Councillor Iain Lindley, Prospective Conservative MP and opposition spokesman for Planning on Salford City Council, has called for the Council to extend the consultation deadline for the draft Core Strategy. The deadline for local residents to submit their responses to Council’s draft Core Strategy is this coming Friday, January 15th.
Councillor Lindley said:
“In view of the recent atrocious weather, and the unprecedented public concern about a number of the proposals contained within the document, it seems only right to extend the consultation period so that all Salford residents have the opportunity to submit their comments. I know that in many parts of Salford the post has been unreliable, and the minds of local people have rightly been elsewhere. I would hate to see submissions ruled out-of-order simply because they were posted within the deadline but did not arrive.
It is also disappointing to hear continued reports about the failure of the “Life In Salford” magazine to be distributed properly. This was the Council’s main method of communication with regard to the Core Strategy and if the magazine was not delivered as promised then this clearly merits a consultation extension in itself.
This document sets out the future of Salford over the next few decades, and a couple of weeks delay is a small price to pay for ensuring that all local residents are given every opportunity to comment.”
Don’t forget to have your say on the Core Strategy - visit the Council website for more details!
Salford Conservatives are delighted that the Schools Adjudicator has ruled in favour of St George’s. It is an excellent school at the heart of the local community and local Conservatives have said all along that there was no reasonable justification for closing it down.
This ruling is a triumph for local parents, pupils (past and present), staff and community members who have worked so tirelessly to save their school. We are thrilled that they have achieved the right result.
Salford’s Labour Council could have avoided two years of unnecessary heartache and hassle imposed on the local communities in Walkden and Little Hulton by admitting that they were wrong to propose the closure of St George’s in the first place. They have shown a complete failure to listen to local people and we hope that they will now return to the drawing board and draw up proposals to improve our local schools which ensure that every child really does matter and all pupils benefit from new development.
Press Release from Cllr Karen Garrido and Cllr Christine Gray
We met with the Chief Executive of Salford Council, Barbara Spicer today (30th June), to discuss the ‘Serious Case Review Executive Summary’. We had a number of questions not only about the report but also concerning the 66 recommendations contained within the summary.
We asked to see the full report only to find that we were not allowed to see the full report, but what shocked us was that the Chief Executive and the Leader of the Council are also not able to obtain a copy. In Salford the only people allowed to see the full report are the members of the Safeguarding Board Sub Group, who are members of the panel. Cllr Garrido said “As elected councillors who represent the people of Salford, we are not allowed to see the report which means that we have a situation in Salford where there has been a death of a child and the full information is being withheld from those in a position to question’. We had hoped that after the Victoria Climbie case, lessons had been learnt, clearly not”.
Councillor Gray said “With regards to the 66 recommendations, many of which are Government Guidelines, which all agencies involved with the family, should have already have been working towards” she went on to say “We asked a number of questions regarding not only Salford’s services but those of the Health Authority and the Greater Manchester Police about their involvement. I am writing to Professor Eileen Fairhurst asking for a meeting for us to question her about the involvement of her staff”.
One of our concerns is the total lack of action from Salfords Children’s Services when members of the public contacted them with their serious concerns about the welfare of Demi. Even formal complaints from the police went unanswered. It takes courage to phone up to report these concerns and what has happened over this case must not put people off reporting.
We were dismayed to hear that Jill Baker the Strategic Director of Childrens Service had made an announcement “that members of staff will not be formally disciplined” even though they had not fulfilled their roles and responsibilities. What message does this send out to the staff working with children and families? At this stage the door should not be closed on any action being taken on any member of staff.
The obvious failing of all agencies in the care of Demi Leigh Mahon, reminds us that nothing has been learnt by the Victoria Climbie case and we believe only a Public Inquiry will find the truth as how this matter has been dealt with and satisfy the concerns of the people of Salford that the correct actions are being taken to prevent tragedies of this kind occurring again.
We are therefore calling for a Public Inquiry to be held at the earliest opportunity.
The results of the Government’s “Place Survey”, which asked residents across the country about their views on their local Council, makes damning reading for Labour-run Salford Council.
- Only 24.4% thought that the Council provided value-for-money
- 33.7% were “satisfied or fairly satisfied” with the Council
- Just 45.8% were satisfied with the way the Council picks up litter
- 23.5% thought they were able to influence decisions in their area
Councillor Iain Lindley, Prospective MP for Worsley & Eccles South, said:
“Labour have let down Salford and taken residents for granted - this Labour Council simply do not listen. Local people are rightly scathing of the Council’s record.
Salford residents pay one of the highest rates of Council Tax in the region. Their money is poured down the drain on glossy propaganda, yet they see successful schools like St George’s earmarked for closure and the Council cannot even empty the bins on the correct day consistently.
It is no wonder that less than a quarter of Salford people think the Council delivers value-for-money and only a third are even “fairly satisfied” with the Council. Labour have lost the trust of Salford people - it’s time for a change”.
Local residents in Salford will face another year of rising bills after Salford’s Labour Council pushed through yet another increase in Council Tax. Salford’s Council Tax has now risen by a shocking 86% since 1997.
Conservatives proposed a freeze on Council Tax but this was rejected by Labour Councillors and not supported by the Liberal Democrats.
Conservatives recognise that in the current economic climate many local residents are struggling with their bills, and believe that the Council should do everything it can to reduce the burden on hard-working taxpayers across the City. A Conservative-run Council would:
- Freeze Council Tax
- Scrap unnecessary Council expenditure, such as Labour’s glossy propaganda magazines.
- Freeze Councillor allowances and slash the number of “special allowances” for Councillors
- Reduce use of expensive outside consultants
- Prioritise spending in areas of real need
