Cuts do not justify Sheffield Futures redundancies, says Scriven

Sheffield Futures is to make almost 100 staff redundant.Council leader Paul Scriven has accused youth charity Sheffield Futures of using spending cuts as a "fig leaf" for almost 100 job cuts, according to The Star

Sheffield Futures, which runs youth advice service Connexions, has seen its budget reduced by over a quarter this year, and has been told its contract will be put out to tender next March.

The charity saw its contract value reduced by 20% earlier this year. Its budget was reduced by a further 8% in the recent round of public spending cuts.

Cllr Scriven stopped short of condemning the redundancies entirely, but suggested staff reductions would have had to be made regardless of the most recent budget cuts.

He said, "It's true that funding for this organisation has been scaled back as part of a wider spending review. And yes, there will no doubt have to be reductions within the organisation as they are obliged to provide better value for money.

"But it would be wrong to use council efficiency savings as a fig leaf for restructure costs needed within their own organisation."

The Connexions service saw the biggest cuts from the recent spending cuts. It will lose £1.2m, almost a quarter of its budget.

Members of public service trade union Unison are expected to vote in favour of industrial action for Sheffield Futures staff.
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Public kept in the dark as council approves emergency cash injection for city Museums

Millenium Gallery - Owned by Sheffield City Council, operated by cash strapped Museums SheffieldEmergency cashflow support for Sheffield's museums has been approved by Sheffield's Liberal Democrat cabinet, but the council has not revealed how much the deal will cost.

Sheffield Museums, the charitable trust which runs Sheffield's five council owned museums, recieved a 5% budget cut in March this year. They approached the council for a cash injection to stave off a "serious cashflow problem."

Council leader Paul Scriven said, "We believe it is important to support the museums through this period, but we are confident that over the next two months we will be able to work together and ensure the finances of Museums Sheffield are back on track.

”We will also be working with them to develop long-term proposals to ensure that the organisation can avoid similar cash flow problems in the future.”

The running of Sheffield's museums and galleries was "devolved" to private sector organisations in the 1990s, partially as a response to the debts incurred by the city's hosting of 1991's World Student Games.

Members of the public were excluded from the meeting where the deal was agreed, and the council have refused divulge the size and terms of the bailout.

Complaints about the lack of transparency in the deal were aired in an opinion piece in The Star: "On the face of it Museums Sheffield, set up as a limited company 12 years ago to run Sheffield's four museums, is a stand alone business which has cut the umbilical chord with the city council.

But that relationship has never been straightforward and the museums knew exactly where to turn when they ran into financial trouble.

However, as the council is clearly still pulling the strings, we believe it is unacceptable therefore that there should have been a decision to keep the public in the dark as to exactly how much of their money had been handed over to the cash-strapped organisation."

Clegg accused of deliberately misleading Commons over Forgemasters

Deputy PM Nick CleggTwo Labour backbenchers have complained to the parliamentary standards watchdog, alleging Nick Clegg deliberately misled the House on the reasons for the cancellation of the loan to Sheffield Forgemasters, according to the Financial Times.

Barry Gardiner, Labour MP for Brent North, and Rachel Reeves, MP for Leeds West, have written to John Lyon, parliamentary commissioner for standards, claiming that Mr Clegg has knowingly misled MPs and tried to cover it up.

The claim relates to the Deputy Prime Minister's assertion that Forgemasters shareholders had refused to dilute their shares to raise money. Mr Clegg has since admitted his mistake, but has yet to apologise to the house for this error, more of which here.

According to the FT, the letter reads:

“We believe that the Rt Hon member for Sheffield Hallam has misled the House. We believe that he did this knowingly.

“We consider that he has failed to take any opportunity to correct the record or to apologise to the House and that a serious contempt over an issue of considerable political importance has therefore been committed.”

A spokesperson for Mr Clegg has dismissed the complaint as "just another example of Labour MPs playing politics with the interests of Sheffield Forgemasters instead of facing up to the fact that it was the financial irresponsibility of the previous Labour government which made the loan unaffordable"
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Jan Wilson, former council leader, dies aged 66

Jan Wilson, councillor for Manor Castle and former leader of Sheffield City Council, died yesterday aged 66.

Cllr Wilson was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2007. She was elected to council in 1992 and stepped down as leader of Sheffield's Labour group, a position she held for twelve years, last month. She served as leader of the Council from 1998-99 and again from 2002-08.

Council Chief Executive John Mothersole said, "John Mothersole, Chief Executive of Sheffield City Council said: “We are deeply shocked. Jan will be sorely missed. She was an inspiration to us all. She was totally committed to working for Sheffield and was recognised for her dedication by being awarded a CBE in 2006. Her work with Yorkshire Forward was also celebrated. As well as being admired and respected locally, she was also much admired regionally and nationally."

Councillors and MPs from all parties paid tribute to Jan last month after she announced she was stepping down for health reasons. SheffieldPolitics offers our sincere condolences to Cllr Wilson's family and friends.

Councillor blames anti-Muslim email on hackers

Cllr Gail SmithA Lib Dem councillor has blamed an anti-Muslim email sent from her personal email account to fellow councillors on "a virus or scam".

