Question Time

I’ve submitted the following questions to the Leader for the next ordinary Full Council. It will be interesting what Cllr Irving has to say on each of the issues.

1. Council Tax Relief
Will the Executive consider establishing a discretionary framework to re-introduce the 50% council tax discount on vacant properties where it can be proved that individuals are facing financial hardship, and are not in the possession of dwellings on a commercial basis?

2. Blacklisting
The council will note the investigation by the Information Commissioner into blacklisting by unscrupulous "business consultants". The council may also further note the subsequent report by UCATT trade union which revealed several large local authority contractors had been invoiced by the consultants. What is the Executive doing to ensure the trade union rights of former council workers and contractor workers are not eroded, either in current or future strategic partnerships?

3. Local Procurement
The full council recently passed a procurement strategy, which featured a policy on local procurement. What work are NSRP and procurement officers of this authority doing to ensure that local businesses are in a position where they are capable to entering successful tenders to provide council services?

4. Children and Young People’s Services
What checks and balances have the executive put in place to ensure that Children and Young People's Services Directorate is in satisfactory condition to be managed in house by the City Council? What is the Department for Children, Schools and Families' view as to whether continued intervention is required vis-a-vis management of the Directorate?

Longton Councillors & the NHS

Since April, both myself and Cllr Mark Davis have experienced the wonder of the NHS first hand. Mark spoke at Labour Party Conference this week about the excellent service recieved when his son was born prematurely. I have included the article below. Similarily, me and my wife welcomed our daughter into the world at the brand new maternity unit in August.

The fantastic facilities at the hospital are a credit to investment in the Health Service, and the excellent service we recieved was a testament to the professionalism and dedication of NHS staff. What worries me is the ideological cutting away at the Health Service threatened by Andrew Lansley and the Tories. Andy Burnham spoke very well on this at conference and his speech can be found at http://www.labour.org.uk/andy-burnham-speech-conference

Sentinel article on Cllr Mark Davis' conference speech
Published Thursday, October 01, 2009, 08:40

THE University Hospital of North Staffordshire's new £40 million maternity complex has been singled out for praise at the Labour Party conference in Brighton.
Speaking in front of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Stoke-on-Trent city councillor Mark Davis described the new maternity centre as "magnificent".
He told delegates how shortly before it opened in April, his wife, Jane, delivered a six-week premature baby in the old unit, who was then switched to special care in the new department.
He said: "Joseph is doing fine now and as he was about to be born, the delivery suite filled with people, obstetricians, paediatricians, nurses, midwives, in the end there were seven members of NHS staff to help our son into the world.
"Not a thought about cost, not a thought about health insurance, just there to help.

"Joseph was there when the state-of-the-art new maternity unit was opened and the same skilled and caring staff, the magnificent new building, our lives, like so many others, shaped by the NHS."
Chief executive Julia Bridgewater said she was delighted Mr Davis, pictured left, took such a public opportunity to praise the staff at the maternity centre.
She added: "The staff have been wonderful during the transfer of services from the old to the new centre.
"Six thousand babies are born with us each year and, like Mr Davis' family, they have benefited
from the quality of care offered by our staff in an environment that now matches their expertise."

Thoughts on BSF

Its been a few months since I last blogged - I must admit I've let the blog slip over the summer being otherwise occupied welcoming my newborn daughter into the world, moving house and keeping up with my work and council duties. Either way, I intend to keep on top and update my blog more regularly going forward.

One of my last entry's back in the Spring was on the proposed new Academy that will serve my ward. Since then things with the new school have 'kicked off'. Mitchell High families are campaigning for the school to be located nearer to Bucknall, and residents bordering the proposed 'Springfield' site have launched a campaign against that site. I recently wrote a letter to the Sentinel outlining my feelings which I have included below. The only note I should add that if it comes down to the two sites the council proposed prior to the consultation event in the Summer (Park Hall and Springfield) - my preference would be Springfield especially if it could be sensitivly designed to accomodate the concerns of its neighbours. This stance is founded in the response to our freepost survey conducted over the summer.

