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MANCHESTER HOUSE
CARE HOME INCREASES CAPACity THANKS TO FUNDING FROM NATWEST
A family run Southport care
home is undergoing a major refurbishment which will increase the
number of places available. Manchester House Care Home is set
to increase the number of registered places from 55 to 64 as part of
the project which has been supported by NatWest. Located on
Albert Road, the site is situated opposite Hesketh Park and is in
easy reach of Lord Street and the promenade.
Manchester House is a registered care home with nursing options
available to residents. The improvements will see the home updated
with new windows, garden improvements and a complete redecoration
which includes upgrade of fixtures and fittings. It is hoped the
works will give Manchester House a more homely feel with smaller
units.
Manchester House is part of the Dovehaven Care Home group which
operates 12 facilities in the north west region. The business
purchased and refurbished the home thanks to a loan from NatWest.
Family business Dovehaven was started 30 years ago. It is run by
director Mark Gilbert who is assisted by his wife Wendi and two sons
Luke and Miles.
Mark said the support he was given by Healthcare Relationship
Manager David Hall was invaluable throughout the project. He
said:- “Manchester House is a big nursing home that needed
some updating. David is part of the NatWest Healthcare team and was
able to advise us very well throughout.
We are a family business which is committed to providing a high
standard of care to the elderly. I started this company 30 years ago
and my sons came on board nine and four years ago. I think to have
young people in this business looking after older people and gaining
the understanding of how a business like this operates is unusual,
and I think it is one of the reason's NatWest has supported us on
the refurbishment."
The improvements are expected to be completed by the end of the
year. David said:- “We were very pleased to support the
Gilbert family on this development and wish them every success with
their continued business development." |
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Liverpool City
Region wins EU funding challenge
THE High Court has ruled
that a 65% cut in Liverpool City Region's European funding is
unlawful. Lawyers for Liverpool City Region and Sheffield City
Region brought a joint action arguing the reduction was
disproportional compared to other areas. It is the first time a
successful challenge has been made against EU funding allocations.
Documents provided to the High Court showed that, according to the
Government's own estimates, the European Commission calculated
Merseyside's share of EU funding for 2014-2020 to be around €350
million. However it chose to allocate only €202 million, with the
balance being allocated to other, mainly richer, areas of the UK.
The Judge in the case has quashed the funding decision because the
Government breached its legal duty to have due regard to the need
to, amongst other things, eliminate discrimination and advance
equality of opportunity. He has ordered the Government to reconsider
its decision.
Mayor of Liverpool and Chair of Liverpool City Region Cabinet, Joe
Anderson, said:- “This is excellent news for Liverpool City
Region. The court has found that the Government has had complete
disregard for its legal duty when making its decision. It is well
documented that Liverpool is one of the most deprived areas in the
country and as part of its process the Government should have fully
assessed this to make sure there was no unfair discrimination when
making its decision.
The evidence presented to court shows that, based on the
Government's own figures, ministers decided to allocate €150 million
less to Liverpool City Region and almost €90 million less to South
Yorkshire than they themselves had estimated our share of the UK pot
to be. There is no doubt in my mind that they were guilty of
cutting our funding unfairly. In my view this is sheer arrogance and
I am pleased our case has been supported in a court of law.
European funding is meant to tackle economic inequality, yet as the
poorest area in the north west we were awarded far less funding per
head than the rest of the region including wealthier areas such as
Cheshire. The bottom line is that the Government took €275
million of funding allocated to English regions such as Liverpool
and gave it instead to Scotland and Northern Ireland. They had
claimed this was to protect them from being disproportionately
affected by funding changes, yet in percentage terms we have lost
twice as much as they stood to lose. I have described it
previously as Robin Hood in reverse - taking from the poor to give
to the rich."
Mayor Anderson added:- “I would like to thank colleagues in
Liverpool City Region, Sheffield City Region and the European
Parliament for their support in seeking to overturn this injustice."
Judicial review proceedings on behalf of the Sheffield City Region
and Liverpool City Region were issued on September 26 and the formal
case was submitted to the High Court on October 15.
The case was considered by a High Court Judge sitting in Leeds last
week and the ruling was published today.
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