Whittington

Whittington Division elects one Councillor.

Candidates:
Division Name Party Survey
Whittington CHARMLEY, Steve Con (Did not respond)
Whittington GOFF, Edward David Grn (Did not respond)
Whittington JONES, Christopher Lee Ind  
Whittington WALKER, David LD
1. Will you support sufficient funding to enable all Shropshire’s Public Health programmes to continue, and to allow the development and implementation of new programmes to improve the health of Shropshire people?

Name Party Q1
JONES, Christopher Lee Ind Yes
WALKER, David LD Yes
Comments and explanations:

Name Party Comment1
WALKER, David LD Bit of a blank check question but we want to see the NHS and Social Care merged and properly funded through a dedicated ring-fenced addition to tax or NI and is the subject of a commission. Polls indicate majority public support for this approach. Shropshire Conservatives have been slack in ensuring we get fair Funding in Shropshire. If we got the same STP allocation as Cornwall most of our immediate problems would dissappear. The funding of the NHS shouldn’t be a political football.
2. Will you support sufficient funding for health visiting in Shropshire to ensure the full implementation of NHS England’s recommended model: ‘The universal health visitor reviews’ – five mandated reviews?

Name Party Q2
JONES, Christopher Lee Ind Yes
WALKER, David LD Yes
Comments and explanations:

Name Party Comment2
JONES, Christopher Lee Ind This is crucial for a rural country such as Shropshire where access to services can be limiting for many – we don’t all live in the major service centres!
3. Will you support Shropshire Council commissioning and subsidising public transport sufficient to enable all patients without their own transport to access health services reliably?

Name Party Q3
JONES, Christopher Lee Ind Yes
WALKER, David LD Yes
Comments and explanations:

Name Party Comment3
WALKER, David LD Shropshire Council’s bus review was far too narrow in scope. It should have looked at the whole service, future demand and ways to make routes and journeys more reliable and suitable for destinations people want to go to… key amongst those are hospitals. A resident of mine decided to go to the orthopaedic via bus. Meant two buses. Outward journey went well but return meant an hour wait at orthopaedic, in cold, and another wait to change bus in town. Another resident walks from Babbinswood to Gobowen to catch the train because the bus isn’t realistic option at that time.
4. Will you support the funding of Healthwatch at a level sufficient to fully exercise its statutory role, and do you agree that it should be able to determine its own programmes of work independent of any Council veto?

Name Party Q4
JONES, Christopher Lee Ind Yes
WALKER, David LD Yes
Comments and explanations:

Name Party Comment4
WALKER, David LD Healthwatch should also be an independent body. Councillors should only have supporting role and work in partnership with Healthwatch
5. Do you agree that the Health and Wellbeing Board should only apply the Better Care Fund on programmes that will improve health and wellbeing, rather than transferring the cost of provision from the NHS to the Council, voluntary organisations, and individual patients?

Name Party Q5
JONES, Christopher Lee Ind Yes
WALKER, David LD Yes
Comments and explanations: None
6. Will you vote against endorsement of the current Shropshire Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) in which Shropshire Council is a partner?

Name Party Q6
JONES, Christopher Lee Ind Unsure
WALKER, David LD Yes
Comments and explanations:

Name Party Comment6
JONES, Christopher Lee Ind Need more information, but if it is detrimental I will vote against it.
WALKER, David LD STP is a mess and has been botched from the start. Not helped by Conservatives not campaigning for a fair STP allocation for Shropshire
7. Will you vote against endorsement of future versions of the STP if it does not meet the following red lines: (a) no reduction of provision or access to in-County secondary care, including emergency care; (b) no reduction of hospital beds in either RSH or PRH unless bed occupancy rates have been running at 85% consistently for 12 months; (c) no reduction in acute/secondary care services that are being transferred to the community without high quality evidence based community provision being in place, fully operational, and proven to be successful; (d) no reduction in beds and service provision at our community hospitals; (e) a real increase in community mental health provision; (f) the continued provision of accessible Midwife-Led Maternity Units, in line with national guidance and with no reduction in current services; (g) a real improvement in ambulance provision to ensure NHS England target response times can be met across the County; (h) no increase in the fragmentation or privatisation of services?
Name Party Q7
JONES, Christopher Lee Ind Yes
WALKER, David LD Yes
Comments and explanations:

Name Party Comment7
JONES, Christopher Lee Ind Absolutely agree and will vote against all of the above.
8. If a member of the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee, or the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, will you ensure that there is full public consultation on any proposed changes to NHS service that might negatively impact any patients, and if such proposals are subsequently agreed by the relevant NHS body, will you vote to refer the proposals to the Secretary of State for Health?

Name Party Q8
JONES, Christopher Lee Ind Yes
WALKER, David LD Unsure
Comments and explanations:

Name Party Comment8
JONES, Christopher Lee Ind This process needs to be far more transparent than it currently is.
WALKER, David LD Shropshire’s record on consultation is appalling. I would support a full through consultation. Referral to the Secretary of state would depend on the outcome of the consultation and what is proposed. Poor consultation and a poor plan then yes. Good consultation (as in wide with large participation) that supported the plan then clearly not. I would be shocked if that was the scenario but I wouldn’t want to fetter my discretion by prejudicing that.Lib Dems for many years have campaigned for a properly funded NHS, social care and mental health provision. We have campaigned to save services including cottage hospitals several times. I first stood for election in 1995 and NHS has been a recurring theme throughout. Now however, this crisis is unprecedented. The NHS is at breaking point and I would support all rational action to address this.