Following announcement to the press of a large scale consultation exercise, Leader of the Wirral Labour Group, Cllr Steve Foulkes, said:

“The local Conservative and Liberal Democrat Alliance are asking the people of Wirral in a massive tax payer funded consultation exercise whether they wish to be hung, shot or guillotined.

They say they will be consulting on budgetary priorities, but no amount of consultation is going to alter the fact that the Council’s grant is going to be slashed by a massive thirty to forty percent over the next two to three years with horrendous consequences for Council Services and for the local economy,

The reality is that, until November 25^th, far from holding a meaningful consultation which will actually lead to better services, they will actually be debating in great detail the various ways in which the public can be the agents of their own destruction. They will be consulted in great detail on whether they wish to be hung, shot or guillotined and, when the final method of execution is finally decided on, this administration will defend the inevitable death because it was the public which chose the method of their own destruction.

If they really believed in consultation, why did they choose to consult schools in the school holidays about key changes in the way the Council offered them services?

If they really believed in consultation, why did they fail to consult Wirral’s residents about what was going to happen to their parks and gardens? Or Wirral’s staff who work in the Parks and Gardens about their ideas of what could be done to improve services and save money?

If they really believed in consultation, why didn’t they consult over their decision to slash £1.6 from funds aimed at reducing unemployment and improving job opportunities for all of Wirral’s residents? Or the real consequences of slashing over £1.4m from Schools and Childrens Services?

If they really believed in consultation, why did they bypass all the normal democratic processes and release the timetable for their grant consultation in a press release instead of a report to Cabinet where it could be properly scrutinised?

If this propaganda exercise means that there will be no priorities decided until November 25^th, and those priorities will then have to be translated into budgetary cuts amounting to £24million or more, which then have to be in place by December 31^st to meet statutory redundancy deadlines, then this is a very high risk strategy indeed.

The real consequences of this exercise could actually put hundreds of jobs at risk quite needlessly as deadlines are missed and cuts have to become ever more savage in order to deliver a legal budget on time.

People of Wirral should beware. This may be the exercise that puts the Con into Consultation.”

We all remember the dark days under Thatcher. In fact, we remember them every day – because years later, so many hard-working British families are still trying to recover from the days of Tory control.
After watching this video, I’m more certain than ever: giving the Conservatives’ control of our government again is not just a risk – it’s a recipe for disaster. We cannot afford to let history repeat itself, and to allow David Cameron to destroy the great progress we’ve made.

Take a couple minutes to watch our video, and remember why we must keep fighting:

 

Came across this post on Birkenhead Tory Andrew Gilberts website

Like most announcements and ‘cast iron guarantees’ from David Cameron, this one must have either turned into vapour or rust

 

The Council Tax collection rate in Wirral is set to rise to over 96% this year, despite the challenges brought on by the recession.

Wirral Council is thought to be the only local authority in Merseyside that will meet its revenue targets, with other areas predicting shortfalls of between £200,000 and £4 million. Collecting so much of what is owed has helped to achieve a low Council Tax increase for Wirral residents, which for 2010/2011, is under half the rate of inflation at 1.67%.

Leader of Wirral Council, Councillor Steve Foulkes explained:

“Our collection rates for Council Tax are very high and we expect that over 99% of outstanding debts will have been collected by the end of the financial year. This strong performance is so important because any shortfall in projections would further increase Council Tax levels for the following year, which is unfair on the majority of people who always pay what is required for their public sector services.

“I think that our success is largely due to the fact that we offer a range of payment methods and dates to residents, with 70% now paying via Direct Debit which is known for being safe and reliable. We also recognise that people sometimes struggle to pay their Council Tax, particularly in the current economic climate. Wherever possible, we have tried to assist these residents at an early stage with special arrangements in line with our Fair Debt Policy.”

Wirral Council collects £122 million each year from 145,000 households and awards almost £30 million in Council Tax Benefit for people on the lowest of incomes.

Wirral’s libraries and childrens’ centres are joining forces over the next couple of weeks to encourage reading among the under-5s.

A full programme of activities – entitled Spring Fun – has been developed in eight local libraries in an effort to promote the benefits of reading, storytelling and singing songs to parents and their young children.

