The EU was - and still is - prepared to spend big money anywhere in Europe where it was needed rather than blowing it all on Brussels. The regeneration of Liverpool was largely EU funded as was Manchester's for instance unde 'Objective One' funding.
Yet the EU is accused of being 'corrupt'! It may well be, but when it comes to corruption, they are evidently rank amateurs compared to the Westminster Government!
In a further irony, the refusal letter about New Ferry funding came from the 'Minister for the Northern Powerhouse'!
Why should the Government ? The houses in New Ferry would have been covered by insurance.
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~Chief Seattle
Oh really? You know that for a fact do you? House insurance is compulsory is it? I didn't know that.
Insurance companies have a nasty habit of deciding that the cost of repair is less than the value of the house and paying only that.
Still I suppose it is a great consolation to those people still unable to live in their homes or the businessmen that have had to relocate or have packed up that London is going to get yet another megaproject.
It's worth mentioning that in March when the explosion had just happened that the government said that they WOULD help, but of course we know how much value to put on ANY promise from this particular government.
Why should the Government ? The houses in New Ferry would have been covered by insurance.
Not at all, there is no requirement for private housing to have insurance. And there is certainly no moral reason to insure against some other idiot damaging your property.
The insurance companies will be helpful to a point but there will be arguments and negotiations about who will pay what which can carry on for years.
As there is a possibility this is criminal damage it will further delay anything. If the criminal act was done outside building that exploded, the building insurance may not cover it. A more obvious example would be a car bomb blasting one building into another. The building had more than one premises inside it which could further complicate insurance settlements.
The Government should at least offer unconditional loans whereby insurance payouts are repayable.
But this is oop north, government isn't interested, its not London. I notice they have just cancelled Northern electrification at the same time as putting more money into the Southern train services.
Have you ever seen the articles about Maggie Thatcher and the Merseyside heroin endemic?
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
A few years back during Cameron's reign of chaos, some clown from the nutters think tank 'Policy Exchange' (founded by the egregious Gove!) published a paper suggesting that everyone in the North move to the South East! 'The North' was finished!
As a policy, it is probably cheaper for the government to move everyone to the south east than for them to do their job properly.
I haven't seen the article you mention, DD. Do I want to? Over the years I've read quite enough blood-pressure-raising accounts of the actions of that woman.
6. Wirral Council could have cash available to help
The Conservatives said the council did have more money to help - highlighting a reserve of £770,000 which they said was earmarked for support and assistance to the public in need
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~Chief Seattle
I must admit I am angry that the government has gone back on their word to help New Ferry. If i remember rightly they did say they would didn't they? I know the Grenvell tragedy was so much worse but to the devastated people who are affected it's heartbreaking. Politicians eh, change their minds like a weather vane! JC gave all the student's that he wanted on his side that he would waive the university fees, suddenly that's all changed too. Not sure who I trust these days...
I haven't seen the article you mention, DD. Do I want to? Over the years I've read quite enough blood-pressure-raising accounts of the actions of that woman.
No you don't, I don't want you keeling over yet!
It was all part of the killing off of Merseyside but in the zest for destroying us they stupidly didn't see that heroin would be come a pandemic. There was something to do with the USA being involved in it too.
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
I doubt that would cover the damage. Have you seen it Granny, or were you too bust reading the Conservative manifesto?
I don't bust at anything Ex. unlike some.
Just as a matter of interest to you, Wirral have received masses amount from ERDF and NWD over the years. Usually allocated to Merseyside for it to be divided up. If I remember rightly, Wirral received £10,000,000 in the early 2000's from the ERDF. Knowing where some went but I think we should be asking what happened to all of it. Plus they've had lottery funding too and various other amounts over the years. More recently money from ERDF received for Wirral Waters £8.6m office block !
Hansard: Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder
£184 million 2004-08 covering inner Liverpool, South Sefton and Birkenhead/Tranmere in Wirral. Paid in two tranches, £86 million in the first and £98 million in the second
I agree that those from New Ferry have suffered enough, although I fail to see the comparison between New Ferry and Grenfell. Businesses should always be insured, and if homes were rented, then the landlords should also have been insured. I think Wirral are looking for 'regeneration money'of New Ferry. St.Asaph didn't get that for the floods and neither did anyone else who was flooded, other than defences (so far as I am aware) .
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~Chief Seattle
Most of UK's ERDF money goes into developers pockets, a much smaller amount goes to training and business support companies.
There are so many business support programs going that nobody can keep track.
