Bury’s NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) used a verbal update reported through several Twitter posts to inform residents that the two Walk-In Centres in bury (Bury and Prestwich) are not closing on 31 March 2018.

Residents may recall that the consultation on the closure of both centres was ‘paused’ earlier this year by the CCG, following new guidance from the Government on urgent care.

The guidance requires that each NHS area (i.e. the whole of Bury) has an Urgent Care Centre to deal with some of the more minor issues which do not warrant a visit to A&E. Bury is going get one, located next to A&E at Fairfield Hospital. (It is worth asking whether there will be similar provision at North Manchester and Salford Royal which are the A&Es people in the southern end of Bury tend to use.

They then go on to say: “In addition, it is proposed that initially, three integrated health and social care hubs be developed located in Bury, Radcliffe and Prestwich to offer a range of services, including GP led walk-in services.”

“In the meantime, the two current Walk-in Centre services in Bury and Prestwich will continue to provide existing services beyond March 2018, whilst the future model for urgent care is developed.”

Good news or not?
Yes – the Walk-In Centre will be remaining open after 31 March 2018 while the new facility is developed.

Uncertain – because we don’t know what ‘including GP-led walk-in services’ means – it could just mean that there is some provision for ‘just turn up’ GP appointments, which is a welcome thing, but it does depend how many these are, and at what times. Many people’s GP’s are not based in these health centres.

No – the current 7 day a week, nurse-led open access service that people find so helpful seems certain to be finishing.

The CCG will receive a detailed report at it’s January meeting, and hopefully some of these questions and uncertainties will be addressed then. We’re going to ask for a meeting with the CCG so please let us know what queries and issues you would like to discuss with then…

Last week David Davis announced that Parliament will get a vote on the final Brexit the government comes back with.

On the face of it, this seems like a major concession. But the reality is it simply isn’t good enough.

First of all, David Davis has said that even if Parliament votes down the deal, the UK will still leave the EU. This means MPs are essentially being told to take it or leave it.

Secondly, the government is agreeing to give MPs a say on the final Brexit deal but not the public.

Imposing a Brexit deal on the British people without giving them a say would be theft of democracy.

The Liberal Democrats will continue to fight to ensure that the people, not politicians, get the final say, with a chance to exit from Brexit and stay in the EU.

The people voted to leave the EU, they should get to decide whether to accept the deal the government has negotiated.

If they reject the government’s Brexit deal, they must have the option to stay in the EU.

Last week, Vince Cable set out the alternative Liberal Democrat approach to the budget and the problems with the Conservative one. 

Next Wednesday, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, will present his Budget to the House of Commons.

He will attempt to balance demands to increase public sector spending with the Government’s own strictly imposed fiscal rules.

Their ideological commitment to constraining capital spending on much needed new infrastructure threatens jobs and the country’s long-term prospects.

With incomes squeezed, prices rising and an unacceptable increase in the number of working families struggling to cope, the Conservatives can no longer call themselves the party of economic credibility.

In a speech to entrepreneurs last week, I set out a Lib Dem economic strategy to deliver a modern, forward-looking, outward-facing economy which will offer opportunities to young people and higher living standards for everyone.

Underpinning this vision is, of course, our belief that Britain should remain a member of the European Union and that the hard Brexit being pursued by Theresa May’s Conservatives can only deliver damaging results for our economy.

A Liberal Democrat budget would commit to the following:

• Increase capital spending, particularly on transport infrastructure and large-scale housebuilding. Borrowing to finance productive investment at very low-interest rates is financially responsible and good for the economy.
• Put a penny on each pound included for income tax to raise £6bn a year for the NHS
• Introduce a lifelong learning endowment to enable every 18 year old to fund their own training and professional development
• Reform business tax and clampdown on tax havens; including through a public register of beneficial ownership for Overseas Territories

I believe that these are essential actions that we need to take right now to address the weaknesses in our economy and to prepare us for the future.

To give hope to Britain, a serious strategy for growth and prosperity is needed. In today’s politics only the Liberal Democrats are offering it.

