‘Don’t Switch Us Off’ say pensioners as Over-75s Free TV Licence Faces the Axe

The Labour Government introduced the free tv licence for the over-75s when Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer produced a ‘budget that unites the whole country’ and ‘offers stability and security for all.’

Fifteen years later, the Tory’s Chancellor, George Osborne cut £650m from the BBC’s budget, transferred the responsibility for the over-75s licence fee directly to the BBC as he met Rupert Murdoch before the announcement in June 2015.

This sleight of hand was to fund £12bn of benefit cuts mainly from the Department of Work and Pensions – the DWP funded the over-75s free TV licence.

Following a consultation the BBC concluded that the current scheme will end and from 1 June 2020, a free TV licence will only be available to a household with someone aged over 75 who receives pension credit. 

Age UK has launched a petition stating:

“For over a million of our oldest citizens the TV is their constant companion and window on the world. And now it’s under threat.”

“The BBC has announced they will means test free TV licences from the over-75s. Means-testing may sound fair but in reality it means at least 650,000 of our poorest pensioners facing a big new annual bill they simply can’t afford. But this is really the Government’s doing. They pushed the scheme onto the BBC without asking any of us what we think or providing the funding to sustain it.”

Age UK are calling for the Government to take back responsibility for the free TV licences for the over 75s. Your can sign the petition here.

On Friday, 21st June 2019 a protest was held outside the BBC in Portland Place, London where trade unionists, pensioner groups and their supporters held a rally demanding “Don’t switch us off” and they marched to Oxford Circus causing traffic chaos in the capital. Buses, taxis and pedestrians signalled their support for the pensioners.

DWP ‘spin’ in the Metro challenged

The Disability Benefits Consortium, DBS consisting of over 80 charities alongside Trade Unions and disability campaigners are calling on the Department for Work and Pensions to end their public relations campaign about Universal Credit which appears in the freesheet Metro newspaper.

In a letter to the Advertising Standards Authority, the DBS have said:

“The advert itself is visually misleading and inaccessible. Given the target audience is those who are out of work, many of whom will be sick or disabled, the lack of clarity that it is a DWP advertisement is disingenuous. An internal memo, reported by the Mirror, claims the lack of clarity (no logo or DWP branding) regarding this being a DWP advertisement was deliberate

These are some of the most vulnerable people in society. It is a disgrace that they are being treated with such disregard. At best these adverts are accidentally misleading at worst they are knowingly dangerous to the health and financial security of disabled people.

We believe there is clear evidence that these adverts are misleading and urge the ASA to take this complaint seriously and act as quickly as possible.”

 

According to the Public and Commercial Services Union, PCS, the government department’s positive PR strategy began last month with a series of articles which purportedly “myth-bust the common inaccuracies reported on UC” at a cost to the taxpayer reported to be in excess of £250,000.

Unite the Union had been a constant critic of Universal Credit saying: “Instead of providing a safety net for people on low incomes, Universal Credit is driving more people into debt” and urging people to sign The Mirror’s petition . Unite’s position is to stop and scrap universal credit.

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The Children’s Commissioner has been examining the impact of Universal Credit and an article about the rollout of UC quoting a foodbank worker on their website says:

“The most urgent thing is to stop the 5 week wait. The advance payment the DWP advertise is in fact a loan that you have to pay off across subsequent payments. So people are starting off in debt.”

“And stopping the benefit cap will take children out of poverty, there is no doubt about it.”

While the DWP is seeking to change public perceptions with its UC myth-busting adverts, over the last six months we have heard contradictory stories from the lived experiences of vulnerable families.

But children are going hungry. It’s not a myth – it’s a fact.”

Disability activists in Disabled People Against Cuts, DPAC are taking direct action,  they say:

“We are calling on people to join our campaign to dump Metro DWP lies on any day of the week.

Yes, it’s important that we get the DWP lies off the shelves… but decreasing the circulation of the Metro newspaper 5 days a week rather than just one will make a bigger impact on as to whether the Metro does anything like this again!         

If the Metro was a paid-for paper we would call for a boycott but it’s a free paper so let’s just dent them wherever we can. Investigations have revealed that other newspapers were allegedly approached to run this advertorial and declined; which says a lot about the Metro!”

The National Audit Office, NAO recently produced a report  on Universal Credit and launching the report, Sir Amyas Morse said:  “We think the larger claims for Universal Credit, such as boosted employment, are unlikely to be demonstrable at any point in future. Nor for that matter will value for money.”    

“It’s Time to Act – Let Lewisham Breathe” say Extinction Rebellion

High levels of air pollution in Lewisham prompted Extinction Rebellion to mount a swarm demonstration to stop the traffic on Friday, 14th June.

Eco activists, school children, their parents and supporters blocked the South Circular Road handing out a flyer apologising for the disruption but calling for action now, saying:

“Lewisham currently experiences six times the level of air pollution recommended by the World Health Organisation.

Lewisham has committed to zero Carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and road traffic is the biggest cause of greenhouse gases in the UK.

