Plymouth City Council cuts free leisure for children in care

Labour Councillors are campaigning to prevent the Council withdrawing access to council leisure facilities for children in care. At present the Council provides a pass for children to use Plymouth City Council’s leisure facilities free of charge once they have been in care for over a month. In a shock decision, yesterday the Council announced that this service would be withdrawn from the 31st July 2010.

Councillor Sally Bowie, Vice Chair of the Corporate Parenting Group said: “As corporate parents we have responsibility to provide for children in our care with the best possible services so that they can achieve their potential. I was involved in putting together the “Plymouth Pledge” which sets out the Council’s promises to children in care. Within this pledge is the commitment that the council will provide children in care with a pass to access the Council’s leisure facilities. I was shocked to be emailed last night with the news that the Council are going to withdrawal this pledge.”

Ed Miliband secures support of Plymouth Labour MP

Labour Leadership Candidate Ed Miliband is to visit Plymouth on a special visit to rally support from Labour members and supporters as the contest heats up.

Ed Miliband will be taking questions from Labour members and non-members alike at Plymouth Labour’s HQ at 21 Durnford Street, Stonehouse from 6pm on Friday 6 August. The tour of the South West will also include a meeting with supporters in Exeter and as well as meetings in Cornwall.

Ed Miliband has already secured the support from local Labour MP, Alison Seabeck and Luke Pollard who stood for Labour in South West Devon at the last election. Labour’s candidate at the general election in SE Cornwall, Michael Sparling, has also added his name to the list of Ed Miliband supporters in the westcountry which also includes Candy Atherton, the former Labour MP for Camborne and Falmouth.

Ed Miliband said: “The challenge for Labour in the South West is to rebuild the trust of those people who we lost at the last election.

Plymouth Labour’s Shadow Cabinet announced by Tudor Evans

The Leader of the Labour Group on Plymouth City Council has chosen his top political team for the new Council year.

Councillor Tudor Evans as the Leader of the Labour Group remains as Leader of the Opposition in the Cabinet, alongside his Deputy, Peter Smith who shadows Community Services (Safer & Stronger Communities, Leisure Culture and Sport). Sue Dann will take the Customer Services brief, whilst Mark Lowry will keep an eye on budgetary matters, along with the property and personnel functions.

Three new members of the shadow team are Brian Vincent, who will take Transport, Bill Stevens (Planning and Strategic Housing) and Nicky Williams, who will look at the Performance of the Council.

The team has a mixture of old, new and returning faces as the Party gears up for what it describes as a fight “to save public services from being decimated by the Conservative/Lib-Dem government.”

Plymouth Lib Dems defect to Labour days before poll

Half the members of Plymouth’s Liberal Democrat Executive have defected to Labour only a few days before the General Election.

Local Lib Dem members Jan Mortier, Tom Sale, Max Harding and Dominic House were all members of the Plymouth Lib Dem executive committee. They were the elected vice-chair, membership, data and youth officers. They are switching sides ahead of the General Election as they want to join a “campaigning party” that is working for social justice.

Jan, Tom, Max and Dominic’s short experience of the Lib Dems has not put them off getting involved in politics but they are disillusioned with Nick Clegg’s party in Plymouth.

Dominic House said: “They don’t campaign – the party seems to have been run by a very small group of people who aren’t interested in improving peoples lives. We want to join a Party that listens to and stands up for people.”

No debate about Plymouth job losses allowed

Labour Councillors have been blocked by the Council from speaking out in defence of disabled people in Plymouth who are about to lose their jobs at a Plymouth factory.

The job losses have been brought about because of a decision by the Tory controlled council’s cabinet not to award the contract for providing equipment to local disabled people to PLUSS – who have held the contract for years – and instead give it to a rival firm.

Labour Group Leader Cllr Tudor Evans said “What galls me is that PLUSS employs disabled people, and some of them will now lose their jobs because the factory will have to close.

“I asked for the decision to be scrutinised but that was turned down by the Tory Chairwoman. I then submitted a motion to council but that was turned down – unbelievably because the council are not allowed to discuss matters that have been decided by the executive (cabinet).”

Plymouth Council refuses to debate incinerator plans because they are “too controversial”

Labour Councillors in Plymouth have reacted angrily to a move by the Conservative-run City Council to stop a public debate on the siting of an incinerator in the North Yard of Plymouth.

Councillor Tudor Evans, Leader of the Labour Group says the move is a mighty cover up that will hide from the public the Tories’ real intentions to support a massive incinerator next to three densely populated areas in the West of Plymouth.

Councillor Evans had asked that the issue be added to the agenda of the Ham & Sr Budeaux area committee, due to meet next week. But his request has been turned down by council officials, who said that controversial matters could not be discussed so close to an election.

Plymouth Labour calls for more housing “locals can afford”

Labour Councillors in Plymouth today accused their Conservative rivals of “pricing local people out of the housing market” by reducing yet again the requirement for a number of lower cost homes to be built in the city – this time in the city centre itself.

Planning Inspector Douglas Machin, will shortly lead the Public Examination of the Council’s City Centre and University Area Action Plan proposals, along with representations from other city stakeholders. The hearing will examine in detail the robustness of the council’s plans for the development of this area over the next 11 years – and beyond.

Plymouth Labour Councillors have submitted their own written evidence which will be presented by Cllr Nicky Wildy at the hearing on Tuesday 26th of January.

Labour call for PCSOs to stay on Plymouth streets

Plymouth Labour councillors are calling upon the Conservative Group to support their call to protect Police Community Support Officers.

Cllr Mary Aspinall, who works closely with her PCSO team in Sutton & Mt Gould ward said: “The PCSO are the eyes and ears of the community and of the Force. They are well respected and valued by local residents.

“Tackling anti-social behaviour means they free up time for the police to concentrate on hardened criminals.”

Recorded crime across the country has dropped by 8% year on year, whilst in Plymouth its 10.2% down – a much better performance than the national average.

Labour Group Leader Tudor Evans said: “The Conservatives have promised to end the ring fence of money provided by Government to fund PCSOs. That means fewer PCSOs, not more.

Anger at Tory pledge to sweep PCSOs off Plymouth streets

The Labour Group on Plymouth City Council has reacted angrily at Conservative plans to take Police Community Support Officers off Plymouth’s streets, and may see them scrapped altogether. The Tories’ Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling MP has said that a government led by David Cameron would no longer demand that a fixed amount of money is spent on PCSOs.

Councillor Mary Aspinall, Labour Group Secretary said: “This is further proof of how out of touch David Cameron is with what really happens on our streets. I know the PCSOs in my area of Sutton and Mount Gould, and across Plymouth, are hardworking, respected figures who do a fantastic job supporting their Police Officer colleagues, who now have more time to tackle more serious incidents. To even mention ‘doing away with PCSOs’ as the Tories are considering is madness, and shows how little they value the hard work and long hours PCSOs put in on behalf of the community.”

Tories slammed by historians for allowing Plymouth heritage to be lost

Conservative Councillors in Plymouth have come under fire by history experts for allowing some of the nation’s most valuable artefacts to be lost to the city. Archivists are furious after the Council Leader Vivien Pengelly reneged on promises she made in January 2009 to prevent records from being repatriated out of the city for their own protection.

Labour’s Cllr Tina Tuohy, who is an archaeology lecturer was contacted by a colleague Todd Gray, who had been so concerned about the fate of these archives that he has been leading a campaign to protect the City’s archives.

In an email to Cllr Tuohy, Dr Gray says: “Although we had been fobbed off by the council throughout 2008, we felt we needed to give the city time to prove they could deal with us honestly. Not one promise of action has been fulfilled.”