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Paul Dale

 

Police face sat nav tracking to monitor stop and search requests

Spy in sky to collect data on possible racial discrimination by West Mids bobbies

By:
Published June 19, 2013, in Police Commissioners


searchPolice officers in Birmingham and the West Midlands could soon be tracked by satellite navigation systems to monitor whether the use of ‘stop and search’ powers amounts to racial discrimination.

Plans to use GPS to record officers’ every move are being proposed by Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner Yvonne Mosquito, who wants to develop a portal allowing anyone to check to “see where stops are taking place” and to make sure ethnic minorities are not being picked on.

Insisting that she wants to “take police officers with us on a journey”, Ms Mosquito has published a 2,200 word article setting out her views on the use of stop and search and the less intrusive ‘stop and account’ powers.

Ms Mosquito, a Birmingham Labour councillor, says that she and police commissioner Bob Jones  accept there is a widespread perception that stop and search powers are not being used proportionately by officers.

But they can’t be sure whether this is the case since a lack of accurate data makes it impossible to prove allegations of discrimination, she adds.

While police officers must record every time they stop and search a suspect, there is no requirement to record stop and account requests which are sometimes used for ‘voluntary’ searches, she claims.

Ms Mosquito, who is of Afro-Caribbean heritage, is to host a public summit to discuss stop and search in Birmingham in September.

Stop and search has been a “source of tension between the police and, in particular,

Continues…

‘Show us your money’, MPs tell George Osborne

Funding for Greater Birmingham Project must be 'substantial', Chancellor warned

By:
Published June 19, 2013, in Politics


George Osborne

George Osborne

MPs have dropped party political differences to urge George Osborne to approve “substantial” funding to create jobs and drive economic growth through the Greater Birmingham Project.

A national Single Pot of Whitehall money envisaged by Lord Heseltine in his No Stone Unturned report must be more than “a few billion pounds” if it is to accelerate investment,  according to Caroline Spelman (Con Meriden), Jack Dromey (Lab Erdington) and Lorely Burt (Lib Dem Solihull).

The three wrote to the Chancellor ahead of next week’s announcement on the 2013 Spending Round in a letter also backed by 13 other West Midlands MPs demanding that he back his verbal support for Lord Heseltine’s report with cash on the table.

In their letter the MPs say: “We strongly support the report of the Greater Birmingham Project -The Path to Local Growth. The project brought together business and political leadership with united cross-party backing. It presented a shared agenda of utmost importance for the future prosperity of both Greater Birmingham and the UK.

“As you make your decisions in the Spending Round this month we urge you to respond positively to the two main messages in the report. The proposed Single Local Growth Fund must be both wide in scope and substantial in scale if local areas are to achieve the full potential for driving growth.

“The value of the devolved single pot lies not just in giving local areas the power to accelerate investment but in their ability to join up programmes from across government and to leverage significant additional funding.

“A fund limited to a few billions drawn from a small number of departments, with strings attached will not achieve this.“

The letter is intended to put Mr Osborne on the spot following an intervention last month by Business Secretary Vince Cable who appeared to dismiss the idea of a single pot fund.

The MPs, from all of the GBSLEP constituencies, urge Mr Osborne to recognise the “immense ambition” displayed by the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP, including the organisation’s backing for a plan to make Birmingham Airport a national hub, linked to major investment in the M42 Gateway generating 250,000 jobs.

The letter adds: “Together, the political and business leaders of Greater Birmingham have made a clear offer to government to be in the vanguard of the local growth revolution that Lord Heseltine’s proposals could unleash. We are ready to move forward ahead of the pack and help to make the process a reality.”

Launching his report in Birmingham earlier this year, Lord Heseltine said: “In the time I have been working on the Greater Birmingham Project I have been impressed with the energy and determination of partners right across the city region, as well as their opportunism in coming forward to work with me on developing the ideas contained in ‘No Stone Unturned’.

“That report was based on the concept of bidding for a Single Pot of central money, an idea which was welcomed by the Chancellor, who committed the Government to the devolution of a greater proportion of growth-related spending to local areas from April 2015.

“Now it is important that Government clarify its position as far as the Single Pot is concerned – I hope this report provides further reassurance to the Chancellor that this approach is one that can unlock the potential of the regions and bring about a step-change in the performance of the UK economy.”

The big ideas identified in Lord Heseltine’s report include:

  • Developing the M42 Economic Gateway, dubbed ‘UK Central’.
  • The expansion of Birmingham Airport.
  • Birmingham City Centre Enterprise Zone and Sector Acceleration Zones.
  • Directing skills funding locally, enabling them to match the supply of skills more closely with the needs of growth businesses of the future.
  • The acceleration of Digital Connectivity.
  • Using Single Pot funding to tackle poverty and deprivation.

