Earlier this week I attended a business hustings organised by the Thames Valley Federation of Small Business. Karen and Nicky from the FSB who both live locally put a lot of effort into planning and organising the event and it showed. I found the meeting very interesting and useful both to gauge local opinion and what matters most to local business people and also to listen to the other candidates responses on some key issues. I was looking forward to meeting the UKIP candidate but sadly he didn't attend. A wide range of issues were raised on the night by local business people and members of the community including parking problems for businesses on Oxford Road, procurement, and tackling youth unemployment. As a councillor for an edge of Town Centre ward in Reading I have a lot of experience of dealing with parking problems and it is definitely one of the major issues for residents and businesses right aross the Town. It's not an easy problem to solve but in my opinion the Council needs to do a lot more to listen to and support small businesses to help ensure our local shopping areas thrive. Recently in Tilehurst Lib Dem councillors prevented the Labour adminstration making a big mistake on parking charges which could have hit local business hard. The Labour adminstration failed to listen to local businesses in Tilehurst Triangle when it mattered.
Getting action to reduce youth unemployment and support young people is a big priority for me personally as a young Reading politician and I've campaigned on it for some time now. The impact of the recession on young people in particular continues to come up a lot on the doorstep - it is clearly a concern for many people in the community from business-owners to families and young people themselves. It was raised at the Denefield School hustings a few weeks back by a teacher and another teacher raised it again at the hustings this week. Last summer a long time before I was selected as a PPC I was alarmed by rising youth unemployment in Reading and the fact that neither of the two Reading MPs seemed to be taking it seriously. I got the Council to organise a special summit on the issue - one of the most poignant events I attended last year with some heartbreaking accounts from young people out of work for months. This event resulted in greater attention being paid to the issue and more practical help being provided to young people. I didn't stop there though and I raised it nationally too. I was concerned at that time that as a Party we weren't doing enough in policy terms to plan to provide real support to youngsters so last autumn I backed an emergency motion at our party conference calling for urgent action to expand opportunities for young people hit by the recession which was voted through as party policy. This is the beauty of being a member of a truly democratic party where the leadership listens to party members...because party members make the policy! I'm really pleased that Nick Clegg has made supporting young people in these difficult times one of his top priorities and put it at the heart of our manifesto and the election campaign.
Before I attended the hustings I spoke to a local business owner from Tilehurst to find out what her number one issue was at the moment and she said without hesitation "everyone (me included!) is really fed up with banks not lending" and this turned out to be one of the main issues raised by audience members at the hustings. Business people were understandably angry with the failure of banks to lend to small businesses - something that Nick Clegg and Vince Cable pledged to sort out last week in their radical plan to reform the banks. I think it is right that banks should be required to meet targets for lending to small businesses given many of them have been underwritten to the tune of millions by the UK taxpayer. Vince Cable is right that so-called Casino-style banking should be separated from high-street banking. The economy and the recession dominated the questions. In addition, unsurprisingly perhaps, issues related to expenses and trust/public confidence came up - symptomatic of the widespread anger on the doorstep towards Westminster politicians and the political system in the campaign. Anyway, it was a lively debate and I was particularly pleased to see people of all ages in attendance - including a large number of young people. Check out short video clip here (courtesy of the Evening Post).
Showing posts with label recession. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recession. Show all posts
Friday, 23 April 2010
Thursday, 1 April 2010
Action needed to tackle Reading's housing crisis
The Reading Evening Post has picked up on Shelter's campaign to highlight the dire shortage of affordable housing across the UK , including here in Reading. But as I pointed out to Anna Roberts who penned the story - the true picture in Reading is actually even worse than the one Shelter describes. A recent report I commissioned as Chair of the Housing, Health and Community Care Scrutiny panel investigating the problem of overcrowding in our Borough revealed the number of people on the Council's housing waiting list has risen from around 4,400 in April 2008 to approximately 6,000 in February 2010. There is no doubt that this increase is linked with the impact of the recession - something I have consistently raised as a councillor over the past 2 years. Across Britain this figure rises to 1.8 million families - this is a damning indictment of Labour's failed housing policies. In Reading the demand for larger homes vastly outsrips supply and it's damaging the health and well-being of thousands of children and families in our Town. There are 186 families registered as needed a property with 4 bedrooms or more and only 3 x 5 bedroom properties belonging to the Council! I have been vocal in campaigning to highlight the lack of affordable social homes for families in Reading for years. An independent inspection of RBC agreed with me highlighting lack of family housing. When the housing strategy was discussed I argued for the Council to work with housing associations to provide more larger family houses to help meet local demand for good quality homes. But the timescales for delivery are still too far in the future because the rate of building is just too low. I've also campaigned extensively to get the Council to use it's powers to encourage more landlords to bring empty properties back into use and for standards to be improved in the private rented sector. We struggle in Reading to have the space to build large amounts of new housing so the Council and other housing partners have to be creative about getting more out of existing stock. Over the past 2 years RBC has placed 600 households in the private sector. This is not all the solution but it is part of of it. In Scrutiny last month we discussed the need to review the Council's under-occupiers policy to make moving into smaller homes more appealing to residents and how to get more out of existing council housing. Council officers are not to blame for the housing crisis we face - responsibility lies with the Labour government and it's failed housing policy. The Lib Dems have long argued we need to restore more powers to councils to build social homes and retain council rents. House building in the UK is at it's lowest level since the 1920s and there is an urgent need to build more affordable housing after Labour failed to reverse the damage done by the Conservative's Right To Buy policy which saw many of Reading's family-sized council houses sold off. Under Labour the Treasury has taken millions of pounds worth of tenants' rent when it should have gone on building more council homes locally. The policy of the Labour government has been to focus too much on so-called first time buyers and to overlook can't-afford-to-buyers - the thousands of people who have been priced out of the market. The latest stamp duty cut announced in Darling's pre-election Budget will not help those who have no chance of getting a mortgage or raising enough cash for a deposit. The housing bubble that the Labour government fuelled a few years ago ended up with many people getting into massive debt trying to get a foot on the housing ladder only to find they couldn't keep up repayments on their mortgages. Buy-to-let in Reading has ended up with too many buy-to-leave empty homes. Too many repossessions have taken place in Reading and the recession has had a terrible impact on people - particularly in relation to housing. We need to look at sustainable ways to tackle the housing crisis and to give everyone a fair chance of decent housing. The recently announced Lib Dem policy to bring hundreds of thousands of empty homes back into use as social homes (which would also create thousands of construction jobs) must be part of that package.
