Sefton's Conservative Group Leader on Sefton Council has strongly criticised the new Labour Government

THE Conservative Group Leader on Sefton Council, Mike Prendergast, has strongly criticised the new Labour Government's plans to scrap the Winter Fuel Payment for many pensioners and is calling on Southport's new Labour MP to urge the Chancellor to change her mind. Around 10 million pensioners across the country will lose their payments, worth around £300 for most pensioners. Age UK have already started a petition to reverse the decision.

The Dukes Ward Councillor Prendergast has said:- "The decision by the Chancellor and the Labour government to scrap the Winter Fuel Payment is the wrong 1 that will harm many households across Southport and the Northern Parishes. Many older people will now have to choose between:- heating or eating this coming winter. The spurious claims by Labour about the economy totally ignore that the UK has some of the highest growth rates in the G7, inflation is now back under control and all of the economic data points to a far better outlook than Labour are trying to fool people into believing. Nobody should be under any illusion that Labour have made a political choice here. They have chosen to take money away from pensioners who have worked all their lives in order to cave into union demands for inflation busting pay awards. We've seen pay awards of 22% for junior doctors and 15% for train drivers. The unions are back in charge and will no doubt be back for more in future as we can already see with rail union bosses planning further strikes even after their bumper pay deal. Labour promised to keep energy bills down, yet bills will go up around 10% in October. Many in Southport will feel that this is a broken promise, with Labour prioritising inflation busting pay deals. Pensioners in Southport and the Northern Parishes are already feeling the cost of Labour. Southport has 1 of the highest population of retirees in the country and tens of thousands of people in the Town, with very little notice, will now be financially worse off because of Labour. In the Northern Parishes too, many will be affected and those in more isolated rural areas who rely on the Winter Fuel Payment to help keep their oil fired boilers filled will also now feel the pinch. We have also only just emerged from an energy crisis and with the possibility of it happening again, with the situation in Ukraine, it seems incredibly shortsighted and mean spirited to bring this measure in. I'm calling on our newly elected Labour MP in Southport to speak to the Chancellor to put forward the case for maintaining the Winter Fuel Payment in its original form and also asking him to raise the issue in the House of Commons on behalf of pensioners across Southport and the Northern Parishes. I very much hope that our new MP will join me in asking for this terrible decision by the new Labour government to be reversed."

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State of the art community equipment site is unveiled in Liverpool

RICHARD Kemp CBE, the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, has officially opened a new state of the art equipment site which aims to help residents and those registered with a GP in the City to remain independent and mobile in their own homes.

The Lord Mayor was accompanied on the visit by Mersey Care's Chair, Rosie Cooper, who served with the same title for Liverpool between 1992 and 1993. The new site at Mersey Reach, Dunnings Bridge Road, Bootle, is run by Mersey Care and will assist even more patients through the delivery, collection and maintenance of equipment.

This will, in turn, help reduce Hospital admissions and ease Hospital discharges while the service anticipates they will be able to deliver over 40,000 items and collect over 35,000 items annually. Recycling rates are expected to improve, too, from an already impressive £3 million savings on equipment last year.

The Lord Mayor, Richard Kemp CBE said:- "It's great that this facility has been made available to the people of Liverpool. No 1 really wants to stay in Hospital any longer than they need to and this equipment should help people recover in their own home, in familiar surroundings with family and friends around them - I had no idea there was so much equipment available to enable that to happen."

Ms Cooper explained:- "Access to prescribed equipment and maintenance at this new state of the art site will make a huge difference to our patients and service users around the City. Receiving the right equipment at the right time enables people to be safely discharged from Hospitals, promoting independence and mobility in their home environment. This is so important to improve people's wellbeing and will lessen the burden on Hospitals across Merseyside."

Mersey Care is hoping the move to the new venue will also encourage returns of equipment from people's homes. Those with unwanted items can call 0151 295 9816 to arrange free collection so equipment can be cleaned and safely reused.

Liza Alexandra, Mersey Care's Clinical Service Manager, added:- "The move to Mersey Reach is fantastic not only for patients as we will be able to deliver vital equipment more quickly, but for staff and partners too, as we will be able to bring more services in-house to improve efficiency. Please can I also encourage people to return any unwanted equipment like walking frames, bathing and toileting equipment and other daily living aids, as it costs the NHS millions of pounds every year."

The equipment service delivers 7 days a week and can be accessed via any registered healthcare professional making a referral on behalf of a patient. More information about the services on offer can be found on the Trust's website.