Karen signs up for the volunteering pledge

Volunteering England, the volunteering development charity, drew up the pledge as a way for MPs and candidates across the country to demonstrate their commitment to volunteering and their support for the efforts of voluntary workers in their constituencies.

Karen made the following pledge:
“I will work hard to support volunteers and organisations that involve volunteers, both in my constituency and across the country. I will do this by:

·        Recognising the value of volunteering in building a strong society
·        Promoting positive messages about volunteering
·        Encouraging more people to give their time by helping free volunteers from red-tape
·        Supporting the organisations who support volunteers”

Karen said:
“Volunteering has rarely played a more important role in society. Right now, in Redditch County, many people are giving their time to help others: Delivering meals to elderly residents, mentoring young people to help them secure a brighter future, providing much needed support in hospices and hospitals, and campaigning on local issues. Volunteers contribute in many ways; and being a volunteer contributes to people’s skills, confidence and employability.”

Sajid Javid, Karen Lumley, Robin Walker and Peter Luff outside Worcestershire Royal Hospital

Worcestershire’s Conservative candidates have met county hospital chiefs to discuss plans to change the way in which community health services are delivered in the county.

At the meeting held on Friday at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital , managers explained why they felt the best interests of patients and staff would be served by merging the community hospitals and a range of other services into the Acute Hospital Trust.

The Conservative candidates who attended the meeting – Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire), Sajid Javid (Bromsgrove), Peter Luff MP (Mid Worcestershire), Karen Lumley (Redditch) and Robin Walker (Worcester) – expressed the concerns felt by local communities and staff about the proposed changes.

In a joint statement after the meeting, together with Mark Garnier (Wyre Forest), who had been briefed previously, the six candidates said,

“The NHS has been reorganised too often in recent years. Any further reorganisation of the local NHS will inevitably distract managers and clinical staff from their real priority – the wellbeing of the patients they serve. At a time when NHS budgets are under great pressure, this is the height of irresponsibility. It also risks undermining the motivation of all the staff affected by the proposed changes.

“We are profoundly concerned about the ridiculously short timescale being imposed on the Worcestershire NHS for such important decisions. Over 2,700 staff are being forced to change their employer and scores of important services, ranging from sexual health to end-of-life care are affected and will be disrupted.

“To be given a few weeks to decide such important issues will inevitably mean that mistakes are made – and the result will either be that patient care suffers or that another reorganisation is needed, causing further disruption. We are also very concerned about the care of patients in the Mental Health Trust if there is a major reorganization involving their services too.

“We therefore call on the government to delay the process it has imposed on Worcestershire and give a full year to allow possible changes to be worked through carefully.

“We are particularly concerned that it is now being suggested that there will be no local consultation on the changes. Peter Luff will therefore be seeking categorical assurances from Health ministers that a full period of consultation will be provided.

“We are not saying that there can be no benefits from changing some of the current arrangements – the Acute Hospital Trust clearly believes there can be. But we cannot endorse any new pattern of service delivery that is put forward by the local primary care trust and agreed by the strategic health authority in such a great hurry.

“The NHS and its staff are too important to be treated with such contempt by the government.”

Karen and Cllr Juliet Brunner work together to ensure fairer school funding

Conservative Parliamentary Candidates from across Worcestershire have expressed their concern at reports that the Government could be planning to shelve an important review into fairer funding in order to win votes in Labour’s heartlands.

Conservatives have been campaigning for many years for fairer funding for Worcestershire’s schools, which are among the worst funded in the whole country. Worcestershire is currently tenth from the bottom of the league of 151 local authorities for per pupil funding and the average school in the authority receives £739 per pupil less than schools in neighbouring Birmingham. Conservatives have announced plans to shift spending to a national per pupil funding formula. Per-pupil funding would include an extra amount for poorer children so that schools will work particularly hard to attract them.

Karen has spent the last few weeks visiting schools in Redditch and listening to their concerns of which funding is often at the top of the agenda.

