Freedom Pass Info

Renewing

At the moment, you should carry on using your current Freedom Pass but you will need to renew your pass some time between January and early March 2010. All current Freedom Passes will cease to work on 31 March.

The pass is normally renewed every two years to help prevent fraud but your new pass will be different in a number of ways:

• your new style pass will be valid for five years
• for additional security, your new pass will include a photograph of you on the card itself rather than on a separate photocard
• your new card will take up to 10 working days to arrive and will be sent to you in the post

For holders of the older persons pass:

We’re starting to renew Freedom Passes from 4 January 2010. To avoid a big rush we’ve allocated dates alphabetically by surname for you to apply for your new Freedom Pass. From January 2010, you'll be able to download the new style application form from this website which you can then take to any London Post Office branch, or pick up a printed version from the local Post Office. Use the list below to work out when you should go to the Post Office to apply.

• A/B/C/D/E surnames: 4-16 January 2010
• F/G/H/I/J surnames: 18-23 January
• K/L/M/N/O surnames: 25-30 January
• P/Q/R/S/T/U/V/W/X/Y/Z surnames: 1-6 February
• If you miss your week, please apply 8-13 February

Take a look at what the renewal advertising campaign will look like

Don't panic! You will have plenty of time to apply for a new pass and you will still be able to use the old one until your new one arrives in the post. If you miss your alphabetical slot, you will still be able to apply for your new card.

Holders of disabled persons passes will be contacted by their borough individually and advised what to do.

From One of my Ward Residents, please give support

Dear Colleague,
PLEASE DO NOT BIN THIS E-MAIL,

IT COULD BENEFIT ALL OF YOUR
STAFF.
WOULD YOU LIKE A GREENER SCHOOL?
Cycle to Work Schemes encourage people to cycle to work and
become healthier and offer the purchase of a bike and
accessories at up to 50% discount.
Unlike many other authorities, RBK are not signed up to a
scheme and are stopping us all from taking advantage of this
great offer. Buying a bike and cycling to school sets a
brilliant example to our pupils, keeps us healthy and should
be encouraged by a borough that considers itself
“green”. I intend to file a petition at the next council meeting on
24th November to persuade the council to join a scheme and
give us the benefits that other employers offer.

If you think a Cycle to Work Scheme should be implemented
please sign my petition by cutting and pasting the following
statement to jsmith17@rbksch.org

RBK should implement a Cycle to Work Scheme allowing all
employees to purchase a bike at a reduced cost to enable
them to cycle to work.
Please state your name, position and place of work.

Thank you taking the time to read this email. Please forward
it to any other RBK employees you know.

Julie Smith,
Deputy Head Teacher,
Robin Hood Primary School, Bowness Crescent, Kingston Vale,
London SW15 3QL. 020 8546 7388

Could you run your household on the hope of a tax Return ?

What a mess, the following is a copy of a report in the Comet, if true it shows that not only are we the highest paying rates payers in London and the third highest in the country, but that the lib/dems could not manage a chip shop let along a multimillion pound Athority

Kingston Council has been forced to commit an entire £5m reserve fund to plug holes in this year’s budget - and could still end up £700,000 in the red.

The council has taken a string of blows to its planned budget because of the recession, while the desperate need to build a new secondary school in north Kingston means it has to find up to £9m in three years, to fund the bid for Government money.

More than £2m of grants designed for “14 to 19 projects” has already been used to fund the council’s bid for £280m of Building Schools for the Future funds, while another £2m has been taken from the strategic investment reserve.

Low interest rates meant £700,000 was wiped from the council’s predicted income for the year, while its “worst case” scenarios for providing home and residential care for adults would see the budget outstripped by more than £1.6m.

The council also had to stump up hundreds of thousands of pounds to retrain staff in the wake of the Baby P tragedy, replace vandalised ticket machines in car parks and help Coombe Boys’ and Holy Cross secondary schools manage their own financial recoveries.

Another £370,000 has been drained from the coffers since the council evicted squatters from Raven’s Ait island in May, through the clean-up operation, security and marketing to sell off the island.

Council leader Councillor Derek Osbourne said there had been some “slippage” in the budget, but added the financial pressures the council was feeling were “entirely predictable” given the recession.

He said: “It absolutely highlights the pressures we are under across the whole range of budgets. There’s nothing new there.”

The council plans to claw back much of the deficit thanks to a recent court judgement, which has allowed it to pursue VAT refund claims from as far back as 1973.

More than £1.7m has already been recouped following the judgement, with two further cases in line to net the council another £584,000 if successful.

The authority’s One Council programme to permanently reduce its base expenditure was supposed to save more than £1.6m this year, although actual savings now look to be less than a quarter of that sum.

Kingston Council hopes the project will slash £8.5m in costs in three years, by reducing IT costs, grouping local services in “community hubs” and working better with partner organisations.

The council still needs to slash £12m from its budget in three years though, to avoid further increases in what is already the highest council tax in London.

ken smith

How did Ed Vote on a referendum that most of want?

Edward Davey MP

Your Member of Parliament is Edward Davey (Liberal Democrat), representing the constituency of Kingston & Surbiton. Their majority at the last election was 8,966.

This MP is against having a referendum.

Meesage on the EU from DC

This weekend we will hear the results of the referendum in Ireland on the re-named EU Constitution.

I want to make one thing clear: there will be no change in our policy on Europe and no new announcements at the Conference. There will be no change in Conservative policy as long as the Lisbon Treaty is still not in force. The Treaty has still not been ratified by the Czechs and the Poles. The Czech Prime Minister has said that the constitutional challenge before the Czech Constitutional Court could take 3-6 months to resolve.

I have said repeatedly that I want us to have a referendum. If the Treaty is not ratified in all Member States and not in force when the election is held, and if we are elected, then we will hold a referendum on it, we will name the date of the referendum in the election campaign, we will lead the campaign for a 'No' vote.

If the Treaty is ratified and in force in all Member States, we have repeatedly said we would not let matters rest there. But we have one policy at a time, and we will set out how we would proceed in those circumstances if, and only if, they happen.

Tories launch care home guarantee

The Tories say the scheme will not cost any public money A "home protection scheme" to prevent older people having to sell their properties to fund long-term care has been unveiled by the Conservatives. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) broadly welcomed the Conservative scheme and said the details would need to be examined carefully. A spokesman said: "The ABI has long advocated a partnership between the public and private sectors to deal with the crucial, and costly, issue of providing long-term care for the elderly. "This proposal has many merits and we support its aims in principle - we're pleased that the Conservatives are addressing this issue in a serious way."