ConservativeHome's Local Government Blog: July 2009

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Local by-election results

Three by-election results from last night including the Conservatives winning a seat from a councillor expelled from the BNP:

Denton North East, Tameside (Denton & Reddish) a Lab hold: Con vote was 25% -11, Lab 48% +3 BNP 14% from nowhere, UKIP 7% from nowhere, Green 6% from nowhere. LD did not stand losing 18%. CON 660; LAB 1258; BNP 358; UKIP 193; Green 164
Brinsley, Broxtowe (Ashfield) a Con gain from Ind: (Ind cllr was elected as BNP but later expelled from the Party). Con vote was 41% from nowhere, Lab 7% -27, LD 22% from nowhere, BNP 28% -23, UKIP 2% from nowhere. Ind did not stand losing 15%. CON 416; LAB 68; LD 224; BNP 288; UKIP 22
All Saints, Cheltenham (Cheltenham) a Lib Dem hold: Con vote was 34% -3, Lab 3% -3, LD 58% +7, Green 5% from nowhere. UKIP did not stand losing 6%. CON 395; LAB 37; LD 680; Green 57.

Posted on 31 July 2009 at 08:28 in By-election results | Permalink | Comments (25)

Bringing Bexley back

Cllr Teresa O'Neill, the Conservative leader of Bexley Council, on her Council's achievements since ousting Labour four years ago.

Four years ago the London Borough of Bexley was under Labour control – with a majority of just one – and had experienced four years of an administration for whom one of their first tasks was to increase Special Responsibility Allowances (only one Member of their Group didn’t receive an SRA) and then continued by raising Council Tax by over 40% during their 4-year term of office.

We fought the election in 2006 on the basis of wanting to bring value for money, effective, efficient services to Bexley residents at a price they could afford. We won 54 of the 63 seats (the remaining nine were won by Labour but one of those has since become an Independent) and set about our work.

We based our work based on our 100 day action plan and the work we had done with Officers prior to the election but the picture was bleak – on course for a 10% Council Tax rise the following year or find £10 million worth of savings!

Continue reading "Bringing Bexley back" »

Posted on 31 July 2009 at 08:00 in Local Elections (general) | Permalink | Comments (9)

How radical Conservative councils can deliver better value for money

Cllr John Whelan, Conservative opposition leader on Lambeth Council, says that Conservative Councils can make a tangible difference.

The Tory signature is beginning to take shape in local government and the voters increasing like what they see. Cue immediately to Staffordshire where on June 4 the Conservatives gained control from Labour after 25 years with a majority of 36 and an impressive 46 per cent share of the votes cast. For Philip Atkins, a new addition to the Tory Council Leaders' Club, that gave him the satisfaction of casting 76 weighted votes in the ballot for Leader of the LGA Conservative Group. Yet the real achievement for Atkins and the other 48 members of the Tory Group was getting across a simple message — building a local authority that looks outward and focuses on the people it serves.

And how? “By reviewing local services to make them better, lowering the council tax, and fundamentally changing the way we operate,” says Atkins,” but without damaging front line services.”

That this in turn involves radical approach is clear from the success of Conservative Hammersmith and Fulham, where the Conservatives took control again after long years in the wilderness in 2006. The Leader Stephen Greenhalgh, whose political heroine is Margaret Thatcher, has now delivered three years of successive annual council tax cuts and helped to craft the Tory rebranding of local government with his insistence that “we cannot settle for doing the same things better than our political opponents.”

And how? “Reducing our head count by 566 and agency spend by £3 million lopping £20 million off debt, market testing of services saving £1.3 million, and cutting office costs by £1.3 million,” says Greenhalgh.

Continue reading "How radical Conservative councils can deliver better value for money" »

Posted on 30 July 2009 at 06:31 in Council tax | Permalink | Comments (9)

Taking power in Somerset

Cllr Ken Maddock on his first weeks as leader of Somerset County Council.

Following our victory in Somerset on June 4th, where we emerged from 16 years of opposition to hold a majority of 12 on the 58-seat Council, I seemed to be the most popular man in Somerset, with both the local and national media wanting to speak to me. I tried to accommodate all the requests, appearing live on the BBC's national election coverage on the Friday afternoon, and again on the BBC's regional Politics Show on the Sunday lunchtime.

