Letter from Parliament

Jim Dobbin MP

The present Lib Dem Council came in on a promise to devolve power to the Townships and local communities.  Their actions up to now do not support that commitment, far from it in fact. Firstly we have seen the imposition of a chaotic bin service in Heywood and a review of the same system in Middleton and Rochdale – railroaded through in Heywood and held back in the centre of the borough and Middleton.  That’s hardly a consultation or listening approach.

The withdrawal of adult care services across the borough at the same time as local health services are gradually moving towards local community provision is hardly a co-operative decision

They then decided to withdraw funding for some deprived areas, mainly in Heywood and Middleton, upsetting my constituents without promising to fill the obvious funding gap they are creating.  These are particularly vicious cuts.  It looks like the switch to funding mainly central Rochdale schemes will be additional to already substantial funding in these new areas.  Hardly a reasonable thing to do. People will lose their jobs because of this decision. On top of all that there will be cuts to the voluntary sector schemes across the borough.  These are ruthless steps.

I walked up and down Yorkshire Street this week and I thought it was a death trap.  I saw mothers with babies and children in prams and disabled people in wheel chairs and mobility scooters struggling to make their way to the shops.  Surely there must be a simpler way to repair Yorkshire Street that wouldn’t threaten the safety of vulnerable people.

I feel sympathy for local farmers many of whom I know personally.  Just as British farming has taken another step towards recovery from foot and mouth following the outbreaks on the Surrey farms in August; unfortunately another case has been diagnosed on a neighbouring farm.  The need to detect, contain and eradicate the disease as quickly as possible is essential.  It requires the teamwork that tackled the original outbreak to continue and of course a government guaranteed investment programme to correct the deficiencies in the research establishments found to be at fault.  This kind of rural disaster affects the whole country and the farming community need our understanding and support.

As people live longer care for the elderly will become increasingly important.  More and more social care will be delivered in the community through a partnership between Local Authority and the Health Service.  Shared programmes shared support staff and shared funding equals a proper care partnership. 

I keep talking up the change that is taking place through Primary Care Trust’s commissioning of services and I believe that support for this development is the way ahead.  This move from secondary to primary care will enhance and improve health care for all age groups. 

Dr Jiva who is leading the cluster change in Heywood and Middleton on behalf of GPs organised a launch of these planned local services at the Birch Hotel in my constituency.  Representatives from the Acute Trust, the PCT, the Local Authority and I discussed the proposals.  The Royal College of General Practitioners has launched a national campaign to achieve the same.  Minor operations, x-rays, public health advice and many health treatments should, they say, be performed at local level.  Of course there will still be the need for specialist provision in specialist centres.  That is the progress we should be demanding.  This will be a 5-10 year developmental programme and it has my total support.

I attended the Heritage exhibition at Long Street Methodist Church in Middleton.  It was an impressive display of the heritage of Edgar Wood, Middleton’s own celebrated architect.  As we know, he designed schools, churches, shops and houses.  Many of his designs can be seen across the town and adds to the radical history that can be observed in its buildings from the Old Boar’s Head, the Parish Church, and the Old Grammar School through Edgar Wood’s creations to modern times.  It will be interesting to see how the new Town Centre buildings will add to this architectural heritage.  I thank Christine Grime and her team for their hospitality on the day and congratulate them for providing the opportunity to learn more about local history.

I and another three MPs from opposition parties were invited by the Chief Minister of Gibraltar to take part in their National Day Celebrations.  It was reassuring to witness the strong links between the two countries.  We met the Governor and the Chief Minister and were briefed on future policy matters and joint programmes. 

On return to London I had to chair a Press conference in the Commons on changing attitudes to abortion.  I shall write more about that at a later date.

On Friday I attended the cremation of Councillor Ian Robertson whose premature death is a blow to all his political friends but especially to his family.  He was a man of principle and will be a sad loss to all who knew him.

I then attended five surgeries over Friday and Saturday before leaving for a few days break in the Lake District.