Update on bin collections

WEST Lancashire Borough Council has released the following updated information regarding bin collections in light of recent bad weather.

As a result of the continuing severe weather, the Borough Council has suspended all refuse and recycling collections until 28 December at the earliest. Residents are asked not to present bins or materials for collection until that date.

If the weather permits, the collection service will resume from Tuesday 28 December as follows:

Tuesday 28 December to Friday 31 December: Every property in the borough will have a collection of grey household waste, even properties that would normally only have a recycling collection. There will be no recycling collections. Residents are asked to present grey bins/bags for collection on their usual day. (Homes which would normally have had a Monday collection will have a Tuesday collection). Extra bags of household waste will be collected. Please continue to separate your materials for recycling – don’t put it in with your grey waste.

Tuesday 4 January to Friday 7 January: The normal collection schedule will resume for household waste and recycling materials but there will be no green bin collections. Residents are asked to present grey bins/ bags and recycling materials for collection on their usual day with the exception of garden waste as there will be no green bin collections. (Homes which would normally have had a Monday collection will have a Tuesday collection). Extra bags of household waste and extra recycling materials will be collected.

Monday 10 January onwards: A full collection service will be provided. Green bins will be collected. Residents are asked to present grey bins/bags and recycling materials for collection on their usual day. Extra bags of household waste or recycling materials will be collected.

If the severe weather continues these schedules may be disrupted further. Residents are asked to be patient if ice or snow does cause more disruption.

Visit the council’s website here for further updates on 4 January 2011.

West Lancs jobless total falls to its lowest level for 2 years

The amount of people looking for work in West Lancashire has fallen to its lowest level for almost two years, new figures reveal.

Data from the Office for National Statistics office shows the amount of people claiming Job Seekers’ Allowance (JSA) fell last month to 2,161 – or 3.7% of the local population.

This figure reverses a steady two year increase which peaked at 4.9% in April 2009. In March this year, the rate was 4.4%.

This decrease is good news and, as I have blogged previously, we need West Lancashire to be a great place to do business and to set up companies. The private sector – small and large businesses – are the ones which will lead the recovery, backed by a reformed public sector focusing on delivering quality, affordable services to residents.

Lack of blogging activity

SORRY I’ve not been blogging here as much recently, but it has been a very hectic few months.

Firstly, I was honoured to fight the Up Holland By Election for the Conservatives, coming second and achieving 40% of the vote. As you can imagine, campaigning for that took up what little spare time I already had, hence the lack of bloggery.

So once that was over, and I’d come back off holiday, the plan was to get back blogging.

Since then, I have been selected as the Conservative candidate for Derby Ward in Ormskirk. If elected, I hope to carry on the good work of Cllr David Swiffen, who sadly passed away recently.

Most of my attention has been focusing on the new campaign blog at www.davidsudworth.co.uk and if you take a look at it you’ll see what I’ve been doing there in the last few weeks.

The plan is naturally to work hard and win Derby Ward, which covers Westhead and the eastern side of Ormskirk, including the hospital, Ormskirk School and Edge Hill.

The response I’ve had so far has been excellent and I hope that by being a real community champion, I can be an effective representative for people in Derby Ward.

So stay tuned, it’s going to be an interesting few months!

Debating public services with Billy Hayes

LAST night I was honoured to be invited by Sefton Democracy Club to take part in a head to head debate with Billy Hayes, General Secretary of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) on the issue of using private investment in public services.

The debate was held at Maghull Town Hall with more than 30 people in the audience. Suffice to say, it was a very lively debate. Billy and I were given five minutes to put our respective cases to the audience, then it was thrown open to the audience in a Question Time format.

My basic argument was that given the parlous state of the country’s finances, it would be foolish to be ideologically opposed to private investment if it meant protecting and enhancing services which so many of us rely on.

The one thing which struck me about comments made from a large number of the audience was how let down they felt by the previous Labour Government. I definitely got the feeling they thought Labour has ‘sold out’ and their 13 years was merely a continuation of Conservative policy.

That is partially true, but not wholly because, as we all know, the last Conservative Chancellor Ken Clarke bequeathed what is widely regarded as a golden legacy to his successor Gordon Brown in 1997. In 2010, all the incoming Coalition Government got from Labour was a note from the outgoing Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liam Byrne, helpfully pointing out that “there is no money left”.

In all, the debate was very good natured and constructive. Afterwards, many people came up to me and said I made a very persuasive speech. It was an excellent experience and I’d like to thank Billy, my co-panellist, and Sefton Democracy Club for inviting me to their event.

I’d highly recommend their debates which are open to everyone. More information can be found about them by visiting http://seftondemocracyclub.blogspot.com/

Private sector growth figure strengthens the Coalition’s position

FIGURES released this week have exposed something of a myth in certain circles that only by throwing more money at the public sector will we see growth.

The Office for National Statistics confirmed that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased 1.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2010, compared with an increase of 0.3 per cent in the previous quarter.

All very good news, and many from the Left have seized on this as a vindication of their stance that the only way to secure the recovery is to carry on pumping money into the public sector.

