And so it begins - with an impending election, the Conservatives have chosen to not tell the truth in their literature in the hopes of winning a few illgotten votes….

The Conservatives are claiming that the Liberal Democrats wilfully refused to support a fully costed scheme which would have preserved tokens for the disabled and vulnerable.

This is untrue. The Conservatives proposed a rushed scheme which was not fully costed and opened up the Council to huge financial risks.  They did not even say who would be covered by their proposals. 

The government has significantly under-funded the new national bus pass scheme.  It has allocated just £444,000 to Maidstone for a scheme which is likely to cost the taxpayer close on £2 million by the end of the first year.  The Council will almost certainly need to go back to the government for top-up funding but it has been made clear that this will not be available to any Council continuing to provide ‘additional’ concessions such as Maidstone’s existing token scheme. Without such extra funding, huge increases to the Council Tax could not be avoided.

 All parties on the Council were working together to seek a solution which would provide the benefits of the Token Scheme without running this kind of risk.  The Conservatives then broke ranks and decided to bring forward their own rushed and ill- thought-out proposals.

The Liberal Democrats have continued to work with others to find a system that will enable the Council to fund outside Agencies to help those vulnerable people who have been disadvantaged by the new bus pass scheme.

This will take time.  However, the first grant under this heading (£6000) has already been awarded to Age Concern to enable them to continue to provide free transport to and from their Day Centres for those who need it.

I have just sent off the following email to Garden Organic:

Hi there,

 

I received a letter in the post this morning reminding me that my membership is expiring.

 

I became a member specifically because of the beautiful gardens at Yalding that I visited all to infrequently with my family. I was disappointed to learn, through the press, rather than through yourselves of the closure of this area. Whilst I understand your ever increasing costs, and the difficulty you must be faced with, I think the manner in which this was handled was totally unacceptable.

 

Again, reported in the local press have been stories that many people gave donations recently for projects in Yalding – what is happening to this money? Will these people be refunded?

 

I have made the decision that as someone that rarely travels outside of the area, there is no longer any justification for retaining my membership.

 

I wish you well with your enterprise and hope that you can resolve your financial difficulties.

 

Julia Batt

I fully support the work of Garden Organic - the national charity that encourages organic growing, but I seriously can’t justify £36 a year for what for me, really equates to four magazines a year. They do offer lots of other perks for members, but I just don’t use them. As I said in my letter, the real reason I was a member was purely for Yalding organic gardens - if you never had the oppurtunity to go, you’ve missed out on a really beautiful and calm place.

My favourite part (and the kids for that matter) was the ‘war garden’ which showed how people maximised the use of a small area to grow their own food, when rationing was such a huge difficulty. I wonder how we’d all cope if we were rationed these days? Not too well I suspect!

I’ve been loathe to write anything about concessionary fares since the local Tories came up with their alternative budget which offered nothing genuine to the residents of Maidstone. Instead, they shocked me by coming up with a cruel political stunt, in my opinion, to do nothing more than win a view votes in May.

In the background I’ve continued to speak to Norman Bakers office about what can be done, spoken to (and kept updated) a number of those affected by the withdrawal of our voucher scheme, and finally have been investigating the possibilty of getting EU funding to continue to offer our exisiting scheme. In addition, I’ve now been a wheelchair user myself for a couple of weeks, so I now know first hand just how useless a bus pass is to some people.

Following all the terrible (and unfair) press we’ve been given locally, the decision was made to not mention the concessionary fare scheme and it’s implications on any of our Focus’s. The logic being that it would just continue to add fuel to the Tories fire. However, clearly people need to understand what’s going on, and so Fran Wilson (leader of Maidstone Borough Council) released this onto our website (www.maidstoneandthewealdlibdems.org.uk) and I think it’s worth repeating here:

Update from leader of Maidstone Council - Cllr Mrs Fran Wilson: 

The new statutory national concessionary fares scheme, which will be introduced in April, is far more generous than the current Maidstone Borough Council scheme, in that it gives concessions on local buses anywhere in England for those aged 60 years or more, and for disabled and people with mobility problems of any age.

The catch is that the local authority has to pay for all journeys starting in the Borough, not only those of our own residents but also those of anyone who is eligible who live outside the Borough. If the journey starts in Maidstone we have to pay for it.

