greater investment in umbrella services like those for mental health and learning disabilities.
And I don’t see a consistent government will to make the hard decisions about long term reform.
I welcome Andrew Dilnot’s work on heading the Government’s commission – as Andy Burnham did when it was set up in the summer.
But so much of the ground has been so well covered before, not least by Labour in our Green Paper and White Paper.
3
And Andy Burnham got close to a consensus but we got too close to the General Election. Short term political gain was too tempting for the Conservatives.
I’m glad they’ve allowed the Commission to look at all the funding options and I had hoped we could see the work Andrew Dilnot is doing speeded up.
But when there is no provision in the spending review to implement any recommendation the Commission might make, I think it’s reasonable to doubt the Government’s determination to effect the long term reforms that are needed.
NHS
Now is not the time or the place for a detailed discussion of the Government’s NHS reforms and White Paper, but these are so intermeshed with social care, and in my view ought to be more integrated.
My overriding concern is that the NHS will go backwards under the Government’s plans:
•
GPs and the National Commissioning Board will take health services further away from, not closer to local authorities
•
More GP consortia than PCTs with weaker statutory duties will lead to greater fragmentation not integration
•
Light legal reporting and accountability requirements for GP consortia will mean a more secretive not a more transparent NHS.
•
Any willing provider, and maximum, not set tariffs, will result in the economies of the private market driving the NHS, not the ethics of public service
•
Providers command by local GPs will lead to less patient choice and personalisation, not more
I fear we will lose the ‘N’ in the NHS and see “commercial in confidence” stamped over many of the most important decisions taken.
And let us not forget that this has been described as the biggest reorganisation since the NHS was set up over 60 years ago.
It’s not what NHS patients, staff or the public expected when David Cameron promised before the election and the Coalition Agreement pledged after the election, “no more top down reorganisations in the NHS”.
But like on funding, on the moratorium on service closures, on improving waiting times for patients – in six short months the new Government is falling short of the promises it made on the NHS.
This reorganisation is untested and unnecessary. It is high cost and high risk.
At a time when finances are tight, all efforts should be made to find efficiencies and improve patient care.
But Andrew Lansley is not listening.
NHS experts, professional bodies and patient groups say “slow down”, because this big reorganisation is a big risk for the NHS.
We know from experience in Britain that if people see a Government
•
locked into decisions they’ve taken come-what-may
•
breaking the promises they made to the public
•
and failing to listen to advice
…concern will rise and confidence will fall that these are the right actions to fulfil the aims of civil service reform.
Thank you

Let's pay our respects‏

2010-11-02T17:21:00.000Z

Dear John,

Ethel Lote was a nurse at the outbreak of World War Two. At a hospital in Birmingham she treated soldiers injured in the war. "The men were all in a terrible state," she remembers. "As well as being absolutely exhausted there were bullet and shrapnel wounds, along with breathing problems after being in the sea for hours. They were the first casualties to arrive after the defeat at Dunkirk.

"The women also suffered through this war. They had to endure being parted from their children, as well as from their men. I remember seeing a group of children who had been evacuated from a city and were waiting for someone to offer to take them home with them. They stood crying with their gas masks over their shoulders, some holding a toy, but all were terribly bewildered and wanting their mothers."

Ethel was part of a generation who helped keep Britain free from Nazism. Next week the HOPE not hate campaign is organising events across the country to pay our respects to them.

Will you join us?
http://action.hopenothate.org.uk/eventsnearme

In remembering those who sacrificed so much we also remind people how the British National Party has repeatedly sided with the Nazis and believed it was wrong that Britain went to war with Germany.

Only this August Adam Walker, a leading BNP officer, attended an international far-right gathering in Japan hosted by Issuikai, a right-wing association that denies Japanese war crimes. While there he visited the Yasukuni Shrine to commemorate the Japanese war dead and excused their actions by claiming they "were doing what they thought was right at the time".

We have come to expect nothing less from the BNP, whose leaders have repeatedly praised the Waffen SS while accusing RAF crews of being the real war criminals.

Will you help us tell people how the BNP have insulted the war generation?
http://action.hopenothate.org.uk/eventsnearme

Unlike the BNP we think we should remember those who sacrificed so much to rid Europe of Nazism. That is why we will be campaigning across the country next week to show our respect to Ethel and her generation. Please join us.

Thanks

Nick

PS if there is no event near you and you are keen to organise one then drop me an email at nick@hopenothate.org.uk.

"The Strasbourg Declaration on Roma”

2010-10-21T17:43:00.004+01:00

I represent the Labour Party on The Council of Europe. I serve on the Social Cohesion Committee and have been appointed as Thematic Rapporteur on Roma and Travellers.
Yesterday I represented the Congres of Local & Regional Authorities at a high level meeting on the Roma issue in Strasbourg. Below is the declaration that was agreed.

Council of Europe High Level Meeting on Roma
Strasbourg, 20 October 2010

“The Strasbourg Declaration on Roma”

____________________

(1) Roma1 in many parts of Europe continue to be socially and economically marginalised, which undermines the respect of their human rights, impedes their full participation in society and effective exercise of civic responsibilities, and propagates prejudice.

(2) Any effective response to this situation will have to combine social and economic inclusion in society and the effective protection of human rights. The process must be embraced and supported by society as a whole. A genuine and effective participation of our fellow Europeans of Roma origin is a precondition for success.

(3) While the primary responsibility for promoting inclusion lies with the member states of which Roma are nationals or long-term legal residents, recent developments concerning Roma in Europe have demonstrated that some of the challenges we face have cross-border implications and therefore require a pan-European response.