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
Reading residents hit by Labour's Council Tax hike
I have written extensively about how Labour's policies in Reading are hitting the poorest and most vulnerable hardest. Many of them despite Gordon Brown's recent pronouncements are just plain unfair.The most recent example has been imposing service charges on Reading's council tenants - for basic services they currently get as part of their rent.
Well, last night Labour politicians in Reading went one better (or rather one worse ) - pushing through a 2.2% Council Tax increase. The proposed increase was higher than the national average (1.9%) and many neighbouring authorities. The timing of this hike could not be worse for Reading residents. As I pointed out last week, the recession continues to bite - with the number of people claiming out-of-work benefits rising last month.
As a party we are opposed to Council Tax in principle. It is an unfair tax. It is not progressive - far from it: Council Tax hits those on fixed incomes hardest - elderly people in particular. And for all the Conservative's hot air last night about the iniquities of our Council Tax system the Conservative Party nationally have no plans to abolish it if they come to power - and why would they? Council Tax was after all introduced by a Conservative government all those years ago.
Only the Lib Dems are committed to scrapping Council tax and replacing it with a fair tax system. We would go further - raising the tax threshold taking those who earn £10,000 or less out of income tax all together.We would also return local spending powers and decisions to local councils, who have seen their powers gradually eroded under successive Conservative and Labour governments.
The Lib Dem Group on Reading Borough Council opposed Labour's Council Tax rise last night. Because it is unfair and because we believe it is possible to provide good services for less and to continue to protect frontline services - plenty of other councils have done it. We are campaigning for better services and better value for money for local Council Tax payers. Reading residents have said they want better value for money from their Council - when surveyed in 2008 for the government's Place Survey 69% of residents surveyed said they didn't think RBC offered value for money.
There are too many areas where the Council is not living up to local people's expectations. For example, the fear of crime in Reading is higher than elsewhere and local residents have said they have little faith in the Council's ability to deal with this problem. Residents have said in survey after survey carried out on behalf of the Council that areas they want the Council to focus on tackling are: levels of crime, levels of traffic and clean streets - hardly rocket science!! And yet we have a Labour leadership that thinks chasing city status should be a top priority for the Council. But Labour stopped listening to the views of local people in Reading many years ago and they will pay a high price for this at the coming elections.
It should not be up to residents to plug the massive hole Gordon Brown and the Labour party have blown in the public finances. Councils, like other public bodies must tighten their belts. Yes, demand for some important council service is growing - for example in areas such as community care. And these important areas must be protected from cuts. However, savings must be made and overall when it comes to budget setting Labour's solution to every problem is always to throw public money at problems and increase Council Tax year after year in Reading (although when an election looms they are miraculously able to find savings). This approach is simply not sustainable: the money for extra spending has been spent - locally and nationally the level of public debt is not sustainable.
We made clear last night we were against the proposed Council Tax increase Labour put forward and we were prepared to listen to an alternative proposal from the Conservatives (they are the largest opposition group on RBC) which would allow Council Tax to be frozen in Reading . We waited...but none was forthcoming. The Conservatives failed to put forward any costed proposals about how they would achieve a reduction during the meeting and failed to turn up to vote on Labour's budget when it mattered. Their behaviour has landed Reading residents with a massive tax increase.This was irresponsible, gesture politics at it's worst from the Conservatives in which they promised a Council Tax freeze but failed to deliver one - which sadly followed last year's pattern. Serious times demands seriousness from local politicians - particularly when it comes to making decisions as important as this one that affects so many people in our Town.
Last night gave us more proof if proof were needed that neither the Labour or Conservative parties in Reading are the right people to run Reading Borough Council. And If you live in West Berkshire things do not look any rosier - there as leading Lib Dem councillor and Newbury PPC David Rendel has pointed out 'the vulnerable will pay more and receive less'.