Since then, I'm glad to say that media requests have died down slightly, giving me time to concentrate on implementing the promises that got us elected. We campaigned on a mandate of change, promising to freeze the Council Tax for Somerset residents, improve the poor state of the county's roads, and begin an era of better financial management following Somerset's failed Icelandic investments and spiralling levels of debt incurred under 16 years of Lib Dem control.

As well as getting the Council's finances in a position to implement the promised Council Tax freeze, we must also prepare ourselves for a reduced Government settlement in this new age of austerity, even when the Conservatives are in Downing Street. Because of this, I am working hard to achieve a freeze in staff pay, as well as implementing a recruitment freeze for 6 months (with key posts such as social workers excluded). Acknowledging that the Council needs to do more with less, my new Cabinet colleagues and I have impressed upon the Corporate Directors the need to make all services leaner in this wintry economic
climate.

I am fully aware that the next 4 years are going to be hard, but my Cabinet and I have the energy required to implement the changes needed to provide vital services to the residents of Somerset during these
difficult times.

Posted on 29 July 2009 at 06:38 in Local Elections (general) | Permalink | Comments (11)

Will UKIP win more council seats?

Cllr Steve Tierney, a Conservative member of Cambridgeshire County Council, warns that UKIP could take more Council seats from the Conservatives.

What Happened In Ramsey? This is going to be the question which gets asked amongst strategists, particularly Cambridgeshire Conservative ones, over the next few weeks. The By-Election held there last week delivered a "surprise" (I wasn't particularly surprised, but I suspect others will be) at both District and County levels when UKIP stomped home with a double win. On paper, Ramsey should be a Conservative seat. The Lib Dems have always provided a respectable opposition. But times, as Mr. Dylan used to say, they are a-changin'. The scary thing as far as I'm concerned is that far too few of my fellow Conservatives seem to appreciate just what this threat actually means and just how serious it is becoming.

The common thread among many Tories runs something like this: "UKIPpers are Conservatives casting a protest vote about Europe. They are in the minority, they are a single-issue party and they are all looney-tunes anyway." It is generally assumed that they will come flooding back to the Conservatives come a general election and help us towards a dramatic win.

I've been challenging this received wisdom for a while, but my arguments fall on deaf ears. It is true that many UKIP supporters' natural home is the Conservative party and that some will vote with us at a general election. The rest of the supposition is wishful thinking which belongs firmly in the "sticking head in sand" school of political discourse.

Continue reading "Will UKIP win more council seats?" »

Posted on 28 July 2009 at 08:39 in Local Elections (general) | Permalink | Comments (86)

Oxford City Council launches "sponsor a pothole" scheme

Labour run Oxford City Council is proposing that if residents want potholes fixed in their streets then they pay extra. The annual Band D Council Tax bill is £1,542.27. So residents may feel they are already paying enough. The AA says its "utterly outrageous" and that "Councils have a duty to maintain the public roadways."

The proposal did come from one resident after years of pleading with the Council about the potholes in his street and being told there was no money available. But Anne Hollis, 77, said: "We've heard all about this supposed lack of money before. It's a load of rubbish. I'll tell them to get stuffed if they come asking us for money."

I have encouraged residents in my borough to sponsor extra street trees but fixing potholes is a different category. It is a basic requirement of the Council - not some sort of bonus treat.

There are no Conservative councillors in Oxford at present. Motorists looking on opposition councillors to champion the justice of their cause rely on councillors from the Lib Dems, the Green Party and the Independent Working Class Association. Next year half the seats are up for election.

This the the Council that redesignated Christmas the "Winter Light Festival" in order to be more inclusive.

Posted on 28 July 2009 at 08:22 in Environment | Permalink | Comments (12)

Stop blaming the independent sector for state failure

Nick Seaton, of the Campaign for Real Education, says the education establishment should stop passing the buck.

Yesterday, Lord (of spin) Mandelson yet again urged universities to offer more places to applicants from less privileged backgrounds. As usual, the implication was that university admission arrangements are to blame for bright youngsters not getting places, rather than his fellow ministers for failing to raise standards in many state schools.

Everyone wants greater social mobility. But if the education system is to play its role in improving the situation, the underprivileged must have access to decent schools. The way to do that is for state education to be improved from the bottom up. It can't be done top down.

