Hyndburn Labour continues to oppose closure of Accrington Victoria walk-in centre

The CCG have done another u-turn and the phased closure planned for this weekend will no longer be taking place. The closure date for Accrington Victoria Walk-in centre has also changed to Sunday 17th June at 8pm.

At a recent Haslingden and Hyndburn Constituency Labour Party meeting it was agreed to write to both the Clinical Commissioning Group and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt on the matter.

To whom it may concern,

Haslingden and Hyndburn Constituency Labour Party notes the plans to close Accrington Victoria Community Hospital's walk-in centre.
 
We recognise the valued and vital service that the centre provides to communities and expresses concern that its closure will leave thousands of users without accessible healthcare including the homeless who are unable to register at a GP surgery, we believe any alternative provision should ensure that services are easily accessible, able to cope with demand and refrain from adding pressure to other services including local A&E departments.
 
Haslingden and Hyndburn CLP ask that you reconsider the closure of Accrington Victoria Walk-in centre and provide the necessary funds to retain the service respectively.
 
We look forward to your response in this matter.
 
Yours Faithfully
 
Glen Harrison
Haslingden and Hyndburn CLP Secretary

Oswaldtwistle: Stolen coping stones replaced

The York stone coping stones from the wall at Stanhill Gardens were stolen recently and have now been replaced.

St Oswalds Councillor, Glen Harrison, said, "Unfortunately this is a chronic problem across Hyndburn and there is no guaranteed way to protect against stone theft. It's very expensive and I find it sad that there are people out there who would steal from public areas for their own ends. However, we have replaced the copings with concrete slabs and tidied up the wall."

St Oswalds 2016: Labour gain

The results of the St Oswalds local election are as follows:

• Glen Harrison (Labour) - 713
• Marlene Haworth (Conservative) - 588
• Christopher Matthew (UKIP) - 500

HBC: Mayor's Ball raises over £3,000 for charity

The annual Mayor's Ball was held at Accrington Town Hall on Saturday 27th February 2016 in the recently-refurbished Ballroom under the theme of 'Hollywood Glitz and Glamour'. Over £3,000 was raised for the Mayoral Charities over the course of the evening.

Councillor Marlene Haworth was elected as Mayor of Hyndburn for the Municipal Year 2015-2016 at the Council's AGM on Thursday 21st May 2015 and will serve until May 2016.

Councillor Haworth has served as a Borough Councillor in the St Oswald's Ward for 11 years.
The Mayor has been a resident of the Borough for 35 years after moving here from Clitheroe, where she was born.  She is married with three sons, a daughter-in-law, four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

She has been supported in her Mayoral year by Mrs Dorothy Berry as her Mayoress on events and also her husband, Jim, who has acted as her Consort.

Councillor Haworth has chosen four charities to support during her year.  Derian House, Hyndburn Used Furniture Store (HUFS), Knuzden Over 55's Group and Macmillan Cancer Support Hyndburn in memory of Former Mayor and colleague, Councillor Pam Barton.

The entrance fee was £30 each and Hyndburn Labour were well-represented, with 10 Councillors and more than a dozen invited guests also buying tickets. Cllr Ken Moss was asked by the Mayor to take photographs throughout the night and a small selection are presented here.

The full set can be viewed at the Hyndburn Labour Facebook page.

Peter Britcliffe and the Tories can't seem to differentiate between District and County Councils

The Hyndburn Borough Council annual budget meeting took place on Thursday 25th February and the Labour budget was passed. The budget meeting is a chance for opposition Councillors to put forward alternative proposals and query spending by the Borough Council but none were submitted by the Conservatives.

Cllr Miles Parkinson announced a 0% council tax rise for the fifth year running but all the Conservative members abstained from the vote.

St Oswalds resident Glen Harrison was watching from the public gallery and commented, "I don't see the point of Councillors abstaining. They're there to represent the public, how can they do that by not registering their views?"
Several questions were asked during the debate relating to bus services, road surfacing and increases in the police and fire authority precepts but these were quickly shot down.

Cllr Ken Moss said, "Why are these issues being raised here? It seems that Cllr Britcliffe and his fellow Conservatives don't know the difference between District and County Councils. The only thing he has raised all night concerning HBC is a fear of rats."