If you feel strongly that our current tax system is unfair, you are opposed to further tax increases from Labour and you want elected representatives who care about fairness and value for money services the choice is clear: vote Lib Dem - the real alternative in the forthcoming local and general elections. Because as we discovered again last night what you get from the other parties when it comes to tax and spend is just more of the same.
Well, last night Labour politicians in Reading went one better (or rather one worse ) - pushing through a 2.2% Council Tax increase. The proposed increase was higher than the national average (1.9%) and many neighbouring authorities. The timing of this hike could not be worse for Reading residents. As I pointed out last week, the recession continues to bite - with the number of people claiming out-of-work benefits rising last month.
As a party we are opposed to Council Tax in principle. It is an unfair tax. It is not progressive - far from it: Council Tax hits those on fixed incomes hardest - elderly people in particular. And for all the Conservative's hot air last night about the iniquities of our Council Tax system the Conservative Party nationally have no plans to abolish it if they come to power - and why would they? Council Tax was after all introduced by a Conservative government all those years ago.
Only the Lib Dems are committed to scrapping Council tax and replacing it with a fair tax system. We would go further - raising the tax threshold taking those who earn £10,000 or less out of income tax all together.We would also return local spending powers and decisions to local councils, who have seen their powers gradually eroded under successive Conservative and Labour governments.
The Lib Dem Group on Reading Borough Council opposed Labour's Council Tax rise last night. Because it is unfair and because we believe it is possible to provide good services for less and to continue to protect frontline services - plenty of other councils have done it. We are campaigning for better services and better value for money for local Council Tax payers. Reading residents have said they want better value for money from their Council - when surveyed in 2008 for the government's Place Survey 69% of residents surveyed said they didn't think RBC offered value for money.
There are too many areas where the Council is not living up to local people's expectations. For example, the fear of crime in Reading is higher than elsewhere and local residents have said they have little faith in the Council's ability to deal with this problem. Residents have said in survey after survey carried out on behalf of the Council that areas they want the Council to focus on tackling are: levels of crime, levels of traffic and clean streets - hardly rocket science!! And yet we have a Labour leadership that thinks chasing city status should be a top priority for the Council. But Labour stopped listening to the views of local people in Reading many years ago and they will pay a high price for this at the coming elections.
It should not be up to residents to plug the massive hole Gordon Brown and the Labour party have blown in the public finances. Councils, like other public bodies must tighten their belts. Yes, demand for some important council service is growing - for example in areas such as community care. And these important areas must be protected from cuts. However, savings must be made and overall when it comes to budget setting Labour's solution to every problem is always to throw public money at problems and increase Council Tax year after year in Reading (although when an election looms they are miraculously able to find savings). This approach is simply not sustainable: the money for extra spending has been spent - locally and nationally the level of public debt is not sustainable.
We made clear last night we were against the proposed Council Tax increase Labour put forward and we were prepared to listen to an alternative proposal from the Conservatives (they are the largest opposition group on RBC) which would allow Council Tax to be frozen in Reading . We waited...but none was forthcoming. The Conservatives failed to put forward any costed proposals about how they would achieve a reduction during the meeting and failed to turn up to vote on Labour's budget when it mattered. Their behaviour has landed Reading residents with a massive tax increase.This was irresponsible, gesture politics at it's worst from the Conservatives in which they promised a Council Tax freeze but failed to deliver one - which sadly followed last year's pattern. Serious times demands seriousness from local politicians - particularly when it comes to making decisions as important as this one that affects so many people in our Town.
Last night gave us more proof if proof were needed that neither the Labour or Conservative parties in Reading are the right people to run Reading Borough Council. And If you live in West Berkshire things do not look any rosier - there as leading Lib Dem councillor and Newbury PPC David Rendel has pointed out 'the vulnerable will pay more and receive less'.
If you feel strongly that our current tax system is unfair, you are opposed to further tax increases from Labour and you want elected representatives who care about fairness and value for money services the choice is clear: vote Lib Dem - the real alternative in the forthcoming local and general elections. Because as we discovered again last night what you get from the other parties when it comes to tax and spend is just more of the same.
Wednesday, 17 February 2010
Not over yet: recession continues to make life difficult for many
Recently a number of commentators and pundits have declared the recession is over. However, the publication today of the latest figures relating to the number of people in Reading claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA), by the independent Office for National Statistics. suggest that for many local people the 'economic downturn', 'credit crunch', or whatever you care to call it continues to bite.
The number of people claiming unemployment benefit - specifically JSA, rose in Reading in January: from 3,970 i(n December 2009) to 4,190. This is not good news and should serve as a warning to those who think that the impact of Gordon Brown's recession is no longer being felt here, as well as a reminder that more work still needs to be done to support those affected. The claimant count as a proportion of the working age population across the South East in January was 3.6% - but in Reading it climbed to 4.3%.
Nationally, the number of people claiming unemployment benefit is the highest since Labour came to power. This is hardly a great endorsement of Labour's stewardship of the UK economy and Gordon Brown's famous pledge to "end boom and bust". And as many have observed - it is young people who are bearing the brunt of the recession.
What continues to concern me, is the fact that the largest group of people claiming JSA in Reading are aged between 20 to 24. Today's figures put this at 730 individuals.