(4) As situations differ from country to country, the role of international organisations should be first and foremost to support and assist the efforts carried out at national, regional and especially local level.

(5) Based on these considerations the member states of the Council of Europe have adopted the following “Strasbourg Declaration”:

(6) Reaffirming that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights;

(7) Reaffirming their attachment to human dignity and the protection of human rights for all persons;

(8) Recalling the fundamental values, norms and standards of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, which are shared by the Council of Europe member states and which must guide action at all levels;

(9) Confirming their commitment to promote social inclusion and create the conditions for an effective exercise of civic rights and responsibilities by every individual;

(10) Recalling that active participation of the Roma is crucial for achieving their social inclusion and encouraging them to participate in addressing the problems of, inter alia, relatively low rates of education and employment;

(11) Bearing in mind that the process of inclusion of Roma contributes to social cohesion, democratic stability and to the acceptance of diversity;

(12) Recalling that in the exercise of his/her rights and freedoms everyone must respect the national legislation and the rights of others;

(13) Condemning unequivocally racism, stigmatisation and hate speech directed against Roma, particularly in public and political discourse;

(14) Recalling the obligations of States Parties under all relevant Council of Europe legal instruments which they have ratified, in particular the European Convention on Human Rights and the Protocols thereto, and, where applicable, the European Social Charter and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages;

(15) Recommending that State Parties take fully into account the relevant judgments of the European Court of Human Rights and relevant decisions of the European Committee of Social Rights, in developing their policies on Roma;

(16) Recalling their commitment to the principles of tolerance and non-discrimination, as expressed in the statute of European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI);

(17) Drawing on the initiatives, activities and programmes already developed and conducted by member states aimed at the full inclusion of Roma;

(18) The member states of the Council of Europe agree on the following non-exhaustive list of priorities, which should serve as guidance for more focused and more consistent efforts at all levels, including through active participation of Roma:

Non-discrimination and citizenship

Non-discrimination
(19) Adopt and effectively implement anti-discrimination legislation, including in the field of employment, access to justice, the provision of goods and services, including access to housing and key public services, such as health care and education.

Criminal legislation
(20) Adopt and effectively implement criminal legislation against racially motivated crime.

Citizenship
(21) Take effective measures to avoid statelessness in accordance with domestic law and policy and to grant Roma legally residing in their national territory access to identification papers.

Women’s rights and gender equality
(22) Put in place effective measures to respect, protect and promote gender equality of Roma girls and women within their communities and in the society as a whole.

(23) Put in place effective measures to abolish where still in use harmful practices against Roma women’s reproductive rights, primarily forced sterilisation.

Children’s rights
(24) Promote through effective measures the equal treatment and the rights of Roma children especially the right to education and protect them against violence, including sexual abuse and labour exploitation, in accordance with international treaties.

Empowerment
(25) Promote effective participation of Roma in social, political and civic life, including active participation of representatives of Roma in decision-making mechanisms affecting them, and co-operation with independent authorities such as Ombudsmen in the field of human rights protection.

Access to justice
(26) Ensure equal and effective access to the justice system, including where appropriate through affordable legal aid services.

(27) Ensure timely and effective investigations and due legal process in cases of alleged racial violence or other offences against Roma.

(28) Provide appropriate and targeted training to judicial and police services.

Combat trafficking
(29) Bearing in mind that Roma children and women are often victims of trafficking and exploitation, devote adequate attention and resources to combat these phenomena, within the general efforts aimed at curbing trafficking of human beings and organised crime, and, in appropriate cases, issue victims with residence permits.

Fighting stigmatisation and hate speech
(30) Strengthen efforts in combating hate speech. Encourage the media to deal responsibly and fairly with the issue of Roma and refrain from negative stereotyping or stigmatisation.

(31) Remind public authorities at national, regional and local levels of their special responsibility to refrain from statements, in particular to the media, which may be reasonably understood as hate speech, or as speech likely to produce the effect of legitimising, spreading or promoting racial hatred, xenophobia, or other forms of discrimination or hatred based on intolerance.

(32) Consider joining the campaign of the Council of Europe and the European Commission “Dosta! Go beyond prejudice, discover the Roma!” and enhance activities in this framework.

Social inclusion

Education
(33) Ensure effective and equal access to the mainstream educational system, including pre-school education, for Roma children and methods to secure attendance, including, for instance, by making use of school assistants and mediators. Provide, where appropriate, in service training of teachers and educational staff.

Employment
(34) Ensure equal access of Roma to employment and vocational training in accordance with international and domestic law, including, when appropriate, by using mediators in employment offices. Provide Roma, as appropriate, with possibilities to validate their skills and competences acquired in informal settings.

Health Care
(35) Ensure equal access of all Roma to the healthcare system, for instance, by using health mediators and providing training for existing facilitators.

Housing
(36) Take appropriate measures to improve the living conditions of Roma.

(37) Ensure equal access to housing and accommodation services for Roma.

(38) Provide for appropriate and reasonable notice and effective access to judicial remedy in cases of eviction, while ensuring the full respect of the principle of the rule of law.

(39) In consultation with all concerned and in accordance with the domestic legislation and policy, provide appropriate accommodation for nomadic and semi-nomadic Roma.

Culture and language
(40) Where appropriate, take measures to foster knowledge of the culture, history and languages of Roma and understanding thereof.

