Orgreave Mass Picnic and Festival is happening on 14th June. They are looking for food collectives/coops that can provide wholesome food for the day. If you can do this, or would like to find out more, please contact Bridget Bell, Tel: 01226 243502, email: orgreavejustice@hotmail.com
Myra James of Calderdale 20’s Plenty For Us has sent this info:
Calderdale Council has launched a consultation on three approaches to the development of 20mph speed limits:
The consultation remains open until 31st January and is available here.
“Total 20” – an idea whose time has come
A stall with information about the rapid privatisation of Calderdale NHS surprised many members of the public in Hebden Bridge on Saturday morning.
The stall, under the Christmas tree in St George’s Square, was run by members of Calderdale NHS 38 Degrees, a group which campaigns to keep the NHS public and stop backdoor privatisation of the NHS.
Janet Bertola, a member of Calderdale NHS 38 Degrees group, said,
“NHS privatisation’s going on before our eyes, but we just don’t see it.”
Eileen Wright, a Hebden Bridge resident, admitted:
“I don’t know anything about this.”
As fracking creeps closer to Calderdale – with Fracking company IGas Energy trying to drill a Shale/CBM exploration well at Barton Moss in Salford, Greater Manchester – Frack Free Greater Manchester has found that Salford and Trafford Councils are investing in fracking company IGas via Greater Manchester Pension Fund.
The Investments Valuation pdf on the West Yorkshire Pension Fund website shows that Calderdale Council, via West Yorkshire Pension Fund, is also investing in fracking companies.
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Although the House of Commons has passed the second reading of the Care Bill, including clause 118 that allows closure of hospitals and hospital departments without proper public consultation, the campaign against the Hospital closure clause is set to gather momentum in the New Year.
Calderdale 38 Degrees is holding a stall in St George’s Square, Hebden Bridge between 10am and 12 noon on Saturday 21st December and you can find out more there. The theme of the stall is opposition to NHS privatisation and to A&E service reductions and closures.
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At the meeting on 16th December, the management committee discussed a number of ideas about what to do, now that the Calderdale Planning Committee has approved the planning application for a supermarket and hotel on the Mytholm Works/Brown’s Field site.
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Craig Whittaker MP has voted in favour of the House of Commons second reading of the Care Bill – including Clause 118 that makes it possible to close hospitals, A&E departments and other other departments, without proper public consultation. This is at odds with the Tory manifesto commitment to “stop the forced closure of A&E and maternity wards”
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Notes on the Radical Emission Reduction Conference in London on 10-11 Dec 2013, by David Flint, a member of Enfield Green Party.
“The conference has to be a catalyst for very rapid action” – Prof. Kevin Anderson, Tyndall Centre
Solicitor Keith Lomax writes (below) about tenants’ eligibility for legal aid when facing eviction and how to challenge Councils’ decisions to refuse discretionary housing payments.
Keith has specialised in housing since he qualified as a solicitor and has developed particular interest and experience in public law and human rights, regulatory law, planning, employment, education, and community care.
There have been severe cutbacks in legal aid, but legal aid is still available for people facing possession of their homes, or eviction after a possession order has been made.
This morning I emailed my MP, Craig Whittaker and asked him to read a new, independent report by the Commission on Civil Society and Democratic Engagement on Part 2 of the gagging law.
The Report says that the gagging bill:
“does not meet any of the tests of good regulation.”
It also makes a number of recommendations about how the Bill can be fixed.
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