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| Penalty Ends for Topping Up Care ---
04 Nov 2008
Thousands of patients will learn today that they can pay for the latest drugs to “top up” care from the NHS.
Ministers are expected to announce that there is no legal reason why patients should forfeit their free NHS treatment if they pay for extra drugs, despite accusations that this contradicts the founding principles of a publicly funded health service.
So therefore logically if "there are no legal reason why patients should forfeit their free NHS treatment if they pay for extra drugs", does this mean that the NHS has acted illegally by denying these patients NHS treatment? Are they leaving themselves open to a legal challenges by patients who had previously had to sell their worldly goods to fund their treatment?
NHS guidelines state that patients should not mix and match public and private treatments in the same “episode of care”, but at least 30 hospitals in England allow patients to do this. This shows no constiency of application of the policy and a postcode lottery for receiving care.
Some will welcome this decision and others will be concerned that this will cause a two tier health system. But, those patients and their families affected by cancer dont care about the politics involved, all they are interested in is survival or extending their lives, its is as simple as that, they would sell their house and all their worldly goods in order to live, its a basic human survival instinct.
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| Sleet and Rain in Norfolk ---
02 Nov 2008
Having returned from a cold week of rain and sleet in Norfolk. Actually we had a couple of quite sunny days, when I say sunny, I mean winter sun not the kind of humid heat that would be available in hotter climes!
What a strange week in terms of news. I noticed before going away that there was a notable sense of looming financial diaster in conversations with friends and colleagues. Some people going as far as to say that they had stopped watching the news because it was all doom and gloom. So imagine my surprise that the hot news topic for last week was the Ross/Brand episode. I am not going to comment on the rights or wrongs of the situation, that has been done in every office, home and shop in the country.
What I find hard to beleive is the amount of press and TV coverage this has been given.
But perhaps the truth is that this has been a welcome break from the harsh reality of the country being in financial meltdown. This could be why it has been given so much consideration by people because it has given them something else to think about other than the cost of gas, electricty, petrol, mortgage and xmas presents.
Gordon must be clapping his hands, it has taken the heat off him for a small while...
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| Ben and Jerry ---
24 Oct 2008
As regular readers know my blog can sometimes be described as a bit random (I like to think ecletic), flitting between Politics, local issues, nursing, family and the plain old boring. So, as not to let the reputation down, I have decided to blog today about ice cream, but not just any old ice cream, Ben and Jerrys taste heaven.
The story goes like this....
Back in ’66, in a school gym class, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield found they hated running but loved food. Years later in ’78, Ben had been fired from a series of McJobs while Jerry had failed for the second time to get into medical school. So, armed with a $5 correspondence course in ice cream making, they opened their first scoop shop in a dilapidated gas station in Burlington, Vermont.
They soon became popular in the local community for the finest all natural ice cream. Ben had no sense of taste so he relied on what he called ‘mouth feel’, so big chunks of chocolate, fruit and nut became their signature. While they disagreed at times over the chunk size, they did agree that they wanted to enjoy themselves – as Jerry put it ‘if it’s not fun, why do it?’.
In the early days the boys were pretty bad at book-keeping. After two months they closed the store and hung a sign that said ‘we’re closed to figure out whether we’re making any money’. And they weren’t. But they learned a lot and by 1979, began wholesaling pints of ice cream out of Ben’s VW campervan. The rest, as they say, is history.
Flavours include -
Strawberry cheesecake
Bohemian Rhapsody
Caramel Chew Chew
Chocolate Fudge Brownie
Phish food
Fossil Fuel
Half Baked
Cookie Dough
Chunky Monkey
Vanilla Toffee Crunch
Vanilla
Cherry Glacia
New flavours, Jamacian Me Crazy, Mango Berry Swirl and Baked Alaska
My all time favourite is Cookie Dough, which is Vanilla ice cream with chunks of chocolate cookie dough, closely followed by Bohemian Rhapsody, which is Vanilla ice cream with fudge brownies and raspberry swirls. The kids favourite is cookie dough and Mike likes choclate fudge brownie.
Why the sudden interest in ice cream I hear you say, well because although this ice cream is a taste sensation, at £3.75 for a 500ml tub is works out as a expensive luxury.
But the other night I got a text from Lauren saying that Morrisons have a half price offer, you would have thought she had won the lottery. Since then I have had regular trips to Morrison to stock up.
There was a shocked silence when the first tub came out of the freezer and I got four bowls out to share one 500ml tub. The kids can manage a whole tub each, Mike can eat half a tub but three scoops is my limit.
Dont tell anyone but there are two tubs hidden behind the frozen chips in the freezer...
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| The Golden Hour ---
23 Oct 2008
Last night was the first in a new series following the Great North Air Ambulance as they rescue critically injured patients from some of the most remote parts of Britain's landscape. The clock is ticking for all three teams as they strive to reach and treat their patients within the first sixty minutes of their accident - the Golden Hour.
