Click here for HM Treasury projections, each year since the 2003, of annual net borrowing
Click here for HM Treasury projections, each year since 2003, of public sector net debt
This is an unfair central government charge for local council taxpayers who will have to pick up the bill for these unmet costs. Together with other affected authorities approximately £60m in total is being requested for reimbursement - and KCC's share is the greatest. (Feb 2008)
Post Office Ltd has now confirmed its plans to close five post offices in the Sevenoaks constituency. These are in the villages of Farningham, Eynsford and Seal with two more from Sevenoaks - in the High Street and at St Botolphs.
Michael comments: "The whole process was deeply flawed. The consultation period was far too short, allowing only six weeks for local communities to react. The Post Office also refused to provide basic usage information for each post office so that we could have assessed whether closure was reasonable. And their criteria took no account of the impact of increased car use and consequent traffic congestion in both Sevenoaks and Swanley."
With his Parliamentary Question (click here to read in full in column 1943W) Michael has exposed the funding gap between councils in the north and in the south. The figures show that Sedgefield in County Durham - Tony Blair’s former constituency – gets more than twice as much funding per head from central government as Sevenoaks. Michael commented: “The figures show that Sedgefield and Sevenoaks were treated almost equally back in 1997. But ten years later Sedgefield is getting over twice as much in central government grant, whereas Sevenoaks’ grant has stood still. Adjusted for inflation it has actually fallen. No wonder Sevenoaks Council has had to increase council tax. This is clear evidence of northern bias from the Labour Government. Sedgefield is not a particularly deprived area – its unemployment rate was only 2.9% last month. Yet Sevenoaks District Council has pockets of deprivation, for example in parts of Swanley and Edenbridge. Inflation costs are the same across the country. Why should Sedgefield get twice as much grant support ?" Michael raised the same point again during questions on next year's local government grant in the Commons on 6th December (click here (col 991) to read in full).
Michael led a campaign to secure the hospital’s future and said recently that he was “delighted at the outcome and relieved that West Kent Primary Care Trust has seen sense. Sevenoaks Hospital now has a big future. It's a victory for public opinion. The Tribal Report recognises “strong and widespread support within the area” and “a strong sense of local ownership. Bringing the 27 closed beds back into operation is the key. Sevenoaks Hospital can now become a hub for community care in our area. I’m glad that the PCT is committing to a capital bid to modernise Holmesdale Ward, outpatients, the Minor Injuries Unit and rehabilitation facilities. I urge the Board to adopt the proposals for Sevenoaks in full. In turn, I’m ready to support the capital bid and to lobby Health Ministers direct to give it a favourable hearing. I have also written to Peter Fleming, Sevenoaks District Council Leader, to ask SDC to consider the scope under the Key Worker Initiative to help develop some accommodation for nursing staff in order to improve recruitment and retention – one of the issues identified in the Tribal Report.”
On 30th April, Tessa Murray, Secretary of the hospital’s League of Friends presented Michael with a petition signed by more than 6,000 people insisting that their much-loved hospital stay open. At that time Michael said: “This is overwhelming evidence that local people want to keep their local hospital. The petition will help drive home the message to the West Kent PCT that Sevenoaks Hospital is an essential community service. Over 12,000 people attended the Minor Injuries Unit last year, and there were nearly 10,000 radiology scans: I used the X-ray department myself on Friday. We want West Kent PCT to give the hospital a long-term future, and to invest in its facilities.”
Michael has welcomed the government’s decision to install a new environmental barrier alongside the M25 as part of the forthcoming widening scheme (junctions 1b to 3). Michael campaigned with the Swanley Village Residents Association and others for better protection against traffic noise, and wrote to the Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander. Mr Alexander announced this week that he had accepted the case for more protection, and a new environmental barrier will now be installed. Michael said “It’s good news for residents of Swanley and Swanley Village. This is one of the worst noise blackspots in my constituency, and I’m delighted that Ministers are now doing something about it. Noise is a growing issue, and people expect their quality of life to be considered when roads are widened.”
News has leaked of plans to build up to 1,500 new houses at Fort Halstead, the Ministry of Defence research station next to the villages of Knockholt and Halstead. No formal planning application has yet been submitted but councillors have learnt informally of the proposal. If approved, the new development would become the fifth biggest town in the district council area. Michael urged the four parish councils to work together to fight the plans and a joint working-group now meets regularly. Michael comments:
"I'm horrified. This would in effect be a new town in a very rural area which simply doesn't have the infrastructure to cope. Halstead and Knockholt are accessed by narrow roads, and there simply aren't the facilities to support a new development on this scale. While this is a matter for the parish and district councils in the first instance, I have assured local residents that I'll be keeping a very close eye on this proposal."