Petitions
Monday 12 October 2009
Observations
Business, Innovation and Skills
Post Office Closure (Kent)
Petition presented on 15 July 2009 .
Declares that Sheerness main Post Office is providing an inadequate service.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to instruct Post Office Limited to re-open Queensway Post Office.
And the Petitioners remain etc,
Observations from the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, received 8 September 2009:
The Government recognises the important social and economic role of post offices, particularly in rural and deprived urban communities. That is why we are determined to maintain a national post office network allowing people to have reasonable access across the whole country and has put in place a new policy and financial framework to achieve this.
Under the Government's postal sector reforms introduced in 2001, Royal Mail (which includes Post Office Ltd) has been given greater commercial freedom, as the management and unions themselves requested, and Government have assumed an arm's length role as a shareholder in a public limited company. Subject to agreeing its strategic plan with us, the Board can structure the business as it decides best to meet the challenges of market development and changing customer needs.
The Government has introduced clearly defined national access criteria to maintain a national network and guarantee a reasonable level of access to post office services for all. Within the access criteria framework, however, the precise location of post office branches is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd.
Post Office Ltd has advised that the Queensway post office was closed in 2004 as part of the company's urban reinvention programme and that they are not aware of any ongoing serious service issues at the main Sheerness post office.
Steel Industry (Yorkshire)
The Petition of residents of Rotherham, and others,
Declares that the Petitioners are concerned about the decline of the steel industry in South Yorkshire.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to make time for a full debate on the state of the steel industry, and to bring forward recommendations, to be considered by the House, to ensure its survival.
And the Petitioners remain, etc. -[Presented by Mr. Denis MacShane , Official Report,16 July 2009 Vol. 496, c. 554 .]
Observations from the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, received 8 September 2009:
The Government are deeply conscious of the importance of the steel industry to the people of Rotherham and the South Yorkshire region. Employees particularly at Corus sites in the area are worried about their jobs and the impact on their families and their communities; and suppliers are concerned about the future of their businesses.
We are fully engaged with Corus to try to secure the future for as many workers as possible. The Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills have spoken to Kirby Adams, Corus CEO about the matter on several occasions.
The current downturn has hit steel production across the globe and whilst job losses are always extremely regrettable, the UK steel industry is taking action to ensure that it is fit for the future.
Along with its partners in local government and the regions, the Government are bringing forward billions of pounds worth of infrastructure spending across the UK to help keep people and firms in work while private demand falls.
There will also be opportunities in the low carbon arena that will present significant market opportunities to UK steel makers and processors in the medium to longer term.
The Government accept these initiatives to stimulate demand will take time to feed through and have a real impact. That is why we are continuing to help the steel industry and why our focus is on training to help the industry get ready for the upturn in the economy when it comes.
The Government have offered up to £5million of training support to secure jobs across Corus sites. Through Train to Gain the Government are already making a significant investment to up-skill and re-skill Corus employees, including support for apprenticeships at the Corus Rotherham site. This reflects the high priority this Government place on continued investment in individuals and their skills during the downturn. Train to Gain is the Government's flagship service offering support to employers in England to invest in the future productivity and profitability of their businesses by investing in the skills of their employees and support has been provided to other companies in the steel and metals industries.
The Government note that these matters were discussed in the House on 7 July during a Westminster Hall debate on the Future of the Steel industry secured by the right hon. Member for Rotherham (Denis MacShane). There was also a Westminster Hall debate on Support for the Steel Industry secured by the Hon Member for Brigg and Goole (Ian Cawsey) on 24 March.
In addition the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills took part in a Steel Summit hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Steel and Metal Related Industry Group on 14 May. There was a follow-up meeting of the All Party Group on 20 July which was attended by the Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills. At all these discussions, stimulating demand was seen as critical to the future of the steel industry and remains the key area that we will continue to address.
Children, Schools and Families
Planning and Development (Essex)
The Petition of John Hogarth, parents of Jotmans Hall School, local residents and others,
Declares that the proposed development of a SureStart Centre at Jotmans Hall School in Benfleet should be rejected because building the centre at that school would bring unacceptable problems including; compromising security for young children and the school buildings, including late at night and at weekends; destroying valuable greenbelt land and playing fields; wasting a vast amount of public money; increasing parking problems for school users and residents; and imposing highway safety dangers; further declares that the councils are pushing ahead with this plan because if they switch to other much more appropriate sites, they could lose their £500,000 budget for the project and that this demonstrates a cavalier approach by the councils to the management of public funds.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to encourage Essex County Council and the Castle Point Borough Council to consider this objection and Petition and to reject the Jotmans Hall site and to co-operate together in investigating more suitable sites and to now do this with public transparency and to undertake fully public consultation on any sites which are thought may be suitable.