Never expect a simple list of where ERDF or any other European funding goes.
You have to laugh at the essential projects that Europe agreed to fund, like building a new stadium for LFC. Its perverse that rich companies receive funding, its just a neat way to make sure that money never goes downwards but stays at the top.
Then there is Wirral Chamber of Commerce who are supposed to support local businesses but actually compete against local businesses thanks to numerous grants they get.
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
Were the Thames barrier to fail at the wrong time, resulting in flooding of central london and the underground, you'd see the government stepping in - well leaping rather than stepping - with as much money as you could possibly want.
Quote
Businesses should always be insured...
Who is it saying 'should' in this case, other than granny? Should or not, many aren't, and I have no doubt that this sort of damage - the result of criminal action it would appear - would be covered even when insurance IS taken out.
My optician has had to relocate. The new premises are costing him a bomb to rent, the insurance seems to me from what he said quite inadequate to cover repairs to the building and insufficient to buy the premises he's in - even if the owner would be prepared to sell. It has blown his retirement plans to bits. His neighbours have decided not to carry on, so even if he rebuilt his shop it would be bracketed by ruined buildings.
I will not pass on your less than sympathetic remarks to him on my next visit.I think he's suffered enough.
If people have a business and can't be bothered to pay out for General Liability Insurance then it's their own fault if things turn bad for them. If they can't afford it, then maybe they should question themselves as to whether or not they want to jeopardize their own assets . Anyone can be a shop keeper, but running it on a shoe string is not business management.
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~Chief Seattle
But that's in London, in one of the richeest boroughs in the country with lots and lots of wealthy Tory home owners living literally cheek by jowl with the Lancaster West estate residents. It's not in the same league as a shitty little burg in Murkeyside, is it? And 80+ people weren't killed in New Ferry.
I was in London recently and after reading all the bollocks in the media went to take a look at Grenfell Tower for myself. Sobering. The smell permeates the entire area right up to Notting Hill and Portobello market. It's not a dry smell, like you get with most house fires or post-bonfire, but greasier, more like post-barbecue. It reminds you there are the remains of human beings in that tower.
Literally a minute or two walk from Grenfell takes you into the plusher parts of Chelsea, Notting Hill etc, with multi-million pound houses in leafy streets, expensive cars parked outside. CCTV cameras everywhere, of course.
Each of the properties damaged have an estimated cost of demolition 45 thousand but no one will pay that hence the council are taking them down by a court order . The same council that did not fill in the required documents for releif aid properly knowing that the claim would Be refused but still perceived telling the residents that the government would come good . Councillors knew alison mcgovern new that new kid with glasses knew and phil davis knew it more than anyone else . The buck stopps with wirral borough council for fkin new ferry over for years and the people who caused the explosion. Exasperating a proplem that was already there .
Not very good at empathy are you Granny. Its all very well telling people what they SHOULD have done. Hindsight is almost an exact science.
But have you looked at your own home insurance? What sort of cover would you have if a lunatic detonated a large bomb in the house across the road demolishing yours? I suggest you take a good look. An unpleasant surprise awaits unless I'm mistaken.
If people have a business and can't be bothered to pay out for General Liability Insurance then it's their own fault if things turn bad for them. If they can't afford it, then maybe they should question themselves as to whether or not they want to jeopardize their own assets . Anyone can be a shop keeper, but running it on a shoe string is not business management.
Completely agree. I'm not without empathy but if a customer had suffered an injury in the shop prior to this then the business holder could have been in for a much bigger bill.
Watched a program a few weeks ago about a lady who was paralysed when a shop sign fell down and struck her as she entered the shop, the insurance payout was in the 7 figures!
That said, I agree that the government should be putting their hand in their pocket and helping out, ridiculous the support the residents of Grenfell have been given compared to New Ferry but you can't just shrug your shoulders and say someone else should be footing all the bill, people need to take responsibility for themselves at some point, home / contents insurance is not a big cost if shopped around for and should be made mandatory IMO.
ridiculous the support the residents of Grenfell have been given compared to New Ferry but you can't just shrug your shoulders and say someone else should be footing all the bill, people need to take responsibility for themselves at some point, home / contents insurance is not a big cost if shopped around for and should be made mandatory IMO.
We give money to the Government for this purpose they hold funds for it, they have an obligation to give it back when needed!
The authorities spend a fortune on various emergency and recovery training, exercises, conferences, committees, agencies and sectors. What is the point when as in a case like this they choose to do the minimum that could have been written on the back of a fag packet during a TV advertising break.
