This morning at Gateshead Council Cabinet I raised concerns about the equality implications on changes to terms and conditions for essential car user allowance. The report to cabinet showed that 75% of the staff affected are women but the equalities impact assessment said no groups would be impacted. In this video. I raise my concerns. I've also included the responses of the officer and leader
[IMG: brief-history] A Brief History of Seven Killings, Marlon James This is the eight book plucked from my #40booksby40 list. And I'll get straight to it: there are books I admire more than I enjoy, and this is definitely one of them. I understand why it won the 2015 Man Booker Prize. The story is told in first-person by more than 75 different characters, each with their own, distinctive, vibrant voice. Its scope is ambitious, spanning three decades and the inter-relationship of Jamaican domestic and US foreign politics. It will, I imagine, make for a brilliant HBO series (its rights ...
Conservative MP for Brecon and Radnorshire Chris Davies has called for Westminster to have the power to place the Welsh Government in "special measures", withdrawing powers from Welsh politicians.This comes following the recent announcement on Wales' 2015 PISA results.Baroness Jenny Randerson, Welsh Lib Dem spokesperson for Government relations said;"I'm astounded that Chris Davies MP has the audacity to suggest that politicians in London know better than the Welsh teaching profession."Welsh Lib Dem Education Secretary Kirsty Williams is committed to our national mission of educational reform to raise standards for all our children and schools in Wales, working with teachers and ...
"For Trump as for Putin, reality is something that can be molded or outright dismissed when it would prove damning. It is now up to U.S. institutions, the media, and the American people to declare that a world in which facts don't matter is not a reality we want to live in." Former Russia Today presenter Liz Wahl sees the hallmarks of Putin's propaganda style in the way Trump is treating reality. Chris Grayling is misleading Southern passengers, argues Paul. Bradley L Garrett and Adam Fish decry the privatisation of urban airspace. "That's what characters in Dickens do: they step ...
For most people the new year brings the promise of a fresh start, a clean slate but customers of Southern will not enjoy the same optimism at the prospect of what 2017 will bring. Embed from Getty Images A month of strikes on the network began today, with the simply astonishing advice of not to travel. This shows how little the people sitting in the board room at GTR understand the needs of the thousands of people desperately relying on the understanding of their employers for their lateness or inability to make it into work. Some are even missing hospital ...
I have today reported, for investigation and removal as soon as possible, yet another incident of fly tipping at the rear of Easson Road and Westfield Avenue.
The lovely Wallington Arms is once again inviting our local senior residents to celebrate Christmas with them on Tuesday 20th December at 1pm. The pub will be providing a free festive lunch for Wallington's older people. Please do call and reserve your place so the pub knows how many to expect: call 0208 773 0404. Since [...]
[IMG: 15571067_10154141191581623_315937231_n] Click on the graphic above to enlarge it It's this coming Sunday – 18th December – 1pm to 7pm – at Lydiate Parish Hall, Southport Road, Lydiate. There are a few stalls left for local businesses at a £10 donation. It's £2 entry on the day too.
I covered this matter not so long ago but realise that I missed out an issue that may well come into play as Sefton Council try to control commercial car sales on the public highway. I hear that one potential solution could be along the lines of the rather unique and controversial one devised about 7 or 8 years ago to stop commuters parking in the residential roads around Maghull Station. There a parking restriction was brought in to stop all day parking by having just one set hour when parking was banned in the middle of the normal working ...
The human mind is hard-wired to think that present trends will continue, as many a study cited by behavioural economists attests. It takes a real effort to see things another way, even when there is evidence aplenty. So it seems inevitable that technology change and globalisation will continue to hollow out society, destroying jobs while ... Continue reading Back to the village? Globalisation is changing direction →
There's an understandable tendency among those who voted Leave in June to get upset at the suggestion they're a bit dim. That they didn't - and, even as the evidence accumulates, still don't – understand the negative consequences of the result. So if we work with the assumption that the Leave vote was as well-informed as it could reasonably be, given the complexity of issues, I find it difficult to understand why anyone could object to the case being taken to the Irish courts by Jolyon Maugham QC on the basis of a crowdfunded campaign. The principal purpose of the ...
Welcome to the latest in my series of tips and advice for Liberal Democrat members, which appear first in the email bulletin run by London Region for party members. Connect is the database the Liberal Democrats use to record information about voters such as canvass responses or whether someone has signed a local petition. It is very powerful, and is the same system used by Barack Obama's* 2008 and 2012 winning campaigns. That also means it has rather a lot of options available, which can make working out how to do something a little tricky at times. But there is ...
What's the issue? Homelessness has become a real problem in Peterborough, and has been gradually getting worse each year ever since the Tories took control at the Town Hall in the year 2000. It was recently reported that 600 people were homeless in Peterborough. So what is the latest? The Government announced millions of pounds [...]
As I've said before, trying to make sense of Labour's position on Brexit has been all but impossible. Now there's a new twist. Both the Tories and Labour are claiming victory in regards to last week's vote in the Commons regarding leaving the EU: the Tories say that the prime minister managed to extract a confirmation from Labour in regards to the March timetable; Labour are saying that they forced the Tories to publish what those plans actually will be before a vote triggering Article 50 can take place. On first glance, it looks more like a Tory victory; the ...
Bin collections will stay the same so people are asked to put their bins out on their usual collection day. Real Christmas tree collections can be booked online free of charge between 19 December 2016 and 8 January 2017 at www.durham.gov.uk. Alternatively call 03000 261 000 when offices are open (see below). Most council offices and contact centres will be closed over the Christmas and New Year holidays but service information and online services will still be available via www.durham.gov.uk. Council buildings will be open as normal on Friday, 23 December 2016 (normal opening hours) and will re-open on Tuesday, ...