Letter published on Thursday, September 24, 2009:

THE Building Schools for the Future programme in Stoke has always been controversial. This is disappointing as, in my view, there should be nothing controversial about giving our city's children a better start in life.
BSF should have been a golden opportunity to give children in Stoke-on-Trent school buildings they could be proud of, with world-class facilities which could double up as a community hub.
It could have provided the radical shake-up in secondary education needed to drag up standards to a level where our children were given a fair educational start.
Instead, we have no shining beacons for our young people and we still have educational attainment levels which can only be described as mediocre (the improved rates in A-C GSCE English and Maths are still nearly 10 per cent shy of the national benchmark).
The problem is the way the BSF programme has been handled has been a mess from day one – all political parties in the local authority have their share of the blame.
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It has mutated into a farce because, instead of developing the proposals based on the views of residents, the plans were developed first, with consultation an afterthought.
This led to bandwagon jumping by certain parties and ostrich-heading by others. Furthermore the goalposts have kept moving so often that they have hit the corner flags. Nobody knows whether they are coming or going.
But years on, and with a different political leadership, Stoke-on-Trent City Council has not learnt its lesson.
People are still being shoved from pillar to post – the latest controversy affecting my own ward. Months ago, my ward colleagues and I mooted the possibility of Mossfield Road as an alternative to the Park Hall "Gasometer" academy site, which we felt was untenable.
We were told categorically the site had been investigated and was a no-no due to a plethora of reasons.
Disappointed, we took soundings on which of the two council-proposed sites were preferred by our constituents, with Springfield preferred to the Gasometer in our survey.
It has more recently emerged the council has opened up five sites for consideration, including Mossfield Road - yet, it is still progressing a planning application with a five-figure cost.
I'm confused and I'm the ward councillor.
For what it's worth, I still think Mossfield Road is the best site for a school in Adderley Green.
It provides safe routes to school, via the greenways, and is equidistant from Bentilee, Sandford Hill and Meir Hay. There is also an adequate amount of land in the area and all of the reasons I have heard for not developing the school there can be easily countered.
What is necessary is for the council hierarchy to stop shilly-shallying over BSF and be honest with people.
Months ago, the council ruled out Mossfield Road, yet now it is looking into it again, either it is viable or it is not. One thing we can be sure of is that if the pollsters are correct in suggesting a change of government next May, the BSF project will face the Tory chopping block and another generation of our city will have been let down.

COUNCILLOR TOM REYNOLDS
Stoke-on-Trent City Council member for Longton North and Labour children and young people spokesman

Longton

Tomorrow Longton

This week has seen the start of the Tomorrow Longton art project, a scheme in partnership with Groundwork Stoke which was initiated by Longton North ward councillors and funded out of our ward budget. The scheme aims to brighten up the hoardings around the former burgess' bakery on the Strand, between Barclays Bank and RD Cresswell and say something about the exciting future of the town.

Burgess' shop was a derelict eyesore in the town centre for many years after it was essentially abandoned by its owner. Cllr Denver Tolley and Richard Creswell whose shop borders with the site campaigned and lobbied through a laborious process to get the building knocked down over many years, long before myself or Mark were elected. Eventually the after too many years and a lot of money spent the building was pulled down last year - to everyones relief. There are still outstanding legal issues which means the council cannot take possession of the land, which is why things have gone quiet on the site.

My fear is that this long, expensive and protracted process for the demolition of derelict buildings in private ownership, will have to be repeated time and time again in our town. We already have too many disintergrating buildings that drag the image of Longton down. But it doesn't need to take a long time - DCLG have brought in a raft of legislation to make it easier to clean up communities blighted by these sorts of problems. The council and NSRP have to invest the cash and act with the muscle they have to get it done and done quick - something we in the ward are pushing for.