From the Government's guidance on the subject of recovery funding ....
Quote
4.5. Response phase funding
4.5.1. The Government operates a scheme of emergency financial assistance (Bellwin) to assist local authorities in covering costs that incur as a result of work related to the response phase of emergencies.
4.5.2. A "Bellwin" scheme may be activated in any case where an emergency involving destruction of, or danger to, life or property occurs, and, as a result, one or more local authorities incur expenditure on, or in connection with, the taking of immediate action to safeguard life or property, or to prevent suffering or severe inconvenience, in their area or among inhabitants.
4.5.3. Bellwin is applicable only in the response phase of an incident, since the grant is limited by Section 155 of the Local Government and Housing Act 19898 to contributing to immediate costs incurred on or in connection with safeguarding life or property or preventing inconvenience following an incident. It is important to be aware that precautionary actions and longer term clearing up action are ruled out by the terms of the statute.
home / contents insurance is not a big cost if shopped around for and should be made mandatory IMO. [/quote]
Like so many things,when you are on the breadline and struggling something has to be forsaken and insurance will always go by when the choice is bread or insurance. The awful thing about New Ferry is that HM gov did promise to help and have now reneged.This confirms the idea that we really do have a North/South divide when it comes down to Government spending.
Of course there is a North South Divide. Arts spending in London is about £80 a head. In Merseyside its more like £2.
I saw that Gompertz fellow - the Beeb's arts pimp - attempt to justify this on the grounds that London has more arts treasures than anywhere else in the UK.
This is - in plainer English - is saying more money needs to be given to the rich because they are richer.
I suspect that a lot of the anti-EU campaign stemmed from the fact that this became more difficult under EU rules. However, I suspect that London may be in for a hard time as the Banking industry departs for Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt etc. It won't be as hard a time as the rest of us suffer of course, but we are used to it.
home / contents insurance is not a big cost if shopped around for and should be made mandatory IMO.
Like so many things,when you are on the breadline and struggling something has to be forsaken and insurance will always go by when the choice is bread or insurance. The awful thing about New Ferry is that HM gov did promise to help and have now reneged.This confirms the idea that we really do have a North/South divide when it comes down to Government spending. [/quote]
Yes, I don't disagree that if it down to food or insurance, food wins in that instance and always should. I don't agree it is the same for business's, they should always have cover.
How many people our truly at that level though? I would wager that many people who "couldn't afford" contents insurance (£7 a month when I had my flat) still had a mobile / sky TV etc.
I realise I am coming across as harsh but as I said in my previous post, people make decisions based on the idea something is unlikely to happen and sometimes need to take responsibility when the worst does.
I liken it to the people who go abroad and don't spend a tenner on travel insurance then have a article in the Daily Fail with a justgiving link to get them home when they get sick.
If everyone of us in the Wirral chipped in i'm sure we could fund the rebuild!
My post was specifically concerning businesses, not home owners living in their own properties.
Businesses and businesses with 'Let' accommodation above the shops.
The owners of businesses were told by Wirral Magistrates to pay for demolition themselves or get their insurance to pay for it. Properties number 56-66 Bebington Road to be demolished.
The Cleveland Pub didn't have any insurance cover...can you believe that ??
Many businesses opened again a week later.
Any home owners who were living in their own properties have my sympathy, as do those who were tenants in the flats above the shops, but rented properties are businesses and to my mind they should have all been insured.
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~Chief Seattle
Me wonders if insurance or govt money would only be for rebuild as is. I wonder if there are plans for regeneration of that area and the regeneration people would like to get their hands on any money.
Me wonders if insurance or govt money would only be for rebuild as is. I wonder if there are plans for regeneration of that area and the regeneration people would like to get their hands on any money.
Cllr Warren Ward says they want to get businesses back trading again as soon as possible
"Obviously we've talked a lot about the humanitarian aspect of all this, but there is a serious economic aspect."
"This should be a thriving high street and we've been trying for years to regenerate this area"
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~Chief Seattle
Government policy specifically states that restitution money can be used for regeneration.
It makes sense, it would be silly to rebuild like for like then shortly afterwards rebuild it for regeneration.
Businesses really struggle to get buildings insurance, the premiums are sky high in areas where there have been claims or crime, if you have made a claim yourself or been broken into it gets even sillier. It doesn't surprise me at all that a pub would only have the legally required 3rd party and employers insurance.
