Anyone who has looked at the budget proposals by the current “caring” council can’t fail to notice that it hits  the education, and I would suggest the welfare, of the most vulnerable children in Swindon.

Eight out of the twenty proposals listed on the budget proposal web page of Swindon Borough Council are educationally based and are targeted at those with either emotional or educational difficulties.  For example:

Review of supported living for those with learning disabilities
and
Review of Learning Disability care packages

These two reviews could potentially save £563,000 according to the figure it is either going to set out.

Even with the best case scenario coming from the review this is going to do one of two things.

1. Remove completely the service from any number of current clients .
2. Set the service on a course that will inevitably lead to the closure.

I say this because it doesn’t take a genius to see that taking this much funding out of any facility can do nothing but damage the infrastructure.

I can hear response from my living room:  So Where Would You Make the Cuts?

This may not be the most popular solution but I suggest that this Council look at themselves to find the answers.  For the past 10 years they have blamed the previous labour Council for the cuts, failing services etc.  At no time have they taken any responsibility for problems of their own making.

Four of the senior members of council cabinet are accountants, yet none of them saw the problems of giving a £400,000 wi-fi project to a company with no experience in the field. On top of that they failed to notice that despite the fact that the company had received over half of the total funding there was no progress at all.

Finally, whilst the company was in the throes of bankruptcy they rubber stamped a further £200,000 payment.

This is just one case where there appears to be a problem that is nothing to do with the previous labour administration. I am not privy to all of the transactions made by this administration over the past ten years but I would ask how many more of these amazing failures might one find if we looked a little closer?

Swindon Borough Council has been accused by Swindon’s Labour Group Leader of letting down the town’s young children after proposing more than £150,000 worth of cuts to Swindon’s children’s centres. These cuts were part of the administration’s budget proposals back in November and will be on top of the £50K cut from Swindon’s Sure Start this year.

The Conservative administration’s proposals include making cuts of more than £40,000 to the Robert Le Kyng and the Penhill/Pinehurst Children’s Centres and cuts of more than £8.500 to Children’s centres in places like Freshbrook, Dorcan, Stratton and Drove Road.

These Tories proposed cuts to Swindon’s children centres will be a huge worry to families in places like Freshbrook, Dorcan, Eastcott and Penhill, whose children’s centres are receiving cuts.

SureStart is a universal service for our town’s young families and any cuts to this service are depriving families of this essential support they deserve.

Unlike Labour, who have created and defended the many excellent children’s centres across our town, the Tories do not prioritise young people.

As Labour councillors and representatives of this town, we will stand up for our children and fight this lack of investment in their future. It is a shame that the Tories both locally and nationally are not doing the same.

Tories Proposed Sure Start Cuts in 2012/13

On Wednesday the House of Lords makes a choice. They could wave the government’s dangerous NHS plans through to the next stage. Or they could insist on proper scrutiny and big changes to protect our health service.

It could come down to one or two votes. Together we can help tip the balance. If we show the Lords that the public want them to put Lansley’s plans under the microscope, we can convince wavering Lords to stand up to government pressure and vote the right way.

• These changes weren’t in any manifestos and the public has never had a chance to vote on them.
• These changes weren’t given proper scrutiny in the House of Commons so we need the House of Lords to look at them properly.

An urgent, people-powered petition can show the Lords that huge numbers of us want them to protect the NHS. Please add your name now by clicking here.

David Cameron has made much of  ’Broken Britain’ and he has attempted  to blame  Labour, pretending that somehow it was the “over funding” of services that were at the root of it. If Labour were the architects of anything it was how to build families back up from the years of deprivation left over from the Thatcher and Major disaster of 18 years of Tory government.

Surestart is there to give children a sure footing as they make their first steps in life. Labour did not tinker at the edges they had a grand plan some 3,500 Surestart Centres Swindon is fortunate to have 14 of these centres. The centres are more than just a vital public service they put vitality back into the community by helping children and families. This vitality is an investment in the future it is not a luxury child minding service for yummy mummies, it is a tried and tested formula. With 10 years under its belt and hundreds of thousands of children benefiting from them, Surestart Centres are giving children a better start in life. David Cameron himself said of Surestart:

The point is that we support Sure Start, we will keep Sure Start. (Telegraph 11/1/10)

That is why we are shocked to hear that funding to Swindon’s Surestart Centres is being cut by up to 33% . Penhill will bear the brunt of  the cuts and it has caused shock in Penhill as people are outraged by what the Libdem Conservative Coalition is doing. The Tories may lead the coalition, but without the support of the Libdems there would be no coalition government and no cuts.  Cllr David Renard speaking to the Swindon Advertiser did not do anything to calm users  fears by dispelling the rumour, in fact he added to it when he said :

“There is a rumour of a third cut in the provision but I don’t think it will look as drastic as that. Until we have worked through everything we are not in a position to be specific”.

