£3bn: the true cost of council tax freeze

http://www.scotsman.com/news/3bn-the-true-cost-of.6766153.jp

Published Date: 11 May 2011

By Tom Peterkin

FREEZING council tax will cost Alex Salmond's government more than £3 billion, according to a new report that casts doubt over the funding of flagship infrastructure projects and warns of deep financial cuts to pay for pledges on free higher education, prescriptions and personal care.

As the 69 Nationalist MSPs elected last week prepared to take the oath in the Scottish Parliament today, SNP euphoria over its stunning election victory was given a sharp reality check when analysis prepared by Holyrood's research division showed the party's populist policies would have to be paid for out of swingeing cuts in a diminishing Scottish budget.

A detailed breakdown by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) revealed the total cost of freezing the council tax for the full parliamentary term - an election pledge that brought the SNP a huge amount of support - would be £3.15bn, prompting warnings from opposition parties of a "black hole" in the new government's plans.

The SNP insisted its manifesto pledges had been properly costed, but the briefing paper, available to all MSPs and titled Key Issues for the Parliament in Session 4, identified a host of other financial pitfalls facing the Scottish Government, including £2.2bn required to repair roads damaged by the winter freeze. On that issue, the SNP's manifesto merely pointed out its previous administration had provided an extra £19 million to deal with damaged roads - a figure that falls far short of the report's estimate.

Fears over the future of the SNP's big-ticket transport projects were also raised in the report.

Looking ahead to the new parliamentary term, it said there were "concerns" about the availability of capital finance for the £1.62bn Forth crossing, the £295m Borders Railway and the electrification of the Edinburgh to Glasgow railway. It also said the future of the A8 upgrade and the Aberdeen Western Peripheral route was "unclear, because development funding has yet to be secured".

• David Cameron agrees to leave Nationalists to hold referendum in their own time

• Oath to be taken in six languages by MSPs

The difficulties faced by major construction projects were illustrated by the report's calculation that capital spending, now at £3.5bn, is set to fall to £2.4bn in 2014-15 and will not recover for another decade.

The report adds to the tide of opinion that the SNP has failed to accurately cost its expensive headline pledges, which proved so popular at the ballot box.

In addition to the £3bn council tax freeze, it has been estimated that free personal nursing care will cost at least £1bn over the coming years. Free bus passes for over-60s will cost £530m over the five-year parliament term.

The ambitious pledge to provide free university education is likely to cost at least £1bn over the same five years.

The SPICe report said: "The Scottish Parliament's fourth session promises to be by far the most challenging for public spending since devolution."

In a stark warning, it said some public services would suffer disproportionately as a result of the key SNP manifesto pledges. "If, for example, free further and higher education, the council tax freeze, bus passes for the over-60s, free care for the elderly and free prescriptions are to continue, then, in a more austere budgetary environment, other budget lines will face much deeper reductions than if reductions were spread more evenly across all areas of spend," it said

The SNP manifesto did not give a detailed breakdown of the cost of the council tax freeze. But when asked about the issue at the manifesto launch, First Minister Alex Salmond suggested the yearly cost would be £210m by 2014-15.

David Bell, Professor of Economics at Stirling University, suggested council services would have to be reduced to meet the £3bn. "This is a substantial amount of money," he said. "It comes down to who has to take the hit for this. You could say that local government gets its money, then local government has to deal with the issue itself.

"Presumably, they might meet some of this through efficiencies, but by 2016 there probably won't be anywhere left where you can make efficiencies.

"We have yet to see the budgets for some of these years, so the question is where is the money going to come from."

A spokesman for the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities said: "What this report does clearly demonstrate is that all these policies do have a significant cost attached."

Scottish Labour's deputy leader Johann Lamont said: "Labour warned there was a massive black hole in the SNP's spending plans. The numbers in their manifesto just did not add up. We warned this could only mean more broken promises if they were re-elected."

