“Yet when it comes to Corporate Director level, people paid around the £100,000 mark, they decided to cut the numbers from six to five. We suggested they could easily go one further and cut down to four Corporate Directors and they refused.”

“It sends exactly the wrong signal to lower paid staff who have lost their jobs or are in danger of doing so.”

“There’s no logic in what they are doing. There is no sense in keeping separate Corporate Directors for adult social care and children’s social care. There is already a ‘gap’ when vulnerable children become vulnerable adults, the department responsible for their care switches overnight. In fact of course people’s needs do not change overnight, needs evolve and there would be a much better chance of continuity if the two departments were merged.”

“The Liberal Democrat amended structure was rejected by the Labour majority on the Council so they will continue to employ five Corporate Directors and continue to sack the people who local residents can actually see doing the job.”

Labour Executive members had originally proposed that a number of parking charges would rise by 50 percent or more from 1st November. Lib Dem Councillors said that this would do nothing to help residents struggling with weekly finances or Town Centre shops, who had not been consulted, in the run-up to Christmas, and formally challenged the decision by ‘calling it in’ for consideration by the Overview and Scrutiny Board.

Members of all three political parties on the Scrutiny Board asked for the highest proposed rises to be reconsidered. However, this request was refused by the Labour Executive, who instead reconfirmed all the rises. The challenge has however forced the Council to delay the rises until 9th January, giving residents and struggling shops 2 months grace.

Liberal Democrat Group Deputy Leader, Cllr Martin Pantling comments:

“ Residents who use shops and facilities both in the Town Centre and locally now look set to face New Year misery. The Labour leadership, if they can be called that, have defiantly confirmed their decision to increase parking charges by 10 times the inflation rate despite a cross-party Committee of councillors who reviewed the Fees asking them not to.”

“ There was no consultation with residents or businesses. Labour just want to fleece people for £60,000 a year more as a drop in the ocean towards their unfunded Busway costs.”

“ I’m pleased that through our challenge, the Liberal Democrats have forced a delay until the New Year. The last thing anyone needs is a Council cynically hiking parking fees just before Christmas, which the original decision did. The fact remains though that with much of the town being dug up, obstructed or diverted right now, and a lot of shopping competition nearby, Labour seem oblivious to the damage they could be doing to Luton as a whole.”

In Luton 1705 18-24 year olds are currently in receipt of Jobseeker’s Allowance and would stand to benefit from the Youth Contract.

Starting next April, the Youth Contract will provide at least 410,000 new work places for 18 to 24 year olds. This includes 160,000 wage subsidies and 250,000 new work experience placements.

“In these difficult times Liberal Democrats are doing the right thing and making sure we help those who need it most,” said Luton Liberal Democrat leader councillor David Franks.

“The consequences of denying employment opportunities to18 to 24 year olds will be felt for decades afterwards, not just by the young people themselves but by the whole of our society. We need to ensure that the young people of today do not have a false start.

“The Youth Contract will help those who need it most through advice, support and training, by giving young people in Luton the experience necessary to make a successful start in their working lives.”

Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg said:

“Youth unemployment is an economic waste and a slow-burn social disaster.

“We can’t lose the skills and talent of our young people – right when we need them most. We can’t afford to leave our young men and women on the scrap heap. We need the next generation to help us build a new economy.

“The aim of the Youth Contract is to get every unemployed young person working or learning again before long-term damage is done.

“This is a £1bn package and what’s different about it is that it gets young people into proper, lasting jobs in the private sector.”

In Luton, around 700 two-year olds are expected to benefit from the proposals.

Liberal Democrat Children’s Minister, Sarah Teather, announced a consultation today on how this commitment will be implemented. The plans include proposals to help parents and children alike by making the free entitlement of 15 hours per week of early education more flexible, so it can be taken between 7am and 7pm across two days instead of the current three days.

