Walsall South Labour

Latest New Year enews from Valerie Vaz MP

2012-01-05T16:18:00.002Z

Happy New Year 2012
Walsall South To Contact Valerie: Constituency Office:
Telephone: 01922 635835 114a Lichfield Street, Walsall, WS1 1SZ Westminster Office:
Telephone: 020 7219 7176
Email: valerie.vaz.mp@parliament.uk House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA

For further information, please visit:

http://www.valerievazmp.co.uk Work to Date in Parliament

Since being elected to Parliament in May 2010, Valerie has:

 Held Adjournment Debates on Libraries in Walsall South, Parking and En-forcement in Walsall, Human Rights and Planning in Walsall South.
 Presented Petitions to Parliament on Pleck Library, Education Maintenance Allowance, Parking and Enforcement and the One Woodside Close devel-opment.
 Asked questions to the Prime Minister on buildings at Joseph Leckie School, Human Rights, the Health and Social Care Bill and provision for people with Epilepsy.
 Introduced 10 Minute Rule Bills on Epilepsy and Related Conditions and Adoption (Leave, Pay and Allowance Arrangements).
 Spoken in the House of Commons on 88 occasions.
 Asked 190 questions written questions
 Was the primary sponsor of . 53 bills and signed 464 Early Day Motions (EDMs).
 Sat on the Public Bill Committee for the Public Bodies Bill.
 Contributed to 12 Reports of the Health Select Committee.
 Valerie has worked on 3,309 constituency cases:

Valerie Calls for Rethink over BBC Cuts During a House of Commons debate Valerie called for a rethink of the proposed 20% cuts to the BBC budget.
Valerie said: "I am dismayed about the proposed decimation of BBC West Midlands. Factual pro-gramming for BBC television and Radio 4 will be moved out of Birmingham. The £15 million that is spent on the region is worth £28 million to the local economy."

On Tuesday 20
During the debate, Valerie said: "In my constituency, the green belt is already under threat. The residents in the Cottage Farm Residents Association feel that their views have not been taken into account regard-ing the development at One Woodside Close."

"The National Planning Policy Framework will relax brownfield targets; relax the requirement to plan for the efficient and effective use of land; reduce the protection of the green belt; remove the direction to direct offices to the town centre; and reduce sustainable economic development. The combination of those things will push development away from where it is most needed."
th December 2011, Valerie took part in a pre-recess Adjournment Debate in the House of Commons on Planning in Walsall South and the National Planning Policy Framework. Following the de-bate, Valerie presented a petition of 263 signatures from residents living near the controversial One Woodside Close development to Parliament. Surgeries Valerie holds regular surgeries. To arrange an appointment, please call the Constituency Office on 01922 635835

Valerie was contacted by a local resident who was concerned about the safety of the Zebra Crossing on Darlaston Road in Pleck. A four year old boy and a woman were knocked down on the crossing during 2011. Valerie wrote to the Council to request that a signal controlled crossing be installed. The Council is considering the request.

Treasury Questions

Valerie asked the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury about the steps the Government is tak-ing to address tax avoidance and close the stamp duty tax loopholes. The Minister replied that more resources would be allocated to addressing the problem.

do contact me via the above numbers if you wish to raise some issue with me!!
regards

Valerie Vaz MP Walsall South
Darlaston Road Crossing Ring and Ride Charges During Business Questions in the House of Com-mons, Valerie asked the Leader of the House to intervene to bring an end to discriminatory charges for the Ring and Ride Bus Service that mean that people over 60 with disabilities are un-able to access free public transport. VALERIE DEBATES WALSALL PLANNING IN PARLIAMENT

What is a fair pay rate for being your councillor?

2012-01-04T16:44:00.001Z

4th January
A set of revised pay rates is to go to Council next Monday. It cannot be right to raise the cost of us councillors at a time when we are making 99 members of our staff redundant and cutting severely into the budgets to support the most vulnerable in this Borough.

Taking a step back to try and judge what is fair in view of the time commitment involved, for example, those who sit on the cabinet ( if they do their job well and conscientiously!) should be spending quite a time each day in hands on managing public money of around £700 million a year.

Those who chair committees such as employment , audit, scrutiny committees and planning do have a bit more work than an ordinary councillor but not that much more in my view, to justify an extra £5200 to £8300 each more in pay. A cut to a total pay here to say around £3000 as an extra allowance, would save about £40000 which would result in an overall cut in the budget to the council tax bill for the cost of councillor pay, rather than what is currently proposed which would cost around £16000 extra.

. At a time of painful cuts for the community we councillors must not be immune . We used to do the job for an allowance for each committee we attended but I accept that this could seriously disadvantage younger candidates who could find their income so very badly affected if they then committed to taking on a lot of extra responsibilities over and above that of an ordinary councillor
.This must be balanced however , by the fact that is an honour to be elected and represent your local residents . Many of us do similar unpaid work as magistrates, sit on voluntary bodies such as the Citizens advice bureau and run very time consuming counselling work in marriage guidance with no claim for payment so working as a councillor still represents a similar considerable public service. So scrap the increases and cut the extra allowances !!

Regards
Cllr Ian Robertson

Are you sure the NHS is safe in Tory hands? OK if you can afford to go private!

2011-12-28T19:03:00.001Z

•

NHS hospitals in England will be free to use almost half their hospital beds and theatre time for private patients under government plans.

A recent revision to the ongoing health bill will allow foundation hospitals to raise 49% of funds through non-NHS work if the bill gets through Parliament.

Most foundation trusts are now limited to a private income of about 2%.

The Health Secretary says the move will benefit NHS patients but Labour claimed it could lead to longer waiting lists.

The amendment to a clause of the Health and Social Care Bill was made shortly before Christmas by Health Minister Earl Howe.

Commenting on the move, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said lifting the private income cap for foundation hospitals would directly benefit NHS patients.

Health and Social Care Bill

• Introduced into Parliament on 19 January 2011

• Main theme is to change commissioning of NHS services, giving GPs more control of the NHS budget

• Concerns led to a Government 'listening exercise' in the summer

• The bill then progressed through the House of Commons

• Further examination of the bill is to take place in the House of Lords in 2012

"If these hospitals earn additional income from private work that means there will be more money available to invest in NHS services," he said in a statement.

"Furthermore services for NHS patients will be safeguarded because foundation hospitals' core legal duty will be to care for them."

But Labour's shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham claimed the move could mean longer waits for NHS patients.

He said: "This surprise move, sneaked out just before Christmas, is the clearest sign yet of David Cameron's determination to turn our precious NHS into a US-style commercial system, where hospitals are more interested in profits than people.

"With NHS hospitals able to devote half of their beds to private patients, people will begin to see how our hospitals will never be the same again if Cameron's Health Bill gets through Parliament."

Critical services

A cap on the amount of income hospitals can raise from private patients was put in place by Labour in 2003, amid political controversy over the setting up of foundation hospitals, which have more freedom to decide how their services are run. All NHS hospitals are set to become foundation hospitals by 2014.

...the Government has consistently assured us that the NHS is safe in their hands, but if allowed to go ahead, the removal of the cap could lead to the fundamental erosion of key NHS principles”

End Quote Dr Peter Carter RCN

The cap has prevented hospitals from expanding their private work beyond the proportion earned in 2002. It varies from hospital to hospital, but is limited to about 2% in most hospitals.

In a small number of specialist hospitals, such as the Royal Marsden, the limit is set much higher, at around 30%. Health secretary Andrew Lansley has long said he will abolish the cap but it has been unclear how much private work would be allowed.

Proponents of the move have pointed out that the Royal Marsden is rated one of the best NHS providers while taking up to around a third of its income from private activity.

But critics are concerned that NHS patients would get a poor deal under the proposals, as foundation trusts with large financial deficits seek to take on more private work.

Dr Peter Carter, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said it was "a seriously worrying development".

"At a time when the health service has to make significant efficiency savings, it is only natural, that given the option, providers will look to maximise their income through private patients," he said.

"This will undoubtedly lead to a situation whereby those who can afford to pay will get faster access to better treatment, with increased waiting times and a decrease in quality for NHS patients."

He said existing NHS providers could be left to deliver critical services, which are the most expensive and challenging to run.

He added: "Really, it doesn't get much more serious than this; the Government has consistently assured us that the NHS is safe in their hands, but if allowed to go ahead, the removal of the cap could lead to the fundamental erosion of key NHS principles.

"The very heart of these principles being that access to care should be on the basis of clinical need, regardless of ability to pay."

Dual role

But the chief executive of the health thinktank, the King's Fund, Chris Ham said hospitals had generated funds from private patients for many years, and it was possible to provide high quality care to both NHS and private patients in the same hospital.

"The cap is only a significant consideration for a minority of hospitals," he said.

"These hospitals should report annually on how they are ensuring NHS patients do not lose out if the cap is either removed or at a relatively high proportion of income."

I think this is another step for the tories to privatise as much as possible of our NHS
What do you think! ... regards Ian Robertson walsall.

Win for labour in Birchills Leamore

2011-12-23T00:11:00.000Z

Tina Jukes wins for Labour

While not in Walsall South, many of us have been helping in canvassing in the by election in Birchills Leamore and despite the date ( not called by Labour or tories) right next to Christmas the following result has put some Christmas cheer in our step here in Walsall Labour.
We shall redouble our efforts to capture the next 4 seats to re gain control of this Council in May 2012. All help gratefullly received.

On a low turnout for a by-election of 15.9% but not surprising given the

closeness to Christmas , Tina Jukes defended the Birchills seat of the late Joan

Barton
Results Birchills-Leamore: Lab hold.

Tina Jukes (Lab): 835; 53%Kamran Aftab (Con) 512; 32%

Chris Newey (Eng Dem) 130; 8% Liz Hazell (UKIP) 59; 4%

L Gebrakedan (Green) 46. 3%

Tina will be an excellent councillor for the people of Birchills-Leamore.

This result once again sees Labour and Conservatives at 27 seats each, Lib

Dems with 5 and an independent.

This Council has been run by the Tories for the past 12 years. They continue to waste our money... the latest proposal to spend nearly £1 Million on doing up the Council House over the next two years when front line services for the most vulnerable in this Borough are being cut to the bone is just one example.

There have been serious flaws in a number of contracts that have resulted in really bad deals for Walsall residents : education is potentially in limbo with the apparent proposal to end the Serco contract within 6 months and leaves a real sense of concern for teachers and pupils as they face their examinations in the summer... we need to re-establish the Walsall Education Board urgently to take control:

However we all know that their theme is 'let the market decide' OK if you are well off but not so good if you are struggling! As our Town centres fall into decay and unemployment rises and education results, while improved ,are nowhere near good enough, we look forward to being in a position to do a lot better for the residents of Walsall after May.

email newsletter from Valerie Vaz MP

2011-12-15T23:15:00.001Z

November 2011
Walsall South To Contact Valerie: Constituency Office:
Telephone: 01922 635835 114a Lichfield Street, Walsall, WS1 1SZ Westminster Office:
Telephone: 020 7219 7176
Email: valerie.vaz.mp@parliament.uk House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA For further information, please visit: http://www.valerievazmp.co.uk/

HOSPITAL BUS STOP
When the 38 bus was intro-duced it was expected to stop at the Manor Hospital. A Red Route was placed on Pleck Road, so buses stopped some distance away.
Valerie wrote to the Chief Executives of Walsall Healthcare and National Express West Midlands and they have said that from the 1st January 2012 the bus will stop at the Hospital.

