Category Archives: Councillors

Dave Busby

Busby’s Movember

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Dave Busby: pre-Movember
Picture 1: Dave Busby: pre-Movember

 

 

 

 

Mo-vember  is upon us once again and Suffolk LibDems are already seeing a change to their dapper spokesperson for Finance and Property, Dave Busby, Councillor for Belstead Brook.

The mo-vement  is an annual month-long event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November. The aim is to raise awareness of prostate cancer and other male cancers and associated charities.

DaveB wk1 (832x1024)
Picture 2: Dave Busby, Movember 4th

 

We will be update the moustache scenario at the end of the month to see how he gets on..

 

 

Dave Busby reaches the end of Movember - and hits Decembeard?
Picture 3: Suffolk County Councillor Dave Busby reaches the end of Movember – and has his sights set on Decembeard?

 

 

 

Update: December 2013

Congratulations to Dave Busby whose Mo-vember efforts  managed to raise funds both for Prostate cancer research and for the Samaritans.

Penny Otton

Remembering Drinkstone’s fallen

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Cllr Penny Otton and Robin Sharp, ViceChair of the Drinkstone War Memorial Institute unveil the Drinkstone embroidery
Cllr Penny Otton and Robin Sharp, ViceChair of the Drinkstone War Memorial Institute unveil the Drinkstone embroidery

On 1 November 1918, Private Arthur George Pryke of the 13th (Kensington) Battalion, London Regiment. was killed at Etaples, aged 27, and was buried in the military cemetary there.  He was the son of Walter and Kate Pryke, of Mead Cottage, Drinkstone near Bury St. Edmunds, and was one of  fifteen Drinkstone men to make the ultimate sacrifice in World War I.

Private Pryke’s devastated family had a commemorative embroidery made in memory of him . Nearly a century later this  has been restored and reframed and, after an official unveiling by Cllr Penny Otton, it will be on display in the Village Hall, which is Drinkstone’s official War Memorial.

” It is only a few months to the centenary of the start of WW1. So meny local men – 10,000 from the Suffolk regiment alone – died  either in France or later from their injuries. And for each family these deaths were not mere statistics, but individual tragedies. The family of Arthur Pryke had this embroidery specially made in his memory,” said Cllr Otton. “I was delighted to help with the cost of the  restoration of this powerful piece of history from my locality budget,  and was quite humbled to be asked to do the unveiling.”

The embroidery was  ‘unveiled’ in a simple ceremony at the Drinkstone Village Hall at 2pm on Saturday 2nd November 2013, 95 years and one day after Private Pryke was killed.

Drinkstone War Memorial

Caroline Page, Dave Wood, National policy

A14 – why should years of underinvestment take an unjust toll?

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Dave WoodSuffolk Lib Dems are deeply critical of  proposals to toll the A14. “We are saying  to government “You have got this wrong! Listen to us and to what the people of Suffolk are saying and revisit your decision to toll the A 14.”  And the majority of Suffolk organisations,  both private and Local Authority-led, are with us, ”  Leader David Wood told October’s full council meeting last Thursday.

The Lib Dems amended the  Conservative motion (to persuade the government to reconsider the need for tolling on this much-needed infrastructure project) by adding in reference to Suffolk’s  pressing need for investment in sustainable transport from  Felixstowe to Cambridge and beyond.

” The A14  is an esssential conduit between East Anglia and the heart of England –  and yet for years there has been underinvestment by various governments in major infrastructure projects in East Anglia. Imposing a toll on the new road would be a further tax on Suffolk,” said Cllr Wood. “We have the largest port in the country, major industry that is expanding, a growing tourist economy  – the two AONB’s alone are worth £300m annually-  and yet we are being told that  if you want this highway  (its not even a motorway) you must pay for it!!  We wouldn’t mind so much if this were government policy across the country, but it isn’t. Of all the current  planned road-building schemes, only the A14  is planned to generate income, ”

“We recognise that Suffolk must be at the table when this subject is being discussed  if we are going to put the point across successfully. This is why we were unable to support a Labour motion to withdraw the £1m funding SCC’s putting towards this major project. A million pounds is a huge amount of money but Suffolk County Council  must be at the forefront of every discussion – putting the case for the people and industry of Suffolk to have its say and obtain a fair deal.

