Please call the Town Hall ahead of the Full Council meeting to request a seat at the meeting on Thursday. The number is 0151 934 2049. If you cannot get one please report back to me @ southportanticuts@hotmail.co.uk and ask for this to be confirmed in writing if you can. It is undemocratic to refuse the public access to the council meetings. I have one ticket after calling this morning, let me know if you have any success.
We are calling on the people to hold the council to account.
People can go to their local councillors monthly surgeries and ask them how they are implementing the cuts, what alternatives have been investigated and whether they are challenging central government about the necessity of cutting Sefton's budget in the way they have. Ask them also what they are doing to make sure people are being consulted about where and how the cuts are being made and that the implications of each cut are fully investigated. Also to report when or if councillors fail to attend their monthly surgeries.
People can request face to face meetings with their councillors. Make sure you get things confirmed in writing if you agree anything with them. Also report back to us so that we can get a picture of what people are doing and asking and whether the councillors are actually meeting with the public.
People can go into the Town Hall and ask the committee clerk for a list of proposed cuts. If that cannot be provided ask again and keep asking until it is provided. This will make it obvious that people are concerned with the cuts.
People can write to their councillors and to the council's heads of department who are responsible for reporting on where savings should be made asking for consultation of the public and making the case for the things they want to save.
People can also use the Council's newly set up "Transforming Sefton" cuts feedback page to let them know exactly what we think.
Use the List of Councillors by ward to locate your local councillors. Try to get things confirmed in writing.
Also, come to our demonstration on Thursday 27th outside Southport Town Hall from 5.30pm. We need to make the council listen.
Also, write to your MP to ask what they are doing on behalf of Sefton as a result of the cuts to the Local Authority Budgets which are the root cause of this.
Not forgetting e-mail/write to national government departments and the prime minister as often as you can. These letters are better when they are personal but I will work on some templates.
Here's a letter I wrote to Eric Pickles this morning:
"Dear Sir,
I am writing in my capacity as the Chair of the Southport Anti-Cuts Coalition. Our local council, Sefton MBC, believe they will be asked to make almost £70m in cuts due to the reduction in their annual budget caused by reduction of their annual grant from central government and set out by your department.
As a result our council has set out proposals which may leave our town, a town with almost 100,000 residents, without access to a children's centre or library, with reduced Crown Green Bowling facilities, reduced access to leisure facilities, removal of services and funds that charities and other organisations require; such as the removal of the £22k grant to the world famous Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, reduced holiday childcare, removal of after school and holiday clubs, significantly reduced budgets for park repairs and maintenance and street sweeping/maintenance which will likely impact on the health and safety of our playgrounds, parks and roads, pay cuts to public sector staff of 5% in addition to possible redundancies, reduction of overtime for the street cleansing team which will affect the lowest paid staff, closure of our nationally famous Botanic Gardens Nursery with nine redundancies and no promises about whether the money will be taken not only out of the local economy but out of the national economy. Many, many more - the cut handed down from central government is such that nothing is safe. The cuts are of such high levels and because they are front loaded the council seems to have no option but to fail to uphold some of its legal responsibilities such as the requirement to provide adequate provision of Children's centres and consideration of residents views when closing them. We support the council and the Chief Executive Margaret Carney in making the case for Sefton nationally. We are calling on them for better consultation during the decision process but we also recognise the source of their problem.
I would like to invite Mr Pickles to attend a public meeting organised by our group to explain how and why the council's budget is being cut. Sefton is one of the worst affected Councils nationally - it is only right that Mr Pickles visits residents to explain why the Government is choosing to target our area to shoulder a higher than average burden. We understand Mr Pickles has written to the council ahead of the Full Council meeting tomorrow but we believe the voting public have a right to be consulted also, and for the Minister to be held to account over the decisions his department makes by the people who are being directly affected. A lack of explanation and/or consultation makes it seem as though Mr Pickles is concerned only with dictats and not with implementation and we have many understandably worried and angry residents.
Kat Sumner
Chair of SACC"
If you would like to call/write to Mr Pickles to show you support for my request for a meeting please use these details:
Eric Pickles
House of Commons
SW1A 0AA
020 7219 4428
eric.pickles@communities.gsi.gov.uk
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