On the surface, that sounds very convincing, until you scratch beneath that gloss and find out the truth. And the reality is that the public sector contributed 0.1% to the growth figures. So if there had been no public sector growth, the net figure would have still been a very strong showing.

So the Left’s position is not borne out by the facts because if it were, we would have seen a greater contribution to the overall GDP figure from the public sector, especially given the fiscal stimulus.

The reality is that reducing the size of the public sector can, and will, in turn provide some opportunities for the private sector. There is evidence all around us.

For instance, many councils have transferred their housing stock to outside bodies and everyone has reaped the benefits – more investment in housing stock, protected employment rights for housing staff under TUPE agreements, better services for tenants, more opportunity for external funding… the list is endless.

There is a certain myth that reducing public sector investment or making efficiencies will mean a worse service or no service at all. That is of course nonsense.

In many areas of the country, businesses have flourished by taking over the running of council services. Provided the quality of service is maintained, it’s a win-win for everyone – the company created jobs and employment while the strain is taken off the council who don’t have to pay NI contributions, sickness pay etc.

If this is wholly outsourced service, the council by default gets more bang for its buck simply by only having to pay for the actual service and not having to be burdened with the overheads. It makes practical economic sense, and I am glad the Coalition recognises this in its policies.

It is true though that one swallow doesn’t make a summer and the road to full recovery will be tough – afterall, it took 18 years from the miserable Winter of Discontent to the blossoming economy bequeathed to Tony Blair in 1997.

But by making a start now, we are sowing the seeds of prosperity for our children and grandchildren… let’s just hope the seedlings are trampled on by those whose misguided policies would see Britain left behind in a rapidly changing and globalised economy.

Flash floods in Skelmersdale bring chaos to town

HOMES and roads were flooded in Skelmersdale this afternoon after a torrential downpour.

Bone Island in the town centre was blocked off by police after the drains failed to cope with the freak weather.

In School Lane, Old Skelmersdale, traffic also had to be diverted when the part of the road near Neverstitch Close was covered by flood water, which went into local homes.

These were without doubt the worst floods we’ve had for about six years. I remember in 2004 that Bone Island was, like today, engulfed in water and the River Tawd came perilously close to bursting its banks.

And again, like 2004 the same part of School Lane was massively flooded – although I think today’s downpour made for a larger flood.

This evening, while some of the flooding has receded, some routes still have issues – such as the roundabout near the Railway pub on Ormskirk Road, Old Skelmersdale, and near the Sports Centre the junction of Digmoor Road and Gilllibrands Road in Digmoor.

There does seem to be a real problem with flooding in Skelmersdale. Granted, given its geographical position in a valley and the numerous slopes, these occurences are rare, but that is no comfort whatsoever for the people caught up in these floods.

This evening, I’ve written to the Chief Exec of United Utilities, raising the ongoing issue of flooding at Bone Island and School Lane, and to demand that it be sorted.

West Lancs unemployment falls to lowest level in 18 months – but challenges still remain

UNEMPLOYMENT in West Lancashire has dropped to its lowest level in 18 months.

Statistics released this weel show the number of people claiming Job Seekers’ Allowance is now 3.9%, – down from a peak of 5% the same time 12 months ago.

The Office for National Statistics records that in April, 4.4% of people were out of work, in May it was down to 4.1% and in June in dropped further to 3.9%.

I’ve blogged regularly on the issue of unemployment in West Lancashire, and whilst these figures are encouraging, there must be no room for complacency.

Ensuring that the recovery is private-sector led is the right decision by the Coalition Government as it ensures that we build a strong local economy, something which I’ve also blogged about in the past.

Certainly in West Lancashire, we need a more diverse economy ensuring that if one sector hits problems, there is an inbuilt flexibility to ‘take the strain’, providing more opportunities for local people in the process.

And of course, we still have pockets of high unemployment, so we need to focus on these areas to ensure people are given the right skills and training to fullfill their potential.

Will Boundary Review subject Lancashire to another Mersey/Manchester power ‘grab’?

THERE has been much talk about the proposed redrawing of constituencies to make them of equal size, therefore making votes across the country more proportional.

At the moment, we have a situation where some constituencies have 20,000 fewer voters than others and that can lead to gross inequities across the country in terms of parties gaining power despite losing the popular vote.

So what of West Lancashire in this review? There have been moves before, albeit at a local government level, to split West Lancashire up, with the western part going into Sefton and the eastern part coming under the auspices of Wigan Council. This unhappy proposal would have seen Ormskirk split directly down the middle, and was rightly binned along with the ridiculous regional assemblies.

It is hard to see though just how West Lancashire could be changed. On the face of it, it does not have a sufficient electorate to be an obvious candidate for review, but it may be drawn into it purely because of necessary changes in one particular neighbouring constituency.

Southport has around 67,000 but is very much a town by itself doesn’t have any natural neighbours. It could be paired with Formby, and that would be deemed acceptable, but there has also been speculation about hiving off some of the neighbouring West Lancashire constituency villages, such as Scarisbrick. This would be welcomed, I’m sure, by many Sandgrounders who feel a bond with these areas.

