“In this Budget the Tories have confirmed the banks will get a tax cut this year while 22, 185 families in Thurrock will see their child benefit frozen and will pay an average extra £450 in VAT this year. And families earning as little as £26,000 are set to lose their tax credits next year too.”
Stephen said afterward: “I was pleased that the Prime Minister was able to highlight the problems we inherited from the previous Government and that in advance of Budget the Prime Minister was able to point out that, in only 10 months, we have started to turn our economy around.”
“18,000 Essex street lights have been turned off, the youth service decimated and library opening hours are being cut. The end of the Educational Maintenance Allowance means students across Essex are struggling to continue their education. Essex Police are cutting back on officers. Rail fare rises are crippling commuters with a season ticket from Basildon to central London for the first time costing over £3000. Even the most vulnerable have not escaped the axe with children’s homes and old people’s homes sold off.
"To ask the Secretary of State for Education under what circumstances his Department is authorised to intervene in a local education authority under the provisions of Section 11 of the Education Act 1996".
At the same time, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government revealed how much savings had been made by reducing and reforming the quango. The minister announced that a total of £18, 521 will be saved through the present scaling down and the eventual abolition of the DC in March 2012.
But if it is a political tactic then they may have handed so much ammunition to the politicians. Because we can envisage a situation, where the government may say. "Ok. Now next year, try the raids with half the officers and half the budget and see if you can arrest, now let's not be too ambitious..eight. No, lets go wild...ten".
The police investigation was triggered after Belhus councillor Sue Gray passed on an e-mail she had received to residents which purported to be police instructions as to how to interview terrorism suspects who were of the Muslim faith.
Commenting on the publication of the strategy, Stephen Metcalfe said: "The Coalition’s Tourism Strategy will make a big difference to the local economy here in South Essex. People across my constituency and are proud of their Patron Saint and if the first May Bank Holiday were moved to around the 23rd April I think this would be a great boost to our local economy.”
"The Coalition undertook in its programme for government to review the rules governing the award of medals for the armed forces. This review has considered campaigns by veterans and other interested parties for new awards, including the campaign to institute a medal for service in Bomber Command during world war two. The review recently reported its findings to Defence Ministers and is now with the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for their consideration.
Under S106 agreements, developers agree to make a financial contribution to local communities to offset the effects of development in return for planning permission. But Shapps believes that some agreements, signed with developers before the economic downturn, are no longer viable and should be revisited.
Our budget realigns council priorities with the things that matter to residents. It was democratically voted through, and rather than play politics for a headline, Labour need to remember they were elected to serve the residents and just get on with the job.
The officers and I constantly told the opposition: “If you’ve got some ideas let’s hear them; let’s investigate them; let’s see what is possible and when. But no. A chance for a unified council wasted. A chance for sensible consensual politics ignored. And all for a headline or two.
Jackie said, “We really do need to take action to Save the British Pub. The Pub is at the heart of community life in Britain and we simply cannot afford to keep losing them at a rate of 40 a week. The smoking ban and cheap booze in supermarkets have made life a lot more difficult for traditional pubs. I want to do what I can to reverse this decline and support those pubs that still survive.”
"It’s time the Chancellor George Osborne took immediate action on fuel prices to ease the pressure on families who are already facing a tough year and their incomes squeezed. He should immediately reverse the VAT rise on fuel, which has added nearly 3p to the price of a litre of petrol, using the extra £800m the Treasury will be getting from the bank levy
Cllr Anderson said: “We want to thank everyone who took the time to complete the survey, either on paper or online. When we plotted the results on a map, it shows clearly that the biggest problems are concentrated on the blind bends between Nursery Road and Balmoral Avenue.