However for the Burgess's Bakery site there is a bright future, even in the short term. As part of the project we have comissioned, the hoardings around the site will be painted with designs by children from nearby Gladstone Primary school. The designs will show the children's vision for the future of Longton and I think as well as being wonderfully aspirational they will really enhance the Strand - much better than plain boring chipboard. I for one can't wait to see the designs Gladstone come up with.

You can keep up with the project via their blog - www.tomorrowlongton.com

The difference between the parties

The clip below is Labour's Party political broadcast in the run up to the European Parliament elections next month. 

Over the past couple of years when I have spoken to BNP and Indy supporters on the the doorstep when canvassing many have told me that the reason they steer clear of the mainstream parties is because they cannot see a difference between them. I have always known that this was not the case because of the basic ethos of Labour- the reason I joined the party - is so different to that of the Tories and Liberals. We believe that by taking action government can make Britain a better place. The other two parties (and most members would be happy to tell you this) believe that people should be left to their own devices.

In the run up to the Euro elections, we can see the difference between the mainstream parties clearer than ever. A Tory Party that will leave you on your own (they have opposed almost every major government intervention during the economic crisis and advocated allowing market forces to run their course) or a Labour Party that is on your side, investing in industry and public services so that we can grow our way out of recession. 

Where now for BSF?

I wanted to make my latest blog on the recent developments in the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme; however I wanted to first let the dust settle on this week’s Executive and Member Board (EMB) meeting.

I am delighted that Trentham High School (THS) has been granted a reprieve from closure. I expressed my sympathy for Trentham Action Group’s well thought out arguments and a hope that Jim Knight would clarify whether 14 schools were possible at the last council meeting during the debate on Cllr Follows’ motion. I’m therefore delighted that the work of Rob Flello in badgering the Minister finally paid off, and that the action group’s tireless, long, and well fought campaign proved to be worth the hard work.

I’m also pleased that the EMB honoured Jim Knight’s wish to keep THS open. However I am also concerned by the specific course of action taken. The school has now been taken out entirely from the BSF scheme meaning it will have no access to funding for renovation and refurbishment. I feel it is seriously amiss to deprive children in any part of the city from this excellent government investment in education – including the attendees of a saved THS. The minister’s letter stated he would accommodate a 14 school BSF proposal with Trentham being the 14th – that is what should have been approved by the EMB. If there is a legal technicality concerning trust schools not being able to receive BSF investment, frankly it is nothing that couldn’t be sorted out by a dialogue with the Department for Children, Schools, and Families.

Further, I think that the knock-on effects of retaining THS for the South and East of the City needs to be fully considered. Pupil numbers for the other schools, as well as the areas they serve, will now all change. Arguably, rather than a quandary this presents an opportunity to perfect the plans to suit all area’s needs.

On the whole, the families that attended the Park Hall consultation (which I have previously blogged about) were broadly happy with academy plans – such as the sponsor etc. The main concern was travel to and from school to that particular gasometer cite. The dissatisfaction at Mitchell and Berryhill Schools should also be ignored at peril.

But as I said, the changes in the proposals are an opportunity. Blurton Acadamy will have capacity for more children from the south part of Longton, which in part addresses the concerns raised at the recent consultation by Dresden parents about the distance they would need to travel to Park Hall. There is also, I believe, scope to look at alternative sites for the Park Hall Academy. So what are the options?

1) The Gasometer Site is Serco’s stated preferred option. I, like many parents am concerned about the safety of access to the site and it could cost a lot to decommission the gasometer. It does have the benefit of being reasonably central to the Longton North and Bentilee communities.
2) Mitchell Site or Wilfield Site: Both sites are a problem for me because of the distance children from my ward would have to travel to school. Wilfield is my preferred of the two but kids would still have to cross Dividy Road by a busy bus depot.
3) My preferred option, and one that needs to be investigated and mooted further is for an Academy on the site of the old Mossfield Colliery. It has the benefit of being equidistant for the Longton North and Bentilee and Berry Hill areas, and has safer access from all sides than the gasometer site. Further the land is already clear and, as I understand, is in council ownership (although this needs to be clarified). The site has potential that should be investigated further.





