Post Offices
November 18th, 2007 by michaelwilkesIncredible as it sounds, the Government’s intentions for post offices include over two thousand further closures over the next two years despite the 28 million people who use post offices every week. This awful policy was supported by Labour in Birmingham during a Lib-Dem sponsored debate.
Government plans would mean yet more closures in Birmingham on top of the offices paid to shut and those that go because the Government takes business and services away, swelling the profits of banks.
Telling people to use the internet - as Labour in Birmingham have done - won’t help most old people or the one in three who don’t have a computer.
Cllr Michael Wilkes comments: “So called ‘consultation’ makes little difference. We support the efforts of local business to try to replace the lost post offices in our area. We will do our utmost to keep these key services and the local shopping centres in Hall Green that are vital to our local communities”.
Women’s Pensions: What you need to know
November 18th, 2007 by michaelwilkesThe Pensions Act 2007 claims to create a fairer deal for women - but it falls short of this.
At present, your basic state pension depends on how many years you’ve paid, or been credited with, NI contributions - you need 39 for a full pension. The fewer years paid, the lower the pension. If you paid less than ten years, you get no pension in your own right. Currently, only a third of women qualify for a full pension.
Under the new rules, the number of qualifying years is reduced to 30. The ten-year rule goes, so every year counts. Home Responsibilities Protection (which gave some pension protection for women at home with children etc.) will be replaced with a weekly NI credit for anyone caring for children under the age of 12. There will be a new system for women who are carers for more than 20 hours a week.
The Government claims that once the reforms are in place, 90% of women will qualify for a full pension. But who is left out? Women over 57. If you’ve already retired or reach retirement age before April 6th 2010, you’ll still need 39 contributions for a full pension and the ten-year rule still applies.
Cllr Jackie Hawthorn says, ‘We are very concerned that so many women are still being left out of pension reforms. You can find out about the Age Concern Campaign for Fairer Women’s’ Pensions at:
www.Ace.org.uk/AgeConcern/pensioner_poverty_campaign.asp
or write to me and I will make sure that the Government gets to hear about it!”
Beware Clamping!
November 18th, 2007 by michaelwilkes
When parking these days, always look around for notices about clamping even if you’ve been using the same place for years!
Cllr Paula Smith and Phil Wagg intervened in an incident at The Baldwin car park where cars had been clamped and the clampers were lifting them onto a wagon to impound. Phil did his best to stop this by sitting on the bonnet of a car!
Months earlier, Paula met with Chilcote School to help solve parking problems while the new school is built. Agreement was reached with the pub allowing teachers to use the car park. Despite this, the teachers’ cars were clamped. Paula and the Head Teacher met the manager to clear up the confusion.
The pub had turned the car park over to a company which now controls who parks there (you need a (timed) pass from the pub). One car had been taken away but Paula got the other clamps removed and a new arrangement was entered into with the school.
Penalties extracted for clamping and removal are severe. An 80-year-old gentleman had been clamped while recycling. £125 was demanded on the spot under threat of removal of his car and an even higher demand. A kind shopkeeper lent the gentleman the money.
Cllr Michael Wilkes comments: “The law, weak as usual, allows all this. It’s a sad sign of our times to see a disabled pensioner doing his bit for the environment ending up in such a state”.
