Spotlight on Education – Public meeting
Please find below the press release for an upcoming joint Trades Council, Stoke NUT and North Staffs Pensioners’ Convention meeting on education, taking place on the 5th September.
Hope to see you there!
A lively debate is promised at the joint North Staffs Trades Council,
Stoke-on-Trent National Union of Teachers, and North Staffs Pensioners
Convention “Spotlight on Education” meeting, taking place from
6.30pm-8.30 on Friday 5th September at Hanley’s Mitchell Arts Centre.
The two hour meeting will feature local MP and Shadow Secretary of
State for Education, Tristram Hunt, and National Union of Teachers
General Secretary, Christine Blower, with plenty of time for
contributions and questions from the audience.
Jason Hill, President of the North Staffs Trades Council and Chair of
the meeting said: “Following widespread condemnation of Michael Gove’s
education reforms from parents and teachers, the meeting will give
Tristram Hunt an opportunity to outline his plans for education should
Labour come to power after the General Election in May, as well as
allowing Christine Blower to set out the teachers’ perspective on the
ongoing reforms.”
“This is the third joint public meeting that the North Staffs
Pensioners’ Convention have organised with the trades council under
the banner ‘Fairer North Staffs’, with the first on cuts and
privatisation and the second on health and social care.”
North Staffs Pensioners’ Convention organiser, Andy Day, explains.
“The previous meetings have generated much lively debate on key local
and national issues and this latest one on education looks set to
continue this.”
Doors and cafe will open at 6pm with stalls from the North Staffs
Trades Council, including fairtrade Zaytoun produce; Stoke-on-Trent
National Union of Teachers; the North Staffs Pensioners’ Convention;
and the North Staffs People’s Assembly.
Any questions, please contact northstaffstuc@gmail.com
Workers’ Memorial Day
Reposted from northstaffstuc.wordpress.com
To mark Workers’ Memorial Day on 28th April, North Staffs TUC invite you to a ceremony in remembrance of those who have lost their lives at work.
We usually hold an event at the Workers’ Memorial tree outside the Potteries Museum in Hanley but with this year being the anniversary of the Miners’ strike, we decided that it would be fitting to hold the ceremony at a memorial to miners. We have chosen the Sneyd Colliery Memorial in Burslem.
Please meet at the Peace Centre, Burslem School of Art, Queen Street, ST6 3EJ from 6.30pm for refreshments and then we will march with banners to the Sneyd Colliery memorial at 7pm for speakers, song and a minute silence. The memorial is on the Market Place in Burslem, ST6 4AT – opposite the Queen’s Theatre. There is car parking at the rear of the Peace Centre.
Confirmed speakers:
Brenda Procter – National Chair of Women Against Pit Closures and the North Staffs Miners’ Wives Action Group.
Steve Pearce – former miner and health and safety officer at Trentham Colliery
Jason Hill – Musicians’ Union and President of NSTUC
Dave Lyddon – Keele University and Colleges Union and NSTUC executive
“End the Bedroom Tax” Protest
A national day of action has been called on the 5th April to mark the anniversary of the implementation of the Bedroom Tax.
Protests have been called up and down the country to call on the government to follow Scotland’s lead and scrap the bedroom tax.
Join us in Hanley Town Centre (Upper Market Street) from 11am.
Bring banners, posters, friends and family!
Protest against Stoke Council Cuts
Members of North Staffs Against Cuts, alongside activists from the Trade Unions and local community groups, protested outside Stoke Council yesterday. We were protesting against the next raft of cuts that Stoke Council were voting through at their budget meeting last night. Despite the opposition, councillors approved over £20 million cuts for the coming year ahead.
Here are some photos from last night
Upcoming Anti Cuts Activities
Wednesday 19th February 2014, 10am
ATOS Demonstration
https://www.facebook.com/events/456009357832294/?source=1
Venue – Stoke Assessment Centre, Ridgehouse Drive, Festival Park, ST1 5SJ
Thursday 27th February 2014, 4.30pm
Protest against Stoke Council cuts
Venue – Civic Centre, Kingsway, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 1HH
Saturday 5th April 2014, (time tbc)
Bedroom Tax Demonstration
Venue – tbc Part of national day of action
Anti-Cuts meeting – Wednesday 20th November
The next meeting of North Staffs Against Cuts is to be held on Wednesday 20th November, at 7.30 pm.
The venue for the meeting is The Peace Centre, Burslem School of Art, Queen Street, Burslem, ST6 3EJ
We will be discussing anti cuts activities in the North Staffs area, with focus on the local Anti-Bedroom Tax campaign and the plans to fight the next round of cuts, which are due to be announced shortlly.
All welcome.
City Council to discuss bedroom tax petition
Venue: Civic Centre, Glebe Street, Stoke-on-Trent
Date: Thursday 24th October
Time: 10am
If you are thinking of attending please get in touch via northstaffsagainstcuts@gmail.com
Anti Bedroom Tax Meeting
Meeting Details:
Date: 18th September
Tme: 7.30pm
Venue: Peace Centre, Burslem School of Art, Queen St, ST6 3EJ
The Anti Bedroom tax petition, initiated by North Staffs Against Cuts (NSAC), was presented to Stoke-on-Trent City Council on Thursday 5th September. Prior to the meeting campaigners from North Staffs Against Cuts and Meir Against the Bedroom Tax gathered outside the Council Chamber to protest against the Council’s lack of action in support of those affected by the Bedroom Tax. As part of the presentation of the petition, former Lord Mayor, Jean Edwards spoke to the Council members on behalf of NSAC (the text can be found on our previous blogpost).
