This Council notes

* Nick Clegg’s interview in the Observer in which he pledged that any cuts would be on the basis of fairness and there would be no return to Thatcherism.

* The Liberal Democrat Party poster during the recent election campaign which drew attention to the Conservative VAT bombshell.

The “year in” savings announced for Local Government that do not meet Nick Clegg’s pledge of fairness as Salford faces £4 million of expendidture cuts which represents 1.1% of the total Council budget, whilst Conservative controlled Trafford are only required to make expenditure savings amounting to 0.6% of their budget.

This Council believes that if Nick Clegg was serious about the principles of fairness he would take steps to ensure that any future expenditure cuts do not fall on the more deprived or poorest areas and this Council calls upon him to live up to his promises of fairness.

VOTE LIB DEM GET TORY.

The Liberal Democrat manifesto commits the party to stopping Catholic, Anglican and Jewish schools from selecting pupils on grounds of faith. Critics say the policy would effectively spell the abolition of nearly 7,000 religious schools that have succeeded in delivering a high quality of education over generations.

Bishop Malcolm McMahon of Nottingham accused the Liberal Democrats of seeking to destroy the historic partnership between the state and the churches in the provision of education.

“Catholics should give it very serious consideration before they vote Liberal Democrat,” said Bishop McMahon, the chairman of the Department for Education of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales,

“Our position is that every person should have the right to bring up their children according to their consciences.”

He said that this was the “firm principle” on which all the education policies involving the Catholic Church have been established since Cardinal Henry Edward Manning embarked on a vast school-building programme in 1870.

The bishop said the principle was enshrined in the 1944 Education Act and preserved by the 1988 Education Reform Act.

But he said the Liberal Democrats were now “looking at changing the fundamentals of education policy which is going to be very damaging for the Catholic Church”.

“I think we have fought hard over the last 150 years to develop the Catholic school system which we believe provides for the needs of our children,” said Bishop McMahon. “We would not want to see that eroded in any way.”

The bishop said he was “surprised” by the policy, which he described as “unnecessary”.

He also accused the Liberal Democrats of seeking to “take a slice of the faith school capital”.

He said the party was targeting religious schools because they are successful, with religious schools together gaining about two-thirds of all perfect Standard Attainment Tests although they constitute a minority of the sector.

“They [the Liberal Democrats] want a slice of success for everybody, which sounds wonderful until you realise that our schools weren’t founded for that purpose,” Bishop McMahon said.

“We have an education system based on principles not results,” he added. “We believe that education is fundamentally about developing the human person and everything, including good results, flows from that.

“The reason that the Catholic Church is in education is based on the fact that we believe a child should get to know God and God’s creation. That’s why we are in it, that’s why we do it. It’s not only because we get good results.”

The policy is contained in a section of the Liberal Democrat election manifesto called Freeing Schools for Excellence. “We will ensure that all faith schools develop an inclusive admissions policy and end unfair discrimination on grounds of faith,” the policy states.

Critics say it will mean that 4,470 Church of England, 2,300 Catholic and 85 Jewish schools will lose control over their admissions, with successful schools in particular possibly inundated with non-religious pupils – often at the expense of religious families.

Story from The Catholic Herald.

Salford Liberal Democrats should come clean and say if they support their parties election manifesto or was all their posturing about BSF faith schools just jumping on the bandwagon AGAIN !

The call comes in response to a consultation by the Greater Manchester Minerals Planning Committee – set up by the 10 councils in the city region to develop a statutory plan.

The 10 councils are required by law to produce a plan to lay down rules for deciding planning applications from those who want to extract sand, gravel and other minerals including peat.

In a letter to the Committee, the Council says: “Salford’s view is that the Minerals Plan should contain a clear policy statement that no further peat extraction should be permitted including time extensions to existing permission.”

Salford’s planning lead member Cllr Derek Antrobus said: “Curbing climate change is a central aim of the planning system and peat bogland is an important carbon sink.” The Government has announced the phasing out of peat for gardening so there can be no justification for its continued exploitation.”

Salford has already proposed a policy in its own key planning document – the Core Strategy – to restore and enhance peat bogland on Chat Moss and prohibit future peat extraction. But this has still to go to a public inquiry.

Four historic permissions exist for peat extractions on Chat Moss from a period when planning rules were more relaxed. Salford faces a battle with Peel Holdings who have also responded to the consultation. They argue that there is no justification for a ban.