There will doubtlessly be more twists in the tale of the secondary school reorganisation over the next couple of months. I have two hopes, that the City Council leadership will have a more vigorous dialogue with the Government and public going forward and that we will start to see construction workers as soon as possible.

The ward fund - how we used it in 08/09

by Councillor Mark Davis

As many of you know, the Councillors in each ward got the chance to direct the spending of £150,000 in the last financial year. Tom, Denver and I made a concerted effort to find good causes and important improvements to spend the money on, and I think when you look at the list below you’ll agree that we didn’t go too far wrong. Some of the work has already been done, some of it will be done over the next couple of months, but hopefully all of it will make a difference to the people of Longton North.

Amongst the things we’ve funded are:

Fencing in Heathcote Street, Havergal Walk, Speedwell Street, Clewlow Place, Ashwood.
Gating works in Neath Close, Short Bambury Street, Sutherland Road, Anchor terrace.
Donations to the Chad Centre and Longton Community Church towards their building improvements.
More litter and dog bins.
Funding for the Longton Events Board’s Christmas and Summer events.
Additional lighting columns in Bright Green Street.
Youth work project to fight anti-social behaviour.
Money for extra police patrols.
A mural to decorate the site of the former Burgess’ Bakers shop.
Donation to Longton Boys Brigade website fund.
Money for extra work to trees in the area.
Speed reduction signs.
Sports taster sessions.
Demolition of derelict garages at Barclay Street.
Increased street cleaning in the neighbourhood.

We’d really welcome other ideas and projects that we could consider funding from the coming year’s allocation.

Park Hall Academy shows promise

I attended the Park Hall Academy consultation event tonight at Longton Town Hall led by Ian Kendrick from the Children and Young People Directorate along with representatives from the academy sponsor (Stoke-on-Trent College) and the predecessor schools’ senior management teams (Edensor and Mitchell). The event was also attended by a good number of parents and interested residents from the communities which the new academy will serve.

The Building Schools for the Future Programme has been fraught with controversy here in Stoke. However, from this meeting I sensed a measured enthusiasm for the principles of the reorganisation and for the proposal on the table.

A few parents were angry about a shortcoming in the admissions process this year. They were understandably not satisfied with their school allocations which bore no resemblance to their applications, hopefully however this will be rectified through appeal. This issue, partly affecting families that live the Meir Hay area of my ward is something that I had already raised with the Director of Children’s Services.

With that exception it appeared to me that peoples’ main worry with the Park Hall Academy was the timescale – were their children going to be in the generation that benefited. Given the history and tumult surrounding of the process you can truly appreciate that worry and the desire to just get on and build the thing!

Other than that there was a good deal of information disseminated which addressed attendee’s other concerns – some outline details of what the new academy will be like were set out.Two of my principle apprehensions were laid to rest.

The first was safe routes to and from the academy – I really worry that Anchor Rd in its current form is neither safe enough nor fit to cope with additional transport associated with an academy. I was reassured that measures will be put in place, in the first instance a detailed study commissioned by the council to be conducted by Mott McDonald. This is a company with good and well renowned pedigree and expertise in this area. This anxiety was shared by many parents and I think we will all await the results of Mott McDonald’s work with interest.

The second, interestingly for me, was not raised by one single parent as one of their concerns. I’m talking about the governance arrangements for the new academy. This is cited as the principle bug bear by the anti-academies lobby, but it doesn’t seem to greatly worry most people. I was very encouraged that the sponsor wished to emphasise that the academy would be led by the community – including via governorships.

This was especially pleasing for me, as I had had reservations that the statutory requirement of one parent governor would be insufficient as the sole extent of community representation on the new governing body. Happily, the sponsor was keen to indicate that such under representation would not occur. Working with the community I am now certain that the Stoke-on-Trent College as sponsor will get the balance of representation right on the governing body when the academy’s constitution is drafted.

