Islington Council Funding Of Services

EDM number 370 in 2003-04, proposed by Jeremy Corbyn on 07/01/2004.

That this House notes that, despite a 5.6 per cent. increase in Government grant, Islington's Liberal Democrat-controlled Council is proposing to cut its annual ú41,322 grant to Mencap Pathway, which for 16 years has provided training and support for local people with learning disabilities who are seeking employment, to withdraw subsidies to after-school clubs and holiday playschemes, so that charges will more than double by April 2005, to cut by ú50,000 annual grants to Claremont Day Centre and Whittington Park Community Centre, threatening the lifeline services they offer to the elderly while the Pensioners' lunch club at Mayville Community Centre is similarly threatened by loss of council support, to limit eligibility to the Freedom Pass, thus excluding those who are deaf or have some form of mental illness, and to cut funding for the General Welfare for the Blind; notes that, as in previous years, Islington Council's cuts focus on vulnerable groups such as parents, the elderly and the disabled, setting one group against the other; condemns this latest round of cuts; and urges Islington Council to prioritise the needs of vulnerable people.

This motion has been signed by a total of 23 MPs.