Investment in major infrastructure projects for East Anglia are long overdue which is why we are insisting  that rail links between Felixstowe to Cambridge and beyond  must also be looked at. Suffolk is an important player in the UK’s recovery and deserves investment without taxation,” said Cllr Wood.

Lib Dem spokesperson for Transport , Caroline Page, who seconded the amendment, adds ” years of underinvestment in Suffolk railways has left us with rail services from Ipswich to Cambridge and Peterborough which fall well short of what is required for effective day-to-day operation. In its current state the rail system is unable to provide a viable  alternative to a tolled A14.  This makes any decision to toll doubly unfair, because there isn’t the capacity for a reliable public transport alternative. ”

 

Dave Wood

“Don’t be puffed up..”

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Edmundbeingmartyred05Councillors in Suffolk County Council’s Endeavour House received an impromptu lesson in Anglo Saxon from LibDem Group Leader Dave Wood today, when they agreed to name the Council Chamber ‘King Edmund’s Chamber’.

Edmund King and Martyr was king of  East Anglia from about 855 until he was killed by the Danish Great Heathen Army in 869AD. He was initially patron saint of Suffolk,  but then went on to become patron saint of England, before being deposed by St George.

While other group leaders were  reduced to describing Suffolk’s  Anglo Saxon patron saint in terms of his geographical location, origin and community spirit,  Cllr Wood quoted the maxim by which King Edmund lived:

Gif þu eart to heafodmen geset, ne ahefe þu ðe, ac beo betwux mannum swa swa an man of him
(which, roughly translated means:  If you become a ruler, don’t be puffed up, but  be amongst people as one of them.)

This, said, Cllr Wood, was an excellent maxim for all elected officials to live by.

And after he had translated it, the other parties agreed.

Caroline Page
Lib Dem Group  Spokesperson on AngloSaxon

Caroline Page, Inga Lockington, Penny Otton, Questions to Council

What your LibDem Councillors are asking SCC, 24 October 2013

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BannerAt today’s Full council meeting, your LibDem councillors are asking the SCC administration the following questions. We will post the answers and any supplementary questions and answers arising from them

From Cllr Penny Otton to Cllr Lisa Chambers

16,000 pupils in England are severely bullied and cannot face going to school.  What alternative provision does Suffolk have for these children other than pupil referral units.

From Cllr Inga Lockington to Cllr Mark Bee

Is there anything in in any Customer First Contract between SCC and CSD to stop staff talking to a customer face to face.

From Cllr Caroline Page to Cllr Alan Murray

Following Friday’s permanent closure of the Sexual Health clinic at Ipswich hospital, I am reassured that Public Health is working hard to ensure some services will continue be available in Ipswich while a future location is created. Can you please tell me what  facilities for immediate STI diagnosis (eg microscopy), for immediate on-site free dispensing of drugs (as opposed to by prescription collected from a pharmacist) and for co-ordination of contact tracing  Public Health is ensuring are put in place in the immediate aftermath of closure?

Caroline Page

Greater Anglia to remove cycles from trains?

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4SuffolkSUnriseWhile Suffolk’s public health team are encouraging people get out of their cars an onto bicycles, Suffolk train operator Greater Anglia has produced a draft cycle strategy  stating pretty unequivocally that their future intention is that they will no longer carry cycles on the trains.

The company says it is  intending to work towards “ a ‘corridor approach’ where a specific problem exists with cycles on trains, and to provide secure cycle parking and hire at both ends of the train journey so that customers are encouraged to either have a cycle at both stations, or to take advantage of cycle hire or possibly another sustainable mode of transport from their destination”. You can read the full  piece below.

“Whilst bike and go is a suitable model for some cyclists – principally those with simple journeys, who are affluent enough to afford two bicycles or the £3.50 a day to hire one – this plan will  further disadvantage those passengers who are poor, with few travel options, and/or need to take a train to and from a rural destination. The Wickham Market station at Campsea Ash is a prime example – here there IS no sustainable transport,  no likelihood of cycle hire, no secure parking, and the town is some miles of unpavemented, unoccupied rural road from the station,” says Lib Dem Spokesperson for Transport, Caroline Page.

“I am further concerned about  other wording elsewhere which suggests that folding bicycles may not in the future be considered as luggage, although they may well be smaller than other pieces of luggage. This is a worrying development.

