The Green Bus at Bellerive school

 

I recently visited Bellerive school to see their new bus service – The Green Bus.

Congratulations to Bellerive school for this imaginative initiative. I hope this is a great success.

The service helps students to get to school at a reasonable cost.

https://www.thegreenbus.co.uk/about/

Update on Lark Lane Post Office – Re-opening

I have now been informed that the new Lark Lane Post Office at number 65 will open on Monday 29 April.

This is welcomed news and the branch will be a great benefit to the area. 

 

Changes to our NHS

I am very concerned about the NHS (Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition) Regulations which will come in to force on the 1st of April.  

Labour tabled a fatal motion against the original regulations in the House of Lords and asked an Urgent Question in the House of Commons.  Following strong opposition, the Government announced that the regulations would be re-drafted.

The regulations have now been revised by the Department for Health but offer little improvement and will have the same impact. Labour is calling for the regulations to be annulled.

I have received many representations from constituents and I have signed EDMs on this important issue.

I voted against the Health and Social Care Bill when it was debated in Parliament.  I did not accept assurances made by ministers that the Bill would not lead to privatisation of the NHS.  These regulations will drive competition in to the heart of our NHS.

There are concerns that a decision not to put services out to tender could lead to a legal challenge by a commercial provider. This is likely to encourage services to be tendered to avoid such litigation.

I will continue to press the Government and fight against plans for privatisation.  It is clear that the Tory/Lib Dem Government cannot be trusted with our NHS.

Aigburth Station Refurbishment

I have intervened in the dispute concerning the “refurbishment” of Aigburth station and proposed demolition of the pitched roof shelter and wrought iron columns.

The works were due to take place over the next few days but Network Rail have telephoned me to say that this will be put on hold pending a meeting on site this Monday (25th), 11am.

This is an important opportunity for local residents to make their views known and I will be present.

Unfair ‘bedroom tax’ changes impact on Liverpool Riverside

I am concerned about the impact of the Government’s ‘bedroom tax’ on Liverpool Riverside.  From April 1^st those in social housing deemed by the Government to have an ‘extra’ bedroom will lose 14% of their housing benefit unless they find a smaller home to move in to.  This policy risks homelessness and poverty.  

The Government’s ‘bedroom tax’ is unfair and two thirds of households hit are home to someone with a disability.  National Housing Federation figures show that in Liverpool Riverside 2,920 will be hit by the ‘bedroom tax’ losing on average £728 per year.  Riverside is the fourth worst affected constituency in the country as a result of this unfair and retrospective tax.

I have made continued representations to Ministers on this issue and have signed EDM 984: Under-Occupancy Penalty and the Vulnerable which notes that withdrawing housing benefit from social tenants with unoccupied bedrooms will hit the poor, the vulnerable and the disabled hardest and penalises parents with sons and daughters in the armed forces living at home.  I have also attended meetings in Liverpool and in Parliament with social landlords who are very concerned about this.

It is important that its implementation is closely monitored so that we can continue to campaign for change. 

Further cuts to Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service

I am very concerned about the impact of drastic Government cuts on Merseyside’s Fire and Rescue Services.  Strong lobbying by Merseyside MPs and the Fire Authority prevented the cuts being even deeper.

The current Merseyside Grant cut for 2013/14 is 8.7% and will be cut by a further 7.5% in 2014/15.  Merseyside received the worst Grant settlement in the country for the last two years, this cut was twice the national average.

The Fire Authority has already had to make £9.2 million of savings in the last two years and will now have to make a further £10 million of savings over the next two years.

It is deplorable that the scale and depth of Government cuts mean that front line services will now be affected.  The Fire Authority has announced that the budget cuts will come from £7 million in back office and support services and £3 million from emergency response.  More than 140 jobs, 90 of these firefighter posts will be lost as a result.  All of the fire stations will be kept open but the number of fire engines will be reduced.

Our fire and rescue services play a vital role in our communities and it is appalling that Government cuts are having a substantial impact on front line services.

I have raised the issue of the unfair cuts on a number of occasions with the Government and met with representatives from the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service.  I will continue to fight against further cuts to secure a fairer deal for Liverpool and Merseyside.

Four in ten in child poverty in Liverpool Riverside

The Campaign to End Child Poverty last week published a report which shows that 42% of children in Liverpool Riverside are living below the poverty line, the fourth highest level in the country.

The table shown here is a breakdown of the statistics for each ward in the Riverside constituency.

The report highlighted the struggle facing families in a city hit hard by Government cuts and it is reprehensible that more than 2 in 5 children live in poverty.

On the 23^rd January 2013, I challenged the Prime Minister on this, asking:

The Government’s welfare Bill will plunge 200,000 extra children into poverty, and children in places such as Liverpool are already suffering. Yet the Government want to make the poor go away by redefining poverty. Does the Prime Minister really think he is going to get away with that?

He replied:

What I would say to the hon. Lady is that the introduction of universal credit is going to reduce the number of children living in relative-income poverty by around 250,000. Those are the figures.

On the issue of welfare, we face a clear choice. Given that in-work benefits have gone up by 20% over the last five years compared with just a 10% increase in wages, we believe that it is right that welfare benefits should not continue to go up ahead of wages. I note what Labour have done this week: great sound and fury, voting against the Bill and saying it is completely wrong, but completely refusing to reverse it. That is the complete policy vacuum that we face from the Labour party.

Liverpool is being hit disproportionately by Government cuts, with the City Council’s budget reduction amounting to £329 per person compared with an English average of £160. We face a toxic package of cuts – cuts to local services, council tax benefit, housing benefit and the bedroom tax. I will continue to press the Government on this issue and to speak up for the people of Liverpool.