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
Government policy specifically states that restitution money can be used for regeneration.
It makes sense, it would be silly to rebuild like for like then shortly afterwards rebuild it for regeneration.
Businesses really struggle to get buildings insurance, the premiums are sky high in areas where there have been claims or crime, if you have made a claim yourself or been broken into it gets even sillier. It doesn't surprise me at all that a pub would only have the legally required 3rd party and employers insurance.
She didn't have any insurance, not even cover to pay staff.
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~Chief Seattle
She must have Employers Liability Insurance otherwise she wouldn't have broached the subject as that is an offence.
I thought 3rd party insurance (Public Liability) was compulsory for businesses that have customers/suppliers on their premises but it turns out its not.
Very few businesses will have insurance that covers staff wages in the event of lay-off and few will have insurance that covers full loss of income.
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
Ann Grimes, 44, who has run the Cleveland pub for three years, said: "I don't have insurance to cover wages or losses
Last edited by granny; 27th Jul 201711:01am.
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~Chief Seattle
As I know nothing about the Cleveland pub, there is little I can add to the discussion except that 'proof' by selected incident is not proof at all, just as legislation on the basis of a single incident usually turns out to be wrong.
The facts of the case in New Ferry are that despite Granny's tut-tutting, lots of people DON'T insure against every eventuality because it is too expensive for them. The area is depressed and needs regeneration anyway and those businesses that WERE there were struggling and were even less able than most to afford insurance against unlikely events like lunatics setting off bombs across the road.
The government (when it was possible to get a few brownie points by appearing sympathetic) DID offer financial help, be that right or wrong. Although one can depend on the tories to go back on their word on such matters, just as they did with their offer to allow 3,000 unaccompanied children from the Calais 'Jungle" into the UK. (The scheme was shut down after only 350 had been allowed in) it remains an indefensible thing to do in my book.
It's the ordinary homeowners I feel sorry for, perhaps the little old lady who has lived in one of those badly damaged little terraced houses for 50 years , everything gone and yes maybe no insurance for financial reasons. I did think it very bad that the government said they would give some help raising hopes only for it to be dashed! And yes just like the Tory government Ex your beloved JC is back peddling on his claim about student Fees to end! Getting all the student's on his side as this was one of the things they believed he would do. They all at it!!!
Corbyn never said he would write off existing student, he did say that he would lessen the impact of them, he explicitly indicated the possibilities and they didn't include write-off. His actual words were ...
"Yes, there is a block of those that currently have a massive debt, and I’m looking at ways that we could reduce that, ameliorate that, lengthen the period of paying it off, or some other means of reducing that debt burden.”
“I don’t have the simple answer for it yet - I don’t think anybody would expect me to, because this election was called unexpectedly; we had two weeks to prepare all this - but I’m very well aware of that problem,” Corbyn continued.
“And I don’t see why those that had the historical misfortune to be at university during the £9,000 period should be burdened excessively compared to those that went before or those that come after. I will deal with it"
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
In defence of Cools, Imran Hussain certainly DID, and therefore he must have also completely mi-understood his leader's manifesto, and we have to ask how many more promoted the same behind closed doors. See his little chat to kiddies here (as if they knew what he was talking about! ) You can hear the cheer leaders in the background, can't you ?
[youtube]JS7JmLY8EP8[/youtube]
In all honesty I bet you thought the same DD ?
Commandant Corbyn clearly indicated that would be the case,'I will deal with it' was a promise and the abolition of student fees from September . I think being economical with the truth in this instance was to clearly mis-lead student voters, but it most certainly mis-lead everyone of us. It is also to be questioned why gobby Angela Rayner even came on TV and openly stated that it would cost £100 billion and it was never a promise. Now if that wasn't another trick to try to cover-up what they now wanted to pretend they didn't say, I don't know what was.
His party’s manifesto has already promised the abolition of tuition fees from as early as this year – if Labour wins the election.
But in a cover interview for the well-known music magazine, he said: “First of all, we want to get rid of student fees altogether.
We’ll do it as soon as we get in, and we’ll then introduce legislation to ensure that any student going from the 2017-18 academic year will not pay fees.”
He added: “And I don’t see why those that had the historical misfortune to be at university during the £9,000 period should be burdened excessively compared to those that went before or those that come after. I will deal with it.”
