Motion to Council on Shisha Bars

Great Harwood Councillor, Noordad Aziz, last week submitted a motion to Full Council regarding the regulation of shisha bars and gave an informative speech outlining the problems in other boroughs. Shisha bars are smoking establishments which are required to be 50% open as with any other smoking shelter but several in other boroughs are known to be flouting this rule.

Cllr Aziz moved, "That this Council resolves to write to the Department of Health to urge them to update the necessary legislation and takes steps to stem the growth of Shisha Bars that do not comply with the Smoking Ban of 2007. Current legislation does not act as a deterrent and a number of Shisha Bars frequented by the residents of Hyndburn flout the penalties imposed on them and continue to operate in an illegal manner.
There is a detrimental impact on the health of Hyndburn’s young residents who undertake this activity on nights out and a number of issues around safeguarding which also need to be addressed."

Shisha bars use hookahs to filter tobacco smoke through water and this has led to the common misconception that harmful toxins are filtered out but in actual fact a one-hour smoking session is the equivalent of smoking approximately 200 cigarettes. Concerns are now being raised about the effects on NHS services from the rise in popularity of such smoking bars.

Currently, there are no licensed shisha bars in Hyndburn and none are known to be operating within the area, whilst neighbouring Blackburn with Darwen have 17 establishments and various fines ranging from £200 to over £1,000 have been issued for non-compliance with regulations. Cllr Aziz's motion is a proactive attempt to ensure that Hyndburn does not encounter similar problems.

The motion sparked an interesting debate with Councillors and was passed unanimously.

Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee - 29th January 2013

Cllr Ken Moss will be Chair at the first ever joint meeting of the HBC Overview and Scrutiny Committees on Tuesday 29th January. The Resources O&S Committee looks at Council finances and assets to ensure best value for money whilst the Communities and Wellbeing O&S Committee focuses on services and ways to improve the general wellbeing of the borough's residents.

Cllr Tim O'Kane will also be in attendance and the meeting will be an opportunity for O&S to question the six members of the Hyndburn Cabinet to ensure that recommendations put forward over the last 12 months have been implemented.

The meeting will start at 10.00am in the Queen Elizabeth Room at Scaitcliffe House on Ormerod Street in Accrington (HBC Offices) and members of the public are welcome to view proceedings from the gallery.

Hyndburn Labour Group Call for adoption of TUC charter for young people

Cllr Miles Parkinson, Leader of the Labour Group in Hyndburn, submitted a motion to Thursday evenings full Council meeting. It asks that Hyndburn Council adopt a system that will really provide the youth of Hyndburn a future that can work. The motion was seconded by Milnshaw councillor Paul Cox and calls for the adoption of the North West TUC Charter for Young People.

The charter will help provide practical and immediate help to the youth of Hyndburn. It will allow a gateway back to work for a section of our boroughs young residents who find themselves losing any prospect of real employment.Cllr Cox stated “this is a massive step in putting some real aspirations into the minds of towns youth, austerity has bitten hard in this area with one in five of the north west s youth unemployed. the loss of Educational maintenance allowance coupled with rising tuition fees has led to hundreds of this town’s youth being denied access to gaining qualifications and new skills for the job market”.

Avoiding a lost generation is something that Councillor Cox has spoken on several times in the Council Chamber. he goes on to say “what Hyndburn’s youth require is a commitment from us to help them, this charter has five practical steps that will offer real chances with real prospects”

These steps include;-

A Job Guarantee: The Government should guarantee paid work or training to every young person who has been out of work for six months or more.

Action on Apprenticeships: All public bodies should commit to recruiting a set number of apprentices each year. Public sector contracts should encourage contractors to have a quality apprenticeship scheme.

Quality Work Experience: Young people should have access to good quality work experience that includes a guarantee of both quality training and a job interview at the end of any placement.

Welfare Reform: In the short-term, the Government should reform the rules on Jobseeker’s Allowance to allow young people to return to full time education without any loss of benefits. In the longer term, we need a Youth Credit (or other financial support) to help all young people boost both their learning and employment prospects.

Practical support: We need extra measures to help young people stay in education and assist with transport costs to enable young people to travel to work.

Managing Unauthorised Gypsy Encampments

Cllr Clare Pritchard, Deputy Leader of HBC, has initiated a Pennine Lancashire Group made up of members, officers and the Lancashire Constabulary to look at issues surrounding gypsies and travellers. Cllr Prichard brought the issue to Full Council on 24th January 2013 and it was supported by all Councillors. Hyndburn has become the first local authority to endorse this document and it can be viewed here:

Pennine Lancashire Protocol for Managing Unauthorised Encampments

Have your say on the Budget

Councillor Ken Moss, Chair of the Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee, invites the residents of Hyndburn to take part in the Council’s budget consultation meeting. The meeting takes place at Scaitcliffe House Accrington on Tuesday, 19th February 2013, starting at 10.00 a.m. Cllr Moss said, “This is an opportunity for our residents and businesses to hear about the Council’s budget issues and to quiz us about the budget for next year.”

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Miles Parkinson will attend the meeting to answer questions about the budget. He urged people to come along, saying “Your comments and views are important to the Council and we take them into account when reaching a final decision about what you will pay in Council Tax. This meeting will give residents the opportunity to hear about the proposals for Hyndburn’s portion of the Council Tax for 2013/14, and to tell us how you would like your Council Tax to be spent.”

