Peter Mandleson speech motivated an already determined party faithful in which he declared the Labour party was in his blood and in his bones. He also announced the extending of the scrappage scheme to cars AND VANS which has been so successful the allocation has already ran out.
Monthly Archives: September 2009
Cllr Lindley it doesn’t count if it’s posted on your door.
Note found on door – “no junk mail, no free newspapers, no Liberal Democrats”
Fresh off cllr Lindleys twitter…
Just broke the 40.000 hits target-thanks for looking in
Great to see so many people taking a look in, makes me think people may still have a little interest in politics after all.
By the way anyone no a paper that doesn’t support the tories.
Town hall pensions to be publicised, god we well see some panic
Communities Secretary, John Denham, yesterday announced that councils would be required to publish details of top earners’ pensions, pay and bonuses.
Council publishes sex guide – for over 50s What your view, i for one think it’s great to think there is life past 20
September 30, 2009
TOWN hall bosses have swapped red tape for romance by producing an illustrated guide to sex for the over-50s.
Chapters including ‘Let’s talk about sex’, ‘Practice and being prepared’, and ‘Dating advice’, feature in the Guide to Good Sexual Health for the Over 50s, launched by the city’s health bosses tomorrow.
Photos
The 47-page book, illustrated with photos of real-life Manchester residents, also explores self image, sexually transmitted infections, HIV, and body changes.
Five-thousand copies of the book have been produced at a total cost of £8,000 to Manchester City Council and NHS Manchester.
It has been tailor-made by NHS Manchester and Manchester council on the back of information gleaned from focus groups for the over 50s, who felt there was a lack of sexual health and relationship advice available to their age group, which includes many people who find themselves single again.
The free guide uses real-life experiences from people like 68-year-old Pam, who writes: ‘We’re more experienced, more mature and more confident and we’re able to talk about what we want which makes us better lovers.’
Martin Rathfelder, 57, of patient watchdog Manchester LINk, said he was ‘all in favour’ of the guide which could teach his generation things they didn’t know.
He said: “Some of us might need a bit of a reminder. I don’t know that it will be to everyone’s taste. Some people have given up on that sort of thing by my age but I’m not sure that’s entirely healthy either.
“I don’t think you can assume because people are over 50 that they know what’s right and healthy. For some of us the world’s changed since we were boys and girls, for example there was no HIV when I was young. It’s important there isn’t a taboo over this. Some of us do foolish things and might not feel entirely at ease if we’re the oldest person in the sexual health clinic.”
One model, Pia Seig, 57, from Old Trafford, who describes herself as ‘single and fancy-free’, appears in the photo guide wearing only a towel. Pia, an NHS worker who underwent surgery for breast cancer nine-years-ago, told the M.E.N she wanted to show she still felt sexy.
She said: “I wanted to promote a positive view of body image. This is about feeling healthy, satisfied and fulfilling our lives. Sex is overwhelmingly a private issue and perhaps as you get older you feel you don’t want to be exploited or necessarily be very public about it but it doesn’t mean you’re not having it. People should see their bodies as something for them to enjoy.”
The guide will be among the first in the country aimed at encouraging a healthy sex life among older generations. It will be launched at Manchester town hall tomorrow to coincide with UK Older Person’s Day and as part of the city’s Full of Life Festival – a two-week celebration of what’s on offer for older people in the city.
Manchester’s deputy leader, Coun Val Stevens, said: “All previous work in this field has been aimed at young people. In Manchester we value older people and we felt they have every right to sexual health and relationship advice.
“Manchester City Council believes it is time for a rethink about ageing. The Full of Life Festival is about celebrating positive ageing and enjoying a healthy and active sex life is an important element of that.
The guide challenges the stereotypes of the public and of service providers by enabling older people to set the agenda and address issues they are concerned with.”
‘Choices’
Acting director of public health for NHS Manchester, Dave Regan, added: “The Over 50s Relationship and Sexual Health Guide is a sexual health promotion resource targeting anyone over 50 to enable them to make informed choices about their sexual health and relationships.
“This innovative guide is a welcome new health promotion resource for Manchester. “Sexual health is not just a concern for younger people and the research we have done suggests that many people will find this new guide useful and informative. There are believed to be few other similar sexual health promotion resources for older people across the country.”
Labour conference: Fears over supervised homes for teen parents would any one like to comment before i make my view on the issue?
I await for further clarification on this from DCFS.
By Neil PuffettChildren & Young People Now29 September 2009
Teenage pregnancy experts have reacted with concern to Gordon Brown’s announcement that all 16-and 17-year-old parents who receive benefits will be housed in a network of supervised homes.
In his address to the Labour Party conference, Brown announced the measure but gave no indication of how it would work in practice.
Ann Furedi, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, described the announcement as “an ill-thought out sop to an ill-informed section of public opinion”.
“This measure ignores the huge differences between individual young people’s ability and support to care for their children and does not address the complex problems they may face,” she added.