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~Chief Seattle
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~Chief Seattle
Corbyn's manifesto and ideology are on a par with President Manduro of Venezuela. He praised Hugo Chevaz , he celebrates the socialist system, and yet look at what has happened there over the last few years, and also in Colombia. Foreign Office, suggest not to go to Colombia unless absolutely necessary. Rationing of food, no medical supplies, no money, eating their own pets, media clamped down, inflation 700%,leaving the country, almost on the verge of dictatorship. The list is endless and not about to improve.
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~Chief Seattle
Each of the properties damaged have an estimated cost of demolition 45 thousand but no one will pay that hence the council are taking them down by a court order . The same council that did not fill in the required documents for releif aid properly knowing that the claim would Be refused but still perceived telling the residents that the government would come good . Councillors knew alison mcgovern new that new kid with glasses knew and phil davis knew it more than anyone else . The buck stopps with wirral borough council for fkin new ferry over for years and the people who caused the explosion. Exasperating a problem that was already there .
I just don't get why WMBC didn't fill in the forms - even if the claim was refused it would look bad on the Gov not them, by not even claiming and then threatening to take residents to court for demolition costs is just a disgrace.
If i was in charge, would just have pay and then seek to recover costs from the furniture shop owners later when he's been convicted of the insurance fraud
I've got a student loan and not for one second did I think it would be written off. Initially I was jealous that students would no longer have to pay student fees but then remembered that student fees are only a relatively new thing, yet another way the government has extracted money from people to give to the rich.
Same old left-bashing arguments, choose from the mix of Russia, China, Venezuala, Cuba etc to suit the occasion whenever someone is anything left of Attila-The-Hun.
The people of this country would be on their knees far quicker if it was left to the likes of Maggie Thatcher, IDS, Theresa May and most members of the current cabinet. Its actually back-bench tories that are moderating the tory party at the moment and most of them aren't even moderates. There are far more ultra-rights hiding away in positions of power ready to do their filthy deeds at a moments notice. They seriously plan to compete against workers in China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India etc where pay and conditions are virtually non-existent.
How many times have you heard the "Low regulatory regime" bandied about, this is the readiness to bring employment back into the early Victorian era.
The tories have refused to help New ferry but under the rules, they should be helping. The threshold for a non-unitarian authority is 0.2% of revenue, Wirral's revenue is £920m (worst case, this isn't clear cut) so the threshold is £1.84m, that amount of money is easily the cost of repairing New Ferry.
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
Is it left bashing or Corbyn bashing ? We've had Thatcher bashing and still do, even by some who weren't even born when she was PM. The fact is, the country didn't fail and her principles were different to Corbyn's.
The reason he is aligned to Venezuela, Colombia, Cuba etc. is because he promotes the same ideology, which is based on Marxism. He has admitted that the Latin American countries are where his heart lies. He has always supported the far left of those same countries .
Unfortunately, the Tories have been getting bashed and intimidated for decades, by the Labour supporters . It's been the same as bullying, and made Tory voters fearful to admit their allegiance. Always portrayed as the Tories being the snobs and the Labour being the grafters. Total rubbish !
If I don't want Corbyn or any of his socialist followers running this country, then I am happy to say so.
Never heard of 'Low Regulatory Regime' but looking up info on it , it would seem to refer to European Regulation and the use of a federal regulatory commission.
Your last paragraph has baffled me with science as not being a mathematician, I cannot answer . However, if my house was blown up, would the Government be expected to pay for re-build ? If the Council still have £770,000 in the pot for such things, maybe they should spend that first. If the Council have received massive amounts of money for regeneration, what did they regenerate ? The Council can offer low income families financial assistance for emergency repairs on a home, paid as a loan. What has happened to the guilty parties of this explosion, do we know ? Maybe until someone is found guilty of a specific crime relating to this and charged , then until that point, nothing can be achieved. New Ferry have only raised this profile again since Grenfell flats tragedy, and that is a disgrace to even put themselves on the same platform. There's no regeneration going on at Grenfell , just funerals and demolition in the near future.
Oh, and I suggest the OP has no true affiliation to those who were affected at New Ferry. Purely another way of having a 'go' at the present Government and Teresa May, of whom it would seem there are many males still paranoid about a female leader. Well... Tough titty !!
Those people a bit like the newsreaders earning £400,000 salaries and pontificate on how dreadful it is for these low income families. Do they care ?.. No, they don't, it's all a front and quite pathetic to be honest.
Last edited by granny; 28th Jul 20174:43pm.
