Lib Dems veto increases in charges for sex establishments!

Father Paul Daly

Following this week's Heywood Township meeting, Father Paul Daly, Priest at Saint Joseph's Heywood, did an analysis of proposed increases in fees for Council services published in the Review of Discretionary Fees and Charges 2008/2009, as approved by the Council Cabinet on 25 October. The paper states that each service is required to achieve an overall increase in its discretionary fees and charges income of 3.9%, however, hidden within that are some hefty increases in charges for specific services, although Father Daly did unearth one service where the fee is not going to increase at all: "The fee for sex establishments"!

Services with large increases in fees include:

Adult Care:
The proposed increase in the charges for the Careline service is at the rate of 4.9%.

Home Care services:
It is anticipated that the proposed increase of 4.75% in charges will ensure that the budget target is met.

Facilities Management:
The majority charges have been raised by £5 or £10 which is greater than 3.9%.

Highways and engineering:
The charges for skip hire have been increased by a higher amount between 7 and 14%.

Environmental Management:
Cremated remains - these charges have been increased by an average of 6.2%.
Book of Remembrance - the various charges have been increased by approximately 23%.
Wooden Cross/Stone Marker and Plaque - the charge has been increased by 7.1%.

Information and Libraries:
The book reservation price for books not in stock is proposed to increase from £1 to £1.50, that is, 50%.

Father Daly says: "But worry not, Rochdale residents, all is not lost, in appendix A14, planning and regulation services, we read: 'The fee for sex establishments is currently high compared with other Greater Manchester authorities. Any increase could possibly lead to a legal challenge. It is therefore proposed to hold the fee for 2008/09 at the current level'.

"So now we know why they can bribe the electorate with a 3.8% council tax rise. It is because they are putting fees up in almost every service area by an average of 3.9%!

"So, besides the low council tax rise, the lowest in 11 years, it will cost you more (a rise above inflation) for:

• Careline
• The meals service
• Home support
• Hire of the Town Hall
• Hire of a skip
• Dying and being cremated
• Wanting your loved one's name in the Book of Remembrance
• Wanting their resting place marked by a wooden cross
• Reserving a book not in stock

"To live, to die, to mourn, to read will all cost more from 2008, and above the rate of inflation, but this moral Council is giving us one bargain - sex will be cheaper under the Lib Dems!"