Norman Baker MP

Liberal Democrat Minister Norman Baker has announced a further round of financial allocations aimed at providing improved bus services.

The “Better Bus Area” guidance for local authorities can be found by clicking here

Essentially local Councils may, in future, be responsible for managing the Bus Service Operators Grant (a fuel cost related subsidy)

Over the last couple of years, the York Council has largely ignored sub-urban areas when submitting their bids for improved bus services.

Unforgivably, they have also failed to include a requirement for participating bus companies to publish service reliability information in return for subsidies.

Hopefully that short sighted policy will change when the new bids are agreed in June.

If it doesn’t then we will be writing to the government asking them to reject any bid for funding being submitted by the York Council.

NB. The Council are also now seeking tenders for the provision of Park and Ride services from the new Poppleton Bar site. Originally the Council had hoped to use state of the art low emission buses on this route which also might have been integrated with stage carriage services to provide a comprehensive network serving north west York.

It was to be the trial area for a “Quality Contract” franchising system

This is the system favoured by Labour who have pledged to introduce it across the whole City; although recently – despite spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on set up costs – they have gone very quiet on their implementation timetable.

There has been no consultation with bus users and drivers about the bus plans for Poppleton Bar, so it’s anyone’s guess at this stage what will emerge when the decision is taken on 16th May.

Reports of dog fouling on footpaths in areas like Foxwood are increasing as the Council announces that it will be merging the dog warden (animal welfare) staff with other street patrols.

These include the innovative Street Environment Officers who were established 6 years ago.

They take much of the credit for the improvement in the appearance of streets in York having had a small budget to deal with issues like verge damage.

The budget was cut when Labour took control of the Council in 2011 and now the service is to be merged with other patrolling posts, including the dog wardens.

The lack of trained specialist staff, with adequate budgets, is bound to make a difference to the appearance of our streets.

Our advice is to continue to report problems click here for access to a web site that allows you to submit photos of problems) and complain – if necessary to the Local Government Ombudsman – if you do not get a satisfactory response.

One of the problems with the York Council’s mobile phone reporting “app” is that it only covers a very limited number of service areas. These include graffiti, litter and fly tipping.

However, one of the biggest emerging problems in York is the crumbling state of roads and footpaths.

The so called “Smarter York” app does not allow these to be reported.

Further budget cuts mean that even more potholes are likely to appear over the next few months.

The Council is obliged by law to make highways safe and must respond to any reported defects.

Fortunately there are alternatives to the “Smarter York” system.

Perhaps the best is a “My Council” app. This allows a large range of issues to be raised with the York (and other) Councils. Click here for details. Issues can be reported either “on line” of via a mobile phone app in “real time”

The well established “Fix My Street” web site also promises that they will have an app available shortly. In the meantime you can report issues by clicking here

Both systems seem to be more user friendly than the York Councils labyrinthine internal “report it” system

Hot on the heels of news that Labour intend to outsource the Councils Warden Call service, comes confirmation that the next service in line for privatisation will be Sheltered Housing with Extra Care.

The Council currently runs 4 homes with “extra care” facilities. These are.
Barstow House,
Gale Farm Court,
Glen Lodge and
Marjorie Waite Court.

A team of staff is on duty to provide a range of support services, including help with: getting into and out of bed, dressing and undressing, preparing meals and eating, washing, bathing and use of the toilet.

Gale Farm Court – To be privatised in 2014 under Labour plans

Labour are looking to cut £310,000 from the cost of providing this service in 2014 and they will start by “market testing” the private sector to find out how much cheaper they can provide the servide for.

No prior consultation had taken place with affected residents, their relatives or staff working in the homes.

The media also failed to publicise the plans which were hidden halfway through a long list of cuts published on the Council web site in February

In 2011 Labour ran a vociferous campaign against the outsourcing of a “reablement” service. The reablement service helps patients discharged from hospital after treatment, to live as independently as possible, and to overcome any disability that they may be left with.

In opposing the outsourcing of this service and other home carers on March 2011 their then spokesperson Cllr Fraser said,

“There is plenty of evidence to suggest that clients value the care services provided by the in-house team of the Council’s Home Carers, more than the private sector, where staff are not paid and trained as well “

On taking office in May 2011 Labour decided that the reablement service would continue to be run by the private sector while the remainder of the home care service was also quietly privatised.

In 2012 Labour ran a “market testing” exercise to determine who should run the new super care homes like the one planned for Lowfields.