As another part of this consultation, Greater Anglia are planning on setting up a Cycle Forum to assist them in decisionmaking. I have already written to ask that I be included in this, and am awaiting their response.”

The consultation relies on one to download a pdf  hidden on a page in Greater Anglia’s website and then make a  response in writing, or by email. 

Cycle Strategy Responses
Greater Anglia
11th floor
One Stratford Place
LONDON E20 1EJ
cyclestrategy@greateranglia.co.uk

Please clearly mark your response ‘Draft Cycle Strategy

 The  draft cycle strategy as relating to Cycles on trains:

“Our policy in the short term continues to be that we will try to accommodate the carriage of cycles on trains free of charge wherever we possibly can. However, we have to balance this demand with the views of our customers as a whole, some of whom are beginning to voice understandable concerns about the safety of carrying large numbers of cycles at peak times. Our objective for the medium to long term is therefore to reduce the carriage of cycles on trains by stimulating behavioural change.

Many of our trains carrying commuters into London and regional centres such as Cambridge are becoming increasingly crowded, and it has already become necessary to impose restrictions on the carriage of non-folding cycles at these times. We will keep these restrictions under review, but as the use of our services continues to grow, we believe that we and future franchisees will have to consider a widening of the restrictions to cover other routes and services. Unfortunately, it is not a simple matter to provide additional carriages, and the priority will always be to provide seated or standing accommodation for passengers.

We are therefore conscious that we need to work with stakeholders to find alternative solutions to this problem. These need to be viable alternatives, rather than just more punitive restrictions.

We believe the options are to take a ‘corridor approach’ where a specific problem exists with cycles on trains, and to provide secure cycle parking and hire at both ends of the train journey so that customers are encouraged to either have a cycle at both stations, or to take advantage of cycle hire or possibly another sustainable mode of transport from their destination. This reflects the culture in force in many parts of Europe and will require considerable resolve on the part of our company and all of our stakeholders if it is to become the norm in this country.

There may also be options around wider use of folding cycles, provided that these are used with sensitivity for the needs of other customers. We appreciate that there needs to be a considerable amount of partnership working and goodwill from all parties to manage this difficult situation. We undertake to work with other train operators on shared sections of route to manage the problem consistently and as sympathetically as possible. We will also engage with local authorities and cycling groups to implement the ‘corridor’ approach where it is practical to do so”

Dave Wood

A unitary council? – Forget ideology and go for practicality

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Dave WoodSo, what is the Lib Dem viewpoint on  forthcoming government cuts in the council budget?

Considering the mess we have inherited, they are inevitable, LibDem leader Cllr Dave Wood tells us.

Speaking on the BBC Radio Suffolk’s Breakfast Show  he said ”  it is inevitable that there will have to be be cuts – and ones to frontline services. The important thing is that we must make sure that children and the vulnerable are protected as best we can.”

” There continues to be a lot of talk about the Councils in Suffolk sharing services,” Cllr Wood added. “Lets stop being precious – it is okay to talk but now is the time to act!  We missed out a couple of years back  squabbling over whether Suffolk should be unitary or not, and so we missed the boat. Yet a three tier system is unwieldy, expensive and leads to unnecessary duplication. Lets forget ideology and go for practicality.  Now is the time to open the debate once again – and this time, lets go for it!”

 

Caroline Page, Inga Lockington, Penny Otton, Questions to Council, Uncategorized

Answers to LibDem questions: Full Council, 19 September

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Questions we asked this month concerned Homecare packages, closure of Lowestoft’s  EAOTAs centre and the  disparity between amount of expenses Suffolk county councillors can claim for different forms of transport.

Below in full are the questions as tabled by your Suffolk Lib Dem Councillors at September’s Full Council on the 19th, together with a summary of  the appropriate  Cabinet member’s reply (plus supplementary question and response where appropriate).

Inga Lockington  to Cabinet member for Adult Care & Health  Allan Murray

Question: How many residents assessed as needing care support and living alone in Suffolk receive Homecare visits of no longer than 15min within their care package?

