Minutes:
The Council received the following Petitions and Public Address:
Petitions
Ms Mary Stiles, Parish Transport Representative for Thame, presented a Petition calling on the County Council not to vote for the proposed Budget on 16th February 2016, which included the withdrawal of all bus subsidies, on the basis that the 120/121/123/124 in the Thame area was a lifeline to local people who could not get into the town by any other means, did not have their own transport and could not walk that far. She further made a plea to at least maintain a service 2 to 3 times a week.
Ms Lynne Keen presented a Petition urging the Council not to close the Children’s Centres, but instead to keep them open to all families as well as using them for the proposed 8 referral centres being opened to be accessed by referral for most vulnerable families.
Public Address
Ms Josephine French, doctoral student outlined the results of a medical study (the adverse Childhood Experiences Study) and suggested that the Children’s centres and services provided protection against the risk factors set out in the study. She urged Councillors to keep the centres open to protect against generational cycles of suffering and social and economic difficulty and warned that there would be an increase in welfare and support services if they were not kept open.
Mr Malcolm Leading spoke as parish transport representative against the withdrawal of bus subsidies on the basis of the detrimental effect it would have on many parishes, including access to health services, doctors, dentists, hospital, shops and increased cars on the roads. He urged the Council to delay the decisions to allow for further talks between the parishes, County Council and Bus companies.
Ms Donna Crook spoke on behalf of ‘Save Our Henley Bus campaign’, urging the Council to keep the local bus service on the basis that it provided some of the most vulnerable people in the community with a lifeline to local services and enabled people to live independently without care or going into care homes.
Ms Claire Soper, outlined concerns about the Council's proposal to close Health and Wellbeing Centres in 2017 which provided much needed support for the frail and vulnerable elderly, often with dementia, Parkinson’s and stroke who could not speak for themselves. She urged the Council to reconsider the proposal to shut all 8 centres and give consideration to retaining 3 ‘hubs’ in the North, City and South.
Ms Clare Ellis and Ms Lesley Dewhurst spoke on behalf of the Homeless Voice Group urging the Council to protect the most vulnerable of Society not to withdraw the housing support budget.
Ms Suzy Imeson and Ms Esme Mutter spoke on behalf of the Stroke Association relating people’s experiences with Aspasia, particularly around communication on the telephone. They urged the Council not to support proposals to end funding for the Stroke service.
Mr David Ricketts spoke on behalf of Unit, urging the Council not to cut early intervention Services in Oxfordshire.
Ms Charlie Payne urged the Council not to increase isolation in communities and in particular to the young or the elderly by closing children centre’s or old people’s day centres. She referred to the consultation on the future of children’s services and in particular that 71% of respondents rejected the Council’s proposals.
Ms Diane Wilson questioned how the Council could justify the closure of 44 children centres and the subsequent consequences to early intervention when it held £112m pounds in reserve, when to keep all the centres open would only use 7% of the amount.
Ms Jill Huish, a user of the service informed the Council that she had spent many months trying to save the Children’s Centres and that the feedback so far on the new proposals put forward showed overriding concern regarding the cutting of universal services that keep families safe. She urged the Council to retain fully functioning Children Centres.
Master Dylan Lovell spoke to the Council of the support he and his mother had received through a very difficult and painful period in their life, including ADHD, Asperger’s, domestic abuse and the death of his father. He questioned where children with similar very worrying issues would go in the future if the Children’s Centres did not exist.