They will also be encouraged to take advantage of the range of activities and opportunities that are on offer at libraries and childrens’ centres all year round.

The programme for each library is as follows:

Bebington

· Monday 8th and 15^th March – Story Time, 10am-10.30am

· Thursday 11th and 18^th March – Baby Bounce and Rhyme, 10.30am-11am

· Friday 12^th March – Tafelmusic, 11am-noon

· Saturday 13^th March – Baby Bounce and Rhyme, 10.30am-11am

· Friday 19^th March – Curtis Watts (Storyteller and Rapper), 11am-noon

· Monday 15^th March – Rachel (Sing and Sign), 2pm-3pm

· Thursday 18^th March – Purvei Parikh (Indian dance and stories), 2pm-3pm

Bromborough

· Monday 8^th, Friday 12^th, Monday 15^th and Friday 19^th March – Story and Rhyme Time, 2pm-2.30pm.

· Tuesday 9^th March – John Piper (Puppets), 9.30am-10.30am.

· Friday 12^th March – Tafelmusic, 9.30am-10.30am

· Monday 15^th March – Rachel (Sing and Sign), 11.30am-12.30pm

· Thursday 18^th March – Purvei Parikh (Indian dance and stories), 9.30am-10.30am

· Friday 19^th March – Curtis Watts (Storyteller and Rapper), 9.30am-10.30am

Eastham

· Monday 8^th and 15^th March – Baby Bounce and Rhyme, 10.30am-11am

· Tuesday 9^th March – John Piper (Puppets), 11.30am-12.20pm

· Friday 12^th and 19^th March – Story Time, 10.30am-11.30am

· Thursday 18^th March – Purvei Parikh (Indian dance and stories), 11am-noon

Greasby

· Monday 8^th March – Rachel (Sing and Sign), 2pm-3pm

· Thursday 11^th March – Purvei Parikh (Indian dance and stories), 9.30am-10.30am

· Friday 12^th and 19^th March – Baby Bounce and Rhyme, 10.30am-11am

· Saturday 13^th March – Treasure Trove (Puppets), 9.30am-10.30am; Story Time, 11am-11.20am; Hilary Keating (Author and Storyteller) 11.30am-12.30pm.

· Monday 15^th March – Story Time, 2.30pm-3pm

· Tuesday 16^th March – Craft session, 9.30am-10.30am

· Thursday 18^th March – Treasure Trove (Puppets), 9.30am-10.30am

Heswall

· Monday 8^th March – Rachel (Sing and Sign), 11.30am-noon; Under 5s Story Time, 2.30pm-3pm

· Thursday 11^th March – Purvei Parikh (Indian dance and stories), 11am-noon

· Friday 12^th March – Baby Bounce and Rhyme, 10.30am-11am

· Saturday 13^th March – Hilary Keating (Author and Storyteller) 9.30am-10.30am; Story Time 11am-11.20am; Treasure Trove (Puppets) 11.30am-12.30pm

· Monday 15^th March – Under 5s Story Time, 2.30pm-3pm

· Tuesday 16^th March – Craft session, 2pm-3pm

· Thursday 18^th March – Treasure Trove (Puppets), 2pm-3pm.

Pensby

· Monday 8^th March – Tafelmusic, 9.30am-10.30am

· Tuesday 9^th and 16^th March – Baby Bounce and Rhyme, 10.30am-11am

· Friday 12^th March – Curtis Watts (Storyteller and Rapper), 9.30am-10.30am

· Tuesday 16^th March – Story Time, 2.15pm-2.45pm

· Thursday 18^th March – Treasure Trove (Puppets), 11.30am-12.20pm

Irby

· Monday 8^th March – Tafelmusic, 11am-noon

· Tuesday 9^th March – John Piper (Puppets), 2pm-3pm

· Thursday 11^th March – Purvei Parikh (Indian dance and stories), 2pm-3pm

· Friday 12^th March – Curtis Watts (Storyteller and Rapper), 11am-noon

· Tuesday 16^th March – Story Time, 2.15pm-2.45pm

Higher Bebington

· Tuesday 9^th March – Story Time, 2.15pm-2.45pm