Just a reminder, there will be a meeting tonight at Sneyd School in Vernon Way.

 If you are a parent, a student, a member of staff, a member of community or if you have kids at one of the Primary Schools in the area, be there if you possibly can. Sneyd needs your support in the fight to keep 11-19 education on the site.

The meeting starts at 7pm and the last I heard the Tory cabinet member with responsibility for education in Walsall said he’d be there though it’s true to say it’s been a bit of a yes I will, no I won’t situation. With this in mind tonight could be your chance to let councillor Zahid Ali just how passionate we all are about Sneyd.

Lib Dem Focus Team councillors Val Woodruff, Pete Hughes and Ian Shires are concerned about an increase in reports of anti social behaviour in Willenhall North.

“By their very nature these sort of issues are not easy to resolve” said Ian Shires. “The Focus Team is working with residents affected by anti social behaviour in conjunction with the Police and the council in order to resolve problems of graffiti, damage to property, drunkenness and issues around drugs.

“It is not our intention to publicise individual cases here as it could make matters worse” continued Ian.

“However, in trying to get to the root cause of anti social behaviour we have succeeded in getting the Willenhall Partnership to make it a priority over the coming months” he concluded.

If you live in the Willenhall area and would like to share your experiences and ideas on this issue use the comments button above.

A great deal of concern is being expressed about the condition of the house next to the M6 on the Lichfield Road reports Liberal Democrat councillor Ian Shires.

Regular readers will remember that the house was gutted in a fire during the winter.

Lib Dem Focus Team councillors Val Woodruff, Pete Hughes and Ian Shires have succeeded in getting the property boarded - up but the garden is still open and strewn with rubbish.

As the building continues to deteriorate the Lib Dem Focus Team are calling on the council to force demolition.

Support the fight to keep 11-19 education on the Sneyd School site? Then use the link bellow to add your name to the fast growing on-line petition to the Prime Minister.

http//petitions.number10.gov.uk/savesneyd  

The action group to save Sneyd School met yesterday evening to draw up battle lines in the fight to keep 11-19 education on the Sneyd School site.

The message  coming out of this meeting was loud and clear, “We ain’t going away, we won’t stop till we’ve achieved our collective goal of keeping Sneyd open to provide education for the full age range 11-19 along with community facilities to  the local area reports Liberal Democrat councillor Ian Shires.

The first salvo in the battle will be a public meeting at the School in Vernon Way, Bloxwich. The meeting will take place Thursday 30th April and starts at 7pm. It is open to everyone who has an interest in the future of Sneyd School.

So, if you live in Willenhall North, Bloxwich West, whether you are a parent with a child at the school or at one of the many primary schools which feed into Sneyd, a pupil at Sneyd or simply live in the area, you need to be there if you possibly can as the decision taken last week by Walsall Council’s Cabinet directly affect you and yours.

The cabinet member responsible for education in Walsall cllr Zahid Ali has agreed to meet with the members of the action group prior to Thursday’s meeting and has said he will attend the meeting at 7pm.

The meeting will be an opportunity to get up to date with what has happened and how it effects you and will give you a say in the fight to save Sneyd. 

Nick Clegg, Leader of the Liberal Democrats yesterday spoke to the British Chambers of Commerce Annual Business Convention in Birmingham. His speech focused on the Liberal Democrats plans for helping businesses during the recession, and his vision of an economy for the future.

His plans included the Liberal Democrats ongoing comittment to international trade, overhauling the banking system and decentralising economic and political power to encourage growth in communities across the country. He also highlighted the need to support UK manufacturing.

Nick was joined by Liz Lynne MEP to launch the Liberal Democrats West Midlands European Election campaign prior to the speech outside the ICC Birmingham. 

  Commenting on today’s Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) research that reveals pensioners get relatively poorer as they get older, Liberal Democrat Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, Steve Webb said: “Labour’s changes to the pension system will do nothing to prevent pensioners becoming poorer as they get older.”

  “Ministers have refused to say when the link between pensions and earnings will be restored.

  “The basic state pension is simply too little to live on for the millions of pensioners who have no other income. Pensioners should not be forced to rely on complex means-tested benefits in their retirement, which has put many off from even claiming.

“We need a more generous, universal pension based on citizenship which would give all pensioners enough to live on, whatever their age.”

The fight to keep 11-19 education on the Sneyd School Site is far from over reports Liberal Democrat councillor Ian Shires.

An action group set up to fight against closure has been set up and meets today to decide tactics. On Thursday 30th April there is a community meeting at Sneyd. Starting at 7pm the meeting will give parents, pupils staff and the community the opportunity to discuss how best to fight last week’s decision of Walsall Council’s cabinet to cease 11-19 education, replacing it with a 14-19 engineering college.

“There are many compelling reasons for retaining 11-19 education at Sneyd” said Ian “and I’m convinced that those acting behind the scenes such as Walsall Children’s Services Serco (WCSS) along with the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the Office of the Schools Commissioner (OSC) are not fully aware of all the aspects of future plans for Willenhall and how that makes the case for continuing 11-19 education at Sneyd” continued Ian.

Ian along with fellow ward councillors Val Woodruff and Pete Hughes will be doing all they can to ram this point home to WCSS, DCSF and OSC. “This fight can be won if we all pull together” concluded Ian.

Residents affected by the plans for Four-lane running between J8 and J10a of the M6 are feeling let down by the Highways Agency claim local Lib Dems. 

Liberal Democrat councillor Ian Shires will be contacting the Highways Agency today to remind them that they had agreed at a meeting on the 9th April 2009 that they would forward details of their latest thoughts on the positioning of the Emergency Rescue Area’s (ERA’s) planned as part of the M6 four-lane running traffic management system between J8 and J10a.

“This information is vital and should be made available as promised” said Ian. ”I must say I’m disappointed with the Highways Agency. A great deal of progress was made at the talks earlier this month but without knowing current thinking on ERA’s once again a feeling of distrust is building amongst residents who think they might be affected by the proposals” concluded Ian.

The Liberal Democrats will fight the next general election with a pledge to cut income tax bills by £700 for people on low and middle incomes.

The party will promise to raise the income tax personal allowance to £10,000 by closing tax loopholes exploited by big businesses and the wealthy.

Measures which will be used to pay for this proposed increase in the personal allowance include:

• Restricting tax relief on pension contributions to the basic rate 
• Taxing Capital Gains at marginal income tax rates, allowing for indexation and retirement relief
• Tackling Stamp Duty Land Tax avoidance and Corporation Tax avoidance
• Subjecting benefits in kind to National Insurance Contributions as well as income tax and applying National Insurance to multiple jobs
• Switching aviation taxes from per person to per plane and increasing taxation on non lifeline domestic flights.

Speaking at the launch, Nick Clegg said:

“These plans will give money back to the people who really need it at the time when they need it most.

“It is time to end the unfairness that sees big businesses and the wealthy treating taxes as something to be easily avoided, leaving everybody else to pay out.

“For too long governments have been letting companies stash their money in offshore tax havens while taxpayers are left to foot the bill.

“Over time a tax system has developed that creates loopholes for the wealthy and does nothing for those who really need help.

“People who say there isn’t enough money to make our tax system fair are wrong. Our plans wouldn’t add a penny to the overall tax burden, but they would spread that burden far more fairly.

“Far from making this reform difficult, tight Government finances and a harsh recession make it absolutely vital. It will help millions of low and middle income taxpayers who are most likely to spend money so helping the wider economy.

“The Liberal Democrats will create a fundamentally rebalanced system that is fair for all, putting hundreds of pounds back into the pockets of millions of British people, and taking four million out of paying tax altogether.”