Last nights episode highlighted the fact that getting medical assistance to people within 60 minutes can make a big difference to their chances of survival.
The Golden Hour is defined as the time period of one hour in which the lives of a majority of critically injured trauma patients can be saved if definitive surgical intervention is provided. Only 60 minutes from the moment of injury to notify the police; dispatch an ambulance to the scene; transport the victim to a hospital; summon the appropriate surgical and support staff; and perform the necessary life-saving surgery
The episode was fairly graphic showing people trapped in mangled vehicles screaming with pain. It certainly highlighted the responsiveness and professionalism of the services involved.
Having been involved in a major RTA sometime ago, it still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and a slight quesy feeling in the pit of my stomach watching these programmes. The marked difference was that my accident was in Cyprus about 20 years ago and the emergency services available can only be described as basic. I am told that the ambulance took 20 minutes to arrive and I use the term ambulance loosely, it was in fact a transit van!
No fire service in attendance,the ambulance drivers just stratched their heads as to how to get me out, it was thanks to a British Tourist who nipped into a factory opposite to get a crow bar to prise the car door off.
There was no spinal board or ten man lift to get me out, they just grabbed me under the arms and tryed to drag, until I became conscious and started screaming, my leg had done a 180 degree turn as I had complete mid shaft femur break. I then panicked because I realised what had happened and I did not want to go to the local hospital as I had heard too many horror stories. Someone recognised me and came with me in the ambulance to make sure they took to the military base, this was no time to worry about offending the locals that I did not want to go to their hospital!
No fluids or Morphine just a bandage and a quick dash to the Akroteri RAF base where they took me into theatre.
Thought that might cheer you up...
But the programme last night highlighted the need to get major traumas and other conditions such as heart attack and stroke to a hospital quickly.
The National Services Framework (NSF) standard is that people suffering from a heart attack should receive thrombolytic therapy within 60 minutes of calling for professional help. Evidence shows that the risk of mortality is reduced by early administration of the drugs.
The National Service Framework (NSF) standard is that anyone with a suspected stroke is taken immediately by ambulance to a hospital with a specialist stroke unit which provides thrombolysis (a clot busting drug) within 3 hours or other treatment that can minimise the effects of a stroke.
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| Youth Champion for Darlington ---
20 Oct 2008
Congratulations to Councillor Chris McEwan who is the portfolio holder for Children's Services in winning the "Im a Councillor" event. He is now crowned King of the Jungle and is the Youth Champion for Darlington.
The young people came up with some interesting ideas and discussion and it is up to Chris now to move this forward.
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| By-election Part 2 ---
17 Oct 2008
Having read some fairly "strong" comments from fellow bloggers Nick Wallis, Mike Barker and Peter Barron, as well as the front page headlines of the Northern Echo screaming out "ludicrous", I would like to highlight a few issues about councillors acheiving work life balance. This is not intended to defend Steve Jones but merely highlight some of the issues involved.
The Local Government Information Unit offers a publication "Promoting Councillor Diversity". This publication offers suggestions on how councils can encourage a greater range of people to consider standing for public office.
It says "At present the figures speak for themselves. Councillors are predominately male, middle aged, white and middle-class. To continue to be legitimately considered as the voice of local people, councils need to address how a more diverse range of people can become councillors. If they do not, councils risk being thought of as remote, unrepresentative and failing to take up the breadth of talent among under-represented groups"
I do firmly beleive in this philosophy, it is important that a council has elected members who are able to reflect the views of their residents and understand the issues that affect their lives.
Therefore, the council is made up of members with a varying age range and this enables diversity, but will mean that some members have jobs and families and this brings about a work life balance challenge.
There is a statutory obligation for employers to give councillors time off for council duties unpaid. Certainly, the NHS has a policy allowing up to 28 days per year. The problem is fufilling this operationally. My own circumstances working within a team are that there is a minimal number of nurses required to maintain patient care and this clearly makes it very difficult to take time off without comprising the patients and my colleagues. But, I do have the flexibilty to swap days off with colleagues and this generosity allows me to fulfill my council duties as well as maintaining professional standards.
I can imagine many scenerios, small businesses for example that may have only a small number of employees which could result in a detrimental effect to the viability of the business allowing employees time off for council duties.
Diversity comes with its challenges and I would just like to provide some balance to the debate.
There is always two sides to a story.....
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| By-election Gossip ---
16 Oct 2008
The by-election in North Road could turn out to be an interesting proposition and will certainly help with the Winter blues.
I sometimes wonder if I am the only person that struggles to get out bed at this time of the year. I dread the alarm going off and reguarly turn the alarm off and go back to sleep, as happened this morning, resulting in spending the day looking and feeling like you have just rolled out of bed!