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~Chief Seattle
The country did fail under Margaret Thatcher, the financial impact is still being felt. We lost our productive industry and are dependent on vagaries of virtual money now. we are hardly self-sufficient in anything if we had to close our borders.
Anybody can sell everything they have and ignore maintenance making it look like they are doing well for a few years but the after effects are terminal and long lasting.
How can you not see that everything the Tories do is designed to send money upwards in the pecking order, that is their basic philosophy to make a few people rich and they will throw breadcrumbs to keep the serfs happy. Margaret Thatcher eventually admitted that the greedy rich were too selfish to throw the breadcrumbs and that her philosophy had failed (a big confession that many Tories pretend never happened).
The basic philosophy of the left is that people have a right to live a fair life.
"Low Regulatory Regime" is what the Government are selling for post-brexit to other nations industries and investors. Have you seen their fire safety reductions they were about to make before Grenfell happened, they were going to make it even less safe.
New Ferry
Why pay insurance money to the Government if they don't cough up and you have to find the money out your own pocket, I'm sure you wouldn't be happy if your insurances behaved like that.
If the council empties its contingency pot it will have to find the money to fill it again. The amount that New Ferry would need hardly touches the sides of Government finances, it would make a massive impact on council and rate payers finances. That is why they Government provides an insurance scheme.
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
Thatcher did more in dragging us out of the claws of the powerful unions. She opposed the ERM, which was the forerunner to the Euro, lucky escape. She negotiated to get a much a larger rebate from the EU . She helped built bridges to end the Cold War. She enabled many council tenants to become home owners for the first time, she reclaimed the Falklands. She did a lot, and although I didn't agree with all that she did do, the Labour Government of Blair moved into a far better seat than James Callaghan left behind him.
Why did Wirral Council deem it fit to loan £35 million to other councils ? A further £2m to Labour leader of Ed Millibands constituency in Doncaster. All the time complaining because they didn't have any money and making it a political point against the Government. At the same time they introduced 'bin tax' and increased parking charges for their residents.
The whole point of ERDF is for regional development. They should have applied for that if they wanted regeneration of New Ferry, not use the local residents their scapegoat.
LENT TO START END AMOUNT INTEREST
Doncaster Metropolitan BoroughCouncil30/07/2012 30/07/2014 £2,000,000 0.80Lancashire County Council
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~Chief Seattle
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~Chief Seattle
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~Chief Seattle
Considering the Government said, way back in April, it would not pay, as it is not Government policy to pay for regeneration of town centres.
That is a little misleading, regeneration is generally authorised by the EU who agree to deduct the money from our EU bill so the the government can pay for the regeneration.
She also said "The General Election creates a barrier to ministerial involvement in any rescue plan for New Ferry" which is completely false.
Ministries and ministers carry on as normal, its only parliamentary decisions that come to a halt. Believe me, they don't stop collecting taxes during election periods!
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
Why don't Wirral apply to the LEP ? Set up by the previous Cameron Government to replace NWDA and help local enterprise, support local economic growth and regeneration in local areas.
As a matter of interest, Wirral Investment Strategy was sounding pretty upbeat, considering all things, but no mention of any proposed regeneration for New Ferry, although one official, the other night stated they had been trying to get regeneration for New Ferry for a long time ! How long is a piece of string? Basically, regeneration means knocking the whole lot down and completely renewing, which won't save any bodies home or business.
Wirral is putting in place the economic environment that companies want to see: a commitment to building a commercial case for sustainable economic growth, through a portfolio approach that demonstrates long term commitment and planning, confidence and ambition.
Wirral’s relationships locally, in the wider City Region, in the UK and in the global marketplace are stronger than ever before. In this light, we have been taking a wider view of our performance and our potential.
Since Wirral’s first Investment Strategy was published in 2007, we have faced challenging market conditions. But today, our borough is rightly anticipating a stronger and more certain future. Unlike 2011, when this document was last revised, our investors, as well as our stakeholders –the people who live, work and provide jobs in the borough – face a period of growth and development.
This makes this new updated Investment Strategy at once essential, timely, and, most importantly, a strong and stable platform for growing the borough’s economy for years to come.
Introduction: about this document
This document sets out Wirral’s current economic growth programme. We present the exciting changes taking place on the Wirral and the future plans which will transform this part of the UK.
The document also outlines the key projects and emergent opportunities that will prove attractive to investors from the private sector. The public sector is committed to support this activity and ensure the people in Wirral can share and fully take part in this renewal. The project pipeline, set out in the pages which follow, provides the catalyst to allow Wirral to realise economic growth and prosperity for its future.
