The Liberal Democrat Group on Redcar and Cleveland Council has called on the ruling Labour Group to review cuts to services for elderly and vulnerable people.

The withdrawal of the ‘Homecall’ contract, currently worth £680,000 to social housing provider Coast and Country, will see thousands of residents charged for the crucial pull-cord lifeline which allows them to live independently.

Liberal Democrats fear that removing the subsidy will endanger the freedom and security of the Borough’s most vulnerable and could bring an end to the service altogether.

Cllr Mary Ovens, Liberal Democrat Group Deputy Leader and Shadow Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, has today written to Council Leader George Dunning and Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, Sheelagh Clarke, imploring them to reconsider this potentially damaging decision.

In March this year Grant Shapps, Minister for Housing and Local Government, wrote to council leaders to inform them that although funding was no longer ring-fenced, the budget for Supporting People had not been significantly reduced and that councils were still expected to invest in housing-related support services.

Cllr Ovens commented:

“This decision by the Labour Group will leave vulnerable people isolated and alone; at risk of losing their independence.

“The policy could see thousands of vulnerable people abandoned by the Council they rely on for support.

“I urge the Council to think again on this.”

Ian Swales, MP for Redcar added:

“It seems counterproductive to remove a service that enables people to continue living independently in their own homes, particularly in light of the Council’s long term social care policy.

“I hope the Council will reconsider this decision in light of the letter from Housing Minister Grant Shapps, which established the maintenance of budgets for this area.”

At the launch of the new Draft Bill on energy, Liberal Democrat Secretary of State of Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey, writes:

Over the next decade, around a fifth of existing power plants are due to close, against a background of increased energy demand and increasing prices. We need new investment simply to keep the lights on.

But more than that, we need a clean energy revolution to meet our ambitious climate change goals and make this the greenest government ever.

That’s why I am bringing forward a new Energy Bill today.

You can read more about our clean energy revolution here.

We also need to transform our energy market to reduce the risk and cost of low carbon technologies.

That’s what our Bill does.

The UK is fast becoming a world leader in renewable energy, especially in off shore wind. I want us to lead the world in Carbon Capture and Storage too.

And we are also tackling rising energy bills. Without reforming the energy market bills will rise by around £200 in the coming years. Our reforms will mean bills are around 4% lower than they otherwise would have been.

Going green is good for the economy, good for Britain and good for you.

Yours,

Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change

(Image licensed under Creative Commons from DECC)

(Click picture to play video)

It is shameful that, despite all the promise on a four or five year old’s first day at school, or the passion of their teachers, you can all too often plot that child’s path just by asking how much their parents earn.

The £2.5billion Pupil Premium was one of the four pledges on the front page of our manifesto.  And now, with Liberal Democrats in government, schools are using the money for things like breakfast clubs; homework clubs; or to provide one-to-one-tuition. These are the sort of experiences many middle class children take for granted but a poorer child might rarely enjoy.

Yesterday I visited a fantastic primary school to see how they are spending their Pupil Premium, highlight our new Summer Schools to ease the transition from primary to secondary, and to set out our plans to reward teachers and hold schools to account.

The Pupil Premium shows that, in tough times, we are implementing Liberal Democrat values and prioritising help for those pupils who need it most.

Best wishes,

Nick Clegg MP

Leader of the Liberal Democrats and Deputy Prime Minister

PS Click here to find out how much money your local school will receive from the Liberal Democrats’ Pupil Premium.

This week, Paul Burstow (Liberal Democrat minister at the Department of Health) has launched a national £4 million lung cancer awareness campaign. The campaign, the first of its kind, will use TV, radio and press adverts, and advertising on pharmacist bags and inside GP surgeries, to raise awareness of the disease.

One of its aims is to persuade anyone who has had a cough for more than three weeks to see their doctor.

You can find more information about coughing and lung cancer at the Department of Health website, here: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/05/coughing-could-be-a-sign-of-lung-cancer-2/

With 33,000 new cases diagnosed each year, lung cancer is a blight on the lives of far too many of our families and an early diagnosis can make all the difference. Please take the opportunity of the Be Clear on Cancer campaign to find out more about prevention and diagnosis, and to visit your local doctor if you’ve had a persistent cough – it is always better to be safe than sorry!

http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/tag/be-clear-on-cancer/

On Tuesday this week, the cabinet of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council voted to introduce a flat-rate charging policy for adults with special educational needs (SEN) to travel to college. The move will also hit elderly people attending day care centres and adults with SEN using day services and respite care.  Post-16 SEN learners will be hit with a £380 charge per year, while the elderly and day service users will face a cost of £3 for a return trip.

The Council cuts to adult SEN learners comes at a time when Sarah Teather, Liberal Democrat Children’s Minister, has just announced a new programme for SEN support staff for younger learners. While the Coalition Government are working hard for the needs of vulnerable learners, Redcar and Cleveland Council are taking away opportunities and risking invaluable lifelines for those in most need.

The decision has been condemned by Liberal Democrats on the Council who believe that this minor saving will have a massive impact on the Borough’s poorest and most vulnerable people. 

Commenting on the decision, Liberal Democrat Council Group Leader, Glyn Nightingale said:

“This is a typical move by the ruling Labour Group.”