International cooperation

(41) Ensure focused, sustained and effective co-operation regarding Roma, at the pan-European level, between member states, regions, local authorities and European organisations, drawing on the many examples of good practice which exist at European, national, regional and local levels. In particular, encourage co-operation with the European Union, including through joint programmes such as the intercultural cities, as well as the OSCE;

(42) Ensure close cooperation with Roma communities at all levels, pan-European, national, regional and local, in the implementation of these commitments;

(43) Recognising the need to contribute to the implementation of these priorities through the use of good practices, expertise and available financial resources which exist at European, national, regional and local level, the member states of the Council of Europe:

- (44) welcome the decision of the Secretary General to re-organise resources in a transversal manner within the Council of Europe Secretariat with the task of further developing co-operation with national, regional and local authorities and international organisations in collecting, analysing, exchanging and disseminating information on policies and good practice on Roma, providing advice and support upon the request of national, regional and local authorities as well as practical assistance in the implementation of new policy initiatives, especially at the local level, and providing access to training, capacity-building and educational material;

- (45) encourage close co-operation with member states, other Council of Europe institutions, other international organisations, especially the European Union and the OSCE, as well as civil society, including Roma associations and relevant non-governmental organisations, in order that its work complements rather than duplicates that of other bodies;

- (46) agree to set up a European Training Programme for Roma Mediators with the aim to streamline, codify and consolidate the existing training programmes for and about Mediators for Roma, through the most effective use of existing Council of Europe resources, standards, methodology, networks and infrastructure, notably the European Youth Centres in Strasbourg and Budapest, in close co-operation with national and local authorities;

- (47) encourage member states to use a coordinated, inter-agency approach to dealing with issues which affect Roma;

- (48) take note of the list of good practices elaborated by the Secretary General, entitled “Strasbourg Initiatives” for which he calls for support. This open catalogue of projects having an immediate and measurable impact could serve as a catalyst for future action;

- (49) invite the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to present a first progress report on the implementation of the “Strasbourg Declaration” to the Council of Europe Ministerial Session in Istanbul in May 2011.

Note 1 The term “Roma” used throughout the present text refers to Roma, Sinti, Kale, Travellers, and related groups in Europe, and aims to cover the wide diversity of groups concerned, including groups which identify themselves as Gypsies.

Mindless Vandalism to Parks

2010-10-21T16:50:00.002+01:00

As a ward councillor there are times you get really dispondent. You fight for funds for playgrounds for young people, then some mindless yob comes along and does the damage pictured.

If you have any information regarding Chimney Pot park or Clarendon Rec. please pass it on to Greater Manchester Police or contact me.

Rufus May: We must all learn how to care for one another

2010-10-15T09:13:00.002+01:00

Found this comment in The Independent on Sunday. Thought I'd share it.

The medical approach to mental health has created whole industries around helping people. We spent £21bn last year on pills, psychiatrists and brief psychological interventions, all of which create dependence among people, rather than empowering them to help themselves. The whole mental health industry is self-sustaining, so the more you "treat" people and suppress the root causes, the more they will come back for more treatment.

This is a big, expensive fallacy, built on the belief that all mental distress is to do with a second-rate brain. But mental health problems are generally a reasonable response to difficult life circumstances. It is our failure to help people acknowledge and address these root causes – lifestyle, relationships, work conditions, loneliness, lack of opportunities, and abuse – that has led to mental distress rates in the UK being among the highest in Europe.

As an NHS psychologist, I am working at the wrong end of things. People like me are being asked to work with those peoplewho have already burnt out, which I love, but is this the best use of resources? We should be working in schools, churches, community organisations and workplaces, to help stop people ever reaching breaking point.

As a society we no longer know how to take care of each other. We need a complete re-think: more money learning how to relate to each other, care for one another, and tolerate each other, rather than more psychiatrists, more nurses, more psychologists and more drugs. We need to work alongside distressed people and help them become more resilient, not treat them like lepers. Such stigma about mental health is shattering people, yet there is no such thing as ill or not ill, no "them" and "us"; mental health is a continuum we all move along. At the moment, we are spending billions of pounds on boats to rescue those who are drowning, when we should be teaching everyone, from a very young age, how to swim and how to help those who are floundering.

Part of this is teaching people, especially children, about mental distress, showing them how to be kinder and more generous if a friend stops eating or is self-harming, so that professionals are not the only answer.

Rufus May is a clinical psychologist, working in West Yorkshire

Rufus May: We must all learn how to care for one another

2010-10-15T09:13:00.000+01:00

The medical approach to mental health has created whole industries around helping people. We spent £21bn last year on pills, psychiatrists and brief psychological interventions, all of which create dependence among people, rather than empowering them to help themselves. The whole mental health industry is self-sustaining, so the more you "treat" people and suppress the root causes, the more they will come back for more treatment.

This is a big, expensive fallacy, built on the belief that all mental distress is to do with a second-rate brain. But mental health problems are generally a reasonable response to difficult life circumstances. It is our failure to help people acknowledge and address these root causes – lifestyle, relationships, work conditions, loneliness, lack of opportunities, and abuse – that has led to mental distress rates in the UK being among the highest in Europe.

As an NHS psychologist, I am working at the wrong end of things. People like me are being asked to work with those peoplewho have already burnt out, which I love, but is this the best use of resources? We should be working in schools, churches, community organisations and workplaces, to help stop people ever reaching breaking point.

As a society we no longer know how to take care of each other. We need a complete re-think: more money learning how to relate to each other, care for one another, and tolerate each other, rather than more psychiatrists, more nurses, more psychologists and more drugs. We need to work alongside distressed people and help them become more resilient, not treat them like lepers. Such stigma about mental health is shattering people, yet there is no such thing as ill or not ill, no "them" and "us"; mental health is a continuum we all move along. At the moment, we are spending billions of pounds on boats to rescue those who are drowning, when we should be teaching everyone, from a very young age, how to swim and how to help those who are floundering.