This week the group campaigning for fairer funding F40 wrote, urging people to keep up the pressure for a review and pointing to a number of issues affecting underfunded schools, saying “There had been an expectation that a consultation document regarding the funding formula review would have been issued in January. We are still waiting for its appearance, but keep getting the message that it will be announced “shortly”. We certainly hope that will be the case.”

The Times Education Supplement last week reported that the consultation into fairer funding might not be published until after the election. Ivan Ould, chair of the F40 group was quoted saying “There could be something unpleasant in this review: some areas might gain while others lose out. There could be things which are an electoral liability. It’s going to be a really tight election with possibly a hung Parliament. The current government is going to want to hold in abeyance any bad news. They are not going to want to put out anything which will upset people.

Malcolm Trobe, policy director of the Association of School and College Leaders, was also quoted saying “Our initial understanding was that it would be released in early January or at least by February… We are very disappointed we have not seen the proposals yet.”

Today the candidates released a joint statement saying:

“Labour claim to be fighting an election campaign based on “a future fair for all” but if they fail to deliver progress on fairer funding, then that promise will have fallen at the first hurdle. It is an outrage that after thirteen years of a government that promised to reduce the inequalities in the funding formula, the gaps are wider than ever and it would be appalling if this government, which is supposed to be looking after the interests of the whole country, put their need to hold onto votes in the labour heartlands before fairness and justice in funding. People in Worcestershire who have suffered a shortfall in funding for too long will know exactly how highly Labour values them if they fail to deliver this review. Our party will create a fairer system based on per pupil funding but in the meantime it would be totally unacceptable for Labour to break their promise of a review.”

Karen added her voice to calls to help local firms and entrepreneurs in Redditch get up running and grow new business. More firms have gone bust during this recession than in any previous downturn. The latest Government figures show that in the last quarter, across our area 13 companies faced being wound up and 1289 people faced bankruptcy.

New Conservative proposals would:

•                End Labour’s practice of pushing thousands of businesses into bankruptcy over small amounts of unpaid taxes. Jobs would be saved and entrepreneurs would be given the support they deserve. The statutory threshold over which the Government can petition to make a business insolvent would be raised.

•                Boost social mobility by ending the unfair restrictions on people starting a business in social housing. Social tenants could become entrepreneurs, creating new jobs and opportunities. Measures to prevent noise and nuisance would remain in place.

•                Make it easier for people to set up new enterprises by cutting the time it takes to open a new business. Britain should become the fastest place in the world to start a business. Under Labour, it takes twice as long to start one in the UK as in the USA, Denmark or Hong Kong. The number of forms needed to register a new business will be cut, moving towards a ‘one-click’ registration model.

These changes come on top of Conservative plans to reduce small company corporation tax rates to 20p; to make small business rate relief automatic in England, saving small firms up to £1,260 per year; and to abolish tax on the jobs created by new businesses in the first two years of a Conservative Government.

Karen said:

“To move out of recession, local firms in Redditch need a strong helping hand to help create new jobs and expand their business. Conservatives will remove the obstacles in the way of new firms and stop the taxman kicking local firms when they’re down.

“But the message from Labour Ministers is ‘don’t start a business, don’t buy your home, don’t try and leave money to your children, don’t try and get on’.  They’ve made it so difficult to employ people, so difficult to start a business.  We can’t go on like this, and it’s time for change.

I am looking forward to Lord David Trimble meeting and listening to local business on friday when he visits Redditch and meets many of our local employers”

Churches, village halls, charity shops and sports clubs across Redditch face a new £20 million tax from Gordon Brown’s Government, Karen warned this week. In the small print of obscure new regulations, the Government is abolishing charities’ and voluntary groups’ long-standing exemption from music licensing rules – hitting them with unexpected new bills just for holding events with recorded music or for playing a radio.

To date, voluntary groups have not had to pay for a so-called “PPL” performance rights licence in order to play recorded music. This exemption reflects the public benefit that such organisations provide, but this is now being abolished by the Government.

