Tea and Coffee FOI is Farcical in Light of Other ABC Spends

Labour Campaigner Brendan Chitton is aghast at money spent by Ashford Borough Council on Tea and Coffee in the last three years.

I suggest he applied his Freedom of Information Act Legislation more vigourouslly to his own party and makes a note of Liam Byrne's letter left in the Treasury at the end of the Labour Government.

However, it is prudent to point out that Ashford Borough Council has circa 500 employees, working circa 350 days per year. Therefore the response provided identifies Ashford Borough Councill only spent 2p per employee per day in the three year period.

Perhaps Mr Chitton has only covered Local Government in his Politics studies so far, and would greatly benefit from full investigation into the remits of excessive spending in local government before launching such a meagre campaign again.

May I suggest he begins with the Audit Commission, Commercial Sensitivity and Local Enterprise Partnerships?

Open Letter: Proactive Response Needed to Rise in Hare Coursing

Dear Sirs,

Hare Coursing is a barbaric sport, and it is a shame to see a rise in this illegal activity in Ashford and Tenterden (Ashford Herald 23.9.10).

Cruelty to animals should never be justified and I am pleased to see Kent Police taking the crime seriously.

However, I would like to see strategic and proactive action taken in future years.

Asking locals to report is all very well, but when members of the public are assaulted for interfering, the old adage "prevent is better than cure" would be well applied.

Kind regards,

Kelly-Marie Blundell
Ashford Liberal Democrats
Kennington

Open Letter: Ashford Herald 23.9.10

Dear Sirs

While it is wonderful that Ashford's Future is investing in the Skate Park at last, it is regrettable and indicative of a lack of foresight that this decision comes after the summer holidays.

The school children were therefore presented with inferior replacements and a lack of discussion for the duration of the summer.

Teenagers I spoke to at Ashford Skate Park in July were prepared to fund raise themselves to help repair and maintain the park. This perhaps would have helped empower the community more and contributed to national agendas on Big Society.

We ought to be engaging with communities, not just swooping in and out and dictating behaviour.

Kind regards,

Kelly-Marie Blundell
Ashford Liberal Democrats
Kennington