Eventually they told local Unions – who had ironically bankrolled their 2011 local election campaign – that the homes would be run by the private sector.

Labour have gone much further with the privatisation of public services than would ever have been contemplated by the last LibDem run Council.

NB. The Council publishes a useful booklet on care choices which can be down loaded here.

Most care services in York are run by the private sector and are subject to regular checks by the Care Quality Commission. Standards are generally high. Copies of CQC reports can be found by clicking here.

Police investigating the death of three-year-old Lydia Bishop at York College Nursery on 17 September 2012, have charged a 24-year-old woman with gross negligence manslaughter.

She will appear at York Magistrates’ Court on 8 April 2013.

York College will be summonsed to court for health and safety breaches.

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The York Council is being blamed for poor communications with social housing tenants as the deadline for the introduction of new Housing Benefit rules looms.

All social housing tenants should by now have received a personal notification of their Housing Benefit entitlement under the new rules

Anyone aged over 61 is exempt from the changes as are disabled children, children in the armed forces, foster carers and people who need overnight care?

An on line benefit entitlement calculator has been provide (click here) but has been poorly publicised.

The Council’s publicity fails to recognise that some Council homes in – for example – the Cranfield Place area while being originally classified as 3 bedroomed properties, but were later reclassified as 2 bedroomed (because one of the rooms was below Council housing minimum size standards).

Other questions involve those ex military pensioners who are unable to work because of injuries sustained while on duty.

The Council promised proactive communications with tenants in a paper published a few months ago (click here to download)

But we understand that many residents remain confused about their eligibility for discretionary payments

Some background information is available at the following government website click here.

Completed petition forms are pouring in as York residents give the thumbs down to Labours plans to charge residents an extra £30 a year to empty green waste bins.

The response is one of the highest ever recorded in the City. National politicians are also now backing the campaign (see Press story)

It comes as the Council concludes its own “consultation”. It can be found by clicking here

There has been little pre publicity for the Council survey and it is very difficult to find on the Councils web site.

They are requiring residents to complete an electronic survey. The questions though are loaded, presuming as they do that economies have to be made in waste collection rather than other areas of Council expenditure.

Labour is currently spending £600,000 on the introduction of a city-wide 20 mph speed limit and two of its officials are on a £25,000 marketing jaunt to Cannes.

A petition against the Green Bin Tax can be found on the Councils web site by clicking here.

So far 139 residents have used this method to register their opposition. The petition closes on 3rd April.

The Liberal Democrat petition form can be found by clicking here

Residents responding to a Focus survey mainly carried out in the Westfield Ward have also come out strongly against the Labour plan.

96% are opposed to charging for green bin emptying.

96% also want to see the Beckfield Lane recycling centre reopened while 69% say they were inconvenienced by the lack of a New Years Day refuse collection

New sports facilities are to be provided as part of a £600,000 plan to replace the aging pavilion on the Little Knavesmire, off Knavesmire Road

The existing pavilion will be replaced with a new one which will include four players’s changing rooms; two referees’s changing rooms, storage space, a Clubroom/community café and improved parking for cars and cycles.

The current building was used originally by the Royal Observatory Corp in the 1940’s

Funding support is expected to come from The Football Foundation, Sport England and the local and wider community.

The facility is adjacent to three full-sized, four mini-soccer pitches and two cricket pitches, some of which have recently had major improvements to the drainage system and levelling. It is expected that the new facility will increase community participation from many other local sports and community groups, who would access the facility for sports sessions, meetings and social events.

Construction is expected to commence in August 2013.

A partnership between Age UK York and the Yorkshire Energy Partnership, is offering vulnerable or low income households across the city a free Home Energy Audit

A successful bid to the Warm Homes Healthy People fund is helping tackle fuel poverty through the Warmer Winter project which aims to keep homes warm and dry and to enable older residents, in particular, to remain mobile in their home.

This support includes assessing how the most vulnerable residents can be supported to keep warm and healthy while giving them tailored advice about practical measures such as loft and cavity wall insulation.

Click here to see a press article about the governments green deal initiative

Older people or their friends and family can telephone Age UK York’s FIRSTCALL50 service for advice and help on 01904 634061.

Anyone who might benefit from this scheme or could do with some extra help this winter can contact Denise Hall of the Yorkshire Energy Partnership on 01904 545020 or email denise.Hall@energypartnership.org.uk
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