Our estimate is that this will cost council taxpayers in the region of 2 million pounds in the first year, rising year on year, from revenue budgets. Our existing scheme has cost 1.6 million this year and the government has given us grant of £444,000. Putting those two amounts together it means we will have an estimated shortfall of £500,000 at the end of the first year of the scheme. Central government has made it quite clear that they expect us to manage the financial risks ourselves. They are not saying we cannot run any add-ons but the inference is plain, if we can afford add-ons they will consider that we have already covered the base costs of their statutory scheme before putting in additional discretions ourselves and they will not consider us for a top-up grant. If we run this risk, our calculations prove correct and we have given government any reason to refuse us additional funding it will mean another 4% on council tax 2009/10 or commensurate savings made from other front-line services.

Having said that we think that in introducing this new national concessionary fares scheme the government has not thought through the implications for the most vulnerable and needy in our society - those disabled citizens who, for what ever reason cannot access a bus. Currently of the 761 disabled people who were in receipt of MBC travel tokens, 491 have already transferred to the national concessionary fares scheme leaving 270 who have not.

Contrary to what the Conservatives are saying, this administration is, and always was, seeking ways to assist those for whom the new scheme is unsuitable and for whom there is genuine need. But first we have to establish precisely what those reasons are. In some cases a bus service might not exist, in others the bus designated to the route is not wheelchair friendly and in a few cases, that even were a bus to be available the person could not use it. Solutions can only be found based on information. We have a meeting organised in the last week of March to discuss this with all the other agencies such as the Hospital Trusts, Social Services and the voluntary sector. But we want genuine solutions not half baked, ill thought through suggestions to garner votes.

Finally, Norman Baker will be debating the entire concessionary fare scheme and it’s implications at around 10pm, this Tuesday on the floor of the House of Commons. I’m not sure if this is something that can be viewed or not, but I’ll be trying to.

As I said to a friend recently - I can’t pin-point the exact reasons why, but the way this concessionary fare scheme has come into existence, has really gotten under my skin. I continue to maintain that it’s a good idea in principle, but the costs to each area have not been worked out properly and there has  been no thought given to those that are unable to use a bus, or those that do not have a bus service in their local area.

In April 2008 the Government will be introducing it’s new national concessionary bus fare scheme. From now on, every person over the age of 60 and all disabled people will be able to travel on any bus in the country for free.

Sounds great doesn’t it?

Yes it does - and it is a great IDEA….. however, once again, not enough thought has gone into how this will actually work in reality….

Each borough across the country will have to pay for any journey started in it’s boundaries, regardless of where the traveller actually comes from. With a great town like Maidstone, a lot of people will get the bus to us for a days shopping, which their local authority will pay for. However, every trip home (by virtue of the fact that it’s beginning in our borough) will be paid for by us.

Now the Govt. is giving us funding to pay for this - however, it’s woefully short of even the most conservative of our projections. In addition, any additional benefits we offer to our residents (such as companion bus passes for disabled people, or are alternative ‘voucher scheme) will have to stop, or we will be penalized through lack of further funding.

What can be done? Well - on this one, I’ve gone and got all political!

Over the weekend, I’ve been collecting Councillors signatures to call for an extraordinary meeting of Maidstone’s council to debate the following motion:

CONCESSIONARY FARE MOTION

The Council regrets the government’s failure to fund fully the new national concessionary fares travel scheme and in particular the limitations to the funding that will affect the lives of disabled people and carers in Maidstone.

The Council calls on the government to reconsider its decision ont he criteria for the national scheme and to include companion passes, on a national basis, for the benefit of disabled people.

The Council also calls on the government to ensre that it fully funds each individual authority in adminstering the new national scheme in order to relieve the enormous pressure on our budget which has affected our ability to fund additional discretionary services.

In addition to this, I’ve written to Norman Baker (shadow Transport) requesting he submits an Early Day Motion (EDM) on this topic.

I’ve also been investigating how other councils have been affected, and it appears pretty bleak for them too. Lots have started similar campaigns. An example being Harlow Lib Dems. 

If you have any ideas on how this can be progressed further, please let me know and I’ll give your ideas a go.

Big excitement in the Batt household this morning, as I’ve made it to the front page of the Downs Mail town edition under the headline “The city of Maidstone”.

The story reads:

Tentative moves are being made to revisit city status for Maidstone.
Cllr Julia Batt raised the question at a borough council scrutiny committee meeting and inital enquiries will be pursued by officers.
Cllr Batt said she felt the issue had been dropped too readily after Maidstone’s bid for city status at the Millennium ended in failure.
Vice-chairman of the committee, Cllr Stephen Beerling, said any renewed effort had to carry more clout than the previous attempt.
He recalled: “When Maidstone went into it before, it seemed to be with the approach that we wouldn’t get it anyway - so it proved.”

I thought I’d take the time to explain this story in more depth, as in all honesty, prior to election, I wouldn’t have understood much of it myself!

Firstly, what is a scrutiny meeting?