Simon Blake, chief executive of sex advice charity Brook, said the speech left a lot of questions to be answered. “We are all absolutely committed to high quality support with housing available for young women but that is very different to the way this has been described today and I’m really concerned,” he said.
“If it’s about any form of compulsion then that is obviously a new policy approach and we have no knowledge about it being a new policy approach. This reinforces stereotypes of young women getting placed in council flats and undermines the excellent work going on across the country which has led to decreases in conception and birth rates.”
During his speech Gordon Brown said it was time to “address a problem that for too long has gone unspoken”.
“It cannot be right for a girl of 16 to get pregnant, be given the keys to a council flat and be left on her own,” he added.
Some 90 minutes after the Labour leader left the conference stage in Brighton, civil servants in London had yet to be fully briefed on the announcement. A spokeswoman for the Department of Children, Schools and Families, said the department had no detail on the policy.
Lucy Lloyd, director of communications for the Family and Parenting Institute, said the announcement struck her as “frightening and draconian”. “It harks back to the bad old days when teen parents were hidden away and had their babies in secret,” she said.
But she added there could be positives in the policy. “In situations where the family relationship does break down the prospect of living alone in small accommodation can be devastating for a parent and child,” she said. “If you look at it in that context this proposal could make a lot of sense. But we need to know more about how it would work in practice and in particular how a young person could maintain links with their home environment
The media hold more power than people understand and in the hands of a few it can offer a dangerous Tool which can be used in a whim.
The sun changes it’s colours! well look back in time before you take what is says as gospel. I have seen it ruin one Labour Government the Government that i supported, then change, and change again. The problem is the masses who read it will probably believe it’s ramblings.
Only today one senior Local Tory said i might read it, did it normally read it no, probably reads the times. But i suppose any port in a storm. Murdoch will be looking after is own skin,and his pocket and the people who allowed a monopoly on the press should look back and think hard have they made a mistake.This man will crucify Labour for his own gain, mark my words it’s not for any political idealism.
Reading this and guess what it’s not in Swinton so if it happens elsewhere i think we have a problem.
One policeman was overheard saying to residents, “Yeah they [the perpetrators] were on CCTV, there’s no way they could not be on CCTV round here…they need to grow up.” The vicinity of the incident has also recently been victim of arson of a disused warehouse (causing an immense blaze), which at the time was also blamed on local youngsters “with nothing to do” by the fire brigade in attendance. It is only too apparent that such destructive behavior in the area is not quite as rare as one would hope.
Oh it was Salford quays…
When will the people in power at the top wake up and listen, we have a problem i have just returned fron 2 more Cases of Asb- but then i suppose it’s just my perception.
Mother and disabled daughter killed in burning car ‘were terrorised by problem family’
Thugs accused of hounding a mother who killed herself and her disabled daughter are still terrorising their neighbourhood, an inquest heard yesterday.
One family continues to inflict misery despite a supposed crackdown by police and council officials.
Fiona Pilkington, 38, died with her daughter Francecca, 18, who had a mental age of four, when in an act of utter despair she set fire to their car in October 2007.
Fiona Pilkington (left) and her daughter Francecca Hardwick, 18, died in a burning car after being menaced by yobs near their home in Barwell, Leicestershire
The family had suffered nearly ten years of abuse from bullies during which time police had ignored 33 calls for help, dismissing the tormented family as ‘over-reacting’.
The coroner heard that one particular family living in the same street still poses a menace two years on.
Ron Grantham, community safety manager at Hinckley and Bosworth council in Leicestershire, told the court: ‘Throughout this tragic case, this family still continue to cause trouble to this day.’
He said attempts had been made to evict the family and the local authority had obtained an injunction against the parents, which means they could be arrested if their children committed antisocial behaviour.
Yet their campaign of intimidation against other residents has continued, said Mr Grantham.
He added: ‘It’s not just one, it’s members of the family.’
Pam Cassell, mother and grandmother to the deceased women, arrives for the inquest in Loughborough
The inquest heard that in February 2007, eight months before Miss Pilkington and her daughter died, council officials identified eight children from five families who were causing trouble in the area.
Four of the families subsequently complied with requests to control their children, the inquest heard.
But one family refused to see council officers and continued to cause problems, said Mr Grantham.
Despite a meeting with Miss Pilkington, her daughter and her son Anthony, who is dyslexic, in July 2004 the council had no record of dealing with the family until a further meeting in February 2007.
Even then council officials did not realise Miss Pilkington and her two children were vulnerable. There was no record of Francecca and Anthony being bullied because of their disability.
Mr Grantham added: ‘We were not informed by Fiona and the neighbours that this sort of bullying was going on.
‘It’s up to people to open up to us but nothing at the meeting with Fiona suggested that this was about bullying in relation to disability.’
No one has been prosecuted and members of the gang, including the problem family, have not been named in court.
Police have been repeatedly told who they are.
The inquest continues and is expected to conclude either tomorrow
EXCLUSIVE TORY COUNCILLOR BUYS SUN.
Don’t panic it’s only my old friend from Walkden, i suppose the times will after take a hit tomorrow.
