GMB northern region welcome June 18th briefing from chemicals industry on fracking in Newcastle Upon Tyne

Posted on June 21, 2015 by jenny

Following the GMB’s 8th June fracking charter with Offshore Gas and Oil Trade Association, on 18th June GMB Northern Region issued a press release welcoming a briefing on fracking from the Chemical Industry Association. Here it is:

Given the fragility of the oil and gas sector due to price pressures, diversification through shale gas could well become a key employer within the energy sector says GMB Northern Region.

GMB Northern Region welcome a briefing to businesses on fracking which took place in Newcastle upon Tyne today (18th June 2015). See notes to editors 1 for copy of press release from the Chemical Industry Association. Continue reading →

GMB agrees shale gas charter with UK Offshore Oil and Gas Trade Association

Posted on June 21, 2015 by jenny

Here is a press release from the GMB about its new charter with Offshore Oil and Gas, which describes itself as:

“the leading representative body for the UK offshore oil and gas industry.”

UKOOG and GMB Reach Landmark Agreement on Shale Gas

UKOOG and the GMB have today (8th June 2015) announced the agreement of a joint charter on shale gas, focusing on safety, skills and supply chain development. Continue reading →

Defra must publish full unredacted report on Shale Gas Rural Economy Impacts

Posted on June 21, 2015 by jenny

In January, Plain Speaker reported that Calder Valley people had asked Craig Whittaker MP to access and make public a full unredacted copy of the Defra report on Shale Gas Rural Economy Impacts, so that he could make an informed vote in the House of Commons on proposed new fracking legislation in the Infrastructure Bill.

Of course this didn’t happen.

But now the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has ruled that:

“DEFRA has incorrectly withheld the information [and must] disclose an unredacted copy of the report”

in the next 35 days, in order to follow Environmental Information Regulations. If Defra fails to do this, it may be “dealt with as a contempt of court”.

You can download the ICO’s decision notice here

Calderdale Council is privatising public health services

Posted on June 19, 2015 by jenny

Here’s a (rather long) summary of everything I’ve been able to find about Calderdale Council’s ongoing privatisation of Calderdale public health services.

Many members of the public want to know which public health and social care services Calderdale Council is privatising, and why. There seems to be little or no publicly available set of information about this. (Update: Although the Calderdale Council contracts register from 2016 onwards is available on Yortender)

The 2012 Health and Social Care Act transferred responsibility for some specific public health services from NHS Primary Care Trusts to Local Authorities, which also became responsible for health improvement and health protection.

Continue reading →

Upper Calder Valley to be “Vanguard” testbed for cost-cutting model of NHS and social care

Posted on June 14, 2015 by jenny

Last year saw big protests against proposals to close Calderdale A&E and other acute Calderdale Royal Hospital services like acute paediatrics and complex maternity, and to transfer hospital services for the frail elderly and people with chronic illnesses into GP-run services in four “localities” in Calderdale, in the hope that this will reduce acute and emergency admissions.

Although there is no evidence that this will work, these so-called “Right Care Right Time Right Place” and “Care Closer to Home” plans haven’t gone away – far from it.

Dr Matt Walsh, Chief Officer of Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), told the 11th June CCG Governing Body meeting that these plans are now accelerating, as a result of the Tory government’s pressure since the election. He said,

“Work is going on apace on future models of service delivery.” Continue reading →

Calderdale people tell Yorkshire MEP to vote against TTIP

Posted on June 9, 2015 by jenny

Update – The MEPs’ vote on TTIP tomorrow has been cancelled.

The official line from the Parliament is that because more than 200 amendments were tabled the vote should be postponed to enable the Trade Committee to consider the amendments before tabling them for a future plenary session. See more here.

But Keith Taylor, Green MEP for South East England, said:

“The decision to cancel the vote on TTIP stinks of political parties in the European Parliament running scared of the huge public opposition to TTIP.

TTIP represents a monumental power grab by corporations and it must be stopped in its tracks.”

Continue reading →

Kirklees NHS petition reflects public concerns about health service privatisation and untried ‘Care Closer to Home’ scheme

Posted on June 8, 2015 by jenny

On 28 May representatives of Dewsbury Keep Our NHS Public and North Kirklees NHS Support Group presented a petition from 1,258 local people to Cllr Viv Kendrick, Chair of Kirklees Health and Wellbeing Board, at its monthly meeting.

Comprising 3 scrolls, with a combined length of over 18m, the petition called on the Health and Wellbeing Board to:

not give contracts to irresponsible companies who have been found to have defrauded the Government or who have left patients with unsafe levels of health service provision
consider the need for staff who work for private contractors to receive a living wage
press NHS England and the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) to accept these demands. Continue reading →

Sita’s parent company has successfully sued Argentininan government for putting human rights above its profits

Posted on May 31, 2015 by jenny

Through its privatised household waste and recycling service, Calderdale Council have been handing over public money to a subsidiary of a global waste and water company that puts profits above the human right to water and other vital utilities.

But Calderdale Council’s contract with Sita runs out shortly and the Council has put a new waste and recycling contract out to tender.

This raises some questions about:

the conditions that Calderdale Council requires companies to meet, before they can bid for contracts to run our public services
the specifications for the household waste & recycling service – what it collects, when and where.

Plain Speaker suggests that the process of privatising public services should include the online publication of all procurement documents, so the public can see what our money is being spent on, whether the contract specifications meet the public’s needs and whether companies bidding for the contracts are ethically fit to provide public services. Continue reading →

Upper Calder Valley Plain Speaker

"To be truly radical is to make hope possible rather than despair convincing."

GMB northern region welcome June 18th briefing from chemicals industry on fracking in Newcastle Upon Tyne

GMB agrees shale gas charter with UK Offshore Oil and Gas Trade Association

Defra must publish full unredacted report on Shale Gas Rural Economy Impacts

Calderdale people tell Yorkshire MEP to vote against TTIP

Sita’s parent company has successfully sued Argentininan government for putting human rights above its profits

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