Happy Christmas from the Team

Wishing all our readers a very merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. We hope you have an enjoyable day.



(This posting was scheduled! Image stolen from Warwick LibDems, thanks guys.)

City Council Leader Fighting Government For Fairer Deal

Cambridge City Council Leader Sian Reid is battling with the government for a fairer deal after a 20 per cent cut in the city council’s grant from government next year.

Cllr Reid has talked to Local Government Minister, Andrew Stunnell after the city council was told it would receive 12 per cent less in grant funding than it was expecting for 2011/12.

Prudent management by the Lib Dem controlled city council has meant that some of this can be absorbed but the reduction in government grant gives the council less to spend in future years.

The figure includes a £900,000 bill to support the government’s concessionary bus fares scheme for the elderly and disabled which has already cost the city council £4.8 million in the last four years.

Cllr Reid said: “The council will come in under budget this year and that helps us to deal with the news that we will be receiving considerably less than was anticipated. We can cope without increasing our long term savings targets that were set out in November.

“But the government promised that no council would face more than an 8.9 per cent reduction this year. And we have been penalised through the concessionary fares scheme because the government is under the impression that we received £900,000 more than we actually did.

“I am pushing the government to look again at the funding for Cambridge city so that we can get a fairer settlement.”

LibDems in Government: ID cards abolished

Just in case you missed it on the 22nd December 2010 Identity cards, the failed "Database State" project left behind by New Labour, were finally  scrapped when the "Identity Documents Bill" was granted Royal Assent.

Both locally and nationally Liberal Democrats have consistently campaigned against ID cards and having them finally killed off is a major victory.

All existing ID cards will be cancelled within one month, and the National Identity Register will be destroyed within two months.

Scrapping this unwelcome invasion of personal liberty will save £845m in planned future government expenditure supporting the system over the next ten years. Just to put that number in perspective it's a little over 7 years worth of annual spend for the whole of Cambridge City Council!

On behalf of Cambridgeshire Road Safety Partnership...

It’s here, the Christmas office party, the firm’s “do”. Traditionally it’s a time to have a great time with your work mates and give the boss some gentle stick. It’s also the time for some to lose their driving licence, get a huge fine and possibly a prison sentence. Now there’s a party they’ll never forget.  Everyone likes a good time at Christmas and New Year. It’s the party season. The only safe course of action is not to drink and drive. Not only on the day of the office party but also on the day after it. (Don’t think that the morning after provides your body with an instant all clear. It doesn’t). So on the day and the day after take the bus, a taxi or arrange to have a non-drinking designated driver. But do not drink and drive.

Alcohol severely impairs the driver Alcohol tends to make you feel over confident and more likely to take risks when driving. This false confidence increases the danger to all road users, including you. The legal limit in the UK is 80 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. But any amount of alcohol affects your ability to drive safely. The effects include Slower reactions Reduced co-ordination Loss of ability to judge speed, time and distance Diminished concentration There is absolutely no failsafe method of how to stay under the legal limit. Nor is there a magic formula to employ that allows you to drink and drive safely. Many elements have to be taken into account, including your weight, age, sex and metabolism; your stress levels; the amount and type of alcohol; and an empty stomach. The only safe option is not to drink if you plan to drive. And never offer a drink to someone else who is driving. A driver will be found guilty of drink driving if he or she has more than: 35 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath 80 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood 107 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of urine Drinking and driving does not mix and the law is very clear on how it deals with it: Driving or attempting to drive whilst above the legal limit (or unfit through drink) carries a maximum penalty of six months imprisonment, a fine of up to £5,000 and a minimum 12 months driving ban. An endorsement for a drink-driving offence remains on a driving licence for 11 years. That means 11 years before a convicted driver will have a clean licence again. Being in charge of a vehicle whilst over the legal limit or unfit through drink could result in three months imprisonment plus a fine of up to £2,500 and a driving ban.