There is an ongoing heated debate over how much if anything of her intentions Theresa May will reveal before triggering Article 50. Does she want to stay in the single market? Does she want UK citizens to have any rights (short of complete freedom?) to travel and work in the EU? Does she want to maintain the reciprocal arrangement on health care? Does she want all the policing co-operation to continue (we think so)? Does she want us to stay in the scientific research programmes? Etc. Etc. This is all in our interests: does a sovereign nation that has taken ...
The Saudi row isn't really about Boris Johnson's job. It's about Theresa May's | Matthew d'Ancona | Opinion | The Guardian RT @Colvinius: Love this lede: Instagram Breaking news: Spike has The Red Thing. He's going to make sure Roxy never takes The Red Thing... Twitter RT @fiveburger: tried to screenshot parks and rec but apparently screenshotting netflix makes it black so now i have this picture Knifeman shouts 'I want to kill a Muslim' before stabbing passenger at Forest Hill station, witnesses say RT @KhalilYousuf: Perplexed this is not being treated as an act of terrorism. It falls squarely ...
Figures obtained by the Liberal Democrat Councillors on Bury Council have revealed to what extent Bury has been betrayed in the proposals to remove 'Green Belt' land in the draft Greater Manchester Spatial Framework. Across Greater Manchester, just 8.2% of Green Belt land is proposed to be destroyed. However, Bury Council's Labour-leadership have signed-up to the proposals mean that 20% of Bury's green belt will be lost, significantly higher than elsewhere in Greater Manchester. Together with the other nine Council Leaders, Bury's Labour Leader voted in favour of the draft Greater Manchester Spatial Framework. Yet it is in the Prestwich ...
The BBC report on the shocking news that homeless children with the most complex problems are having to stay in bed and breakfasts due to a lack of suitable accommodation in Wales. They quote Solas Cymru, who are a charity who run a special homeless accommodation in Newport housing eight children all of whom have complex needs such as mental health issues or a drug dependency: Official figures show there are 5,660 looked-after children in Wales and Solas believes about 5% - some 280 children - will have complex needs. The eight beds at the centre serve seven councils, but ...
Sutton Bridge, where England regained the Ashes in 2009.
So, Labour high ups seem to think their polling numbers are going to improve considerable in 2017. It makes one wonder - why might they think that? They're not going to change leader. they're not going to change direction. There are no national elections next year? So what's going to change? Might this be the answer? It might not be because they are going to do something. It might be because they are quite deliberately going to do nothing. The one big thing that we (almost) certainly know next year is that the Brexit negotiations will begin. If they go ...
From the Curator of Museum Services at the University of Dundee : Our next evening event in the D'Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum will be tonight - Tuesday 13th December at 6pm: Dr Kimberley Bennett (Abertay University) - Fitness and Fatness in Seals and Humans Dr Kimberley Bennett Fitness in humans rarely goes hand in hand with fatness. But for seals, to be fit they have to be fat. This talk by Kimberley Bennett (a Lecturer in Biomedical Science at Abertay University) will explore why being fat is so important to seals, what we know about how they regulate fatness compared ...
It is not in our area, but we wanted to share information about a proposed residents only parking scheme in the Whittaker Lane / Park Street area which may well affect people who use the shops and services in this area. The Council says: "For a number of years the shops on Bury Old Road have had concerns regarding long stay parking outside their businesses all day. This long stay parking has prevented short term parkers from utilising the parking bays here to visit the shops. In 2015, the limited waiting bay outside Relionous on Bury Old Road was extended ...
Prestwich is set to see it's only Sixth-Form centre closing, with Governors at St Monica's RC High consolating on a proposal to close it's sixth form, because of dwindling pupil numbers and funding changes. The centre, which opened in 2011 currently has just 27 pupils. A four-week period of consultation will begin on January 9. The school already makes use of the sixth form building to support Year 7 to 11 education because of constraints in the main school. If the closure of the sixth form goes ahead the building would be adapted to maximise its use for secondary school ...
Communities across Greater Manchester can benefit from a new £500,000 fund to empower young people and help them make the right choices. [IMG: pcc-co-op-academy-09-390x262] The Police and Crime Commissioner's Youth Aspiration Fund will support work with vulnerable children and young people at risk of offending or who take part in risky behaviour. How to apply for funding Read the Youth Aspiration Fund prospectus to find out whether your organisation is eligible, and whether your project meets the fund's outcomes and objectives. (here) Download the application form to your computer. (here) Email your completed application to grantenquiries@gmpcc.org.uk Closing date is 4pm, ...
A two-part exhibition made in collaboration with homeless people makes its UK debut at Bury Art Museum & Sculpture Centre. The Homeless Library and "Sing Me To Sleep", a British-Lithuanian art project ("Padainuok man labanakt"), opens on 13 December at 2pm and runs until 21 January 2017. [IMG: xuz4js9ymrtptp54jx94] The Homeless Library is a set of 50-plus handmade books, full of artworks, poems and interviews, looking at how homelessness fits into our history and what can be learned from these stories. "Sing Me To Sleep" is a collaboration between homeless people in Lithuania and the UK, working with professional artists ...
Northern Ireland must not be 'collateral damage' of Brexit, report says House of Lords at its best. (tags: ireland ukpolitics northernireland brexit houseoflords eu ) The American Dream, Quantified at Last More on the growth of inequality in the USA. (tags: uspolitics economics ) 10 Crucial Decisions That Reshaped America Yet another in depth campaign post mortem. (tags: uspolitics ) A Possible Break in One of Evolution's Biggest Mysteries Where did whales come from? (tags: fossils biology ) How to See a Meteor Shower During the Last Supermoon of 2016 For tonight (13 December). (tags: ) English Pronunciation A poem. ...
