TORIES RAID NHS BUDGET TO FUND THEIR TAX CUT FOR MILLIONAIRES

This week’s Budget was bad news for anyone who values our NHS.  George Osborne clawed back £2.2 billion from the Department of Health – money that’s desperately needed on the NHS front line. But instead of spending the money on frontline care, this cash is going back to the Treasury to be used to fund their millionaires’ tax cut.

The NHS has confirmed that over 800 nursing jobs were lost in the last month alone – taking the total to nearly 5,000 since David Cameron and George Osborne entered Downing Street. The independent care regulator, the Care Quality Commissioner, has warned that one in ten hospitals is understaffed. Cameron and Osborne can’t justify continuing to neglect our NHS and the people that work to make it possible.

But while Cameron and Osborne are handing out P45s to nurses, they will also be handing a tax cut to millionaires. On April 6^th, 13,000 millionaires will get a tax cut worth an average £100,000 each, all while hundreds of hard working nurses are losing their jobs.

Cameron and Osborne need to get their priorities straight. They need to keep their promises to protect the NHS and scrap their unfair tax cut for millionaires.

CHILDCARE SUPPORT ON BACKBURNER

HOW perverse that just as Britain’s millionaires shape up to receive a bumper tax break from April, the Government announces hard working families will have to wait two more years for any help.

You have to wonder if David Cameron and his cabinet are deliberately living up to their party’s nasty tag by once again putting their exclusive club of Tory funders before real people.

It would be nice if we could celebrate the Government’s announcement of a tax-free childcare scheme and at last ponder if some semblance of reality is leaking through to Mr Cameron.  Instead, the people who need the help most get another slap in the face as the proposals are no sooner announced than put on the backburner.

The timing of the announcement leaves me wondering if the Prime Minister and his cronies are having a distasteful laugh at everyone else’s expense.  It begs the question: if Mr Cameron and co have genuinely recognised the need to support families with childcare, what on earth makes them think it is a good idea to delay in implementing it.

Recent figures have shown that the economy is now expected to take more than six years to recover – the longest dip of its kind ever recorded.

That is why families need real help with the cost of childcare now.  Not tomorrow. Not next week or next month. Not in two-and-a-half years. Now. 

In reality all the Government announcement reveals is a hint of the Tory electioneering we can expect in 2015.  How many other desperately needed actions can we now expect this Government to propose be introduced after the next General Election?

If ministers were really interested in helping families then it would be the millionaires tax break that would be delayed until our economy has recovered.  If helping those in need appears anywhere on the Tory agenda it is under the sub-section headed “Electioneering ideas”, rather than the one headed “Policy ideas”.

And let’s not forget that the so-called support now being touted has been offset several times over by the cuts already imposed.  Some parents have already lost up to £1,500 in childcare support on top of the wider cuts to family budgets. Families with new born babies are losing £1,700.

I’m not fooled by this Tory masquerading and the people who continue to suffer for the next couple of years won’t be either.

FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE THREATENED BY PRIVATISATION

Having made it possible to privatise 49 percent of the NHS, this Tory Lib Dem Government has now got another precious public service in its sights. This time it is the fire and rescue service in England that is being line up to be sold off to the highest bidder.

It’s softening it up with unprecedented cuts. Of course we all knew the Government would not exempt our emergency services from its austerity programme, but the unparalleled cuts are reckless and downright dangerous. They have already axed more than 4,000 firefighters, closed scores of fire stations and decommissioned dozens of fire and rescue rescue appliances.

The fire minister, Brandon Lewis, set out his privatisation plans in a letter to the House of Commons Regulatory Reform Committee in January this year. He was proposing legislation to enable fire and rescue authorities “to contract out their full range of services”. But the cross-party committee sensibly dismissed his scheme, not least because the letter attempted to circumvent proper parliamentary scrutiny of this fundamental policy shift. But there can be no question that the proposal remains on the table.

Mr Lewis has tried to put a different spin on it, claiming it is only about enabling fire and rescue services to be run as public sector cooperatives. But this is just a charade. The fact is there are no protections in place to shield public sector cooperatives from being replaced by a future private sector operator. Furthermore, the change that Mr Lewis is proposing would allow fire and rescue services to be privatised immediately without even bothering to establish a cooperative first.