Talking about periods apparently is still taboo. In fact we have had to wait until this month, in 2017 for the first ad ever in the UK to show a hand pouring a test-tube of blood-coloured liquid onto a sanitary towel, in lieu of the standard sterile-blue.

The advert, which forms part of a new campaign called ‘Blood Normal’, attempts to get rid of the embarrassment around the ‘Aunt Flo’ after a recent survey found that nine out of ten women attempt to hide the fact they are on their period, and 56% of girls said they would rather be bullied at school than talk to their parents about periods.

For something half the population experience on a monthly basis that is ludicrous.

For the majority of us they are an inconvenience, for example feeling we have to take our entire handbag with us to the bathroom at work, the surest tell-tale sign. But for others, particularly girls who have just started menstruating, the embarrassment can be enormous resulting in lost days of schooling and a huge knock to their self-esteem. This is particularly the case for girls from low-income families who might see their parents struggling to make ends meet and feel reluctant to ask them to add sanitary products to the weekly shop.

A survey by Plan International UK found that 1 in 10 girls had been unable to afford sanitary products. The fact that no one talks about this means that it remains hidden. In a country as well-off as Britain this simply shouldn’t be happening. And it can be stopped. We can end period poverty. The truth is it, it wouldn’t even cost a lot, relatively speaking.

That is why ahead of this year’s Budget I am calling on the Government to end period poverty by making sanitary products available for free in schools.

The issue came to light when some teachers in Leeds wrote to a charity, Freedom4Girls, who send sanitary products to girls in Kenya, to ask if they would be able to send some of their donations to West Yorkshire where the teachers had noticed girls were skipping school regularly every month because they couldn’t afford sanitary products. If the girls could go to the school nurse’s office and help themselves to pads or tampons, no questions asked, this problem could be solved immediately. That is why we believe if we could simply get sanitary products into school we would be well on the way to ending period poverty.

This year’s Budget will no doubt have various giveaways for business and investors – those who have a voice – and the money to influence. It is our job to speak for those who are left behind, who feel powerless and voiceless. We are not alone in advocating for a change. Tens of thousands of people have signed petitions calling for the end of period poverty, and it is time that as a party we add our voice, and add it in numbers. Please take a moment now to add your name to our petition here.

There are brilliant charities up and down the country making sure that girls don’t go without and big companies like Bodyform doing their bit to tackle the issue. The Government should be at the forefront, recognising that access to sanitary products are a basic right. Justine Greening looks after both the Education and Equalities brief so should be well appraised of this issue. It is not too late to make a difference, with the Budget coming up on the 22nd November now is the time to crank up the pressure and make it something they can no longer ignore.

Last month was the regular meeting of Bury Council’s Cabinet. This is the meeting of the eight Cabinet members from the ruling Labour Group,  also attended by the two opposition Leaders on the Council – though Labour changed the rules so we couldn’t vote at the meeting earlier in the year.

Councillor Tim Pickstone reports:

The full papers for the meeting are here, the main items which may be of interest to residents included:

Business Rates Discretionary Relief
You may recall a lot of discussion earlier in the year about a review of business rateable values which meant that many businesses were facing increases in Business Rates. The Government announced a relief scheme for small businesses in the March 2017 budget, which is up to local Councils to administer.
Bury will be paying relief to smaller companies with rateable values of less than £100,000. In 2017-18 this will be 60% of any increase in rates, which will be given to people automatically without any need to apply. There are similar but smaller levels of relief in the subsequent three years.

New Neighbourhood Engagement Plan – Implementation
People may (or may not!) have noticed that the Council very quietly abolished ‘Township Forums’ earlier this year. For us this was the Prestwich Township Form which met about four times a year at the Longfield where members of the public could come along and take part in discussions about the local area.
What replaces Township Forums is still being brought into place. As we understand this uses three ways of working:
– online engagement – using a new ‘online tool’ that the Council has paid for. (I asked at the meeting how confident we were that we were going to get members of the public to use a ‘Bury Council’ online tool, rather than the ones we’re all very familiar with to talk about local issues (like Facebook). I remain to be convinced that a Council can do this, but happy to be proved wrong…)
– meetings – ONE a year at a ‘Township’ level – so there is a meeting in Prestwich in November, and meetings at a ‘Ward’ level – no details yet.
– funding for community groups which are allocated either at a public meeting (two across Bury) called ‘The Pitch’, or a small budget to be given for ward councillors to allocate (with very clear rules on what this can be used for). For our area (Holyrood Ward) the three Councillors will work together on a single scheme, and we would want to make sure there was a fair and open process that everyone can see.
Some significant changes in this area of work, and early days to see if it will be an improvement on the Township Forum process.

