Thought I would start sharing my blog on what I'm doing as a West Suffolk District and Town Councillor for Haverhill East:

Week commencing 24th January I Chaired the Haverhill Town Council Planning Working Party with Town Councillors. The 25th I walked round the Chalkstone Estate with Cllr Miller-Jones, knocking on doors and talking to people about the Anti-social behaviour dispersal order the police put into place. In the evening attend the budget Full Town Council meeting at the Arts Centre. On the 27th attended a Zoom meeting with Town Councillor colleagues and friends as a catch-up meeting. Week commencing 31st January attended a West Suffolk District Council Teams meeting with Councillors and officers about an overview of the housing options and homelessness services in West Suffolk. On the 3rd of February attended West Suffolk District Council Labour Group meeting and discussed the Hub in Bury St Edmunds, also Directly Managed Housing. Friday 4th met on Zoom with fellow Labour Party colleagues for the Annual General Meeting.

Looking at West Suffolk District Council's 2022/3 Budget with the on going cuts in government funding that's been happening every year since 2010, the cuts will continue till the next General Election in 2024, with this and on going losses since the outbreak of Covid 19 in March 2020 these are having a dramatic effect on West Suffolk District Council and Haverhill Town Council's finance's. On top of this starting this April staff National Insurance increases from the government will add to the funding increases other than this year for West Suffolk District Council because of a one off government grant, but it will effect Haverhill Town Council, this will either be paid for by the Council taxpayers or Council cuts or even both. 

West Suffolk District Council will have to find £1.16 million in 2023 to 2024 in cuts or Council tax increases, with this growing to £2.98 million in 2025 to 2026. Even with the government cutting support to West Suffolk District Council since 2010 currently Council tax only makes up one fifth of the Council's income.

Do you want to get involved in improving your local community?

Got a good idea for a community project but need some funding or extra help to make it happen?

If the answer is ‘yes’ then the Haverhill Partnership wants to hear from you. The Partnership is attended by Town, Borough and County councillors, officers from public sector organisations, representatives from local voluntary and community groups and local businesses. We are working together to give local people more of a say in decisions that affect them and an opportunity to help solve problems and issues in their area.

Earlier this year members of the Partnership spoke to many groups and individuals living, working and going to school in Haverhill about the things they would like to see improved in the town. Lots of different issues were raised but some things came up more often. We used these findings, along with other information, to agree our local priorities for action.

The Partnership has £75,000 of funding available from Suffolk County Council to award for ideas that can help deliver the following:

• More activities and things to do – all age groups wanted a broader range of sports and leisure activities to get involved in and there was support for events that encouraged people of different ages and backgrounds to mix. People running local sports and community groups also said they wanted more help and support with the day-to-day running of their groups.

• Improving the welfare of older people – in particular increasing older people’s independence, making them feel less vulnerable and increasing awareness of the services available to them.

• Improving the appearance of residential areas and the town centre – many people identified particular parts of the town where they felt the appearance could be improved, including residential areas and the town centre. People also felt that the parks could be improved to encourage greater use.

• Places to go – all age groups identified the need for a place for young people to go and meet with their friends. There were also issues around the opening hours and locations of community facilities – how can we make better use of existing facilities?

If you have a project that requires funding that would help us deliver improvements in these areas, then the Haverhill Partnership would like to hear from you. If you have an idea you think may work, there is support available to help you develop your idea into a project. At this stage all you have to do is write down your idea in up to 100 words, telling us how your idea will help to improve your local community.

All the projects will be considered and if successful, allocated the money by the end of March 2010. If demand for funding exceeds the £75,000 available, the public will be asked to vote for their favourite projects.

The deadline for submitting ideas is 6 January 2010. Please send your ideas and contact details by post to Alison Wheatland, Suffolk County Council, Freepost NAT 18364, Ipswich, IP1 2BR; or by email to Alison.Wheatland@suffolk.gov.uk; or hand them in to reception at the Haverhill Arts Centre.

What is autism?
Autism is a lifelong developmental disorder that affects the way a person relates to the world around them. It affects an estimated 535,000 people in the UK. As a spectrum disorder, autism manifests itself in many different ways: some people with autism have accompanying learning disabilities, others at the higher end of the spectrum, such as those with Asperger syndrome, have average or above average IQ.