The SPICe report said: "One prominent issue during the election campaign related to the affordability of some of the manifesto commitments made by the parties in the context of falling real-terms budgets and the fact that certain commitments, such as the council tax freeze, were not deliverable by central government alone. Others have been critical of a perceived tendency amongst politicians to 'wish away' budgetary difficulties."

The report warned the SNP's decision to protect the health budget against cuts would have ramifications elsewhere.

Even if the health budget was protected, as Mr Salmond has promised, the report predicted it would still see a real-terms decrease, from £10.772bn in 2011-12 to £10.728bn in 2014-15.

The briefing paper said Scotland's budget was to fall by 2.2 per cent in cash terms and 12 per cent in real terms up to 2015.

Over same period, the capital infrastructure budget would fall by 28 per cent in cash terms and 35 per cent in real terms.

Scottish growth was set to lag behind the rest of the UK, with forecasts suggesting it would be 1.6 per cent in 2012 compared with 2.5 per cent for the UK.

The paper repeated concerns about the SNP's insistence of providing free tuition for higher education students at taxpayers' expense. The Conservatives were the only main party to challenge that policy, which has been criticised by university principals, who fear that it could lead to Scottish institutions lagging behind those south of the Border  SPICe pointed out the SNP's £93m estimate of the funding gap that had to be bridged between Scotland and England had been disputed by Universities' Scotland, which believed the real figure was at least £202m.

Yesterday, the umbrella body adopted a more conciliatory tone with the new Scottish Government. Alastair Sim, the director of Universities Scotland, said: "The government understands the urgency and the scale of the university funding challenge. The SNP has made firm and very welcome commitments to hold student numbers steady and to fill any funding gap and we look forward to working with the Cabinet secretary to deliver this."

A spokesman for finance secretary John Swinney said: "The SNP published a fully costed manifesto, taking into account all of the issues identified in this paper, which identifies a surplus of over £1bn by the end of this spending period - after new expenditure commitments are taken into account.

"The reality is that the annual cost of the council tax freeze builds up to £560m at the end of this parliament, or less than 2 per cent of the Scottish Government budget."

3,500+ votes We did not get in. Why?

 We had very little support (my thanks to the few who did help). Margaret and I spent almost £2000 on leaflets and expenses over the past 6 weeks travelled the length and breadth of Glasgow giving out leaflets talking to people and getting a good response but with more help we could have done more.. Two helpers came to help out the last Saturday before the election. Too little too late. Thousands have been through our books in Glasgow and only two helped. 1 from Stirling and 1 from Galston Ayrshire.

The landslide by SNP means the Charter for Grandchildren will never be made legal as SNP booted it out immediately they got in last time. The chances of improved contact with your grandchildren are now at the bottom of SNPs priority list as they have proven to us that they are not concerned about our poverty.

Free prescriptions, free students fees, freeze on the community tax where is the money that is lost by all the freebies to come from. You!!! Grandparents/Grandchildren, Families, Pensioners, Disabled will all be the losers. 6.1% of the national wealth goes on pensions in Britain but every other European country gives 19% All the financial experts say the freebies cannot be maintained. SNP want tax raising powers and when they do get them it will come from you!!!!.

The Sun newspaper did a feature on me but misquoted me to make me look like an underdog to george Galloway.. I will never buy another Sun newspaper.. If you listen to early morning radio you will get first hand news and the Sun just repeats it on paper. The Daily Mirror has better crosswords.

The Herald is looking to speak to a grandparent.

nan@edrington.demon.co.uk

jimmy@jimmydeuchars.co.uk date 4 May 2011 16:21 subject herald article

16:21 (41 minutes ago)

Hi Jimmy

Nice to speak to you and sorry to disturb your shopping!

Just wondered if you could find me a grandparent who is willing to talk to me about looking after their grandchild or grandchildren. It needn’t be on a full time basis – just someone who is helping out with the care.  They would  have to be willing to be named though.

Cheers

Nan

Just like Hitler, A turncoat.

The three stooges

All fair in love and politics.

Alec Salmond blaming god.

Alec Salmond

Elections!!! Whit Elections?

Jimmy Deuchars. Final comment before Scottish election.

