Conservative leader's column: Springhill Hospice's £1million deficit, sanctions for breaching council's code of conduct - and "contentious" Castleton cycle lane

John Taylor is the leader of the local Conservative party in Rochdale and a councillor for Wardle and West Littleborough.

This month he dedicates his column to discussing the £1million deficit Springhill Hospice is facing, the need for sanctions for councillors breaching the code of conduct, and the Castleton cycle lane.

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I was concerned to read in the press recently how our local Springhill Hospice is struggling with a huge deficit of almost a million pounds.
 

Read more: Springhill Hospice in crisis with £1 million shortfallPublished: 04 April 2023

The rising cost of living reaches all aspects of life and unfortunately no-one, including the hospice is exempt. The hospice and all the staff deliver an exceptional service without exception their help and support for those most in need is always first class.

I met up with Sam Wells, the Chief Executive, to explore ways we are able to support her, her staff and the service they provide through the charitable organisations I am involved with and would like to think we can all help to avert the current crisis.

Springhill is, in my opinion, the jewel in the crown in delivering palliative care and I would like to think all organisations be it statutory or voluntary will support the hospice together with the many, many individuals who contribute in both time and money and help them through the current difficulty.

In June I undertook mandatory council code of conduct training which is, of course, a very important aspect of the work of all councillors.

However, as the training was being delivered, it soon became abundantly clear how there are no sanctions that can be imposed against any elected member who breaches that code, how can that be right? If ever there was a “toothless tiger” then the sanctions connected to the code of conduct must qualify for that undesirable accolade with flying colours. 

Of course, malicious, vexatious or unfounded complaints need to be weeded out swiftly but all too often a victim sits behind an allegation and those individuals must have confidence in a process capable of delivering a fair outcome.

Rochdale has featured twice in the national press over the last month with allegations of inappropriate conduct and I believe it is high time an independent review of the entire code of conduct process is undertaken in the interests of accountability and the wider public confidence.

The Castleton roadworks and cycle paths installation remains a contentious development and I listened with interest to a Radio Manchester interview with my colleague Councillor Peter Winkler and a local shopkeeper whose trade has halved since the work began.

As much as I want to support any moves towards a cleaner and greener environment, there are two issues here that must be borne in mind. The first one is support for local businesses that deliver essential goods and services within any thriving community, surely without their presence the cohesion within any communities will be weakened much to the detriment of those neighbourhoods.

The second point of concern is how too much reliance on public transport leaves communities vulnerable to trade unions who will happily hold us all to ransom in furtherance of their political ambitions.

As I write, we are a matter of hours from a bus strike in neighbouring Oldham, and with yet more train strikes planned for this month, it simply doesn’t bode well for the future.

 

Read more: More RMT strikes on the way next week: Northern advises customers of very limited servicesPublished: 14 July 2023