Part of this is teaching people, especially children, about mental distress, showing them how to be kinder and more generous if a friend stops eating or is self-harming, so that professionals are not the only answer.

Rufus May is a clinical psychologist, working in West Yorkshire

John Denham's speech to Labour Party Conference

2010-10-01T08:40:00.000+01:00

John Denham MP, Labour's Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary, speaking to Labour Party Conference today said:

Conference,

John Denham,

New Generation. SAGA section.

I want to thank all the Labour Councillors.

Labour changed Britain for the better, and every one of you was part of that story.

Labour councillors aren't supporters on the touchline of a Labour Government.

You're real players; you've got real passion, real commitment, real power and real responsibility.

And you're going to be challenged like never before.

There are 4500 Labour councillors today.

We can make sure there will be a lot more soon.

Actually there can't be many more here in Manchester.

Manchester would be a Conservative free zone already – if their only Lib Dem hadn't just joined the Tories

Nothing new there then.

The Lib Dems wanted a conference in a Lib Dem City.

By the time they got there Liverpool was Labour.

But look; it's going to be tough. Being a Labour councillor won't be a job for the faint-hearted.

The Coalition is going to slash spending far faster, far harder – and far more unfairly – than this country needs or can stand.

People are going to be asking us to look after their interests in the worst possible circumstances; against all the odds.

We're no use to anyone if we hang our heads in despair or defeat.

Our campaign – supported by CampaignEngineRoom.org.uk – will bring us all together – the people who use public services with the people who provide them...

From village to village, town to town, city to city.

We'll make Labour's case in every election from next May to the General Election.

But we also know that marching round the town hall saying 'no cuts' – it isn't going to be enough when we run the Town Hall.

What I know;

What you know;

Is that we've always found a way to show that Labour values make a difference even in the hardest times.

We won't be able to protect everything we care about; but we'll defend the most important things.

We won't be able keep everything the way it is; so we'll find better ways of doing things.

We all know we'd have had to face some tough decisions.

But we wouldn't be doing what they are doing.

I mean, look at Eric Pickles.

Alright, don't look at Eric Pickles.

There's no excuse, Eric, for putting the biggest cuts on the communities that are hardest pressed.

It's no good telling people they've got more say, when you're telling them how often bins should be emptied o r street parties organised.

It's no good telling people they've got more say, when you're letting Michael Gove waste £200m of their money on cancelled schools.

It's no good telling people they've got more say, when you're wasting a fortune on a top down reorganisation of the NHS.

We don't want elected sheriffs riding off into the sunset with police budgets in their saddlebags, when it's working closely with councils that brought down anti-social behaviour.

It's not good telling local people they've got more say when, instead of bringing local services together, you are pulling them apart.

You're not just cutting too fast and too deep; you're throwing people's money down the drain.

And when every penny of local taxpayers' money has to work harder than ever before, there's no excuse for that.

Frankly, Conference, it's a dog's breakfast of muddle and waste.

And this is the mess they call the Big Society.

Conference, when David Cameron talks about people relying too much on the state and not doing enough for themselves, you'd think we were all sat at home waiting for the council to come round and do the dishes.

I'm sure, that like me, you live in a community of extraordinary generosity, where thousands of people help their neighbours and their communities with countless acts of thoughtfulness every day.

We don't have to choose between state and society.

I know a group in Southampton who befriend lonely older people.

They don't bath them, they don't clothe them or give them medication.

It's the public services – the carers, the nurses, the financial support which make it possible for them to live at home in comfort.

But it's the volunteer friends who shop with them, go to the theatre with them, have cup of tea and a conversation with them.

Who give time that, frankly, no state could ever give – who make their lives not just comfortable but rich.

The best of public service; the best of personal giving.

But take the public service away, and personal giving can't fill the gap.

Conference, we claim no monopoly on generosity, but our party and our members have given birth to countless organisations of change – environmental groups and neighbourhood watches, coops and housing associations, residents' organisations and community centres.

Our party and our members know the difference between a really big society, a good society; and a narrow and mean society.

And that's why we will make a difference over the next few years.

Despite the challenges, despite the Coalition cuts, despite the Coalition chaos, we will win the argument that the deficit is no excuse to destroy a good society.

Despite the challenges, despite the coalition cuts, despite the coalition c haos we will win local elections up and down this country.

And despite the challenges, despite the coalition cuts, despite the coalition chaos, this new generation: our members, our councillors are ready to show that being Labour, thinking Labour, voting Labour makes a difference that really counts.

Labour's New Generation

2010-09-30T17:44:00.000+01:00

Walk in Centres Consultation

2010-09-29T11:37:00.002+01:00

Let your feelings be known. Oppose the closures.

Engagement on Urgent Care Services in Salford
NHS Salford is responsible for funding health services in Salford (often referred to as commissioning). We are asking the public and patients for their views on urgent care services on behalf of all the organisations who contribute to urgent care services in Salford.

What are urgent care services?
Urgent care services are used when there is an unplanned or emergency health need, for example, urgent treatment or advice from a GP, Accident and Emergency (A&E) or Walk-in Centre.

Why do urgent care services need to change?
Urgent care services need to change because the economic recession means that there is less money available to spend on public services across England, including the NHS. We believe that £6.4 million can be saved from urgent care services without impacting on the safety of patient care

We have worked with staff and the public to develop a proposal to provide safe, cost-effective and joined-up urgent care services to the people of Salford that safely reduce unnecessary costs.

