The Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Community Roadshow is outside Homebase on Tuesday 28th and Wed 29th from 10am to 4pm.
You can get personal advice as well as find out about understanding dementia and the importance of early diagnosis.
REMINDER – £140 GOVERNMENT ENERGY BILL DISCOUNT
A quick reminder. If your total household income is less than £16000 a year you may be eligible for a £140 discount off your electricity bill this winter. Call your energy company and ask them if you are eligible for the WARM HOMES DISCOUNT. This was introduced by the Lib Dems in government to help those on a low income with their energy costs.
Severe Weather Warning
The met office has issued a serve weather warning for tonight/tomorrow. You can find more information at:
If you notice any blocked road or pavement drains in the next day or two please let us know so we can get them reported through the Council system. Alternatively email hal@durham.gov.uk and copy me in to the email
Trinity School Construction Complaints
Residents living near the new Trinity School construction site at Aykley Heads have had to deal with continuous problems with the construction of the new building since the work started last year.
Last week I chaired a meeting with residents and council officers to make sure that concerns were fully heard and to identify areas where issues still needed to be addressed.
Whilst all residents are fully supportive of the need for a new school facility, it is the way in which the developers and planners have acted which has caused great concern.
These concerns have included and in some cases still include working outside of the designated hours, including on a Sunday. Following the meeting I arranged last week an enforcement notice has now been issued to Sir Robert McAlpine the constructors ordering them to desist from Sunday working – residents need at least one day a week without the construction noise and the planning conditions require it.
The council has also been made fully aware of damage to the road surface in Dunholme Close which goes clearly beyond the damage you would expect from everyday wear and tear, and is most likely to have been caused by the repeated use of the cul-de-sac by heavy goods vehicles delivering to the site.
Noise and road cleaning issues have also been an ongoing problem, as well as concerns with the council planning department about the way in which the planning process and subsequent complaints have been handled. A huge advertisement for the developer and signs stating that they are considerate constructors have been seen by some residents as a joke. Planners have now asked that it is replaced with something more reasonable in size.
I am continuing to work with residents to help get all these issues addressed, and it is hoped that many of these issues will be addressed by the Council and by Sir Robert McAlpine in the coming weeks.
Of additional concern is safety when the school opens, and associated traffic management issues. I intend to hold a further meeting with residents and officers after the school has fully opened to determine if further action needs to take place.
The new school is going to be a fantastic asset for the young people attending it. It must be a safe environment to be dropped off and collected from and must have as limited an impact as possible on the surrounding area.
This is always a balancing act and it is clear that up to now residents have not been treated to a satisfactory standard. This has now been made very clear to both the Council and the developer.
State pension set to rise by 2.5 per cent next year
Pensioners will benefit from a 2.5 per cent increase in their state pension thanks to the Liberal Democrat Triple Lock guarantee.
Figures out today (14 October) show that inflation is below target meaning that the basic state pension will be boosted by 2.5 per cent next year.
The Triple Lock guarantee means that pensions will increase with inflation, earnings or 2.5 per cent – whichever is highest.
Commenting on the inflation figures, Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander said:
“This below target inflation number is good news for everyone, but will help pensioners in particular as the Liberal Democrat flagship ‘Triple Lock’ policy will kick in to give an above inflation pension increase.
“The Triple Lock delivers a pension rise of whichever is the greater of average earnings, inflation or 2.5%.
“This means that next year the basic state pension will rise by 2.5% or £2.85 a week. With Liberal Democrats in Government the basic state pension has risen by over £950.
“This shows that pensioners are at the heart of our Liberal Democrat vision of a stronger economy and a fairer society.
“They’ve done their bit for society and paid their dues over a lifetime. Our Triple Lock policy ensures our country does right by them.
“This is in stark contrast to life under the Conservatives who broke the link between pensions and earnings in the Thatcher years, and life under Labour when pensioners were insulted with rises as low as 75p.”
Newton Hall Post Office NEW INFORMATION – HALF WAY TO SUCCESS
I have been trying to get updates from various places on the plans for Newton Hall Post Office.
The first thing to say is that the consultation process is still running behind the scenes. The national CAB / Consumer Futures who analyse the consultation data have confirmed to me that following our representations they are pushing for “Main” Branch status. They will thrash out their views on the 22nd with PO management at a national level.
The pressure from residents and ourselves as your local councillors appears to be having a positive impact. Whilst the existing site does not look like it will be retained, the services which were due to be lost may well be retained if the branch moves into McColls.
Proposals have been aired which would see McColls run the branch as a “Local Plus”. This means that almost all the services which would have been lost would now be retained – so half a success.
However the BIG issue which remains is capacity. We are still campaigning alongside the CAB for a Main branch model as we do not want to see queues for local residents. Given that it looks increasingly likely that Framwellgate Moor Post Office will move up the road to Nisa, losing some services, the pressure on capacity in the area will be exacerbated.
Clearly there are also concerns about what happens to the existing staff and some concerns about training in a newly located branch.
A planning application has been submitted for a disability ramp at McColls. Whist this may appear to be cart before horse, it takes 8-9 weeks to pass a planning application and if the move goes ahead, disability access is a requirement.
All of this reminds me of a silver lining: Under the last government thousands of post offices closed, under the current government branches are being protected either in their current location or an alternative. Whatever happens we will still have two post offices in the area.