VALERIE HOSTS EVENTS IN HONOUR OF NOOR
INYAT KHAN & AUNG SAN SUU KYI
Photo by Alan Williams During November, Valerie hosted events at the House of Commons in honour of Noor Inyat Khan and Aung San Suu Kyi.
Valerie said: "Noor died in Da-chau concentration camp in 1944, at the young age of 30 having risked her life as a member of the Special Opera-tions Executive, based in Paris during the Second World War. She was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the George Cross but there is no memorial to her in this country. I look forward to one being unveiled in 2012."
"It was a privilege to host the event in honour of Aung San Suu Kyi. I hope many people will learn about her inspiring life through the book "The Lady and the Peacock", which was launched at the event. Noor Inyat Khan and Aung San Suu Kyi are both very
inspiring women."

WALSALL SOUTH AND THE 2012 OLYMPICS

" YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT RISES

Valerie has criticised the Government’s record on long-term youth unemployment after the number of people aged 18-24 in Walsall South who have been claiming Job Seekers’ Al-lowance for more than six months doubled between Janu-ary and October this year. 600 young people in Walsall South have now been claiming JSA for more than 6 months.
Nationally, there are now over 1 million young people claim-ing JSA and in Walsall South the figure stands at 1,456.
Valerie said: "Before Labour’s Future Jobs Fund was abol-ished I visited a project in Walsall South. I saw its work at first hand. Young people who would have been on the dole were given training. There was no Government interference, but money was given directly to local organisations which taught skills to match the available jobs. At the end, the young people received a CV and a reference.

VALERIE REACTS TO AUTUMN STATEMENT On Tuesday 29th November 2011, the Chancellor, the Rt Hon George Osborne MP delivered his Autumn Statement to the House of Commons. The Chancellor announced that public sector pay rises would be capped at 1% at the end of the current pay freeze, that the total number of public sector job losses will reach 710,000 and that the Government will borrow £158 billion more than expected.
Valerie said: "I am astonished that the Chancellor has decided to cap public sec-tor pay rises at 1% at the end of the current pay freeze. This is well below the current rate of inflation and in effect represents a pay cut for thousands of teach-ers, nurses and police officers."
"The Government is set to borrow £158 billion more than it planned a year ago. Its economic policy is simply not working. The Government lacks the
competence to bring growth back to the economy and bring down the deficit."

Surgeries Valerie holds regular surgeries. To arrange an appointment, please call the Constituency Office on 01922 635835 Valerie has welcomed news of the benefits the 2012 Olympics will bring to Walsall South. It was announced this month that Walsall South-based manufacturer, Alucast has won a contract to produce components for the torches to be used in the Olympic Flame Relay. The relay will pass through Walsall on 30th June 2012.
Valerie wrote to every school in Walsall South asking them to take part in a scheme to make Pennant Flags for all the athletes taking part in the 2012 Olympics. Valerie said: "I hope all schools in Wal-sall South will take up this opportunity."

There are lies, damn lies and then there are Liberal Democrat lies

2011-11-09T10:35:00.000Z

There was a lively debate at full Council last Monday 7th November on the subject of the future of our National Health Service and the impact this will have in Walsall.

There have been a number of reports for example that have been to the Board that runs our Manor Hospital earlier this year which indicated some concerns from an inspection that while most elderly who were questioned were happy, some were not and monitoring of access to food and water at times was not up to standard. Another report into maternity services also revealed over 1000 ‘incidents over the last year, some minor but some more serious.

The inspection of elderly services came to health scrutiny when we took the opportunity to question the head of nursing at the Manor on that report. The one on maternity services will be on a future agenda. There was also a report that long term waiting lists had risen ( those waiting over a year)
Could it be that these reports are a sign that our local hospital is desperately trying to balance their accounts and make cutbacks so that they can go forward to be accepted as a Foundation Trust?
All hospitals have been commanded to prepare to be Foundation trusts and be looked at by a new national body called ‘Monitor’ which is supposed to look over these Foundation trusts but seems to be more of an economic regulator than a body with real clout to assess outcomes. These new Foundation trusts will be free to promote and increase the proportion of private treatment provided.

Such reports with the amount of changes happening in the field of health and social care, could only be scrutinised in depth if a whole meeting designated to look at that one area or a special working party asked to report back. In reality only those with a good working knowledge of the NHS and hospitals can lead such an in depth questioning of professionals who are well practised in giving careful answers in response to what they could perceive is an attack on their profession.

Bringing in our national health service is one of the many great achievements of the Labour Party and it is true that successive Governments have tried to alter the management structures to make the NHS more ‘efficient’ but probably more in reality to keep the costs within some kind of budget. Here we have for the first time, 80% of the NHS being handed over from central control to 250 commissioning groups run by local doctors. While respecting their genuine professional integrity , I cannot see how they can impartially allocate such vast sums of money that directly affects there own income. 7 out of 10 doctors do not want this .

In some parts of the north, there is already evidence that some GP practices are being told they will not be accepted into the new commissioning group unless they change their more expensive patterns of costly health care.

We are told that the new bodies set up to advise and monitor the performance of the these new GP commissioning bodies will be called the Health and Well being boards… I do not believe they will have enough power to seriously challenge these new commissioning Boards.. we shall but try of course as the only show in town.

The new chair nationally of these commissioning boards Professor Grant indicated that he was not a user of the NHS which is worrying as to how much faith he has in the NHS.

These proposals now coming into place will cost nationally around £5 billion with independent legal advice saying that this will be a real threat to the fundamental principles of the NHS and in fact take the national out of the NHS title and promote a two tier health care service with promotion of private alternatives.

We call on scrapping this Bill now before it goes on in future years to promote scrapping of our NHS.

Just a note on the liberals who are facing oblivion as a party having sold their soul for a key to the wash room of the cabinet office and are coming up with all sorts of smoke screens to try and cover their tracks. I know the public out there will hold them to account at the next election.

On a footnote in repsonse to a comment posted 9th November

The figures in the notice to Council were correct at the time of writing. The waiting lists of over 1 year are now down to 40 ... just a 200% increase over the past year. The maternity services report will go to the next scrutiny meeting at my request. The Liberals in coalition had the power to bury this reorganisation of the nhs bill as recommended by the majority of health professionals.

Talking to colleagues at the Hospital, they complain that they cannot do their job to the standard they were trained to do at times due to time pressures .. brought on by financial pressures due to the hospital tryng to comply with the strict financial rules before going down the Foundation route. Nationally there are more serious reports from hospital patients and even in Yorkshire GPs complaining they have been asked to change their treatment patterns before being invited to join in the commissioning group as their current pattern was too expensive!

Nationally labour have tried to fight these changes and have an on line petition for anyone to sign calling for the NHS Bill to be withdrawn.

Regards

Ian Robertson

There is a better way to save the economy in Walsall and the West Midlands

2011-10-22T09:07:00.000+01:00

Labour’s five-point plan for jobs and growth in the West Midlands

1. Create up to 8,500 jobs for young people and build 1,900 new homes

2. Bring forward investment projects like new school buildings

3. Temporarily reverse the Tory-led Government’s VAT rise - a £450 boost for

families with children

4. Cut VAT on home improvements to 5% for a year

5. Give up to 170,000 small firms a tax break to take on extra workers

There is a better way in the West Midlands

Our jobs plan includes

a tax on bank bonuses to fund up to 100,000 jobs for young people; bringing forward longterm

investments in infrastructure like roads and schools; a temporary VAT cut which would

give families with children a boost of around £450; a one year cut in VAT to 5 per cent on

home improvements and repairs to help small businesses; and tax breaks for small businesses

taking on extra workers.

The Tory-led Government refuses to listen to people’s concerns. Far from being the safe haven

George Osborne claims it is, Britain’s recovery was choked off last autumn – well before the

current crisis in the eurozone. We now know that there has been zero growth in our economy for

nine months. Japan is the only G7 country that has grown more slowly over the last year.

The decision by the Bank of England effectively to print more money shows that the

Government’s reckless plan is not working. In fact two years ago the Chancellor George Osborne

said doing this was “the last resort of desperate governments when all other policies have failed.”

But there’s only so much the Bank of England can do on its own. The Government needs to act

too. The real problem is that the Government is cutting spending and putting up taxes too far and

too fast. And the result is that families have been hit hard, the economy has ground to a halt and

more people are now out of work.

Unemployment is at its highest level in 17 years, with over 2.5 million people without a job. One in

five young people are out of work and there are now more women unemployed than any time

since 1988. And while 111,000 jobs have been lost in the public sector in the three months to

June, just 41,000 jobs have been created in the private sector.

Like every other country we’ve got to get our deficit down and that means tough decisions

on tax and spending cuts. But the Government doesn’t seem to understand that more people on

the dole – claiming benefits rather than paying taxes – will just make it harder and harder to get

the deficit down.

The International Monetary Fund has now warned that if things get any worse the Tory-led

Government will have to change course and slow down the cuts and tax rises. Business groups are

also calling on the Government to do more to get the economy growing again.

There is a better way – a real plan for jobs and growth to get our economy moving again and

help get the deficit down in a steadier and more balanced way.

And we must now lay the foundations for a new bargain in the future based on something-forsomething

values which reward responsibility, help us pay our way in the world and fulfil the promise of Britain. If David Cameron and George Osborne really understood how tough things are for families, pensioners and businesses they’d stop sitting on their hands and take action now.

There is a better way

– a real plan for jobs and growth to get our economy moving again and help get

the deficit down in a steadier and more balanced way.

By trying to cut spending and raise taxes too far and too fast this Tory-led Government is getting our

economy into a vicious circle. By choking off the recovery and putting tens of thousands of people

on the dole, claiming benefits rather than paying taxes, the Government will make it harder to get the

deficit down. David Cameron’s austerity plan is hurting, but it isn’t working.

The Tories: Too Far, Too Fast

• The Tory-led Government’s decision to cut the deficit too far and too fast choked off the

economic recovery last autumn - well before the eurozone crisis of recent months.

• In the last nine months the UK economy has not grown at all.

• Over the last year Japan is the only G7 country to grow more slowly than the UK.

• Slower growth and higher unemployment means the Government is now set to borrow

£46 billion more over the next few years.• Unemployment is rising again and is currently

at the highest level in 17 years.