Should a driver refuse to provide a specimen of breath, blood or urine for analysis the penalty is a maximum six months imprisonment, up to £5000 fine and a driving ban of at least 12 months. Causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison; a minimum two year driving ban; and a requirement to pass an extended driving test before being able to   rive again legally. Think before drinking and driving, is it worth: The humungous taxi bill resulting from say a three year ban Being separated from family and friends whist serving up to 14 years in prison Your savings being frittered away paying a fine (typically £5000) Being forced to sit an extended driving test Getting a criminal record that could also make you unemployable Having your insurance costs go through the roof Experiencing a real problem hiring a car for the next 10 years Even on the morning after you’re still not safe On the morning after you’ve been out drinking you may still be affected by the alcohol you’ve consumed. You could feel fine but in reality be unfit to drive or be over the legal alcohol limit. Showering, drinking coffee, or other ways of sobering up will not help. It is impossible to get rid of alcohol from your body other than through time. You could still lose your licence if you drive the day after your party. Remember Any amount of alcohol will affect your judgement. Starting with your judgement about whether you should have another drink or not. And if you think you won’t get caught, think again. More than half a million breath tests are carried out each year and on average 100,000 are found to be positive. Take the bus.

Planning application

A major planning application this week. At the triangle on King's Hedges Road is a proposed "Future Business Centre" (offices?) and "associated works including the provision of car and cycle parking facilities, access and circulated areas".

The triangle is the piece of land between the new EDF substation and CRC fairly near (and on the opposite side from) the Northfield Avenue junction.

The reference is 10/1009/FUL, and more details are available from the online planning tracker.

Christmas and New Year bin collections

We are getting close to Christmas and the changes to bin collections that causes.

This year Christmas and New Years day are both on a Saturday, and the bank holidays are on Monday and Tuesday.

The plan is to collect Monday and Tuesday routes on the Tuesday and leave other days unaffected.

The full details of other Christmas service changes are on the City Council website.

Full details of waste collection changes:

Regular collection date	Revised collection date
Friday 24 December	no change
Monday 27 December	Tuesday 28 December
Tuesday 28 December	no change
Wednesday 29 December	no change
Thursday 30 December	no change
Friday 31 December	no change
Monday 3 January	Tuesday 4 January
Tuesday 4 January	no change

I think this means most people in King's Hedges are unaffected by the changes this year.

I hope that my picture from last year isn't repeated, but in case it is keep an eye on the City's service updates page for more information.

University funding: Full length interview with Nick Clegg

On YouTube here below (in three parts) is a 30 minute interview with Nick Clegg on University funding. The interviewer is Dr Evan Harris, this interview was originally published on the Liberal Burblings Blog (here).

Like them I thoroughly recommend viewing the interview. It covers an enormous amount of detail on the controversy.

A transcript is available here.

Elizabeth Hughes

On Friday I was saddened to hear the news that former King's Hedges Councillor Elizabeth Hughes had died.

She served as City Councillor from 2003 until 2007, and a County Councillor from 2005 until 2009. She also served as a Governor at the Manor, including as Chair of Governors. She also supported many groups including the Parkinson's Society.

She continued to work hard and campaign for King's Hedges despite her illness.

Whilst I certainly didn't always agree with her, her interventions in committee were thought through and often witty. She could puncture pomposity with ease, and in a friendly way. Whenever I met her out and about she always had time for a chat, and to share thoughts about issues.

She will be widely missed.

Cuts to Services Across Cambridgeshire - Have Your Say!

On Thursday the County Council released some preliminary information of the spending cuts it is currently planning in response to the financial mess the Labour party left this Country in. The really surprising thing was that only on Tuesday, at Full Council, the Conservative Administration was refusing to release details of the cuts - turns out a lot can change in two days*.

A few days earlier the Conservative administration briefed County Councillors (including Liberal Democrats) regarding the scope of the cuts. Those attending this briefing were sworn to secrecy regarding the changes - we are *still* unable to discuss specific areas of the cuts that have not yet been "leaked" by the administration into the public domain.