Gail Smith, councillor for Mosborough and cabinet advisor for culture, sport and tourism, said the email had been sent to one of her old email lists, which included Lib Dem and Labour councillors.

According to The Star, "Asian councillors including Lib Dem cabinet member Coun Shaffaq Mohammed were not on the list."

Cllr Smith said to The Star, "I don't agree with the views expressed in this email and I'm shocked someone has been able to hack into my personal email account and send it."

"I have changed my password and contacted everyone to let them know that this was some kind of virus or scam and to ignore the email's contents.

"At the time the email was sent, I was out on my rounds as a chiropodist. The email addresses were an old list of mine."

The email itself seems to have been adapted (and somewhat toned down) from an American "chain" email, which has snowballed in the past couple of months. The stateside version alledgedly started life as a letter to the editor of a New Brunswick newspaper from a Canadian housewife.

'Are we fighting a war on terror or aren't we? Was it or
was it not started by Islamic people who brought it to our
shores on September 11, 2001 and have continually
threatened to do so since?

Were people from all over the world, not brutally murdered
that day, in downtown Manhattan, across the Potomac from
the nation's capitol and in a field in Pennsylvania?

Did nearly three thousand men, women and children die a
horrible, burning or crushing death that day, or didn't
they?

And I'm supposed to care that a a few Taliban were
claiming to be tortured by a justice system of the nation
they come from and are fighting against in a brutal
insurgency.

I'll start caring when Osama bin Laden turns himself in
and repents for incinerating all those innocent people on
9/11.

I'll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the Middle
East start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere belief of
which is a crime punishable by beheading in Afghanistan.

I'll care when these thugs tell the world they are sorry
for hacking off Nick Berg's head while Berg screamed
through his gurgling slashed throat.

I'll care when the cowardly so-called 'insurgents' in
Afghanistan come out and fight like men instead of
disrespecting their own religion by hiding in mosques.

I'll care when the mindless zealots who blows themselves
up in search of nirvana care about the innocent children
within range of their suicide bombs.

I'll care when the Canadian media stops pretending that
their freedom of speech on stories is more important than
the lives of the soldiers on the ground or their families
waiting a home to hear about them when something happens.

In the meantime, when I hear a story about a CANADIAN
soldier roughing up an Insurgent terrorist to obtain
information, know this: I don't care.

When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when
he is told not to move because he might be booby-trapped,
you can take it to the bank:
I don't care.

When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran and a
prayer mat, and fed 'special' food that is paid for by my
tax dollars, is complaining that his holy book is being
'mishandled,' you can absolutely believe in your heart of
hearts:

I don't care.

And oh, by the way, I've noticed that sometimes it's
spelled 'Koran' and other times 'Quran.' Well, Jimmy
Crack Corn and, you guessed it,

I don't care!!

If you agree with this viewpoint, pass this on to all your
E-mail friends Sooner or later, it'll get to the people
responsible for this ridiculous behavior!

If you don't agree, then by all means hit the delete
button. Should you choose the latter, then please don't
complain when more atrocities committed by radical Muslims
happen here in our great Country! And may I add:

'Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they
made a difference in the world. But, the Soldiers don't
have that problem.'

I have another quote that I would like to add AND.......I
hope you forward all this.

One last thought for the day:

Only five defining forces have ever offered to die for
you:

1. Jesus Christ

2. The Canadian Soldier.

3. The British Soldier.

4. The US Soldier.

5. The Anzacs, and

One died for your soul, the other 4 for your freedom.'

YOU MIGHT WANT TO PASS THIS ON, AS MANY SEEM TO FORGET ALL
OF THEM. AMEN!"

I have been unable to find any evidence of the New Brunswick letter, however much of the text has been cribbed from a 2005 column written for GOPUSA by right wing American writer Doug Patton.

Gail Smith was formerly Sheffield Council's cabinet member for Independent and Healthy Living.

Council votes in favour of budget cuts

Plans for £6.5m of cuts to Sheffield's public services have been narrowly approved today by a heated meeting of Sheffield City Council.

As previously reported, more than half of the cuts will be to Children and Young People's services, with projects combat substance abuse and teen pregnancy among those that will lose funding.

"Taxing less and spending more," said Council Leader Paul Scriven, "is fun in the short run, but it's a recipe for disaster. And that's what the last government's recipe was."

He also warned that if the Labour group were successful in blocking the budget as-is, the reductions would have to be made up in "mainstream" public services. "Schools, social workers. Real services cut because you haven't had the backbone to face the people of this city and face the consequences of the mess that your government left this city and country in."

Cllr Scriven said that while they have been able to protect permanent jobs from redundancies, contract and temporary workers may find their contracts shortened or not renewed.

Labour Councillor Julie Dore said of the Lib Dems role in the coalition government, "You're just lapdogs, figleaves. But boy don't they just roll you out when they want you to announce some bad news. Whatever you decide, this is about ideology. Do not be fooled. The role of public services, how they are delivered and more importantly who delivers them is what this is all about."

