According to Tatton MP Esther McVey Cheshire East Council asked the government to be placed in the high risk category, known as Tier Two, resulting in extra lockdown measures for local residents. However, the Council has flatly denied this.
Responding to my direct question, a spokesperson for Cheshire East said "CEC did not ask to be put into Tier Two".
Ms McVey told wilmslow.co.uk ''Cheshire East and Cheshire West Councils asked central government to be placed in lockdown tier 2 even though areas like Manchester which has been in lockdown since July 30th has seen their infection rates rise exponentially.
She added "Rather than destroy livelihoods on the back of a lockdown which isn't showing a reduction of infection rates it would be far better if clear, consistent guidance was given, such as observe social distancing rules, wear a mask and wash your hands, as well as provide information to who is most at risk, like the over 70s, those from the BME community and those with underlying healthy conditions so we can all take precautions and be alert to the dangers in order to protect ourselves and others."
Ms McVey continued "The action of the Labour run councils will destroy jobs and businesses in our area - with all the physical and mental health implications that flow from that - people should be under no illusion about that.''
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https://www.wilmslow.co.uk/news/article/20802/additional-measures-will-be-required-to-slow-the-rate-of-infection-in-cheshire-east
Onto the article; IIRC CEC stated in a public notice a week or so ago that they didn't want increased local restrictions but called on the population to be more responsible and act as if there were further restrictions in place to avoid further measures. I guess relying on the general public or even central gvernment to help wasn't working. (See BBC news article 6-10-20 and Wilmslow.co.uk news 5-10-20)
@Katheryn Blackburn - Ultimately the (paid) councillors who were voted for by the public to represent the public interest so if there are any problems it is because of the candidates voted forward by (you/us) the electorate. Major decisions are made by councillors advised by officers. However the civil servants do the work and usually have remit for day to day running of the council and for some decisions if they have 'delegated authority'. Also you will find that over the last 40 years staff in government has shrunk because of Tory cost-cutting (not fully rectified by uncle Tony) so all those 'employed at vast cost to the tax payer' tend to be too few to run effective services which are usually cash-starved towards very basic/essential/statutory functions.
It's also worth remembering that Labour do not have control of Cheshire East council. The council is under no overall control and has a scrutiny committee led by the local Conservatives. Therefore, if a bad decision is made then Labour, the Conservatives and the Independents all have to accept responsibility for it.
So we have all these local councillors sitting in their nice office's over in Sandbach, making very serious decisions on local people, and they dont even know if the current rules are being followed or not!! Added to the fact that every single press release these guys put out, always thank the population for compiling. How can they say this when there is no data?
How can they be making decisions that are finishing off local businesses,
keeping families apart and in general just whimsical while all the time not having a clue whether they are working or not???
I find it amazing these people are getting away with it. The data is out there, everyone walks around with a tracker on them now (mobile phone), so is it a case of they dont care, or just dont understand and are on a power trip? They were failing over themselves a couple of weeks ago to get us into the highest tier (in order to get more cash) then had the front to say they blamed central government for the extra restrictions!!
People are starting to get very sick of being treated like children, with made up "stats" and bull.
Please can someone from Cheshire East explain how decision's are come to with no data on how well people are behaving currently?
She is correct in saying that we have a Labour Run Council in East Cheshire. I recall that labour and the "independent group" wanted to replace the Conservative-run council. they succeeded because they did a better campaign than the Conservative party. We have images of the Labour leader and his independent deputy leader on newsletters posted, from Cheshire East.
I am sure that when requested to vote at the last local elections lots of voters thought they were voting for a truly independent candidate rather than a candidate who was part of the Independent Group and not for a Labour-run council.
I initially had involvement in that I was willing to help or stand as an independent - but not as part of the "Independent (Party) group" and withdrew my interest
Other than Alderley Road we still have major parking problems in Wilmslow, has the independent group fulfilled all their pre-election promises? Parking was possibly the main local issue in Wilmslow.
