Update on Dolphin Manor care home, Rothwell

 Family, Health, Housing, Labour Party, Leeds, Older People, Rothwell  Comments Off
Nov 302011
 

Dolphin Manor RothwellThe news that we had saved Dolphin Manor from imminent closure was reported in last month’s edition of Rothwell Record. As a result of local people’s hard work a new proposal was developed to create a new social enterprise company that could become responsible for running Dolphin Manor in the future. This was as a result of me lobbying both the leader of Leeds City Council Cllr Keith Wakefield and Cllr Lucinda Yeadon, Executive Board Member responsible for adult social care to persuade them to back the social enterprise plan and we have gained the support of the council in our bid to be allowed to put together a plan to run the care home locally.

Making sure the momentum is kept up at Leeds City Council level myself and James Normington, the local Labour Party member who is taking a lead the social enterprise plan, went again this month to see Councillor Lucinda Yeadon, the executive member for adult social care, to explain how the plan will now develop. It was agreed that enough time should be allowed to enable a full plan to be developed and that this will be more than a year until the practical proposals would be ready to be put into place. A local steering group has now been set up to put the plan together for the council to approve and it is hoped to have it in a position to run in April 2013.

I’m delighted that local people are being given the chance to save Dolphin Manor by setting up the social enterprise. I have every faith that the commitment and hard work of local people can make this plan work. The hard work has already started to create a practical social enterprise that will keep Dolphin Manor open for residents and for future generations in Rothwell.

 Posted by Karen Bruce at 10:19

Update on Victoria allotments, Rothwell

 Environment, Health, Leeds City Council, Rothwell  1 Response »
Oct 262011
 

Karen Bruce at Victoria allotmentsHaving been contacted by allotment holders from Victoria allotments, Rothwell when the ‘for sale’ sign went up I wanted to go to the allotments as soon as possible to re-assure allotment holders of my full support, which I did last week. The allotments, which have been leased by the council since 1908 from a private land owner, houses 75 allotments that have been rented by devoted allotment holders for a century.

The Yorkshire Evening Post report on the Victoria Allotments in today’s edition.

Since hearing of the allotments being put up for sale, I was determined to do all I could to get the council to buy the land so that the allotments could be saved by lobbying the executive board member for Leisure and the Leader of council. The council has until Friday to express an interest in buying the site. Parks and Countryside department which includes allotments and the planning department have both recommended that the council buys the allotment site. The deadline for bids is Friday 28 October when we will hear if the council has made a bid and been successful and I will be having further talks to ensure everything possible is done to secure the allotments for the council and that the Victoria Allotments are safe.

 Posted by Karen Bruce at 23:47

Latest news on Dolphin Manor

 Health, Housing, Labour Party, Leeds City Council, Older People, Rothwell, Social Care  Comments Off
Aug 252011
 

Dolphin Manor, Rothwell

Yesterday I had a busy day of council activity. I spent the morning catching up on paperwork and case work to help local residents and then in the afternoon was out and about with lots of meetings.

First I went into Leeds to the Civic Hall where I had yet another meeting with Councillor Lucinda Yeadon, the executive member for Adult Social Care to further discuss the possibility of how Dolphin Manor in Rothwell could be saved. I’m really enthusiastic about the proposals to run the home as a charitable trust – put to Lucinda last month by James Normington (another Rothwell Labour Party member) and myself. I’ve also had meetings with Councillor Keith Wakefield, the leader of the council and other executive board members to ensure they understand the importance of Dolphin Manor and seriously consider the proposals put forward by James.

After that I dashed back to Rothwell for a wonderful visit to Dolphin Manor where I’d been invited to enjoy afternoon tea. Some delicious scones were served and I had another lovely chat with residents and staff – it was lovely to see them all again. Visiting her gran there was Tracey McAndrew (better known as Nell McAndrew) so I also had a good chat with her, she is very supportive and offered to help in our efforts to try to save Dolphin Manor.

As a newly appointed member to the board of Aire Valley Homes I also had a good meeting with Simon Costigan, the chief executive. It was interesting to catch up with what’s happening with the ALMO and to find out a bit more ahead of the board meetings.

 Posted by Karen Bruce at 20:01

Rothwell creche saved from immanent closure

 Elmet and Rothwell, Family, Health, Leeds, Rothwell, Woodlesford, Young People  Comments Off
Mar 092011
 

Fantastic news today that Leeds City Council has decided to keep the crèche at Rothwell Leisure Centre open on a trial basis for a further six months from April. I’m sure other parents who use our leisure centre will be delighted at the news. I go swimming with my daughter Esme in the small pool at the centre and we always have great fun along with other families with small children. The centre is great  for local families and the loss of the creche would have taken away from that.

Sadly, the hourly fee will have to increase from its current £2 to £4 to try and reduce the subsidy from the council and bring the charges more into line with what they should be (although the usual discounts for Leeds card extra etc will remain). Improvements will also be made to creche hours to better align them to activities so people can make the most of the creche here.  I think that another problem the creche had was the lack of publicity so it’s good to hear that it will now be properly marketed. Simply putting a banner on the outside of the centre, as well as marketing via children’s centres, health visitors, expectant mums etc could see a lot more parents using the creche. It’s interesting that three organisations have shown interest in providing crèche services and the council is working with them to see if something can be done

All in all good news for all of us in the Rothwell area as the more people who use the centre the better!