This 'passing the buck' mentality was exemplified in a letter from Jean Gross, director of the Every Child a Chance Trust, published in last week's Times Educational Supplement.

'The best way for independent schools to maintain their charitable status', she wrote, 'may not be to take disadvantaged pupils out of the state system but to help them succeed in it. Sponsoring a child in a nearby [state] primary school to become literate or numerate through the Every Child a Reader or Every Child Counts programmes costs £2,600 and will set that child on course for success in life...Interested independent schools are invited to get in touch!'

Continue reading "Stop blaming the independent sector for state failure" »

Posted on 28 July 2009 at 07:31 in Education | Permalink | Comments (18)

Livingstone's pernicious "equality" agenda is still in place at City Hall

I have great admiration for the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, on every level - personal, political, journalistic, cultural, aesthetic. I also tend to look at the glass as half full rather than half empty in terms of his achievements - after just one year they have been impressive.

However, one area where greater change is needed is the 'equalities policy' at the GLA today. Nervous about this controversial area, the Conservative administration in City Hall have been shamefully allowing Ken Livingstone's ideology of quotas, interest groups, thought crime and racial separatism to remain largely intact. Conservatives should have the courage to embrace a true equalities policies - a colour blind approach where individuals are judged on merit, not according to race or other arbitrary criteria.

Richard Barnes, the Deputy Mayor, is in charge of equalities policy overall and has led on the development of the new strategy, "Equal Life Chances for All", which will be launched on Thursday at City Hall. The draft has promised a commitment to "eliminating institutional discrimination", which includes "unwitting prejudice." It states that Mayoral appointees will "reflect the diversity of London." It promises "responsible procurement". In the past, Barnes got stuck in with great rigour resisting Livingstone's proposal for an Uxbridge Road tram. Has he asked similarly challenging questions over this new subject?

What is the "right level of representation" for ethnic groups in the workforce? What is 'unwitting prejudice' and is this a fair basis for race discrimination cases? Does 'responsible procurement' create a burden for businesses who have to produce race equality assessments etc?

Continue reading "Livingstone's pernicious "equality" agenda is still in place at City Hall" »

Posted on 27 July 2009 at 08:00 in City Hall | Permalink | Comments (46)

Council Tax stealth hikes exposed

The Mail on Sunday has a detailed expose on how plans for Council Tax revaluation will punish middle England.

Homes with roof terraces, balconies, gardens, patios and a scenic view will get extra penalties.

As the paper adds it sounds reminiscent of the hated 1696 Window Tax - which people avoided by bricking up their windows.

Shadow Local Government Secretary Caroline Spelman told the Mail on Sunday:

"Gordon Brown's council tax inspectors have been caught red-handed preparing the way for massive tax rises on middle England after the Election, to fill the black hole in Britain's ruined public finances. There is now cast-iron proof of a council tax revaluation by stealth. Only Labour would think of taxing people for looking out of their own windows. Conservatives will scrap these tax-raising plans and abolish tax inspectors' rights of entry into your home."

Posted on 26 July 2009 at 08:53 in Council tax | Permalink | Comments (15)

Doncaster pulls out of the LGA

The Mayor of Doncaster Peter Davies has announced that his Council is pulling out of such "talking shops" as the Local Government Association and the Local Government Information Unit to achieve savings of £200,000 a year.

He is also looking at selling the £32 million Keepmoat Stadium - which the Council has managed to run at a loss of £2 million in its first two years. Other initiatives so far include cutting the number of councillors, his own salary and twinning arrangements with Communist China.

> From 6th June: Philip Davies MP's father, Peter, wins Doncaster for the English Democrats on a promise to cut tax and his own salary

Posted on 26 July 2009 at 08:25 in LGA | Permalink | Comments (36)

Elect the Parks chiefs

Mark Wallace of the Taxpayers Alliance says that where a Quango can't be abolished at least it should be made accountable - sometimes directly elected.

When David Cameron spoke about quangos recently, there was rightly a lot of discussion about which bodies would be abolished. From a field of 1,162 unaccountable bodies, a decent number should be expected to go. But whilst outright abolition is certainly the correct course of action for wasteful and ineffective organisations like the Regional Development Agencies, we should not forget that there are other ways to reduce the size of the quango state.

One such way is to place existing quangos under democratic control. In some cases, that will mean moving their powers into the hands of local councils or government departments. In others, the organisations could continue to exist but be altered so as to be run by directly elected representatives of the people.