According to my fellow blogger, Labour councillor Nick Wallis, our predecessor John Vasey has been dusted down and brought of the closet by Labour to stand in North Road. I'm quite surprised, I thought John would have waited for a safe Labour seat, not that any seat is safe for Labour given the recent bye-election history.
Fellow Lib Dem blogger Mike Barker, reports on his blog that Steve Jones wife has collected a nomination form from the Town Hall. How on earth does Mike find this information out, he is better informed than MI5. Mike shouldnt you be busy selling flapjacks and soya milk?
Given my recent premature departure from the Big Councillor house, Nick thinks that this "may not be good news for the Conservatives' long-term prospects in the town". He has got a good imagination, so he has. Keep thinking positive Nick, while Rome burns and all that!
He has also described myself and colleague Kate Davies as "two of the most aggressive younger councillors amongst the Tories' 2007 intake".
I think he may have got a bit confused between aggressive and challenging. It is the job of the opposition to challenge decisions made by the controlling group. Thought Nick might have known that given his 17 years in politics compared to us "newbies"
Aggressive, now thats what you call John Williams at Cabinet when you ask a simple question that does not suit.
But he does describe me as being young so given my big birthday this year, I have to thank him.
Keep blogging Nick, it has better effect than any SAD light box....
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| Fuel Bill Shock ---
14 Oct 2008
We received our duel fuel bill today and what a shock it was.
Although we are actually in credit, they have estimated our useage for the next 18 months and included the price increase. This has resulted in a massive monthly payment.
The problem is we have an old house which is not particulary fuel efficient and we have a central heating system that should be in retirement. The heating system really is bad, you can come in from work and wonder if the heating is on at all.
We have decided at a family meeting tonight that we need to make all efforts to save as much as possible and make sure that we switch everything off before going to bed.
This is going to be a real problem for many families this winter and the Government needs to step in and make sure it offers help to those that need it.
My concern as a District Nurse is that many of the elderly people are going to have to make a choice between eating or heating and this is an intolerable situation.
On a lighter note Kieran is already making big efforts saving money on the bathing and washing clothes front.....
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| Eviction ---
13 Oct 2008
"Councillor Gill Cartwright, please leave the big councillor house you have been evicted"
Sadly, I have the honour of being the first councillor evicted in the local democracy event "Im a Councillor".
I have enjoyed taking part and enjoyed talking to the young people at Hurworth School on Friday. After my initial nerves I got into the flow of things. I was aked some interesting questions and as result have more insight into what it is young people want and think.
I took part because I beleive that it is important to promote democracy amongst young people and I do beleive that sometimes young people get a raw deal when it comes to peoples attitudes.
On the Im a Councillor web site, I have a big evicted sticker across my photo....
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Credit Crunch Hits Darlington Council ---
07 Oct 2008
It has been reported in the Echo today that the council is expected to be 1.8 million pound in the red at the end of the year. They are struggling to sell off £10 million of assets and Officers are blaming the credit crunch for the collapse of two significant deals as they look to balance the books.
The sites of the former Beaumont Hill and Springfield primary schools remain unsold and make up the majority of the £10m.
With little likelihood of the deals being resurrected before March 2009, the council is already planning for life without the money.
Council hit by financial crisis
Better start saving up now to pay next years council tax bill
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| Holwood Grove and Harrowgate Farm ---
07 Oct 2008
I was please to see today that the piece of land in Holmwood Grove at the back of Ashleigh House has been cleared at OUR request.
The flower beds around the Tintagel area on Harrowgate Farm have been weeded and the shrubs pruned.
A big THANKYOU to the Streetscene team.
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| Im a Councillor Event ---
06 Oct 2008
I'm a Councillor is a web event which breaks down barriers and gets councillors and young people talking. And it's fun!
Young People - get engaged with local democracy
Councillors - find out about how young people feel, their concerns and enthusiasms
Teachers - get a ready-made, memorable way to teach citizenship, where the work is all done for them
For the two weeks of the event, young people use web technology they feel comfortable with, to 'meet' local councillors from their area. They ask questions and have live chats with councillors, and then vote for their favourite to become 'youth champion' for the area.
IAC brings people together, gives young people a voice and teaches them about local democracy, in a fun and memorable way!
This year's event will run 6th - 17th October 2008.
IAC is the centrepiece of Local Democracy Week, part of the LGA's campaign to make local democracy relevant and useful to young people.
The event started today and already we have had questions about anti-social behaviour, CCTV, feminism and what it is councillors do.
There are 3 Labour Councillors, 1 Liberal Democrat and 2 Conservative councillors taking part in the event. We will be visiting schools, taking part in question time events and generally engaging with the younger members of our community.