This document will show how we plan to take advantage of our key strengths:
A sector profile that shows ambition and focus alongside strength in depth; A workforce with the skills and experience to deliver; A strong partnership with Wirral Chamber of Commerce; Infrastructure that is more connected, more modern and more cohesive than ever before; and A council committed to driving the growth of Wirral’s economy, increasing aspiration and supporting residents to access employment and skills.
In this document, we are promoting investment opportunities that are timely. We feel they are targeted, deliverable and, with the right support, financially viable.
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~Chief Seattle
Considering the Government said, way back in April, it would not pay, as it is not Government policy to pay for regeneration of town centres.
That is a little misleading, regeneration is generally authorised by the EU who agree to deduct the money from our EU bill so the the government can pay for the regeneration.
She also said "The General Election creates a barrier to ministerial involvement in any rescue plan for New Ferry" which is completely false.
Ministries and ministers carry on as normal, its only parliamentary decisions that come to a halt. Believe me, they don't stop collecting taxes during election periods!
Point being.... if they said in April that they would not be committing financially to regeneration, when did they say they would pay, because I cannot find anything relating to that other than local gossip and Chinese whispers at a later date ? Proof please ! I may have enough time to go cook a breakfast.
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~Chief Seattle
Don't mix up restoration and regeneration, they are different things. Provided New Ferry restoration meets the threshold level (ie costs enough), then they are entitled to restoration funds from the Government. This is the Bellwin Scheme.
John Brace (our voluntary local council examination protagonist) put in a freedom of information request on the 12th July to find out exactly what our Bellwin threshold is. I calculate the threshold to be £1.84m worst case but could be considerably less.
If we were a unitary authority the threshold would be ten times less but we are a metropolitan authority. If you look at the political stance of metropolitan authorities vs unitary authorities you might find a reason for that differential.
The Bellwin scheme is not subjective and so should be the first port of call to try and get funding. It is an entitlement.
New Ferry has been regenerated at least once (if not twice?), other areas of Wirral have not, this must have a bearing on whether it receives regeneration funding again.
Money was not promised before the election, the point is that the Government refused to cooperate with attempts to justify funding during that period using the elections as an excuse. Obviously the longer the Government left it, the less compelling the case, one thing will be that it had died out the national media. There is no reason the election should have interfered with the process and you can be damned sure that a similar incident in London would have been acted on.
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
There was a lot of money collected for the residents of New Ferry and hopefully it did not go into council coffers. A person I know who lived in rented accommodation only received £40 from the fund plus second hand clothing. Council paid for him in bed and breakfast until he was rehoused recently. A charity St Vincent de Paul and the council Local Welfare assistance provided furniture and stuff for new flat. Most people in rented accommodation do not have sufficient spare money to insure their contents. They think that their contents are less than the premium. Agree with granny that business should be insured and it is a criminal offence if employing staff not to have employers liability. Nobody in their right mind would trade without public liability so it is hard to see why they would not extend their cover to buildings and contents for another couple of hundred pound a year.Terrible situation for all concerned.
Having worked previously in the insurance industry for 17 years and having been caught in the Indian Ocean Tsunami 2004 where we nearly lost our lives and having personally had to take a travel insurance company claim to the ombudsman to settle our claim, I can safely say the respective insurance companies involved will be certainly at least dragging their heels settling claims for those people who have insurance -especially with the case being "suspected" arson, so can those people who think "its ok they have insurance" think again and show some sympathy ? There are as it stands some 1357 signatures on the 38 degrees petition and I really feel Wirral and indeed the whole nation should get behind and sign the petition in protest at the governments bad decision not to help ALL VICTIMS !
Thatcher did more in dragging us out of the claws of the powerful unions.
A comment worthy of the great Trump himself!
The result is zero hours contracts, people trying to scrape by with three or four part-time jobs, food banks, frozen wages, a massive contingent of people sleeping rough and benefits cut to zero. The NHS is going down the drain. At the same time, the rich are getting increasingly richer!
In Germany - a country that seems a lot more financially secure than ours, unions are much stronger and are universally represented on company boards. Workers have excellent employment protection and the country is going from strength to strength. Perhaps the unions are a GOOD thing, Granny.
But the WORSE thing Thatcher did was to legitimise greed. Previously, this was considered a character flaw. But under thatcher it was renamed 'wealth creation' and praised. Flaunting one's wealth became quite acceptable, instead of something shameful.
