BEDROOM TAX

Liam Byrne MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary,responding to yet more government confusion over the Bedroom Tax, said:
 
“The chaos engulfing the Bedroom Tax is deepening by the day.
 
“Last week we learnt that even the Prime Minister doesn’t know how hard the Bedroom Tax will hit disabled children and now Ministers claim they haven’t even published all the rules yet. The whole thing is a total shambles. Meanwhile hundreds of thousands of families are in the firing line to get clobbered by this wretched policy.
 
“Ministers have got to get a grip of this mess fast.”

LABOUR PARTY

LABOUR CAMPAIGN AGAINST BEDROOM TAX

Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Liam Byrne will be launching a major Labour campaign to highlight the unfairness of David Cameron's Bedroom Tax, in Hull on Monday 4 March.

The launch will be the first in a series of events ahead of the introduction of the bedroom tax in April - at exactly the same time as the Government are giving 13,000 millionaires a tax cut worth £100,000 a year on average.

Ahead of the launch, Liam Byrne said,

"David Cameron's April tax plan is simply not fair. From next month, 13,000 millionaires are getting a tax cut worth £100,000 a year on average while over 600,000 armed forces families, disabled people and foster carers have to find £728 a year to pay a new bedroom tax.

"Yet the plan is such a shambles that someone who's been to prison on a short sentence won't have to pay. How unfair is that? Millionaires and prisoners are looked after but vulnerable people, carers and armed forces families get hit.

"Labour plan relentless pressure on this out of touch government until Ministers see sense, admit this policy is totally unfair and think again.”

LABOUR PARTY

GOVERNMENT FUNDING FOR LENDING FAILURE

Ed Balls MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, responding to Bank of England statistics on the Funding for Lending scheme, said:
 
“These are deeply disappointing figures. Net lending is actually down since the Funding for Lending scheme started and down by £2.4 billion in the final three months of 2012. And the Bank of England's own figures show that net lending to businesses fell by £4.5 billion in last quarter. 
  
“Businesses are losing patience with this government. After nearly three years of failure, the Chancellor must explain what action he will take to finally boost net lending to small and medium sized firms, which is vital if we are to get our economy moving. 

“And we need broader action to kick-start our economy and strengthen it for the long-term. Labour and business groups are calling for infrastructure investment to be brought forward, a British Investment Bank and a national insurance holiday for small firms taking on extra staff. It's time this downgraded Chancellor finally listened and acted."

LABOUR PARTY

Council is a living wage employer

Thanet District Council is now eligible to become an accredited Living Wage Foundation 'Living Wage Employer' following the approval of its amended Pay Policy at Full Council last night (28 February 2013).

This means that the council is one of a number of employers leading the way in ensuring that all employees are paid at least the Living Wage which is currently set at £7.45 per hour (compared to the current minimum wage which is £6.19 per hour).

The Living Wage campaign is an example of communities, business, campaigners and faith groups coming together to find practical, non-statutory means to address working poverty and strengthen families which has now grown into a national movement.  Existing Living Wage employers have reported improved morale, lower staff turnover, reduced absenteeism, increased productivity and improved customer service.

Since 2001 the campaign has impacted over 45,000 employees and put over £210 million into the pockets of some of the lowest paid workers in the UK.

Paying the Living Wage is a recognised sign of good practice in employment.

Leader of the Council, Cllr. Clive Hart said "This is great news for Thanet and underlines the council's ongoing commitment to help to lift more local families out of working poverty. We want to encourage good people to work at the council and paying the Living Wage is not only morally right but is an investment which makes sound business sense."

TDC PRESS RELEASE

BUILDING SCHOOLS

Stephen Twigg MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, commenting on the local authority capital funding allocations, said:
"We have seen huge cuts under David Cameron’s Government to the budget for school buildings. It is no wonder that many schools are in poor repair and overcrowded.

"This money is long overdue. Hundreds of school rebuilding projects have been cancelled and only 3 per cent of schools which need repairs have been rebuilt in 3 years.

"The Government only plans to rebuild around 25 schools by the end of 2013. The number Labour planned to rebuild under the cancelled Building Schools for the Future programme was 735."

LABOUR PARTY PRESS RELEASE

STATEMENT

"Today's news from the court in Maidstone should shock me, but sadly it doesn't.

As many people know, there was no love lost at all between the former Conservative Leader Sandy Ezekiel and me.

Our politics, leadership styles and our general attitudes to life could not be more different.

Thanet District Council is led in a very different manner today"

Cllr Clive Hart - TDC Leader.

Letter from the Isle of Thanet Gazette

NOT INTERESTED ENOUGH TO ATTEND THE MEETINGS

IT IS good to see Councillor Ian Driver finally showing some interest in Ramsgate Town Council (“Ramsgate residents are not served well”, Your Views, February 22), because he’s had precious little to do with it since he was elected.

The town plan and the Pleasurama site, which he mentions, were both discussed at the full council meeting on February 6. As so often, however, Mr Driver didn’t turn up. This was despite the fact that he’d just been at a public meeting 50 yards away. Then again the council meeting wasn’t covered by the local television news, so why would we be surprised?

His criticism of the town council appears to be that it hasn’t managed to change things that he knows very well are entirely outside its control or legal authority. Among the things it has done, however, is to preserve and maintain a visitor information centre in Ramsgate, staffed by volunteers, as well as supporting financially and practically a thriving events programme delivered by the community. It is about to launch a new website promoting Ramsgate, as well as professionally marketed town trails. And it costs £27.45 per band D household a year. Mr Driver says that having the same people serve as town and district councillors is a conflict of interest – although presumably that logic must also apply to him, and even more so when he now stands for election as a county councillor.