So, what is the proposal for urgent care services in Salford?
The proposal includes plans to:-

1.Develop a new Urgent Care Centre on the hospital site at Accident and Emergency and relocate the existing Pendleton and Little Hulton Walk-in services into the new centre. We believe that this will help to reduce the current pressure and costs from unnecessary Accident & Emergency attendances and provide a wide range of experts and treatment facilities in one place.
2.Promote alternative choices to Accident & Emergency amongst the general public.
3.Improve care for specific groups through alternatives to hospital admission, e.g. people with long-term conditions or the elderly.
Tell us your views
We have developed an engagement document to give you more information about our proposal for urgent care services. You can read this by clicking on the link below.

•Full engagement document (1.00 MB)
You can send us your views on the proposal by filling in the online response form, which is available at the link below.

•Full online response form
Summaries of the engagement document will be available in public venues across Salford, such as GP surgeries, libraries and leisure centres.

The engagement finishes on 13 December 2010, so you have until then to send us your views.

http://www.salford-pct.nhs.uk/EngagementOnUrgentCareServices.aspx?section=4

Our journey back to power

2010-09-28T21:31:00.000+01:00

John,

It is a tremendous honour to have been elected to be the Leader of the Labour Party.

I am proud that so many people have joined Labour under my leadership to make a real change. Just this afternoon, a new member has joined every minute.

I want to draw upon the strengths of all the thousands of Labour members to change this Party and, in doing so, change this country.

Please watch my speech and take a look at the stories of those who have joined us

As the Leadership passes to a new generation, we’re presented with an opportunity to change. Our last government had huge achievements to its name – and we should all be proud.

Now, a new generation leads Labour, humble about our past and idealistic about our future. It is a generation which thirsts for change. This week, we embark on the journey back to power.

Facing a new world with new challenges, we need to think again about how we can best serve the people we seek to represent. Labour's new generation must be different – with different attitudes, different ideas, different ways of doing politics as we shape the centre-ground.

Please take a look at my speech and ask your friends to join our latest recruits

We must have the courage to admit the mistakes we made and to embrace fresh thinking if we are to win back people's trust. Whether people are angry about the economy, lack opportunities or feel like they can’t get on in life – our party must be there for them.

With more new members joining every hour, we can make that case

Working together and joined by our latest recruits, I am optimistic that we can once again become an unstoppable force in British politics – and return Labour to power.

