Published 23rd October, 1994. Sleaze
My desk top publisher's spell checker doesn't recognise the word sleaze.
But since the news is about nothing else, I've had to add it to the dictionary.
Mask
The fuss has masked the news that private pensions launched to challenge company pension schemes have cost fund members money.
I'm also amazed that the Housing Minister feels he has to keep his hand in at dentistry.
I have of course written to John Heppell to establish if he is moonlighting by fitting trains.
High standards
We are right to demand high standards of Govt.
City Selections
And just as we demand high standards of those who serve nationally; we should also demand high standards of those who seek to represent us locally.
I fully support Maggie Clark's decision to tell the Evening Post about the problems faced within the local Labour Parties and the current round of selections for the City Council candidates.
Euro Election Turnout
The marked register has now been entered in Elpack.
Streets with turnout above 60% and below 20% are listed in the panel.
The turnout was less extreme this year; no street with 92% this year and fewer streets below 20%.
The low turnout in some of the new streets on the Wells Road is noteworthy, but I have no explanation.
Kingsthorpe Close
I should have met Housing Officers this afternoon to discuss further improvements to this estate, such as extra security.
Traffic Calming
This year's review has still not been published. However, unofficially Mansfield St. has jumped up in the rankings following 10 recorded injury accidents.
Prostitution
Street prostitution is a bane for residents and dangerous for prostitutes.
There appears to be a trend towards off-street prostitution.
But, there is no legal framework that recognises this; so legal challenges could move prostitution back to the streets.
Police Action
The Police have been concentrating on fighting child prostitution.
New road signs to warn would be clients of video surveillance are now being contemplated for Mapperley Road.
Cllr. Riasat and I will probably survey residents to see if they support this.
Beechwood
Social Services have now met two resident's groups in separate meetings; I also attended both.
First was the Mapperley Park Residents Association - a genteel meeting.
The second meeting with the Close Beechwood Campaign was a little more strident.
These meetings never actually tie groups down. You feel common ground has been reached on a particular aspect, only to find it re-opened for discussion later in the meeting!
Open approach
Social Services have taken an open approach to the meetings, recognising there are certain problems which they don't have the answers for.
It will be interesting to see how their remarks are reported back to the community.
Rev. Dyas
Rev. Dyas is concerned that people will think I personally have not shown enough concern for the problems of residents.
I remain convinced that the best ways to help local residents are to halve the number of children in all homes and to employ a better staffing ratio with more training.
Whilst the home poses residents problems, other neighbourhoods are unlikely to accept the home being moved to them.
Dealing with complaints
The latest conclusion to be drawn is that residents' concerns and complaints are not managed professionally and with a proper concern.
The Children Homes Review is now to be considered in January and should include new proposals on this point.
Social Services
Child Care in the City East District is still threatened by an inability to recruit more staff than want to leave; more posts have been announced so as to encourage those thinking of leaving.
A453
The Labour Group re-affirmed its position of not opposing any specific route at a public inquiry; deciding they are all unsatisfactory but that some form of new road should be built.
I moved an amendment to support the "modified yellow route" at Labour Group. This would by-pass Clifton on the south side.
Fourth Trent Crossing
More people who answered the questionnaire support a new crossing than opposed it.
So this has given even more encouragement to the County Council to proceed with the next stages.
I oppose this bridge. I think national policy on roads is about to change.
Royal Commission on transport & the environment
This independent report calls for a cultural change involving a gradual shift away from lifestyles which depend on high mobility and intensive use of cars, with more resources diverted into public transport.
The report contains 110 recommendations, the most important of which are -
- increasing the cost of private motoring by raising fuel prices;
- cutting the scale of the new roads programme;
- boosting the capacity, convenience & reliability of public transport through a 10-year programme.
Important
I'd like to think this report will be as important as the Beveridge report.
It is could signify a change in public opinion & prompt the government to adopt new policies to tackle the pollution from traffic.
I have a copy of the report.
It describes the London pollution episode of December 1991 when air quality fell below W.H.O. guidelines for four days and 160 extra deaths were recorded.
The report also shows that ozone pollution affects rural areas worse.
Government response
There may well be a White paper.
I would like to see the government continue to increase petrol tax, but to turn it into a green tax by exempting public transport.
Further, they should change the financing of transport schemes such that the cities of Leeds, Croydon and Nottingham can all be granted an LRT scheme next year, rather than pick one from the three.
The M1 widening schemes should be suspended and the (T.P.P.) schemes to be announced in December should firmly demonstrate that only packages which include better public transport have gained support.
Beyond League Tables
The fourth year of research into pupil performance is tied to three factors about the children -
- gender;
- parental occupational group;
- proportion entitled to free school meals;
plus a further factor for the combination of these factors in the school intake as a whole.
Assessing school performance
Averaging results over three years can remove certain random factors and show whether a school, and its departments, are making progress against both national and county trends.
The object would be to show a school's performance against these trends to empower governors and parents to both assess and criticise a school's performance; and seek to improve it.
Money targeting
If the new education spokesperson, David Blunkett, is to get tough on schools and teachers, then this is a much better tool than the Govt's league tables;
But to sort out the inequities, we must be able to direct money to schools that serve the poorer areas to break the association of poor results with social background and to make inner-cities schools more attractive to children of all classes.
Local Government Review
A poll of 48,000 Notts. people have conducted for the Local Government Commission has found the most popular response to be "no change" (38%).
45% of Nottingham residents are for the "status quo".
Unemployment
685 in Mapperley ward (17.3%, September '94).
Cases
156 in 1994
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