And the Petitioners remain, etc. -[Presented by Bob Spink , Official Report, 13 July 2009; Vol. 496, c. 129 .]
Observations from the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, received 3 September 2009:
The Government are committed to providing a Sure Start Children's Centre for every community by March 2010 and through the Apprenticeship, Skills, Children and Learning Bill the Government are introducing a statutory duty on local authorities to ensure sufficient provision of Sure Start Children's Centres-making them a universal service. Across the country, Sure Start Children's Centres are already providing access to high quality integrated services for young children under five years old and their families. This is particularly important in the current economic climate, where families face additional worries. All local authorities, working with their Children's Trust partners, are responsible for planning and delivering Sure Start Children's Centres.
The Government would expect the local authority, in this case Essex County Council, to think strategically about the location of children's centre provision in order to ensure universal coverage for all families with children aged zero to five, and to consider what provision would best deliver improved outcomes for children across the county. We would expect the local authority to consult widely on its proposals.
It is for Essex County Council to determine the precise nature of the communications and consultation with its partners. They must consult and inform all interested partners and allow adequate time and provide sufficient information for this process. Our advice to all local authorities is to start consulting early.
I understand that public consultation was carried out at pre-planning stage following Essex County Council's own guidance and processes. The Council has concluded the public consultation stage on the proposal to develop a Sure Start Children's Centre at Jotmans Hall School. The Council's Executive has considered the comments made during the consultation and has made some amendments to the plans for the children's centre at Jotmans Primary School in response to these concerns.
The centre to be located on the Jotmans Primary School site will provide easy access to early childhood services for around 835 local children under five, and their families, who live in the neighbourhood. Sure Start Children's Centres are a key part of our universal mainstream children's services and as such will contribute greatly to improving outcomes for all children wherever they live. They also have an important role to play in narrowing the gap in outcomes for the poorest children and the rest and we are committed to ensuring there is a centre for every community by 2010.
Primary Education (Cheshire)
The Petition of residents in Farndon and its surrounding district in the Eddisbury Parliamentary Constituency in the County of Cheshire and those interested in the maintenance of primary education in Farndon,
Declares that the maintenance of primary education at Farndon School is vital for the interests of current and future pupils and is of crucial importance and benefit to the wider communities which it serves as an essential component of education in Cheshire; that the state of the buildings, classrooms and common facilities is wholly inadequate; that provision of suitable areas for recreation is in grave need of being made available, or brought up to standard to meet the needs of the children at the school; that the research in its design, costings and planning of the necessary improvements, as detailed in the school's feasibility plan, are well advanced and offer a best practice, value for money solution to the current deficit of provision; and that the education authority, Cheshire West and Chester Council, provides the resources necessary to enable the school's feasibility plan to be put into effect.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families to take steps to promote the proposal to make adequate provision at Farndon Primary School and re-dedicates its support for the continuing high quality education at this establishment.
And the Petitioners remain, etc. -[Presented by Mr. Stephen O'Brien , Official Report, 13 July 2009; Vol. 496, c. 128 .]
Observations from the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, received on 17 August 2009:
Cheshire has seen a dramatic increase in schools capital funding in recent years. In 1996-97 it was allocated £10.4 million, and this has risen to nearly £118 million for the three year period 2008-09 to 2010-11. Much of the devolved funding is allocated at local authority level, for the local authority to allocate between
primary and secondary schools as it sees fit. This applies, particularly, to modernisation funding and basic need funding for expansion.
Specifically, for the two years 2009-10 and 2010-11, the newly formed Cheshire West and Chester has been allocated over £42 million. This includes £7 million for modernisation, £1.9 million for basic need, and £7.5 million for primary capital. Other amounts within the total have been given to schools directly as Devolved Formula Capital, also for programmes such as ICT and for extended schools.