• The number of women unemployed is at its highest level since 1988.

• Almost one million young people are unable to find a job, the highest number since

comparable records began in 1992. But one of the first acts of the Tory-led Government

was to scrap Labour’s Future Jobs Fund which helped young people into work.

• The private sector is failing to fill the gap left by the Government’s public spending cuts

that go too far and too fast. more borrowing £46 billion young people unable to find a job one million

The effect of the Tory-led Government’s cuts in the West Midlands:

• The Tories have scrapped Labour’s Future Jobs Fund which helped 12,090 people in the West

Midlands into jobs.

• The number house building starts fell by 430 in the second quarter of 2011 compared to the same

quarter a year ago.

• 234,000 people in the West Midlands are unemployed as of October 2011.

• The Tories have scrapped Advantage West Midlands, the Regional Development Agency for the

area, despite the fact that in the last year of the Labour Government:

- Advantage West Midland’s regionally based and managed venture capital funds made 54

investments, totalling £5.1 million. This levered in £17.4 million of private funds

- Three major low carbon vehicle projects of national significance were launched, and the

region (with the East Midlands) has been recognised as the UK’s Low Carbon Area for

Advanced Automotive Engineering.

This is a really worrying time for families; struggling with higher food prices and gas bills and worried about their jobs and their children’s futures.

There is a better way

September enews

2011-10-04T22:20:00.000+01:00

September 2011
Walsall South To Contact Valerie: Westminster Office:
Telephone: 020 7219 7176
Email: valerie.vaz.mp@parliament.uk House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA Constituency Office:
Telephone: 01922 635835

FUN DAY AT ST MARY’S THE MOUNT

Valerie said: "I was delighted to attend the funfair day and to meet with the nuns who work so tirelessly to support our community." 114a Lichfield Street, Walsall. WS1 1SZ Valerie visited the Funfair Day at St Mary’s the Mount Parish on Saturday 10th September. The Funfair Day was organised by The Daughters of Divine Love in order to raise money for charity. Surgeries Valerie holds regular surgeries. To arrange an appointment, please call the Constituency Office on 01922 635835 For further information, please visit: http://www.valerievazmp.co.uk VALERIE OPPOSES CONTROVERSIAL HEALTH BILL Valerie voted against the Government’s Health and Social Care Bill at its third reading.
Valerie said: "This is a reckless, unnecessary and wasteful reorganisation of the NHS. I have received a very large number of e-mails and letters from constituents on this important issue and I know how concerned local people are about the Government’s proposals.
"The Government’s plans will break up the NHS as a national public service and are fundamen-tally weakening the Health Secretary’s responsibilities. The Bill still contains the essential ele-ments to set the NHS up as a full-scale market based on the model of the privatised utilities.
"I have consistently voted against the Bill and I am very disappointed that it has passed its Third Reading. I will continue to fight against the dismantling of our National Health Service."

MADE BY BRITAIN
On Saturday 10th September, Valerie visited Chuckery-based casting manufacturer Chamberlin and Hill and nomi-nated their turbocharger cast-ings to represent Walsall South in the Made by Britain scheme.
Valerie said: "Having been based here for 121 years, Chamberlin and Hill is a prime example of the best of Wal-sall’s successful manufacturing industry. "
"I am delighted to nominate Chamberlin and Hill’s turbo-charger castings as the product to represent Walsall South in the Made by Britain scheme. In 2010, around 10% of petrol engines were turbocharged. However, by 2015, ap-proximately 80-90% of car petrol engines are expected to be turbocharged. This will enable petrol engines to func-tion more efficiently and reduce emissions."
HEALTH COMMITTEE REPORTS The Health Select Committee, of which Valerie is a mem-ber, published reports into the healthcare regulators Moni-tor and the Care Quality Commission on 14th September 2011.
The Committee’s report on Monitor made it clear that stan-dards for authorising Foundation Trusts should not fall due to increased pressure to become Foundation Trusts.
The report on the CQC criticised a "distortion of priorities" at the organisation, finding that a focus on administrative tasks had been at the expense of the core function of in-spection. The Committee found that this was the result of a lack of sufficiently clear priorities and objectives.

ALL CHANGE WITH BOUNDARIES

The Boundary Commission has published its proposed boundary changes following the Government’s decision to reduce the number of seats in the House of Commons by 50. The West Midlands is set to lose five seats, which Valerie opposes.
Proposals for Walsall South mean that the current wards would be divided between two constituencies, Walsall South and Walsall West– that is over 40% of the current Walsall South split between each of the new constituencies. Bentley & Darlaston North, Darlaston South and Pleck move into Walsall West and Paddock, Palfrey, Pheasey and St Mathews form part of the new Walsall South.
Valerie said: "I am sure that many residents will wish to participate in the public consultation phase. Details are available at
http://boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/ "
Valerie Backs Elderly Persons Social Centre Valerie is backing the Palfrey-based Elderly Persons Social Centre entry in the NatWest CommunityForce funding competition. If the cen-tre gains enough votes in an online poll, NatWest will donate £6000 towards its work in the community. To vote for the centre, please visit http://communityforce.natwest.com/project/3515
Valerie said: "I would encourage you to vote for the centre as its work is very important to large number of elderly people in the Palfrey area."

Proposed Boundary changes

2011-09-13T07:48:00.000+01:00

The proposed new boundaries for parliamentary seats has just been published by the boundary commission with the idea of making all MPs represent around 75000 residents. The largest constituency was the Isle of Wight at over 100,000 so starting by reducing the size of the electorate over there , there is a knock effect nation wide plus there is proposed a reduction in the overall number of parliamentary seats. The new boundaries will be brought into place in October 2013.
Everyone is invited to comment over the next 84 days before the commission publish their final recommendations . You can see the proposals by logging into
http://consultation.boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/

You can also leave comments with us in Walsall Labour Party as we shall of course be looking carefully at the new proposals and will be happy to raise comments on your behalf.

Ian Robertson ( secretary Walsall South)

Please do your bit to hit illegal part of scrap wagons trade

2011-09-08T18:38:00.001+01:00

Cashless Scrap Metal Trade - Amendment to Scrap Metal Merchants Act 1964

Responsible department: Home Office

Due to a significant rise in value, metal has become a much sought after commodity. This increased demand has resulted in a sharp rise in metal theft nationally. Metal fencing, gates, manhole covers and other metallic items are stolen on a regular basis. Property is raided for lead, copper and cabling. War memorials and statues have been taken. Overhead power lines are stolen at serious risk to personal safety with huge costs for replacement and major inconvenience to the public. Historically the scrap metal trade has been a cash in hand industry. This creates difficulties as there is no audit trail, making identification of individuals who may be trading stolen metal or who may be committing tax or benefits fraud, a difficult proposition. An amendment to the Scrap Metal Merchants Act 1964 to prohibit cash transactions would make payment by cheque or directly into a bank account mandatory and would be a significant component in reducing metal theft.

Please follow this link sign and forward to as many people as possible

Thanks

Ian Robertson

Walsall.

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/406

August newsletter

2011-09-02T21:37:00.001+01:00

August 2011 Walsall South Valerie Vaz newsletter

VALERIE OPENS WALSALL SAMARITANS AWARENESS DAY

Valerie opened the Walsall Samaritans Awareness Day at the New Art Gallery, and unveiled the artwork, „A Call for Help,‟ donated free of charge by local artist Lynn Hughes.

Valerie said: “It is a privilege to open the Samaritans Awareness Day. The event is an excellent way for Walsall Samaritans to make more people aware of their vital work offering emotional support to people in need.”

Walsall Samaritans was set up in 1969 and is staffed and managed entirely by volunteers and paid for by donations. For each of the last three years Walsall Samaritans have seen an increase in contacts. In 2010, 18,900 contacts were made with the branch.

Valerie said: “It is important to recognise the commitment of the volunteers and to raise awareness of the Samaritans‟ vital service which provides confidential, 24-hour emotional support, available to everyone, every day of the year.”

VALERIE PRESENTS BILL FOR ADOPTION RIGHTS

Valerie introduced the Adoption (Leave, Pay and Allowance Arrangements) Bill to Parliament under the Ten Minute Rule procedure. Valerie identified 3 areas where there are inequalities between the statutory entitlements for adoptive parents and the entitlements for parents whose children were born to them: the eligibility for adoption leave; the different rates for the first 6 weeks of statutory maternity pay and statutory adoption pay; and maternity allowance, which is available to self-employed mothers but not to self-employed adopters.

Valerie said: “I am bringing in this Bill because more needs to be done to support people who do so much for society by adopting children who do not have families of their own. It cannot be right that the people who come forward to give children a family life and offer them a stable and secure environment are not currently entitled to the same support as other parents.”

The Bill is listed for second reading on 20th January 2012.

VALERIE FIGHTS AGAINST PHONE MAST

The phone mast recently erected at the junction of Bea-con Road and Waverley Avenue in Pheasey, will be removed. The mast was put up despite Walsall Council refusing Vodafone planning permission. Residents raised their concerns with Valerie.

Valerie‟s suggestion to the Council of obtaining a second legal opinion on the position led to the issuing of an enforcement notice. The notice would require the removal of the mast within 3 months of the service of the notice.

The Council have also met with Vodafone to look at other sites.

PUBLIC DISORDER

Parliament was recalled on the 11th August due to the recent rioting in London and around England. Despite rioting and looting in parts of the West Midlands, Walsall Town Centre was secure thanks to the police and local authority.

Valerie said: “I want to thank the police and the local authority for working together protect the Town Centre.”

HEALTH SELECT COMMITTEE

The Health Select Committee, of which Valerie is a member, published its report into Complaints and Litigation. They found that the current com-plaints system is not effective, and called for an overhaul of the role of the Health Service Ombudsman. Valerie said:

“The Government need to be clear about how com-plaints will be handled. It is important that information gathered during com-plaints procedures is properly reported and analysed, in order to avoid systematic weaknesses being over-looked.”

The Committee recognised that the number of general NHS complaints has gone up, and that action should be taken to resolve this. More than 100,000 complaints were made in 2009/2010, a 13.4% increase on the previous year.

To Contact Valerie:

Westminster Office: House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA

Telephone: 020 7219 7176

Email: valerie.vaz.mp@parliament.uk Constituency Office: 114a Lichfield Street, Walsall. WS1 1SZ Telephone: 01922 635835

Surgeries Valerie holds regular surgeries. To arrange an appointment, please call the Constituency Office on 01922 635835

For further information, please visit: http://www.valerievazmp.co.uk

enewsletter

2011-08-05T22:00:00.001+01:00

Valerie has welcomed Walsall Borough Council’s decision to look at introducing a 30-minute parking amnesty on Ablewell Street. Since the introduction of charges on 7th March 2011, businesses have seen a decline in trade of up to 50%.

