Adam Symons News
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Elderly Worry for
North Devon
Some carers offer very poor
quality support
Tuesday 29 April
A survey by Age Concern has
identified that most people are worried about how they are going to be treated
as they get older. This is especially important for Northern Devon, where the
number of people over 65 is growing quickly.
The survey by Age Concern reveals
eight out of 10 people are "very concerned" about the care they will be given
when they get old. It also shows that, despite the government's Dignity in Care
campaign, which aimed to "eliminate tolerance of indignity in health and social
care services", 40% of people are not confident they will be treated with
dignity or respect when they need assistance.
Elderly people accessing care told
Age Concern some carers offer very poor quality support. They report that in
some cases the wrong medicines were given and dosage records not kept. Some
people complained that carers failed to turn up or fell asleep at work, while
others said carers did not meet basic hygiene rules.
Around 40,000 older people live in
a care home, but one in five of these do not meet the minimum standards for
residential care set by the Commission for Social Care Inspectorate, according
to Age Concern.
Adam Symons, Parliamentary
Spokesperson for Torridge and West Devon said: “This Government has presided
over a shocking collapse in services for the elderly. Ministers have responded
to the warnings of a looming crisis with criminal under-funding. Councils simply
aren’t able to provide social services fairly under the current system of
funding. The Government should stop dithering and start fundamental reform now.
Liberal Democrat proposals for a personal care payment would ensure a fair deal
for all elderly people who need personal care and put an end to the criminal
injustice of poor access to social care.”
Westden Rises
from Ashes
Saved at the last minute by a new
group of trustees
Friday 25 April 2008
West Devon Environmental Network, a
well known local environmental charity, which was threatened with closure due to
lack of funds, has been saved at the last minute by a new group of trustees.
The charity, also known as Westden,
had announced earlier in the year that it was folding because of it felt it had
little future in a funding market which has become increasingly competitive. In
preparation for closure, staff had been made redundant, and the current trustees
had been preparing to hand over the remaining assets to other environmental
charities.
However, at a dramatic meeting last
night, six new trustees stepped forward to rescue the charity.
The 14 year old charity is best
known for running a range of rural skills and community action projects
throughout West Devon. It was considered that the success of Westden led to a
number of these projects being taken up by mainstream organisations, thereby
cutting off the income stream to the charity.
The new trustees, who will be voted
in on May 1st, have proposed to take the charity in a new direction, including
setting up business food waste recycling. Their proposals were approved by the
majority of members.
Local Parliamentary Spokesperson,
Adam Symons, who attended the meeting said: “West Devon wouldn’t have been quite
the same without Westden, and I think most members felt this. There is a great
deal of commitment from the new trustees to make this work, and I wish them the
best of luck. It has become increasingly hard for environmental charities to
access funds as the Government has directed money towards larger and more public
sector based organisations.”
Note from the Editor:
Westden works to achieve sustainable rural communities
in Devon and beyond. Through its work and projects Westden finds, and puts into
action, practical solutions to the challenges facing rural areas. The charity
follows 16 principles of practice linked around the environment, the local
economy, society, and global issues.
Councillors
pledge ‘Every Action Counts in Torridge’
Reducing energy consumption
Monday 21 April 2008
One of the responsibilities of
councillors is to lead from the front, and that is certainly what one councillor
is doing on climate change. Advised by another councillor, who works as an
environmental scientist, Torridge District Councillor Hugo Barton has installed
a solar water heating system on his house.
Councillor Hugo Barton, who heads
up the plans committee at Torridge DC, has decided to do his bit in reducing
energy consumption, by installing a solar water heating system which converts
the suns rays into hot water for his house in Torrington. He was advised on the
project by fellow District Councillor, Adam Symons, who works as a freelance
environmental scientist.
The installation, which took two
days to complete, will pay for itself in 4 years, and over its lifetime, save
many tonnes of carbon dioxide being released.
Councillor Barton said, ‘We are
really pleased with it. Now we have finally had some sunshine, it is producing
quite hot water. Even on dull days, the system helps to reduce our energy
costs.’
Councillor Adam Symons, who is
planning to install a similar system himself said, ‘This reduces the demand for
energy, and therefore carbon dioxide being released – a major contributor to
climate change. Even for those climate change sceptics out there, this
installation is good for the local economy. It is installed and maintained by
local tradesmen. Therefore, even though Hugo will save money in the long-term,
the money he spends goes to local people, and not to big power companies out of
the area. The environment and the local economy wins!'
Bluetongue Vaccine Set For Summer
‘We
are at the top of the list’
Wednesday 16 April 2008
‘We are
at the top of the list’ was the message from the
local NFU, as local farmers were told that Bluetongue vaccines would be here for
the summer.
Bluetongue, a disease which has
devastated the livestock farming industry in Northern Europe, is set to hit the
south-west by October this year. Already found in Norfolk, Suffolk and Dorset,
the disease is set to spread as it warms up, and its vector, a common midge,
multiplies.