This is the last comment i will make as candidate for the 'All Scotland Pensioners Party' and i would like to thank everyone who has helped our campaign. If I am elected I promise the Scottish Parliament will know I am there. I will do my utmost to bring about what I have working for these past years.

My special commitment is a subject that is always close to my heart, which is the welfare of our children, it is the main reason as a grandparent I keep trying to "Bring Families Together"

The role Grandparents play in a child's life must be recognised to the fullest as it is criminal for governments (and I have accused them of this) not to use every means possible for children’s protection. The Charter for Grandchildren should be mandatory as a government realised the need to create it but did not have the guts to make it legal.

Every member of a child’s family that has an interest should be relevant and invited to Family Group Conferences where Mediation should be readily available. Families should be encouraged to sort out family disputes with the best interest of children at the core. These resources should be adequately funded. The best interests of the child should be redefined as it is being manipulated to suit the interests of professionals and social services alike. False accusations and alienating members of a child’s family without good reason should be an offence and punishable by law.

 Disabled people are finding it very difficult to access places. I can verify personally a whole list of disabled rules that are being ignored. They should be tightened up.

‘Wisdom not Folly’ is what we ned for a fairer better society.

Jimmy Deuchars

A Challenged Government could be a Healthy Government

In the Scottish Election the main party’s  have been given the money from rich sponsors to enable them to mount a massive campaign.  Don’t think for a minute theses rich sponsors that are funding them are doing it for your benefit. They became very rich by thinking only of  making money, making it their god before anything else so why would they help you? I firmly believe a government that gets all the votes 1^st and 2^nd is not a healthy government. They will have it all their own way with no other party to keep a check on them and tell you anything they like. 

How often have you heard promises before elections that never materialise especially for Grandparents, Families, Pensioners and Disabled who are bottom of the priority list?  The excuses from them is usually “it is not our fault we could not keep our manifesto promises” when they should have been thought through properly in the first place as being unworkable, but why should they when they can change them when it suits them when the have the full votes.

OK vote for your main party but remember what you vote for this Thursday might not be what you get. We need a voice in Parliament in the form of ‘All Scotland Pensioner Party’ that is a combination of vulnerable people like yourself that has come together to make sure you get fair treatment and make sure the main party’s keep their promises. The people we stand for are fed up being let down by the main party’s promises that fall away when they are elected.

The power is in your hands now. We will not get a chance like this again and by the amount of help we have been given to mount our small campaign leaves me fearful that you are quite happy as the underdogs.

One in 20 families living with their grandparents. Would you believe it?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1382104/One-20-families-living-grandparents.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Last updated at 2:04 AM on 30th April 2011

Thousands of young mothers and fathers still live with their extended family, a study has found.

One in 20 families under the age of 30 – couples with children and single parents – live with their parents or other family members.

This equates to more than 100,000 young parents across the UK living this way. And as many as 35 per cent of the couples living with relatives are married, researchers believe.

All under one roof: More and more families are living together as financial pressures and the need for support and childcare take their toll

The study of 2,000 families, by insurance group Aviva, suggested financial pressures and the need for support and childcare may be behind the trend.

There has been a 29 per cent increase in the number of multi-family households since 2001 –  up to 1,262,000 in 2010 – according to the Office for National Statistics. 

Louise Colley, head of protection marketing for Aviva, said: ‘A few decades ago it was quite usual for several generations of a family to live under one roof. 

‘Over time this has changed, but our research suggests  this trend could return – possibly temporarily while people are  saving up for their  own homes.’

The average age for a first-time buyer is now 31, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1382104/One-20-families-living-grandparents.html#ixzz1L5RoavM0

Scottish Election Main Party's sums don't add up. Now there's a thing.

We are fed up telling you this. Free prescriptions, free student fees are great if we can afford it but where is the money coming from to replace it. From you the low priority people on their list like Grandparents, Pensioners, Families, and the disabled.

