I must begin by sending my heartfelt condolences to the families in Southport who have suffered the most terrible loss.
When we experienced tragedy in our borough a couple of years ago, we saw the strength of the community that rallied round the bereaved families to support them, and we have seen the same in Southport. The best of the human spirit is so often brought out in the darkest moments.
The strength of that community was evident on Wednesday morning as people rallied round to clear up after thugs had terrorised residents in their homes and businesses in the course of attacking the police.
Officers who had attended the most awful scene one day were forced to spend the next night facing down hooligans who had been whipped up by irresponsible speculation on social media. These violent interlopers had no concern for the grief of those families and that town, still freshly feeling the pain of the day before. It was appalling and those responsible should feel the full force of the law.
My hope now is that the families are allowed to grieve in peace. I know how it feels to lose a child. It is not something I talk about often, but I want people to know I extend my sympathies as a parent, not as a politician.
The government has announced sweeping reform of the planning system, as it promised to do. The upshot for us in Solihull is the return of mandatory housing targets, and the annual building target for the borough moving from 866 to 1317 homes. This is, obviously, a significant jump. I welcome some elements of their reforms, including the push to unlock brownfield sites for development, but I’m extremely concerned about what this will mean for the green belt and the countryside. We will continue to advocate for our residents and for our natural environment and do all that we can to protect it.
They have also announced the end of universal winter fuel payments. Whilst those in receipt of pension credit will still receive the money, it is those who don’t quite qualify that I am concerned about, as it will be a significant loss to their household budget. I don’t deny the need to be cautious with the public purse, but I don’t believe vulnerable older people should bear the brunt of cutbacks.
On the topic of money, whilst there has been a spate of announcements from the Chancellor recently, I’ve still not seen any serious consideration given to the parlous state of local government finances. We’re struggling to balance the books, just as nearly every council in the country is, and the Government need to take a serious look at both the level of funding we receive and the way in which it is agreed and delivered.
We need predictability, security, and investment to make sure we can deliver the vital services that everyone in this country relies on. I have no choice but to keep banging the drum on this, and I will do so unapologetically. I’ll give more detail in future editions of this message, but for now I would at least like to see some acknowledgement from Westminster, before the November budget and December Local Government Finance settlement, that the current system is untenable.
I’ve been watching quite a bit of the Olympics this week, and a couple of things have struck me. One is the importance of perseverance, on Wednesday morning two British gold medals came as Alex Yee (triathlon) and the Women’s quad sculls (rowing) stuck doggedly at their task despite being behind, only to come through to claim the glory at the end. There’s a lesson in there – when times are hard, keep going, keep giving your all, and often the rewards will come.
It's also made me think about the value of physical activity. I’m not suggesting people replace their commute with a 1500 metre swim down a river or start hurling heavy stones on chains around, but perhaps think about whether you could leave the car at home for a short journey. I know it’s not possible for everyone, but if you can then you will reap the benefits in later life. Staying fit and healthy helps prevent dementia, and obesity carries myriad health problems along with it.
Who knows, if we all start being a little more active, Solihull might produce more Olympians like the excellent Dan Evans, who attended St. Peter’s school here. He’s been partnering Andy Murray (who is not from Solihull) in the men’s doubles. Although they were sadly defeated in the quarter finals last night, their never-say-die spirit has been inspirational. I hope Mr. Murray enjoy his well earned retirement after a long and glittering career.
Many of our excellent Holiday Activity Fund (HAF) programmes help children to keep active through the holidays. Some are still taking new registrations for this summer break, but there’s sadly no guarantee that they will be able to continue beyond September as the funding is due to finish at that point. We’ve been at this point before with HAF, and the previous government always ensured that it was able to carry on. It’s vital for children to have high quality holiday provision, so I hope the new government does the same.
At a Health and Wellbeing Board meeting this week, we heard about the terrible risks of smoking whilst pregnant. It doubles the risk of stillbirth and triples the chance of infant death. These are stark numbers. Some communities in our borough are more affected than others, and there are other risk factors like obesity and drinking alcohol, but I want as many people as possible to be aware of quite how bad the health risks are.
I’m conscious of the length of this message, so instead of my usual one paragraph each approach to pieces of news from the Council I’ll give you some selected highlights and the links to find out more if you wish.
Plans to bring an affordable new source of low carbon heating to the town centre got a boost as we appointed Vital Energi Ltd to deliver the new energy network.
Friends of Shirley Park have opened their restored rose garden after securing £20000 of Community Infrastructure Levy funding.
Blood stocks are desperately low, with less than two days supply of the most needed type. Please consider donating.
Finally, I mentioned my own run in with an unsecured dog in a message a couple of weeks ago, and it turns out I’m not the only one who has been bitten recently. Attacks by dogs on postal workers are up enormously. If your dog is aggressive or even unhappy when people come to the door, please sign up to the Blue Cross’ free webinars to get some help before something goes badly wrong. There are some really simple steps you can take to ensure other people’s safety – keep your dogs secured or if they are loose, use a letterbox outside the fence and use a letter cage if they go to the door when they hear someone approaching. A bit of courtesy and thought are all that is required.
Thanks, and have a good weekend.
Councillor Ian Courts.