The example of this approach that is normally given (including by me) is the Police Authorities. Whilst that is a great example, and an area where I certainly hope direct elections would be introduced by a Cameron government, it is always good to see new proposals put forward, too. One came up this week: the National Park Authorities.

The idea came from (and I will say this in hushed tones so as not to provoke fury from ConHome readers) a Liberal Democrat MP.

It is clear that there is an ongoing battle in the heart of the Lib Dems. On one side is an almost Carswellite enthusiasm for direct democracy and localism. Against that, and currently prevailing, is what we might term the busybody tendency, which cannot bear the thought of letting the people choose to do “the wrong thing” on the environment, the EU, their own health or anything else.

Continue reading "Elect the Parks chiefs" »

Posted on 26 July 2009 at 07:49 in Environment | Permalink | Comments (2)

Should local voters have the power to force their councils to hold referenda?

The think tank Localis have produced a paper on the theme Revitalising Local Democracy: Ideas for improving turnout and participation. I contributed a piece (not with a big idea but a shopping list of small ideas), as did Ken Richie, Chief Executive of the Electoral Reform Society. But I was most struck by the suggestion from the third contributor Peter Facey, Director of Unlock Democracy, that Councils should have referenda more often.

Certainly all these sham consultation exercises are a terrible waste of money and fool nobody. The Mayor of London Boris Johnson had a real consultation - effectively a referendum - on getting rid of the western extension of the Congestion Charge which he has pledged to carry out.

Facey says that in the past a few Councils, such as Croydon, have held a referendum on the level of Council Tax. But why should the Council decide the subject for the referendum? Facey suggests that each Council should have a Petition Committee with a rule that if, say, 2% of residents sign a petition then a referendum should be held. There would need to some safeguards. What if it was calling for something the Council did not have the legal power to deliver? What if we ended up with a referendum every two minutes as portrayed in that Peter Cook film The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer?

I like the Tory proposal to "give residents the power to veto high council taxes via local referendum" in the manner of California's Proposition 13. But what constitutes "high"? Most of us feel the Council Tax is pretty high. What about the power to initiate a referendum for a 10% cut in Council Tax?

This approach would probably increase participation but reduce turnout. If local councillors no longer have the power to set the Council Tax why bother voting for them?

Posted on 25 July 2009 at 08:18 in Local democracy | Permalink | Comments (14)

Council byelections

The Greens have gained a seat from the Conservatives on Brighton and Hove Council by winning the Goldsmid Ward byelection. The Conservatives are now a minority administration. The Greens are now level with Labour each having 13 councillors.

The result:

Green 1,456 (38% +18.)
Conservative 1,104. (29%. No change.)
Labour 816 (22% -5)
Lib Dem 280. (7% -7)
UKIP 129. (3% from nowhere.)
Green gain from Conservatives.

More details of Council byelections later

UPDATE:

Ramsey. Cambridgeshire County Council
CON 682; (36% -10)
LAB 53; (3% -13)
LD 308; (16% -22)
UKIP 865 (45% from nowhere.)
UKIP GAIN FROM CON

Ramsey. Huntingdonshire District Council
CON 569; (30% -20)
LD 295; (15% -35)
IND 303; (16% from nowhere.)
UKIP 753 (39% from nowhere.)
UKIP GAIN FROM LIB DEM

Wembley Central. Brent.
CON 423; (15% +2)
LAB 934; (32%. No change.)
LD 1195; (41% -8)
IND 240; (8% from nowhere.)
Green 100 (3% -2.)
LIB DEM GAIN FROM IND. (IND WAS ELECTED AS LIB DEM.)

Reddish North. Stockport MBC
CON 403; (16% -4)
LAB 1218; (49% -5)
LD 303; (12% +1)
BNP 195; (8% -7.)
UKIP 342 (14% from nowhere.)
LAB HOLD

Ruskington. North Kesteven DC
CON 534; (57% -43.)
IND 402 (43% from nowhere.)
CON HOLD

Swanspool. Wellingborough BC.
CON 548; (46% -10.)
LAB 361; (30% -14)
LD 162; (14% from nowhere.)
BNP 120 (10% from nowhere.)
CON HOLD

Winster & South Darley. Derbyshire Dales District Council
CON 255 (37% - 7)
LAB 426 (63% +33)
LAB GAIN FROM CON. LD WERE ON 26% LAST TIME.