Ed

The case for retaining full maternity services in Salford

2010-09-22T07:48:00.000+01:00

The case for retaining full maternity services in Salford Sept 2010 Page 1
Keep Hope Maternity Open Campaign Group
http://www.keephopematernityopen.com
The case for retaining full maternity services in Salford
The case for retaining full maternity services in Salford Sept 2010 Page 2
Foreword, Lisa Kean, Chair of the Salford Maternity Forum
In July this year, Andrew Lansley ordered that the decision to close Salford maternity and neonatal services be reviewed, stating that decisions on service change must now meet four strengthened criteria. These criteria are that proposed changes must: focus on improving patient outcomes, consider patient choice, and be based on sound clinical evidence, as well as having support from General Practitioners (GPs). The Salford Maternity Forum has therefore commissioned this report which examines the case for retaining services at Salford, based on the first three criteria.
We are now sending this report to all GPs in Salford, as we believe it sets out a compelling case for retaining Salford‟s excellent maternity and neonatal services. We believe that it is not too late to reverse this wrong decision and ask for your support in achieving this, for the sake of Salford people now and in the future.
The case for retaining full maternity services in Salford Sept 2010 Page 3
Summary
1. The „Making it Better‟ (MIB) consultation was biased from the outset, as the Children, Young People and Families‟ Network team ignored a report they themselves had commissioned from TMS consultancy just prior to the consultation. This report in February 2005 stated unequivocally that Hope Neonatal Unit should be retained.
2. The proposals were based on the assumption that the birth rate was declining, whereas in Manchester and Salford the birth rate is projected to increase. Staff in local maternity units are currently struggling to cope; St Mary‟s, for example, was forced to close on 39 occasions last year. In its most recent report the North West LSA (the midwifery statutory supervisory body) has expressed concerns regarding future capacity if the reconfiguration goes ahead. Reduced capacity, with pressure on staffing and beds, will result in a less safe service for the majority of mothers and babies.
3. In 2008 Salford was designated the eighth best performing Trust for maternity care in England by the Health Care Commission. It has also achieved Level 3 in the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (the highest safety level, which means reduced insurance premiums). Maternity and neonatal care at Salford is therefore currently recognised as safe and effective, with lower intervention rates than in the surrounding hospitals. These enviably low intervention rates, achieved through sustained effort and teamwork, will be jeopardised by the closure. If intervention rates were to rise, care for Salford women would be not only less safe, with long term public health implications, but also more expensive.
4. The closure of Salford maternity would mean less choice for women in Salford. Even if a stand- alone midwifery led unit were to be retained, this would only cater for the healthiest women (around 500-600 per year).
5. The closure of Salford maternity and neonatal services would mean that women and their families would have to travel further, incurring greater expense and inconvenience than currently, and running an increased risk of giving birth before arriving at hospital. Salford has a high level of non car owners. The closure of an excellent unit serving a deprived population will result in perpetuation of the „inverse care law‟– those who need it most have the poorest care.
6. Bigger is not necessarily better when it comes to maternity care; evidence from this country and Europe suggests that smaller maternity units (supported by excellent networks for transfers to neonatal intensive care units for very low birth weight babies) have higher staff retention and better outcomes.
The case for retaining full maternity services in Salford Sept 2010 Page 4
The ‘Making it Better’ review
The „Making it Better‟ reconfiguration programme (MIB) was set up in 2004 by the Children, Young People and Families Network, to carry out a public consultation on reconfiguring children‟s, maternity and neonatal healthcare services across Greater Manchester. This then expanded to take in East Cheshire and High Peak and Rossendale, a review area with a population of around 3.1 million people. In July 2005, the Network published a discussion document, Making It Better (MIB). More than 120,000 copies of the document and 400,000 copies of an information leaflet were distributed. According to the MIB team, around 242,000 people had their say on the proposed changes during a 4-month public consultation and more than 55,000 formal written responses were received.
The discussion document suggested the creation of eight „Centres of Excellence‟ for maternity and children's services, with neonatal intensive care provided at three large specialist units. Option A, which had been identified by the team from the start as the „preferred option‟ was finally chosen at a meeting of 13 PCTs on 8th December 2006. Option A proposed Centres of Excellence at 8 sites: Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan, Royal Bolton, Royal Oldham, St Mary's, Stepping Hill, Wythenshawe, North Manchester General and Tameside General; with Neonatal Intensive Care Units at St Mary's, Royal Oldham and Royal Bolton Hospitals.
Background to the decision to withdraw services from Hope
Consultation had been going on in Greater Manchester for some years regarding neonatal and paediatric care. By early 2004 the Greater Manchester Neonatal Network Board (GMNNB) had reached broad agreement on the future location of neonatal intensive care services. Their recommendation to the Children, Young People‟s and Families Network, who were to be tasked with consulting about the reconfiguration, was to retain St Mary‟s and have 2 other designated neonatal intensive care sites: ROH, Bolton and either Stockport or Wythenshawe.
It is not clear to us why Hope, the only other NNU accredited by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, was omitted as a designated neonatal intensive care site at this point. In response to the GMNNB‟s position and prior to their MIB consultation, in June 2004 the Children, Young People and Families‟ Network commissioned a report by Teamwork Management Services (TMS) ‘to make recommendations on how neonatal intensive and high dependency care should be configured in future, to improve the outcomes of care for babies, as well as explore the potential impact for parents, families and staff’. TMS was a leading clinical management and business strategy consultancy which specialised in redesigning health services. Their detailed report was published on 14 February 2005. It stated that the preferred option (1) would be to reconfigure these neonatal services onto 3 sites, adding ‘in terms of which sites should provide specialist neonatal care it is sensible to build on the existing, well-established and accredited units at St Mary’s and Hope hospital. There is no evidence from the service user, clinical or commissioning perspectives, or published audits available to this review, that either of these established services should be moved from the two existing hospital sites’ (p17). The Report therefore unequivocally recommended that Hope should be one of the designated sites.
The case for retaining full maternity services in Salford Sept 2010 Page 5
What happened to this report? It is not mentioned in any of the MIB statements in the public domain. This suggests that prior to the public consultation the Children‟s Network Board, following the GMNNB, had decided that Hope would not feature as an option for intensive and high dependency neonatal care - despite the fact that it was the only other RCPCH accredited unit apart from St Marys. One of the requirements for lawful consultation is that at the formative stage the team must have an open mind on the outcome. This background clearly demonstrates bias. Further, employing a consultancy is costly; this ignored report must surely constitute a waste of public money and put into question the motives of the Network Board in purposely excluding Hope from their proposals. Membership of the Network Board itself may have affected its ability to make objective decisions on these matters. It is interesting that the team then did not return to TMS for analysis of the responses to the MIB discussion paper but instead chose a different company, Tribal Consulting. This consultancy analysed the responses and came up with new options but none of these included Salford Royal, and therefore there was very little chance of maternity and neonatal services being retained at Hope. Hope was only included in the initial options as Option C after lobbying by local MPs.