Like many parents, I want to see bricks a mortar as soon as possible, but only if the plans are right. The devil is in the detail and parents need to be fully informed of that detail. I eagerly await the publications of draft building, transition, and transport plans & the proposed constitution.

We should build on solid foundations

I and my wife took 7 days holiday last week, and for one reason or another, rather than going away for a break we decided to stay at home and go out for days. Its only when you sit down to consider all the things you can do in and around Stoke it truly hits you the wealth and variety of leisure facilities and attractions we have in the city or nearby. Mitchell, New Vic, Regent, Victoria Hall Theatres; Odeon & Stoke Film Theatre; Festival Park bowling, skiing and snooker halls; Dimensions & Fenton Manor; a premiership football club; Potteries Museum & Gladstone Pottery; Queens, Hanley, Burslem & Central Forest Parks; Park Hall & the municipal golf course; world renowned ceramics attractions and a host of other stuff all within the city boundaries. And a tiny bit further a field it’s a similar story: Trentham Gardens & Monkey Forest, Apedale, Buxton & the Peak District, Uttoxeter races, the list goes on. There is a genuine wealth in variety to suit many interests and budgets.

It is often said that Stoke-on-Trent is talked down and talks itself down. It is fair to say we have had a raw deal in the past, but I can’t help but feel when talking about the assets we do have in and around the city we do sell ourselves short. Two things struck me, one regarding community safety and the other regarding regeneration.

The first relates to antisocial behaviour, particularly among young people. As a councillor this is one of my main ward priorities, and it is something that almost always comes up when I talk to residents. Often the message from residents and agencies alike (and I’ve uttered the words on more than once) is “that there is nothing for them to do”. This excuse for making people’s life a misery is simply not accurate, and it is not good enough. There are plenty of free/affordable facilities across the city for young people, publicity and access may be the problem. We need to fully utilise and (in my personal view) invest in our youth service to engage with young people who could otherwise be causing mischief. Transport can be improved so that all young people aren’t constrained by the geography of the city in trying to access the services that suit their tastes. For example a teen in Tunstall who is into dance music is precluded from using Studio Q in Longton because getting there is a problem, and a skateboarder in Meir can’t get to the plaza in Forest Park because they may be priced of the buses. There are simple solutions to these access problems.

The second thing that struck me concerned regeneration. Industrial decline has, and continues to hit the city hard. While I am a strong advocate of trying to boost the manufacturing sector in the city, I think there is a real opportunity to build up the tourist potential in city. Preferable exchange rates means overseas tourists are more inclined to part with cash when they are visiting the global home of fine ceramics, and the credit crunch inevitably means UK holiday makers looking to destinations closer to home in order to keep a tighter grip on the purse strings. We can capitalise on this by marketing the city better and by carrying out essential facelifts in some areas. We have a lot of attractions to offer holiday-makers, we just need to package things better.

Stoke-on-Trent is a proud city with a lot to be proud about, but more than that, it has a lot to be optimistic about if politicians and council officers have the right mindset.

The First Post

Hi and welcome to my new blog. This is not the first blog that I have done; in my student days I kept a livejournal on which I published my ramblings about pratically anything, and more recently I have contributed from time to time to the pits'n'pots city blog, which has gone from strength to strength reporting on all goings on, political and otherwise in Stoke-on-Trent. Nevertheless getting the ball rolling on my own blog is still a bit of a daunting task, and I just hope that I can keep the content fresh, interesting, and useful.

The content on this blog will mainly be my views on issues affecting my ward, Longton North, and the wider city of Stoke-on-Trent. I will also occasionally dable in giving you my views on national issues. From time to time I'll also try and plug upcoming local events and I also hope to host contributions from some of my collegues. Posts will be a mix of vidblogs, though I'm still getting to grips with the technology, and traditional written ramblings.

I hope that you enjoy the blog, and will want to check it out from time to time.