Commenting, leader of Luton Liberal Democrats, Cllr. David Franks said:

“Helping 700 two-year-old Luton children from the poorest backgrounds in our area will benefit them for years to come. High quality early education is the key to making a difference early on in a child’s life and helping to make Britain a fairer and more equal society.

“Improving social mobility is a Liberal Democrat priority in Government and targeting early education at those who stand to benefit most is important to achieve this goal. It will be an integral part to disadvantaged children’s healthy development. This means they’re not falling behind before they have even started primary school.”

Commenting further, Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg said:

“I want us to give every child the best possible start – so free education for toddlers from the most disadvantaged homes will now be a right and not a privilege.

“Crucially the extra care will be flexible and easy to access. Parents across the country are bending over backwards to balance work and home. The Coalition wants to help in whatever way we can.”

“Luton Council’s net spend on services in the year to 31st march was £265M,” says Liberal Democrat leader on the Council, David Franks. “That puts the £180M pension fund gap in perspective.”

“The current gap between what the pension fund needs to honour its commitments and the funding it holds is £180M, and that’s just the deficit. In spite of the Council putting £25M a year into two pension schemes the gap on the main staff fund is just getting bigger.”

“They don’t even have a plan to reduce the problem. Yes there is a pension fund reserve and it has the grand total of £2.8M saved up. That will not go very far.”

“The problem is so big that if they decided to pay off the deficit through a ten year plan it would need a 30% Council Tax increase which would cost the average Band D Taxpayer in Luton an extra £457 a year. Yet Labour Councillors are complaining because the government says staff should be asked to pay a little more to hold on to what most people say is a very generous pension scheme.”

“Anyone who thinks this situation is sustainable is living on a different planet to the rest of us.”

The government will not dictate how the extra funding is spent so long as it is targeted at disadvantaged children. Schools could spend it on extra staff, on one-to-one tuition or whatever they decide will be most effective.

“There is a clear and well established connection between entitlement to free school meals and underachieving,” said Liberal Democrat leader David Franks.

“Now every head teacher in Luton knows how much their school is to receive and can start to plan the best way to invest it in our children’s future.”

“By helping schools to give extra support to the most disadvantaged pupils we will see improved learning opportunities and higher standards for all.”

“The pupil premium, targeted at children from low income families, was a key Liberal Democrat input into the coalition agreement and I am delighted to see this great boost for local schools.”

• Fees agreed by the Labour Executive in a decision last month included:
• A 25% rise in the cost of parking in Bute Street on Saturdays, from £1.60 to £2.00
• Rises of over 20% for 2 hours weekday parking in Bute Street or Vicarage Street
• Parking in Wenlock Street Car Park on Saturdays costing 50% more
• A hike of over 20% in weekday parking charges in Hitchin Road Car Park – to £4.00
• 11 different on-street parking tariffs with rises averaging about 30%

At a meeting on Wednesday 12 October, councillors from all 3 political groups and 2 independent Scrutiny Board members agreed to refer the decision back to the Executive with a request that:

• The highest rises, especially those over 20 percent, should be revised downwards
• Local shops and businesses should be consulted before any further increases
• Car Park and On-street parking fees should be simplified, with fewer different rate

Evidence supplied by Council officers to the meeting to try to justify the rises revealed that some proposed rates for 1 or 2 hours parking were higher than in Milton Keynes.

Barnfield Lib Dem councillor Martin Pantling, who ‘called in’ the decision, said:

“ I’m delighted that the Overview and Scrutiny Board, comprising councillors of all parties and independent members, has rejected the huge rises that Labour were proposing.”

“ People are already being deterred from shopping locally by closed roads and diversions, so the last thing that shops, businesses or residents need is for the Council to start profiteering just before Christmas, having consulted absolutely nobody.”

“ The Labour Executive must now decide whether to accept the clear steer they’ve been given or insist on making £60,000 a year more from rises of up to 10 times inflation. I hope they’ll limit the charges for now, then aim for fewer charging bands which will be more cost-efficient to collect. This will help Luton residents, shops and businesses.”