Posted on 24 July 2009 at 07:58 in By-election results | Permalink | Comments (21)

Should Councils encourage staff to work from home?

Extraordinary story in the Daily Mail today about a manager from Mid Sussex District Council employing private detectives to prove that a member of staff, Roger Mills, was guilty of gross misconduct for spending time at home during working hours. It turned out another manager had told Mr Mills to do some work from home to help reduce office costs.

Despite this discouraging example home working seems to make sense. The cost of employing someone isn't just their salary but providing them with the office space for their desk. If a desk can be shared through "hot desking" between two members of staff who each spend some time working from home this saves money.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson pondered the pros and cons in a recent Mayor's Question Time at the London Assemby:

"I have to say that I think home working is an important thing to encourage. I think particularly when we are looking at the transport movements around London and the huge flows -- T S Eliot described the crowds flowing over London Bridge, 'Each man fixed his eyes before his feet' - or whatever it was - 'Flowed up the hill and down King William Street'. They have that blank look and you often feel that perhaps people might be more profitably employed if they did not have to commute such long distances.

I find working from home completely unproductive because you are always going to see what is in
the fridge or making yourself another cup of coffee! Do you know what I mean? I think people love coming to offices because there is gossip, there are expenses which have got to be got right! There are things to be sorted out. They want the great kind of interchange that goes on and the cheerful to and fro. The chaffing that takes place."

Posted on 24 July 2009 at 07:45 in Councillor and officer remuneration | Permalink | Comments (7)

Government raids Decent Homes funding

The Government's housing policy is descending into chaos. After the Government's headline grabbing announcement of £1.5 billion to fund the building of 20,000 new homes comes a report in The Times that other programmes are being raided to fund it. This includes other projects for new homes at an advanced stage. A new housing development outside Cambridge was about to be signed off but will now have to be scaled back. “It is the worst case of robbing Peter to pay Paul I’ve ever seen," says Cllr Jill Tuck, the Conservative leader of Cambridgeshire County Council.

The Decent Homes programme - money for new bathrooms and kitchens for Council tenants - is also being raided by £150 million. “If this funding is taken away, thousands of families won’t get the new windows, bathrooms and kitchens that they have been patiently waiting for,” says Cllr Michael White, the Conservative leader of Havering which has budgeted £30 millon for the programme over the next two years.

Posted on 23 July 2009 at 11:13 in housing | Permalink | Comments (6)

Council byelection result

Colville Ward, Kensington and Chelsea.

Lib Dems 634. (+18%. Last time 511, 431, 373.)

Con 330. (+2%. Last time 361, 354,321.)

Lab. 300. (-21%. Last time 703, 663, 625.)

Green Party 77 (-1%. Last time 122, 106, 75.)

Independent 10

Lib Dems gain from Labour.

Commiserations to the excellent Conservative candidate Samia Bentayeb. Perhaps she will have better luck in May as the Lib Dem candidate in the byelection obviously had a strong personal vote.

Significant that Samia beat Labour into third place in this contest - unusually held on a Wednesday. This is a ward with 47% in social housing. This is the ward where large numbers of voters who are black or poor (or both) in the past automatically voted Labour. Not any more.

Certainly there has been some social change. When I went canvassing on Saturday morning I walked along All Saints Road - notorious in the past as a base for drug dealing and violence during the Notting Hill Carnival. It still has a second hand record shop and there was the whiff of ganga from one of the adjoining streets. But there were also rather chichi shops with luxury bathroom fittings and interior designers.

Of course the middle class element also pose an electoral challenge for the Tories - all the creative types who like the area because of the trendy cafes in Portabello Road. One woman I spoke to thought she would probably vote Conservative but felt divided loyalties because she worked for the BBC. She was involved in making a successful cookery series with high ratings and great success in teaching people to cook. "Why do the Tories think that the BBC should only produce obscure stuff that nobody wants to watch?" she asked going into a rant about John Whittingdale.

Posted on 23 July 2009 at 08:40 in By-election results | Permalink | Comments (40)

The number of empty shops trebles in a year

One of the most visible signs of recession is the number of empty shops. The British Retail Consortium report that one in eight shops are now vacant - twice as many as a year ago. The figure is expected to rise from 12.5% to 15%. Even during economic growth the small shops were finding conditions tough as more of us are shopping via the internet or at supermarkets.