As for West Lancs; other neighbouring constituencies (South Ribble, St Helens North, Wigan, Makerfield) they are pretty much all the same size so, on the face of it, there is little that needs changing. However, whether those seats stay intact themselves very much depends on their own neighbours.

Of course, like any changes there will be winners and losers if it happens. I can’t pretend I know what will happen other than the fact that any moves to take any West Lancashire areas out of the Red Rose county will by strongly resisted by those who live there.

Lancashire’s boundaries have been eroded by stealth over the last 60 years, with the loss of places like Southport, Rainford and Maghull, into Merseyside or, as it is increasingly referred to, the horribly titled ‘Liverpool City Region’ and Wigan into so-called ‘Greater Manchester’ (implying there is a lesser Manchester somewhere).

This is not an uncommon story – all across the country district and village areas have for years been defending themselves from the tentacles of close by cities such as London, Birmingham, Manchester etc.

Liverpool and Manchester’s boundaries are increase massively since the 50s, and this has caused resentment in some areas who are proud of their Lancastrian heritage and want to preserve it.

Any further ‘power grabs’ by what many see as artificially-constructed administrative areas from the historic Red Rose county will I’m sure provoke much debate.

How Labour has failed parents, teachers and children

YESTERDAY, I watched Education Secretary Michael Gove making a statement in the Commons regarding New Labour’s “Building Schools for the Future” programme.

This is a scheme which had become so unwieldy and bureaucratic, it had become more of a cash cow for selective groups rather than giving the taxpayer value for money.

Fast forward to this morning and there is the predicatble cry in the press about schools being “axed”, with many of them quoting extensively from Ed Balls, Mr Gove’s descredited predecessor. Unfortunately, there is little the Coalition can do about the coverage, especially when so much of it disregards some very important arguments.

As we now know, before the election, the desperate Labour Government went round sprinkling money like it was confetti – a few million for a loan here, another few for a vanity project there. Most of them, it has to be said, were in Labour marginals. Funny, that.

Anyhow, what Labour weren’t telling the grateful recipients of their largesse was that they had no idea how they were going to find this money, not that it mattered to them anyway.

In short, they adopted a scorched earth policy based on the crude calculation that they knew they couldn’t win the election but could set a series of political traps for their successors to walk into.

They are more interested in scoring political points by claiming that every project which has been stopped is a ‘cut’. Of course, it is not a cut, not even in the loosest terms. A cut would have to involve something which is already in existence, and the Education Secretary said quite clearly yesterday that those projects which have reached financial closure (i.e everyone has signed on the dotted line) will be honoured.

Unfortunately for the teachers, parents and children at schools which were in the pipeline, Labour failed them by raising their hopes in the full knowledge they could never deliver. In parallel to this, they instigated a system which failed to meet any of its targets and was bogged down by mind-numbing bureaucracy. Apparently, procuring a new building through BSF cost THREE times as much as it would have done in the commercial world, and twice as much as similar projects in Ireland.

Those schools which did manage to get rebuilt had to abide by such ridiculous directives – even down to the species of plants they could have on site – that all it did was bog headteachers down with things which, quite frankly, paled into insignificance compared to the whole point of having a school… to educate pupils.

But the one thing BSF reveals about Labour is their uncontrollable urge to measure success purely by the amount of money you throw at things. By their measure, if a school had a leaky roof, they wouldn’t just mend the roof, they’d pull down the whole building. Just imagine how many fine school buildings of historical importance would not still be standing if those standards had been applied right across the board?

Some schools, of course, do need rebuilding or reconstructing, which is what happened in West Lancashire around six years ago when the then Labour-controlled Lancashire County Council closed down several primary schools in Skelmersdale, such as Fairlie, St Matthew’s, and Park County. But the majority of those rebuilt across the country were done so through the controversial Private Finance Initiative and, as such, will not be paid off for many years to come.

I’m afraid though that there is too much emphasis being put on the school surroundings and not enough on the quality of teaching. I went to school through the 80s and 90s and was taught in modest surroundings, but that did not hinder my education one tiny bit.

But typical of New Labour, when they came to office they preferred style over substance for the sake of political longevity. And after 13 years of it, we are all now counting the cost.

West Lancs Council chief gets much-deserved MBE

I WAS delighted to hear this morning that Bill Taylor, Chief Executive of West Lancashire Borough Council, is to receive an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

Bill, who has been at the helm for 13 years now, is receiving the honour in recognition of his services to local government.

I’m really delighted for Bill, who I have know through various roles I’ve worked in over the past seven years or so.

Bill is not like your average, run of the mill local authority Chief Executive. If anything, his style is more reminiscent of the CEO in the private sector, dedicated to outstanding performance and constantly ensuring value for money.

Under his leadership, the Council has achieved some great things and I think everyone will recognise this MBE is richly deserved.

Bill told today’s Lancs Evening Post: “I am deeply honoured and absolutely delighted to receive this award.

“I like to think that it is, at least in part, a reflection on the hard work of all the councillors and staff here at the council over recent years.

“I have worked for a range of councils north and south of the border and would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the dedication and commitment of council employees and elected members who, through their hard work, provide public services that enhance so many lives.”