The plans, agreed by the all-Labour Executive on a meeting on Monday 3 OctoberMonday, include:

• Axing 12 Street Cleaning posts
• Having no street cleaning supervisors or graffiti removal staff at weekends
• Cleaning only 87.5% of Luton’s streets to an “acceptable” level
• Cutting overnight mechanical sweeper cleaning

A comparison of Councils’ cleansing performances contained in the report shows that the proposal will leave fewer streets clean in Luton than in places like Coventry, Leicester, Blackburn, Bradford, Bolton and Medway in Kent.

Opposition Deputy Leader, Cllr Martin Pantling comments:

“These horrific cuts that the Council are imposing are designed to slash Street Cleaning budgets by £262,000, but have absolutely nothing to do with efficiency. This is a reduction in service and a reduction in the pride the Council takes in Luton, pure and simple.

“Labour ‘s own report admits that their plans would leave 1 street in 8 not cleaned to an acceptable level, and that graffiti appearing on a Thursday or Friday won’t be removed until the following Monday or Tuesday. Leaving our roads and public areas dirtier than in the Cities of Coventry, Bradford or Leicester seems an odd way to win a City Bid.”

An Audit Committee told Luton Council, who run a confidential scheme for employees to report wrongdoing, to find a more cost-efficient way to operate the scheme a year ago.

A year later, an annual update has confirmed that the contract and line are still active – and that it received ONE confidential complaint in the year 2010/11. This means the Labour-run Council has spent £11,000 so just one call could be answered.

Of all 4 “whistleblowing” complaints made through various routes to the Council – only one of which was to the hotline – none were taken up for further action or investigation.

Liberal Democrat councillor and former Mayor of Luton, Michael Dolling, who was at the meeting on Wednesday, says:

“ We heard a lot at the meeting about staff sickness being above the national average and I do fear the poor take-up is a sign that staff don’t think their concerns will be acted on, or that it could rebound on them if they report wrongdoing. If people are not using the service it could well show they don’t think they will be listened to.

“ And after high-profile decisions by Labour councillors to reinstate staff in management positions after some terrible wrongdoing, who can blame them?”

“ It is disappointing though that this expensive line is still in place even after the same Committee demanded a cheaper option a year ago. Spending £11,000 over two years to answer one phone call is an astonishing waste. It says a lot about Labour that they didn’t do a thing about it, and residents are paying through the nose to this day.”

The Whistleblowing Policy and Annual Report was the last item on the agenda for the meeting of the Audit and Governance Committee, 20th September 2011.

Ruling Labour councillors approved a schedule of revised tariffs that will see many parking fees hiked by up to 50 percent from 1st November – with further rises due within 8 months.

New fees being imposed by the Labour Executive include:

• A 25% rise in the cost of parking in Bute Street on Saturdays, from £1.60 to £2.00
• Rises of over 20% for 2 hours weekday parking in Bute Street or Vicarage Street
• Parking in Wenlock Street Car Park on Saturdays costing 50% more
• A hike of over 20% in weekday parking charges in Hitchin Road Car Park – to £4.00
• 11 different on-street parking tariffs where rises average around 30%

Liberal Democrat Deputy Group Leader, Martin Pantling comments:

“ In these tough times, with many people finding a 5%inflation rate quite difficult, the very last thing the Council should be doing is charging people up to 50% more every time they want to do their basic shopping or need to attend a meeting or appointment.

“ With the Library Road car park long gone, many residents will have little choice but to pay the extra fee if they want to park in or near the Town Centre. But this could be a very short- sighted move, as affordable parking is key to encouraging people to shop locally in Luton. To add insult to injury, Labour are promising further rises in just 8 months time.”

“ I hope the Executive will rethink this. If they really must make £26,000 more a year out of residents being able to park, why not scrap the crazy bureaucracy involved in having 11 different charging schemes for on-street parking? This would save a small fortune in officer time, ticket machine and meter costs, and help keep any rises at a more sensible level.”