They are election gimmicks that Alex Salmond will whine it was not our fault we could not keep our manifesto promises.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/Scottish-Election-2011-39Sums-don39t.6760528.jp

 

 

Scottish Election 2011: 'Sums don't add up in party promises'

By Tom Peterkin

Published date 1^st May

SCOTLAND'S political parties have failed to explain how they will fund expensive manifesto pledges and are loath to admit that tightening budgets will cost jobs, claims a highly respected think tank.

The election manifestos of the main parties steer clear of the difficult decisions required to turn round the economy and "largely ignore" the problem of rising unemployment, the Centre for Public Policy for Regions (CPPR) suggests.

Analysis of party promises suggests that commitments such as the council tax freeze will not be met by the efficiency savings that have been built into future budgets, calculating the SNP pledge to freeze council tax for the next five years would cost £700 million - the equivalent of £140m a year.

The report adds that such a freeze "simply adds pressure" on other parts of the budget. 

"It means that this money is unavailable to invest in hospitals, schools or roads," it says.

The SNP has promised a five-year council tax freeze, while Labour has committed itself to a two-year freeze. Both the Conservatives and the Lib Dems also favour maintaining the levy at its current level.

The report states: "At best, the 2 per cent generic efficiency savings that the parties are dependent on will only meet new demand, new inflation and new wage-cost pressures. It will not fill emerging funding gaps in costed manifesto pledges, neither will it pay for 'uncosted' manifesto pledges."

Yesterday report author John McLaren said: "This has been a disappointing election for those voters looking for a clear insight into how the different parties intend to deal with the unpalatable consequences of a tightening budget."

The report says that youth unemployment is to rise sharply, and that some sort of student fee arrangement, fewer universal benefits (such as the SNP's free prescriptions policy) or taking Scottish Water out of direct government control will have to be introduced after the election.

According to the CPPR, the parties are also reluctant to talk about the impact of efficiency savings on voters. 

The report said that the savings would "inevitably" cause job cuts, with a reduction in non-health-related jobs by up to 8 per cent by 2015. Those who remain in jobs will suffer up to a 12 per cent reduction in spending power by 2015.

"The manifestos of the four main parties have little (and often nothing) to say about productivity, how to boost innovation and research and development, and what is needed to tackle youth unemployment," the report adds. 

The Campaign trail for Jimmy Deuchars to be elected to the Scottish Parliament via the ‘All Scotland Pensioners Party’

It was a beautiful day in the sunshine and we worked for about 5 hours yesterday. Myself and Margaret from Glasgow.  Margaret leafleted Argyle Street and thanks to Bill McDonald from Galston who is passionate about getting more contact for grandparents  gave out leaflets in the Sauchiehall Street Glasgow on Saturday afternoon and Brian McNair from Stirling who is our man for Dads, Mums, and families accompanied myself to leaflet the Barras’ and the Parkhead market. Once we got the SNP out from under our feet we got a tremendous reception from the older people in the market who are fed up with all the main parties’ promises to us that are forgotten once they are elected. 

With more help before Thursday we could flood the whole of Glasgow to get the message across that the power of Grandparents, Families, Pensioners, Disabled are on the march and are exerting their influence before they introduce culling at 65 and leave us without any rights at all. One young guy said to me they should shoot all you old b------- at 65.  That is the way they view us and is reflected by the low status on their priority we have in all the other party’s list.

Are we going to take that or are we gonna fight back. Use your vote for Wisdom not Folly and vote for the ‘All Scotland Pensioners Party’ throughout Scotland for a change that must be better than we are getting at the moment. 

Maggie Tuttle to be investigated by Thurock Council.

 Because of my 36 years as a campaigner and having set up a few well known charities, Thurrock Social Services have asked Thurrock Council to do an investigation into my 36 years of campaigning, because they do not believe I have done all I did, they are trying to discredit me, as I am applying for guardianship of my grandson, that is if I am allowed,  my Aunt has just paid £1,200 for a lawyer to apply to the courts for me to be party to the proceedings. Sadly for the council they will find out that I have done no wrong, and that my 36 years of self supporting all of my campaigns are true. So another waste of the tax payers moneys to try and discredit me, so I am deigned my grandson, should his father lose the right to his son.