The BBC News covered the story here (with an interview with John Reynolds the cabinet member responsible).

One of the interesting things about the review is that the County Council is asking residents across Cambridgeshire to prioritise the services the County offers (i.e. say which areas should be cut and which should not). 

The survey is available here. I'd urge as many local residents and residents groups as possible to complete this survey - the County Council will be using it to "justify" the areas they are planning to cut (for example one of the "options" on the Survey is to close 19 libraries across Cambridgeshire - almost certainly including some in the city - if you think this is a bad idea let them know!)

*- The slightly more cynical amongst you will probably be thinking that, given the tuition fees debate and vote taking place on that date, it was "a good day to bury bad news".

Street Parties & The Royal Wedding (29 April 2011)

It might be a long time away but the County Council Traffic Management Team have put together some guidance regarding "Street Parties" should members of the public want to arrange one.

I've included that guidance, as well as contact details, in this article to keep you informed.

Background

The UK has a history of arranging street parties for historic events, the image to the left shows a street party celebrating the Queens Silver Jubilee in 1977. In 1981 street parties were held across the country to celebrate the marriage of the Prince of Wales to Lady Diana Spencer. 

The County Council Traffic Management Team recognise that many may also wish to celebrate the wedding of Prince William to Catherine Middleton in a similar fashion. This is especially true now that the government has declared 29 April 2011 as a Bank Holiday. 

Given the likelihood of one-off events the County Councils Traffic Management Team have published the following guidance for street party organisers.

Guidance

If at all possible, events should be held off road. Street parties should be held on residential roads with no through traffic e.g. a cul-de-sac. In which case;

• A traffic management company or trained person will not be required to put out signage or traffic management.
• Chapter 8 Traffic Signs Manual signage will not be necessary, but the road will need to be blocked off.
• Public liability insurance will not be essential, but is recommended.
• All residents affected by the closure will need to be asked and most will have to agree to it.
• An application for a road closure will be needed and will have to be submitted at least 12 weeks prior to the event.

If residents wish to have a street party on a route with through traffic then they will be subject to the usual criteria for a road closure. Applicants will have to seek permission from the Local Highways Authority and;

• Use a traffic management company or persons trained under the New Roads and Street Works Act “Signing, lighting and guarding” to close the road and put out signage.
• Use Chapter 8 Traffic Signs Manual signage to correctly close the road and provide a diversion route. 
• Apply for a road closure at least 12 weeks prior to the event.
• Include mapped plans of the closures with diversion routes and all signage shown.
• Have public liability insurance of at least £5m.
• Ensure that the closure is communicated to all affected parties in advance.

Street parties will be classed as community events and therefore the public will not be charged for their Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders (TTRO) if advertising deadlines are met.

Contacts

For further information please contact the Traffic Manager’s Team;

Tel: 01223 715913

Email: trafficmanagerteam@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

RES1005, The Octagon, Shire Hall, Castle Hill, Cambridge, CB3 0AP.

Planning application in Neptune Close

Somewhat later than normal but one planning application in the ward was on last weeks list.

It is for a two storey side extension to 1 Neptune Close. The reference number is 10/1168/FUL.

More details on the application can be found in the public access website or in person (see the development control webpage for more information). In case of difficulty contact the team.

At the drop in session now (until noon)

Our monthly drop in at Arbury Community Centre has started. For those who don't know the centre is on Campkin Road, near the Arbury Road junction. It should be in the middle of the map below:

View Larger Map

(Bellerby's is the language school next to the Manor. I have no idea why that is included when Manor isn't.)

If you can't make it but need to speak to a councillor then use our contact details (on the left).

Drop in tomorrow

Just a quick reminder that I'll be at Arbury Community Centre tomorrow (saturday) from 10am until noon.

Do drop by and have a chat if you have any problems, or just to say hello!

