Pre inspection consultation on Royal United Hospital

The Care Quality commision have an open invitation to meet their CQC inspectors and share your experience of the services and care provided by the Royal United Hospital Trust in the last 12 months:

These are at

11am – 1pm, Tuesday 1 March 2016 at Trowbridge Library

11am – 1pm, Wednesday 2nd March 2016 at Bath Central Library and

11am -1pm, Waitrose, near the café area, 19 The Podium, Bath

I am sure that they would look forward to seeing many local residents with good or bad experiences at one of these events. 

The Care Quality Commision are soon to carry out an inspection of the RUH and the information that you give would be useful in their assessment of how the trust is performing.

Bath Magistrates Court to be retained as a result of Public Response

It is good news that Bath Magistrates court is to remain open and that the government has agreed that the public are right n the massive response that they gave to the public consultation.

The Lord Chancellor has agreed to retain the Courts after weighing up evidence received during a public consultation.

Evidence was submitted to the Ministry of Justice by Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Community Transport and Environmental Panel, following a Scrutiny Inquiry last September. 

The Inquiry heard evidence from members of the community and many professionals on the key issues and concerns raised by the proposal 

to close Bath Magistrates, County Court and Family Court or North Avon (Yate) Magistrates Court, with the transfer of the workload to Bristol Magistrates Court.  Both the positive and negative impacts were then reported back to the Lord Chancellor’s Office.

Having reviewed all the responses received during the consultation process,

the Lord Chancellor has recently agreed to close 10 courts and tribunals in the South West region, with Bath being the only site to be retained.

Though there was an acceptance that alternative provision might be possible, the responses confirmed the facilities currently available in Bath are of an excellent standard and could in fact be used to better effect by taking work from other courts that may close following this consultation.

Budget vote will mean residents pay more and get less

B&NES Councillors met this evening to discuss the Council budget for the 2016-17 financial year. The budget includes £12M of spending reductions as well as a 3.25% hike in the level of Council Tax residents will be expected to pay. This comes on top of already announced hikes in the precepts charged by the Fire Service, the Police and Crime Commissioner and Parish Councils.

Finance spokesperson for the Lib Dems, Councillor Andy Furse (Kingsmead) commented:

“We are unable to support this budget, which asks residents to pay more and get less. After a five year freeze, residents are being asked to pay 3.25% more Council Tax as well as increases to other precepts. In return, they can expect to see services cut in many departments, with more and more cuts to come.”

“The Conservatives have said they will deliver a balanced budget, but they cannot yet tell us exactly how this will be accomplished. Very little detail has been provided about some of the biggest savings the Conservatives are hoping to achieve. A large proportion of these rely on departmental reviews, which have not yet taken place, and business plans to boost income, which have not yet been developed. Others rely on accounting manipulations.”

“Without these details, Councillors have little chance to assess whether the targets are realistic or whether they will result in further, unacceptable cuts to public services. Some cuts which have already been announced do give cause for concern.” 

“Large sums are being taken out of health budgets for example. These seem to be mainly in preventative services, such as helping smokers quit, and programmes such as support for sexual health and substance misusers. Sirona and Curo are expected to deliver yet more savings.”

“In 2015, the Lib Dems allocated an extra £2.2M for highways maintenance, over and above the government grant, to help address the backlog in repairs. The Conservatives have reduced this pothole fund by £1.7M and have not revealed how the £500,000 which remains will be allocated. Inevitably, fewer potholes will be filled, fewer footpaths resurfaced and fewer roads rebuilt.”

“This is also a disappointing budget for the arts and heritage, with cuts lined up for Arts Development and Events grants, the music service, and destination management. These will come on top of planned, significant increases to entry fees for Council-run museums such as the Roman Baths, leading to the inevitable question – are we at risk of over exploitation of the visitor economy?”