UNISON SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS DEVASTATING IMPACT OF EDUCATION CUTS

GOVERNMENT education cuts are depriving many young people and adults of the chance to contribute fully to society, UNISON has warned.  A new freedom of information survey, sent by UNISON to all of the 248 further education colleges in England has revealed the devastating impact government funding cuts are having on learners and staff, with the situation set only to get worse.

The survey results demonstrate how the cuts are limiting access to further education, through course closures, reductions in admissions and job cuts.  More than 60% of respondents said they had closed courses that ranged from Aerospace engineering and construction, through to a-levels and part-time adult learning. Colleges gave funding cuts and changes to funding eligibility rules as the main reasons for cutting courses.

In addition, despite record youth unemployment figures, the survey also reveals a drop in enrolment figures for this academic year; with nearly 70% of respondents reporting a fall. This was blamed primarily on the loss of the education maintenance allowance.

Jon Richards, UNISON national secretary for education & children's services said:- "In these tough times, the need for education and training has never been greater, yet our survey has highlighted the devastating impact government funding cuts are having on our further education college staff and students.  In the first year of this Tory-led coalition government, we saw nearly 6,000 redundancies in colleges. This; teamed with more than 60% of colleges cutting courses, and nearly; 70% reporting a fall in admissions in this last academic year; all paints a very grim picture for our further education services. These cuts are depriving too many young people of the chance to contribute to and take part in society. We know that many employers are looking for the very skills that FE colleges are able to provide. If the government does not stop this attack on education services, then we are looking at losing a generation to hopelessness and unemployment."

University and College Union general secretary, Sally Hunt, said:- "If this trend of cutting continues quality will inevitably suffer. The further education sector simply cannot continue to be asked to do more for less. Investment in our colleges is essential if we are to kick-start growth in economy. At a time when other countries are investing in producing more highly-skilled workers we cannot afford a repeat of these large-scale course closures and redundancies.  We are losing the very people we need to up-skill our workforce and train the next generation. We fear the situation could get worse with the introduction of loans for older learners and the government must ensure that participation does not fall any further."

Shadow minister for further education Gordon Marsden said:- "This survey provides detailed evidence of just how the Tory-led Governments cuts in further education funding are blighting the life chances of hundreds of thousands of young and adult learners. They are being prevented from getting new skills and jobs to kick start our economy and with the government now scrapping direct financial support for many adult learners in favour of a debt producing loans system, many of them could drop out. That would make life for colleges and those who work in them even tougher."

Current food supply is extremely vulnerable and could lead to severe food price rises

The Green Party today warned that the current crisis in dairy farming is just the latest manifestation of a wider crisis in our food industry that has left our food supply extremely vulnerable and raises the spectre of severe food price rises.

Our food production systems are now seen as part of a globalised market, where the trend is for more industrialisation; that puts the profits of multinationals before the health of consumers and the quality of food we eat. With a very small number of very large processors and retailers dominating the industry more and more small farmers and producers are finding that if they cannot meet the demands of these companies then there is no alternative route to market.

On a visit to the South West to talk to local Green Parties and farmers Caroline Allen, from the Green Party's Policy Committee, said:- "many small scale farmers are struggling; if they can't or won't sign up to very restrictive contracts required by supermarkets then the outlets for their produce are very limited.   It seems insane that vegetables grown around Exeter have to be sent to massive packing centres in the Midlands or East Anglia before being driven back here. These smaller farmers are exactly the type that we should be encouraging so we have resilience in the system and can feed ourselves into the future. There are ways we can support these farmers but the government is more interested in protecting big businesses. The Green Party is calling for a Grocery Adjudicator with real teeth and controls on the anti-competitive behaviour of processors."

Dairy farmer and Green Party member Henry Gent said:- "Its a scandal how producers can be paid less than it costs to produce something, especially when cost cutting will impact not just on the farmers and their staff but also on the welfare of the animals. It is not surprising that the number of dairy farmers has halved in 10 years, and we import 20% of dairy produce, many good family farms have sold up and ceased production. Its not hard to see that the next step will be the producers and their big business cronies saying 'well as these small businesses aren't viable the only answer is mega dairies."

With far too many cows already being kept indoors all the time in large dairies this is a trend we must resist. Cows should be eating grass, not soya and other protein crops shipped from across the world that ought to be feeding people. Here is the west country we have great pasture growing conditions, and we could have viable family dairy farms, with good positions for employees, and good cow welfare, but competition policy and taxation policy are against us.

We need a different approach, which follows common sense: family farms should be treated fairly, as they are in other countries in Europe, and we have to stand up against imports of cheap food that have been produced in ways that environmentally damaging or produced with inferior animal welfare

Bristol councillor Gus Hoyt, who was involved in the campaign against a new supermarket in his ward added:- "councils should be encouraging local food growing by looking at their own procurement policies and sourcing local food, helping the many small projects across the city expand. Our local fruit and vegetable market, St Phillips, needs to be protected to provide an alternative route for producers that doesn't involve the supermarkets, otherwise they will need to get produce from London or Birmingham.  With everyone concerned about growing childhood obesity and questioning where much needed jobs are going to come from a healthier more localised food system is an obvious solution."

Shots fired in Partington Avenue, Bootle, Merseyside

MERSEYSIDE Police Officers were called to Partington Avenue, on 31 July 2012, at around 11.45pm following reports that shots had been fired at a house. So far there have been no reported injuries, but evidence of shots being fired had been recovered from the scene. Following on from that, Police Officers, from Sefton, executed a number of warrants at 4 addresses in Bootle on 1 August 2012. At one address on Gloucester Road, a cannabis farm was discovered. Around 100 plants were found with an estimated yield value of between £4,000 and £8,000. At the 3 other addresses on Linacre Road, Lander Road and Blisworth Street, officers found a number of disused cannabis farms with evidence of recent harvests. House-to-house enquiries are underway and high visibility patrols have been stepped up in the area. Merseyside Police is appealing for those with information about cannabis cultivation at these addresses or in Sefton to contact them on:- 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on:- 0800 555 111.