Library Service Review

It seems like central government is beginning to become concerned that local councils are planning on making huge cuts to Library service provision as a means of balancing the books. Ed Vaizey, the Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative industries, has taken the step of writing to Councillors to remind them that they have a statutory obligation under the Public Libraries & Museums Act 1964 to provide a "comprehensive & efficient" library service.

This should server as very timely reminder for Cambridgeshire County Council. The Conservative-controlled body has yet to announce the results of it's review into the Library Service in Cambridge but all the rumours (including a recent article in The Guardian) point towards "swinging cuts" to the service.

Needless to say your local Liberal Democrat councillors are committed to the continuation of the existing provision in Arbury Court. If you are interested in becoming more involved in supporting this effort please let us know! You can visit the "Friends of Arbury Library (FOAL)" blog here.

The full text of the letter is;


"Dear Councillor 


SPENDING DECISIONS AND LIBRARY SERVICES

The financial deficit presents very difficult challenges for all public bodies and I recognise the pressures you are under. The reduction in local government resource over the next spending period presents a real challenge. 


l have written to you recently about the value of libraiy services. They are places which can be used by anyone without judgement. They help people to learn new skills, read, access information, get online or find entertainment. 


I want to emphasise the importance I place on compliance with the statutory duty to provide a "comprehensive & efficient" library service under the Public Libraries & Museums Act 1964. As you know, the Secretary of State last exercised his statutory power to intervene in April 2009, by commencing a local inquiry into Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council’s compliance with its duties. The inquiry determined that the ‘comprehensive and efficient’ service that local authorities are required to provide is a balance between meeting local needs within available resources in a way which is appropriate to the needs of the local community. 


No two authorities are the same and there is no single way of making an assessment of the needs of a community.


It may be helpful however, if I set out the key considerations that every local authority should have in mind, as set out in the Chaiteris review on the Wirral closures. These are;

• a statement of what the service is trying to achieve;
• a description of local needs, including the general and specific needs of adults and children who live, work and study in the area;
• a detailed description of how the service will be delivered and how the plans will fully take into account the demography of the area and the different needs of adults and children in different areas (both in general and specific terms); 
• the resources available for the service, including an annual budget. 

I hope that local authorities will develop a creative and bold approach to decision making around the public library service. Along with the Local Government Group, I launched the Future Libraries Programme in the summer to provide local authorities with support in delivering the service more efficiently. 
Among the ideas being explored are transferring control of some library services to communities to run, merging services provided by two different authorities into one cross-­boundary library service and locating library services in retail stores. There are 151 library authorities in England. With fewer than 40 of them taking part in the programme it is important that the findings from the 10 initial pilot projects are shared Widely so that all authorities can learn from the experiences of those authorities that are participating. This process is just starting and l hope you will be inspired by some of the work that is progressing. 


You can find out more at;
http://www.mla.gov.uk/what/programmes/the_future_libraries_programme


ED VAIZEY Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative industries"


The original letter is available here.

Student Tuition Fees: A Brief Editorial

As you've no doubt seen both Nationally and Locally students are up in arms about the coalition governments proposed changes to Tuition Fees. The first thing to say that's worth noting is that Julian Huppert, the Liberal Democrat MP for Cambridge, will be voting *against* raising the cap on Tuition Fees. He signed the Student Pledge during the election campaign and then re-signed it after the Coalition Agreement was signed. Julian *will* be voting against these changes.