The BRC calls on the Government to abandon the business rates hike. The report also calls for neighbourhood policing to include business crime as a key priority. Parking policy should reflect the need to attract customers to the high street. Barnet Council dramatically cut it parking charges for a temporary period over Christmas last year. It lost the Council around £170,000 in revenue but was considered effective in boosting local shops.

"Damaged property and street scape must be restored as quickly as possible." A good point. A Council delaying in taking enforcement action on a derelict site can allow an area to be dragged down.

Of course the removal of graffiti and flytipping is important. Sometimes these are left unreported. Shop keepers could help by ringing the Council.

The report stresses that the distinctiveness of town centres is an asset not an impediment. The advantages of "heritage features or natural surroundings." New developments should seek to maintain or restore traditional distinctiveness rather than represent a drift towards homogeneity. Forwards into the past.

More jollity is called for. A number of case studies of festivals and themed markets proving a success are included. The tone is not entirely downbeat. We can remain a nation of shopkeepers it concludes.

Posted on 22 July 2009 at 08:14 | Permalink | Comments (15)

Dartford says no to bin snooping scheme

Conservative-run Dartford Council has declined to take part with other councils in Kent in a scheme for residents to have the contents of their bins scrutinised without their knowledge.

Leader of the Council, Councillor Jeremy Kite says: "I strongly object to the analysis and examination of waste put out for collection unless specific permission is obtained from the householder and have intervened to prevent such exercises in Dartford on more than one occasion.

"I am entirely uninterested in how common-place such practices are. I do not believe it is right and we made a 2007 manifesto commitment not to do it. We aim to secure higher rates in recycling through education, common-sense policies and positive action."

Posted on 21 July 2009 at 08:12 in Rubbish collection | Permalink | Comments (7)

Class War attack on independent schools

Nick Seaton of the Campaign for Real Education says the Charity Commission's attack on independent schools is politically motivated.

Last week, the Charity Commission reported on the first five independent schools it has assessed for their provision of 'public benefit' according to Labour's new requirements. Two of the five, Highfield Priory in Lancashire and St Anselm's in Derbyshire, were told they must provide more free places or lose their charitable status.

Needless to say, this has sent shockwaves through the private sector. Knowing this was coming, many independent schools have increased their assistance to local authority schools and local community groups by sharing their teachers and facilities. A few have even risked their reputations by helping with Labour's profligate, unproven academies programme.

To no avail, it seems. Independent schools with charitable status face an uncertain future unless they offer an unspecified but 'sufficient' number of free places. Those that retained their complete independence can perhaps afford a wry smile.

Class warfare? Absolutely.

Continue reading "Class War attack on independent schools" »

Posted on 21 July 2009 at 07:45 in Education | Permalink | Comments (9)

Put Councils in charge of ex offenders

Shema Begum, of the Local Government Information Unit, on their proposals to localise criminal justice.

Responsibility for managing offenders sentenced to less than twelve months should be devolved to upper tier local authorities because national provision has failed and will continue to fail. This is the verdict of a three month inquiry conducted by the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) in cooperation with the All Party Parliamentary Local Government Group (APPG).

During this inquiry sixty local authorities submitted written evidence and high profile commentators such as Charles Clarke (former Home Secretary), Lord Ramsbotham (former Chief Inspector of Prisons) and Louise Casey (Neighbourhood Crime and Justice Advisor) were grilled by a panel of MP's and academics. Their considerations are detailed in a report entitled Primary Justice which has been launched today.

Primary Justice means early intervention. It represents a clear break with current policy practice. Suggesting instead that constructive action must be taken to promote the views of victims, reduce re-offending and localise the responsibility for tackling crime.

Continue reading "Put Councils in charge of ex offenders" »

Posted on 20 July 2009 at 18:15 | Permalink | Comments (6)

CCTV cameras are not being used enough

A BBC report suggests that the police often aren't making full use of the CCTV cameras at their disposal. Detective Chief Inspector Mick Neville says that "most forces do not have systems to retrieve, process CCTV crime scene images." He thinks that rather than spending money on more cameras we should work out how to use the ones we have got.