“They are more interested in ploughing millions of pounds of council tax revenue into their ludicrous, ill-thought out regeneration programme and ‘Vertical Pier’ than protecting vital local services.  They continually fail to crack down on waste.”

Ian Swales, MP for Redcar added:

“Imposing charges for access to key services is detrimental to the individuals concerned and the area as a whole. This is a choice that the Labour-run Council have made, and they have chosen to hurt those that need support the most.”

Last Month Redcar and Cleveland Council’s Scrutiny Board recommended that a decision to impose charges for transport to faith schools with immediate effect, should be reconsidered by the Labour Cabinet.

This week, the Cabinet voted to ignore the recommendation to reconsider and pushed ahead with the original proposal. This decision by the Labour Cabinet will see families of children who currently attend faith schools having to find £380 per year to pay for their travel when they have previously been able to get to school for free.

Liberal Democrat Opposition Councillors have opposed this policy from the start, arguing that this is an unfair increase on those who already attend a faith school or who have been offered a place which included free school travel.  They would like to see Labour phase this policy in rather than just cutting off all help so that children are not at a disadvantage and it does not have an adverse effect on their education. Both Middlesbrough and North Yorkshire Councils are phasing in the policy to safeguard standards and prevent disruption to children during this crucial period in their education.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Josh Mason commented:

“This will put some families under great financial strain and force them to choose between the breadline and their children’s future.

“It is highly irresponsible of the Labour Council to break the agreement they have with students and their families.

“Although the Lib Dems believe in parity across the board, removing this subsidy suddenly, without warning, is not fair and poses a real threat to educational security and standards.”

Official reports have confirmed that no Liberal Democrat-run council in England has increased council tax for their residents. This is unlike both other major parties, many of which are increasing council tax by up to 3.5% this year.

Commenting on Labour and Conservative councils’ record on Council Tax, Liberal Democrat Party President, Tim Farron said:

“While Labour and the Tories fight over how many of their councils raised Council Tax, it’s clear that with the Liberal Democrats your money is safest: no Liberal Democrat-run council in England has raised Council Tax.

“Ordinary working families are struggling already with paying bills, without their councils increasing the burden.

“The choice in next month’s elections is clear: vote Liberal Democrat for financially responsible councils that create jobs. Vote Labour and the Tories for waste, mismanagement and tax rises.”

As well as freezing council tax across the country, Liberal Democrat councils are protecting front-line services, fighting to keep libraries and Sure Start centres open. This is in addition to the achievements of the Liberal Democrats in government, which after the Budget include a £130 income tax cut for all working families, the largest-ever rise in the basic state pension, an increase in child tax credits for the poorest families, and an increase in the Lib Dem Pupil Premium to £600 for every pupil receiving Free School Meals.

At every level of government, the Liberal Democrats are cutting taxes for low- and middle-earners and better targeting help to those that need it the most. It is a record of financial responsibility of which we can be proud.

A first look at part of this week’s Liberal Democrat Local Election Broadcast. This clip looks at our key pledge to cut taxes for working families, and celebrates the fact that Liberal Democrats in government have achieved:

• The biggest-ever single uplift in the tax-free personal allowance
• A £3.5 billion tax cut for working men and women
• 840,000 of the lowest earners in the country lifted completely out of paying Income Tax

Next year, the allowance increases again (to £9,205) – within touching distance of our manifesto promise to increase the Income Tax threshold to £10,000.

These are all significant achievements that are already making a difference for millions of hard-working men and women across Britain. Real change for real families in tough times – promised and delivered by the Liberal Democrats.

Liberal Democrat opposition to Labour’s Vertical Pier appears to have been justified according to new figures.

Members were told in the Council’s Business Plan for the Vertical Pier and Hub that creative industries were flourishing.

Yet in the Corporate Overview briefing note of January 2012 members were told that in 2011-12 the number of new businesses created in the creative industry sector, out of a target figure of 15, was only eight.

Moreover, the number of creative businesses supported, out of a target of 66, was only nine.

Worse still, the number of new jobs in creative industries, out of a target of 33, was zero.

Last Thursday Liberal Democrat Councillor Ron Harrison questioned the Labour council Leader about the alarming figures. The response he received was that the research into the Vertical Pier was carried out before the economic downturn, and that the Vertical Pier is expected to break even in seven years.

Ron commented:

“It is a scandal that Council Tax is being raised, not in order to protect essential services, but to subsidise Labour’s pet project.”

Liberal Democrats on Redcar & Cleveland Council are concerned that the Labour bosses are not treating childhood obesity seriously enough.

In the council’s “Our Plan” document, a target has been set for the percentage of children in reception year at school who are classed as obese.

The target set for 2012-13 is 11.2%, even though the actual figure for 2011-12 is only 9.4%.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Josh Mason raised the issue at a Council meeting yesterday, but received no answer.

Cllr Mason, who represents Zetland ward, commented:

“The health of our young children is essential if they are to live happy and fulfilling lives.”

“It sounds from these figures as though Labour is already admitting defeat.”

“Indeed, it sounds as though Labour want children to get fatter!”

“If they are serious about tackling the problem they need to be setting themselves much more ambitious targets than this.”