As we approach budget time a few thoughts.

It is generally accepted that this years budget will be the toughest for a generations, from all angles, the Governments,The economy and for the ordinary person in the street – directly or indirectly or both.

My hopes for this budget will be that he re-invigorates personal spending, frees up disposable income and thus eases the pressure on those struggling to meet bills and mortgages etc. That means personal tax cuts.

Despite what some think now is also the time to introduce greater environmental taxation. remember the Lib Dem green tax switch plans - there has never been a better time for that.

And business is struggling, especially small business, so lets reduce the burden on them and help small businesses keep their heads above the water.

My fears are that the Government will be blinded by the need for a General Election next June and may even be thinking of a snap election before that, so may well seek to offer ludicrous bribe giveaways to enhance their prospects. Enhance their chances, but further damage the economy. Short term political gain against damage to long term recovery prospects.

What will they go for? Well clearly in part the answers will reveal how desperate this Labour Government is and also how bankrupt the Treasury is ? Will they get stuck into the problems the country faces in this crisis or will it be a cop out? All will be revealed soon.  

Unemployment in Bury has risen again thi month to 4248 o Job Seekers Allowance, a rise of 15.5% from January to February 09. Even more alarming is the fact that unemploymentin Bury has now risen a staggering 78.9% over the past year ie since February 2008.

Young people seeking work are also suffering. Among the 16-24 year olds, 1476 are unemployed in Bury. That’s a rise of 18.6% in the month January to February 2009 and 63.9% over the past year.

Other Unemployment headlines:

• The total number of jobseeker’s allowance claimants stood at 72,783 (4.5% of the working age population, above the national rate of 3.9%). January’s figures represent  a ninth straight month-on-month rise in the claimant count, a 12.5% increase (8,100 claimants) on January, and a 69.6% increase (29,878 claimants) on February 2008. However, yet again, the increase in JSA claimants in GM over the last month has been less than the UK increase (13.8%).
• Long-term unemployment (those claiming JSA for over 6 months) increased by 36.6% over the year – a greater rate than nationally (30.7%) or regionally (30.6%).
• The youth unemployment count (those aged 16-24) increased by 64.1% over the year (9,405 claimants), but this was at a lower rate than the UK (67.9%).
• The number of reported vacancies has increased significantly this month, to 17,533 – a 187.0% increase on the month, yet a decrease of 35.3% on the year. Vacancies have increased significantly across most occupations and sectors.

The figures are detailed in the monthly ”Unemployment Monitor” which can be read in detail here  unemployment-monitor-march-2009.pdf

Thousands of people in Bury will be taken out of income tax altogether by new tax proposals launched by the Liberal Democrats. And thousands more will see their income tax bill slashed by £700 a year. 

The plans were launched by Party Leader Nick Clegg on 20^th April who said that they would boost family budgets battered by rising food, power and transport prices. The plans call for the personal tax allowance to be raised to £10,000.

Vic D’Albert, Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Bury South said, “Thousands of families on low income in Bury will benefit from this tax cut. They will be lifted out of income tax altogether.  

“People earning over £10,000 will pay £700 less income tax a year, paid for by ending the loopholes and tax avoidance schemes used by the wealthy and big corporations. 

Richard Baum, Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Bury North added, “Ordinary people are struggling because of the recession. Now is the time to make a far reaching and permanent change to the tax system that benefits those on low and middle incomes. Liberal Democrats want to see more money left in the pockets of ordinary people rather than taken away by the Government. 

“Here in Bury Liberal Democrats will be going into the general election committed to a lasting income tax cut.”

In response to anger, shock and dismay from many local residents your Holyrood Councillors (myself, Cllr Tim Pickstone and Cllr Wilf Davison) have organised a Public Meeting.

The meeting will be on monday, April 27th from 7.00pm at Church House on St.Margarets Church opposite the Church.

We want to take the opportunity to hear your views, update you on what we’ve done so far , what we’re planning and to share any further information we have.

We will have posters, leaflets and petitions available. See you there. 

This was the fortnight that…

·         Gordon Brown’s key aide’s plans to smear senior Tories and their families were exposed [more]

·         And Gordon Brown eventually accepted responsibility [more]

·         The Home Secretary came under pressure following the collapse of the case against Damian Green MP [more]

·         A DNA pioneer attacked the government for storing the DNA of innocent people [more]

·         The Chancellor admitted that his previous economic forecasts were wildly optimistic [more]

·         The CBI attacked the government’s environmental policy [more]

·         Two organisations criticised the government’s ‘knee jerk’ crime and prison policies [more]; [more]

·         A teachers’ union called for a boycott of SATs [more] and adopted a Lib Dem policy [more]

·         A high profile Tory MEP branded the NHS a “mistake” [more]

·         A former Tory councillor was jailed for a year for abusing his expenses privileges [more]

·         Vince Cable published a “lucid and eloquent” book on the recession to positive reviews [more]

Over the last fortnight we learnt that…

·         The UK economy will not recover from the recession until 2012 [more]

·         A bailed-out bank will cut a further 4,500 UK jobs [more]