Every aspect of the work done by the council is covered by an ‘Overview & Scrutiny (O&S) committee. There are currently four of these groups; Regeneration, Environment and Leisure, External and Corporate Services. The scrutiny group that I sit on this year is Regeneration - as the name implies this scrutinises all decisions to do with the regeneration of Maidstone. Topics that have been investigated so far this year include ‘Maidstone Market’, Maidstone’s Housing Strategy, closure of the Coombe Quarry Park & ride closure, and we’ve also touched upon Concessionary bus fares (more to come on this topic!).

Members of the public are welcome to attend these meetings and are invited to suggest topics for overview. They can also be viewed online. However, the truth is, for whatever reason, that no-one ever comes to meetings (unless the Tories rile them up!) and it’s very rare for people to offer suggestions for review.

As well as scrutinising decisions that have been made, topics can be reviewed by these committees. ANYTHING can be covered (providing it’s under the right group). As an example, the Borough Council could research the possibility of organising trips to the moon from the High Street. The committee would investigate this topic from all angles with interviews from relevant experts in their fields…

• would it bring in additional revenue via tourism streams?
• would there be a Health & Safety risk with people singeing their hair (from rocket fumes)?!
• how big would the launch pad exclusion zone need to be?
• could we advertise Maidstone on the sides of the rockets?
• would the rockets be reuseable?
• etc etc…

At the end of the investigation, a recommendation or policy suggestion would be made to either the borough or county council, or indeed to national government.

So that’s the O&S committee explained, the next part to explain is the city status application:

Occasionally, oppurtunities are given for Council’s to apply to be granted city status. Maidstone did apply at the last chance (for the millenium) but the bid was rejected - allegedly due to ‘lack of history’.

I honestly don’t know what (if any) the benefits of city status are - this would all be for the scrutiny group to investigate. However, should the chance present itself again, I wouldn’t want to think that we’d miss out on something that may be excellent for us, purely because we hadn’t fully prepared for it.

To see this meeting in progress, click here.

St. Andrew’s Park is a beautiful listed (grade II) building that was previously part of Barming mental hospital. Around 5 years ago, it was converted into apartments with a lovely amount of open green space around it. Sadly though there have been issues with the development and it’s been difficult to get the developer to complete the works to the standard expected. Local homeowners have campaigned hard to have many of the problems fixed and have felt they’ve met with silence from the developers and that the council hasn’t offered the support they expect.

Today saw a meeting held with members of staff (known as officers) from Maidstone Borough Council, residents of St. Andrews Park and myself. Finally, things are moving along with this. The developers have been written to with a letter which states all that needs fixing and clearly states a time frame in which it should be done. A schedule of works should be submitted by 2nd December, followed by completion of works three months after that.

The items to be fixed on the building are:

• rendering on blocked out windows
• rendering & colour of both walkways under the buildings
• repointing
• replacement of plastic drains with metal ones

Separately, officers will be meeting with the developers on site to discuss the problems with the open space. This area should have been ‘adopted’ by the council by now. However, it is in such a poor state that they are unable to. The issues that will be raised here include:

• The lighting (poor quality, mostly broken inappropriate street lights)
• Poor finish and maintence of site - trees and grass etc
• Bins not emptied (the developers responsibilty until council adoption)
• Pavillions - what will/can be done

In addition the officers are investigating whether local residents can begin to lock the gate by the lodges in the evening (a condition disallows this on the plans). Currently the poor quantity of working lights means the area is full of youths getting up to no good and then disappearing into the darkness (which is what happened on halloween). With the gates locked, hopefully these problems will calm down.

In mid December, officers, residents and myself along with Peter Hooper will re-meet to discuss what’s happened. If the schedule of works has not been received by this time, the issue of enforcement will be ‘brought to the table’.

Following the sad deaths of so many, through Clostridium Difficile (C. Diff) Maidstone Hospital has been in the press for all the wrong reasons in the last few weeks. Because of this I really didn’t want to take baby Travis for his outpatient appointment (to have his squint checked) today.

Since my last visit (a couple of years ago) things have changed. The first thing you now see when you walk in through the big doors is a MASSIVE display asking you to clean your hands with the alcohol sprays provided there. There’s at least 8 bottles - all at different heights so everyone can use them. In addition, there are leaflets to be found on C. Diff and hand hygiene in many points around the hospital. The alcohol sprays are to be found all around the hospital and at the entrance to every ward.

I watched for a short while, (before going to Travis’ appointment) all the people entering the hospital. I was horrified to see less than 50% of people stopping to clean their hands. Whilst, I obviously believe it is imperative that Doctors and Nurses ensure that they keep their hands clean and use the sprays between each patient, illnesses and germs such as C. Diff will only go if EVERYONE gets on board and starts using these sprays.