They have also stated in their letter to the council, that I have or not asked for any psychiatric help in my life check it out, what a bloody cheek, as I am not party to the proceedings as yet, but they have given a date for it to be heard on the 27th July, my lawyer has said this is a joke, as the full case is to be heard in September, so he will be in the courts this week to try and change this date,  so why are Thurrock social services and the council investigating me, when at the moment I am a nothing in the case.  Ligia Birdici from Rumania who is my grandsons social worker, on the 15th March 2011 she stole my grandson in front of me in the school playground and with many parents and children present, yet with her lies and deceit she had the right to steal a little 10 year old boy who was on his knees begging and crying to let him stay for one more day with his Nan (me), i have so much evedence of her lies told on the day. Four days later she was signed on sick leave for 3 weeks, why????? did they think i would bring in the press, and so she was not available for comments.

 

 

 

Maggie

English MPs are a sorry rabble of an excuse.

Subject: FW: URGENT CALL FOR EVERYONE'S ATTENDANCE TO HIGH COURT ON MONDAY 9TH MAY 2011 at 10.30am! (Vicky's case)
Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 07:16:36 +0000

Finally, Liz it looks like your work is starting to pay off and that these County Councils are acting thoroughly illegally.
 
Now then - you MP's who have sat there with your thumbs up your rectum doing NOTHING, YOU ought to be thoroughly ashamed of yourselves . You cannot say you did not know this appalling corruption was going on as I have emailed you about these cases. And what have you done? Sweet FA! With the honourable exception of John Hemming. How many questions have you all tabled about this corruption? None! How many of you have raised these points with other MP's ? None! How many of you have even bothered to reply to me on the subject? None, not ONCE!! You are totally useless rubbish and you should all resign your seats. You are only there to pick up salary and expenses and the public can go stuff themselves as far as you're concerned. You sorry rabble of an excuse for human beings! Despicable is my word for you. 
 
Nick Chance
Foxwell Street
Worcester

Jimmy tries to get arrested at Silverburn Centre Pollok Glasgow.

George Galloway would have been proud of me.

Silverburn Centre Pollok Glasgow

I was at Silverburn today handing out leaflets for the All Scotland Pensioners Party and was approached by a security guard who said I was not allowed to hand out leaflets for a political party as the centre was private property. I agreed not to hand out leaflets but told him I was waiting on my wife to come out of Debenhams.

As I was waiting another security guard approached me and said I was on camera and being watched. I said “so what I’m waiting on my wife” you will have to move said the guard.  By this time I was getting pissed off and said I am not moving. I am waiting for my wife. Phone the cops if you like I have people here to take photos of it.

Then a manager of some sort came up to me and told me to move. I said no, so get me arrested. He got on the phone and a couple of moments later my wife turned up and I got a belt in the ear and she made me move. We started to leave. As we were leaving the Manager George Reader and a beefcake female minder stopped me and pleasantly said he had come down to meet me and I needed permission to hand out leaflets. I said well give me permission just now. No you will need to write in. What’s the difference?  I told him I did contact them by phone and I did not get a reply and I have also written to them about a day for Grandparents Apart UK stall but was ignored. It was a complete hassle I thought I could not wait for Margaret to finish her shopping.

He refused to have me arrested and offered me his card to write in. Can you imagine me getting permission now?  Anyway the people in the centre were telling me that they had all got my leaflets through the post that morning so I don’t need to go near Silverburn now at all.

Onward to the next battle.

Jimmy

Free Legal advice required Somerset area.

Taunton Social services have objected to a relative (grandparent I think) looking after a child on flimsy grounds  Free Legal advice on how to defend is required.

If anyone can help please contact myself Jimmy Deuchars on 0141 882 5658 or via this item and I will Pass it on.