Back to COVID 19 just follow the guidelines -
I'd suggest most people who voted independent wanted to end the chaos and corruption that we saw over the 10 years which the Conservatives had complete control of the council and they knew in voting independent we were likely to have a council under 'no over control' opposed to a council where one party has a majority. As we know from the 2010 General Election if no party has a majority then it usually means some form of coalition agreement or some form of confidence & supply arrangement. Unlike the Lib Dems at the 2010 General Election, the Cheshire East Independent Group did not agree to support another party for an entire term, only until the cabinet system can be replaced by an efficient alternative, after which the Conservatives will regain more power within the council.
And the Government Tier policy was thought out long before it was implemented so McVey was most likely correct in that the begging bowl went out in advance of it going public.
In response to previous comments, under the Independent/Labour administration members of the groups applied for positions on the Cabinet, and were appointed, based on their knowledge and experience.
Under the previous Conservative administration members were given Cabinet positions as a 'reward', as an 'inducement', or to fill a vacant position, whether they had any relevant knowledge, experience, and whether they were suitably qualified or not. That may be one of the reasons why Cabinet members roles changed so often under their administration, why there was no consistency in the Leadership, and ultimately why there were so many widely publicised police investigations.
I would like to re-assure everyone that this is a joint administration that respects the views of all elected members and residents, and, that as a cross party Cabinet we work together to achieve the best outcome for all residents living in the Borough with the resources that are available to the Council.
Just to expand on this point for every £1 that the Council receives in Council Tax this is how it is spent (a large proportion of which is a statutory requirement legislated by Government):
Social care services 68p
Waste management and street cleaning 13p
Education support like home to school transport 8p
Highways and public transport 5p
Museums, parks, libraries 3p
Homelessness and planning 2p
Licensing, elections, trading standards 1p
It is also worth adding that between 2013/14 and 2019/20, central government grants to Cheshire East Council fell from £55.9 million to £0.
If you would like more information on the Council's finances, and the aims of the joint administration, I would suggest that it would be helpful to start by reading the new draft Corporate Plan. The Corporate Plan is the only document which covers the full range of the council's responsibilities and is an important tool to help focus the Councils efforts, and resources, in the right areas. The proposals are currently out for public consultation (closing date 27th November) and feedback is very welcome as it will help the Council to reflect the views and aspirations of our residents.
Finally, as has already been stated, I will repeat and reaffirm, the Council did not ask to be put in Tier 2.
Councillor Toni Fox
Cabinet member for Planning
Independent - Residents of Wilmslow
Dean Row Ward, Wilmslow
As to why COVID cases are rising, how do you know level 1 restrictions prevent the spread opposed to just slowing down the spread? Our government recommends social distancing of 2m, yet in Germany and Greece, where the infection has been spreading more slowly they only recommend keeping a 1.5m distance. However, unlike us they are stricter on mask rules - a scarf tied around your face is not enough and the mask must also be worn in busy outside areas, so using their rules wearing a mask in Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester would be mandatory, not just if you're just about to board a bus there. Also other countries don't have a full exemption for those with medical conditions, those with medical conditions are required to wear a face shield instead or even to stay at home.
One reason for COVID spreading is schools and universities reopened. The latter being especially relevant because it involves people mixing from different parts of the country and even under normal circumstances when students move in to halls of residence in September a lot of viruses get spread, hence the term 'freshers flu.'
to the Planning portfolio ?
Also not sure why you're uninterested in mask wearing in supermarkets (if you're so interested in COVID compliance), it might be Aunty Jean, who forgets her mask and still goes shopping in Tesco today, was having coffee with her friend Joan (in her social bubble) three days ago and tomorrow she'll get a phone call from Joan to say she's got COVID symptoms. As you should know COVID symptoms can take up to 14 days to display and some people with COVID show no obvious symptoms, which is why face coverings and social distancing are just as important as self-isolation.