New Homes to be built in Radcliffe
This item was restricted from the public because of commercial information so I can’t talk about any details, but the basics are have been made public by the Council.Essentially this is the Council building Eight two-bed homes on two current unused ‘garage sites’ in Radcliffe which are owned by the Council.
The properties would be for shared ownership, where a resident buys a share of the property and pays rent on the proportion they don’t own. They can then buy further shares in the property in the future. Our view is that Council’s should play a significant role in making sure that there are homes that people can actually afford to live in. If anything, Bury has been very slow to do this, and 8 new houses is not going to solve very much on its own. We would urge the Council to be more ambitious. Perhaps a better use of its money than buying commercial property outside of Bury…..

Any questions on any of the above – please ask! tim@burylibdems.net

Violent crime has increased by 19% in the last year, figures published today have revealed.

Knife crime was up 26% year-on-year, while overall crimes increased by 13%.

Commenting on the reported rise in violent crime, Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson, said:

“People’s lives are under threat because Theresa May is failing to back Britain’s police.

“These increases in violent crime are frightening and it ought to be government’s first priority to protect the public. Yet with her police cuts, Theresa May has gone soft on crime and is letting the country down.

“Theresa May was the Home Secretary for six years: she ought to understand the needs of the police. Instead, she has left them out in the cold.”

Last week, Councillor Tim Pickstone met with Greater Manchester’s ‘Metro Mayor’ Andy Burnham. Two of Greater Manchester’s Lib Dem Group Leaders (Bury and Stockport) met with the Mayor as part of a six-monthly series of meetings between Lib Dem councillors across Greater Manchester.

Obviously at this first meeting we were unable to raise everything we wanted to raise, but focussed on four issues:

Greater Manchester Strategic Framework
I asked how realistic the Mayor’s aim of ‘less green belt land to be built on’ was going to be – a hugely important issue for people in many parts of Greater Manchester. The Mayor was clear that the position was ‘less’ green belt, not ‘no’ green belt, but that there would still be difficult choices and decisions that had to be made. I also asked about his previous support for increased housing in some of our town centres, particularly smaller town centres, and he said that he was keen to do this as part of a bigger plan to bring ‘life’ back into town centres where these are struggling.

Metrolink and Transport
We asked about Metrolink, and noted the current capacity issues especially on the Bury line. I raised with the Mayor the issue of early morning and late night travel – particularly an issue for people who have jobs that start very early, or finish very late (often some of the less well paid positions) and whether we could look at extending the operating hours of Metrolink or of bus routes. (Metrolink already operates in the night on the airport line.)

Andy Burnham said that there were opportunities with the potential for bus re-regulation to achieve an improved bus network for the county and that there was potential for growth, particularly given that bus usage has fallen by nearly a third in ten years.

Crime – 101 Number Delays
We asked about the significant delays that had been experienced by many people who ring the non-emergency policy number 101. Information secured through Freedom of Information requests had shown that almost a quarter of calls are ‘given up’, with average waits at the time of asking over 12 minutes. It was confirmed that action was being taken to address this.

Greater Manchester Combined Authority
With the new Mayor a lot of new systems are being put in place, with new arrangements for ‘scrutiny’ the Mayor and other bodies being set up at a Greater Manchester level. We called on the Mayor to have transparent process on how representatives of different political parties were included in this process. We also said we were keen as Liberal Democrats to play our full role in the Combined Authority where we can, for example if all-party representation to Government was needed.

If you have any questions, please get in touch.