The stolen and sold children in the UK by Government laws. Press Release The Media

On the 4^th May 2011 starting at 12 o’clock demonstrators will be meeting and marching from Richmond Terrace to10 Downing Street. at 12.30 we will be handing in a letter inside of a specially made little coffin to the Prime Minister David Cameron, the coffin is to represent all the children stolen abused and sold via the government’s agent’s social services and their army of different government bodies set up to supposedly stop abuse of children. 
John Hemming MP needs the support of the press; he is fighting in the House of Commons for justice and change to the laws, for our children and families, and the opening up of the family courts to bring them in to line with the Crown and Magistrates Courts, so that truth can be told.
Mr Hemming is supporting this march, we ask you to please support Mr Hemming MP.  
Christopher Booker has been writing many articles in the Daily Telegraph of the truth of the family courts, and the stolen children, do you think for one minute Mr Booker would put his good name on the line, if there was no truth in the plight of these stolen and sold children. We need more journalists like Mr Booker who are not afraid to report the truth. 
Gary Walker of the Walker Brothers, is the manager for a young singer Jordan Gray, together they are writing and recording a song for the stolen and sold children
Gary is in talks with other celebrities with the view for a Live Aid Children’s Day to bring to the attention of the Nation of what is a major problem and concern for the children and families in the UK.
Jordan Gray at the age of 23 has shown great concern for wanting to help and support the stolen children.    
We are thousands of people and organisations working very closely to help the children and families, and for laws to be changed to open the family courts, and end forced adoptions and fostering where there is the option of keeping children with their birth families, if there was no problem then why are there thousands of people, MPs and journalist who are constantly battling to save the children.  
On the 4^th May, we will be marching and carrying little coffins, as we pass the Cenotaph we will drop a flower to represent the stolen and missing children.
If we can march, then you can give media coverage and support the thousands of children.
Ends

 Yours sincerely 
 Maggie Tuttle, 211 Carlingford Drive, Westcliffe on Sea, Essex, SS0 0 SE, Mob 07767710756 Email maggietuttle@btinternet.com

All Scotland Pensioners Party. Jimmy Miller.

Jimmy Miller is the candidate for the West of Scotland

Royal College in call for overhaul of hospital care for children

http://www.cypnow.co.uk/bulletin/cypnow_daily/article/1066930/royal-college-call-overhaul-hospital-care-children/

By Lauren Higgs Thursday, 21 April 2011

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Children's hospital care must be radically redesigned to make it safe and sustainable, a report by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has warned.

RCPCH president Terence Stephenson acknowledges some of the recommendations would be unpopular. Image: RCPCH

The Facing the Future report outlines how underinvestment and an increase in demand for children’s hospital services has resulted in dangerously low levels of staff and situations in which trainee doctors are left to manage wards due to a shortage in senior-level consultants posts.

To remedy this "huge pressure across paediatric care", RCPCH is recommending reducing the number of inpatient sites for children to create larger centres, significantly expanding the number of registered children’s nurses and boosting the number of GPs trained in paediatrics.

The college also believes there is a need for at least a 50 per cent increase in the number of consultant paediatricians, combined with a decrease in the number of paediatric trainees from 2,929 to 1,720.

To help health professionals provide better continuity of care, the college believes hospitals should adopt a "consultant of the week system", so that each week a named consultant is freed from other clinical duties so they can be completely available for the management of acute admissions.

This is because the implementation of the European working time directive and the consequent transition to shift patterns of working has made it harder for professionals to provide such continuity for patients.

Professor Terence Stephenson, president of RCPCH, admitted that some of the college’s recommendations would be unpopular, but he argued that radical action is necessary to safeguard health outcomes for children and young people.

"There are huge pressures on paediatric services and it is crucial that standards of care for children are not compromised," he said. "The alternative, of making small, piecemeal changes, is simply not viable. If we are to have any prospect of making sure children in this country have the same health outcomes as other leading Western nations, it is time to face the future and redesign children’s health services so they meet the standards that children and their parents rightly expect.

NSPCC abuse referrals hit record high

http://www.cypnow.co.uk/bulletin/cypnow_daily/article/1066820/nspcc-abuse-referrals-hit-record-high/

Grandparents are exceptional for early detection of abuse.