I would have thought the situation varies completely. Wandsworth Council have a very high number of cameras, 1,113, and obviously believe they are highly effective. North of the Thames, in my borough, I am persuaded that CCTV is also effective and I often lobby for my cameras when a street in my ward emerges as a crime hot spot.

But the report claims that police in some London boroughs are failing to make any use of CCTV even for such crimes as serious assault and robbery.

Posted on 20 July 2009 at 14:34 in Crime & anti social behaviour | Permalink | Comments (13)

£500 million wasted in Birmingham job creation schemes

A report in the Birmingham Post says that £500 million of taxpayers money poured into the city since 1997 in training and job creation schemes has failed to reduce unemployment of poverty.

According to Be Birmingham, the strategic partnership via which some of the money is wasted, has acknowledged the startling extent of the failure. While official unemployement figure for Birmingham is 10%, the figure for worklessness among adults of working age is 37%.

Furthermore an increasing proportion of those in work are employed in the public sector.

Cllr Len Clark, a Conservative councillor on Birmingham describes BeBirmingham as “a load of local worthies who think they know more about the economy than they really do”.

Cllr Clark says that, 30 years ago, 38% of GNP in the West Midlands was concumed by the public sector while today it is 49%.

He added: “The West Midlands is about to join seven other UK regions where more than half of their economy is in the public sector. We will soon have more people in Birmingham employed in the public sector than was the case in East Germany before the Berlin Wall came down.”

Posted on 20 July 2009 at 07:56 | Permalink | Comments (9)

Mark Wallace: Councils would do well to listen to independent grassroots campaign groups

Mark Wallace of The TaxPayers' Alliance highlights the success of a recent grassroots campaign in Bath. You can join the TaxPayers' Alliance for free here.

Community-based campaigns, independent of local political parties, are not always a success. Sometimes this is due to badly organised or misguided campaigns, and sometimes it is down to councillors who are simply immovable in their views on a subject.

Many people around the country will have had the experience of sitting through interminable council meetings only to find that the councillors sitting at the table have had a closed mind to the evidence put before them. Similarly, many open-minded councillors will have experienced the frustration of having to sift through poorly drafted or ill-judged evidence sent to them by ineffective local campaigns.

The recent successes of a community campaign in Bath which the TaxPayers' Alliance is involved with lifts the lid on the process. A poorly thought out proposal from the council has been dealt a severe blow as a result of a strong, coherent case against it being put by a well-organised grassroots campaign.

Continue reading "Mark Wallace: Councils would do well to listen to independent grassroots campaign groups" »

Posted on 19 July 2009 at 07:00 in Mark Wallace | Permalink | Comments (7)

Boris demands Brown "think again" on Business Rates hikes on London

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson has warned against the Government's damaging plan to hike business rates in London.

Boris says:

Watching the hoards stream over London Bridge each morning makes one think that everyone in London is employed by large city corporations. As it happens, 40% of Londoners are employed by small businesses. The vast majority of economic activity in our city is undertaken by small businesses. Therefore, any policy that has a negative impact on small businesses strikes at the very heart of our city's economy. So imagine my disbelief when I hear that the Labour Government is planning a 10% hike in business rates for London before inflation, over the next five years. Most other regions in the U.K. can look forward to reductions.

London already pays over £400m a year more to the Government in business rates than it gets back in grants to fund local services. If these proposals are implemented it would add £565 million to the costs of the capital's businesses by 2015, resulting in London subsidising services in the regions to the tune of nearly £1 billion a year. London, it seems, is being punished for its success. In their infinite wisdom, the Government decided to revalue rates based on property valuations in April 2008. That's a bit like pricing bubble gum based on it's mass - at the point just before it bursts all over your face.

Now that property values in London have gone south, many small businesses will be hit with extremely unfair rate hikes. This action directly contradicts all the mighty rhetoric spewing from Gordon Brown about helping the country through the recession. I am calling on the Government to think again about this rate hike before they make their final decision in the autumn, because it is just madness to hit our small businesses when they are the key to getting London out of the recession.

Posted on 18 July 2009 at 08:07 in Business rates | Permalink | Comments (3)

Chief Executive of Somerset to leave

Alan Jones is to stand down as Chief Executive of Somerset County Council at the end of July following the Conservatives gaining control of the Council. The new Conservative leader Cllr Ken Maddock says he wants a "change in direction."