The MIB consultation had a neonatal bias, focussing largely on the care of very low birth weight babies (1% of the total) at the expense of the wider issues for all mothers and babies. Anthony Emmerson, neonatologist and lead clinician for the GM Neonatal Network has been quoted in MIB press releases as saying: ‘It's about moving forward and improving outcomes for these tiny infants (Bury Times Thursday 30th August 2007) … we believe (the changes) will help to save the lives of up to 30 more babies every year’ (MIB press release 24 August 2007). The public consultation questions focused on the care for sick babies and children. This created bias as parent‟s responses to questions about how far they were prepared to travel for care of their sick baby (a rare occurrence) were interpreted to also mean they would be happy to travel the same distance for maternity care.
Although the MIB team has been self-congratulatory about the size and scope of the consultation, calling it the largest ever response to a health consultation in the UK, the community of Salford was in the main highly critical of the proposals. In Salford there was a large protest rally supported by local MPs and Salford Council. A petition against closure was signed by over 26,000 residents of Salford. Salford Council Health Scrutiny Committee referred the decision to the DH Independent Review Panel (IRP). Midwifery educationalists, supervisors of midwives and many clinicians expressed concerns about the proposals and about the consultation process itself to the Network Board and to the IRP, which unfortunately upheld it in June 2007.
In July this year, Andrew Lansley outlined new, strengthened criteria that he expects decisions on NHS service changes to meet. They must focus on improving patient outcomes; consider patient choice; have support from GP commissioners; and be based on sound clinical evidence (DH 2010).
He ordered that the decision to close Salford maternity be reviewed according to these criteria; this review is currently ongoing.
The case for retaining full maternity services in Salford Sept 2010 Page 6
The case for retaining full maternity and neonatal services in Salford
Health and well-being at birth have far reaching implications for health throughout life. Optimal maternity care should be that which aims to be effective, do the least harm and which takes account of women's experiences (NCT 2010). If maternity services were audited with this in mind then priority would be given to those units with low intervention rates, low caesarean rates and a high normal birth rate because these would the ones associated with reduced physical and psychological morbidity. These would also prove to be the units that were most cost-effective due to the PbR tariffs.
Reconfigurations leading to centralisation of services are often cited as justified as being cost effective and as a means of improving patient safety. The MIB reconfiguration can be challenged on this basis as it appears to have been predicated on consultant rotas meeting the Working Time Initiatives rather than being quality and safety driven (see MIB end of project report 2010). In August 2007 Andrew Lansley said of the Manchester MIB consultation: "It was clearly driven by pressures from the European Working Time Directive [to limit doctors' working hours] and it failed to adequately reflect how access to services impacts the overall quality of care. Our contention is that with suitable support, good risk assessment and a neonatal critical care transport service, more of the existing locally based obstetric units can be maintained."(BBC News 24 August 2007) We agree with this view.
If the hospitals affected by the review are analysed for the latest statistics (Drazek 2009) then it is obvious that Salford is both safe and cost-effective and in fact performs better on all indices than its neighbouring units (Fig 1):
Salford (3100 births)
Bolton (4400 births)
St Mary’s (4700 births)
North Manchester (2900 births)
Caesarean section
18%
23%
21%
23.3%
Instrumental
11%
8%
14%
10%
Inductions
11%
24%
25%
21.4%
Stillbirths
16
33
42
16
Closures
1
3
39
N/A
These figures show that maternity care offered at the proposed sites of St Mary‟s, North Manchester and Bolton will not be better than that at Salford Royal – indeed it is likely to be less effective. A focus on safety is necessary as litigation costs are very high, so care provided should be appropriate to the risks of the population. Salford Royal maternity unit holds a Level 3 certificate for CNST, the highest level, which means the Trust pays reduced insurance premiums. The unit is held in high esteem by local women and is often chosen by women who live out of the area which is also an indicator of its reputation as a safe and supportive place to give birth.
The case for retaining full maternity services in Salford Sept 2010 Page 7
The MIB document was based on the premise that the birth rate was falling: “The birth rate
nationally is falling so there will be fewer children and young people in the future” (p18) and
this meant that there was not a need for all the current maternity units to be retained. The
latest available statistics from ONS (2008) show that this assumption was mistaken. ONS
predicts that the population of fertile females is set to reduce in all areas in Greater
Manchester apart from Manchester, Salford and Trafford (Fig 2). With the establishment of
Media City at Salford Quays the Salford childbearing population is likely to increase beyond
that currently projected.
ONS 2008 based population Projections - GM Districts - Change in the
Number of Fertile Females (Aged 15-44) 2008-33
-5
0
5
10
15
20
Bolton
Bury
Manchester
Oldham
Rochdale
Salford
Stockport
Tameside
Trafford
Wigan
District
Change - Fertile Females (000s)
Fig 2
The reconfiguration of maternity services across Greater Manchester will reduce bed
capacity. This will impact on safety as women will be more likely to be diverted away from
their hospital of choice. We judge that the new unit at St Mary’s will be barely able to
meet the needs of its own population let alone that of Salford. Indeed the Local
Supervising Authority Annual Report to the Nursing and Midwives Council ( Drazek 2009)
has expressed concern about future capacity in Greater Manchester, stating: The temporary
closures… are of particular concern in view of the reconfiguration of maternity services
across Greater Manchester and the fact that this will significantly reduce capacity and bed
numbers further’(p63).
The network board has said that "flexibility" has been built in but has not given details of
what this means for women. Does it mean being discharged after 2 hours to „free up‟ beds, as
some units are doing, to reduce bed occupancy? Or women not being cared for on a labour
ward until they reach 6cm dilatation? Both these scenarios are currently occurring in other
The case for retaining full maternity services in Salford Sept 2010 Page 8
units due to pressure on beds. These are not safe practices and are not contributing to positive experiences for women and their families.
MIB placed a strong emphasis on reducing health inequalities and yet perversely has voted to close down the very unit in the area most in need of locally based services. Moving maternity and neonatal care out of the City will cause already disadvantaged families more hardship. Salford scores highly in all deprivation indices such as unemployment, reliance on social housing, reduced life expectancy, low birth weight and low car ownership. Specifically, 39.2% of Salford residents do not have access to a car as opposed to 26.8% of England‟s households. 12.5% of Salford residents are lone parent families against 9.5% of England‟s households (LINK 2009).
