Schools converting to academies in Cambridgeshire have been cashing in at the expense of pupils who need extra help because of their special needs.
The Children and Young People's Scrutiny panel has been told that services will be reduced for disabled children, for young people in care and for those with special needs. An officer report said that 'services will be spread more thinly' and 'lower levels of need will not receive support'. There will also be a reduction in specialist teachers who support primary age children with special needs and a cut in family support packages.
Cambridgeshire Tories have inserted a line in their proposed budget for next year of £100,000 to cover an increase in allowances paid to Councillors who already get over £7,000 per annum. But they could re-allocate it elsewhere. It is going to be a difficult choice for them.
They are faced with major pressures on all spending budgets.
Making good use of the Pupil Premium and accounting for it
Sarah Teather made a welcome announcement just before Christmas: the government is to increase to increase the value of the Pupil Premium from its current level of £480 to £600 and will extend the range of pupils eligible for this extra funding. The amount allocated for services children will also be increased.
A recent Lib Dem Focus castigated Luminus regarding the bungalows at Thongsley and The Whaddons.
This scandal first came to light during the election where Sam Kemp became the youngest councillor in the the County. That was in 2007.
At that time were told by local residents that some of the bungalows had been empty for 2 years. Since then more bungalows have been emptied and remain vacant.
Bungalows are a hugely sought after resource. To leave 20 empty for so long is appalling. Luminus did not immediately drag empty the remaining homes. They let the matter drift on for year, so the bungalows cannot have been dangerously unsafe.
So why didn't they issue short term lets providing short term lets to vulnerable and needy people whilst the company made its preparations for redevelopment?
After years of apparent inactivity shortly after our Focus hit the streets Luminus concluded a deal with the Council to acquire the site. Obviously just a co-incidence. Or is it?
Since the opening of the Guided Bus there are horrendous delays in getting out from St Ives along Harrison Way towards the A14 in the morning. There are similar problems in the evenings going the other way. This has caused acute problems for residents of St Ives as well as those living to the north who need to cross the river on their way to and from work. Tales abound of 45 minute hold ups. These rush hour traffic problems in St Ives are the result of the Guided Bus and the pedestrians crossing Harrison Way. There is a suspicion that the traffic wizards failed to take account of motorists parking in the free Guided Bus car park then walking to town on foot and crossing Harrison Way. Members of your Lib-Dem focus team monitored the situation one morning to quantify the proportion of time that traffic was halted for pedestrians only. Given the number of buses that turned the lights, red pedestrians took up a significant proportion of the limited time that was left. Stagecoach have ordered more buses on the strength of the passenger traffic to date. This could make an already bad situation, worse particularly as there is no effective alternative river bridge within a reasonable distance. This issue requires urgent attention. Pressure has to be put on the County Council to act. So we have asked for the issue to be on the next Town Council agenda.
Everyone is invited to the Huntingdon Branch Quiz Evening at Brampton Memorial Centre on Friday, February 17th at 7.30.
The quiz will be presented by our two local expert quizmasters, John Morgan and Michael Black, whose previous quizzes have been greatly enjoyed.
Tickets @ £5 to include light refreshments in the interval can be booked in advance by e-mail from peter.downes@cambridgeshire.gov.uk and paid for on the night. Bring your own preferred liquid refreshments. Hot drinks served at the interval. And a raffle to raise funds for the Liberal Democrats and their campaigning activities.