Local Government Finance – the effect on Liverpool

On Wednesday (Feb 13th), I participated in a Commons debate regarding Local Government Finance.

As I have stated previously, while Liverpool is the most deprived city in the country, it is being hit the hardest by this Tory/Lib Dem government’s cuts. In turn the Council faces a massive task in trying to find savings. It will be forced to make cuts.

I asked the Minister:

The Minister has been involved in a lot of discussions with various local authority representatives. Is he willing to reopen discussions with Liverpool city council? It covers the most deprived council area in the country, yet it has suffered the greatest cuts. How can that be fair?

Minister Brandon Lewis replied:

Actually, Liverpool has had a reduction of minus 1.3, so it is no different from anywhere else. However, I will happily meet people from Liverpool council, just as I will those from any other authority and any hon. Member who wishes to see me.

Later I went on to remark:

Having listened to what Government Ministers have said this afternoon I really think that they are living in a world of fantasy and make-believe.

For Liverpool, and for similar places, this is a harsh settlement. It is part of the Government’s onslaught on local services and local government. Beyond that, it is part of a toxic package of Government cuts to local services, housing benefit, council tax benefit and welfare, together with the introduction of the bedroom tax. The combined effect of all these measures is to inflict severe hardship on local communities and, in particular, on children.

When my hon. Friend Stephen Twigg raised this issue a couple of months ago and received the Government’s response, it became very clear that they had not paid any attention whatsoever to the cumulative impact of these savage cuts. That is shameful. The Government seem to be ploughing ahead with their cuts to deprived areas such as Liverpool as though they do not have a care in the world. That says more about their attitude, ideology and philosophy than it does about their competence.

Let us look at some facts. According to the indices of deprivation, Liverpool is the most deprived local authority in the country. Next year, it will be forced to cut £32 million from its local government budget, on top of the £141 million it has cut over the past two years, and there is more to come. Indeed, over a four-year period it is being asked to cut more than 50% of its controllable budget. It has been shown that for every individual in Liverpool the cumulative effect of four years of cuts is a cut in spending of £329.54 per head. So Liverpool is not only No. 1 in terms of deprivation but right at the top of the list for the amount of spending cuts per head that this Government are inflicting through local government cuts alone.

Liverpool city council is a very responsible council, and it has done what it can to protect local people against Government cuts. One of the first things it did when faced with the challenge of these cuts was to review how the whole council operated. It has slashed £30 million from its administration and cut out a half of its senior management. It has also done what it can to protect services. I will give one indication of what it has achieved over the past two years. Last year, the Sure Start centres were under great threat because their budgets had had to be reduced by over 50% due to the cuts in funding, but as a result of changing how those centres operated, in some instances affecting services adversely, they have remained open.

Now, we in Liverpool face the Government demanding even more cuts of the city. The council is continuing to review how it delivers its services, and it is looking for new ways of providing funding, but it will not be possible to protect public services. It is also an entrepreneurial council, engaging with business to bring investment into Liverpool. At the same time as fighting against these unwarranted and unjust cuts to local services and local people, it is holding its hand out to businesses to try to support investment and maintain jobs and employment in the city.

It is a simple fact that people in the most deprived area of the country, where 22% of the 100 very poorest local areas are found—the super output areas—require public services. Indeed, a decent society requires public services. The Government’s actions in relation to local government cuts and cuts to other services in Liverpool are unwarranted and unjust, and I call on the Minister to think again.

BIKERIGHT! – delivering eight new cycle stands to promote greener commuter travel

Kirkdale based cycle training organisation BikeRight! has unveiled a number of new cycle storage facilities across Everton and Kirkdale – funded as part of an ongoing drive to change the way in which local employees travel to and from work.

I am pictured at the recent Eldonian launch with Jo Somerset, Director of BikeRight!

BikeRight! has been working with local employers and institutions to offer staff a viable alternative to commuting by car – encouraging cycling or indeed walking.

Cycle stands are being installed at Benson Signs, DBH Business Centre, Everton Sports Centre, The Rotunda College and Liverpool Community College as well as Everton’s WECC, Shrewsbury House and Eldonian Village Hall.

The cycle stands have been installed as part of the successful Choose Freedom project, a Liverpool City Council project funded by the Department for Transport through the Local Sustainable Transport Fund. The project is being delivered by BikeRight!

BikeRight! is responsible for many innovative projects in Liverpool working with businesses and residents to encourage safe cycling to promote wellbeing and improved employment opportunities in Liverpool. Their Choose Freedom project in North Liverpool encourages residents of Everton and Kirkdale to get on their bikes and enjoy the freedom, savings, health benefits and increased job opportunities afforded by cycling and walking.

http://www.bikeright.co.uk/freedom

BikeRight!’s recent night-time ride short film – http://youtu.be/WcvD-6f5inQ

Proposed re-opening of Lark Lane Post Office

I am delighted that Post Office Ltd is proposing to re-open a branch in Lark Lane – at number 65. Formerly at number 77, the branch closed temporarily in 2009 when the premises were withdrawn from Post Office use.

I have made representations about a number of branches over the years, including Lark Lane, in serving the community.

Post Office Ltd have written to me to say that there is now a local public consultation, ending on March 7^th, where the public are invited to comment on the suitability and accessibility of the proposed location and are asking whether there are other suggestions that could be considered for the new branch.

Submissions can be made to:

FREEPOST PO Consultation

or

consulatation@postoffice.co.uk

I received many representations from constituents when this branch closed in 2009 and I hope that the Post Office’s proposals will be welcomed, with a new branch situated on Lark Lane later on the year.