Cllr Renard admitted that Penhill was a flagship centre:

“The SureStart centre in Penhill was one of the first ones the previous government set up and set up with an extremely generous amount of ring fenced money as it was one of the flagships of the programme,”

So why cut it?  Only Tories would downgrade a flagship what they hope to do is to shave funds from each Surestart Centre so that they do not have to close any.  Making a flagship service into a skeleton service will do nothing for the 1000+ children using them in Swindon. This is heartless it is nothing more than a sham they do not want to close one centre, but will let them wither away. It is nothing less than political  vandalism of a vital service. A cruel cut that will hit thousands of Swindon  children now and in future.

Also affected are Childrens Centres in Penhill, Goddard Park, Westcott St, Freshbroom, Drove Rd, Gorsehill, Middleleaze, Eldene, Stratton, Highworth, Croft and Abbeymeads.

Please contact us with your support and leave a comment below…

Fay Howard, Councillor for Parks and Labour Spokesperson for Children and Youth Services;  Steve Wakefield, Councillor Toothill & Westlea;  Paul Baker, Councillor Penhill.

I’m delighted to have been selected as Labour Candidate for Eastcott in the Borough elections on May 5th 2011.  I have lived in Eastcott Ward for 14 years and all my three children are schooled locally. I have lived in Swindon for 42 years, and was educated in the state system. Swindon has ensured that I have been able to run my own business and provide for my family. I have been a self employed IT consultant for 12 years working in the public and private sector.

Read the full story

This week Government informed  local authorities of their funding settlements, and the Council hailed this as  “better than expected” – with cuts of ‘only’ 2.4%. However the Eric Pickles’ percentages are based on overall Council income – including income from Council Tax.  The ‘formula grant’ from Government to Swindon is actually being cut by more than 19% over 2 years.

Read the full story

The Conservatives have a majority on Swindon Borough Council, and democracy allows the party with the most votes to put through its policies or to achieve its political will.I am not contesting that principle in fact I am a supporter of the democratic process. What I object to is when the majority party are not listening at best and at worse rubbishing alternatives to their own ideas. I down right object to the majority party not listening to the people of Swindon or involving them more in the democratic process. In particular when it comes to cuts especially of the magnitude that the Conservatives are bringing down on the ordinary people of Swindon.

Labour councillors are and will continue to hold the majority party to account for their decisions and scrutinise their policies, and actions, more than ever over the coming months. The budget season is upon us and by February 2011 the Conservatives will have to confront everyone of us in Swindon with their package of cuts. They are telling us that they are going to cut money from budgets and that this will improve services?  Are they boasting  that they will improve services by cutting them?

No matter how slippery the Conservatives  are in spinning their cuts I have difficulty swallowing  such codswallop!  Along with my fellow Labour councillors I will be scrutinising the finished Conservative  budget carefully when it is presented in the new year. The people of   Toothill & Westlea and the rest of Swindon need to know exactly what Conservative majority democracy actually holds in store for them when April 2011 comes around and the new Conservative “petty pocket style” services begin operating.

It is not just Labour councillors who are concerned Dr Maggie Atkinson, Children’s Commissioner who visited Swindon’s Youth Services Provison at the Platform in July has voiced her concerns about local spending cuts. Youth Services and Connexions staff in Swindon are facing cuts of 60% and are still waiting to be told how this will impact on the important front-line services they provide to young people.

I think that Cllr Rod Bluh and his conservative majority are about to ride roughshod over the objections raised to their too deep and too fast cuts. Labour and the people of Swindon will not be acquiescent in allowing the dismantling  of public services on a scale such as we are about to witness.

Join Labour and help us with the fight back, vote Labour to show your disapproval of conservative cuts and if  you can help us in anyway to halt the dismantling of Swindon’s Public Sevices please feel free to check the contacts page or send an email to swindon-labour@gmail.com.

Link here to Steve Wakefield’s blog.

Stephanie Excell, a Tory Councillor for Moredon has resigned from Swindon Borough Council.  She took this principled step because of cuts being made in services for the vulnerable.  There will be a by-election on 4th November … Read the full story

The Swindon Advertiser reported recently that only 18 people had commented on where the proposed Council cuts should fall.  Residents are being asked to chose between cuts in play services, Connections services, Swindon direct, Country Ground fitness services, daycare services and  supported employment.  But why are these the only cuts being consulted on – when we know much more is planned (libraries, care-homes, road-maintenance, sure-start, rubbish disposal, youth services etc).

Read the full story