Being out of work for any period of time can have a very damaging impact on individuals and for young people in particular. Another cause for concern in Reading is the increase in the number of people who have been out of work for over a year (claiming JSA): this has increased from 585 (Dec 09) to 640. This is a concern not least because all the evidence shows that the longer someone is out of work the harder it is them to get back into the labour market.
Nationally, whilst overall unemployment is down, the South East saw the biggest rise in unemployment during this period. - up by 12,000.
This evening at a meeting of the Corporate, Community and External Affairs Scrutiny Panel which I am a member, we heard that the number of young people not in education, education, employment or training (known as NEET) in Reading has fallen from a high of around 13.9% of 16-18 year olds (September 2009) to 6.1%. This is something I have been concerned about for some time. The decline in the number of NEETs is very welcome news and testament to the hard work that many local agencies including RBC and Connexions Berkshire have put in.
We must continue to actively support our young people in Reading to ensure they don't get left behind. The news that a number of 20 to 24 year olds are struggling to find work in Reading should be a concern for us all. At the CCEA meeting I requested that the Council as part of it's work to reduce the impact of the credit crunch locally investigates ways to support this group more effectively.
Whilst some commentators may have decided the recession is over we must not turn our back on young people in our own backyard, many of whom are still struggling. I will continue to campaign to raise the profile of the problem of youth unemployment and do my best to get action taken locally to help those affected.
The number of people claiming unemployment benefit - specifically JSA, rose in Reading in January: from 3,970 i(n December 2009) to 4,190. This is not good news and should serve as a warning to those who think that the impact of Gordon Brown's recession is no longer being felt here, as well as a reminder that more work still needs to be done to support those affected. The claimant count as a proportion of the working age population across the South East in January was 3.6% - but in Reading it climbed to 4.3%.
Nationally, the number of people claiming unemployment benefit is the highest since Labour came to power. This is hardly a great endorsement of Labour's stewardship of the UK economy and Gordon Brown's famous pledge to "end boom and bust". And as many have observed - it is young people who are bearing the brunt of the recession.
What continues to concern me, is the fact that the largest group of people claiming JSA in Reading are aged between 20 to 24. Today's figures put this at 730 individuals.
Being out of work for any period of time can have a very damaging impact on individuals and for young people in particular. Another cause for concern in Reading is the increase in the number of people who have been out of work for over a year (claiming JSA): this has increased from 585 (Dec 09) to 640. This is a concern not least because all the evidence shows that the longer someone is out of work the harder it is them to get back into the labour market.
Nationally, whilst overall unemployment is down, the South East saw the biggest rise in unemployment during this period. - up by 12,000.
This evening at a meeting of the Corporate, Community and External Affairs Scrutiny Panel which I am a member, we heard that the number of young people not in education, education, employment or training (known as NEET) in Reading has fallen from a high of around 13.9% of 16-18 year olds (September 2009) to 6.1%. This is something I have been concerned about for some time. The decline in the number of NEETs is very welcome news and testament to the hard work that many local agencies including RBC and Connexions Berkshire have put in.
We must continue to actively support our young people in Reading to ensure they don't get left behind. The news that a number of 20 to 24 year olds are struggling to find work in Reading should be a concern for us all. At the CCEA meeting I requested that the Council as part of it's work to reduce the impact of the credit crunch locally investigates ways to support this group more effectively.
Whilst some commentators may have decided the recession is over we must not turn our back on young people in our own backyard, many of whom are still struggling. I will continue to campaign to raise the profile of the problem of youth unemployment and do my best to get action taken locally to help those affected.
Tuesday, 26 January 2010
Lib Dems: Proud of our Town
This evening my Lib Dem colleagues and I on Reading Borough Council spoke out against Labour's latest bid to get Reading city status.
I've attached the speech I gave below:
"When I first hard about Labour's latest bid to go for city status I wanted to find out what local people thought about this, so I asked them.
This is just a handful of the comments I received:
"i'm not sure that Reading become a city will make a lot of difference to its residents"
"What would it bring us except more pubs & clubs like the last attempts?"
"Reading is tiny, not really a city at all. What benefits would it bring?!"
"What is the benefit of city status? Other than presumably higher council tax!"
and my personal favourite:
"if I wished to live in a city I would have stayed in London."
A couple of people told me they supported the idea, but they were outnumbered by the deeply sceptical.
What's in it for us? They said.
What's wrong with being a town?
Is bigger, necessarily better?
These are the key questions people are asking.
This Council should be about serving the people: not serving ourselves.
Improving the lot of people who live in our town should be our top priority: not selling the town's soul to the highest bidder.
Can the Leader of the Council please explain to me and the people of Reading:
What problems or challenges do we currently face that would be solved by Reading becoming a city?
In this Borough the boundaries we share with our neighbours have always been a source of conflict.
What good will re-opening these old wounds do?
This bid says more about the Reading Labour Party than it does about the needs of the people we are meant to serve.
It is redolent of the era of John Howarth: endless vanity projects that Labour in Reading have tried and failed to foist on local people.
Without asking local people what they actually want.
Such as:
- The failed One Way IDR
- And recent abortive attempts to build a politicians palace in place of the old civic
Thanks to the mismanagement of the nation's finances Gordon Brown has left this town and its people saddled with a mountain of debt.
We are facing perhaps the tighest budget round in this Council's history.
