"Don't let local village policing be merged with Merseyside" - warns Lorraine Fullbrook

Local Conservative Parliamentary Spokesman Lorraine Fullbrook has called on the Government to think again about proceeding with plans to merge the Lancashire police force into one of just twelve giant regional constabularies, at an "astronomical" cost to the taxpayer.

Following a Commons debate on the merger the week before Christmas, Lorraine has warned that the independence of Lancashire police is at stake, along with their operational effectiveness, stability, and essential links with local communities.

And she has accused Home Secretary Charles Clarke of seeking to force through the changes without adequate debate: "Rather than being driven by operational effectiveness, the changes are being driven by blind belief in centralisation that defies the facts. And rather than focusing on the needs of local people, they are bound to be driven by an agenda of regionalisation that this Government continues to pursue against the will of the people."

Mrs Fullbrook stressed how the most successful recent anti-crime drive was achieved in New York where police teams were locally managed, directed and financed.

She warned how the proposed larger force responsible for local policing in villages like Mere Brow may cover Merseyside as well Cumbria and would be "too huge to be effective" and result in some officers having to drive for hours to reach their new regional headquarters. Mrs Fullbrook also expressed alarm at the likely costs of the shake-up - which she warned could run into hundreds of millions of pounds, while taking ages to implement.

"As my colleague David Davis pointed out in Parliament , there is every chance that costs will go up, not down. If nothing else, all experience shows that the process of amalgamation itself will be a ferociously disruptive and distracting exercise, probably for several years...during which time neither the criminals nor the terrorists will rest."

Mrs Fullbrook declared: "I am not opposed to any change in the current structure of Forty Three police forces, but I do believe there are very serious problems with the current proposal. It makes policing remote, when we should be making it local. It makes policing unaccountable, when we should be giving people greater control. It threatens massive costs for local taxpayers with no extra benefits and it is driven by a regional agenda which has already been rejected by the British people.

Everywhere we turn, the Government seem determined to organise our lives on regional lines. Like the possible merger of local Hospital Trusts this is all about saving money, and breaking Britain up into euro-regions and not about improving service.It would be a tragedy indeed if we sacrificed good and effective policing on the altar of regional dogma. It will be a tragedy if the Government pushes through this hasty, ill-considered, costly, disruptive, and dangerous plan. A tragedy the people of Lancashire cannot afford."

COLDEST WINTER IN A DECADE SET TO ADD £600 MILLION TO ENERGY BILLS
With the Met Office set to confirm tomorrow that we are expecting the worst winter in 10 years, leading switching and comparison site uSwitch.com, reveals that the arctic freeze forecast for this winter is set to add £600 million to the nation’s energy bill.

The last time the UK suffered from an unusually cold winter (1995/96) energy consumption swelled by 5% per household. Based on today’s prices this would bump up the nation’s energy bill by £600 million. Furthermore, recent price rises mean that consumers who wish to turn up their thermostat by 1 degree to keep warmer, will have to pay an extra £57 - 46% more than four years ago.

Alan Tattersall, Director of Home Services at uSwitch.com, states: “This could be the most expensive winter people have faced for many years. Freezing temperatures mean that the amount of energy used just to keep warm and healthy this winter, would result in energy bills soaring.

“By the end of this year, customers will have seen their energy bill rise by at least 16% or over £100. In addition, the poorest 10% of the population are now spending 9% of their income (up 27% since 2001) on their energy bills which is perilously close to the industry definition of “fuel poor”, which is 10%. We are concerned that further increases in the New Year could see vulnerable groups struggling to keep warm this winter.”

The average consumer bill will have risen by over £100 by the end 2005 to a total of £770. In a double whammy, energy customers should brace themselves for price hikes in the region of 15% by major energy suppliers as early as the first quarter of 2006 (possibly pushing the average fuel bill up by a further £116). These anticipated prices increases come in the wake of burgeoning wholesale gas prices that have risen by 417% since the start of the year.

The combined impact of a volatile market, price increases by all major suppliers and a harsh winter means that consumers who have never switched could pay close to £1000 for their gas and electricity by early next year.

To exacerbate the issue, data from the Met Office between 1971 through to 2000 shows that February has, on average, the coldest minimum temperatures - suggesting that the worst of the weather is still to come.

To help mitigate this and ensure that people keep warm this winter, uSwitch.com recommends the following measures:

• On frosty mornings do not leave your insecure car unattended whilst defrosting. Many motorists will start their car and leave it running with the fan turned on to help the defrosting process whilst they go inside. If you cannot garage your car overnight, either stay with it whilst the windscreen clears or cover it with a protective sheet so that the windscreen does not get frosted up.
  Last Friday at approx 7.40am a Mazda MX5 was stolen from Kilsby Close in Walton-le-Dale in exactly this way.
• Leaving the engine running whilst out of the car on a public highway is an offence but this also gives criminals the opportunity to take the vehicle. Quite a few people do this whilst calling into a newsagents first thing in the morning but will also leave their keys in a switched off vehicle when filling up with petrol – an open invitation to an opportunist thief.
• Insurance companies request details of auto crimes from the police to assess each individual’s claim. These details help to establish whether the aggrieved has been contributory to the loss and ultimately whether the insurance company will pay out.
• In the run up to Christmas do not leave valuables on display in your car and avoid leaving bags of presents on view. This also applies not only to Christmas presents but other items such as laptops and bags – if you don’t need it don’t leave it in your car.
• Ensure your car is safe, secure and properly alarmed at all times. Leaving high powered and valuable vehicles on driveways attracts attention and incidents have happened recently where thieves have broken into insecure properties and stolen the keys to vehicles – these crimes have not just happened overnight. Keep your property secure and your car keys out of sight.

• Applications are automatically granted unless an objection is made, but only certain people are allowed to object. Residents can only object if they live in the immediate ‘vicinity’.
• Councillors are not allowed to object to applications in their ward in their own right.
• Councils must follow the 180-page Whitehall guidance, which prevents councils from staggering closing times across an area.
• Councils cannot object to ‘Temporary Event Notices’, such as controversial raves or festivals for up to 500 people.
• There are few powers to hold pubs and clubs responsible for rowdy or drunken customers once outside their premises, even if the serving of alcohol caused the nuisance.