The only downside is the photo on page 2 of the Echo of me holding a blow up crocadile, it would not have been so bad if it had been just in the Darlington section but it has gone regional, much to the amusement of my work colleagues and no doubt some of the patients will have seen it as well.
The price to pay to promote democracy….
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| Tory Tony ---
01 Oct 2008
Having been blighted all week with the most dreadful toothache imaginable I took myself off to the Dentist yesterday. So, feeling sorry for myself yesterday afternoon I took to the couch armed with the duvet and a hot water bottle, fortunately the only postive from this that I was able to watch David Camerons key note speech.
It was as expected a sober speech and I personally beleive that this was the right approach. It would have been dangerous to give a "its all Labours fault speech, people are worried enough about their personal finances and would not have appreciated a blame rant. I think that people listening would have appreciated his confidence and plans for how he is going to get the country back on his feet, he demonstrated passion and understanding.
He spoke like a Prime Minister in waiting and dare I say it he has the same charisma and energy that Tony Blair had, a Tory Tony Blair.
I like Sams emerald dress, you never see Sarah Browns wardrobe discussed in the Sunday Times Style magazine...
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Local Petitions and Calls for Action ---
16 Sep 2008
"The Government wants to breathe new life into local democracy. That means giving local elected members the space to show a new lead, less red tape and more freedom to spend money on local priorites. But it also means giving local people new opportunites to set the agenda for themselves, to have their say about local services and get things done on issues they care about.
They have taken big steps towards "devolution to the doorstep" in recent years.
In the "The Governance of Britain" the Prime Minister launched a national conversation about renewing local democracy and in October an "Action Plan for Community Empowerment" was published. The above consultations takes forward one of the committments in the plan, to look carefully at the idea of placing a duty on local authorities to respond constructively to the petitions they receive".
Hazel Blears (secretary of State for Communities and Local Government) is considering providing a legislative framework for dealing with local petitions.
Local Petitions and Call for Action Consultation
This gives advice for anyone who is considering starting a petition.
Local Petitions and Call for Action Summary of Responses
This gives the summary of responses and list of consultees
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| Seizing the Future ---
15 Sep 2008
As readers are probably aware the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust have been reviewing services provided, in a review called "Seizing the Future".
The consultation with the public will take place in October and I will publish dates and times of events and the process for giving feedback to the trust.
As always I welcome comments from residents after the consultation has begun.
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Special Delivery ---
12 Sep 2008
 We are please to announce the safe arrival of first niece Jessica Lucy, 9 4oz, born yesterday by c-section at North Tees.
It was an incredibly emotional day all round as the procdeure was delayed slightly which left Mike and I sending text messages every 10 minutes. When the news finally came through that everything had gone to plan, there were tears of relief.
We had a fantastic hour and a half last night cuddling the baby and didnt leave until we had to. Hopefully they should be home tomorrow, so the rest of the family will be able to see her.
She is absolutely gorgeous, you forget how small they are when they are first born.
We are looking forward to babysitting....
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| Cabinet Meeting ---
10 Sep 2008
I attended the meeting of the Labour Cabinet to hand in the petition signed by 350 residents to have the bus routes reinstated to Harrowgate Farm and Mayfair Road.
The comment forms filled in by residents telling us of how these changes have affected their working, social and everyday life were given to the leader of the council John Williams.
I was told by Councillor Williams that is not them we should be petitioning but Arriva. This is a smoke screen created by the Labour group and the Labour MP Alan Milburn.
If Arriva are telling us that this is not commercially viable for them to run these routes.Then the council has “a duty of care” to provide services to the affected areas. Council taxpayers pay to have services provided and at the moment the authority is not acheiving this in Harrowgate Hill.
I asked the question -
When are the proposals to subsidise the routes to the 5 affected areas of the town going to be considered by the Cabinet as the officers report has suggested?
There seemed to be some trouble understanding this question, it seemed to me to be a simple question.
The recommendation was made by officers in the report to cabinet and i wanted to know on behalf of residents when these proposals were to be put before cabinet?
I was attending the meeting on behalf of residents in my role as elected member for the ward. I look forward to receiving the response to the petition and hope that the time and effort involved by residents is taken into consideration and acted upon accordingly.
The message is loud and clear but are the council going to listen? Or turn their back on the needs of Darlington residents?
Are they going to be the “listening council” or the “deaf council”
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| Drinkfield Marsh ---
31 Aug 2008
A quick drizzly walk with Daisy tonight and we were please to notice that the pier on the marsh has been repaired.
We noticed a couple of weeks ago that 6 planks had been removed from the pier making it unsafe, we reported this to the countryside team.
We also noticed that one of the traffic lights on Burtree Lane is leaning to one side, clearly it has been the victim of a collision. This has been reported to the highways department.
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| "Speaking for Myself" ---
27 Aug 2008
I have been meaning to blog for a while about the Cherie Blair book "Speaking for Myself".