We are asking officers to do more, with less.
I think local people would like the the officers of this Council to focus on tackling the real problems of thousands of people in Reading are facing today:
1. We have just come out of a period of some of the most severe weather this town has ever experienced.
2. There are currently just under 4,000 people out of work - the majoity of whom are aged between 20 and 24;
3. There are around 5,000 people currently trying to access social housing;
4. Thousands of children are growing up in real poverty under our very noses their lives blighted by poor housing and poor health;
5. And we need as a Council to care for a fast-growing ageing population - the demands of which are placing a huge strain on our finances.
I am happy to admit that for the Lib Dem Group these and many other important issues take priority over bidding for city status.
Because we put local people first.
Local businesses may have been judged by a London-based thinktank to have 'weathered' this recession
But this has not been without pain: job losses, businesses going under.
- Do Reading businesses genuinely have £60,000 lying around just to throw at another bid which is doomed to fail or where there is no guarantee of success?
- Surely that money could be better spent, or invested in things that would really benefit local people?"
The Tories on Reading Borough Council are backing Labour's bid.
Predictably, they are both accusing us of "doing the Town down".
They could not be more wrong.
As Lib Dems we are proud to stand up for what we believe in: proud to speak up for local people and proud to campaign for action on local issues.
Yes, we are fiercely localist: we listen to the local people that elected us and ask them what they think the priorities should be.
I feel strongly that at times like this when many people are in the town are struggling the Council must focus on it's core business: supporting local people.
And as we climb out of recession, we really cannot afford to waste Council time and resources on yet another Labour vanity project.
I've attached the speech I gave below:
"When I first hard about Labour's latest bid to go for city status I wanted to find out what local people thought about this, so I asked them.
This is just a handful of the comments I received:
"i'm not sure that Reading become a city will make a lot of difference to its residents"
"What would it bring us except more pubs & clubs like the last attempts?"
"Reading is tiny, not really a city at all. What benefits would it bring?!"
"What is the benefit of city status? Other than presumably higher council tax!"
and my personal favourite:
"if I wished to live in a city I would have stayed in London."
A couple of people told me they supported the idea, but they were outnumbered by the deeply sceptical.
What's in it for us? They said.
What's wrong with being a town?
Is bigger, necessarily better?
These are the key questions people are asking.
This Council should be about serving the people: not serving ourselves.
Improving the lot of people who live in our town should be our top priority: not selling the town's soul to the highest bidder.
Can the Leader of the Council please explain to me and the people of Reading:
What problems or challenges do we currently face that would be solved by Reading becoming a city?
In this Borough the boundaries we share with our neighbours have always been a source of conflict.
What good will re-opening these old wounds do?
This bid says more about the Reading Labour Party than it does about the needs of the people we are meant to serve.
It is redolent of the era of John Howarth: endless vanity projects that Labour in Reading have tried and failed to foist on local people.
Without asking local people what they actually want.
Such as:
- The failed One Way IDR
- And recent abortive attempts to build a politicians palace in place of the old civic
Thanks to the mismanagement of the nation's finances Gordon Brown has left this town and its people saddled with a mountain of debt.
We are facing perhaps the tighest budget round in this Council's history.
We are asking officers to do more, with less.
I think local people would like the the officers of this Council to focus on tackling the real problems of thousands of people in Reading are facing today:
1. We have just come out of a period of some of the most severe weather this town has ever experienced.
2. There are currently just under 4,000 people out of work - the majoity of whom are aged between 20 and 24;
3. There are around 5,000 people currently trying to access social housing;
4. Thousands of children are growing up in real poverty under our very noses their lives blighted by poor housing and poor health;
5. And we need as a Council to care for a fast-growing ageing population - the demands of which are placing a huge strain on our finances.
I am happy to admit that for the Lib Dem Group these and many other important issues take priority over bidding for city status.
Because we put local people first.
Local businesses may have been judged by a London-based thinktank to have 'weathered' this recession
But this has not been without pain: job losses, businesses going under.
- Do Reading businesses genuinely have £60,000 lying around just to throw at another bid which is doomed to fail or where there is no guarantee of success?
- Surely that money could be better spent, or invested in things that would really benefit local people?"
The Tories on Reading Borough Council are backing Labour's bid.
Predictably, they are both accusing us of "doing the Town down".
They could not be more wrong.
As Lib Dems we are proud to stand up for what we believe in: proud to speak up for local people and proud to campaign for action on local issues.
Yes, we are fiercely localist: we listen to the local people that elected us and ask them what they think the priorities should be.
I feel strongly that at times like this when many people are in the town are struggling the Council must focus on it's core business: supporting local people.
And as we climb out of recession, we really cannot afford to waste Council time and resources on yet another Labour vanity project.
Sunday, 24 January 2010
Young people in West Reading - let down by Labour
The latest official unemployment statistics were published earlier this week.
It is good to see the number of people out of work has fallen by approximately 7,000 - however the number of people currently out of the work is still far too high - at over 2.4 million.
This is Gordon Brown's real legacy.
The number of young people not in education, employment, skills or training (NEETs) has also fallen - this is a real credit to all the people and organisations in Reading who are working to support young people in the area.