The management of the single pot by GBSLEP would be overseen by a supervisory board consisting of the nine council leaders whose authorities make up the LEP.

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Birmingham City Council’s disappearing act

7,000 jobs lost in three years as third of staff leave

By:
Published June 18, 2013, in Politics


jobcentreThe workforce at Birmingham City Council has been slashed by almost a third in just three years with the loss of 7,000 jobs.

Britain’s largest local authority suffered a 29 per cent fall in the number of employees between 2010 and 2013, giving a clear indication of the impact huge budget cuts are having on local government.

In April 2010, just before the General Election, the city council employed 25,000 people in full and part-time jobs, excluding teachers and other school staff.

Three years later, the figure is down to 18,000 and is likely to fall even further as the council presses ahead with a rationalisation and voluntary redundancy programme.

Earlier this month council leader Sir Albert Bore warned that a financial squeeze which will force the authority to meet a £615 million shortfall made it inevitable that further restructuring of departments and downsizing would be necessary.

He is consulting on ways of farming out work to the private and voluntary sectors, and has conceded that

Continues…

Wholesale reorganisation of Birmingham social services to save £75m

Council promises to move away from residential care and end 'well-meaning paternalism'

By:
Published June 18, 2013, in Politics


oldA dramatic reorganisation of the way Birmingham City Council provides care for vulnerable adults will put paid to “well-meaning paternalism” and also cut costs by £75 million.

Driven by the unprecedented scale of Government grant cuts, the council says it can simply no longer afford to place so many people in residential care and must shift to a system where many more of those in need of help are looked after in their own homes.

A consultative paper launched by council leader Sir Albert Bore proposes a stronger working relationship with the NHS aimed at preventing children with learning disabilities and mental health problems from progressing to adults requiring a lifetime of costly residential care.

Greater emphasis will be placed on preventative action to promote healthier lifestyles, making it less likely that older adults will end up spending their final years in nursing and residential homes.

The council will also seek to embrace the Government’s Big Society model by looking to community groups, family and friends to provide care for older people rather than relying on the state.

The shift towards personal budgets, where those in need of help are

Continues…

9,000 Birmingham council houses to benefit from £58m refurbishment

'Rare example of good news in gloomy economic climate'

By:
Published June 17, 2013, in Politics


Tenants of 9,000 dilapidated Birmingham council flats and houses are to get some rare good news.

Their properties will be chosen to benefit from a £58 million refurbishment scheme.

In a rare example of local government increasing expenditure in the current gloomy economic climate, the city council is to carry out much needed improvements to almost 15 per cent of its housing stock bringing to a total of £87 million the amount spent on improving homes this year.

Most of the programme will be paid for by housing rents and reserves rather than borrowing.

About 9,000 homes will get new kitchens and bathrooms, upgraded central heating systems, door and roof replacements and structural works.

The council spent around £800 million between 2004 and 2010 bringing its residential properties up to the Decent Homes Standard and has also begun building new homes for the first time in decades

Deputy council leader Ian Ward said: “We currently own and manage 64,000 residential properties and we have already made considerable headway with improving them.

“The new investment programme earmarked for 2013-14 will target 9,000 properties for further improvement, reducing carbon emissions and lowering tenants’ fuel bills.”

A full business case for the housing investment programme is expected to be approved at the next council cabinet meeting.

Strategic Director of Local Services Sharon Lea said her aim was to secure a high quality of life for residents. She added in a report to the cabinet: “Stock improvements will impact upon the other strategic outcomes, most notably on the aspiration for healthier communities.

“The replacement of existing older heating systems with new condensing boilers, external insulation provision, cavity wall and loft insulation and any other energy efficiency works will contribute to targets within the council’s Climate Change Strategy to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and fuel poverty.”

However, with an average age of 70 years per dwelling, the council admits that it will take a long time to bring all properties up to modern standards.

The cabinet report adds: “The annual programme for 2013/14 forms a part of a continued programme of investment in council housing in Birmingham, which has been under way for many years and that is expected to continue for as long as the council retains ownership of council housing.

“It is inevitable that there is an extremely high demand for capital works to the properties, to such an extent that it would not be possible to address all needs in any single year, either from an affordability or a delivery perspective.

“For each annual investment programme, it is therefore important that the properties to benefit from investment are prioritised to ensure maximum benefit across the city.”

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