·         Unemployment will reach 3.2m by 2010 [more]

·         UK industrial production is falling at the fastest rate in four decades [more]

·         Car sales have fallen 30.5% in the last year [more]

·         The government have overpaid the Irish health service – possibly by €750m in the last five years [more]

·         Cost-cutting in the NHS is responsible for 4,000 blunders a year and putting up to 1m patients at risk [more]

·         The Treasury will be left with a £39bn public sector spending gap by 2015 [more]

·         Two thirds of small businesses feel they are not getting enough government support [more]

·         Three ministers have claimed their second home allowances while living in grace-and-favour apartments [more]; [more]; [more]

·         The leader of the Green Party thinks flying to Spain is as bad as stabbing someone in the street [more]

Over the last fortnight the Liberal Democrats…

·         Criticised the governments plans for a new generation of nuclear power plants [more]

·         Rejected government proposals to dock alcoholics’ benefits as ‘inhumane’ [more]

·         Dismissed the government’s new electric car policy as a ‘gimmick’ [more]

·         Uncovered the fact that the NHS is paying the government £81m at a rate of up to 5.6% [more]

·         Published research showing that 4 patients a day die in mental health trusts [more]

·         Revealed that the number of anaphylactic shock cases has doubled in ten years [more]

·         Found that the government’s VAT cut is principally benefiting the rich [more] 

·         Discovered that the dole is worth less now than in the previous two recessions [more]

·         Condemned a proposed 30% price hike by water companies [more]

In order to take forward the “Love Prestwich” Village Centre strategy, a further retail capacity study has been undertaken to ensure that the key recommendations of the Love Prestwich Village Strategy are based on the most up-to-date possible assessment of the capacity and need for new retail development within Prestwich.

This new evidence, the Prestwich Town Centre Retail Capacity Assessment, has now been prepared by Drivers Jonas and can be viewed by following the link below:

Download Prestwich Town Centre Retail Capacity Assessment document (1mb 127 page pdf)
Visit the Prestwich Regeneration page (see menu left) for a summary and more information.

I am pleased to see that the Home Secretary has agreed to review The Regulatory and investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) which has been used by councils to spy on resident,businesses and staff alike and has acknowledged that they have often been used for trivial offences.

Unfortunately she hasn’t seen fit to review the processes employed and feels that they  can remain at the discretion of the Councils or Police without independent outside checking/authorisation  ie by a magistrate. So in essence my key concerns remain about transparency, accountability and justification. But it’s a start!

Read more here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8003123.stm

The list of events for this inaugural Prestwich Festival has just been announced.

Go to the festival page listed on the left of the web page for the full detailed listing. But I am pleased to announce that an incredible 45 events are scheduled from May 17th with the Clough day to June 21st with Prestwich Carnival.

A programme is to be delivered across Prestwich shortly (if you’d like to help deliver it please get in touch).

I would take this opportunity to thank David Curtis and Carran O’Grady and others such as Ruth Shedwick for all their input and the massive effort required to reach this point.

It’s now down to you, the great Prestwich public, to show you like the idea and get out and support these events. Remember you will be supporting local charities and voluntary organisations, local businesses and local talent. And have fun!

A new planning application has been received which is within Holyrood Ward (Prestwich) as detailed below:-

Application number: 51209     Type of application: Full     

Date Registered: 15/04/2009

Applicant: Governors of Prestwich High School Arts College
Location: PRESTWICH HIGH SCHOOL, HEYS ROAD, PRESTWICH, M25 1JZ
Proposal: AUDITORIUM EXTENSION WITH LINK TO EXISTING BUILDING

Plans will be available to view on the Council’s website within 2 working days from today. Should you require further details please contact the case officer: Tom Beirne on: 0161 253 5361 or any of your local councillors.

We will be happy to receive your comments and advise on how you can formally comment.

Sir,I read with interest the response from Bury Council in last weeks Bury Times to the concerns raised by myself and Unions regarding the use of powers to spy on staff, businesses and local residents.

The trouble with the Councils limited response is that it offers no assurances, no names, just  a big fat – trust us we know what we’re doing. And that really isn’t good enough.

The powers the Council are using to justify their surveillance operations may well be justified ultimately. However without any transparency and democratic accountability we don’t know that.   

So we are left with yet more questions, Who is the senior officer that approves surveillance? Who are the team of officers that vet the process? Who carries out the surveillance, Staff or outside contractors? If contractors are used, how much do they cost the Council? And perhaps most pertinently, do the means justify the end? In other words how many of these instances result in convictions or a result for the Council? 

The problem is the most high profile of the cases so far resulted in an out of court settlement that cost the council thousands of pounds and readers may be interested to know that no report on surveillance operations has ever been scrutinised by a Council Committee involving Councillors. 

I believe the public and staff have a right to know the answers to these and other questions. They have a right to know invasive and quite extreme powers are being used sensitively and prudently and they have a right to know that operations of Bury Council are subject to scrutiny and appropriate checks and balances. It’s time for answers and assurances.

Vic D’Albert

Parliamentary Candidate for Bury South