But everyone with the condition shares a difficulty in making sense of the world. For the purpose of this report, we use the term ‘autism’ to describe all autistic spectrum disorders, including Asperger syndrome and other diagnoses noted in responses. Due to the inconsistent and imprecise nature of diagnosis, respondents were asked to describe their child as able (average IQ, verbal), medium-functioning, or less able (limited speech and self-care skills). People with autism all experience the following three main areas of difficulty, known as the ‘triad of impairments’:
Social interaction: difficulty with social relationships, ranging from being withdrawn, to appearing aloof and indifferent, to simply not fitting in easily. People with autism may also seem insensitive to the feelings of others. This can lead to problems in the playground, with making friends and in turn, bullying.
Social communication: difficulty with verbal and non-verbal communication, ranging from difficulties with developing speech, to repetitive or formal use of language. People with autism may also not fully understand gestures, facial expressions or tone of voice. Understanding teachers and participating in class can be challenging as a result.
Social imagination: difficulty with understanding how others think and feel and in the development of interpersonal play and imagination. A person with autism may pursue a special interest rigidly and repetitively without recourse to others. Difficulty in the area of social imagination may also manifest itself in response to change, so children with autism may find it hard to cope with changes to their timetable, for example. Children with autism may struggle with subjects that use abstract ideas. The impact of these three areas of difficulty on the life of a person will vary: every person with autism is an individual. A minority of children will excel in certain areas, but all have strengths to be nurtured. In addition to the triad of impairments, people with autism often have heightened senses and may be extremely distressed at noise or brightness, for example. Other developmental disorders such as
Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder, Tourette syndrome and dyslexia often occur amongst people with autism, who are also more vulnerable to mental health problems, particularly depression and anxiety.

The inclusion debate: what do parents of children with autism think?
Advocates of mainstream and specialist education for children with autism are often pitted against each other, the two positions apparently irreconcilable. When we asked parents what kind of school they would ideally like their child to go to, no clear front-runner emerged. Taking their views as a whole the answer is not mainstream or special, but both. When given a theoretical choice, parents are fairly evenly split between mainstream schools, special schools and resource bases in mainstream schools as the best option for their child. All children with autism are individuals with differing strengths and needs: autism is a spectrum disorder. The autistic spectrum includes children with profound learning disabilities with little or no verbal communication, through to those with an average or high IQ, including those with Asperger syndrome. Moreover, the barriers faced by children with autism are social,so the support they need cannot be determined just by a medical model of disability. It is not surprising, therefore, that parents want a wide spectrum of educational provision including mainstream schools, special schools, resource bases in mainstream schools and dual placements. Although the high profile inclusion debate relates to the type of school wherechildren with autism should be educated, it is expertise in autism that is important to parents, irrespective of the setting. Of the 36% of parents who think a resource base in a mainstream school is the ideal option, 95% want the base to be autism-specific. Similarly, of the 36% of parents who feel a special school would be best, 83% want an autism-specific special school.

Pot Holes on Roads in Haverhill Suffolk

The Conservative County Council, put £2.2 million Environment & Transport budget into reserves that should have been spent on roads in Suffolk including Haverhill this financial year. With the way the pot-holes have been filled, we feel this is outrageous, as the people who drive our cars, buses and drive for a living are being short changed in paying their Council Tax in this way.

Why Labour?

The NHS is the Labour Party’s greatest achievement. We created it, we saved it, we value it and we will always support it. Over Labour’s 11 years in government, substantial and sustained investment in the NHS backed by vital reforms have transformed the service. We have ensured the NHS has the staff it needs and backed them to deliver improvements in quality and capacity, driving up standards and driving down waits. Now we are bringing healthcare closer to communities and giving patients more power and control, making sure the NHS is there for you when and where you need it.

Key achievements:

Waiting lists are down by 614,000 since 1997. Most patients are now waiting less than 13 weeks, and by the end of this year nobody will wait more than 18 weeks for treatment.
Over 99% of suspected cancer patients are seen by a specialist within two weeks of being referred by their GP, and over 99% of cancer patients start their treatment within a month of diagnosis.
Over 38,000 more doctors and 80,000 more nurses since Labour came to power.
Investment in the NHS has trebled since 1997.
Labour has built over 90 new NHS walk-in centres and over 650 one-stop primary care centres, and is investing £750 million in a new generation of modern, convenient community hospitals.
Cancer mortality rates in under-75s have decreased by 17.1 per cent since 1996, saving nearly 9,000 lives in 2006 compared to 1996. We are saving 31,000 lives from cardiovascular diseases every year compared to 1996.