After all the media hype, i decided to go out and buy it several months ago. I am about half way through it.
The book starts with the anecdote that when leaving Downing Street for the last time a year ago, she called to the press as she got into the government car: "Bye, I won't miss you." Then, as her book relates: "'You can't resist it, can you?' Tony said through clenched teeth as the door closed behind me. 'For God's sake, you're supposed to be dignified, you're supposed to be gracious'." That story embodies Cheries personality.
The book is an interesting read, I was not aware of her upbringing.
She is very open and frank about her childhood and does not shy away from the details of her fathers abandonment of their family. However, there is always a fine line over which not to tread and as much as I admire frankness, the details of Leos conception crossed that line!
She is an excellent Barrister and is clearly passionate about Politics. She adores her husband and her children.
A Socialist and a self proclaimed Feminist, I cant help but like her.....
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| Drug Rationing ---
26 Aug 2008
Britain's top cancer consultants have accused the government’s drugs rationing body of ignoring the plight of patients forced to sell their cars and remortgage their houses to pay for cancer treatments freely available in Europe.
Twenty-six professors blame the severe restrictions imposed by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) on its failure to “get its sums right”.
Nice refuses, on grounds of cost, to recommend some drugs for patients with advanced kidney cancer. The consultants, who include the directors of oncology at Britain’s two biggest cancer hospitals, the Royal Marsden in London and Christie hospital in Manchester, claim there is enough money in the NHS to pay for the drugs.
Their letter to The Sunday Times states: “We now spend similar amounts to Europe on health generally and cancer care in particular, but less than two thirds of the European average on cancer drugs. It just can’t be that everybody else around the world is wrong about access to innovative cancer care and the NHS right in rationing it so severely.” They say: “The time has come for a radical change in how the NHS makes rationing decisions for cancer.”
As a nurse, I understand the desperate plight of these patients, who will sell everything they own in order to buy themselves that bit of extra time with their loved ones.
Why are these drugs so expensive in the first place. I am well aware that Pharmaceutical companies have to make a profit, that is what running a business is all about. But, just how big should these profits be? Is it morally wrong that patients are denied vital treatment because of the desire of these companies to make big profits. I am not saying that this is the case, however, the figures would be an interesting viewing.
NICE provide national guidance on promoting good health and preventing and treating ill health. But the funds to provide these treatments are not limitless.
So, when 26 Doctors are publically critising the system, then surely it is time that the Politicans, Medics, NICE and the Drug companies sat around a table and sorted this issue out and end the suffering of these patients.
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| Well Done Longfield ---
21 Aug 2008
The most improved results came from Longfield School, which went from 53 per cent to 73 per cent of pupils gaining five A* to C grades.
I was driving down Longfield Road this morning and saw many happy faces all with their mobile phones, clearly telling their families the good news. I must admit it brought a smile to my face to see young people clearly excited at their well deserved exam results.
Well done to Headteacher Keith Cotgrave, all the staff, students and their families.
Longfield begins its 40th year celebrations with the best ever exam results.
I myself was a pupil at Longfield from 1979-1984. Those of you are good at Maths will be able to work out my age......
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| I-Pod, Wash With Care ---
20 Aug 2008
Whilst getting into my car yesterday morning ready for work, I had a horrible moment when I was unable to locate my beloved I-Pod.
There were 2 options -
1. It was still in my wardrobe.
2. I had left it in my uniform pocket and it had been washed.
A quick phonecall home revealed that option 2 was indeed the case!
To make matters worse, my colleagues at work found it funny as did Mikes Colleagues when I rang him to tell him. So, I was in a decidely bad mood, not receiving any sympathy from anyone as to the loss of my beloved companion.
You see, my Pod is an important possession as I spend a lot of time in the car and listening to music is a pleasure. Anyone who spends a lot of time in their car will relate to this. The music i play reflects my mood and indeed has an influence on it.
My music collection is somewhat elecletic, I have 80s music (Adam and the Ants, Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran), Motown, Classic, Rock, Relaxation and Pop Music (Kylie, Sugababes, Coldplay, The Ting Tings, Duffy) In fact there is not much music that I dont like.
Amazingly, last night, I turned it on and it fired up. A testament to the technology and a stroke of luck to be sure.
However, at luchtime Mike had been out and bought me a shiny new 80GB Pod from Currys. Overwhelmed by his kindness, he spoilt the moment by explaining that it was only because he could not stand my complaining!
So, I now have lots of free space to download even more music and there is is a rumour that Spandau Ballet are getting back together.....
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| Bus Wars! ---
14 Aug 2008
Sadly, in Todays Echo we have been critised by our esteemed Labour Cabinet colleague Councillor Nick Wallis.