But I am still concerned about young people who despite all the strategies and initiatives adopted by Reading Borough Council and Connexions Berkshire continue to struggling.
One young person struggling alone in Reading is one too many, in my view. We cannot afford both as a society and as an economy to overlook any young person.
Young people like Nathan - a young man from Dee Park estate who has been trying to find employment in Reading for months and who was interviewed by BBC South on Friday.
I was asked what the Lib Dems would do - you can see the piece here:
I'm delighted local and national media are finally picking up on this issue and joining the campaign for action.
Unemployment peaked in Reading last October and seeing the impact for myself on people living in my ward spurred me on to campaign on this issue.
I visited Reading Job Centre Plus in October and spoke to staff. At that time 1,000 people were coming through the doors every day and they were looking at ways of expanding to cope with demand.
Before Labour Ministers start slapping themselves on the back I think it's important to point out some pretty bleak facts that these figures conceal:
It is good to see the number of people out of work has fallen by approximately 7,000 - however the number of people currently out of the work is still far too high - at over 2.4 million.
This is Gordon Brown's real legacy.
The number of young people not in education, employment, skills or training (NEETs) has also fallen - this is a real credit to all the people and organisations in Reading who are working to support young people in the area.
But I am still concerned about young people who despite all the strategies and initiatives adopted by Reading Borough Council and Connexions Berkshire continue to struggling.
One young person struggling alone in Reading is one too many, in my view. We cannot afford both as a society and as an economy to overlook any young person.
Young people like Nathan - a young man from Dee Park estate who has been trying to find employment in Reading for months and who was interviewed by BBC South on Friday.
I was asked what the Lib Dems would do - you can see the piece here:
I'm delighted local and national media are finally picking up on this issue and joining the campaign for action.
Unemployment peaked in Reading last October and seeing the impact for myself on people living in my ward spurred me on to campaign on this issue.
I visited Reading Job Centre Plus in October and spoke to staff. At that time 1,000 people were coming through the doors every day and they were looking at ways of expanding to cope with demand.
Before Labour Ministers start slapping themselves on the back I think it's important to point out some pretty bleak facts that these figures conceal:
- There are currently over 8 million people currently classed by government as 'economically inactive'
- The employment rate is at its lowest rate since 1996-7 (the number of vacancies has fallen)
- There are currently an estimated 927,000 16-24 year olds out of work in the UK (down fro 943,000)
So what's the picture like here in Reading? (figures quoted available on the NOMIS website)
- There are currently just under 4,000 people claiming Job Seekers Allowance
- 40% of people currently claiming JSA live in West Reading: in Whitley (395), Battle (360), Norcot (350) and Minster (320)
- The majority of JSA claimants in Reading are in the 20-24 age group (690 people)
- There are currently 330 young people aged between 17-19 out of work and claiming benefit -
Yet more evidence, as I wrote earlier this week, that despite rising wealth and standards of living in some parts of town, Reading continues to be a very divided place economically.
It's a place where many people have not benefitted from years of a Labour government or a Labour Council.
And to an extent our assumptions are based on the official statistics. But we know that there are more examples of 'hidden jobless'.
This interesting article which appeared in the The Independent earlier this week has more about the rise in 'hidden jobless' including the big rise in the number of people being forced into part-time work due to a shortage of full-time roles.
This recession is having a disproportionate impact on young people and in particular young black people. Research carried out by the Institute of Public Policy Research and published in The Guardian this week revealed that 1 in 2 black youngsters (48%) aged between 16-24 are currently out of work.
This is a shocking statistic and a damning indictment of 13 years of a Labour government. Labour ministers like Harriet Harman and David Lammy claim that equality matters to the Labour Party but young black kids growing up under a Labour government have not found themselves better off or with an equal chance of success in British society today.
Nick Clegg has described the plight of young black people struggling in the recession as 'completey unacceptable' an this week he pledged that a Lib Dem government would work to dramatcally increase opportunity for young people of all races currently out of work.
You can find out more about Nick's plans to help young people in my post earlier this week.
I am committed to providing a strong voice for people all colours, races and faiths who have been let down by Labour in this recession.
If you have been badly affected, or you know someone who has I would love to hear from you.
Please get in touch.
Supporting residents and traders in Tilehurst
At the start of the week my Lib Dem colleagues Cllr Ricky Duveen, Cllr Peter Beard and Cllr Chris Harris scored a win for the residents and traders of Tilehurst. They suceeded in getting Labour-run Reading Borough Council to drop plans to charge residents to park in Dunstall Close and Recreation Road car parks.
These plans were flawed and ill-thought out - Ricky gives the background to the plan over on his blog. Lib Dem councillors rightly protested to the Council over the lack of public consultation with residents or councillors.
Tilehurst Village is a popular and thriving local shopping area - the Council should be doing everything it can to encourage local people to do their shopping there. Things are hard enough as it for shoppers and traders in this recession.
These proposls were part of Labour's plans for a 25% hike in car parking charges across the Borough. 
I'm a supporter of the Federation of Small Business' 'Keep Trade Local Campaign. A key part of their 'Keep Trade Local Manifesto' is fairer parking charges in town centres and high streets to help support local traders.
