Stockport Liberal Democrats

100 Apprentices in…50 days!

Staff and apprentices of Kids Allowed on Buxton Road, with local Lib Dem councillors Daniel Hawthorne and Patrick McAuley

100 apprentices in 100 days – that was the challenge taken on as part of a summer campaign by Stockport Council and the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS).

But this number was reached within JUST 50 days! The Council and NAS will continue to run the campaign until the end of the
100 days to see what figure can be achieved.

Cllr Daniel Hawthorne commented: “I am delighted to see another 100 local young people starting their training and learning skills. This ground breaking initiative will help our young people gain confidence and get their first experience of work, whilst local employers will benefit from apprentices’ new ideas and hard work.”

The Liberal Democrats launched a national ‘A Million Jobs for a Stronger Economy’ campaign this summer highlighting the successes the Liberal Democrats have had in helping to create more than a million private sector jobs since coming into Government and our determination to help create a million more.

The first phase of the campaign is a major apprenticeships drive. The party’s ambition is to double the number of companies offering apprenticeships from 100,000 to 200,000.

See more about the Liberal Democrats job campaign on www.amillionjobs.org.

Vince Cable backs Stockport’s 100 Apprentices in 100 Days Campaign

Vince Cable Backing Stockport Apprenticeships

Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Vince Cable visited Stockport to support the Council’s new ‘100:100’ Apprenticeship scheme.

The Council, in partnership with the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS), launched the scheme to encourage Stockport employers to take on 100 apprentices in 100 days.

Mr Cable was visiting the site of a Kids Allowed centre to be opened on Buxton Road in September. Kids Allowed is a childcare provider with its own Apprenticeship Academy employing 35 apprentices across Greater Manchester and Cheshire. Kids Allowed will be creating eight apprenticeships in Stockport during the 100 apprenticeship ‘window.

Councillor Shan Alexander, Executive Member for Lifelong Learning and Achievement at Stockport Council, said: “Following the great success of our 50:50 Apprenticeship Grant Schemes in recent years, Stockport Council has launched a 100 Apprenticeships in 100 Days scheme with the NAS. This ground breaking initiative will help young people in the borough gain confidence and get their first experience of working for a local organisation which in turn will boost the local economy.”

‘Safer In Stockport’ Summer Campaign

Cllr Sue Derbyshire oversees crushing of 30 illegal bikes

Stockport Council and Greater Manchester Police, working together in the Safer Stockport Partnership, are holding a month long initiative aimed at reducing crime and anti-social behaviour across Stockport.

The ‘Safer in Stockport’ initiative was launched with the crushing of 30 off-road motorcycles that have been seized by the Police.

These motorcycles have been confiscated under Police powers for being driven illegally on public roads, for causing damage to public spaces and for creating nuisance to residents, which is one of the main complaints received over the summer.

Councillor Sue Derbyshire, Leader of Stockport Council said: “We are working in partnership with Greater Manchester Police and its partners to show residents that Off-Road motorcycles are dangerous and cause a lot of noise and disruption to others. This event will hopefully show members of the public that you can have a motorcycle as long as you ride it legally and in a safe way.”

See more about the SSP and the ‘Safer in Stockport’ initiative on their website visit or call 0161 474 3143 or follow on Twitter @SaferStockport.

Crime Down in Stockport

Crime has fallen in Stockport every years since 2003

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has released the latest crime figures data, broken down by both type of crime and area.

Stockport’s figures show that recorded crime in Stockport more than halved between March 2003 and March 2013 falling 54%.

Specific areas of crime that came down in that time include

• Criminal damage and arson down 60%
• Domestic burglary down 60%
• Fraud down 67%
• Robbery down 65%
• Vehicle offences down 71%
• Violence with injury down 47%

Exceptions to the trend include sexual offences, reported up 2%,”Violence without injury” has also gone up, a category that includes assault without injury but also possession of weapons and harassment.

Away from the raw statistics, the Crime Survey of England & Wales confirms the falling trend.

But more needs to be dene to combat crime in Stockport. That is why the Council helped create the Safer Stockport Partnership to work closely with the Police and other key agencies in the borough to make sure the trend downwards continues.

Wage War on Wonga

Liberal Democrat Vince Cable used a visit to a Stockport credit union to back the Archbishop of Canterbury’s plans to put payday lenders, such as Wonga, out of business through the use of Credit Unions.

Cable said “There is a big opportunity for Credit Unions to grow and support their local communities and their local businesses, too. It has been good to come and see at first-hand how Stockport Credit Union has developed so far, and I certainly wish it well in its plans for expanding its work.”

Lisa Smart, a volunteer at Stockport Credit Union, said “Volunteering at the credit union is great fun and worthwhile too. Giving people access to savings and low-cost loans across Stockport says very clearly “Loan sharks are not welcome here!”

Click here for a link to the Stockport Credit Union or you can ring them on 0161 430 5808 or email them at mail@stockportcu.com.

Summer Campaign – 100 Apprentices in 100 Days

Lib Dem policies at local and national level and led to a 60% increase in Stockport apprenticeships

Stockport Council has joined forces with some of the borough’s key employers to take on the challenge of securing 100 Stockport apprentices in 100 days.

Although Stockport’s JSA claimant rate continues to decrease month by month and is below the North West average, getting more young people into employment is a top priority for the Lib Dems at the council and in government.

Apprenticeships are a powerful and vital tool in achieving this. Stockport Council has an award-winning track record on creating apprenticeships and Cllr Sue Derbyshire, council leader, is working hard to promote the 100-in-100 campaign.

Stockport is currently the 3rd best Borough in the North West for apprenticeships. 2011/12 saw over 3,000 apprenticeship start-ups in Stockport. An increase of nearly 1,500 compared to the previous Labour government.