Page 5 - link magazine

The state of Swindon Borough Council The Link Magazine • February 2002

Suffering a system set up
by the previous government Someone Specia
By Sue Bates, leader of the Labour Group
Overseas? \
The current situation at Swindon Borough Council is difficult and
+•
controversial and has generated a great deal of local media and public Did you know that Mail Boxes Etc r+^ i/V t
interest.
can pack, wrap and ship
In order to establish a full pic- the Conservative Government that your packages anywhere '
ture of the current situation, we will be changed by the Labour Gov- w in the world?
need to go back a few months and ernment, is used to calculate the £5 OFF your next international
revisit some key events. As read- revenue grant that all local authori- parcel shipment when you
ers of The Link will be aware, on 11 ties receive. It uses statistics, such bring this advertisement to MBE
October 2001 there was a change as the number of unemployed in
in administration, that is, the po- the area, to arrive at a final figure. Offer ends 31.03.02. Restrictions may apply. Quote ref: LK
litical leadership of the council These statistics currently work
changed hands from Labour to against Swindon as they assume
Conservative. The Labour Group that this is a wealthy town, there-
of councillors resigned from ad- fore decreasing the amount we re-
ministration shortly after the Lo- ceive.
cal Education Au- Also, in 1997
thority received a when Swindon
fairly damming became a unitary Kelly's Salon
Ofsted report. authority, we re-
Since October, the ceived a settle- The Hilton, Swindon
council has been in ment which was
the hands of the £11 million less •'• Nail Extensions
Conservatives. that we were ex-
There are areas of pecting. That had +:• StTropezTanning
the council in nothing to do •• Body Wraps
which the three po- with the Labour
litical parties have government and v Massage
made great progress has put us at a dis-
over the last few advantage ever Evening and weekend appointments
months through since. Most re- Mobile service available
working in part- cently, the Con-
nership with one another to servative and the Liberal Demo- For a friendly & professional service please call
achieve common aims. This in- crats groups voted through the 01793 886863 or 07720 051013
cludes the New Models Steering budget we have been working with
Group, which has involved all po- this year.
litical parties as well as representa- The Labour Group of council-
tives from headteachers, gover- lors and myself as the leader of
nors, trade unions and the DfES in that group share the concerns of
order to reach a consensus on the the community regarding some of u-iu..
future of education in Swindon. the budget proposals. To look at
Social Services have also recently closing libraries as a way of saving
received the draft report from the money rather than providing an
Joint Review of the department enhanced service is not what the Feel like adding a
and there is a partnership group people of Swindon deserve.
that again includes all three politi- In February, all council mem-
cal parties and is hoping to achieve bers will be making the final deci- touch of COLOUR UR F
similar aims. sions on the increase in council
However, local government can- tax, which will decide the level of to your Life?
not always be based on a consen- services provided in the town. As
sus and there are times where po- Leader of the Labour Group, I want £5.00 discount from any of our huge range of
litical beliefs play a significant role. to ensure that Swindon receives
The budget proposals for 2002/03, the fairest financial settlement pos- colouring services at west one with this advert.
as presented to the Cabinet on 19 sible in order to continue our sup-
December 2001 by the Conserva- port of all the services currently Enjoy a great tan
tive administration, are based on a provided in the town. in the comfort &
council tax increase of 9.5%. They
also indicate that there may be sig- Corrections speed of our
nificant cuts to services that are Thanks to Mr Dyson from Haydon Tanning Studio
currently an integral part of the Wick for pointing out that the
community in Swindon, such as r Queen's acces- Individual sessions
Cre8, Swindon Dance, community sion to the throne still only f3.50
libraries and the Literature Festi- was 1952, not FREE sessions available
val. 1951 as printed
The Conservatives are blaming in the January with course cards.
the current Labour government for P Link.
the shortfall in the finance settle- Also, apolo-
ment. The reality is that, yes, the gies to Jean Now is a great
settlement is not enough. Yet, it is lii 0f12
Goncalves, left, time to Experience
far too simplistic to say that it is the of the Safe Swin-
fault of the current central admin- don Shop for Tel: 01793 614093 or 614034 for further details or appointments.
istration. The Standard Spending misspelling her 101 Victoria Road, Old Town, Swindon.
Assessment, a system invented by
first name. also at: 1 Westcott Place, Swindon, Wilts. Tel: 01793 644499