The move to suddenly challenge Arrivas decision to cut vital bus routes is another fine example of a reactive response instead of a proactive approach by the Labour Group.
They knew about the changes in April but chose not to act.
Hartlepool Borough council reacted quickly and responsibly when their residents were suffering through lack of a bus service to the Headland. So, therefore are Hartlepool Council being a soft touch by susidising this Stagecoach bus service or are they responding to the needs of its residents and prioritizing needs? You decide.
In terms of the accusation that “the Tories are fast becoming the party with apparently limitless cash to fund their pet projects”. Is Councillor Wallis suggesting that free travel before 9.30am for pensioners and vital bus services are pet projects? It would appear so. We consider them vital services that allow people to lead an independent life.
We know that residents in our ward do not think that even basic services are being provided and these cuts to bus services has caused much anger and distress to residents and their families. This Labour council has lost touch with the people it represents and makes decisions without even considering or perhaps even caring about the effects it will have on the people of this town.
It may be a cliché but we do care and we will challenge and continue to challenge decisions that we believe have a detrimental effect on the lives of the people we represent.
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| Another Proud Day ---
14 Aug 2008
Today was exam result day and as i was off work Lauren wanted me to go with her. I must admit that i didnt have a problem getting out of bed this morning, usually it takes a couple of snoozes on the alarm before i can force myself out bed. I have never been a morning person, I have always stayed tucked up under several duvets until the very last minute, leaving the minimum amount of time to get ready.
But this morning i was awake early. I think that I was more nervous than she was. It never ceases to amaze me how much confidence young people have nowadays, i was incredibly shy at her age (really).
I have to admit to feeling slightly nauseous walking through the doors of the college, as in my day exam results were posted to your home (just as well in my case, thats another story for another day). The atmosphere was, i can only describe as emotional as some students were hugging and clearly pleased with their results and others were in tears clearly suffering from massive disappointment.
The funny part was Lauren got her results but we could not understand what she had got, so there was a moment of panic until we found her form tutor who informed us that she had 4 As. Hugs and kisses all round and i had to swallow hard to stop the tears coming.
She has acheived Law, Sociology, Psychology and Politics at A/S level and is next year going on to take A Level Law, Sociology and psychology.
Well done, Lauren and all of the other students who got their results today....
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Media Whores ---
11 Aug 2008
Following an article in todays echo about the continuing saga in Harrowgate Hill of lack of buses to two areas of the ward, we have been accused by fellow blogger Labour Councillor Nick Wallis of being media whores!
nick wallis blog
My response on his blog is -
"Media whore or representing the people? You decide!
The council has a duty of care to provide a service for its residents and as your leader was quick to point at full council, Arriva is a commercial organisation which means there to make a profit. And yes John I do understand what commercial means!
In fact, it was the Cabinet report that noted that five areas in the town would be affected by the commercial decision by Arriva to change the routes and it was recommended in the cabinet report that the council should consider subsidising routes to service these affected areas. All we are simply doing is to try and make sure that these proposals are put to Cabinet sooner rather later or alternative proposals.
But it is a bit naive to even suggest that Arriva (commercial organisation) is going to put services into these areas out of the goodness of their hearts. The decision by Arriva was based on patronage figures that the council have not seen. We have to take their word for it that these routes were not commercially viable? Perhaps they may turn out to be not so commercially unviable as first thought.
As for sending a dubious message to the Post Office and Arriva, it is not them you are serving, it is Darlington residents, for whom you need to provide a service, not worry about being thought of as a soft touch by organisations. It is a shame that you did not worry as much about your reputation with the people of Darlington because you might react quicker to problems like these, as our neighbouring authority Hartlepool has.
It is a bit funny to find a Labour Councillor giving advice on how to inspire long-run confidence amongst the public given the current state of affairs with the country and the lack of confidence within the Labour Party in its leader. It you dont mind, i might just continue to do what i was elected to do and represent the people!"
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| Weekly Roundup ---
10 Aug 2008
Apologies to anyone who came to our ward surgery on Tuesday night to find Longfield School locked. We were there for 6pm but found the school locked, even though it had been booked through Democratic Services. Some quick thinking was called for and we held it at home.Thanks to the 4 people who attended and the phone calls we received.
Tintagel - We have asked for the landscaped areas around Tintagel to be litter picked and weeds removed from the beds.
Longfield Road - The issue with Motorbikes has been reported to the Police and anti-social behaviour team.
Holmwood Grove - We asked for a clear up of the backlane in the triangle of Holmwood Grove, North Road and Mayfair Road a couple of weeks ago, which was done the next day. When Mike and i checked the area on Wednesday night we found a similar situation. Streetscene came the next day and cleared the area up again, residents are going to monitor the situation. The Streetcare team has also been asked to remove the paint from the cobbles.
There has been incidents of anti-social behaviour reported in this backlane and this has been reported to the Police and ASB team to deal with.
