Why on earth do the local Tories want to merge Kirklees and Calderdale councils to create a mega council stretching from Denby Dale to Todmorden?

 As well as this mega council (contrary to the localism agenda), the Tories want another layer of councils below this mega council. There would be three of these: Calderdale; and a split Kirklees.

 The consequences are clear:

• More bureaucrats – as there will be FOUR councils where there are now only two. So there will be for instance two MORE Chief Executives and many more senior officers.
• TWO council tax bills whereas of course there is now only one. And the two bills will inevitably add up to more than the existing one.

 So at the same time as CUTS are being made to council services for older people, libraries are under threat, roads’ maintenance is slashed, the Conservatives seem to think it is a good idea to increase bureaucracy and the number of councils.

I wonder which planet the Tories are living on. People I speak to are concerned about their jobs, paying their energy bills, and are anxious about the future. The last thing they want is to pay two council tax bills. One is more than enough.

I’ve just been reading the Annual Report of the Scholes Lunch Club. It has been going for 6 years and provided an invaluable service to older people in the Scholes and Hartshead Moor Top areas.

The Lunch Club is based at Scholes Church Hall and is run by volunteers many of whom are also involved with the church. The meals are cooked on the premises by young people under the community payback scheme. The food at the club has been awarded the Gold in the Kirklees Healthy Eating scheme and the report has plenty of comments from the members about how much they enjoy the meals.

The club gets a grant of  £2,700 from the Council which covers about a third of the costs but is absolutely essential to keep the lunch club going.  So, whatever cuts and savings the council has to make, this grant to the Scholes Lunch Club , and of course, to the one at Central Methodist as well, MUST continue.

Bins were not emptied on Wednesday because of the strike. Now residents are being told that there will be no catch up collections. So they will have to wait until December 14th for the grey or green bin that was due for collection on November 30th to be emptied.

Let me know what you think about this.

Join the campaign to keep Cleckheaton out of Bradford

 More and more people are supporting the campaign – Hands Off Cleckheaton.

You can show your support by clicking this link www.handsoffcleckheaton.org.uk

The more people who support the campaign the nore likely we are to stop in its tracks the mad idea from the Boundary Commission that Cleckheaton belongs as part of Bradford.

More detailed information on earlier post on this site.

Better place to play

Great news that the Whitechapel play area has now been fully re-furbished to make a safe play area for children in the area. The work was completed this week.

For non-emergencies use 101

West Yorkshire Police have announced that the phone number for contacting the police for non-emergencies is changing from November 17th

This is the information that the Police have provided to Kirklees councillors:

101 is the new number to contact the Police when it’s not an emergency.  101 will replace 08456 06 06 06 in West Yorkshire from 17th November 2011. 

 All calls to 101 cost a flat rate of 15p, even from a mobile and no matter how long the call lasts or what time of day it is.

Deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired people can use textphone 18001 101

 The public should call 101 for less urgent crime or disorder. Examples include:

• To report a stolen car
• Property has been damaged
• To report drug dealing
• To report a minor traffic accident
• For general police enquiries

 Calls to 101 will be answered in the West Yorkshire Police control room.  Calls to your local Neighbourhood Policing Team can still be used to speak to local officers about local issues.

 101 is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  If you ring the 0845 number you will be told about the new 101 number and to ring 101 in future.

 101 will not replace 999 but is there for crimes or incidents that are not urgent and that do not need an officer to attend immediately. If an officer does not need to attend we will give advice over the phone or put you in touch with someone who can help. Or we will arrange a convenient time for an officer to visit if this is needed.

 999 is for real emergencies, where there is a danger to life, or a crime is in progress. In these cases we will send an officer immediately. If you are vulnerable or upset we will prioritise your call.

 Please do not call 999 unless it’s an emergency, as you might be putting others at risk – use 101

 For more information visit – www.westyorkshire.police.uk/101 __________________________________

CAB free advice Tuesdays 10 -1

The Citizens Advice Bureaux in Kirklees are offering a new service.

Anyone wanting to talk directly to an adviser can do so at CLECKHEATON LIBRARY EVERY TUESDAY 10 – 1.

The advice is free and confidential.

Advisers are able to provide advice on debt, benefits, relationships, housing, immigration and much more.

For an appointment call 01484 451381

The servcie is also provided at Batley Library on a Wednesday 10 – 1

and Heckmondwike Library on a Thursday 10 – 1

More changes proposed - have your say

The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust are proposing more changes to services at Dewsbury Hospital.

A number of changes are announced for consultation in a press release issued today by Kirklees NHS.

These are:

• DEWSBURY – the Maternity Unit to be a mid-wife led only. All mothers who may need specialist care will have to go to Pinderfields.
• DEWSBURY – care for children who need to be in hospital for more than 24 hours to be in Pinderfields only
• DEWSBURY – dedicated assessment unit for children who will be in hospital for less than 24 hours
• DEWSBURY – planned orthopaedic surgery eg hip replacements to be centralised in Dewsbury
• an option that acute haemotology and complex chemotherapy requiring hospital care to be centralised in Dewsbury
• a further option is for higher risk in-patient surgery to be centralised in Pinderfields
• There is also to be a review of hospital care for people with heart problems

For more details see www.kirklees.nhs.uk/get-involved

I would like to hear your thoughts and concerns. The most worrying of these proposals is that for maternity services. 4 years ago we were promised that a full consultant led maternity unit would remain at Dewsbury.