Once again I am raising this issue, and this time I do it as a result of speaking to one family and hearing of a second who have had personal and painful involvement with them.   Both of the stories relate to children.  In one case a girl was riding her scooter on the path when her front wheel went into one of the deep potholes.  She went over the handle bar and smashed her face into the path resulting in not only cuts and brusies but damage to her jaw which left her unable to eat or speak properly for a number of weeks.
The family only wanted one thing form the council – that they make a proper repair to the path. This was believed to have been done until the recent cold weather got to work, adn the hole is breaking up again.

The second family saw their daughter out on her first bike learning to ride, the wheel again hit a pot hole and this time the girl fell off to her right side cuts and grazes were thankfully all she suffered.  When the family contacted the Council they were told that it would only be repaired as part of an ongoing programme. A few days later a Council employee did come to look at the pothole sprayed a yellow circle around the hole and left, the hole is still there but it does have a pretty halo!!

It is time to stop wasting money on unwanted projects and use taxpayers money on maintain our infrastructure properly.

• Support jobs with money raised from repeating the bank bonus tax – not hold back recovery with the VAT rise and cuts that will put almost one million workers out of their jobs.
• Protect police numbers – not cut them while wasting £100 million on new elected police commissioners.
• Protect your frontline local services – not make unfair cuts which will hit the least well off the most.
• Get the deficit down through strong growth and sensible cuts – not by slashing too far, too fast, and putting your local economy at risk.
• Stand up for young people – not kick away the ladder by tripling tuition fees; scrapping EMAs; cancelling Building Schools for the Future; and slashing school sport

DOWNLOAD THE SWINDON LABOUR MANIFESTO 2011

Voting Stations are open from 7am till 10pm.

Guidance on voting procedure is available from Swindon Borough Council.

Labour Candidates and their contact numbers are:

1. Abbey Meads – Mark Viner (07811 142 413).
2. Central – Derique Montaud (07711 556 261).
3. Covingham & Nythe – Peter Watts (01793 529163).
4. Dorcan – Ged Meheran (07989 918 352).
5. Eastcott – Chris Watts (07776 238 327).
6. Freshbrook & Grange Park –  Neil Heavens (07817 262 258).
7. Gorsehill & Pinehurst – John Ballman (01793 694 584).
8. Haydon Wick – Tim Page (07717 669944).
9. Highworth – Anthea Beaumont (01793 762 517).
10. Moredon – Jenny Millin (07879 023 903).
11. Old Town - Cindy Matthews (01793 644 388).
12. Parks – Fay Howard (07952 350 656).
13. Penhill – Paul Baker (01793 334 598).
14. Shaw & Nine Elms – Michael Heal (07810 872 849).
15. St Margaret – Nigel Chalk (01793 346165).
16. St Philips – Joe Tray (07813 170 202).
17. Toothill – Steve Wakefield (07775 911 922).
18. Walcot – Ellen Osa (07577 923 694) .
19. Wroughton – Geraint Day (07753 957 565).
20. Western – Des Moffatt (07709 066 707).

Polling Stations locations are available from THIS LINK:

To use this link you’ll need to know your Polling District. Check on your card – the Districts in each Ward are as follows:

1. Abbey Meads - AM1-AM4.
2. Central – CE1-CE4.
3. Covingham & Nythe – CN1-CN4.
4. Dorcan – DN1-DN4.
5. Eastcott – ET1-ET5.
6. Freshbrook & Grange Park –  FG1-FG4.
7. Gorsehill & Pinehurst – GH1-GH3.
8. Haydon Wick – HG1-HG5.
9. Highworth – HW1-HW5.
10. Moredon – MD1-MD6.
11. Old Town - TL1-TL5.
12. Parks – PK1-PK4.
13. Penhill – PH1-PH4.
14. Shaw & Nine Elms – SE1-SE4.
15. St Margaret – SM1-SM3.
16. St Philips – SP1-SP6
17. Toothill – TW1-TW3.
18. Walcot – WA1-WA3.
19. Wroughton – WC1-WC5.
20. Western – WE1-WE4.