The country came out of the thatcher years a much less pleasant place than when she took it over.
When the thieving class of all colours and creeds, including those too lazy to get off their arses, tax fiddlers and the self employed, taxi drivers working seven days a week earning £4,000 on tax credits (lying barstools) We had progressive change and we shat on it. Union leaders on more than The Prime Minister and socialist leaders like Blair and Maxwell "dream on".Live your life pay your dues and walk tall amongst those who think they know how to run yours. Just a little rant.
The BBC TV programme INSIDE OUT North West with Dianne Oxberry has recently filmed an episode about the gas blast and destruction in New Ferry which is scheduled to be broadcast 09 October. Hopefully this will gain more public awareness to the governments disgraceful lack of financial support for those businesses, shops and houses affected
I can’t believe the only work being done in this area is demolishing three buildings (possibly earmarked for luxury apartment erections). The windows are still boarded up.
Looks like they have charged a businessman and the gas company ??
Merseyside Police confirmed this evening that Pascal Blasio, of Gillingham in Kent had been charged with maliciously and unlawfully causing, with an explosive substance, an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property on March 25.
Mr Blasio is the owner and director of Homes in Style furniture shop which is located at the site of the explosion.
He has been released on conditional bail and will appear at Wirral magistrates court on Wednesday April 4.
Contract Natural Gas Limited, an independent gas supplier which provides gas exclusively to business customers, has also been charged with an offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 for failing to discharge general health / safety duty to a person other than an employee.
The charges relating to Contract Natural Gas are that between August 22, 2012 and March 25 last year the company failed to conduct its undertaking to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of persons not in its employment, including Lewis Jones, by failing to ensure that the redundant live gas service to 43 Bebington Road was disconnected after removing the meter.
I still don't know why he did this and how it happened - did he let the gas on and have something to cause the explosion? Was it for insurance? Seems a -little bit- inconsiderate for everyone else, let's hope he gets a conviction that matches the severity of the crime.
Putting the two prosecutions together could lead to the thought that the gas people took away the meter and didn't seal the pipes properly then someone else illegally reconnected the gas or altered the gas system in some other way?
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
Wasn't the furniture shop guy the first person they pointed the finger at ages straight after the event?
seems he was arrested and released earlier in 2017 along with others who were also released. Had heard on the grapevine that someone to do with the shop had previous suspicions but hadnt been convicted.
IMPORTANT UPDATE: we have a date for the meeting with government - it is 5th September 2018. All of your statements will be presented then. I want as many of you to be heard as possible, so please get your impact statements in before 31st August, so that I can print them all to present to the minister as a true reflection of how the explosion affected you. He will know, if we tell him. He will know, if I can get together all your statements in time. DO IT NOW, PLEASE! If you don't like writing, then you can record it as a voice recording and send it to us. I will write it down for you. I will make sure you are heard. Please do read below, to see the 5 simple questions. NEW FERRY EXPLOSION - WE NEED YOUR IMPACT STATEMENTS We are gathering together the real stories of those affected by the explosion. YOU HAVE A STORY TO TELL! And we are going to present all of your stories to government and the media, to get recognition for the extraordinary disaster that happened to New Ferry on the night of 25th March 2017. Please tell us your story. How were you, your families, your friends, your businesses, your lives affected by the explosion? There are only five questions. This is all you need to tell us...
1) Name:
2) Address on 25th March 2017 (the night of the explosion):
3) Place of work on 25th March 2017
4) Short-term impact (the immediate effect the explosion had on you - maybe you lost your home temporarily or permanently, or you had damage to your property, or you were responsible for rehousing those who lost their homes. Maybe you had to care for those who were affected, or you were a volunteer giving assistance. Or maybe you had damage to your business property, or had to relocate or cease trading altogether. Maybe you gave help: financially, materially, physically or emotionally to those affected by the explosion. It could be any number of ways that you were impacted at that time, ways that aren’t mentioned here. These are all valid and important impacts):
5) Long-term impact (the impact that the explosion had on your life – e.g. your health, your home, your family, your finances, your career, your business – how has your future changed as a result of the explosion):
Please email your impact statement to [email protected] Say everything you want to say... don't forget anything! But NO abusive language whatsoever or political anger. We would have to remove your statement if you did these. Please, just tell us, and the world, what you have suffered.
These statements, when printed out, will not have your email addresses. And if you want your name removed, we can do that too (although names to stories add weight) but if you want anonymity, then your privacy will be respected completely