The proposal to retain only a stand-alone Midwifery Unit will result in only the healthiest, low risk women able to give birth in Salford, while women with complications will have to travel further. Ill health is higher in more deprived populations such as Salford therefore the reconfiguration will result in perpetuation of the „inverse care law‟ (Tudor Hart 1971) – those who need it most have the poorest care. Increased mortality and morbidity are recognised to be a consequence of poverty. Salford has a level 3 accredited unit for a very good reason - the residents of Salford need one!
In 2008 Local Involvement Networks (LINKs), were set up to give communities a stronger voice in how their health and social care services are planned and delivered. Local residents of Salford have identified and voted three top priorities for their first work plan: Access to local health and social care services. Promotion of healthy lifestyles Healthcare service provision (LINK 2010)
For 2010 – 2011 one of the top priorities identified by Salford residents was the need for access to LOCAL hospital services (LINK 2010). It is clear that Salford is a city that wishes its services, which include maternity and neonatal services, to remain located locally and to be of a high standard.
Public transport links to the proposed „super centres‟ from Salford are poor and not family friendly. The plans will unquestionably increase travelling times, put pressure on the ambulance service and possibly deter women from attending. Low car use amongst its population means that women will be less likely to easily access services or afford to travel to Manchester or Bolton. The MIB team did examine distances from Salford to other units but distance analysis is a crude measure and does not take into account aspects such as rush hour traffic, city congestion and public transport links. The MIB plans do not include plans for increased emergency support such as airlift for urgent maternity/neonatal cases at times of severe congestion/gridlock. In Liverpool, currently the largest maternity unit in the UK with around 8,000 births per year, 553 women gave birth unattended in 2008-9 (Drazek 2009). The reasons for this have yet to be examined but can be supposed to be down to geography and difficulty in accessing the service.
Large centres equal increased levels of management where the focus of care (i.e. care of women) may become lost. It is well recognised that midwives do not work well within these units and that care becomes fragmented (Ball et al 2002). Safety becomes an issue then as
The case for retaining full maternity services in Salford Sept 2010 Page 9
highlighted by the Healthcare Commission Report (2006). Bigger units mean that women are more likely to be left alone in labour and less likely to have the same midwife caring for them during labour (Statistics from Birthchoice UK). Large units also tend to stifle dissenting voices. For example, Liverpool Women‟s Hospital was found by the Health Care Commission in 2007 to have had 20% of staff suffer bullying, harassment or abuse from managers or colleagues and it failed to investigate serious claims of abuse. Such working environments are not conducive to woman centred care. Recruitment and retention of staff becomes difficult which adversely effects care (Ball et al 2002). It is not yet evident whether all Salford staff will transfer to the other units. Some have already left and others have cited a preference to taking early retirement rather than transfer site. This equals a loss of experience and skill sets, which has worrying implications, as the riskiest times for services are post merger. This is demonstrated by the Healthcare Commissions enquiries into maternity services at Ashford and St Peter‟s Hospitals and Northwick Park as well as the independent inquiry into maternity services at Wyre Forest Birth Centre. These reports illustrate problems of management and staff morale arising as direct or indirect consequences of mergers. Furthermore the loss of midwifery skills and experience which will follow as a consequence of the closure of Hope will impact upon the sound training of future midwives, consolidation of skills, and retention, with the risk of further increasing intervention rates.
Although the question of whether there is any association between the size of maternity units and the quality of their clinical care has never been systematically evaluated, the Healthcare Commission report (2006) into Northwick Park Hospital challenges any assumptions which may have been made about the safety and quality of care in very large units (Macfarlane 2008). The sustainability of very large units needs to be addressed. Large units are known to have frequent closures due to staffing pressures. St Mary‟s closed on 39 occasions last year and this is before Salford is scheduled to close. If this level were to continue women would be turned away more frequently with all the increased risk and anxiety that this entails. Closures put women at greater risk of complications.
Other European countries use improved neonatal transport networks to achieve excellent outcomes and their mortality rates are lower than ours (Bosanquet et al 2005). Their largest units care for no more than 4,000 births per year, supported by excellent networks for transfers to neonatal intensive care units for very low birth weight babies.
Salford has a long standing history of excellence in maternity care and has been a thriving referral centre for women with complications of pregnancy (including neurological and renal problems) due to the excellent regional specialist services provided by Salford Royal Foundation Trust. It is not clear where pregnant women requiring this specialist input would be cared for in the future. The acute trust has a team of highly skilled and committed staff which in turn has meant it has an enviable recruitment and retention rate. The team strives to be innovative and has been the forerunner in many aspects of care, which have been disseminated and recognised both nationally and internationally. The people of Salford need and deserve to retain this service.
The case for retaining full maternity services in Salford Sept 2010 Page 10
Report compiled by:
Sarah Davies, Senior Lecturer Midwifery University of Salford, Salford resident
Heather Rawlinson, Midwife, Salford resident
on behalf of the Keep Hope Maternity Open Campaign Group, 8th Sept 2010
REFERENCES
Ball, L., Curtis, P., Kirkham, M. (2002) Why do Midwives Leave? Women's Informed Childbearing and Health Research Group, University of Sheffield
BBC News (2007) Johnson backs maternity closures http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/6961877.stm Accessed 6th Sept 2010
Bosanquet N, Ferry J, Lees C and Thornton J (2005) Maternity services in the NHS. Reform. http://www.reform.co.uk/Research/Health/HealthArticles/tabid/80/smid/378/ArticleID/596/reftab/69/t/Maternity%20services%20in%20the%20NHS/Default.aspx Accessed 5th Sept 2010
Commission for Health Improvement (2003) Maternity services – Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust. London: Commission for Health Improvement,.
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http://www.northwest.nhs.uk/document_uploads/lsa/LSA%20Annual%20Report%2008-09%20%20final.pdf Accessed 6th Sept 2010
Greater Manchester Children, Young People and Families‟ NHS Network (2010)
A Network Approach to Achieving EWTD Compliance. End of Project Report
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Health Care Commission (2007) National NHS staff survey. Brief summary of results from Liverpool Women’s NHS Trust http://www.cqc.org.uk/_db/_documents/AH_NHS_staff_survey_2007_REP_sum.pdf. Accessed 6 Sept 2010
LINK (2009) Salford Annual Report. 2008 – 2009. Unlimited Potential, Salford
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National Childbirth Trust (2010) Normal birth as a measure of the quality of care. London, NCT
South West Midlands Strategic Health Authority (2004) Maternity Services at Wyre Forest Birth Centre. Report of an independent inquiry under Section 2 of the NHS Act of 1977.
Tudor Hart J (1971) The inverse care law. The Lancet 27 February 1971