Cllr Gareth Molineux said, "If County Councillor Britcliffe reported back to his own Councillors when he'd been to County Hall then perhaps these questions wouldn't be being asked."

Council Leader Miles Parkinson summed up and said, "Peter, you have had the chance to put forward your own budget but haven't done so. You've criticised County Council and the blue light services simply as a way to attack Labour. That isn't helping to protect the public. Even after another 14% cut by the government, we have set a 0% tax increase in Hyndburn and brought in a balanced budget without resorting to borrowing. What have you done?"

A full agenda and papers for the meeting can be found here.

St Oswalds: Glen Harrison leads protest against Calderstones closure

St Oswalds 2016 candidate, Glen Harrison, has been protesting against the threat to jobs posed by the planned restructuring of care services for patients with learning difficulties. He had organised several demonstrations, including one at Whalley.


Demonstrators assembled in the Whalley Arms car park to hear a rallying call from Calderstones UNISON Officer Glen Harrison before setting off on a protest march through the village.

Led by a piper in full Highland dress, the Demonstrators announced their presence with a chorus of whistles, tambourines and horns. Shop workers, residents and motorists called out their support as the marchers proceeded along King Street and up Mitton Road to Calderstones.

Speakers from UNISON, Lancashire and Blackburn Trades Union Councils and Ribble Valley Labour Party then addressed the meeting. UNISON Regional Organiser Tim Ellis warned that 96 patients were to be moved into the community, with up to 400 local workers affected over the next 12 months.

Former Ribble Valley Labour Party Parliamentary Candidate David Hinder commented "The local effects of the national changes to learning disability services are already being felt as Calderstones staff face the threat of job losses or wage cuts following redeployment. At the same time, we should challenge the policy of discharging service users into the community, where the capacity to match existing standards of care may be questionable."

Mr Hinder continued "Sadly, the recent award of a Gold Star award from the Carers Trust and the positive staff feedback on care and training recorded in a survey earlier this year would appear to count for little as Government policy continues to tighten the screw on both the management and workforce at Calderstones. It is vital that the wider public continue to be made aware of the local implications of the proposed changes, not least their likely negative impact on the Ribble Valley economy. "

Ribble Valley resident and UNISON shop steward Matt Riggs commented "The hard work involved for my colleagues in organising this event has been rewarded by its success in bringing together so many local stakeholders and supporters of the important services provided by Calderstones.

Calderstones UNISON Branch Secretary Chris Chamley said "Our members continue to be heartened by the public response to our campaign. We must maintain momentum and now look forward to taking the fight forward to our meeting with the Calderstones NHS Trust."

St Oswalds: Labour candidate fights to save Calderstones Hospital

St Oswalds candidate, Glen Harrison (pictured left), has been campaigning with members of Unison following the announcement that Calderstones Hospital is to be closed.

Union representatives have called on Ribble Valley’s MP to meet them and support their campaign to keep it open. They claim they have had no reponse from Nigel Evans despite inviting him to meet them over the Whalley hospital’s three-year run-down to closure, proposed by NHS England.

Meanwhile, the Calderstones unions are hoping for a major response to their online E-petition on the UK Government’s website: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/116339

The government must respond to the petition once it reaches 10,000 signatures. At 100,000 signatures it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

Hyndburn Labour announce candidates for 2016

The Hyndburn Labour group have formally selected candidates for all 12 wards up for election in May 2016.

Group Leader, Cllr Miles Parkinson, said, "I am pleased to announce that we have had a really excellent range of people coming forward wishing to stand, from a long-standing teacher to an experienced member of staff at Calderstones. All are standing on a Labour ticket and no deals have been done with any other political group to engineer a result. We will be fighting this election on the back of years of hard work from our 25 Labour Councillors and we hope the public continue to trust us to look after Hyndburn in 2016."

 St Oswalds - Glen Harrison

 Overton - Stephanie Haworth

 Altham - Steve Button

 Rishton - Jeff Scales

 Spring Hill - Munsif Dad

 Church - Jean Battle

 Barnfield - Jodie Travis

 Peel - Patrick Short

Central - Abdul Khan

 St Andrews - Stewart Eaves

 Baxenden - David Hartley

Netherton - Noordad Aziz