We will continue to push to make sure they have the capacity and the services. Things are looking better than they were and when we know more we will of course update on here and in the community.
Out and about in Framwellgate Moor
I was out for several hours yesterday delivering leaflets and talking to residents with our parliamentary campaigner Craig Martin.
We covered a big part of Framwellgate Moor and I was able to pick up on various concerns ranging from housing to footpath repairs.
If anyone has any specific local concerns at the moment please get in touch. I will be out and about today and tomorrow as well so if you spot me, have a chat or give me a call if any problems come to mind.
LIB DEM SUCCESSES A MIRACLE IN A TIME OF AUSTERITY
Some of the speeches at the Lib Dem conference were really inspirational. You can view them on the Lib Dem website www.libdems.org.uk
I am certain after being in Glasgow that with the Tories shifting to the right to try and appeal to UKIP voters and Labour lost without any understanding of how to run the economy, that the only solution in this country is to firmly lock in a government in the centre ground of politics.
Without a fairer society, we cannot ever change our country for the better. Without a stronger economy we can never hope to protect those on the lowest incomes.
UKIP are a party which wants to privatise the NHS. They are run by an ex-banker who has received millions in expenses in the European Parliament but done nothing to promote opportunity. On many issues they are more right wing than the Tories and want to isolate us from the rest of the world. They also want to slash taxes for millionaires whilst our public services take the strain.
The Tories have no direction other than to become even more nasty. They want to sort out the financial problems in the country by taking money away from the poorest. And they propose this with a smile on their faces . After years of the Lib Dems reigning them in, they have reverted to type as the nasty party.
Labour have about as much clue about how to fix our economy as a cuckoo in a cloud. They think that taxing people out of existence is the way to address our problems. A search for “france economy” on Google today comes up with An ‘atomic bomb’ is hovering over France’s economy France’s socialist government shows you all you need to know about the future disaster with Red Ed Milliband. This is the prospect for the UK – a return to the bad Labour days when the politics of envy destroyed the economy – back in the 70’s Labour’s highest tax rate was 83%!!!!! Labour whether in County Durham or in any other corner of the country seek to keep the poor poorer whilst destroying entrepreneurship.
Compare all this with the first time the Lib Dems are in government:
State pension up £800
Tax cut of £800 for low and middle income earners
Billions of pounds of extra funding for education of those from the poorest backgrounds
Largest ever number of students from poorer backgrounds attending university
2 million more jobs
Nearly 2 million new apprenticeships
Human rights protected, ID cards scrapped
Doubling of renewable energy production
Equal marriage
Free childcare
Free school meals
Child detention scrapped
Taking millions of low paid workers out of paying tax altogether
Turning around the public finances
If all of his had been achieved in a time of prosperity it would be astonishing. Do do it whilst having to deal with the catastrophic mess left by Labour is incredible. To do it whilst having to challenge the Tories every day, day in, day out is a miracle!
Our proposals going forward will see further tax cuts for 25 million workers, especially cutting tax further for the poorest, extending childcare, extending free school meals, protecting the NHS, helping end the apartheid faced by mental health patients. Continuing to promote apprenticeships, engineering and a sustainable green future where we do not destroy our environment. Cracking down on tax avoidance and ensuring that the richest help bring down the debts of the country rather than the poorest.
Sensible liberal policies. NOT the policies of hate which UKIP promote. NOT the headless chicken approach of the Tories and Labour pandering to the “fear agenda”.
The rise of the far right early in the last century should be a warning to all of us. A wake up call. When times are bad it is oh so easy to blame someone else for the problems we face as a country. The Lib Dems will NOT let this country down we will fight against this culture of hate and division.
I was proud to be a Liberal Democrat after our party conference. The only party staying in the middle ground of politics fighting for a stronger economy and a fairer society.
Take a look at some of th things we discussed, debated and agreed at www.libdems.org.uk
Proud that Lib Dems are prioritising mental healthcare
Today, October 10 marks World Mental Health Day 2014, a global celebration of mental health education and awareness – tackling the stigma surrounding mental health.
Research shows that one in four people will suffer from mental health problems at some point in their lives.
Back our campaign to help us stamp out stigma attached to mental health.
The Liberal Democrats believe mental health should be taken as seriously as physical health and should never be ignored or stigmatised. That’s why we have enshrined in law the equal status of mental and physical health in the Health and Social Care Act 2012.
Speaking at the Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference in Glasgow, Nick Clegg announced that treatment for mental health conditions will be brought into line with other NHS services with the introduction of the first ever waiting time standards.
Liberal Democrats want to lead the world in understanding and treating mental illness. We have committed to a new research fund and we are using £400m to help people get the right support early on, such as talking or psychological therapies.
New Council Website Up and running
Over a number of years as your Lib Dem councillors we have pushed the council for a better website and particularly for more services to be offered online.
The new County Council website is far easier to use and it is hoped that as more people order services, report things and pay for things online, it will free up staff at the council to answer calls more quickly. It should also save the council a lot of money in the longer term as requests go to the right person and will ensure better monitoring of responses.
Please let me know if you find anything not working on the site so that we can feed this back to council officers and get it fixed.
Also, if you do not get a response to something as quickly as it says you will, or as quickly as you would expect let me know that too.