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OFFER YOUR HELP IN NORTH SWINDON OR SOUTH SWINDON

When did Swindon Borough Council know about this change?  The Swindon Family Information Service just passes people looking for childminders back to the national service! 

This is a message fro the  Swindon Sure Start Partnership sent on 25th March 2011.

Family Information Directory Online

“We have been advised by the Department for Education at short notice that the national online childcare finder service available on Directgov at http://childcarefinder.direct.gov.uk/childcarefinder will no longer be funded by central government and will close on 31st March 2011. This means that parents will no longer be able to find information using this site. Parents who look for this service will be directed to the Family Information Service at their Local Authority.”

This seems to be part of closure of the national Family Information Directory.  This was an extensive online signposting which aggregated data from local authorities and national organisations in England and then published it on a range of websites to enable parents,  families and those who work with them to search for information about childcare and family services.  It contained pages with assistance for mums, dads, grandparents, lone-parents, parents and families of disabled children.

How can the Government pull the plug on this vital service, with almost no notice, and at a time which local councils clearly cannot provide a replacement?

The cut of 30% in funding for Surestart means  that their website simply cannot provide this service.

Clearly the anti-cuts protests of 400,000 demonstrators in London yesterday are falling not only on deaf ears but on uncaring ears.

Mike Heal, Labour Candidate, Shaw and Nine Elms.

As  a parent of children who attend Shaw Ridge I know firsthand the problems there has been in getting either up or down Cartwright Drive during these times.

But,

The solution is no solution.  Double yellow lines on both sides of the road from the Roundabout to 1/4 the distance of Cartwright Drive does nothing, if anything it compounds the problem. From the point at which the yellow lines stop the residential housing starts. How long do the Council envisage it will be before those residents start complaining about the fact that is it they who suffer as during these times they cannot either get on off their own drives as parents park there to drop off or collect? The congestion has simply moved up the road and is now outside of residents houses. The bus still has to try and negotiate the myriad of parked cars on both sides of the road rather than on one side and to add to the confusion there is the problem of residential access.

I accept that this is the simplest and without doubt the cheapest solution, but for those who live on Cartwright Drive it certainly isn’t the best solution

With a little forethought and a small part of the 106 monies the council could have and should have, widened the road from the pelican crossing to the roundabout using up the grass verge that buses, cars and lorries have been churning up for the past 20+ years.

A simple extension to the width of the road at less than the 1/4rf distance currently covered in double yellow lines would allow a safe double line of traffic to flow whilst allowing the parents to drop off and pick up their children from Brookfield safely.

A quick fix, a Council who like their masters in Whitehall act before they think to score points with the electorate. I am sure that Councillor Perkins, Conservative member for Shaw and Nine elms will along with his fellow conservative councillors trumpet the fact that they have resolved the long running issue of parking at Brookfield School, fixed just in time for the forth coming local elections?

Problem is, it isn’t and they haven’t!  As long as the residents of Cartwright Drive have to put up with traffic cues outside their homes twice a day every school day of the year the problem will persist. Until the council puts it’s money where it’s mouth is and really addresses this problem with the road widening scheme then, all the double yellow lines in the World aren’t going to make a pennies worth of difference.

Mike Heal, Labour Candidate Shaw & Nine Elms

The Government’s Social Security Advisory Committee made these criticisms in a response (published 24.2.2011) to the consultation on DLA changes.  The Committee backs simplification of the benefits system and welcomes the principle of giving disabled people greater choice by introducing a Personal Independence Payment.  However, it is “concerned that the aim of reducing the number of working-age claimants of DLA by 20% appears to be driving the need for reform of the benefit“.

It calls for “clarity” about the why the change is being made andd asks whether the Government’s aim is to “reduce numbers on DLA, reduce the length of time people receive it, improve its targeting or to achieve something else“.  It also says that “the proposal to remove the mobility component from people in residential care should not go ahead. This measure will substantially reduce the independence of disabled people who are being cared for in residential accommodation, which goes against the stated aim of the reform of DLA to support ‘disabled people to lead independent and active lives’.”

The Welfare Reform Bill, published last week indicates that Government is looking to cut annual spending on DLA by “2.1bn from more than £12bn.

