From: www.owentemple.mycouncillor.org.uk
If you’re not familiar with credit unions, they are financial co-operatives owned and controlled by their members. They offer savings and good value loans. They are local, ethical and know what their members want. They are a real alternative to loan sharks and impersonal banks.
County Durham based Prince Bishops Credit Union has moved offices to make it more accessible to the public. The new Credit Union was created when East Derwentside Credit
Union in Stanley successfully merged with West Derwentside Credit Union in Consett this summer.
The credit union has moved from Priestman Avenue to Glenroyd House in Medomsley Road, Consett, and is now open between 9am and 4pm from Monday to Friday.
The move places the credit union in a more central location for residents seeking advice about secured savings or taking out a low interest loan.
The Prince Bishops Credit Union is regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
You can read more about it here
Car-owners warned over security
www.durham.police.uk
CAR-owners in Derwentside are being urged to keep the keys to their vehicles out of the reach of the 'fishermen thieves'.
A black VW Golf was stolen last night from outside a house in Consett's Chapel Drive after thieves deployed a hook or other implement to fish the car keys from inside the property, near the front door.
And a similar fate befell the owner of a Peugeot 306 which was stolen from outside a house in Medomsley Edge on the evening of last Tuesday, 10th November. The vehicle has since been recovered in the Stanley area.
Det Con Ian WASLIN said with vehicle security so much tighter these days, would-be car thieves had altered the way they operate.
"With immobilisers and key-coded ignition now standard features, it is very difficult to steal a modern car without having the keys to that vehicle. But the thieves know that many people still tend to leave their keys on a table, or in the pocket of a jacket hanging near the door.
"And sometimes they carry out a 'two in one' burglary, where they break into the property and then conduct a search for the keys. If the owner has hidden them from sight or kept them in a less obvious place, the chances of the burglars being able to steal the car are much reduced," said DC Waslin.
Drivers are also reminded to make sure any valuable equipment such as satnavs, laptops and mobile phones are removed from the vehicle when it is parked for the night, or at the very least kept out of sight.
Northern Durham Liberal Democrats
Autumn Dinner
Special Guest: Baroness Ros Scott,
President of the Liberal Democrats
Chapters Restaurant, Derwentside College,
Front Street, Consett
Thursday 26th November 2009 at 7.30pm
Price: £20
All proceeds to local Liberal Democrats election fund
Tickets Available From : ross.anderson@live.co.uk or owenlibdem@oltemple.f2s.com
HERE
Student Loans Company paid £2m in bonuses says Williams
The Student Loans Company has paid out nearly £2m in bonuses to staff despite leaving more than 100,000 students waiting weeks to receive their loans this autumn, the Liberal Democrats have revealed.
The figures, received following a Freedom of Information request, show that £1,893,000 was paid in bonuses between 2007 and 2009.
Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Universities Secretary, Stephen Williams said:
“It is absolutely outrageous that the Student Loans Company, which has acted so incompetently this year, has been paying out these massive bonuses.
“While students have been left struggling to make ends meet, the company’s top executives have been enjoying five figure bonuses.
“Some of these pay-outs are more than many people earn in a year. Rewarding failure in this way is totally unacceptable.”
Postal Scam
It has been confirmed by Royal Mail. The Trading Standards Office are making people aware of the following scam:
A card is posted through your door from a company called PDS (Parcel Delivery Service) suggesting that they were unable to deliver a parcel and that you need to contact them on 0906 6611911 (a premium rate number).
DO NOT call this number, as this is a mail scam originating from Belize. If you call the number and you start to hear a recorded message you will already have been billed £15 for the phone call.
If you do receive a card with these details, then please contact Royal Mail Fraud on 02072396655 or ICSTIS (the Premium rate service regulator) at www.icstis.org.uk
www.shadowcs.co.uk
Shadow CS is a fun, interactive website aimed at young people aged 11 – 18+ all about crime.
It allows young people to get involved in discussions about crime and the everyday things that affect them and gives them the option of seeking advice if they don’t know what to do.
Academies back in the News
As reported in yesterdays Northern Echo :
Opening dates for academies
"The proposed £25m academies for Consett and Stanley, in County Durham, could open in 2011, a full meeting of Durham County Council heard on Wednesday...
But the scheme has attracted strong opposition from some residents, parents and teachers.
The Consett Green Spaces Group has applied for the playing fields earmarked for the Consett academy to be registered as a village green and other attempts to block the project are known to be ongoing.
At Wednesday's meeting, the opposition Liberal Democrat group launched an unsuccessful attempt to have the issue referred to a scrutiny committee.
North-West Durham Liberal Democrats
Find us Here
New Lib Dem website launched
New party website launched this week.. take a look :
www.libdems.org.uk
e-petition edges closer
source: http://owentemple.mycouncillor.org.uk/2009/10/25/e-petition-edges-closer/
The e-petition asking Gordon Brown to instigate a review of the selection process for the Academy sites keeps getting closer to the magic 500 which is our target.
If you haven’t signed yet, please do so here (or if you’re nosy and just want to see what the number’s up to).
An e-petition is not like a paper based one where people can be asked directly to sign. Every signature is from a willing volunteer, so how about contacting some of your friends and asking them to volunteer?