Here at least is a matter on which Mr Driver can easily do something. We all know he won’t give up his cabaret role at Thanet District Council or shrink bashfully from the county spotlight, but the cost of a town council by-election on May 2, when elections are already taking place, would be minimal. He could therefore resign with a clear conscience as a town councillor and allow the people of Northwood to choose someone else, whatever their political background, who is actually interested in representing the residents at meetings – or indeed at all. The successful candidate could hardly be less useful than Mr Driver ’s empty chair.

Councillor Rick Everitt, by e-mail

 COMMENTS ON WEBSITE WERE VERY IRRESPONSIBLE
LIKE many in Ramsgate I was horrified that after two years graffiti-free enjoyment of the paintings on the Great Wall, we now have mindless vandalism.

I note that Councillor Ian Driver has apologised on his website to anyone who believes that his earlier comments encouraging people to graffiti the Great Wall of Ramsgate was instrumental in the subsequent damage to paintings hung there. Because Mr Driver does not live in Ramsgate he may not be aware of the affection that many Ramsgate residents have for the Great Wall. To many it symbolised action by many individuals to create something positive at a time when Ramsgate was suffering neglect from Thanet District Council.

As Ramsgate mayor, I was pleased last year to be able to present one of the Ramsgate Society’s Town Image awards to Gerry O’Donnell and Mike Sansum, representing the many artists who have contributed to the project. The sequence of events would seem to indicate that Mr Driver’s words advocating the criminal act of graffiti and the subsequent actions of others were the height of irresponsibility, so much more so from a Thanet district councillor. I don’t know the exact figure each year that it costs taxpayers to clean up graffiti, but it is many hundreds of pounds.

In the same sequence of Facebook comments, Mr Driver appears to encourage others to occupy the Royal Sands site. Yet another reckless act the councillor could be encouraging. These are not the actions of a responsible councillor. Nor is the misuse and exploitation of a group of residents with legitimate concerns over the future of Ramsgate’s seafront. A belated apology now, Mr Driver, is not in any way good enough. You gained election through a deception, posing as a Labour Party member. I would suggest that resignation would indicate that you recognise that your actions make you unsuitable as a councillor.

Councillor David Green, Ramsgate





GRANT FROM COUNCILLORS WAS URGENTLY NEEDEDON BEHALF of the trustees of Project MotorHouse, I would like to thank councillors Peter Campbell, Rick Everitt, David and Liz Green for supporting our recent successful application for funds from the New Homes Bonus Scheme. It will be used for the condition reports on the old motor museum on Ramsgate’s West Cliff.

The site, currently derelict and owned by TDC, is a vital piece of Ramsgate’s infrastructure. It cannot be left to continue deteriorating because its walls support one of the main access routes into Ramsgate. Its roof forms the first 40 metres of the West Cliff Promenade and the retaining walls of the terrace hold up the cliff which overlooks the commercial port. It has been empty now since 2005 and water is continually seeping in. Trees are growing into the terrace and threatening the structural integrity of the retaining wall. Local residents and the TDC parks department used to go through the building and onto the terrace to weed and keep it clear of rubbish. That has now been deemed too dang erous. This grant is very timely.

Janet Fielding, Project MotorHouse

 CUTBACKS OR CLOSURES WOULD BE A TRAGEDY

I READ Kent County Councillor Jenny Whittle’s comments about the Thanet children’s centres hoping she was going to announce an increased budget for these vital centres using money from savings made elsewhere, but I was sadly disappointed to read that “there are no plans to close any children’s centres” followed by the inevitable “but ”.

The centre in Broadstairs, in common with others in Thanet, provides an invaluable service to parents and carers in a climate where funding is constantly being squeezed. Another article on the same page highlighted the degree of deprivation here in Thanet, where 28 per cent of children live in poverty.

Children’s Centres aim to be inclusive, not just for the most vulnerable (however that category may be defined), offering access to many agencies and experts. There are parents who are making up for time lost at school through family circumstances, school phobia or for other reasons by studying for GCSE equivalent exams in English and maths, to enable them to enter the job market as soon as they can so that their dependence on top-up benefits might be reduced.

They and other parents and carers benefit from the services offered with visits from the midwife, Citizens’ Advice Bureau advisers, courses for new parents, visits from the mobile farm and this Easter, a visit to Farming World. I have seen myself how the self-esteem and confidence of the centre users has been boosted through using the facilities and accessing the help provided.

I hope the planned review of the various centres doesn’t lead to any more cutbacks or even closure. That would be a tragedy for the area.

Councillor Jennifer Matterface, Beacon Road Ward

 LOSS OF OUR TRIPLE-A RATING WAS PREDICTABLE

ON JULY 13, 2010 I wrote to the Isle of Thanet Gazette about the ludicrous blaming of Labour and Gordon Brown for the economic crisis of 2008.

I pointed out then that Labour had kept the Triple-A economic rating for the UK throughout the economic crisis and predicted that the ConDem Government would lose it. Well, that has happened. Prediction is everything in science: you have a hypothesis, you design an experiment to test it and state what will be the conditions for proof. Although Eton is not hot on science, George Osborne managed to do that.

Conservative ideology says austerity, deep cuts in public spending, cures the economy. It failed the conservatives of the USA in the 30s, who had to be rescued by Roosevelt’s massive job creation from public money. But anyway, George set the test himself – the Triple-A rating – and predicted austerity would haul Britain out of recession. Result: the flatline continues, we are in recession and we have lost the Triple-A rating. The experiment has instead proved the null-hypothesis, that austerity does not cure the economy.

It shows that the Tories and their allies, cannot be trusted with the economy and should hand it back to those who know what they are doing

RL Symonds, Broadstairs