This will affect church worship, charity discos, tea dances, youth clubs, dancing groups, sports clubs and even charity shops which have a radio in their staff room. The changes are being imposed by Peter Mandelson’s Whitehall empire. The new levy will come into effect in April 2010 once the new regulations are ratified by Parliament. Conservatives are opposing these changes and standing up for local voluntary groups.

The Government admits that the new levies will cost voluntary groups £20 million a year. Some organisations will “cease playing music” because they cannot afford a licence, and it will hit a quarter of a million organisations – 140,000 charities, 6,750 charity shops, 66,440 sports clubs, 4,000 community buildings, 5,000 rural halls and 45,000 religious buildings.

These new levies are on top of bureaucratic rules imposed by the Licensing Act 2003, which requires expensive ‘premises licences’ for village halls to hold regular small-scale social functions, and which has imposed new red tape to play unamplified live music.

Karen said:

“This is another Labour assault on the fabric of British community life. Having effectively shut down post offices and local pubs across Redditch, Labour’s Whitehall bureaucrats now have our village halls, scout huts, charity shops and churches in their sights. This is a heartless tax on community buildings and charities. The Government should think again and don’t stop the music.”

Karen Lumley this week gave her backing to bold Conservative plans to help Redditch   households protect the environment and save money. Major policy proposals for a Conservative government include giving rewards to householders for recycling their rubbish and also a ‘Green Deal’ of providing up to £6,500 for home insulation improvements at no upfront cost to residents.

Green Deal:
Under the plans, every household will have the right to have home energy efficiency work of up to £6,500. There will be no upfront cost, as the work will be paid for by the much larger savings on energy bills from the improved insulation. This will open up a whole new market in energy efficiency, create tens of thousands of skilled jobs and cut carbon emissions. It will also save families money and make Redditch homes warmer in winter – helping the elderly and ‘fuel poor’ in particular. A typical home could see £30 a month knocked off its final bill.

Rewards for recycling:
A Conservative government would also scrap Labour’s plans for new bin taxes on family homes. Labour Ministers have already changed the law so bin taxes can be imposed, despite the fact that they have been shown to increase fly-tipping and dangerous ‘backyard burning’. Conservatives would work with councils across the Redditch to promote schemes where good behaviour is rewarded, but families are not taxed or fined. Under the American ‘Recyclebank’ scheme now being piloted in Britain, households receive points for recycling; these are then converted into vouchers for local shops, including Marks & Spencer and Costcutter, or into donations to charities.  Households could earn up to £175 a year in vouchers.

Karen said:
“Gordon Brown hits people with taxes, fines and bans, rather than trusting people and encouraging social responsibility. Conservatives believe in incentives to help and reward people to do their bit to help the environment.

“The Green Deal of insulating people’s homes for no upfront cost and rewarding people for recycling will not only protect the environment, but also help families and pensioners who are struggling to make ends meet. These practical policies show how if you vote blue, Redditch will go green and save money.”

Karen Lumley this week voiced her opposition to Gordon Brown’s new plans to scrap disability benefits for the elderly in Redditch. The small print of Labour’s plans to create a National Care Service reveals they will scrap Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance for pensioners to pay for it.

An average £3,400 a year will be snatched away from 2.4 million pensioners – equivalent to a quarter of the average pensioner’s income. In Redditch, this would affect 3080 pensioners –  2120 who receive Attendance Allowance, worth an average of £60 a week, and 960 who receive Disability Living Allowance, worth an average of £75 a week.

Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance are based on need; they are not means tested and are intended to cover the extra costs arising from the impact the disability has on the life of the disabled person. The key feature of these benefits is that they can be spent by disabled people how they wish, without restrictions, to best support their individual care needs.

Karen said:
“Gordon Brown has chosen to penalise one of the most vulnerable groups in our society for the sake of another of his eye-catching announcements. As with every Labour initiative, someone has to pay and, as with many of them, it is once again those who are least able to afford it who are hit by Brown.