With 11 years left to phase out our reliance on fossil fuels, we must act now to persuade Lewisham Council and the UK Government to put policies in place to give  future generations hope and survival.”

 

Signs were held in memory of Ella Kissi-Debrah aged 9 who lived in Hither Green and died of a fatal asthma attack. A fresh inquest into the causes of her death was ordered by the High Court on 2nd May.

One of the grounds for calling a fresh inquest was that permitting illegal levels of air pollution was a potential breach of human rights under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights – which protects the right to life. The court accepted new evidence including that based on a report by Professor Stephen Holgate that is reported to state that: ‘Unlawful levels of air pollution contributed to the cause and seriousness of Ella’s asthma in a way that greatly compromised her quality of life’.

Lewisham Council has declared a ‘Climate Emergency’ unanimously agreeing that ” We recognise that a changing climate will have severe and enduring social, economic
and environmental implications, and that tackling climate change is an issue of inequality as the greatest impact will be on the most vulnerable and those least able to protect themselves.”

At the same meeting it was reported to the Council that a community garden in Deptford, Tidemill Garden had been cleared.

 

More media coverage:

Evening Standard here

The Guardian here

i news here

Newsshopper here

ITV News here

 

Eagles fall off perch as Crystal Palace stadium plans delayed

Crystal Palace Football Club have planning permission by Croydon Council to build a new main stand, which will increase the capacity of Selhurst Park from to 26,000 to more than 34,000 – improving the stadium which has been the club’s home since 1924.

Crystal Palace FC known as ‘The Eagles’ had hoped to begin construction on the £75-100 million regeneration plan this summer.

However, negotiations continue with Croydon Council over Crystal Palace’s planning gain or  Section 106 obligations to fund transport and community improvement initiatives. This is an integral part of the planning permission and agreement needs to be completed before work can start.

Reports on notes from the most recent Crystal Palace Supporters’ Trust meeting on 8th May explain how negotiations with the council were “complex” and as a result the start date for construction is likely to be put back: “No significant developments could be confirmed since the last meeting in respect of the ‘new’ stand and training ground, negotiations were continuing but complex.”

In Lewisham, we know this to be the case, the Millwall FC regeneration plans remain slow, the Section 106 agreement has not returned to the Strategic Planning Committee since this was called for in 2017 see blog post here:

Delayed Regeneration

Trump Protest: Jeremy Corbyn says: ‘The NHS is not for sale’

1ADAD822-57D8-4150-B11C-BD0FBCA32FAETens of thousands protesters took to the streets of London and other cities across the United Kingdom on Tuesday, 4th June 2019 to demonstrate against President Trump on the second day of his official state visit.

Those protesting included Trump impersonators, women dressed as handmaids from Margaret Atwood’s novel “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

President Trump told a press conference:

“When you’re dealing with trade, everything is on the table. So, NHS or anything else. There are a lot more than that. So everything will be on the table. Absolutely.”

Labour’s Leader, Jeremy Corbyn reacted quickly tweeting

Here are some other reactions to the visit

https://twitter.com/cllralanhall/status/1135953026525671424

Don’t forget to sign the petition, it’s time to act now:

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People’s Audit of Lewisham Council Accounts is Open until 12th July

Each year the London Borough of Lewisham accounts are audited and any person interested has the opportunity to inspect and make copies of the accounts and all relevant documents, as stipulated in Section 25 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.

The accounts will be available between 10am and 4pm weekdays from Monday 3 June 2019 to Friday 12 July 2019.

During this period, a local government elector for any area to which the accounts relate, or their representative, may question the auditor about the accounts, or make an objection to the accounts as set out in sections 26 and 27 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. Any objection, and the grounds on which it is made, must be sent to the auditor in writing at the address below, with a copy to the London Borough of Lewisham at the address above. Any objection must state the grounds on which the objection is being made and particulars of:

i) any item of account which is alleged to be contrary to law;

and

ii) any matter in respect of which it is proposed that the auditor could make a public interest report under section 24 of, and paragraph 1 of Schedule 7 to, the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.

Full details are here: https://lewisham.gov.uk/mayorandcouncil/aboutthecouncil/finances/audit-of-accounts

The National Audit Office has a helpful Guide for local electors here:

 

SEND National Crisis: Damian told to ‘Get On With It’

53179855-EA03-4D71-AD27-D03DD68670F2On Thursday, 30th May 2019 children, parents, teachers and unions presented a petition of over 14,000 signatures to Number 10 Downing Street highlighting the lack of choice and cuts to Special Educational Needs and Disability – SEND  services. Local authority funding has been slashed through the tory Government’s continuing austerity programme.

Shadow Minister for Labour, Laura Pidcock MP delivered a message for the outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May, in her last days in Downing Street:

The largest education union in Europe, the National Education Union, NEU has recently revealed that special needs provision in England has lost out on £1.2bn since 2015, because of shortfalls in funding increases from central Government. Funding granted to local authorities has failed to keep pace with rapidly increasing demand for SEND provision – the number of children and young people with an Education Health and Care Plan has increased by 33% since 2015. This contrasts with a 6% increase in the high needs block funding over the same period.

Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the NEU, said:

“This is clearly a crisis, with pupils and parents bearing the brunt of real-terms funding cuts and the wholly inadequate planning by Government.  Last year, when the NEU won an additional £350m for children and young people with additional needs, the Government admitted that ‘more needs to be done’. We hold them to those words today. Get on with it.” This follows the call for the Education Secretary, Damian Hinds MP to act now!

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In Lewisham, the NEU has estimated that cut to be £15, 816,314 since 2015. This affects the provision within schools and support services like educational psychologists delivered by the Children & Adolescent Mental Health Services CAMHS.

Back in 2018, the Save the Lewisham Hospital Campaign were successful in getting cuts to CAMHS reversed in Lewisham and Jon Ashworth, MP the Shadow Secretary of State  said this:

This simply isn’t good enough for a Prime Minister who describes mental health provision as a “burning injustice”.  Despite Theresa May’s promises, mental health injustices are not ending under this Tory Government but getting worse.

We know that early intervention is absolutely critical in tackling mental health issues, with 50% of mental health problems being established by age 14. Therefore, Labour will increase the proportion of mental health budgets spent on support for children and young people, and end the scandal of children being treated on adult mental health wards. And crucially we will ring-fence mental health budgets to ensure funding reaches the frontline. Overall we would be putting an extra £5 billion into the NHS this year which would mean more money for CAMHS in Lewisham.

For too long mental health provision has been neglected, cut back and poor inadequate private sector provision has been allowed to go unchecked.

There is little that is more important than the mental health of our children. I want to see public services for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services strengthened.  So we will deliver a public universal NHS with more investment in mental health services, and I pledge that the next Labour Government will deliver parity of esteem [for mental health] after years of Tory failure to do so.

Jon Ashworth, MP Shadow Secretary of State for Health & Social Care

 

Following this Lewisham Council’s Scrutiny Business Panel asked for a full review and the then Mayor Sir Steve Bullock was forced to halt the proposed cuts.

CAMHS Cuts ah 2018
Cllr Alan Hall, Chair, Lewisham Council’s Scrutiny Business Panel called a halt to CAMHS Cuts

As the Government prepares for the next spending round and Councils have to fix their budgets for 2019/20 the campaign is more important than ever. The next steps are here:

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LGBTIQ Rights in Europe – Why it is important to Vote Labour in the European Elections on Thursday 23rd May 2019

European elections are being held this Thursday, 23rd May 2019 and polls are open from 7am until 10pm.

The Rainbow Rose group were campaigning in Soho, London because in the face of rising nationalism, populism and the backlash against LGBTIQ people across Europe we need to stand up and fight.

Rainbow Rose Eurpoe Soho 210519It is important to go and vote Labour in these elections whether you are leave or remain because the European Parliament elects the President of the European Commission.

At the moment this is held by a conservative but a social democrat Frans Timmermans is standing as the socialist candidate. He is supported by the Party of European Socialists and stands with us on equality for LGBTIQ rights. No country irrespective of their national Government should fail its LGBTIQ people and with Frans Timmermans a President he will stand shoulder to shoulder with us all. He signed the ILGA-Europe EU Come Out Pledge. This commits to:

  • Strengthening protection in EU law and policy
  • Ensuring an enabling environment for LGBTI human rights defenders
  • Ensuring EU leadership on LGBTI rights
  • Harnessing the power of their position
  • Being an ally to under-represented voices

Vote Labour on Thursday, 23rd May for Equality across Europe.

 

*New Video* “It is important that education is our top priority.” Damian must act now!

 

 

 

 

GLA disclosure on New Bermondsey Housing Action Zone

Following a Freedom of Information  request the Greater London Authority have disclosed new information in relation to the developer Renewal scheme for Surrey Canal Road or New Bermondsey this area includes land leased by Millwall FC.

The GLA say:

“As you are aware, we originally thought there was no due diligence on the proposal we were working on with Lewisham officers to increase the level of affordable housing, which was referenced in the report you forwarded. However, on further examination of our files we found a report which had been written but not actioned further. We have therefore identified two reports within scope of your request:

• Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) “Scheme Acceleration Commentary”
• Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) HOUSING ZONES DUE DILIGENCE LB LEWISHAM
Transaction 1 & 2 New Bermondsey”

These two reports have been released to the public in a redacted form by the GLA.

The Cushman & Wakefied report can be read  here: GLA Cush 7731_-_lewisham_hz_-_cw_new_bermondsey_unit_acceleration_report_10_11_16_redacted

The Lambert Smith Hampton HAZ Due Diligence report is here: GLA LSH report 7731_-_housing_zones_due_dilligence_-_lb_lewisham_redacted

A document attributed to Lambert Smith Hampton put the whole New Bermondsey scheme on hold when it was discovered during the Compulsory Purchase Order consideration by Lewisham Council on 27th September 2016. This was quite dramatic for local government. A contemporary account in the local newspaper, The Newsshopper is here

On 19th February 2018, the GLA announced that the £20 million Housing Action Zone money was to be withdrawn. A report in the South London Press is here.