This Council agrees to write to Royal Mail and request that the relevant BB1 postcode areas are reclassified from Blackburn to Hyndburn. There is currently a growing weight of feeling regarding the BB1 postcode following the trend in Blackburn of crash-for-cash insurance claims that have affected premiums for everyone within that postal district. Ribble Valley is conducting a similar exercise in order to reclassify Wilpshire and with the threat of redrawing the borough boundaries looming ever closer I feel that it would be a prudent move for Hyndburn take a firm stance in establishing who we are and distance ourselves from Blackburn.
The motion was submitted on 28th February but quite coincidentally the Leader of the Council, Peter Britcliffe, had taken already action on this although he would not reveal on what date he had written to Royal Mail.
This Council agrees to cease ordering all buffets for council meetings with immediate effect. This would save Hyndburn Borough Council approximately £2,000-£4,000 per year based on official figures. Whilst the amount saved is comparatively small, it would be another cut that HBC could make without affecting any jobs. Although this motion is no reflection on the quality of the fayre provided by the caterers. few private sector workers are afforded the same privilege by their employers. At a time of national stringency it would seem both prudent and fair to excise those areas of council expenditure which are generally viewed as a gravy train by the electorate.
Again, by a startling coincidence Cllr Britcliffe had already taken action on this by outlining that providing buffet lunches for the councillors saved much more money than if members claimed meal allowances. One of Cllr Britcliffe's own party, Cllr Terry Hurn, has a business interest in the firm which provides the buffet lunches, something which HBC has spent over £15,000 on over the past few years. Cllr Moss pointed out that the point of the motion was not to enable members to take meal allowances but save money in a painless way and ask councillors to pay for their own lunches as the vast majority of the public and private sector do every day but the Conservatives voted the motion down and it was defeated.
All members of the Labour group have now signed statements to say that they do not wish to partake in any buffets provided at meetings by Hyndburn Borough Council. Further statements have been submitted waiving rights to the subsistence allowance at HBC meetings and no Labour councillor will be accepting the 3.6% rise in all allowances that is due in May. The Leader of the Labour group, Cllr Miles Parkinson, has spoken out against this rise publicly and has been accused of 'gesture politics' by the Leader of the Council who refuses to decry the proposed increase.
When questioned on the Conservative budget proposal for an unspecified £17,500 extra to be spent on the democratic process, Cllr Britcliffe indicated that it was a further £500 allowance for every councillor.
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