I attended a full meeting of Sefton Council this evening at Southport Town Hall at which a Liberal Democrat motion opposing the STP's was amended by the Labour group to state:

That this Council deplores:

1. the severe threat, *including the unacceptable spectre of privatisation,* to local NHS Services created by the draft 'Merseyside and Cheshire Sustainability and Transformation Programme' (STP) which has been developed in secret to cope with the effects of cutbacks in real terms NHS spending imposed by the government;

2. in particular, threats posed in the published plans to NHS services presently provided within Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust, especially its A&E service; within the Aintree Hospital Trust and in respect of Mental Health Services across the Borough; and

3. the fact that this STP plan, addressing a £900 million 'black hole' in NHS finance across Merseyside and Cheshire over the next five years, has been 'worked up' in private with no input into the process from any democratic representatives, *the public, NHS staff, GPs or trade unions.*

This Council notes:

1. that these proposals come at a time when the cash available for Local Authority-delivered care has *been massively cut, initially by the Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition Government and subsequently by the Conservative Government.* *It will therefore be placed (*also been under a substantial reduction and would be placed) under unacceptable pressure by further cuts in NHS services.

2. recent denials which have been issued following the public 'leaking' of these plans but also that these denials have not included any explanation of where else the money would come from; and

3. the all-Party NHS Parliamentary Committee, chaired by Dr Sarah Woolaston, has drawn attention to the factual deficiencies in government statements about future funding of the NHS.

This Council resolves:

1. to publicise the Cheshire and Merseyside Sustainability and Transformation Programme Plan and to inform the people of the Borough of Sefton of the effects which the changes proposed therein are likely to have on the health and social services provision provided to the local population *which is a direct result of the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care Act 2012 reforms *; and

2. to notify the Merseyside and Cheshire NHS Sustainability and Transformation Programme lead and the Secretary of State for Health of its opposition to any programme of cutbacks *or privatisation* locally and nationally in the NHS created to meet underfunding by the Conservative Government.

The speeches by Ian Moncur (chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board) and Paul Cummins (Adult Social Care and Health) were highly critical of the STP (as was Sue McGuire's the Liberal Democrat who proposed the motion). The leader of Sefton Council, Ian Maher, instructed a called vote that resulted in 54 votes for the motion, 4 against and 1 abstention (the five were all Tories).