 Posted by Karen Bruce at 12:44

Leeds loves Andy Burnham

 Campaigning, Education, Environment, Equality, Family, Health, Labour Party, Leeds, Older People, trade union, Transport, Young People  Comments Off
Aug 212010
 

On Monday event with Andy Burnham took place in Leeds. As Andy’s regional director I got to organise and host the event.

Andy Burnham in Leeds

Thanks to @pennyb for the photo.

Great feedback for Andy from Leeds with lots of twitter comments and this great email I thought I’d share:

I really enjoyed Andy Burnham’s presentation and questions last night. I am impressed. He came across as genuine. He has obviously thoroughly thought through his politics. He will definitely be getting my first preference. If only more MPs were like him. He is a breath of fresh air in a climate of career politicians. I will put a donation for his campaign in the post.

@laidbackian: Had a great night with @andyburnhammp in Leeds. He has a passion for the Labour Party unmatched by the other candidates. #andy4leader

@stephenjtowler: Andy Burnham excellent in Leeds tonight. Why would you not vote for him?

@khutchinsondean After event tonight finally getting off the fence and backing @andyburnhammp for leader; most authentic, credible and fresh thinking choice

@laidbackian: Great night with @andyburnhammp in Leeds. He has a passion for the Labour Party unmatched by other candidates. #andy4leader

@Emma_Hoddinott: Saw @andyburnhammp last night in Leeds. Was very impressed with his ideas on Labour Party reform.

@christophe_read: Spoke to @andyburnhammp last night about my Young Labour report -he’d seen it & was v much along same lines. Top bloke.

@LauraPony: Pleased @brianahaha is also putting @andyburnhammp as first preference following event in Leeds last night #andy4leader

@LauraPony: Excellent evening listening to @andyburnhammp then eating lovely Italian food with fantastic family

@MagsNews: Andy Burnham – great guy. Met him in Leeds yesterday evening. V genuine and cares passionately about the party… My second preference!

@KatRRose: Enjoyed meetng @andyburnhammp in Leeds, @ed_miliband‘s better civil liberties 1st pref, but Andy Burnham is cool prob 2nd pref

@alexsobel: RT @KatRRose: Enjoyed meeting @andyburnhammp in Leeds, @ed_miliband 1st pref but Andy Burnham cool prob 2nd pref -prob me too

 Posted by Karen Bruce at 10:50

Andy reconnecting Labour

 Campaigning, Elmet and Rothwell, Health, Housing, Labour Party, Leeds, Rothwell  Comments Off
Jul 032010
 

Andy Burnham meets Labour members in RothwellAll the Labour leadership candidates were invited to speak at the Unison annual meeting yesterday in Leeds and take part in a hustings. I was there with Andy Burnham and was really impressed by the level of support he has with many Unison members. Speaking to members there it was obvious the respect and affection Andy is held in by many in the public sector and particularly in the NHS. Knowing Andy’s commitment first hand, many having worked with him whilst he was Health Secretary, and the fact that Andy has shadowed staff at every level has made a huge impression, that was obvious.

Then it was on to a house meeting I’d arranged for Andy to meet some local members in Rothwell. Discussions included some of Andy’s big ideas, his leadership bid is based on Labour becoming the party of “aspirational socialism”, the members there liked the use of the word socialist which had seemed to become a bit of a ‘dirty word’ of late in the party. Andy talked about his ideas that include the large-scale purchase of private accommodation by councils and for a national care service funded by a fair levy on estates, instead of the unfair ‘dementia tax’ that people are saddled with at the moment, which means working people who are the first in their family to own their own homes are forced into losing everything they have worked for to pay for care in older age.

With Andy we will get a leader of conviction, someone who cares about people , is passionate about the Labour Party and the NHS and someone who can communicate with everyone, which crucially means that members and voters know he can connect with them because he is one of them.

 Posted by Karen Bruce at 15:42

Tories propose selling public services as Ryanair style ‘extras’

 Environment, Health, Older People, Tories  Comments Off
Aug 282009
 

A Tory-run London council is to offer "Ryanair-style" public services in a radical experiment that could provide a blueprint for a David Cameron government.

Here’s David Cameron trying to come across as all cuddly and caring, the acceptable face of the new Conservatives. But those of us at the coal face fighting the Tories at council and constituency level know that if you scratch the surface it’s the same old, nasty Tories underneath. The Tory council in the London borough of Barnet have taken Tory victimisation of the poor, weak and vulnerable to a new height of awfulness.

The Tory councillors are proposing to charge residents extra to ‘jump the queue’ for planning consents. But it doesn’t stop there. They also propose that recipients of adult social care in Barnet will be forced to choose to spend a limited budget on whether to have a cleaner or a respite carer or even a holiday to Eastbourne. Other examples of proposed reforms include reducing the size of waste bins to minimise the cost of council rubbish collections.

