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VIEWPOINT FOR 12 JUNE
2008
FROM DR RICHARD TAYLOR
Owing to deadlines I am
writing this before the debate and division on the vital issue of 42
days pre-charge detention.
My thanks to everyone who responded to my request for their views. All
I have received, except one, accord with my own opinion that the value
of Great Britain's hard won personal liberty outweighs the possible
increase in community safety that might result from an extension of
the current period of pre-charge detention.
I plan to vote against the
extension and hope to be called to speak, not to enumerate
the arguments which will have been done ad nauseam, but to highlight
the importance of voting on the issue itself rather than on party
lines to please the whips. The Government's usual argument against
rebellions does not exist as this was not a manifesto promise. I shall
appeal to party leaders to call off their whips to allow a free vote
so that Parliament itself can decide this vital issue rather than the
Government dictating it only to be prevented, perhaps, if enough
Government MPs rebel.
________
Bewdley Carnival, favoured by
lovely weather, was a great success last Saturday with large crowds,
exciting floats, stalls and displays. Spectators were generous to the
army of tin shakers, many coming prepared with boxes and bags of small
change to distribute among the collectors. Bewdley as a town lends
itself to the Carnival and the decorated shops and the sounds and
sights of steam trains contribute to the holiday feeling.
________
Saturday was completed by the 20th
Anniversary Concert to celebrate the Kidderminster Valentines'
important birthday. They were joined by Kidderminster Male Choir, The
Malvern Singers and The Gentlemen Songsters to regale a packed Town
Hall with a varied programme including some of my favourites –
Bohemian Rhapsody and You Raise Me Up. The finale was truly
magnificent with nearly 200 voices filling the Town Hall with a
gorgeous fortissimo.
________
In the past months I have had many
letters condemning the Government's Warm Front Scheme.
The main complaints have been_
- that the installations can appear
expensive exceeding the available grant by hundreds of pounds
and
- that correction of faults may be
unsatisfactory as the only appointed contractors come from far
away which adds to the difficulty.
I have written to Ministers several times about these complaints
and
- it appears that there is a virtual
monopoly for the work by approved contractors who appear to be
large organisations not situated anywhere near here.
- I have asked if we could use local
contractors for convenience and probably comparatively lower costs
but this is impossible within the rules for the Scheme.
However the last line of a recent letter to me from the Minister
for the Environment is as follows,
"I would also like to highlight the fact that clients
always maintain the right to a second survey and quotation should
they be dissatisfied with the initial proposal."
If you apply for a Warm Front grant
and the estimate comes back far in excess of the grant available and if
you wish to contest this please let me know before accepting it as it
could be worth testing the Minister's statement.
R.T.
© Independent
Kidderminster Hospital & Health Concern 1995-2008
(webdesign@chaddesley-corbett.co.uk)
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