In some countries around the world, people have to pay a premium to obtain protection from the fire and rescue service. I discovered one such example in Tennessee USA, where a couple lost everything after their home burned to the ground, even though they had called 911 to ask for help. Firefighters responded, but didn’t put out the blaze because the couple had not paid the $75 subscription to the local fire service.

This is where privatisation of our fire and rescue services could ultimately lead. In the meantime, if the private sector were to run this vital emergency service we would see a massive reduction in the contribution it makes to our community. Much what the fire and rescue service does is outside its statutory responsibilities. This includes responding to flooding incidents and working with young people. Our brave firefighters deserve better and the British public have a right to expect the fire and rescue service will always be free at the point of need.

That is why I have launched a national campaign to highlight and oppose the government’s reckless plan. We cannot allow the high priests of neoliberalism to sacrifice the fire and rescue service on the altar of austerity.

Saving lives, not making private profit must remain the priority of our fire and rescue service.

TORY FIRE MINISTER PRIVATISATION DENIAL IS FOOLING NOBODY

The Tory fire minister, Brandon Lewis, must think we were born yesterday as he feigns innocence about his plans to privatise the fire and rescue service.

This is an exchange at today’s Communities and Local Government oral questions session in the House Commons.

Rushanara Ali (Bethnal Green and Bow) (Labour):

“What representations he has received which support the privatisation of fire and rescue services.”[148152]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Brandon Lewis):

“The short answer is none. The Labour party’s claim that the Government are privatising, or seeking to privatise, the fire service is completely untrue. Rather, we are supporting locally led mutuals and co-operatives, which I would have thought the Labour party would have backed, given that its coalition partner is the Co-operative party.”

Rushanara Ali:

“The fire service Minister has written to the Chair of the House of Commons Regulatory Reform Committee outlining plans that could lead to 112 fire stations across Greater London being run by a private company. Why is he planning to take such risks? I do not agree that there is no plan. We know already that companies such as AssetCo have cost taxpayers millions of pounds. Will he give a straight answer?”

Brandon Lewis:

“I just did. The Labour party is giving out information that is simply not correct. We are looking to work with an area such as Cleveland, for example, where the Labour-led fire authority wants to mutualise. We think that mutualisation is good and the right thing to do, so I am disappointed that the Labour party seems to be turning away from co-operatives and mutuals. I would have thought it supported them, given the discussion in a recent publication by the Co-operative party containing a foreword endorsed by the leader of the Labour party.”

Chris Williamson (Derby North) (Lab):

“Nobody believes the housing Minister—the fire Minister, I mean, although I do not believe the housing Minister either, given his answers to previous questions. Nobody believes the fire Minister when he says he has no plans to privatise the fire and rescue service. After all, the Conservative party has form on this. If he does not want to privatise it, why did he write to the Regulatory Reform Committee seeking its views: ‘on [the government’s] proposals for a Legislative Reform Order that would enable fire and rescue authorities in England to contract out their full range of services to a suitable provider, including a public service mutual...or other appointed contractor?”

Brandon Lewis:

“I have to congratulate the hon. Gentleman, who spoke about this last week at the Local Government Association’s fire conference, on his ability to start a campaign to stop something that was never started in the first place. As I have outlined, the simple fact is that Labour-led Cleveland fire authority wants to consider mutualising. Unlike the Labour party, it seems, we are happy to support employee ownership in mutuals, and will continue to do so. I hope that the Labour party will go back to supporting co-operatives.”

CUTS WILL HIT FLOOD RESPONSE

Firefighters across the UK attended nearly twice as many flooding incidents in 2012 than in 2011, according to new figures obtained by the Fire Brigades Union under the Freedom of Information Act.

Fire and rescue services from around the country were called to 22,518 flooding situations last year compared with 13,042 the year before: a 75% increase.

Northern Ireland firefighters went to three times more flood incidents in 2012 than they did in 2011, whilst in Wales the response more than doubled. In England firefighters attended more than 19,000 flood incidents in 2012, compared to 11,000 in 2011. Turnouts were three times higher in the South West of England, Yorkshire, the East Midlands and the North East of England, while they doubled in the South East and the North West of England.

As the unprecedented funding cuts continue to bite, the practical consequence is that some parts of the country the fire and rescue service will not be able to guarantee coming to the aid of flooding victims.

The increasing severity of weather patterns brought about by climate means that this problem is set to get worse.

