Worthing West, not the Wild West

In one of the most bizarre parliamentary expenses revelations yet, it has emerged that Peter Bottomley, the Conservative MP for Worthing West, claimed for an insurance policy covering £25,000 for "kidnap ransom".

Clearly Peter Bottomley is fearful of the many unhappy constituents he has in Worthing West following twelve years of being the local MP and believes there is a real risk of being kidnapped. However I'm not sure that many taxpayers would be happy knowing they are footing the bill for his kidnap ransom. After all, this isn't the Wild West, its Worthing West.

Calls for Parking Charges Commonsense

I have reacted angrily to news that West Sussex County Council is looking at increasing the cost of on-street parking in Worthing from 80p to £1.20 an hour – a 50% increase.

I recently welcomed the news that off-street car parking in NCP car parks would be reduced following my successful car parking charges campaign, with the petition I organised signed by over 2000 shoppers.

With the previous off-street parking minimum charge of £2.90 for the first two hours, the number of people visiting the town centre in April and May 2009 dropped by 13% compared to last year, compared to a nationwide fall of just 0.1%.

I was really pleased that the petition I organised, that was signed by over 2000 people, helped to make Worthing Borough Council listen and negotiate lower parking charges with NCP in the multi-storey car parks.

However this latest news beggars belief. It makes you wonder if both Worthing Borough Council and West Sussex County Council talk to one another. It’s like taking one step forward, then two steps back with this important issue.

I have spoken to Henry Smith, the Leader of West Sussex County Council, to see what on earth they are playing at. I'm confident we can persuade the county council to adopt some commonsense. We should be supporting local shops and businesses, not putting the nail in the coffin which will be the case if these charges come into effect.

Car parking charges campaign launched

Last Saturday I launched a car parking charges campaign in Worthing town centre with the help of a leading Government Minister. Vernon Coaker, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, was in town to lend his support for car parking charges to be reduced.

Worthing Borough Council transferred over the management of eight Council car parks to NCP in 2004. These included 4 multi-storey car parks, three of which are situated close to the main shopping area, for which NCP charge a minimum £2.90 for 2 hours parking.

The number of people visiting the town centre in April and May dropped by 13% compared to last year, compared to a nationwide fall of just 0.1%.

I have called on Worthing Borough Council to urgently meet NCP to discuss reducing the parking charges at those car parks managed by them on behalf of the Council. This would attract more shoppers to the town at a time when local businesses and shops need support.

Whenever I park in one of the town centre car parks I am always very frustrated by the minimum £2.90 charge for the first two hours. If you’re in a rush and need to nip into town for thirty minutes you often end up paying it reluctantly. Car parking in town is a very sore subject. For too long the Council has dragged its feet and not done anything about it. What I want to see is action and not words, which is often the case when it comes to Worthing Borough Council.

Five hundred people signed the petition in the space of one hour. People were queuing in the rain to sign it and you could see people were genuinely furious about the situation.

Vernon Coaker, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, added:“Car parking charges are causing real problems here in Worthing. The latest figures show a 13% drop in trade and clearly that is unacceptable. The Council needs to meet with NCP to see what can be done.”

“Ian is showing again that he is at the forefront of community issues, in tune with local people, and working hard to show what kind of a representative he would be. And here we are today with hundreds of people signing the Labour petition. Let’s hope it does some good.”

Watch the parking campaign launch video here

Its no laughing matter

I thought it was very inappropriate to read in the Worthing Herald (14 May) one of the Worthing Tory MPs joke “I have never charged any mock beam installation or moat clearance!” Quite frankly the whole situation is far from being a laughing matter, nor should we be grateful that our local MPs didn’t claim for absurd expenses.

Some MPs, from all parties, do not seem to understand what is morally acceptable. They shouldn’t need anyone to tell them that claiming for the clearance of a moat, nappies, chandeliers, toilet seats and gardening is wrong. Being an MP is not an excuse to stick your hand in the taxpayers pocket and help yourself. It’s not just wrong now, it has always been wrong.

Some MPs expenses are simply fraudulent. If this is the case, then simply paying the money back and apologising is totally inadequate. Any other employee caught fiddling their expenses would be sacked on the spot. If we want to restore public faith in politics then everybody should be treated the same. MP or not, stealing from the public purse should mean you explain yourself to the police and, if necessary, being prosecuted.

Politicians’ most precious asset is trust and I know from speaking to voters across Worthing during the weekend that we have a lot of work to do to regain it. I make a round trip of 88 miles to work each day with my job, working for a national charity, spending nearly three hours each day traveling. It would be marvelous to have a second home near work, or have my travel expenses paid by my employer. However, like many other hard working people around the country, I live in the real world.Voters deserve better than the scandal that is casting a cloud over Westminster right now.

At the next General Election voters will be able to look at their MP’s expenses and use their vote accordingly.