The Advisory Committee points out that research for the Department for Work and Pensions, published last summer, found conclusively that DLA made “a real difference” in assisting disabled people to manage their lives and contribute to society.

These criticisms echo my worries over Government’s plans in these 7 areas.

1. Scrapping the DLA:  and replacing it with the Personal Independence Payment will include a new assessment system designed to cut the number of claimants by 20%, removing the allowance from 360,000 people.
2. Scrapping the mobility component of DLA:  which pays for transport for publicly-funded care home residents and children in residential special schools will affect 80,000 people.
3. Closing the Independent Living Fund:  will abolish top-ups to Council social care packages.
4. Cuts local council social care budgets: are expected to average around 4.7% in 2011-12.  This has been done by increasing eligibility thresholds or means-tested charges, both of which will hit disabled people’s access to care and income levels.
5. Cuts in the Supporting People budgets: on average Councils are planning cuts of around 17% this year.  In Swindon it is £586,000 in 2011/12  and affects sheltered housing schemes for people with learning difficulties or mental health problems.
6. Cuts in incapacity benefit payments: will affect around 1.5m claimants following reassessment of their fitness to work using the “controversial work capability assessment”.  The Government expects 23% to of current claimants to be deemed fit for work.
7. Cuts to housing benefit:  an estimated two million disabled people live in the private rented sector and many will be affected by the cuts to the benefit, including capping payments and cutting housing benefit levels by 10% for those who have been on jobseeker’s allowance (and many more disabled people will be on JSA due to point 6 above).

Compare this with the record of the Labour Government in these 7 areas:

1. Legislated to protect people who may be unable to make decisions for themselves, through the Mental Capacity Act which provides safeguards to help people make their own decisions about their daily lives and to be supported to do so where they need that.
2. Gave new rights to disabled people through the Disability Discrimination Act, and has signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
3. Made families with disabled children a priority, with a total of £770 million in new funding for local authorities and primary care trusts to support disabled children and their families, to transform short break services, and to improve disabled children’s services and children’s palliative care.
4. Helped the employment rate for working age disabled people to increase from from 42 per cent in 1997 to 47 per cent in 2010, with the gap between the rates for disabled people and the general working age population decreasing from 32 per cent to 26 per cent.
5. Increased the Access to Work budget from £15 million in 1994/95 to £69 million in 2008/09 and £81 million in 2009/10.  Access to Work helped around 35,000 disabled people take up or stay in work in 2009/10.
6. Introduced free nationwide off-peak travel on local buses for the over-60s and eligible disabled people in England.
7. Established the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to act as a strong, independent champion to tackle discrimination and promote equality for all.

Under a Labour Government, regardless of the cuts required the disabled would have been protected.

Under a Coalition Government disabled people pay the price for the bankers deficit.

Mike Heal, Labour Candidate, Shaw & Nine Elms

When first I read of this in the Advertiser I  saw the benefit of providing a place to accommodate the suggested 60 pupils.  This is a much better option than sending them to other schools throughout Swindon.  As a teacher I would be the first to campaign for keeping a local group of students together.  The site at Croft Sports Centre seemed ideal, a temporary measure which is  suitable until the permanent school opens in September 2011

But this appears not to be the whole story! We find out that it is not 60 pupils but 11 pupils, and the cost is reported as being between 3 and 5 times the cost of moving the children? As we have seen, our Government’s ideas make it onto the statute books regardless of the need for full facts. Now it seems our Council does exactly the same thing!

A decision taken without having the full facts in front of them? And a decision to spend between £65,000 to £101,000 on preparation and staffing for just 11 pupils, even though the proposed cost of transferring the 60 pupils,  has been calclulated to be  £21,00o?

We stand on the verge of cuts, to our Sure Start programme, and possible job losses for hardworking council staff , necessary to meet the cost cutting measures imposed from Central Government,  yet it seems the Conservative Council can waste between £44,000 to £80,000 on a scheme  for 11 pupils.

Half baked and partially thought through proposals, it would appear that Swindons Conservative Council copies the Conservative Government and stick to a decision regardless of the validity and necessity of such an action. We are left with one major question: how many other approved projects are there waiting to come to light which will prove as wasteful as this one, while the Council goes on with its cuts and job losses?