Valerie raised the issue in the House of Commons in a Pre-Recess Adjournment Debate on 24th

May 2011 after which she presented a 700-name petition to Parliament. Walsall Borough Council subsequently announced that they will be looking in to the possibility of introducing 30-minute parking amnesties on Ablewell Street and Lichfield Street.

Valerie said: “The Ablewell street traders have made it clear that they need a 30-minute amnesty to restore trade. The Federation of Small Businesses also contacted me about the local traders’ concerns.”

“I have also heard from the traders on Bridge Street who have had difficulty in receiving deliveries due to parking restrictions and I will continue to work to address this issue.”

Valerie Discusses Epilepsy Bill with the Prime Minister

To Contact Valerie:

Westminster Office: House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA

Telephone: 020 7219 7176

Email: valerie.vaz.mp@parliament.uk

Constituency Office: 114a Lichfield Street, Walsall. WS1 1SZ

Telephone: 01922 635835

Surgeries

Valerie holds regular surgeries. To arrange an appointment, please call the Constituency Office on 01922 635835

For further information, please visit: http://www.valerievazmp.co.uk

Walsall South July 2011

VALERIE VISITS WALSALL FC

Valerie visited Walsall FC following local concern about the sale of

Banks’ Stadium. Valerie met with the club’s Chairman, Jeff Bonser

and Chief Executive,

Stefan Gamble.

Valerie said; “Walsall

FC is important in bringing the town together and raising the national

profile of the town. It is very important that the Club’s long term future

is assured.”

VALERIE CELEBRATES REINTRODUCTION OF 639 ROUTE

VALERIE WELCOMES NEWS THAT COUNCIL WILL LOOK AT 30

MINUTE PARKING AMNESTY ON ABLEWELL STREET

Photo by Alan Williams

On Wednesday 27th July, Valerie and local campaigners celebrated the launch of

the new 38 bus service from Kings Hill in Darlaston to the Manor Hospital and Walsall town centre.

The 639 bus was withdrawn in January 2009. Local residents and campaigners,

Julie Bosley and Doreen Laban, visited Valerie at her surgery with a petition from residents to ask for her support to reinstate the route. Valerie pursued this by writing to Centro, National Express West Midlands and each of the local bus operators. Valerie also presented the petition to Parliament.

Valerie said: “I am delighted that National Express West Midlands have listened to the views of local people. People had to take three buses to reach the hospital. This was particularly difficult for senior citizens and women with children. The new 38 route will have a real impact on people’s quality of life.”

At Prime Minister’s Questions on 22nd June 2011, Valerie asked the Prime

Minister to meet with her to discuss her ten minute rule bill on Epilepsy and

Related Conditions. Valerie said: “I wanted to raise this matter directly with the Prime Minister.

There are almost 1000 deaths from epilepsy related causes each year and

400 of these are potentially avoidable. What is required is immediate referral

to a tertiary specialist and assessments in schools to indentify young

people’s needs.”

“The Prime Minister agreed to meet with me and the epilepsy experts and I

am hopeful that we can make real progress on this matter.”

june news from Valerie Vaz MP

2011-07-06T22:56:00.000+01:00

Valerie hosted the launch of Walsall College’s Accredited Skills for Industry (ASFI) programme at the House of Commons.
The programme has been developed in partnership with SEMTA, the manufacturing skills council and employers, including Accord Housing Group, where a qualification supporting energy efficiency and retrofit technologies has been developed.
Valerie said; "I was delighted to welcome Walsall College to the House of Commons to celebrate their new qualifications pro-gramme. Chief Executive Amarjit Basi and his colleagues have worked hard to achieve this. The new links between education, industry and skills councils will be a great asset for the young peo-ple of Walsall."
Valerie secured a debate in the House of Commons on the new parking charges in Walsall Town Centre. After the debate, she presented a petition of more than 700 names to Parliament.
The rigorously enforced charges were introduced on 7
Valerie said; "These parking charges have hit local businesses hard at a time when trading conditions are already challenging. It is vital that Walsall Borough Council reconsiders these charges in light of clear evidence that they hinder the very busi-nesses we need to flourish in order for the economy to get back on track". th March and since then local businesses have reported a significant fall in trade—some by as much as 50%. Valerie asked the Education Secretary, Michael Gove MP, about plans to replace skilled outreach workers in Sure Start Centres with health visitors.
During Education Questions in the House of Com-mons Valerie explained that skilled outreach workers in Sure Start Centres have been very successful in driving outreach projects.
These include a Fathers’ Club held at Palfrey Sure Start that 84 fathers attended. It was the first in the country to be rated "Outstanding" by Ofsted. To Contact Valerie: Westminster Office:
Telephone: 020 7219 7176 House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA Constituency Office:
Telephone: 01922 635835
Email: valerie.vaz.mp@parliament.uk 114a Lichfield Street, Walsall. WS1 1SZ Surgeries Valerie holds regular surgeries. To arrange an appointment, please call the Constituency Office on 01922 635835 For further information, please visit: http://www.valerievazmp.co.uk June 2011 Valerie Challenges Minister Over "Medical Model" Sure Start Plans
Valerie Hosts Walsall College Launch Event at the House of Commons Valerie Secures Parking Charges Debate Walsall South Valerie Attacks Women’s Pension Changes The Government recently published plans to force women in their late fifties to wait 18 months longer to receive their state pension.
Valerie said; "When money and financial planning are tight, the impact of this is huge and very unfair. Many women in their late fifties are being forced to change their retirement plans with only a very few years notice. This is very unjust."
On 20th June, the Pensions Bill received its Second Reading in the House of Commons. Valerie with Walsall College Principal, Amarjit Basi, ASFI Board member, Chris Hunt and ASFI Managing Director, Sue Reynolds.

News from Valerie Vaz MP

2011-05-27T21:17:00.001+01:00

2011-05-27T21:05:00.000+01:00

Valerie has challenged the decision to close the New Art Gallery on Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays – the only days that many people are able to attend. The move follows a substantial reduction in funding from Arts Council England and Walsall Borough Council.
Following the announcement of the changes – which will save just £35,000 a year – Valerie wrote to Culture Secretary, Ed Vaizey to ask him what could be done to avoid these closures. He refused to intervene.
Valerie raised the issue with the Leader of the House during Business Questions on 27
On 9
Speaking during the Opposition Debate on the future of the NHS, Valerie said ―I am staggered by the uncertainty sur-rounding how much this reorganisation will cost the tax-payer‖ and went on to accuse the Government of having ―lost control‖ of the NHS budget.
The controversial Health and Social Care Bill contains measures to give GPs budgets worth £60 billion to commis-sion services for their patientsth April and is con-tinuing to explore further funding options. th May, Valerie spoke out in Parliament against the Government’s much criticised plans for the future of the NHS. . To Contact Valerie: Westminster Office:
Telephone: 020 7219 7176 House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA Constituency Office:
Telephone: 01922 635835
Email: valerie.vaz.mp@parliament.uk 114a Lichfield Street, Walsall. WS1 1SZ For further information, please visit: http://www.valerievazmp.co.uk May 2011 VALERIE SPEAKS OUT AGAINST NHS PLANS NEVER ON A SUNDAY
Valerie Presents Pleck Library
Petition to Parliament Walsall South Smalltown by Cameron Galt Valerie has expressed concern at the latest unemployment figures for Walsall South. The number of unemployed claimants in Walsall South in April was 4,145—an increase of 215 since March.
Valerie said; ―These figures show that the Government does not have the answers on the economy. It must urgently look at how to get people back into work.‖ Surgeries Valerie holds regular surgeries. To arrange an appointment, please call the Constituency Office on 01922 635835 O
1,108 people signed the petition against any plans to close Pleck Library in the future. n 27th April, Valerie presented a petition to Parliament urg-ing the Government to ―take all possible steps to protect Pleck Library for the future‖. Valerie Expresses Concern About Local
Unemployment Figures

What future for our NHS

2011-05-21T13:33:00.000+01:00

How can the above multi millionaire have any idea what it is like to live in a system where the fact you have joined medicare or have a large amount of wealth can determine whether you live of die early?

The Tories have made it clear they feel the market system will keep the cost of the NHS down... rubbish... this is treasury speak... civil servants do not like a system that has to have a flexible budget.. more people one year may need a hip operation... some care packages are more expensive that others. there are higher overheads in running a hospital in some parts of the country than others.. cost of houses and many other things can be higher... so putting a bunch of doctors in charge of 80% of the health budget is a potential disaster... a few GPs are economy minded but many of them are empire builders and worse than politicians for wanting to be in position of power.

We should be proud of a health survive that provides health care that will not bankrupt you.. you may well have enough to deal with to get better and cope with the stress of being ill.

Quality is vital.. if you provide a cost cutting standard of health care you will find it costs more in the longer term with higher readmission rates and poor long term outcomes. You also have to provide updating opportunities for all medical staff to ensure they follow best practice. There has to be a close integration of services by partners to direct health care, get patients out of hospital as soon as possible to provide home care. Maximum bed use by very efficient system of patient contact. A standard of cleaning that at least matches the dedication of previous times, Allowing the bureaucrats to impose a myriad of form filling when dealing with staff who have to work to a high professional standard and if they do not risk being taken off the register and lose their job. We spend far to much as an NHS in diverting patients to the private sector in a desperate bid to cut waiting lists. There cannot be an open ended cheque book but if restrictions on budgets or treatments are made this decision has got to be seen to be democratic fair and reasonable by a clearly public accountable body. We need to buy in drugs, equipment etc as a nation wide public body to ensure the best possible price is obtained. I also believe that the time is here where we make a contract with a patient that in return for the health care the patient agrees to stop smoking or hit target reductions in weight etc.. giving every support to this patient to help them comply. As a dentist, I do think the first step to restoring the health of a mouth riddled with decay is to get them on a contract to improve tooth cleaning and modify their diet pattern…. With of course assistance and pain relief .

What do you thin?

Regards

Cllr Ian Robertson

Libya .. what do you think

2011-03-24T16:25:00.000Z

The situation in Libya seems part of the madness that comes out of that part of our world
Gaddafi is an evil so and so but also an extremely experienced in manipulating the various revolutionary councils in the districts of Libya.

Reducing his fairly poor and ancient air power will not topple him from power and is most likely to strengthen his position via his total control of the media.

I find the words used that we have to enforce a no fly zone to prevent civilian deaths in Benghazi a bit hollow. Gaddafi has been murdering his opposition on a daily basis for the last 40 years and is not going to stop now.

There is a vital self interest to the West… Oil Where were the champions proclaiming their commitment to saving innocent civilians in Rwanda , in Srebrenica in Cambodia where we stood and looked the other way.. But there was no oil there.

Is it the politicians who drive us forward to launch us into in this case a bombing campaign of Libya with all the risks of escalation into a full scale war in the Middle East, giving all those extremist organisations great material for their recruitment campaigns?