The NUS pledge was not merely one against raising the cap, it also committed its signatories to work for a "fairer alternative" to the current system. I think that the government's policy is actually a fairer alternative (though naturally not one that wholly agrees with Lib Dem policy - welcome to coalition government!) for several reasons:

1. The income threshold to start repayments rises from £15,000 to £21,000. This means all graduates will pay less per month than they do under the current system, and stops them from having to start repayments simply because they've taken up a fairly low-skilled job because there are no graduate jobs available at the moment.
2. The discrimination of part-time students will be coming to an end. Provided the student is studying at least one third of the time they will now be eligible for student loans on exactly the same basis as full-time students and so will no longer have to pay tuition fees up front. If we are going to deal with skills shortages in the economy and reduce unemployment and underemployment it is vital that people who have started out in working life should be able to improve their qualifications, not just people who are straight out of school or can afford to leave their jobs entirely for three years.
3. Maintenance grants will be increased and more students will be eligible for them. The current system is simply too miserly, as parents with household incomes above the current cut off often cannot spare any money for children going to university.
4. The interest rate charged on the debt now varies with the graduate's income. This will mean that richer graduates pay a higher rate and poorer graduates pay a lower rate thus the system will become more progressive.

These last two points were the top two concessions called for by Liberal Democrat members who responded to Lib Dem Voice's survey on the Browne Report.

One of the other things to consider is that student loans are invisible to credit scoring companies because they are repaid entirely through the tax system. This will not change. What the state is doing is not so much lending money to students as taking a form of equity stake in their income for 30 years after graduation.

In addition to the items above, Ewan Hoyle made a good point about what it is that actually prevents poor students from going to university - not the prospect of paying for their tuition after graduating but insufficient maintenance funding while they are at university.  Because of the Lib Dem influence we got the government to change the Browne report's recommendations by making the maintenance grant system more generous (see point 3 above), this helps to deal with that problem.

So my conclusions are that the proposed changes to Student Tuition Fees are;

1. It's not Lib Dem policy, but it is an improvement on the existing system
2. Two of the four improvements on the existing system are almost certainly the result of Lib Dem influence in government
3. The package breaches the NUS pledge by raising the amount graduates have to pay for their education, but it is also a "fairer alternative" to the current system, so it does agree with that part of the pledge.

One thing the Liberal Democrats (specifically David Laws who championed this cause during the coalition negotiations) have achieved in Government is the Pupil Premium. In my opinion by directing extra funding to the poorest children in schools to prevent them from falling behind children from better off families as they currently do. If it succeeds it will do more for fairness and equal access to university than abolishing tuition fees would.

This post is based on an original message on a liberal democrat mailing list by Niklas Smith (reproduced with his permission). If you'd like to read the Liberal Democrat Manifesto for the 2010 Elections it is available online here.

Arbury Community Centre goes from Strength to Strength

A press release from the Community Centre:

Cambridge's Arbury Community Centre is going from strength to strength with a record number of visitors in the last year.

A new board of 10 trustees has also been formed with the number representing a significant increase on the previous year.

Newly elected Chair of the Association, Jo Richards said, "It's a tribute to the hard work that has been put in over the past year that at a time when companies and individuals have been cutting back, we have attracted a record 51,500 visitors."

Newly elected Vice Chair Cllr Mike Pitt added, "The centre offers everything from aerobics, and cheerleading to social enterprise, stamp collecting and yoga. It's good to see that the local community is getting more and more use out of this valuable resource and I'm excited to be involved."

Year on year usage of the community centre has increased by almost six per cent despite the economic downturn and there are plans in place for a regeneration of part of the centre in 2011.

CAPTION: Alan Soer, Arbury Community Centre Manager with newly elected Chair of the Association, Jo Richards.

I'll just add that it really is a pleasure and privilege to join the Association, the Centre plays a huge role in Arbury and King's Hedges.

Other Trustees include Neil McGovern, Andy Pellew and Arbury's Alan Levy

December drop-in session

December has begun so probably time to mention the December King's Hedges councillor drop-in session. This will be at Arbury Community Centre, Campkin Rd, on Saturday 11th December, from 10am until noon.

Please do say hello if you are passing, and if you have any problems we can help with then come and see us. You can always phone or email if you prefer.

There is also the weekly drop-in at the Guildhall on Friday lunchtime (but we can't guarantee a King's Hedges Councillor for that).