I'm a supporter of the Federation of Small Business' 'Keep Trade Local Campaign. A key part of their 'Keep Trade Local Manifesto' is fairer parking charges in town centres and high streets to help support local traders.I have been invited by the Thames Valley Federation for Small Businesses to take part in a hustings ahead of the General Election, which I'm looking forward to.
As a result of the action taken by local Lib Dem councillors in Tilehurst Labour councillors have been forced to go back to the drawing board to come up with more sensible proposals. These are likely to include free parking for the first hour and charging thereafter (to deter commuter parking).
I was out in Tilehurst yesterday with Pete Beard and Ricky Duveen. They told me about their battle to get the Council to improve the quality of Tilehurst car parks in recent years - including improving facilities for disabled drivers and getting car parks resurfaced.
Monday, 18 January 2010
Reading - Tale of Two 'Cities'
You may have seen a report published today which was widely trailed in the national and local media over the past 24 hours (produced by the thinktank Centre for Cities) in which Reading was listed as somewhere with 'the right ingredients to succeed after the recession has passed'.
I was not in the least surprised to see Reading listed as one of '5 big hitters'.
This is not the first time this thinktank has singled out Reading for praise.
Reading has a dynamic local economy and a resilient workforce.
Reading has many of the ingredients needed to be very successful: it has a mobile and highly-skilled workforce, good transport links and excellent universities in easy reach.
It's not difficult to understand why many blue-chip companies have set up business here.
We should be proud of Reading's progress to be one of the fastest-growing economies in the UK.
However, what concerns me is the evidence I see all around me which shows that not everyone who lives in Reading is able to share in and benefit from this success.
Inequality - linked to both health and wealth is a major issue in Reading and where you are born in Reading still has a big impact on how well you are likely to do in life and how healthy you and your family are likely to be.
This situation is not unique to Reading - but it's important to stress that Reading is not immune to problems faced elsewhere linked to recession.
And the gap between those who are well-off and worst-off is getting wider - as the recent Comprehensive Area Assessment of Reading (published before Christmas) confirmed.
This isn't just about statistics.
This is about whole families and neighbourhoods being blighted by poverty -including poor housing and bad health - just metres away from other communities with access to good housing and good schools.
In a town which generates as much wealth and success as Reading this is not acceptable, in my view. This is a damning indictment of years of Labour rule in Reading.
A Labour-run Council and a Labour government has not resulted in a fairer Reading.
I have campaigned extensively in recent years to highlight the disparity that exists between different neighbourhoods in Reading - and to get the Labour-run Council to take long overdue action.
My campaigning has resulted in more support for deprived neighbourhoods in Reading through the Thriving Neighbourhoods scheme and the creation of a 'Decent Neighbourhoods Fund' - to improve the quality of life for residents living on estates in Reading.
I have championed the needs of young people - because I think they have been let down badly by the Labour government and the Labour administration of Reading Borough Council.
I have highlighted the fact that what Labour has done nationally has been too little too late.
In Reading, the number of youngsters between 16-19 who are currently without a job, skills or training (NEETs) is regularly higher than any other towns in our region.
It has been this way for years because of Labour's complacent attitude.
Labour politicians have failed to get the best out of our schools and teachers - leaving some children ill-equipped for the modern workforce.
Recently the figure has come down to around 6% but it had been stuck at around 8% for the past few years - higher than anywhere else in the South East.
The Council has been forced to chase government targets around reducing headline 'NEET' figures rather than doing what is needed locally to support local people.
But 16-19 year olds are not the only group facing difficulties.
Let's also not forget too those 20-somethings graduating from Reading University or other local universities and wanting to live and work in the Reading area.
Many of these youngsters live in my ward in Redlands.
They are graduating with the highest debts of any graduates ever - chasing a dwindling number of vacancies.
The last set of Job Seekers Allowance figures I saw for Reading showed that the majority of JSA claimants are aged between 20 and 24.
Last Summer I reported that the number of young people who were unemployed was set to reach one million - a figure not seen for decades.
The graduates I speak to feel badly let down by this Labour government and its promises of a pot of gold at the end of the educational rainbow.
We cannot risk the creation of another "lost generation" of young people.
Being out of work is not only bad for the pocket, bad for the economy - it's bad for the health and well-being of our young people.
I have actively campaigned for action both locally and nationally for action to help support our young people in Reading.
This is because I am not prepared to accept the status quo and neither should local people.
If people want things to change they need to vote for change. Not more of the same from Labour.
Nick Clegg outlined the Lib Dem plan for a 'life boat' for Britain's young people including plans for more paid internships, fully-funded adult apprenticeships and a '90 day promise' (whereby young people would be offered work, training education or an internship after 3 months out of work).
Nothing I've heard from the Tories nationally or locally suggest that they would do anything differently to help make Reading a fairer, more equal place.
Last October I raised concerns about the plight of young people and got the Labour-run Council in Reading to hold a special summit on how we might better support young people.
This event was a real eye-opener for me: the young people who attended told heart-breaking stories about months of hopeless job-hunting, forced to spend their time handing out CVs in the Town centre.
There is no reference to any of these problems in the Centre for Cities report published today.
We must not turn a blind eye to real poverty on our own doorstep.
Months into the recession the economic indicators may be getting better but talking to young people and their families I know many hundreds of young people still face incredibly tough times trying to get onto the first rung of the career ladder and out of poverty.