I don't know what pay off Mr Jones negotiated but the matter has apparently been managed in an amicable, diplomatic manner. Anyway his departure is not a great surprise. There was a dispute between Mr Jones and a former Lib Dem councillor Paul Buchanan which resulted in Mr Buchanan being thrown out of the Lib Dem group but gaining the support of the Conservative MP Ian Liddell-Grainger. However a tribunal has upheld charges of Mr Buchanan breaking the Code of Conduct amidst this tale of revenge, fear and loathing.

A "clean break" will be welcome - as Speaker Bercow would say.

Posted on 18 July 2009 at 07:58 in Councillor and officer remuneration | Permalink | Comments (9)

Council byelection results

Arbury and Stockingford Division, Warwickshire County Council

Labour 1331

Conservative 1079

BNP 449

Green 170

Lib Dem 118

Socialist Alternative 43

Lab Hold.

Portfield Ward, Christchurch BC

Lib Dem 279

Con 278

Indepedent 156

UKIP 98

Lib Dem Hold

Abbotsford Ward, Erewash Borough Council

Conservative 471

Labour 306.

Lib Dem 105.

Con Hold. Congratulations to Cllr Kathryn Major.

Kirk Hallam. Derbyshire County Council

Labour    1261    49.9% -15.8%
Tory     783    31.0% -3.3%
BNP     327     12.9% +12.9%
Liberal Democrats 158 6.2% +6.2%

Lab Hold

St Helens MBC Moss Bank

Lib Dems 1,480 53.9% -8.6%

Labour 1,011 36.8% +8.6%

Conservatives 111 4.0% -5.3%

Green 73 2.7% +2.7%

Independent 71 2.6% +2.6%

Lib Dem Hold

Wychavon DC Droitwitch Central

Lib Dem 233 (334 last time)
Con 223 (249 last time)

Lib Dem Hold. (Lab got 221 last time but did not put up a candidate for the byelection.)

Posted on 17 July 2009 at 11:41 in By-election results | Permalink | Comments (16)

Lib Dem councillor apologises for misleading voters

Cllr Simon McDougall, a Lib Dem councillor on Arun District Council, has apologised and agreed to pay £1,000 after misleading voters. He had accused Conservative colleagues of predetermining a planning application. The money will be spent sending letters and taking newspaper advertisements withdrawing his allegaton - which had legal implications.

Will all the other Lib Dem councillors around the country who have circulated leaflets misleading voters follow Cllr McDougall's example?

Posted on 17 July 2009 at 08:35 in Local democracy | Permalink | Comments (11)

Do we need eco-towns?

My instinct is that if Prince Charles is in charge of building an eco-town it would probabbly be rather good while if Gordon Brown is doing it (in association with the Co-op) then it probably won't be.

Ed West, writing in his Daily Telegraph blog, says people would generally prefer to stay in cities than "move to the middle of nowhere." But West says that leave cities in desperation because of crime. His solution to make remaining in cities attractive? "It means police daily harassing teenage gangs, rounding up junkies, alcoholics and prostitutes, and throwing out council tenants who misbehave. It requires people not to misbehave on buses, play unsociably loud music in their flats or steal bikes. It requires the British to start behaving like the Japanese."

Posted on 17 July 2009 at 08:23 in Environment | Permalink | Comments (13)

How green is your Council?

If you were to draw up a list of how a Council could be more eco friendly and another list of how it could save money you would find many items that would appear on both - print less, save energy, don't keep sending staff off to conferences, reduce the amount of street lighting, don't replace humps when resurfacing roads, etc, etc, etc.

A paper from the excellent Localis think tank Giving the Green Light: Policy Ideas for a Model Environmentally Sustainable Council includes a section on staff travel. Instead of fleet cars it suggests car sharing. Also more working from home. It suggests phasing in green vehicles over time.

Posted on 16 July 2009 at 15:23 | Permalink | Comments (14)

Tory Council plans skate park

Often parks provide good playgrounds catering for children up the age of about ten but find provision for teenagers trickier. There is the occasional skate boarding ramp but Conservative-run Litchfield District Council is planning something more ambitous: A skateboarding park on the edge of one of their existing parks.

The skate park will have "an attractive boulevard, street feel" and will not be lit to discourage night time use.

Sounds like a good idea to me.

Posted on 16 July 2009 at 11:44 in Environment | Permalink | Comments (12)

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