“We need action now from the Council, working with the School Governors to boost the schools prospects for next year and we need this Council to sort out once and for all Labours legacy of meddling with the failed high school review.

2nd Prestwich Area Partnership 6.30pm with Open (public) Forum - Sedgley Park School, Bishops Road, Prestwich.

6th Bury Lib Dems Executive - New members always welcome, drop me a line if interested.

13th Heaton Park School Governors Meeting 7.15pm

16th Special Prestwich Area Partnership Meeting 7.00pm Longfield Suite.

22nd Consultation Event - Housing Strategy for Older people, Town Hall, Bury

25th North West Lib Dems regional conference

29th Simister Village Community Association 7.30 Lady Wilton Hall, Simister

As part of the consultation on future options for residential care, a free phone number and email address have been set up to extend opportunities for people to have their voice heard on this important matter.

Tel:    0800 107 9906 (quoting Bury Council)

Email   bury@rmltd.net

These facilities, which are being run independently of the council to encourage participation, will be available until mid October 2008.

In addition details have been issued to the local press advertising these channels to the public.

Whilst many people will undoubtedly focus specifically on the options, the Council inform me that they would also like to receive feedback on people’s views on related topics such as:

• Should the council be helping more people to live at home
• The type of services (and accommodation) are needed by older people
• What can be done to address the growing number of vacant beds across the residential care sector because demand is falling

And of course any comments or suggestions as to how Bury Council can improve services would of course be equally welcome.

I am assured that all responses will be analysed independently with a summary being provided during November.  These results will then feed into the council’s views on developing older people’s accommodation services for the future.

Bury Liberal Democrats would also like to know your views on these subjects and other questions such as :

What kind of housing choice should be available for the elderly and very elderly in Bury?  

If you would rather not take up these options for making your views known, but would prefer to channel them through your local councillors, please don’t hesitate to get in touch via this website, post, email addresses or even the phone!

Bury Lib Dems have condemned the walk out by Labour Councillors from a full meeting of Bury Council as “gesture politics”.

Cllr Vic D’Albert told the meeting “We have just seen an example of gesture politics of the very worst kind.”

The walk out followed heckling from staff in the public gallery angry at the Councils pay review and regrading which will see many member of staff lose thousands in salary reductions while others gain significantly.

Cllr Vic D’Albert added, “Quite frankly I don’t blame those in the public gallery for being angry, I would in be in similar circumstances especially when in the current economic climate the tragic reality is that many could end up losing their homes. But labours orchestrated antics will not help anyone. This is no time for gesture politics and it is frankly insulting. What we need now is for the 3 political groups to get together to find a way through this situation to find a way to support hard hit staff. To improve morale to retain staff and to ensure front line services remain unaffected.
Following the reconvening of the meeting the Lib Dem Group gave a cautious welcome to a concession from the leader of the council to hold a briefing session for all councillors. in order that they are all aware of issues concerning the staff review and regrading.
Cllr Andrew Garner, Lib Dem deputy group leader commented, “This initial move is welcomed but it is only the first step so far as we are concerned. This Conservative administration needs to do a lot more before confidence is restored and staff relations can improve.
“What we need now is concerted action on behalf of staff and they need to see all parties working together to deal with the traumatic affect this may have on many council staff. This Tory administration is now being watched very closely to see what they do next.

Following the meeting of Council last week the Lib Dem Group issued a statement detailing the demands they are now making of the Conservative administration, their views on labours walk out and their general views on the Pay review and regrading.

Last nights full meeting of Bury Council was appalling, dissapointing and dramatic. The lowlight of the event was a carefully orchestrated walk-out by Labour councillors. Was it a show of solidarity for the hundreds of staff packed into the public gallery - upset and angry at facing pay cuts? Or was it the an opportunity to score cheap points against the Conservative administration? Or was it a reflection of Labours unwillingness to face up to their role in this whole pay review/job evaluation issue that now blights Bury Council and its staff?

Whatever the motivation for Labour’s behaviour it amounted to the worst example of gesture politics that I have witnessed for a long time. At a time when councillor after councillor should have been demanding answers to crucial questions Labour walked out and abdicated their responsibility towards council staff at the same time.

Following the walk out, when the meeting reconvened it was the Lib Dem group that asked further probing questions and demanded answers and assurances from the Conservatives. It was the Lib Dems that received an assurance that there will be a special briefing session for all councillors.

This is a traumatic time for all staff adversely affected, especially in such a difficult economic climate. Bury Council are duty bound to a) ensure the process was fair and transparent, b) That staff set to lose are supported as fully as possible - financially and in other ways and c) That the appeal process is fair and open to staff attendance.