No thought again appears to have been given to ‘what next?’ an exit strategy, any plan b , c or onwards. Seems as dangerous as giving children matches to play with... I can only hope there are some seriously hard headed advisors in the decision making department of the MOD who are not swayed by any politician!

We must win the propaganda war both in Libya and elsewhere in the Middle East... we have excellent pathways via BBC world service and no doubt we could beam in our own TV channel. We can disrupt his supply chain to his troops at the front line at Benghazi, try and stop arms reaching Gaddafi. We still need to be offering ways out for Gaddafi who is a totally arrogant and self cantered person but if peace for the residents involves us giving him some meaningless plastic bauble ..So what/?

The whole lot of the nations in the Middle East are a total disaster when you look at the field of human rights. Seems we are selective to the point of blatant hypocrisy... why do we allow the politicians to get away with it?

what do you think
Ian Roibertson Councillor and chair walsall Amnesty International group.

leaders newsletter update

2011-03-14T13:36:00.000Z

What future the health of or NHS?

2011-02-27T10:02:00.000Z

We had the promise of more spending on our NHS.. now we have a report from the TUC suggesting 50,000 jobs in our NHS could be lost. The senseless waste of money.. some £1.8 billion .. to tear up the fabric or organisation of our NHS... this would pay 15000 nurses for 3 years. This Tory/LIb conalition is pursuing a path of partnerships with private companies whose sole responsibilty is to bring back profits for their shareholders... do we really beleive that our NHS is safe in the privatised hands of the Tories?

Ian Robertson

The axe man cometh but where will he actually hit?

2011-02-25T16:47:00.000Z

The Tory budget for spend in this next year was passed last Thursday with not a whimper of dissent from the Tory ranks. we know that around £17 million was cut with around £35m more over the next 4 years. on top of the national cuts such as the increase in vat to 20%, the extremely high cost of fuel and transport.. everyone will see their budget cut. there are a good number who 'feeling the pinch' will revolve on perhaps only going out to eat twice a week and maybe reducing their holidays to 3 year from 4. for the rest of the ' market will decide' as in any good Tory world.
faced with loosing 6 seats straightaway in may by closing a local library as revealed by the cabinet member at last council.. there had to be a delaying of the announcement until the summer when around £600k is due to come out of libraries.
this Government has 'promised' to maintain central government grant at to the borough wide music service..but this council has cut 4 full time music teacher posts at least.
severe cuts to the care budget leaving those most vulnerable with the bare minimum cover and forking out from their own allowances for such items as transport.
£100k off youth services.. so expect to see more hanging around street corners.

a lot of the cuts happen due to cuts in external grants and it is difficult to uncover all the front line effects which will happen...for example scout groups got £12k a year towards room hire and training costs.. this has now gone.. a kick in the teeth for many 'wrth their weight in gold' volunteers who cost us nothing and do priceless wok in our community.
as usual it will be the lower earners ( stretching into the lower middle earners) who will suffer.. there were ways the cuts could have been cushioned as taking too much too quickly will wreck our communities.
we have lost inevitably this battle.. the war starts with the build up to the May elections. We in Walsall Labour are ready to take on that challenge.. will you join us?
regards
cllr ian robertson

Time to man the barricades ! Come the revolution!

2011-02-04T14:15:00.000Z

Come the revolution.

Man the barricades before it is too late! We stand at a crossroads where we are poised to slide into a Walsall where the slogan will be ‘Survival of the fittest !’ ‘Let the market decide! ‘

The proposed cuts or more like amputations that are revealed in the budget proposals for Walsall to be passed without a wimper at full council on 24th February will hit at the very heart of this Borough.

6 libraries to be closed… without any doubt in the most disadvantaged parts of Walsall serving such wards as Pleck, Birchills Blakenall Palfrey Willenhall and Darlaston. However that has now changed with the promise of no closures this year.. amazing what a bit of fear of what will happen in the ballot box!

£100,000 off the music service plus a national cut of up to £850K which will end music support in Walsall apart from those in the more affluent areas who can afford to pay. Plus more cuts to the museum and art gallery.. so some of the reasons to live here in Walsall are getting crossed off the list as we move to being just an ordinary Town living in a cultural desert.

An end to Community transport service now to be mainly run by a private company.

A serious cut to current levels of support for social services support of over £7 million with imposition of charges of up to £89.35 a week . A direct attack on those most disadvantaged in Walsall.

Cuts of nearly £3 million in Leisure which will mean almost certainly as well as 6 libraries, all but 6 of swimming pools attached to schools will close and cuts to park maintenance and cover.

£600,000 off young services provision … no doubt more young people to be seen hanging about street corners. A requested cut of £2.5 million off the contract held by SERCO to deliver education in Walsall schools while we languish still very near the bottom of the league for education results in England.

When you cut £25 million off a budget at a stroke, the fall out for front line services will be major, especially for the disadvantaged fellow members of the human race in Walsall.

At the sharp end there will be many small community projects that will be closed. I note that the £12,000 yearly grant to the scouts to help pay for premises rental and training costs will cease which will mean some groups will close.

The problem for Walsall is that power rests with one individual almost alone… bit like in Egypt really … however the people there are showing what they think of him and people power after 18 days has got rid of him! See you in Liberation Square in Bridge Street, Walsall or maybe on the election trial. Although we have the luxury of a democratic process.. let us hope that especially the residents of Pheasey excercise their vote wisely.

Will the Music be turned off for our Children?

2011-01-26T22:18:00.000Z

Searching the Internet which can be a quite addictive pastime, I ended up looking at areas completely different from the original search! I came across the so called Henley review which has been looking at funding for music support services to Councils over the country. The reason I found it as there are a number of Boroughs who were looking anxiously at what would be in this report as it was promised before Christmas and delayed now so long that many music services will run out of funds at the end of March. This would include Walsall's most outstanding music service based at Forest Arts achieving such excellent results in areas of serious deprivation such as the ward I represent in Blakenall. This service which consistently receives the highest possible rating marks from their OFSTED reports. Supplying every school in Walsall this cut of a massive £850,000 , if the news due in 2 weeks is a cut as expected, is a dreadful kick in the teeth for the dedicated and talented team based at the Forest Arts Centre and to all those young people who have responded to their teaching.

I can hear the alarm bells ringing and I hope that the noise of protesting by all those thousands of pupils from every school in walsall who make music and benefit so much from that experience will be deafening to the those short sighted Philistines who seem to wish to make Walsall a cultural desert.

Prepare to mount the biggest and noisiest ever demonstration in protest seen in Walsall if those in the current Tory/ Liberal alliance down in London decide to pull the funding..

published by electronic means by Ian Robertson 87 Belvidere Rd walsall WS1 3au tel 01922 634642.

There are fair cuts and on the other hand there are amputations.

2011-01-25T22:47:00.000Z

Are we being ripped off, vandalised and abandoned by Walsall Council ?

I read that Walsall council have ‘saved’ over £1million each year on the contract for recycling by renegotiating the contract. We learn that there are negotiations to reduce the cost of the SERCO contract that Walsall by £2.5Million to look after education in Walsall. Walsall signed an extension of this contract for another 12 years . This in spite of the fact that education standards in Walsall are at a dismal failure being 151st out of 171 in the Country. We have improved a bit but basically we continue to fail most of our young people.. if we did not have the results from Queen Marys’ schools we would be even lower. I suspect that now Walsall education is the only education contract run by SERCO ( all other councils have given them the sack) all failing schools will be forced into becoming Academies to allow SERCO to make a good profit for their shareholders and not lose out by imposition of any penalty clauses… our children are of course not the priority… the shareholders are!! Such a rip off! How long have we been overpaying for these services?

Then we have the Tarmac contract with clauses here which cost us dear when we wish to install for example dropped curbs at pavement level to allow wheelchair access where the cost has jumped from £350 under the Council to over £1000 under Tarmac. What value for council tax payers of Walsall.

We had the AMEY contract that cost us Council tax payers £7.5 Million due to a set of clauses so badly checked by Walsall Council allowing another private company to walk all over us and take us again to the cleaners.

We have at the moment the tabled acts of vandalism …

Closing 6 libraries and I suspect more next year.

Closing school swimming pools

Serious risk to all of the Walsall Music service

Cut to the Debt counselling service at a time when they are needed more than ever.

More cuts of support to the Domestic violence support service ( report due out in early February)

What support will be there post end of March for LINK… the local watchdog checking on our local health service?

What chance to properly repair our roads , especially with a private company Tarmac setting the price?

What effect on the most vulnerable in our society who depend on Walsall Social services for respite for their carers.?

Will SERCO sell off all the failing schools to private companies and form more academies to leave only those under Walsall Council those which are ‘profitable’ to SERCO?

More items to come as the budget cut debate unfolds.

What sort of Borough and Council will we be left with? Not the sort to be proud of or to attract new communities vital to our futures

published by electronic means by Ian Robertson 87 Belvidere Rd walsall WS1 3au tel 01922 634642.

What future our NHS? WIll this follow the Ryanair model?

2011-01-21T21:15:00.000Z

21st January

Our NHS has been around for over 60 years and has been the subject of many radical changes by successive Governments. Health care is costly however especially in an ageing population and to maintain a high standard. We have been falling behind in some outcomes in for example areas of cancer treatments.

The latest proposals by the Tory/Lib coalition who now wish to tear up the present structure in a change more radical than anything done before to our NHS. More broken promises and some of the small print not visible in the pre election manifestos... for example no mention there that PCTs would go.

Putting 80% of the NHS budget into the hands of doctors has rung a number of alarm bells... there are some GPs who relish the idea and are capable of running what would be a multi million pound business to commission health care for their patients as a group.. Many others are not so good at it, will waste our money, not being good at running a very large health team and just wish to get on with what they do best ... caring for their patients. There are at least two GP groups at the moment gearing up to try and run the service in Walsall and no doubt there will be a patchwork quilt of groups coming forward to run our NHS post 2013 .. However who will be picking up the bill if any of these holders of our health budget get it badly wrong and go bust? The belief of the Tories has always been 'let the market decide' How happy will you be to find that your operation will be done by a hospital bidding to get the business of doing your operation with the money needed by the hospital to keep in business? All our hospitals will become independent foundation trusts. where will be the democratic accountability of all these health organisations which will be spending most of our health care money? How will the standard of care and support be maintained or will this new model become the Ryanair equivalent in health care? You can imagine what could happen where the core cost is kept low with the 'extras' added on later to the bill !

Why tear up the PCTs , why cannot these organisations be the vehicle for delivery of health provision by the GP's? It will cost over £1 billion to wind up the PCTs with redundancies.. all money that is not spent on health care. I fear that our NHS is in danger... I pray that this patient is not suffering from a terminal illness.!