Budget papers will be available from 6th February on the Council’s website at www.hyndburnbc.gov.uk/meetings and following the link to the Cabinet meeting on 6th February. If you would like to speak at the meeting, please contact the Scrutiny Officer on (01254) 380128 or email scrutiny@hyndburnbc.gov.uk no later than 4pm on the 12th February.

Doing Business with the Council

Following of the recent 'Doing Business with the Council' event organised through the Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee, one of the businesses who came to the event recently won a tender for a contract. This company have not previously worked with the Council before and are based in Whitebirk.

 

Also, as requested by the Committee, the “Doing Business with the Council” section of the website has been made much easier to find on the homepage which can be found at www.hyndburnbc.gov.uk and clicking the new large link button in the main section.

Cllr Ken Moss, Chair of the Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee, said, 'This is a definite step in the right direction because we should be trying to do more to give Hyndburn jobs to Hyndburn businesses. We can't discriminate in favour of anyone by law but as a Council we should have been making it easier for local firms to be aware of what tenders they can apply for within the borough at HBC. We have now addressed this and will keep looking at ways of promoting local skills to generate growth within Hyndburn.'  

Full Council - 24th January 2013

The next meeting of Full Council will take place on Thursday 24th January at 7.00pm in Accrington Town Hall. Meetings of all 35 Hyndburn Councillors take place approximately every six weeks and is where discussions take place regarding issues that affect the whole borough. Cllr Harry Grayson from Rishton is the current Chair of the Council meetings and a full agenda and papers can be found here:

Full Council - 24th January 2013

Members of the public are welcome to come and view proceedings from the gallery.

Clayton-le-Moors and Altham Neighbourhood Plan

The Council has received its first application for a 'Forum' and Area' from a group in Clayton le Moors & Altham in the first step to creating a Neighbourhood Plan (under the new Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012). A 6 week public consultation period has started between 9th January and 22nd February and full details can be found here:

http://www.hyndburnbc.gov.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=798&pageNumber=2

No actual 'plan' is available to see at this stage, the consultation is for people to view and make comments upon a proposed 'boundary' (Area) and also a constitution of the group, how and whom will operate it (the Forum). As well as being posted on the web, a wide range of consultation bodies (both statutory and non-statutory) have been informed.

There is only one other active Neighbourhood Plan within the region which is in Preston, so this is an exciting time and a challenge for the Council. Neighbourhood Plans are prepared by local people with the Council providing a facilitating role in terms of guiding a group through the regulations and process. For further information on the process please have a look at :

http://www.hyndburnbc.gov.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=798&pageNumber=1

Please do not hesitate to contact any of your local Councillors should you have any further queries.

The One Show - 22nd January 2013

Deputy Leader of the Council, Cllr Clare Pritchard (pictured with presenter Tony Livesey), recorded an article on 16th January for BBC1's The One show regarding HBC's innovative work on regenerating 200 empty properties in the Woodnook area of Accrington.

The programme will be transmitted at 7.00pm on Tuesday 22nd January.

Keep warm this winter with HBC

For the second year running the Council has announced extra help to help make life safer and more comfortable this winter for some of Hyndburn’s most vulnerable households. As part of a countywide bid Hyndburn has been awarded £64,000 from the Department of Health to help reduce deaths and illness during the winter months due to living in cold properties. 

The money will go towards providing:

• ‘Winter Warning Advice Packs’ with tips on saving energy and keeping warm 
• ‘Winter Checks’ about draught proofing, falls and accident prevention and resetting boilers and heating systems 
• ‘Emergency and Survival Packs’ containing thermal socks, gloves, hats, scarves, fleece, hot water bottle etc 
• Emergency cold weather shelter 
• Benefit checks and debt advice to maximise income and reduce fuel poverty 
• Emergency repairs to heating systems and cooking facilities 
• Shopping service 

The money will be targeted at some of the most needy households in Hyndburn so if you are elderly, are a family with children under 5, are homeless or sleeping rough or have poor health which is made worse by your house conditions we may be able to help you. Hyndburn Council is working in partnership with Hyndburn Homewise, Help Direct, Age UK, Hyndburn CAB and Maundy Relief to deliver this help.

Councillor Pam Barton, Cabinet Member for Health and Communities said; “this additional money for Hyndburn is welcome and will help make life safer and more comfortable this winter for some of our most vulnerable households.”

For more information please contact Hyndburn Homewise, 2/4 Whalley Road, Accrington on 01254 232249.

Bulky waste item removal still available at Hyndburn Borough Council

At this time of year the Council is reminding residents to recycle as much waste as possible and that its bulky waste service is still free.

Cabinet Member for Recycling and Deputy Leader, Cllr Munsif Dad said; “The festive season is a time of year when households generate more waste than usual, so please recycle as much as you can, bearing in mind that our new improved service allows you to recycle waxed cartons with your paper & cardboard, plus mixed plastics with your plastic bottles and you can even recycle your old domestic batteries. Also please remember the Council still offers a FREE bulky waste collection service for certain items.”

Cllr Dad continued; “We are now recycling more bulky waste items like metal, wood and mattresses, with each household entitled to one collection per calendar month with a maximum of 6 items.”

Furniture and electrical items in good working order or condition, like settees, chairs, tables washing machines, microwaves and music systems can be donated and reused within the local community, call the Hyndburn Used Furniture Service on 01254 393 784.

See the Council’s website www.hyndburnbc.gov.uk/recycling for more details, how to book the bulky waste service, view our Residents Guide to Recycling and check your refuse and recycling collection days over Christmas and New Year. If you don’t have access to the internet you can make a booking by calling Customer Services on 388111.