Answer:  We only commission packages that meet the needs of the patients and the basic package is for never less than 30 minutes.  However an extra package may be added in certain circumstances. This may be a 15 minute package

Penny Otton to Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Young People Lisa Chambers

Question: Following the interview I did with Sally Chidzoy on BBC LOOK EAST in July I am pleased  to discover that the EAOTAS centre in Lowestoft has NOW closed . Why did this take so long??

Answer; EOTAS is run by external contractors – despite SCC working closely with the last company we were unable to come to an agreement, so they were given notice.  The scheduled closure is Oct 25th.

Supplementary question: How are you supporting the children?

Answer: We are working closely with the parents to ensure a smooth transition.

Caroline Page to Mark Bee, Leader of the Council

Question: Cllr Bee, as you have made it a council commitment that Suffolk should be ” the greenest county” and that we should  ”strive to improve the health, life chance and life expectancy of our residents”,  will you now commit to a reduction of the extremely generous mileage allowance Suffolk County councillors get if they use their own cars for transport on county council business – and instead to incentivise county councillors  to set a good example  to the residents of Suffolk by travelling by public transport or bicycle?

Answer:    Council are committed to encouraging healthier / cheaper forms of transport.  Allowances and expenses are being reviewed by the remuneration review panel. Cllr Bee  says he will put these concerns to the panel

(you can read Caroline Page’s blog about her question here)

Caroline Page, Dave Wood, Uncategorized

‘Active travel” needs SCC councillors’ active support!

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DSCF8699
Caroline Page and David Wood on the Suffolk Challenge Walk 2013 which followed 100km of AONB from Felixstowe to Lowestoft in May.

 

Suffolk’s  Annual Public Health report  2013  – Moving forward? concerns itself with travel and health and recommends a  move to ‘active travel’  – and a wholesale transfer of many journeys or parts of journeys to the bicycle or foot.

In supporting the report, Lib Dem leader   Cllr David Wood urged the administration to look again at its public transport policy. “We need to see  see buses in rural areas in the evening on Sundays and Public Holidays once more, enabling rural Suffolk to be open again for business and not totally reliant on the car,” he said.

He pointed out that vast areas of Suffolk’s Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty  prime land for cycling an wakling, cannot be accessed by any other means than car – a frankly ludicrous anomaly!

Lib Dem spokesman for Transport, Cllr Caroline Page, is a committed cyclist, pedestrian and bus user. She was also enthusiastic about this report,  but has reservations about its chance of implementation.

“Sadly there seem to be many councillors who are converted to active travel  in theory but not at all in practice.  At the full council debate on the subject last Thursday, I heard a stream of excuses, exculpations and explanations from  individuals who are compensated by the Council Tax payer at 44p per mile to remain in their cars at no cost to themselves –  and so don’t have to make the same choices as others they represent.

While there remains such a clear gap between what  councillors think is a good idea for others and what they are prepared to do themselves, we  are not going to progress as far or fast as we would like,” she says.

On a happier note, it looks as if the Suffolk train services are becoming more proactive on the subject of cycles.  After introducing many more cycle parking spaces and introducing ‘Boris bikes’ on its routes,  Greater Anglia  has now formally launched its new cycle strategy with a consultation. You can find further details and a link on Caroline Page’s blog

 

Caroline Page, Inga Lockington, Penny Otton, Questions to Council

Lib Dem Questions for Suffolk County Council: 19 Sept 2013

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BannerEvery Full Council, elected members have the opportunity to put questions to the Cabinet members at Suffolk County Council.

These are the questions Lib Dem county councillors are asking this September. I will post the replies after the meeting

Inga Lockington  to Cabinet member for Adult Care & Health  Allan Murray

How many residents assessed as needing care support and living alone in Suffolk receive Homecare visits of no longer than 15min within their care package?

Penny Otton to Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Young People Lisa Chambers

Following the interview I did with Sally Chidzoy on BBC LOOK EAST in July I am pleased  to discover that the EAOTAS centre in Lowestoft has NOW closed . Why did this take so long??

Caroline Page to Mark Bee, Leader of the Council

Cllr Bee, as you have made it a council commitment that Suffolk should be ” the greenest county” and that we should  “strive to improve the health, life chance and life expectancy of our residents”,  will you now commit to a reduction of the extremely generous mileage allowance Suffolk County councillors get if they use their own cars for transport on county council business – and instead to incentivise county councillors  to set a good example  to the residents of Suffolk by travelling by public transport or bicycle?