Bill Esterson MP calls for rebuild of "unsafe" Sefton School

BILL Esterson, who is the Sefton Central MP, has called on Government Ministers to commit to rebuilding a Sefton Primary School, saying:- "No child should have to go to School in such a poor environment."  Sefton Central MP Bill Esterson raised the plight of Lydiate Primary School, at Education Questions in the House of Commons, on Monday, 6 December 2021. Mr Esterson had previously raised the case of the School after it was closed as an emergency measure and staff and children moved to Maghull High for a short period in late 2019. Sefton Council has since carried out work totalling more than ₤800,000 to repair the roof and do a re-wire, but more repairs are needed.

Mr Esterson asked Ministers: - "Staff at Lydiate Primary School do an excellent job, but the building is damp, the heating system needs constant repairs, the roof leaks, the basement floods and parts of the building are unsafe. The Department for Education has just carried out a survey and the surveyor has told the School he's extremely concerned at the state of the building. So does the Minister agree, no child should have to go to School in such a poor environment and can the Minister tell me when the survey will be published, and will the Government commit to giving the children and staff at Lydiate Primary School what they need if as seems likely that's what their own survey recommends?"

Education Minister Robin Walker MP responded:- "As he will recognise the Government allocates billions of pounds every year in terms of capital funding through Local Authorities, and works alongside them in this respect. We will continue to work with Sefton Council to make sure that the right funding and the right response to the report is produced, but I'm sure he will welcome the fact that Schools in his constituency are being supported by both the outgoing priority School building programme and the new rebuilding programme, and that's something that we also want to continue with."

Later in the session, the MP again raised the School's case, saying:- "Earlier I made the case for a new School at Lydiate Primary to the Member for Worcester. His answer was to talk about maintenance. But that's just a make do and mend approach, Mr Speaker, that really is not going to cut it for the children of Lydiate Primary School, and is very short sighted and poor value for money. Since 2010, the School capital programme has been cut from ₤9.1bn to ₤4.3bn, so if they're serious about levelling up, will he put the money back in and rebuild Schools like Lydiate Primary School?"

Minister Robin Walker MP responded:- "The Prime Minister announced a new School rebuilding programme in June 2020 and we confirmed the 1st hundred Schools as part of a commitment to 500 projects over the next decade. This includes the Deyes High School, in Sefton. We're investing a total of ₤5.6bn of capital funding to support the education sector in 2021/22."

Mr Esterson has pledged to continue to fight for Lydiate Primary to be rebuilt, saying:- "It is uneconomical to continue to spend vast amounts on the current building. Lydiate Primary must be included in the next round of the Schools rebuilding programme and I will continue to press the Government on this."

Putting Individuals at the Centre of their Carer

CARE England, the largest and most diverse representative body for independent providers of adult social care has welcomed the Department of Health and Social Care's White Paper on adult social care reform. It believes that we need a new vision for social care underpinned by a long term strategy to transform the system and enable care providers to have the resources and autonomy to enable citizens with health and social care needs to lead the best possible life.

Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, says:- "This top level visionary White Paper sets out the Government's direction of travel for the reform of adult social care. Care England stands ready to help the Government deliver this strategy by identifying and dismantling some of the barriers standing in the way of delivering this vision. Delivering this White Paper is going to be very difficult because of some of the major challenges facing the care sector, but we are all committed to starting on a journey that will deliver better outcomes for citizens and long-term sustainability for social care providers."

Should you wish to know more, you can read the Government's 'Heart of Care' paper online now.

Building Society staff in Southport receive early Christmas present

YORKSHIRE Building Society colleagues, in Southport, have received an early Christmas gift this year as the Society has announced it is giving all its colleagues an extra day off for Christmas Eve. As Christmas Eve, on 24 December 2021, falls on a Friday this year, it means that colleagues will receive a full 5 day break over the festive season as they will return to work on:- Wednesday, 29 December 2021. It also means customers will need to plan ahead if they need to contact the Society around this time as the Society's Southport branch on London Street and its call centres will be closed during these dates.

This is the 2nd year that the Society has given colleagues Christmas Eve off and recognises the immense challenges of the last 2 years where its staff have gone above and beyond in their roles. As key workers they have kept the vast majority of branches open throughout the Pandemic and call centres have remained open to provide essential financial services to customers. 1,400 staff also switched from office to home working.

Mike Regnier, Chief Executive of Yorkshire Building Society, said:- "We wanted to do something that recognised the extraordinary couple of years that our colleagues have been through. I hope that by giving our colleagues in Southport and across the UK Christmas Eve off again this year and providing an extended break to relax and spend time with family at home shows in part my immense gratitude to them. Since March last year, our response to Covid19 has been to focus on the key priorities of keeping members in their homes, making sure their savings are secure and accessible, and looking after our colleagues' safety and wellbeing. Without the massive efforts of our colleagues none of this would have been possible. I also hope customers understand why we have made this decision to recognise our colleagues in this way after this unprecedented year."

The mutual has not furloughed any staff this year and has also offered colleagues unlimited dependents and carers leave at full pay and anyone who is shielding, unwell or needs to self isolate and cannot work from home qualifies for paid sick leave at their full salary. Customers that are registered for online account management will be unaffected by this announcement.

Clear Course acquires job management software provider Eworks Manager

THE Clear Course Partnership ("Clear Course" or "the Group") , are a group of innovative technology companies providing market leading software, services and integrated payments solutions, and this week they announced a deal to acquire Eworks Manager ("the Company" or "Eworks"   ) who are a leading provider of job management software. This acquisition sees the Company strengthening the Group's Business Services division.

Founded in 2013, Eworks provides innovative job management software solutions for customers in sectors including facilities management, electricians, security and plumbing and heating. Eworks' products include an administration system and app with a full suite of features such as quote support, job planning, inventory management and invoicing.

Following the acquisition, Eworks' customers will benefit from the integration of Clear Course's proprietary payments platform, Clear Accept, facilitating a seamless process of invoicing and payment for Eworks' customers and their clients. The Company will also benefit from synergies with other Clear Course brands including:- CRM solutions provider Bright Office, as well as the greater strategic investment, expertise and knowledge sharing that joining the Group will bring. But we are told that the financial terms of the deal are currently undisclosed.

Based in Birkenhead, Wirral, and with an additional office in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, set up in 2017, Eworks services clients based all over the world. Managing Director Sam Kenwright will continue to lead his team of 20 staff following the deal.

Gerry Gualtieri, CEO of Clear Course, commented:- "We are delighted to announce that Eworks will be joining the Clear Course Group. It is a superb business which is on a really exciting growth trajectory. We are excited to expand our presence in the job management solutions space and can't think of better partners that Sam and his team in helping us do so. This addition to the Clear Course family will have very real benefits for Eworks and for the rest of the Group, with great opportunities for collaboration from the outset."

Sam Kenwright, Managing Director of Eworks, said:- "Joining the Clear Course Group is very exciting opportunity for Eworks and our customers. We're looking forward to working closely with Gerry and the other members of the Group, so that we can continue expanding our services and developing our innovative solutions. This is an exciting moment for Eworks, and access to the capital, expertise and ethos of the Clear Course Group is set to help to drive our growth in 2022 and beyond."