The piece of land in Holmwood Grove between the end house and the back of Ashleigh House, after some investiagtion does belong to the council and we have been promised the area will tidied up by the end of August. Again residents will monitor and report back to us.
Glebe Road and Longfield Backlane - Potholes have been reported which have been forwarded to Highways Department.
Grass Cutting - Issues with grass cutting have been reported to Streetscene and we are awaiting a response.
Bus Services Changes - We are still receiving comments from residents and will feed these back to the council. We have been told that the situation will be reviewed. More later...
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| Hectic Harrowgate Hill ---
31 Jul 2008
I am quickly blogging to say sorry for not having had time to blog recently!
We have been on holiday and before that i was at the Arts Centre being Laurens dresser!
I have only had one evening at home in the last three weeks.
We have attended two consultations in the ward this week, one was the Bellway consultation for the proposals for the Beaumont Hill site and tonight we have been to the Banks consultation for the wind farm proposed at Moor House Farm, near Darlington. The land is about three miles east of Barmpton, Brafferton and Little Stainton.
We have information about the wind farm proposal if anyone wishes to contact us. We have asked Bellway homes for information and a set of plans to be sent to us.
As always, i welcome comments from residents about both of these proposals and will be presenting your comments to the planning committee.
Going back to our holidays, the weather was glorious and food plentiful. We had two full days on the beach and went to the airshow at Lowestoft, where we finally saw the Vulcan fly. We had travelled to Wiltshire for the Fairford Air Tattoo which was unfortunately cancelled due to the good old British weather. Mike is a sponsor for the Vulcan to the sky project and i am sure that he will publish some of the photos on his blog. The video footage is not very good as i was in charge of the camera!
It is thanks to Aunty Jen and uncle Dave for taking care of Daisy, we cant report that she behaved herself because she didnt!
We have a good amount of casework in the ward at the moment as well as the issue with the lack of bus service in the ward.
Full of busy....
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| MPs Expenses Published ---
16 Jul 2008
The Conservatives have published in full the expenses claimed by all our Front Bench MPs for the last three months.
This comes as part of David Cameron's continued efforts to bring greater openness to the issue of MPs' expenses and allowances.
The information published includes a comprehensive list of staff and their positions, an indication of any family members employed, and a breakdown of office running costs and expenditure incurred by staying away from their main home.
David said:
"Politicians need to do everything they can to regain the trust of the British people, and transparency has a key part to play in that process. We must show that we're spending taxpayers money sensibly and correctly."
And he stressed:
"We are the first party to demand this information from our members, and our MPs are voluntarily revealing a much more detailed breakdown of their expenses than official rules require them to. I'm glad that we're leading the way."
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| Shall We Dance ---
16 Jul 2008
The Tyzack Academy are performing "Shall We Dance"
Dates:
16/07/2008 to 19/07/2008
Venue:
Arts Centre
Prices:
£5.50
£7.00
I can personally recommend. I attended the dress rehearsal last night as Lauren has been dancing with the Tyzack Academy for a number of years now. Dance show week is always exciting and extremely exhausting, although this year i have taken this week off as holiday. The Tyzack Academy teaches youngsters to dance in Harrowgate Hill Methodist Church in Lowson Street and a lot of the youngsters live locally.
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| Not Connected to the Community ---
10 Jul 2008
I attended the meeting of the Cabinet on Tuesday night and delivered the following speech -
"I would like to thank the Labour Cabinet for finally doing the right thing by giving pensioners in Darlington free travel before 9:30 a.m.
However, there is also a however, I would like to put it to you that the only reason you have made this U-turn is because of pressure on you have received from the Conservative group and other organisations in Darlington. Or perhaps the decision was prompted by your leader Gordon Browns spectacular U-turn on the 10p tax.
Concessionary travel should have been a top priority when you were putting your budget together. The fact is you tried to make savings by using our pensioners as soft targets. It was a shortsighted decision by a Labour Cabinet who clearly do not understand or care about the needs of elderly and disabled residents of Darlington. If the sums had been correct in the first place, then the amount of money needed could have been found more easily by making savings elsewhere. You place so much importance on the talking together events when in fact it was the opposition group who listened to residents and acted on their behalf to challenge this bad decision.
Thanks to the Labour government's current credit crunch people are having to cut back and prioritise their own needs within their own budget. Residents of Darlington expect the council to behave in the same way by prioritising their needs and spending their money wisely on essential services. There are tough times ahead and this council needs to demonstrate to the people of Darlington that they have the ability to manage council services effectively when money is short. Sadly your original decision certainly failed to reflect that you have this skill
You the Labour Cabinet are out of touch with the people of Darlington, how people think and feel and what they want".
The Labour group are not connected to communities.