Social Services Scandal in West Sussex

I was stunned and extremely moved to learn the following shocking facts:

• At the end of March 2009 there were 84 full-time social worker posts vacant. Children’s Services accounted for 45 of these full-time vacancies.
• Between September 2008 and March 2009 WSCC spent almost £1.5m on agency social workers to fill core posts.
• In particular, £763,000 was spent in agency fees in Children’s Services to cover just 20 posts. I have calculated this to equate to £5,500 per agency social worker per month, in comparison to the usual council salary of £2,000 per month for a permanent social worker[1] – costing the local council tax payer 63% more compared to if a permanent council social worker was employed.
• WSCC has only met once with Ofsted since January 2008. The meeting was for the Annual Performance Assessment in October 2008 to discuss the performance of Children's Social Care.

Taking the politics out of the situation, I was lost for words when I found out the above information, especially when you put in the forefront of your mind that social services exist to protect vulnerable children and adults. When I started to scrutinise West Sussex County Council’s social services I never thought in a million years I would unearth findings to this shocking extent.

I acknowledge the announcement and effort made by WSCC in November 2008 to spend £500,000 on a recruitment campaign to fill the outstanding social worker vacancies. However we are now in April, some 5 months since the announcement, and clearly no improvements have been made. I find it absolutely extraordinary that 84 full-time social worker posts still remain vacant. My main concern is for all those vulnerable children and adults that are in potential danger across West Sussex.

I am also concerned that social services are spilt between the portfolios of Cllr Arculus and Cllr De Mierre. It is not surprising things are in such a mess when social services is divided between these two Cabinet Members. Surely the Department would be more effective if social services became the responsibility of just one Cabinet Member who held overall responsibility?

And that is why today I am calling on Cllr Henry Smith, Leader of West Sussex County Council, to take a non-partisan approach and to meet with me to see where I can help. Only by working together across the political spectrum are we going to resolve this crisis. This is paramount if the vulnerable children and adults are to be given the justice they deserve in West Sussex.

[1] This is based on the assumption that a permanent council social worker starts on £24,000 p.a.

Roads go to pot!

West Sussex County Council spent £500,000 in 2008/09 for repairing pot holes on roads. This includes patching repairs and pre-surfacing dressing works.

However a Freedom of Information Request I submitted reveals that 676 pothole claims were made by motorists during January 2008 and March 2009. Out of these claims only 135 were awarded compensation amounting to almost £50,000. March 2009 saw the highest amount of pothole claims ever, totalling 106.

Utility companies have also been leaving roads and pavements in a poor condition following their work. Under the New Roads and Street Works Act, utility companies’ work is guaranteed for up to 3 years. The Freedom of Information Request revealed that routine highways inspections resulted in 795 defective notices being issued by the county council to utility companies during 2008/09. There were 38,151 works in the highway by utility companies resulting in 64,178 openings (individual sites) in the period January 2008 to March 2009.

There were also 198 pavement trip claims between January 2008 and March 2009, though only 4 claims were successful.

I was stunned to discover that West Sussex County Council paid out £50,000 in compensation to motorists for pothole claims. In the context of their £500,000 annual budget for repairing potholes, this represents 10% of the budget which could be spent on additional pothole repairs.”

The constant digging up of roads by utility companies certainly doesn’t help and deteriorates the condition of our highways. Given how much profit these utility companies are making I want to see West Sussex County Council squeeze them for every penny possible if they leave a road in an unsatisfactory condition following their work.

Given the damming insight these figures reveal the local authority obviously has adopted the nickname of West Sussex Chaos Council.

Cllr Henry Smith's School Buildings Legacy

I recently exposed a damning insight into the current situation of school buildings across West Sussex after years of Tory neglect. The current estimated backlog of repairs for school buildings is £82m. This includes leaking roofs, faulty electrics and unreliable boilers. The backlog estimate will be revised following a programme of condition surveys that will be complete by April 2010.

I was astounded to learn that the current estimated backlog of repairs for school buildings in West Sussex stands at £82m. This will be one of Cllr Henry Smith’s legacies of his Tory leadership of West Sussex County Council (above). Not only was Thatcher the “milk-snatcher” but successive Tory Governments of 1979-1997 left a long-standing legacy of crumbling schools.

I welcome West Sussex County Council’s “Expression of Interest” for funding, submitted to the Department for Children, Schools and Families, for the Building Schools for the Future programme to improve school buildings in Worthing.

Although the Labour Government first launched the Building Schools for the Future programme in 2005/06 it has emerged that it took West Sussex County Council until November 2008 to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) according to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request – three years following the launch of the programme.

The Worthing area has been prioritised for West Sussex County Council’s Expression of Interest. The £80m bid, if successful, would see six schools benefit in Worthing. These schools would include:

Worthing High School
Durrington High School
Davison CE High School for Girls
St Andrew’s CE High School
Chatsmore High School
Oak Grove College

The Freedom of Information request reveals that if successful the county council will be outlining detailed proposals for each school, including a review of the Age of Transfer for pupils in the Worthing area.

The Labour Government has pumped money into improving school buildings and enhancing standards in our schools. If you ask any Head Teacher they will tell you how funding per pupil has drastically increased under Labour – an increase in 87% in real terms, with £5,430 spent on every pupil every year. Only this could be achieved under a Labour Government.