However, it seems that the UK
Government has learnt from lessons from other disease spreads, and has been
proactive in placing orders for vaccinations. At a NFU meeting, farmers were
told that England is now top of the order list for vaccines, ahead of other
European countries, and local farmers are already being asked to place orders
for the vaccine through local vets.
The vaccine is most likely to be
available in august, however, if Bluetongue finds its way to the Southwest
quicker than that, the area will be prioritised. The disease has killed 1 in 5
sheep affected by it in Belgium, so farming leaders are keen to get on top of it
before it gets a hold in the Southwest. Local rural campaigner, and
Lib Dem parliamentary spokesperson for Torridge and West Devon, Adam Symons, who
attended the meeting said, “Fellow farming neighbours have been concerned about
the spread of this disease, which is hard to detect, and causes severe pain in
animals. I welcome the quick action by DEFRA, and the proactive stance of the
NFU in getting information out to their members. 80% of farmers at the meeting
had already ordered vaccines, and I know that if we all work together, we can
stop this disease in its tracks.”
Additional Note: Bluetongue is a
viral disease, spread originally from North Africa, the strain to hit Northern
Europe, is 'bluetongue 8'. Bluetongue is a disease of animals affecting all
ruminants, including sheep, cattle, deer, goats and camelids (camels, llamas,
alpacas, guanaco and vicuña). It does not affect horses or pigs. Although sheep
are most severely affected, cattle are the main mammalian reservoir of the virus
and are very important in the epidemiology of the disease. It is characterised
by changes to the mucous linings of the mouth and nose and the coronary band of
the foot. The disease is caused by a virus spread by certain types of biting
midges. Bluetongue is present when it is confirmed by laboratory tests that the
Bluetongue virus (BTV) is circulating in an area. Bluetongue does not affect
humans.
BT Looks to Axe
Local Payphones
The majority of villages in
Torridge could lose their payphones
Tuesday 15 April 2008
Under recent plans announced by BT,
the majority of villages in Torridge could lose their payphones. Nearly every
village and town will be affected, as BT seeks to shut down the 50 least
profitable phones.
BT has argued that 60% of their
payphones no longer cover the costs of running them, and therefore they need to
shut them down to maintain profits. In a move reminiscent of the shutting down
of Post Offices, they are asking local communities their views on the closures.
 Local
councillors and residents in areas where the closures have been suggested are
upset at the continuing loss of facilities for rural communities. Holsworthy
Councillor Des Shadrick, who has a number of phone boxes in his ward, said,
“Some of these phones are a lifeline to communities, and also to visitors who
often find themselves in 'mobile blackspots' when walking or camping.”
Local rural campaigner, and Lib Dem
parliamentary spokesperson for Torridge, Adam Symons, said, “Rural communities
continue to be hit by closures of their shops, post offices, and now phone
boxes. Enough is enough! You cannot have a sustainable community if you lose all
the facilities from a village or town. It just does not make sense. We are meant
to be encouraging local people to stay in their communities and be part of them.
If we keep taking facilities away there is going to be nothing left!”
Photo shows Adam Symons with one of
the payphones under threat. The consultation has identified nearly 50 payphones
which will be shut down. Submissions from local communities need to be made to
BT by the 7th July.
Thousands of
residents in Torridge suffer tax grab
Starting rate of income tax
doubled from 10p to 20p
Thursday 10th April 2008
Adam Symons, Parliamentary
Spokesperson for Torridge and West Devon, has launched a stinging attack on the
Government for bringing in tax changes that have increased income tax bills for
thousands of residents of Torridge.
On 6th April, Labour doubled the
starting rate of income tax from 10p to 20p in the pound. Previously, a 10p rate
was paid on the first £2230 of taxable income. As a result, instead of taking
£223 in income tax on this portion of people’s wages, Gordon Brown’s government
is taking £446.
Though the standard rate of income
tax has been cut from 22p to 20p in the pound, a single person with no children
would have to be earning over £18,500 to be better off under the tax changes.
“Things have gone seriously wrong
when Labour has pushed up taxes on people on low incomes to pay for tax cuts for
the better off,” said Adam.
“Thousands of residents on lower
incomes in Torridge are now receiving sharply increased tax demands at the same
time as the council tax bills are arriving. And many are facing big increases in
bills for gas, electricity and transport.
“Torridge residents have some of
the lowest earnings in the country. The effect of Gordon Brown’s tax changes is
therefore much greater here.
“Gordon Brown announced his tax
grab a year ago. Since then, none of the two main parties have done anything to
help low earners. The Lib Dems were the only party to raise this issue during
that budget, because they are the only party who care about equality between
earners.”
Liberal Democrat plans to cut the
tax burden for those on low income include scrapping council tax and replacing
it with a local tax based on ability to pay, and cutting the standard rate of
national income tax by 4p in the pound, paid for by closing tax loopholes used
by the wealthy and by increasing green taxes.
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