Bury Council now have a lot of work to do to engage with a sceptical staff and show that they really do care - care enough to do whatever is necessary and within its power to support staff - some of whome have been with Bury Council for 20 plus years.

Questions are being asked not just about the process and the pay review but about the whole Conservative administration. People deserved better from Labour and the Conservatives last night. Last night the war of words reached a climax - now its time to see if they are prepared to do the right thing for Bury people. Bury is watching.   

How do you think Bury Council has handled the pay review and job evaluation? Why not complete the Straw poll on the left hand side of this site. Additionally please feel free to email me your views.

I am extremely worried and concerned about the proposed new tenancy agreement for Bury Council tenants. In particular I am extremely concerned about section 7/8 PARTc of the proposals from the Councils Arms Length Management company - Six Town Housing.

These sections deal with “applying to court to reposess your home”.

In section 7 they refer to if the tenant has died, you are not the tenants partner and they decide the house is too big, then they will apply to court.

Section 8 just refers to the house being too big.

In both cases there is no mention of the rights of the tenant/resident. No mention of any appeals procedure, no mention about guarantees regarding an alternative location, refusal rights etc. In fact no mention of any rights whatsoever!

I think Six Town Housing needs to review this proposed tenancy agreement and inject a bit more fairness and tenants rights into these two sections at least.

I have registered my objection.

10th Full Meeting of Bury Council, 7pm Bury Town Hall

13th-17th Lib Dem Autumn Conference, Bournemouth

23rd Pennine Acute Hospital Trust AGM - The education Centre, Fairfield Hospital from 5.45pm see invite trust-agm-invite.pdf

25th Healthier Communities Scrutiny Commission - 6pm Bury Town Hall

In addition we are waiting for a date (hopefully late September) for a special Area Partnership meeting for formal presentation and consultation on the proposals for regeneration of Prestwich Town Centre - Keep an eye on the local press.

It has been brouIt is extremely worrying that Bury Council unlike some other authorities, does not keep records of knife or offensive weapon possession in our schools.It amounts to a “head-in-the-sand” policy over knives. If Bury Council is to play its part in dealing with knife crime it is critical that we know the scale of the problem. That starts with our own school and youth facilities.

If knife crime is to be dealt with we need a concerted effort across the board - I hope Bury will review this policy as a matter of urgency and develop a proper strategy working with Police and other partners to ensure safe neighbourhoods across Bury.

BAAS Construction Ltd are commencing work soon on re-roofing many of the houses on the Polefield Estate. Re-roofing works to include new soffits, fascias, rainwater pipes, guttering, renewal of slate tiles and roof insulation.

Here are the details:
Commencement Date/Site Set-up - 25th August 2008
Completion date - 13 week contract
Site Foreman - Andy Jordan
Tenant Liaison Officer - BAAS - Helen Cooper
Capital Project Officer - Joanne McCabe
Emergency telephone number - Bradley Fold 0161 253 6606
BAAS Emergency Out Of Hours 0800 294 4770
Site Compound - corner of Polefield Hall Road/Polefield Circle
Site Office - 12 Polefield Grange

A top Bury Liberal Democrat today criticised the government after Bury Council revealed that only two secondary schools in Bury received a full set of exam marks before the end of term. Vic D’Albert, Lib Dem Parliamentary spokesman for Bury South, said “Local Children have been let down. It is a tragedy that after all the hard work of the children and their teachers, the government has stood back and watched whilst papers remain unmarked, lost, or marked wrongly.”The figures paint a picture of chaos across the Borough. Only two secondary schools in Bury have a full set of marked papers in Maths, English and Science at Key Stage 3.

Elton High School and Derby High School reported only 1% of its English papers had been marked by July 22nd. At Prestwich Arts College, less than two thirds of English papers were marked, and some maths results were also missing.  Vic D’Albert added “This is a disgraceful neglect of duty by the government, and I feel so sorry for the children who’s hard work has so far gone unrewarded. The government should be running effective exam systems that prepare our children well, but this chaos will make planning for GCSEs all the more difficult for schools.” Local primary schools have also suffered. High Lane school reported only 6% of papers in English marked, whilst Emanuel school in Holcombe was missing all of its Science papers. Vic D’Albert said, “The chaos that is so evident with these tests just shows that the system is broken. The government’s desire for central control means that Bury schools are swamped
with red-tape. And yet the government can’t even get the marking right. I will be campaigning hard for an enquiry to make sure that this mess doesn’t happen again. Our focus must always be on supporting local children and the teachers that have such a positive influence on their lives. Both children and teachers can rightly feel let down, and I will strive to make sure that this can’t happen again.”