TORY MILLIONAIRE’S DAY

On 6 April, David Cameron will give 13,000 millionaires a tax cut worth on average £100,000 a year while millions pay more. 

Cutting tax credits for millions of working families while millionaires get a tax cut is deeply unfair – it tells you everything you need to know about the priorities of David Cameron and his Conservative Party.

Under David Cameron and the Tories the country is heading in the wrong direction.  Prices are going up faster than wages.  The economy is flatlining.  Nearly one million young people are out of work.

Labour would cancel the tax cut for millionaires and the raid on tax credits for working families.  We would introduce a mansion tax on properties worth over £2 million, and use the money raised to introduce a 10p tax rate for low and middle earners.

LABOUR PLANS RELENTLESS PRESSURE AGAINST TORY-LED GOVERNMENT’S BEDROOM TAX

This week Labour revealed that almost 2,500 people will be hit by the Bedroom Tax here in Derby.

David Cameron’s Bedroom Tax is unfair and unworkable. He’s hitting families of soldiers serving our country who will have to find extra money for their son or daughter’s bedroom, and foster families helping children in need of a home.

He is making disabled people in council and housing association homes pay more when they need more space due to their disability.

Divorced parents whose kids come to stay are being affected too. And grandparents will also have to pay more.

And at exactly the same time as the Bedroom Tax comes into effect he is giving thousands of millionaires a tax cut of £100,000 a year.

It’s plain wrong and immoral to inflict this pernicious plan on people who can ill afford it and giving more to people who already have plenty.

VENEZUELA SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN: STATEMENT FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ

Following the death of President Hugo Chavez, Venezuela Solidarity Campaign Secretary, Dr Francisco Dominguez said:

"Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias, President of Venezuela, died on March 5th at 4:25 hrs (local time) after a long and hard battle against cancer. He was 58 years old.

“He led the progressive transformation of Venezuela by lifting millions of its citizens from poverty - standing against social exclusion, marginalisation and institutional repression - thereby restoring to them a long-overdue dignity.

“Under President Chavez's leadership, his government's policies improved the life of ordinary Venezuelans as no other government had ever done in the history of that South American nation.

“Chavez also played a leading role in the transformation of Latin America into a progressive continent, which in the 21st century is collectively affirming the sovereignty of the nation states that make up [Latin America], and where, in different ways and through nationally-specific routes, they have been attempting to build a better world.

“Hugo Chavez will continue to symbolise, for decades to come, the aspirations of dignity, sovereignty, justice and a better life as fully empowered citizens, for people all around the world.

“He showed that a better world could be constructed.

“Our hearts go to his family, friends, comrades, the people of Venezuela, and the people of Latin America".

FUNDING FLOP IS CRIPPLING CONSTRUCTION

A QUARTER of SME building firms have missed out on contracts because they can’t secure vital funding, with many claiming banks and building societies are “actively discriminating” against construction companies.

The latest figures show the Government’s Funding for Lending scheme is failing to support construction, as lending fell significantly in the last three months of 2012.  Now the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has urged ministers to act, citing the results of its own major survey of more than 1,000 member firms, which clearly show the ongoing restriction of finance to SME construction businesses.

More than 40 percent of construction SMEs surveyed said they had found it harder to gain access to finance in the past two years, while 43 percent reported that credit is more expensive than two years ago and 25 percent were subject to increased charges for credit facilities.

The survey also confirmed widespread fears that banks are actively discriminating against construction firms, with 25 percent of respondents reporting they had lost work as a result, and 16 percent saying they had been refused requests for credit by a bank that had previously considered them trustworthy – explicitly because they work in the construction industry.

Of those surveyed, a quarter reported they had lost business or had to abandon plans for growth or investment because they were unable to raise the necessary funds, and 18 percent said that the number of staff they were able to employ had fallen as a direct result.

The FMB has now written to Michael Fallon, the Business and Enterprise Minister, calling on him to end this discrimination against construction firms and boost the beleaguered sector.

Brian Berry, the FMB’s Chief Executive, said: “What we are seeing is that otherwise viable and successful firms cannot access suitable finance for business operations, including buying new equipment and plant. This is having a serious knock-on effect on jobs and growth in the sector.”

This is yet another example of the abject failure of this shambolic Tory-Lib Dem coalition’s handling of the British economy.  Construction is key to boosting growth and employment but the coalition ministers are so far out-of-touch they are incapable of doing the simplest of things to address the downward spiral.