Oldham result gives message ' Come back Labour all is forgiven'

2011-01-14T13:21:00.000Z

The voters in Oldham have shown on Thursday that the pathway of the Tory Liberal coalition is not for them.
Promises by the Liberal Party broken in joining an alliance with a past sworn enemy is unravelling.
A rise of VAT to 20%, threatened cuts to children's centres and Sure Start, cuts to future job's fund, cuts to police numbers, cuts to education maintenance allowance and tripling of student tuition fees will hit especially those young people living in disadvantaged communities and is treating the electorate with contempt as we are not getting what we voted for.
Some politicians appear to be prepared to sell their souls to get elected and that will be reflected in what could be a General election in the near future.

Is there anyone listening out there?

2011-01-11T22:02:00.000Z

For those who missed the 'exciting' 3 hours of entertainment at full council on Monday evening... if you have problems with sleeping do come and practice in the public gallery at such times.

The Notice of motion calling for a fair pay to match our neighbouring Towns in paying for social workers ( we are 30% less than Staffs County Council ) was defeated by the Tory Councillors. While I agree that there are other factors such as conditions, promotion prospects, opportunities for training, schools for their children etc are always important it is the pay that will influence the final decision. we have only recruited one senior social worker in the past 3 years which should tell us something. the offer of the golden hellos of £1500 and the promise of a bonus of £1000 if you stay for three years still puts recruits way down on the pay scales. It costs us a fortune extra to employ up to 40 agency staff to fill in and despite I am sure agency workers trying to cover, this is not as good as having permanent staff. Still we tried but lost.

Another one we lost was protesting at the loss of Educational Maintenance Allowance from last December which has removed support from about 4500 families in Walsall. I suspect that the numbers in wards like Blakenall are far higher than the average of 200 or so per ward. This is a kick in the teeth ot those young people from disadvantaged homes when we should be targeting them especially to encourage them into further education. Only one in a 100 goes for further education in comparison to 17 in 100 from other areas. The young people from wards like Blakenall can achieve as well as those from other wards... they do not have the parental support, self esteem and subsequently the ambition is lost. The removal pf EMA is a backwards step in addressing those inequalities.

News that 6 libraries will close as a result of budget cuts but this Sword of Damocles now hangs over the whole of Walsall and the library service The philistines in the cabinet do not realise that the battle to raise the dreadful level of educational achievement in Walsall is not helped by closing these lifelines to better education. I seem to recall in history those who destroyed libraries coming to a sticky end. Maybe this will happen to this lot.

Like many things that are happening under this hasty cuts regime we will live to regret and find it costs us dear.

Social Workers worth their weight in gold but Walsall pay peanuts

2011-01-08T16:04:00.000Z

The following notice of motion is down for full Council to debate Monday 10th January
To consider the following motion, notice of which has been duly given by

Councillors Robertson, Burley, Wilkes, Oliver, Chambers, Westley and Cassidy:

"This Council notes with concern the vast sums of money spent on agency social

workers within children's specialist services - just under £3.8m over the last 3

years.

With a substantial reduction in spending in mind, coupled with the need to

provide ever more efficient specialist services to our most vulnerable children

and young people, this council resolves to urgently address this waste of tax

payers money by;

· Agreeing to increase the levels of pay of social workers in Walsall to

match that of our neighbours in the rest of the West Midlands and

Staffordshire as they are currently 30% less that Staffs County Council

and the second lowest in the black country and

· ensuring that current recruitment and retention processes are thoroughly

reviewed as a matter of urgency to see where they can be improved.

I note that we are now trying to redress the balance and for that I am pleased. A sense of fairness … the fact that restocking the shelves of a supermarket can command a higher wage than some very difficult social care jobs carrying a lot of responsibility and any errors potentially very serious.

I do believe that job choice has a Lot of other influences besides money although it is of course very important as bills, mortgages etc have to be paid… but working conditions atmosphere, support by colleagues, team working, access to good schools, health care, leisure facilities, open spaces and other entertainments do have some influence. Support to help in moving and advice etc is also very welcoming to any potential employee. Opportunities for improving oneself , getting more qualifications and training… despite of course the fact that if they do get more on their CV they might start looking around for another higher paid job.. especially if the job structure in an organisation does not allow for suitable promotion.
Hopefully we shall recruit the best possible candidates for this vital part of the work of this Council.. we have not recruited a new senior social worker here in walsall for over 3 years. We have been lucky in having to often have over 40 agency staff at a time covering the gaps that we have not had a serious incident.

Death by a thousand cuts with more to follow.

2011-01-05T18:27:00.000Z

What effects of cuts to the residents of Walsall?

- national cuts… VAT up to 20% which will affect everyone but proportionally more those on low and middle level incomes. There will be an increase in unemployment and further pressure on unemployment benefit costs.

- Cuts of EMA ( education maintenance allowance) this is an amount up to £30 a week paid to families where there is a 16 year old and family of low income to encourage the 16 year old to stay on at school for further education. There has also been an up to 30% rise in tuition fees which risks future generation of young people who go to university only with a wealthier family background.

- There will be a 3% cut in real terms to the NHS ( after inflation, increase in demands etc taken into account) Primary care trusts will go and 80% of spend will go into hands of local doctors who will buy your NHS care. Some GPs may do this well but experience from the last move to GP fund holding showed a lot of GPs were very bad at handling such a vast budget.

- There will be a cut in the police budget which will mean less police. Exact numbers are being discussed by the Chief constable but I cannot see such a level of cuts being implemented without a marked cut in beat officers.

- Cuts to the grant settlement to Walsall Council amount to 9% or £14M for 2011 budget on top of £10M of recent cuts this year. This will mean the loss of at least 450 Council staff plus the knock on affect on support services funded by the Council and supply services to the Council.. Those who get disability living allowance which has a mobility part to it will be expected to pay this towards transport costs. The levying of a cost of transport that was in a previous year’s budget will also be implemented for all. Care packages and respite care support will be cut to the statutory minimum. There will be much greater dependence on ‘telecare’.. detectors that send signal down telephone line to suggest that for example someone suffering from dementia has left the house and not returned for a while.

- Support for leisure centres and libraries is under threat. Some closures and further reduction in opening hours I am sure will be proposed. Swimming pools attached to schools, I am sure will suffer closures from the current level of 44 to around 6.

- The road safety budget ( education etc to young people about road safety ) has already been cut.

- Walsall are now the only Council using SERCO to deliver their education services… all other councils have not renewed their contract… does that tell us something about value for money? Walsall have signed up to another 12 years of SERCO who provide a wide range of services nationally such as transporting prisoners . I do not believe we are scrutinising their spend properly.

- We already contract out a number of services such as the road maintenance to Tarmac. I believe we pay far too much for their services in comparison to other Councils For example we are taking out a new recycling contract that will save over £1Million in a full year… does that not suggest we have been ripped off before?

- I believe that we have to reduce expenditure, but that there has been and continues to be large amounts of wasted or poor value expenditure, serious overlaps and duplication of services and costs, too little cross boundary cooperation, too little encouragement and support for local businesses to access contracts in the Walsall economy, a real threat to ‘spend a little to save a lot’ schemes which will build up much higher costs in the medium to long term. The cuts will fall more proportionally on the lower and middle earners than on the rich who also have the ability to organise their affairs to reduce payment. Cuts as severe as these could literally cost lives .
We already have 'meals on wheels' service ending contract and so replaced with a fascinating mix of sandwich bars, local cafes and other sources of meals for the frail and elderly. What many want is that visit from a friendly face ......mind you if you read the audit report on that firm done by the Council you can see how poor was their accounting reporting and how the Council was being exploited by a bad contract.
We will be looking very carefully at proposals and raise the issues where we can. However we could be cynical and say that all has been decided and it is just a matter of going through the motions... but let us at least try! We owe that to those who are vulnerable and handicapped and often get trampled under foot by those better equiped racing to the trough.

Scouts get a hit from Walsall Council

2010-12-26T11:02:00.001Z

I note that the scouts have had all their support cut by Walsall Council... over 250 excellent volunteers from our Borough give up their time to provide suberb motivation, training, guidance and inspiration to our young people and the Council get amazing value and savings from their work. Now Walsall have cut the £12000 grant they used to get for training and money towards room hire and will mean closure of some groups. Surely this is so short sighted?

What a kick in the teeth!!!

This coalition is unravelling and shows up as a con!

2010-12-22T18:58:00.000Z

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

This coalition is unravelling and shows up as a con!

Recent undercover recordings show how even the liberals are concerned at the way thsi Tory Government is handling this Country , abandoning their election promises and forgeting our communities.

The cuts brought about as a result of the actions of greedy bankers will cause hardship in many areas of our communities. Maybe those who are better off will not notice these cuts much, but there are many less well off who will find these cuts really hurt. The problem is that this Tory Government and so this Tory Council are cutting harder and faster than is needed. The cuts will hit areas that will have a higher cost long term

- trebling tuition fee limit which will make access to many universities restricted to young people with rich parents. This could have been prevented by Liberal MPs who broke their election promise. There is also the loss of the education maintenance allowance paid to 16 year olds help support them staying on at school .

- cuts in child benefit

- Those potholes in our roads I suspect will get bigger and cause more damage to both vehicles and pedestrians.

- Libraries will have both their opening hours cut and some will be axed altogether. Libraries used well can be vital to the progress of our children.

- Cuts to the music service based at the Forest will reduce access to music lessons and support over the whole of the schools in Walsall Borough.

- Support for the most vulnerable in our society, those with disability, the elderly, the mentally handicapped both young and old will see their support cut to the absolute legal minimum, loading carers to breaking point. Those who depend on the services of Social services will be very worried about their future level of support.

- Those who receive support from social service will be especially worried with reorganisation of the meals on wheels service and other support services.

- Cuts to the police force will mean a reduction in Officers available to deal with crime and criminal activity. I am sure the criminals will be waiting to take advantage.

- VAT will rise to 20% in 2011 which will mean most items will rise in cost … not much of a dent in the finances of the well off but will make a real impact for most of us.

- The future of our leisure centres , their opening hours and charges are also under the spotlight. This Tory Council would like to off load these to the private sector. Certainly I will expect that most of the swimming pools attached to schools will be closed ( there are around 46 pools which may well be cut to 5 or 6).