They are our future and our future prosperity as a community and an economy depends on their prosperity.
With this in mind I wrote to RBC's Chief Executive and the Leader of the Council, Cllr Jo Lovelock today asking them if a follow-up meeting could be held focussing specifically on supporting young people through the recession.
We need to be absolutely sure that the Council, Connexions and local businesses are working together as effectively as they can to ensure no young person is left behind.
We also need to demonstrate to young people that we are 100% behind them.
I was not in the least surprised to see Reading listed as one of '5 big hitters'.
This is not the first time this thinktank has singled out Reading for praise.
Reading has a dynamic local economy and a resilient workforce.
Reading has many of the ingredients needed to be very successful: it has a mobile and highly-skilled workforce, good transport links and excellent universities in easy reach.
It's not difficult to understand why many blue-chip companies have set up business here.
We should be proud of Reading's progress to be one of the fastest-growing economies in the UK.
However, what concerns me is the evidence I see all around me which shows that not everyone who lives in Reading is able to share in and benefit from this success.
Inequality - linked to both health and wealth is a major issue in Reading and where you are born in Reading still has a big impact on how well you are likely to do in life and how healthy you and your family are likely to be.
This situation is not unique to Reading - but it's important to stress that Reading is not immune to problems faced elsewhere linked to recession.
And the gap between those who are well-off and worst-off is getting wider - as the recent Comprehensive Area Assessment of Reading (published before Christmas) confirmed.
This isn't just about statistics.
This is about whole families and neighbourhoods being blighted by poverty -including poor housing and bad health - just metres away from other communities with access to good housing and good schools.
In a town which generates as much wealth and success as Reading this is not acceptable, in my view. This is a damning indictment of years of Labour rule in Reading.
A Labour-run Council and a Labour government has not resulted in a fairer Reading.
I have campaigned extensively in recent years to highlight the disparity that exists between different neighbourhoods in Reading - and to get the Labour-run Council to take long overdue action.
My campaigning has resulted in more support for deprived neighbourhoods in Reading through the Thriving Neighbourhoods scheme and the creation of a 'Decent Neighbourhoods Fund' - to improve the quality of life for residents living on estates in Reading.
I have championed the needs of young people - because I think they have been let down badly by the Labour government and the Labour administration of Reading Borough Council.
I have highlighted the fact that what Labour has done nationally has been too little too late.
In Reading, the number of youngsters between 16-19 who are currently without a job, skills or training (NEETs) is regularly higher than any other towns in our region.
It has been this way for years because of Labour's complacent attitude.
Labour politicians have failed to get the best out of our schools and teachers - leaving some children ill-equipped for the modern workforce.
Recently the figure has come down to around 6% but it had been stuck at around 8% for the past few years - higher than anywhere else in the South East.
The Council has been forced to chase government targets around reducing headline 'NEET' figures rather than doing what is needed locally to support local people.
But 16-19 year olds are not the only group facing difficulties.
Let's also not forget too those 20-somethings graduating from Reading University or other local universities and wanting to live and work in the Reading area.
Many of these youngsters live in my ward in Redlands.
They are graduating with the highest debts of any graduates ever - chasing a dwindling number of vacancies.
The last set of Job Seekers Allowance figures I saw for Reading showed that the majority of JSA claimants are aged between 20 and 24.
Last Summer I reported that the number of young people who were unemployed was set to reach one million - a figure not seen for decades.
The graduates I speak to feel badly let down by this Labour government and its promises of a pot of gold at the end of the educational rainbow.
We cannot risk the creation of another "lost generation" of young people.
Being out of work is not only bad for the pocket, bad for the economy - it's bad for the health and well-being of our young people.
I have actively campaigned for action both locally and nationally for action to help support our young people in Reading.
This is because I am not prepared to accept the status quo and neither should local people.
If people want things to change they need to vote for change. Not more of the same from Labour.
Nick Clegg outlined the Lib Dem plan for a 'life boat' for Britain's young people including plans for more paid internships, fully-funded adult apprenticeships and a '90 day promise' (whereby young people would be offered work, training education or an internship after 3 months out of work).
Nothing I've heard from the Tories nationally or locally suggest that they would do anything differently to help make Reading a fairer, more equal place.
Last October I raised concerns about the plight of young people and got the Labour-run Council in Reading to hold a special summit on how we might better support young people.
This event was a real eye-opener for me: the young people who attended told heart-breaking stories about months of hopeless job-hunting, forced to spend their time handing out CVs in the Town centre.
There is no reference to any of these problems in the Centre for Cities report published today.
We must not turn a blind eye to real poverty on our own doorstep.
Months into the recession the economic indicators may be getting better but talking to young people and their families I know many hundreds of young people still face incredibly tough times trying to get onto the first rung of the career ladder and out of poverty.
They are our future and our future prosperity as a community and an economy depends on their prosperity.
With this in mind I wrote to RBC's Chief Executive and the Leader of the Council, Cllr Jo Lovelock today asking them if a follow-up meeting could be held focussing specifically on supporting young people through the recession.
We need to be absolutely sure that the Council, Connexions and local businesses are working together as effectively as they can to ensure no young person is left behind.
We also need to demonstrate to young people that we are 100% behind them.
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