I only met Rose Gibb once - during a council scrutiny meeting. She is an incredibly articulate woman who spoke clearly on her vision for the hospital, however I did find the meeting rather like being spoken to by a brick wall. She spoke and then ignored every question and suggestion made. Her mind was clearly made up on the changes that were proposed with a real ’stuff local worries’ attitude about herself. Now I don’t know if these ‘clean your hands’ stations were placed in the entrance and all around the hospital while Rose Gibb was in post. If they were, having seen people ignore the oppurtunity to clean their hands today, I actually feel that the blame cannot lie with her and the trust alone. We as patients, visitors, volunteers, in fact anyone entering the hospital MUST take our part in hospital hygiene seriously.

All we are being asked to do is clean our hands and we must do this.

It takes seconds, isn’t sticky, doesn’t smell and helps ourselves, our loved ones we’re visiting and indeed the hospital itself….

… rant over - and if you’re interested, the lovely orthoptic doctor has given young Travis the all clear with the squint!

The next focus is off at the printers as we speak. Big excitement here in West Maidstone as we’ve decided to do an A3 focus for the first time outside of an election.

You can see it before it comes through your door here

I’m not a great fan of trick and treating… I do go out with my children, but we go to only 4 or 5 houses - all of which are pre-arranged and with the persons approval.

In contrast, trick and treating around here seems to involve any person that feels like it, knocking on my door asking for treats. Some of those that came round were what I would classify as young adults - and they didn’t even dress up…

Anyway, unlike last year, when some git nicked the pumpkin Ryan had carved from our front door step, this year we escaped these sorts of actions. All in all, a good year…. or so I thought….

Sadly, my ward colleague, Peter Hooper was informed by a resident (who actually lives on the same estate as me) today of a broken window caused by a youth throwing stones. Even sadder, this is now the third time they will have to replace a pane because this is the third time it’s happened.

Peter and I are working with the Police, Maidstone Council’s community safety team, and also the relevant departments to get increased lighting in the area. Peter is also working to get CCTV cameras moved to the area for a while to see if we can catch anyone up to no good.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, please remember, REPORT ALL CRIMES TO THE POLICE. This is the only way that a good picture of what’s going on in an area can be recorded.

Lack of posts have been due to an overloaded schedule this past week. Four Council meetings, a few campaign literature meetings, a PTA disco (for which I’m treasurer) to help with arranging, a ‘Morsbag’ making session, attempting to arrange kids Christening, general kids taxi service, full-time mum and a fair few constituent problems cropped up this week as well.

I can honestly say that this week I’ve discovered what the saying “my feet haven’t touched the ground” really means, although it might be more honest to say “my backside hasn’t touched a sofa!”

So for all this running around, there should be lots of positive outcomes to report…

• Buying from Bookers for the PTA disco meant I discovered that Wispas are now being sold again - I’ve emailed Cadburys regularly for their return - ’bout time too!
• PTA disco raised £374.21 - well done everyone involved
• Lib Dem Members newsletter will be posted out in the next couple of days
• We’ve got about 20 bags made and have approached the Mayor’s office about help getting publicity when we hand them out.
• I attended a very positive “Fant/Heath MAPS” meeting this week. MAPS stands for Multi-Agency-PartnershipS”. These are meetings where all local agencies (Police, Primary Care Trust (PCT), Maidstone Housing Trust (MHT), Maidstone Council etc etc) all come together in one forum to share experiences and work together for positive outcomes in the area. There is a fair danger that these can just be talking shops. However, at this meeting we discussed the Springwood Estate in detail. It has been subject to a fair amount of Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) but this has finally ‘come to the top of the list’ and is now to become a ‘PACT’ (Police And Communities Together) area. There was a community day held on Barming Heath yesterday for this - more information will be updated when the ‘results’ are in. Residents should also be represented on MAPS, but we currently don’t have any. If you would be interested in attending, please get in touch and I’ll give you more information.
• I’ll post the link to the webcast of the Regeneration and Sustainable Communities Scrutiny meeting (when it’s available online) here. Topics under discussion were Maidstone Market and Maidstone Housing Trust.
• Constituent problems are being addressed
• Christening plans have been thwarted by lack of a postal service… must be number one priority next week…

And the negatives of the week:

• Bookers is a bulk sale cash & carry meaning that Wispa’s mentioned above were sold in packs of 48…. I have come out in a MASSIVE spot due to over-indulgence…

I’m glad Gordon Brown decided not to call a General Election last week - If he had, I think I’d be a gibbering wreck by now!