You might think that Cameron will have stepped in to prevent such raving right-wing policies. But you’d be wrong. Barnet is seen as a trail blazer amongst the "new Conservatism" which is spreading among Tory-controlled boroughs. Observers believe "radical outriders" such as Barnet offer a glimpse of how a David Cameron government could overhaul public service provision in an era of heavy spending cuts.

The council also plans to make savings of up to £15m a year by outsourcing services and reducing the size of its 3,500-strong directly employed workforce. Private sector organisations and charities could take on contracts for services looking after streets and parking, planning and the environment, residential care, housing, refuse and recycling.

Mike Freer, the Conservative leader of Barnet Council said: “"Going back to the Ryanair example, some things will be cheap and cheerful and in other areas we will provide complete services.”

Many Tory councils are also looking at "micro-charging" for previously free services. And a Tory MEP last night suggested that the idea of charging could spread to the NHS. Charles Tannock said people should pay £10 to see their GP.

So there you have it. Under a Tory government essential services such as adult social care will be “cheap and cheerful” or you’ll even have to pay extra.

Source: The Guardian and Evening Standard.

 Posted by Karen Bruce at 19:44

How Brits are using #welovetheNHS to support Obama

 Barack Obama, Campaigning, Garforth, Health, Methley, Rothwell, Swillington, Wetherby  Comments Off
Aug 132009
 

Karen Bruce campaigning for Barack ObamaLast October I went on holiday to Philadelphia, which is in Pennsylvania and was one of the key states that Barack Obama needed to win. We ended up as a bit of a busman’s holiday as we spent a good bit of time campaigning for Obama. For the holiday we did a house swap with a couple in Philadelphia so we ended up volunteering in the local Fishtown office of the Democrats. What was most amazing is how similar it was canvassing the streets of Philadelphia to doing the same in places like Garforth, Methley, Swillington, Rothwell and Wetherby.The picture is me and Esme preparing to set out to do some good old-fashioned door knocking.

You hear some amazing and moving stories on the doorstep. In one house we visited the mother and grandmother were adamant they weren’t going to bother voting because “all politicians are the same”. After I’d spoken to them for a while we discovered that the grandfather was plagued with health problems and couldn’t afford the treatment he really needed. I explained that all politicians weren’t the same and that one of Obama’s main commitments was healthcare reform to give families like theirs a fair opportunity to receive the same healthcare that in the USA only the privileged can afford. I was so excited when I realised that my arguments had succeeded and that the whole family had pledged to support Obama!

President Obama (I still get goose bumps when I say it) is now fighting right-wing Republicans to get his healthcare reform plans enacted. The Republicans are resorting to every dirty trick in the book and are launching vicious attacks on our NHS, claiming that it’s “socialist” healthcare and it doesn’t give people the care they’d get under America’s private system. The Republicans are running nasty TV ads full of lies attacking the NHS.

Yesterday an amazing thing happened and a guy called Graham Lineham decided to use the internet and people power to fight back. Graham is better known as the award winning comedy writer behind Father Ted and The IT Crowd. He started a hash tag on Twitter called #welovetheNHS, within hours it was the most talked about topic on Twitter as thousands and thousands of people starting sharing their stories of how the NHS had helped them. The Labour Party has now put together a fantastic little widget that means you can display these moving stories on your website or Facebook. As well as showing it below I’ve created a special page for it here.

 Posted by Karen Bruce at 20:39

Help for victims of domestic violence in summer holidays

 Community safety, Family, Health  Comments Off
Jul 292009
 

Whilst most people are looking forward to their summer holidays, it’s a big concern that hundreds of women in Leeds will be worried about the summer holidays because it will mean spending more time with their violent partner. Leeds City Council report that in the summer holiday last year as many as 800 domestic violence incidents reported. There is help though out there for anyone being abused in this way, the advice is to call the police on 0845 6060606 (asking for the domestic violence coordinator), Crimestoppers on 0800 555111, or 999 in an emergency.

 Posted by Karen Bruce at 15:35

Cut in Elmet and Rothwell and it hurts our people

 Campaigning, Community safety, Elmet and Rothwell, Health, Older People  2 Responses »
Jun 162009
 

The local Conservatives in Elmet and Rothwell are showing their true colours. Alan Lamb, a Wetherby councillor, on his blog, is calling for cuts in public services. He even goes as far as to say and I quote “I hope, and the signs are encouraging, that my party will go into the next general election proudly promising to cut public spending and being specific and honest about what that will mean.”  Does Alan care to tell us exactly what he means and which of our local residents will get their operation axed, which older people in our communities will lose their home care, and which of our streets in Elmet and Rothwell will feel the effects of having their local police team cut?

I’m proud to say that Labour is there to look after everyone, and we know that cutting our public services hits our most vulnerable people hard,  especially those most in need, whereas, the Conservatives have always stood for benefiting the few!

 Posted by Karen Bruce at 11:28
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