“These benefits provide vital support for disabled pensioners, giving them the chance to lead an independent life with the freedom to tailor their care to their needs.

“Of course, we need to do more to help people with their care costs, but it is completely wrong to do so at the expense of disabled pensioners. Conservatives will protect Redditch’s  pensioners and fight against Gordon Brown’s plan to scrap benefits for the disabled.”

Reddtich faces a barrage of hikes in local taxes under Labour plans, Karen, warned this week. A new Labour Party Manifesto for a ‘fourth term’ has outlined plans to introduce higher council tax bands, above inflation rises in businesses on local firms, bin taxes and anti-car taxes in towns and cities.

Council tax rebanding: This official Labour Manifesto for local government was published at the recent Labour Party conference. It calls for a council tax revaluation and higher council tax bands “to make it a more genuinely progressive tax”. Labour’s deputy leader, Harriet Harman, is already drawing up plans for council tax rebanding. The Government has changed the law to give Ministers powers to impose higher council tax banding – changes which were supported by the Liberal Democrats.

Council tax bills in Redditch have risen by 126% since 1997, taking the bill on a Band D home to £1463. A Government review has provided a blueprint for how council tax rebanding, and suggested a new ten-band system. More homes would be sucked into the higher bands, and the amount that higher bands pay would increase too. Council tax bills in Redditch could rocket to as much as £7799 a year under the new system.

Higher business rates: The Labour Manifesto calls for above inflation rises in rates for local firms, ending the explicit link between business rates and inflation.

Bin taxes: The Manifesto calls for more ‘bin bully’ policies, with “financial incentives and our regulatory powers” to “move away from dealing with residual waste in the black bin”.

Road pricing taxes: The Manifesto signals yet another tax assault on drivers, with the imposition of “road pricing” in urban areas, with no offsetting tax cuts elsewhere. It also signals the extension of workplace parking taxes, currently being trialled in Labour-run Nottingham.

Karen said:
“Labour’s new town hall Manifesto exposes Gordon Brown’s plans for massive hikes in local taxes on people in Reddtich. This is a tax bombshell primed to explode after the general election.

“Under Labour, new council tax bands will be used to punish families and pensioners who have saved and invested in their homes, with some bills hitting the 37k mark.

“Only Conservatives are opposing these tax-raising plans and standing up for struggling residents who are paying more and getting less under this Labour Government.”

Following news that the report by Professor Mike Richards has been sent to the Chair of the Network board, who is also the Chief Executive of Gloucestershire PCT, but not to the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust, Conservatives, who have been campaigning to keep services at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital have called for the report to be made public.

In a joint statement Harriett Baldwin, PPC for West Worcestershire , Mark Garnier PPC for Wyre Forest, Karen Lumley, PPC for Redditch and Robin Walker, PPC for Worcester, said

“We are concerned about the possibility that Head and Neck surgery could be moved from Worcestershire and want to ensure that there is full public consultation in the event that any decision is taken to move it elsewhere.  We believe the expert report that might influence decisions on this should be made public as part of that process. We would continue to urge the 3 Counties Cancer Network to consider the merits of the Worcestershire bid and to take into account the potential stress and disruption that would be caused to patients from Worcestershire if they had to travel further for their treatment.”

Butcher and cook your own!

Do it yourself dinner at Morrisons

Karen Lumley was recently invited by the directors at Morrisons to dinner and to discuss the issues that are facing them at present. It was a dinner with a difference as the master butcher from Morrisons Roy Craven was on hand to show guests just how meat at Morrisons is butchered!

A group including Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment Food and Rural affairs Nick Herbert and Jim Paice Shadow Minister for Agriculture were present for this unusual event where the side of beef was cut up and then cooked by all those present in a master chef class.

“It was a great event” said Karen. “Morrisons are a major employer in Redditch and to learn about the industry and how food is sourced by the company was interesting. I was delighted to find that Morrisons try and source as much food as possible locally and are very proud of the fact that they have farms which supply their stores all over the country.”