- We have to make the decision if we wish to maintain a quality of life that is fair for all our citizens young , old, disabled, handicapped or seriously disadvantaged. I fear that the current Tory direction will carry us towards a ‘ let the market decide’ economy where those with the savings, receivers of banker bonuses will survive and live excellent quality lives. Those who have much more limited resources will tell a very different story. Living in a caring society is the only sort that I want to live in. What do you think?

tree cull for OUR Arboretum

2010-12-02T20:35:00.000Z

Planning voted to endorse the cull of around 230 healthy trees from our Arboretum tonight 2nd December despite pleas from around 1200 residents on a petition and from the woodlands trust. The original number were around 380 but very mysteriously dropped to 230 after a bit of questioning by those of us who have a real concern about cutting down trees that have taken so long to grow and contribute so much pleasure.
18 of the trees under consideration were planted in memory of loved ones in Walsall. No consultation as yet to those who do not know that these trees will be moved... will they survive the move?
1000 trees donated this week by the woodland trust were due to be planted today... The woodlands trust did not know the Council planned a tree cull... Those planted in this weather will die and if any attempt is made to move mature memorial trees these will also die.!
Those 'consulted' were about 60 locals around the park... this park is owned by the people of Walsall.. that is why there has been such activity on line petitions etc. I am sure the heritage lottery will be displeased to learn that walsall Council has not consulted the real users of the arboretum... the people of Walsall.
Surely a short delay for a few weeks to the tree cull to ensure the real owners of this park can have an opportunity to comment on the cutting down of 230 healthy trees in the 'jewel in the crown' of walsall.. our arboretum ( which means a park of trees!!)
Shame on walsall ... is there another agenda here????
please feel free to comment

Read my lips . No increase in tuition fees

2010-12-01T16:27:00.000Z

Next Thursday, MPs will vote on the Government's plans to treble Tuition Fees.

I hope that as many MPs as possible will vote against these unnecessary, unfair plans.

They are cutting money for university teaching by 80%, much more than other services, and are making graduates pay the whole cost of most degrees. Students will be forced to choose the cheapest course, not what’s best for them - and will be paying back debts for 30 years.

The plans are bad for universities and not the road we should be going down. The Labour Party will be voting against the plans. Labour would avoid the big cuts in the university teaching grants and share the costs of higher education fairly. We are not against students paying something towards their higher education.. we did in fact introduce tuition fees some years ago.. However this massive increase will make access to higher education an elitist destination for the rich few.
Cllr Ian Robertson

Is there a bully in the house?

2010-12-01T16:13:00.000Z

Have been getting reports that there are at least 20 complaints of bullying responses to members of the public in the last month about one of our esteemed councillors? has anyone heard any more on this?

Also what is going on with the tree cull proposed for Walsall arboretum... why is there now over 1500 signatories on the on line petition to save our trees? Could it be true that the actual users of this premier park have not been consulted?
We shall see when discussed at planning meeting this thursday

Those who wished for lighting on Little Hardwick road as promised and contracted for in the Amey contract must be disappointed. 30 lights were promised and paid for.. none deilvered which adds up to around £100000 lost when we add up maintenance costs.

Who was in court on Tuesday pleading guilty to electoral fraud... altering proxy votes and getting 2 concurrent jail sentences of 6 weeks each count.. relating to the 2009 elections in Palfrey... Mst Munir ( son of Cllr Munir)... do I remember the case coming from that election where the now cllr from the 2009 local elections was accused of filling in 12 postal vote applications from an address in Palfrey where these asylum seekers were living... cleared of course as he was cleared of actually signing them...

Wickiwalsall.leaks

By election Rushall Shelfield

2010-10-31T23:22:00.001Z

1st November

There will be a by election on November 11th with Richard Worrall our Labour Party candidate. Help will be gratefully received with espcially help on wednesday 10th November to deliver the last leaflet.

Please contact 641084 and leave a message for Richard

thanks

regards

Ian Robertson

what effects of cuts for Walsall?

2010-10-23T14:06:00.000+01:00

I think everyone accepts that we have to make sensible cuts in our expenditure while being fair to all , keep up momentum for regeneration and not to tip us back into recession. We have a Tory administration here in Walsall that has said 'let the market decide' as a principle for running Walsall. School swimming pools are at risk with probable closure of 30 of the 40 pools. Cuts in libraries and their opening hours, closure of leisure centres and their opening hours plus maybe attempts to sell them off to be run by private enterprise. there will be staff reductions but cutting will effect front line services. the budget for maintaining open spaces such as parks I am sure will be cut.
we will be checking very carefully what cuts are proposed and challenge where we feel these are unjust and cause hardship to the most vulnerable.
The fact that this Tory Council have spent over £2 Million getting ready for the now cancelled building schools for the future program and over £1 Million on the primary school program preparations .. also cnacleed by this new Government.. all money now gone down the black hole of wasted money .. to add to all the rest of our money lost... the figure of over £1 million lost by not keeping good enough records of european money spend and so not able to reclaim money that was properly spent on regneration... the contiued loss of around £15000 a month paid to compensate for loss of advertising income from street adverts to Amey.. again due to incompetence of officers ... however the buck stops with the councillors who are the ones ultimately responsible to the public.
the first test will be on November 11th when there is a by election in Rushall ward where we not that the Liberals are not even putting up a candidate...this should normally be a safe Tory seat.. we shall see.
Ian Robertson
secretary Walsall South Labour Party

Dicing with our futures by gambling with the cuts

2010-10-20T22:01:00.000+01:00

Osborne’s cuts unravel – Johnson

NHS promises broken

Coalition wrong to claim CSR is fair

Squeezed middle pay twice as much as banks

Police funding cuts take risks with crime and public safety

Serious questions on frontline redundancies and cost to the taxpayer

Alan Johnson MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, has said that Comprehensive Spending Review has already begun to unravel:

“This Spending Review is unravelling fast and revealing broken promises and empty words. Buried in the detail of the government’s plans are broken NHS promises by David Cameron, a squeeze on families double what the banks are being asked to pay and serious unanswered questions on how many jobs will be lost and how much the redundancies will cost the taxpayer.

“The coalition claim today’s announcement is fair, it is not. The Treasury’s own figures show the poorest in society will pay more to reduce the deficit than almost anyone else.

“This is a reckless gamble with people’s livelihoods and the case for it is unravelling fast.”

Quotes from other Labour Shadow Ministers are below in editor's notes.

David Cameron promised above inflation increases every year for the NHS, but George Osborne has announced a below inflation rise, with no more money at all for next year. That also means a cash standstill for the NHS between 10/11 and 11/12 with no additional funding to allow the NHS to keep up with inflation.

The CSR document also confirms the coalition is scrapping measures the Conservatives had promised to protect, including one-to-one nursing care for cancer patients, free prescriptions for long-term conditions and the guarantee of one-week cancer tests.

The coalition is wrong to claim that today's announcement is fair. Even on the Treasury’s own figures, the poorest 10 per cent in society will pay more to reduce the deficit than almost anyone else.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has already commented that the CSR is not as progressive as the coalition claim, like the June Budget it depends on measures already announced by Labour Chancellor Alistair Darling.

Analysis by Labour’s Shadow Treasury team shows that families with children will have to pay more than twice the amount, £4.89 billion in total, which banks are being asked to contribute under the CSR.

Police funding cuts of 20 per cent in the CSR will be impossible to achieve without massive cuts to the numbers of police on the street and programmes to fight crime and anti-social behaviour. They go far beyond what can be achieved through efficiency savings and better procurement.

There are serious unanswered questions on how many public sector redundancies there will be and how much the pay offs will cost the taxpayer. Last night a leaked Ministry of Justice memo revealed 14,000 redundancies with the brunt borne by the front line. The coalition must come clean on what the total cost across government will be.

1. Families with children have to pay more than twice the amount that the banks are being asked to contribute.

The total amount taken from Banks

2014/15

+£2.4bn lost from the banking levy (Budget Red Book, Table 2.1)

-£0.4bn saved from the corporation tax cut (Parliamentary answer below)

Total taken from families with children

Budget 2014/15

Lone parents 0.18

Health in pregnancy 0.15

Sure Start Maternity Grant 0.075

Tax credits 3.22

(less elements where households without children can receive) 0.04

CB freeze 0.975

CTC increase -1.995

CTF cut 0.525

Spending Review

CB higher rate taxpayers 2.5

Increase in CTC -0.56

Working tax credit 1.4

Overall total 6.43

(The figures above allocated all of WTC spend to families with children but does not allocate any housing benefit savings to families with children)

See also this Parliamentary Question on Financial Services:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm100726/text/100726w0005.htm#10072715000162

2. The coalition is wrong to claim that today's announcement is fair.

Even on the Treasury’s own figures, the poorest 10 per cent in society will pay more to reduce the deficit than almost anyone else. This group, according to the Treasury’s Table B5 (p98), will see losses above everyone but the richest 10 per cent.

This is a figure for 2012/13 when the full impact of today's announcements will be felt across the country and makes a mockey of the Chancellor's announcement today that "a fair government makes sure that those with the broadest shoulders bear the greatest burden."

As Carl Emmerson from the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies has said, today's announcement is"clearly is not progressive on the Treasury's analysis."

Douglas Alexander MP, Labour's Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, said:

"Welfare has to play its role in any sensible plan to reduce the deficit but it's harder not easier to get the deficit down when you are throwing hundreds of thousands of people out of work.

"We will work the government where they are taking forward our reforms to encourge people into work such as moving people off incapacity benefit but where their plans are unfair or undermining incentives into work we will oppose them.

"We are concered that today's real term cut to Working Tax Credit, cuts for support for childcare and steep rises in train fares affects people's incentives to move into work."

3. The coalition is breaking promises on the NHS.

David Cameron promised above inflation increases every year for the NHS, but George Osborne has announced a below inflation rise, with no more money at all for next year.

The Chancellor has announced a below inflation increase for the NHS over the spending review period. In 14/15 NHS spending will be 109.8, compared to 101.5 in 10/11 as set out in the June Emergency Budget. This is 1.4% below the level needed to keep pace with inflation. The NHS needs at least an extra 1.6BN in 14/15 just to get a real increase. This breaks not just David Cameron's personal election promise but also the coalition agreement.

This is because the Chancellor has fixed the starting point for his spending review at £2.8bn less than he said the NHS is spending this year as set out in his June budget.

That also means a cash standstill for the NHS between 10/11 and 11/12 with no additional funding to allow the NHS to keep up with inflation.

On top of this they have cut NHS capital by 10% over the next 4 years from £5.1bn in 10/11 to £4.6bn in 14/15

P.43 of the Spending Review 2010 also confirms that the Government is scrapping some of the measures it claimed it would protect, including free prescriptions for those with longterm conditions and one-to-one nursing care for cancer patients and the guarantee of one-week cancer tests.

This breaks the commitments made by the Conservatives before the general election to protect the NHS and protect NHS capital.

"We are the only party committed to protecting NHS spending. I'll cut the deficit, not the NHS. And don't for one minute buy the Labour claim that they'll do the same. They won't - and their own figures show they won't. Unlike us, they have not committed to protecting areas of the health budget such as public health and capital investment"

David Cameron, 4 January 2010

“We will guarantee that health spending increases in real terms in each year of the Parliament, while recognising the impact this decision will have on other departments.”

Coalition agreement, p. 24, http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/409088/pfg_coalition.pdf

Table 2.2, page 43, June Budget 2010

Table 2.2, page 43, Spending Review October 2010

John Healey MP, Labour's Shadow Health Secretary, said:

"The figures released today suggest David Cameron has abandoned both his public pledge and the promise in the coalition agreement to protect the NHS from budget cuts. The Government has given the health service a cash standstill from 2010-11 to 2011-12 by shifting the baseline from which they make their calculations. The NHS is now looking at no real-terms increase in its funding over the spending period, at a time when our health service is under ever-increasing pressures from an ageing population."