The Primary Capital Programme (PCP), commits to renewing at least half of all primary school buildings by 2022-23. The aim is to create primary schools that are equipped for 21st-century teaching and learning, and are at the heart of their communities with children's services in reach of every family. The programme encourages and supports local authorities to take a long-term strategic approach to capital investment and to transform teaching and learning in primary schools, with the Children's Plan at its heart. The programme overall is supported by £1.9 billion of capital investment in the period 2008-11.
To access PCP funding all authorities were asked to prepare and submit to the Department a Primary Strategy for Change (PSfC). Before the unitary changes, Cheshire County Council delivered a "strategy for change" document which did not include Farndon School as one of the priority projects for Cheshire West and Cheshire.
Local authorities and schools have a duty to care for the premises through use of their annual Devolved Formula Capital (DFC). This is an amount allocated each year to primary and secondary schools to be spent by them on their priorities in respect of buildings, ICT and other capital need. It may be combined with capital funding from other sources, pooled with DFC allocated to other schools, and saved up to fund larger projects. Priorities are set at school level, but should have regard to planned expenditure in a local authority's asset management plan.
Decisions about how to prioritise capital investment are best made locally; it is for the Council to prioritise the schools in the project, deciding when each school will receive investment and the scope of work at individual schools, in the context of the overall funding allocation. We would expect a range of factors to be taken into account in making these decisions, including (but not limited to) current educational standards, levels of deprivation and the condition, suitability and size of the existing buildings and sites.
Good asset management is essential for schools if funding and assets are to be used efficiently and effectively to support the aims of the Children's Plan. Asset management guidance was first published by the DCSF around 10 years ago; however, the content and format of this guidance was revised in November 2008. Local Authorities (LAs) use school Asset Management Plans to provide the framework within which capital investment needs are assessed and prioritised. This is undertaken in partnership with schools and other local partners in an open, transparent and consultative manner. The information collated helps schools, LAs and the other partners to make informed spending decisions on the repair, renewal and improvement of premises, and thereby targets resources for maintenance where they are needed most.
Communities and Local Government
Care Services (Essex)
The Petition of Mavis Hunt, and others,
Declares that permanent live in wardens in sheltered housing, for instance at Sweetbriar Lodge, should be retained, and notes the wonderful care and confidence these wardens give to vulnerable and elderly residents, enabling them to live with a degree of independence and dignity; further declares that councillors have full control of this decision and will be held to account for it; believes that a small expenditure on wardens can save much public money; congratulates wardens in Castle Point who are caring and thoughtful towards residents; expresses astonishment that Borough councillors are, yet again, threatening to remove wardens to save cash in a very short sighted manner and believes that councillors should start to listen to residents and the public.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to review its guidance to local councils on the use of permanent wardens and to ask Castle Point Borough Council to listen to the Member of Parliament and continue to support our local wardens.
And the Petitioners remain, etc. -[Presented by Bob Spink , Official Report, 20 April 2009; Vol. 491, c. 122 .]
Observations from the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, received 12 October 2009:
The Secretary of State acknowledges the concerns of the petitioners regarding the continued use of resident wardens in warden controlled accommodation.
We are aware that a number of older people are concerned about changes to the warden systems in some sheltered housing schemes, and the implications that such changes might have. I should like to emphasise that the Government are very mindful of the housing and support needs of all older people-wherever they live-whether in their "own homes", or with family, or in supported housing, like sheltered or extra care accommodation, or residential care establishments. The Government want to ensure that our older citizens should get the best housing and support services that can be made available locally and in the most effective way.
It is however, for local authorities to determine how to best meet the support needs identified in their communities-the Department does not prescribe any particular model of support. Communities and Local Government has given local authorities £1.686 billion of Supporting People funding. Authorities use this funding to provide housing support to a whole range of people, focusing their spending to best meet local need. All decisions about how the services are funded and monitored, which includes satisfaction with the service, are therefore made at the local level. From 1 April 2009 the Supporting People Programme grant was un-ringfenced. This supports our clear commitment to provide authorities with greater flexibility over their funding and allows them to develop innovative solutions to meet local needs.
We want to improve the delivery of support services for older people further, which is why we recently brought together representatives from Age Concern and Help the Aged and other key players such as the Local
Government Association to form the Sheltered Housing Working Group. A number of ministerial led meetings have already taken place and work is progressing on taking forward the issues identified by the working group, to decide how to best work with and support the sector and service users going forward.
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