We are pleased to report that following Jeans rousing speech the Council decided to pass the petition to the overview and scrutiny committee to debate the issues raised. Lets hope they now pass a no eviction policy!
At tonights meeting we will be planning the next stage of the campaign, including our plans following decision to pass it to the overview and scrutiny committee.
The Anti Bedroom tax petition, initiated by North Staffs Against Cuts (NSAC), was presented to Stoke-on-Trent City Council last night. Prior to the meeting campaigners from North Staffs Against Cuts and Meir Against the Bedroom Tax gathered outside the Council Chamber to protest against the Council’s lack of action in support of those affected by the Bedroom Tax. As part of the presentation of the petition, former Lord Mayor, Jean Edwards spoke to the Council members on behalf of NSAC (the text can be found below).
We are pleased to report that following Jeans rousing speech the Council decided to pass the petition to the overview and scrutiny committee to debate the issues raised. Lets hope they know pass a no eviction policy!
There is a short write up of last nights presentation of the petition in today’s Sentinel which can be found online here.
Below is the text from the speech made by Jean yesterday.
We are assured that Councillors have ‘condemned’ the Bedroom Tax, but actions speak louder than words, and it is action that this petition demands. Your own figures show that somewhere in the region of 4,000 social housing tenants in Stoke-on-Trent are liable for Bedroom Tax; the majority of these people are your own tenants. They need to be reassured that this Council recognises that they are the innocent victims of a vicious campaign against the Welfare State by the present Government.
Other Councils and Housing Associations have been far more forthright and proactive. Councils in Brighton & Hove, Bristol, Dundee, Islington and Darlington to name just a few have already announced non-eviction policies. Leeds City Council has reclassified approximately 800 bedrooms in supposedly under-occupied properties as ‘non-specific rooms’, having taken the pragmatic decision that it would cost the council more to evict tenants, often to find it had a duty to rehouse. To quote Councillor Peter Gruen, the Labour member responsible for neighbourhoods, planning and support services: “The charges we incur in legal fees chasing up the increasing rent arrears… is farcical. It costs the courts far more money to evict people.”
Knowsley Housing Trust on Merseyside made a similar decision to reclassify 600 two and three bedroom properties unsuitable for letting to families with children, again making the calculation that chasing arrears would cost them more than devaluing a small proportion of their housing stock. You need to face the fact that many of your tenants cannot afford to pay the bedroom tax and that you will be throwing good money after bad chasing these cases through the Courts.
Every tenant who can be helped in this way is one less who needs a Discretionary Housing Payment. But we have to ask, what are you doing with the money for these? We know the amount the Govt has made available for DHP is too little, but Stoke Council appears to be taking an unduly hard line on when it will spend it. You can minimise the stress caused to tenants by making prompt and reasonable decisions on DHP cases rather than, apparently, operating a ‘turn it down and see if they appeal’ approach to applications. You can stop them running off to ‘Wonga’ in a state of panic by instructing your housing managers not to pressurise their staff into serving Notice of Seeking Possession for debts of fifty pounds or less, as is happening at present.
And you can pledge not to commence possession proceedings where it is clearly the case that the tenant cannot pay.
In the name of compassion, be realistic about what people need to live on. If a tenant is receiving income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance or Income Support, the amount they get each week is already the bare minimum the Government states they need. To means-test them further, asking for every tiny detail of how their scant budget is spent, is needlessly degrading.We’ve heard of DHPs being turned down where a tenant includes the cost of an internet connection in their budget – apparently, this is regarded as a luxury, even though it is now how most people search and apply for jobs, and often the cheapest way of accessing goods and services. For many disabled people, it is their lifeline to the outside world. You may also be aware that when Universal Credit is introduced, for low-waged claimants as well as people who are sick or unemployed, they will need to make and manage their claims online. Computers are not a luxury for your staff, and they are no longer a luxury for your tenants.
Your ‘Welfare Reform Officer’ was quoted as saying: “If someone is affected by the reforms our advice would be to either stay where they are and pay the difference, find employment, move to another property which better suits their needs or take part in a mutual exchange.” He also recommended taking in a lodger. Totally out of touch! Pay out of what? Benefits are being cut in real terms and tax credits for many low-waged families have been cut in actual terms. A single person’s Jobseeker’s Allowance, or ESA at the start of a claim or during an appeal, is just £71 per week. . What jobs? And many Bedroom Tax victims aren’t fit for work! Move where? If can’t someone can’t pay the Bedroom Tax, they certainly can’t get a deposit and rent in advance together for private tenancy, even if wanted to give up security of Local Authority tenancy for private sector property that will probably be more expensive.
This stance gives the impression that the unemployed are the problem, not unemployment!
A compassionate Council would find funds to supplement the DHP fund. Recently, we learned that the anti-fraud ‘Know a Cheat in your Street’ campaign would be extended yet again; thanks to a £471,000 underspend from the budget – that’s enough to pay the Bedroom Tax for almost 650 people for an entire year. Persisting with a high profile anti-fraud campaign when the Government and media tirelessly exaggerate the scale of this problem already, at the same time as this city stands to loose over £100m per annum from Government cuts to benefits, is like spending money on a new burglar alarm for a house that’s on fire. And which contains nothing of value.
Anti Bedroom Tax Petition Presentation
After a rousing speech by former Lord Mayor Jean Edwards on behalf of North Staffs Against Cuts and all those who signed the anti bedroom tax petition, the council voted that the issues raised by the petition would be deferred to one of Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s overview and scrutiny committees to allow a fuller discussion. The dates and details of the committee meeting at which it will be discussed will be posted once known.
Here are some photos from this evening:
northstaffsagainstcuts 