4. Police funding cuts of 20 per cent are a dangerous risk.

The Spending Review announces that “central government police funding will reduce by 20 per cent in real terms by 2014-15”. (Spending Review 2010, pg.54)

In July 2010 a report from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary Valuing the Police: policing in an age of austerity said that a “re-design” of the police system could “at best.. save 12% of central government funding, while maintaining police availability. A cut beyond 12% would almost certainly reduce police availability unless it were prioritized over and above everything else the police did”.

“A re-design of the system has the potential, at best, to save 12% of central government funding, while maintaining police availability. A cut beyond 12% would almost certainly reduce police availability unless it were prioritised over and above everything else the police did…. Over time, savings of around £1.15 billion (equating to 12% of central government funding) may be achievable by improving productivity and cuttings costs.”

‘Valuing the Police: policing in an age of austerity’, HMIC report, July 2010, pg.4

Ed Balls MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary said today:

“This Spending Review is not only reckless and dangerous for jobs and the economy but is taking huge risks with the public's safety, crime and national security.

“Deep cuts of 20 per cent to police funding in this Spending Review will be impossible to achieve without massive cuts to the numbers of police on the street and programmes to fight crime and anti-social behaviour. They go way beyond what can be achieved through efficiency savings and better procurement.

“And cuts to the funding of border controls and counter-terrorism policing risk weakening our defences against threats to our national security.

“The Home Secretary has abjectly failed to fight the corner of the police in these Spending Review negotiations and it will fall to the Labour Party to stand up for the law-abiding public against these reckless cuts.

“For the last three years Labour kept crime falling - even during a recession - by supporting people into work and keeping police numbers at record levels. At a time when the coalition's plans risk pulling the rug from underneath growth, jobs and economic recovery, cutting policing and the fight against crime is the most reckless cut of all.”

5. Harriet Harman has responded to the coalition’s decision to freeze the percentage of aid for two years:

“We welcome the government’s commitment to continue with Labour’s target of 0.7% of aid as GNI by 2013 but freezing the percentage of aid for two years will inevitably beg the question about whether they will deliver on that commitment. This makes it all the more urgent that they bring forward the legislation that they promised and enshrine in law the requirement to meet the 0.7% target from 2013.”

6. Channel 4 News has reported on a leaked Ministry of Justice member which reveals 14,000 job losses, with the brunt borne by the front line.

Spending review: "Frontline will bear the brunt" says leaked Ministry of Justice memo announcing 14,000 job losses, Channel 4 News exclusively learns.That means posts like prison officers, probation officers, and magistrates court staff will all be lost. In the memo, a senior Civil Servant says; "The front line will bear the brunt of this with an estimated reduction of 11,000."

The news came ahead of the publication of the long-awaited Comprehensive Spending Review tomorrow. The coalition expects nearly 500,000 public sector jobs to go as a direct result of its efforts to cut spending, it was revealed today.

Economics Editor Faisal Islam explains the Ministry of Justice job cuts:

On the eve of the Spending Review, I have seen a detailed internal memo from one of Whitehall's biggest departments, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). It is dated Friday, and somewhat explodes one the Coalition's great narratives - that these cuts are about backroom management inefficiencies.

As the memo from Friday makes very clear: "the front line will bear the brunt".

The memo is titled "Impact of the SR settlement on staff", and it appears that on Friday the number of jobs lost was expected to be 14,250. I believe that this is even higher now. In an annexe at the back of the memo it shows that 9,940 of these job losses will come from the National Offender Management Service, or Noms, that runs prisons and probation services.

'Shocked and horrified'

Nick McCarthy of the PCS union told Channel 4 News: "We are shocked and horrified at this memo.

"It does show us the reality of the cuts, it is a tragedy for the people who work in the MoJ, seeing thousands of their jobs disappearing, what it also shows is what we've always believed that actually the front line is where the brunt of the cuts will be made".

Colin Moses of The Prison Officers Association said: "This is ill thought out, we have a criminal justice system under strain as never before. This will lead to dangerous people on the streets."

Courts service

Just under 3,000 jobs are expected to go in the courts service. Again this could have increased over the weekend as the Ministry of Justice faced further cuts after other departments were given late reprieves. The memo made reference to plans to cut legal aid, reform prison sentences, and close courts.

Helena Kennedy, chair of Justice, said: "When you let the Justice system take the largest hit, the system itself suffers. The justice system is an essential element of our democracy, and once you undermine that, we all pay the price".

The Ministry of Justice said tonight it would not comment on leaks and speculation.

Channel 4 News, 19 October 2010

http://www.channel4.com/news/ministry-of-justice-to-axe-14-000 jobs?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

7. Meg Hillier MP, Labour's Shadow Energy and Climate Change Secretary has said:

"Today EON announced its withdrawal from investment in carbon capture and storage in the UK leaving the government's policy on carbon capture and storage in disarray.

"We welcome the commitment to a Green Investment Bank but the test will be in detail. The government must provide certainty if we are to succeed in building the green economy we need."

For more information, please contact the Labour Party press office on

020 7783 1393 020 7783 1393 .

A new Start!

2010-09-30T11:31:00.000+01:00

Walsall South welcomes our new leader Ed Miiliband

Edward Samuel Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British Labour Party politician, who is the current Leader of the Labour Party and the Leader of the Opposition of the United Kingdom. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster North since 2005 and served in the Cabinet from 2007 to 2010 under Gordon Brown.

Born in London, Miliband graduated from Oxford University and the London School of Economics, becoming first a Labour Party researcher, and rising to become one of Chancellor Gordon Brown's confidants, being appointed Chairman of HM Treasury's Council of Economic Advisers. Miliband was elected the Member of Parliament for the South Yorkshire constituency of Doncaster North in the 2005 general election.

As Prime Minister, Gordon Brown appointed Miliband as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster andMinister for the Cabinet Office in his first Cabinet on 28 June 2007. Miliband was subsequently promoted to the post of Secretary of State at the newly-created Department of Energy and Climate Change, a position he held from 3 October 2008 to 11 May 2010. On 25 September 2010 he waselected Leader of the Labour Party with the support of 50.654% of the electoral college.

He is the son of Marxist theorist Ralph Miliband and the younger brother of David Miliband, a leading Labour politician who also contested and was narrowly defeated in the 2010 Labour Leadership contest by his brother. Together the two were the first siblings to sit simultaneously in the British Cabinet since Edward, Lord Stanley and his brother Oliver in 1938.

The next meeting for Labour Party members will be on Friday 15th October 7.30pm Royal Hotel Ablewell Street Walsall led by Valerie Vaz MP with the opportunity for questions and discussion.

A by-election has been called for Rushall ward on thursday 11th November.. apparently by the Monster raving etc party.. if the time had slipped a few more days this would not have been run and the election held next May which would have probably been more sensible. However we await the impact on the severe October cuts on voters.!

links to other sites

2010-07-19T23:30:00.000+01:00

http://pheaseylabour.blogspot.com

School Funding cuts and more

2010-07-08T08:46:00.000+01:00

School Funding Cuts
At least 6 planned school rebuilding projects in Walsall have been stopped and 3 more are under discussion.

The Government put a halt to the schemes yesterday when it announced major funding cuts for education, part of the whole plan to cut the country's spending deficit and debt.

Originally Labour had committed £55 Billion across the country for refurbs and rebuilds.

At least 700 schools are now affected, in Walsall they are:

Grace Academy, Darlaston

Shelfield Community Academy

Alumwell Business and Enterprise College

Frank F Harrison

Joseph Leckie Technology College

Pool Hayes Arts and Community College

Shire Oak Science College

The Streetly Sports College

Walsall UTC

I expect that the primary school programme to upgrade many primary schools will now also be cut for schools such as Christchurch on Harden Road.
In Sandwell it is even worse with the announcement that their school programme was safe only to hear the Minister apologise and said he got it wrong and their programme is cancelled also.
Along with the cuts of around £50 million being looked at by Walsall Tory Council on top of the £5 Million last year on social services and another £6 million extra this year.
In the Labour group of Councillors we shall be trying to highlight damage to front line services and plead for mitigation as much as possible.. that is if they will listen!!
This Council also faces a £50 million bill for equal pay with a large number of currrent tribunals challenging cases by employees.

regards
Cllr Ian Robertson
Blakenall Ward

2010-07-04T20:19:00.000+01:00

News from Walsall Council

2010-06-15T10:18:00.000+01:00

We learn that the latest news to tory run Walsall from this Tory Government is that funding for the Borough has been cut by a further £6 million pounds, including over £2Million on education alone. The details are being worked out by the tory cabinet at the moment , but we await the details and will be probing especially the effects on the most vulnerable and already disadvantaged in the Borough and even more so in wards we represent.

The news that we shall not be sending any more children to Bryntysillio and that Willenhall Leisure centre will close is bad news for those from more disadvantaged backgrounds who value such opportunities. This Borough faces a serious problem of overweight children which will result in many such now children being outlived by their parents.

The committee looking at the loss by this Council of £ 3 million pounds due to poor record keeping and poor officer management met last Monday and it was admitted that the records are there but not in the right files and so claims back cannot be made. Next Monday the audit committee looks at the draft accounts for the Council and seeing that we have 91officers ( excluding education where we have 215 more) earning over £50000 a year and a chief executive earning over £190,000 a year .. that is £40000 more than the prime minister… are we getting value for money as council tax payers?
We also read that the tory cabinet in July is proposing to charge everyone for a replacement wheelie bin including those where the gree bin has worn out after 10 years service... and so the other bins brown and grey will also all be charged £18.50 but probalby going up to £25! The benefits of paying council tax are gradually diminishing!
what do you think?

The news that 1 in 5 cancer patients are having to wait over 2 months to get treatment was revealed by the Primary care trust in their annual meeting… can they imagine what it is like to have to wait that long to find out if you have a possibly fatal illness and have some treatment?

We shall as labour councillors be pursuing these issues with vigour and welcome your comments.

Regards

Cllr Ian Robertson Cllr Bob Thomas

Blakenall Ward ( Labour)

MP surgeries

2010-06-15T09:55:00.000+01:00

The next Suregery for Valerie will be on 19th June Palfrey Sure Start South Street Walsall WS1 4HF as advertised in the Walsall Advertiser. Contact number is at present vai the House of Commons 020 7219 7176 and email address is valerie4walsall@gmail.com or write House of Commons London SW1A OAA

Welcome to our new MP Valerie Vaz

2010-06-09T19:27:00.000+01:00

We welcome our new MP Valerie Vaz who is already working for us down in Westminster. We intend to post surgery times and places here as they at present are advertised in the Walsall Advertiser for each Saturday in alternating wards for Walsall South.

2010-05-24T20:29:00.001+01:00