LABOUR – PROUD TO HAVE INTRODUCED ‘DISABLE GO’ TO TENDRING

When Labour signed up to the four party coalition that was so successful for Tendring between 2007 and 2009, one of the famous ‘9 items’ that we sought as a condition of joining was that TDC signed up to ‘Disabled Go’.

This initiative, to which Marks and Spencer is the national sponsor, is a web site which promotes and advertises the disabled access and facilities at leisure and community facilities and business and retail outlets. This has obvious benefits for disabled residents and visitors alike and, in addition to the important improvements in equality and diversity, enables visitors with disabilities to come to Tendring with more confidence which also assists our local economy.

As a result of Labour’s initiative, Tendring District Council was among the earliest local authorities to sign up and many more have followed suit with the list ever growing.

Your local Labour councillors are, therefore, appalled that the present Conservative administration running TDC shows no sign of continuing to support ‘Disabled Go’ and, in spite of our calls for them to do so, seem likely to refuse to provide the £6,800 necessary to continue the initiative.

Labour finds it hard to believe that the local Tories consider it appropriate to pay £44,000 a year to four Tory cabinet members who no longer have departments to oversee rather than pay £6,800 for ‘Disabled Go’ but they must be answerable for this decision.