Far from the sombre faces put on by George Osborne and the cabinet on budget day, the Lib Dem cabinet appeared in more jovial spirits this afternoon. After pointing out that the country was paying out £80,000 a minute in interest, three councillors (Colin Ross, Shaffaq Mohammed and Simon Clement-Jones) openly joked about their three minute "quarter million pound" speeches. Their humour was met with uproarious laughter from the Lib Dem side of the chamber and stony faces opposite.

Cllr Mohammed said Labour councillors had been providing plenty of rhetoric, but had not come up with any of their own ideas.

"You can criticise the reductions as much as you want," he said, "but unless you come forward with alternatives you've got no leg to stand on. It's alright standing on the steps of the town hall and making speeches, but those people that actually know what's happening in the city don't want retoric, they want an alternative. Until you provide an alternative, you have no right to govern or lead the city."

Cllr Andrew Sangar, cabinet member for climate change and waste management, paid tribute to the Green Party councillors for coming up with alternatives to the budget cuts, but he said "Clearly we don't agree with it. They're a high tax party, we're not. We're a fair tax party."

Cllr Clement-Jones illustrated the city's financial situation in terms of the debt left to Sheffield by the 1991 World Student Games. "We're currently paying £25m every year, and will be unitl 2024. This recession will cost us two World Student Games a year for the next four years."

Labour Cllr Jack Scott, who stood against Nick Clegg in this year's general election, and who is a likely candidate for the vacant position of Sheffield Labour group leader, said, "Let nobody be in any doubt, this budget is a budget from hell. This fiscal sadism. It's too much too soon and it's too dangerous."

He also quoted pre-election campaign literature distributed by Paul Scriven, which said "Conservative plans will mean cuts to services now and a longer recession."

"The public debt now is £15bn less than when you wrote these leaflets," he said, "Nothing that you've said today about the debt was not known then, when you said these things. Nobody in Sheffield will ever believe a word you say ever again.

"These vicious and duplicitous right wing Liberals can fool themselves, but they can't fool Sheffield. They are out of ideas, out of excuses and out on their ear at the next election."

Scriven faces calls for resignation over Forgemasters

Sheffield City Council met today to debate the Forgemasters loan and the interim budgetLib Dem council leader Paul Scriven faced calls for his resignation today, during a debate on the council's handling of the Sheffield Forgemasters loan.

But Cllr Scriven says that Forgemasters executives welcome Vince Cable's recent statement on the matter, and are positive about a review of the loan in the Autumn.

Councillor Bryan Lodge called directly for the Leader's resignation, saying he had let down the 10,000 people who had signed a petition against the cancellation of the loan. "When will you do the honorable thing and resign, so we can have a member of your party who is a proper leader who will represent and stand up for Sheffield? Do it now."

Cries of "resign" were also heard in the council chamber as Labour Cllr Harry Harpham requested an apology from Cllr Scriven for making "false and unfounded" excuses to justify the decision.

In a previous meeting of the council, Cllr Scriven echoed Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's allegation that Forgemasters shareholders had been unwilling to raise cash by diluting their share holdings. Mr Clegg admitted that this allegation was not true in a recent letter to Forgemasters' Chief Executive Dr Graham Honeyman.

Questions were also asked about Cllr Scriven's handling of the situation prior to the decision being taken to cancel the loan.


The council agreed on 7th June, ten days before the Forgemasters loan was cancelled, to write to Business Secretary Vince Cable outlining the importance of the investment. It has since emerged that the letter was not sent until 25th June, a week after the decision had been announced.

Acting Labour group leader Cllr Bryan Lodge, said "I call on members in this chamber of all parties to look at this and ask why this council did not write until after the decision was taken. Why did it take three weeks, and where is your support for Sheffield business and standing up for the people of this city?"

Lib Dem Cllr Mark Reynolds dismissed concerns over the lateness of the letters as "trivial."

Labour Cllr Tony Damms said "We're proud of our steel heritage in Sheffield. Given the chances and given the tools to do the job, we can make anything out of steel in this city. We've got a proud heritage, a proud past. And what Nick Clegg and the ConDems are doing is denying us a proud future."

He also called for Mr Clegg to attend a public meeting to explain the reasons behind the decision.

"People don't understand," he said, "and I feel that some people in this chamber hope that by ignoring this issue it will go away. Well it isn't going anywhere. "

Cllr Scriven accused the Labour group of trying to "make cheap party political points" out of the issue.

He drew the council's attention to a letter he has received from Graham Honeyman, Chief Executive of Sheffield Forgemasters. In the letter, Mr Honeyman welcomes the statement made by Mr Cable yesterday, in which he said that the decision may be reviewed in the autumn when the availability of public money "becomes clearer".

In the letter, Mr Honeyman goes on to ask the council, across political boundaries, "to welcome the Secretary of State's commitment, and give support for the company and that future review."

Lib Dem Cllr Ian Aukland warned that the ongoing debate on the issue could have a detrimental effect on the business. "Forgemasters is a world class business." He said, "We are in danger of making the world out there who are not following this in detail think there is a problem with Forgemasters, and there isn't."