1 June 2004

Lib Dem Shepway District Council Fails To Bait Rats At Sheltered Housing Scheme For The Elderly

Michael Howard has condemned the failure of Lib Dem controlled Shepway District Council to deal with a rat problem at a sheltered housing scheme for the elderly in Grace Court, Grace Hill, Folkestone, Kent CT20 1HG.

Management from the shelter contacted the Council to request the Environmental Health Department’s services only to be told that the Council could not help and that the housing scheme would have to pay for the services of a private pest control firm to deal with the problem. As the housing scheme is operated by a charity on a not for profit basis, the intervention of Michael Howard, Member of Parliament for Folkestone and Hythe, ensured that the problem was dealt with by Shepway D.C.

Mr Howard said:

“The charity which operates this vital sheltered housing scheme works extremely hard to raise the necessary funds to keep the shelter open. They rightly feel let down by Lib Dem controlled Shepway District Council and aggrieved that they were asked to pay for pest control when the shelter’s tenants are paying more than ever in Council Tax since the Lib Dems increased Shepway’s Council Tax by 29%.”