By Janaki Mahadevan Thursday, 21 April 2011

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Calls to the NSPCC helpline reporting suspected child abuse and neglect have reached record levels, the charity has revealed.

Biggest increase in referrals was for neglect. Image: NSPCC/posed by model

Between April 2010 and March 2011, counsellors working on the helpline referred 16,385 serious cases to police or social services. This is 37 per cent higher than the previous year and the biggest recorded annual increase in referrals.

The NSPCC is now calling for a major shift in UK child protection policy towards earlier and more effective intervention in child cruelty cases.

John Cameron, head of the helpline, said: "The increase in referrals over the past year shows more people want to play their part in keeping children safe. We refer only the most serious cases to local agencies for further investigation. More than one in three of these cases involve families previously unknown to local authorities.

"We must pick up on children's problems as early as we can to stop their abuse. Social workers cannot be in the community all the time, but members of the public can be their eyes and ears."

Last year, the NSPCC made 12,296 referrals regarding suspected child cruelty following contacts from neighbours and members of the public – up 4,588 from the previous year.

Other people contacting the helpline included parents, other family members and professionals such as teachers or health workers.

The biggest increase in referrals was for neglect, which rose by 81 per cent to 6,438 cases. Other referrals included 4,113 for physical abuse, 1,520 cases of sexual abuse and 2,932 cases of emotional abuse.

Children with SEN will be abandoned under new rules, claim teachers

http://www.cypnow.co.uk/bulletin/inpractice_bulletin/article/1066946/children-sen-will-abandoned-new-rules-claim-teachers/

By Lauren Higgs Thursday, 21 April 2011

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Children with emotional and cognitive learning difficulties are being abandoned under government plans to overhaul special educational needs (SEN) provision, according to the teaching union NASUWT.

Report found teachers regard training on SEN as less important than access to specialist support. Image: Phil Adams

The claim came as the union published its interim research report into teachers’ experiences of the SEN system and inclusion.

Teachers warned that the government’s SEN green paper seeks to redefine special educational needs as purely physical and medical, which could leave children whose needs relate to emotional, cognitive and social factors with little or no support.

The report also finds that teachers regard training on SEN as less important than access to specialist support, from professionals such as educational psychologists.

Effective inclusion of pupils with SEN in classrooms is dependent on the availability of support from teaching assistants, the report claims.

But the coalition government is putting this at risk because of its austerity measures and the decision to abandon the work of the School Support Staff Negotiating Body, teachers said.

Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, said parents are likely to view the government’s plans for SEN as a cynical and callous attempt to cut costs.

"Children’s special needs don’t just disappear because a government decides to change the definition of who qualifies," she said.

"The views expressed by teachers in this interim report cast doubt on the effectiveness, appropriateness and viability of many of the other strategies proposed in the coalition government’s SEN green paper. The cause of SEN cannot be advanced in the context of the coalition’s austerity measures."

She added that children and young people with SEN rely on teachers being given the time to work with them, schools being able to access specialist advice from professionals and in-class support from teaching assistants.

"All of these are either being cut or removed as the deep and savage cuts bite in local authorities and schools," she said

We need to act now or you will be forever lost and poor.

Pensioners, Grandparents, Family’s, Disabled are all at the lowest priority of every political party. People who have given their life to this country are treated abominably.


Did you know 6.1% of the nation’s wealth is spent on this but 19% of other European countries are use for this purpose? £30 million a day is spent on the Libyan war, £45 million a day is spent on the common market and shortly another four countries will join and it is expected that refugees will flood Britain for all the benefits we are entitled too. Non elected quangos like the House of Lords are costing the tax payer billions for the MPs that have outlived their usefulness and have been kicked upstairs to collect fat fees for dosing in retirement while we scrimp and scrape.


Waken up people!!!! Have you not taken enough? Greypower voting is here. Use it or you will forever suffer. Vote for people like yourself that know your problems. And not millionaires and fat businessmen and fat lawyers who only increase their wealth and power using you hard earned cash.