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| The Mysterious Consultation ---
09 Jul 2008
From yesterdays Echo "A spokeswoman for Darlington Borough Council said: "We were consulted on the new routes, which were drawn up following residents' consultation and other information, including ticket sales"
Residents are outraged because they are telling us that they have not been consulted. If they had been consulted then they have said that we need to maintain the service to all areas.
"The council supports Services 6a and 6b in the evenings and Sundays to allow a route into Harrowgate Farm." Not good enough, we need a full service.
An evidence gathering mission is ahead as well as getting support from local residents.
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| Henley by-election ---
27 Jun 2008
Results of the by-election
John Howell: Conservative 19,796
Stephen Kearney: Lib Dems 9,680
Mark Stevenson: Green 1,321
Timothy Rait: BNP 1,243
Richard McKenzie: Labour 1,066
Chris Adams: UKIP 843
The results speak volumes.
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Debate Over Free Bus Travel ---
26 Jun 2008
My fellow blogger Nick Wallis claims that "The Council has been listening to the views of pensioners, for example at Talking Together events, and this announcement is the result" and then more alarmingly accuses the Tories of spin. Theres more spin in that statement than the magic roundabout!
The cost of providing free travel before 9.30am for concessionary pass holders was stated in the January cabinet report as being £300,000 based on current travel patterns. The council is now claiming that figure is only £200,000 but the figure will not be confirmed until the July cabinet report is produced. This makes the original estimate over a third higher that the current figure being bandied about by the council. If the sums had been correct (or even close) in the first place then the amount of money needed could have been more easily found by making savings elsewhere.
The only reason that the Labour council has made a U-turn decision on providing free travel before 9:30 a.m. is because of the pressure it received from Mike and I, the Conservative group, as well as other organisations such as the Cycling Campaign Group, the Pensioners Forum and the protest that had been organised by angry pensioners who were still working. Let us not be naive, if no pressure had been put on John Williams about this matter, then all pensioners in Darlington would still be paying for their travel before 9.30am.
There is interesting debate between myself and Nick on the Echo web site
Council changes mind on bus concession
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| CSA ---
26 Jun 2008
I am currently doing a piece of work looking at the Child Support Agencys policies and procedures. I am going to produce a report highlighting some interesting loopholes and systematic failings within the system. This will then be used to lobby for change.
I would be interested to hear from anyone who is currently having issues with the system and would be willing to provide advice on individual cases to identify possible maladministration as well as highlighting more potential system failings.
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Our Bus Journey ---
17 Jun 2008
 This morning myself, Edward Legard, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate, Echo reporter Will Roberts and 2 local pensioners boarded the 9.28am number 21 Arriva bus at Whinbush Way.
We had met at 9.15am in Asda car park and observed 2 buses stop on both sides of Whinbush Way, one with 2 passengers and the other was empty. The purpose of todays exercise was see first hand the overcrowding on the buses after 9.30am as a result of the councils bad decision to stop free travel for pensioners before 9.30am. By the time we reached Haughton Road, it was standing room only. I stood up to give my seat to one of the pensioners boarding the bus.
The conditions are appalling with elderly people with walking sticks and shopping bags having to hang onto the straps in an attempt to remain upright.
Edward and I spoke to most of the pass holders on the bus asking them how this change had affected their lives.
One lady said “pensioners are up with the larks and they like to go about their business early”. Others were telling us that they had had to pay for travel to doctors and hospital appointments out of an already dwindling pension with food prices going up.
Another lady told me that her 86 year old Grandad had to walk to early GP appointments because he could not afford the bus fare.
Another told of embarrassment at getting on a bus at 9.27am, forgetting they could not use the pass and not having enough money to pay the fare.
We also met an ex Spitfire Pilot who had served Queen and Country. He told us that he had tried to get on an empty bus at 9.28am to be told he would have to wait for the next one or pay. This is total madness buses running empty whilst other are overcrowded and dangerous. I am sure that the Arriva bus drivers are experiencing frustration at having to turn pensioners away for the sake of a couple of minutes. But that is the fault of the council not Arriva or the drivers.
One lady travelling with us is a pensioner who is still working and travels to work and back home before 9.30am, therefore is unable to use her pass and has to buy a weekly pass from her wages.
The atmosphere on the bus was jovial and everyone appreciated our efforts to try to reverse this decision.
One passenger said “I wish John Williams would get on this bus so he could see first hand what it is like”
If you stand as I did last week on Tubwell Row and watch the buses coming in, before 9.30am most have a handful of passengers, some empty. From approx 9.40am until 10.15am the buses start arriving with standing room only.
Essentially this council has put a curfew on pensioners for the sake of £15 per year per passholder. Is this really how we should be treating the most vulnerable members of our society? It is shameful when money is being wasted by overspending on capital projects such as the Eastern Transport Corridor.
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