First meeting of regional housing board
The first meeting of North Lincolnshire Council's Regional Housing board took place on Wednesday. The group has been created to discuss various housing issues which effect North Lincolnshire. The board looked at various housing projects from across the area and decided on which projects should take priority. These include rural affordable housing, support housing, youthbuild and work to help teenage parents.
Work on these projects will be funded by £3.6 million secured by the Regional Hosing Board. I felt the meeting was a great success. Many housing issues were discussed and important decisions were made and I am looking forward to seeing all of the projects develop. The Regional Housing Board will continue to work with a range of developers and housing associations to develop all areas of housing in North Lincolnshire.
The meeting also seems to have captured the imagination of the local press and I am due to talk about it on local radio later today.
Tories continue to lie about the minimum wage...
After reading the Scunthorpe Telegraph recently I would like to comment on the responses to the motion at full council on March 19. The first comments from Cllr Carl Sherwood about membership of a union; he waved an ISTC union card around stating he was a fully paid up member. As people, like me who are members of this union, know that is called "Community" and has been for at least the last five years. So his comments are questionable. I would ask why Cllr Sherwood puts his arguments forward in the Scunthorpe Telegraph whilst sitting quiet in the council chamber.
The second was from Mrs Readhead, a Tory on Scunthorpe Borough Council during the Thatcher years. Her response was funny in that she never said that she believed in the minimum wage, she just went into a rant about the latest Labour Government.
I'm sure Telegraph readers can see through these two Thatcher loving Tories and are not insulted by their beliefs. Tories don't believe in the minimum wage or trade union rights, so please don't be fooled by this right wing North Lincs Tory group.
First meeting of housing investment board
This coming Wednesday is the first meeting of the housing investment partnership. The aim of the group is to ensure the strategic and financial arrangements are in place to deliver the four outcomes of the Joint Housing Strategy. These are:
- Creating quality homes
- Securing affordability and choice
- Reaching out to those in housing need
- Creating safe and strong communities
The group is made up of myself, Jane Duncan from North Lincolnshire Homes, chair of North Lincolnshire Landlords forum, voluntary sector representation and private sector members. The board will meet quarterly and will discuss a number of issues which are going on within the region, such as youthbuild, Advance Crosby and temporary accommodation for homeless families.
I am confident the group will be a success.
Tories fail to back minimum wage
The general public of North Lincolnshire need to know 18 local Tories last week failed to support the national minimum wage. As a trade unionist and Labour councillor I welcome the recent initiative to increase the minimum wage for adults to £5.73 per hour in October. This is a 60 per cent increase since the scheme began in 1998. Within the first hour of the scheme it took two million people off the breadline.
At last week's full council meeting I tabled a non-political motion welcoming the increase and recognising how it had helped thousands of people in North Lincolnshire. Not only did the local Tory group put forward a venomous anti-Government amendment, which was thrown out, but astonishingly they then abstained from approving our motion.
In other words they do not think the minimum wage is a good idea and, God forbid they ever come back to Government, I think we can safely assume they would ditch the minimum wage and send millions back into poverty.
I have asked the Scunthorpe Telegraph to name and shame these councillors as people need to know what the people they have voted for have said. Given their recent coverage I do not think they will do this. So here are the Tory members who did not vote in favour of the minimum wage.
- John Briggs
- Liz Redfern
- William Eckhardt
- Jean Bromby
- Rob Waltham
- Ivan Glover
- John England
- Trevor Foster
- John Berry
- Nigel Sherwood
- Carl Sherwood
- Ted Appleyard
- Margaret Sidell
- Keith Vickers
- Peter Clark
- John Wardle
- David Wells
- Don Stewart
Quite simply, these councillors are a disgrace.
In 1996 David Cameron was quoted as saying: "Labour's plans for minimum wages, the Social Chapter and large increases in spending and taxes would send unemployment straight back up."
It's nice to see the local Tories are as arrogant and out of touch as the Conservative leader.
£60 for charity
On Sunday I took part in the Sainsbury's Sportrelief mile event at Central Park. About 50 people turned up to take part in the sponsored one mile run, including a number of players from Scunthorpe United and their manager Nigel Adkins.
I completed the one mile run and even beat a number of United players in the process! I have managed to raise more than £60 for such a good cause and for my efforts I have been rewarded with a certificate and medal which now take pride of place on the office wall.
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