Why? Well, according to David Cameron and  Nick Clegg there has indeed been job creation,  and this will continue through the private sector.   Most sources agree that there have been 200,000 jobs created since the election, but the truth is only 6% of those jobs are full time. This means 12,000 jobs out of the 200,000 jobs created are full time, the rermainder are either seasonal or part-time.

The cost to the exchequer has and will continue to be so great that the government simply cannot continue with this course.   Those who are creating the part-time  jobs are saving on wages, income tax, national insurance and pension payments.  While those seeking work are told take the part-time job or run the risk of  possibly  lossing their  benefits.

With this sort of distortion the Government can claim that the unemployment figures have hardly changed, and that despite the cost cutting, jobs are out there for those wanting to work.

Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg need to wake up and realise that their policies are not working, and that they are dragging this country in bankruputcy. Continuing to blame the last Labour government for the situation we find ourselves in no longer has credibility.  People in Swindon can see for themselves that its the poorly paid who are paying for the recklessness of financiers, while the Tory party’s buddies in big business and the Banking sector take ever greater bonuses and salaries.

Before our  Borough Council goes further with their proposed cuts they need start complaining to the Government about the true cost of redundancies in Swindon.

Mike Heal, Labour Candidate Shaw and Nine Elms

Last October, Mr Gove claimed that children are leaving school unable to read and write properly and ignorant of the nation’s history. It was then that he called for an urgent shake-up to prevent the UK from being left behind by other countries.

In 2007 the Labour Government a  introduced a series of secondary school curriculum reforms that saw some historical figures such as Winston Churchill no longer singled out. Teaching reforms which allows teachers more flexibility over what they teach.

As the then Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, the body responsible at the time argued;  “Teachers do not need to be told to mention pivotal figures in history lessons”.

The coalition government argues that there should be a core knowledge that pupils should have to take their place as “educated members of society”?

Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said on the  BBC Radio 4′s Today programme: “The fact is, we know that children and young people are successful. Some children leave school with qualifications that Michael Gove doesn’t recognise, but the fact is, generally speaking, people are very successful. What we need is a comprehensive, good local school for every child.”

Mr Gove says he wants a curriculum that refrained from telling teachers how to teach, but now he is telling them what to teach in core subjects. He denied he would be coming up with prescriptive lists of names and dates.  He told the Today’s programme: “I’m saying that we need to have facts in the curriculum. I want there to be core curriculum content – facts, knowledge. I want teachers to decide what that is. Parents need to know what children are learning, both so they can hold schools to account and so they can play their proper part in helping.”

For all the talk of giving freedom to teachers to teach the coalition Government have shown once again that, they know best and as far as education stands at least, a Top Down approach is “Simply the Best”.

As any parent will tell you, our children are fully aware of our Nation’s History. This is yet another way of this Government using the fear factor. Claiming, failing educational standards as a way of introducing greater curriculum control. The next step will be a greater need for testing?

Michael Heal, Labour Candidate for Shaw and Nine Elms

At 16 I joined the army, and after 9 years service went to university and became a teacher of Music. In 2000 as the officer for Lifelong Learning for Reading Borough Council I saw the need for greater community cohesion.  In 2001 I had an accident which created the need for a wheelchair, and I was forced due to illness to stop working in 2005. I understand the difficulties of being the unseen or being a part of the minority.

For me education and community cohesion is indivisible, my first task will be to work with our local groups to develop community opportunities for every age and capability.

As the Government sets about squeezing us in our pockets, and cutting funding to local councils and charities, community cohesion as never been so important as now.  Help and support for those less well off, a place to meet others over a cup of tea or coffee or place for our teenagers to go, a local chance to develop your IT skills regardless of age or ability.  It might seem like a dream but I helped make it work in Reading:  I can make it work in Shaw and Nine Elms and the rest of Swindon.

Michael Heal, Labour Candidate.

As a councillor, I would be committed to helping everyone in the community to get proper representation from their local councillors, and to actively taking up issues on their behalf.

Carol Heavens