While the Nottingham Post seeks conspiracy in everything Nottingham Labour does. Papers in Bristol says how much better out City is under Labour compared to Lib Dem controlled Bristol.

Article source: http://www.cllrjoncollins.co.uk/?p=218

While the Nottingham Post seeks conspiracy in everything Nottingham Labour does. Papers in Bristol says how much better out City is under Labour compared to Lib Dem controlled Bristol.

Article source: http://www.cllrjoncollins.co.uk/?p=218

Today Nottingham City Council unveiled our draft budget for 2012/13. We face unprecedented challenges but were seeking to protect vital services. Below is a press release from Cllr Chapman which I hope youll read.

A Council Budget protecting our priorities despite 189 per person cuts

At Tuesdays meeting of Nottingham City Councils Executive Board Councillors will launch the consultation over the Councils budget for 2012/2013.

Nottingham City Council is facing a funding gap of 20m next year, on top of a real terms cut of 60m last year. There will be a further 12m next year and 12m the year after.

Nottingham City Council has had to cut 189 per citizen in the last two years. Compared to just 1 per person for Tory Wokingham, Berkshire. Deputy Leader, Cllr Graham Chapman said: Last year we found out Dorset got an increase, now we find rich rural Tory Councils have to cut just 1 per person, compared to our 189. The top 10% most deprived areas will lose four times as much in spending power as the least deprived 10%. Its just another example of a Government hitting the poorest hardest.

Despite the cuts the City Council is trying to protect:

Jobs,

Vulnerable children and adults,

Front-line services,

Tackling crime and

Anti Social Behaviour and keeping Nottinghams position as Englands cleanest big city.

Cllr Graham Chapman, said: The Government are cutting too far and too fast. With local government taking a heavy hit. Nottingham has also been carrying an unfair burden of the cuts. Weve had to cut 189 per citizen, compared to Wokinghams 1. Thats not fair on Nottingham.

However, were trying to protect what matters to the people of Nottingham. With Government cuts stagnating the economy were protecting investment in jobs programmes such as our Nottingham Jobs Plan and our investment on lines two and three of the Tram and the station.

Despite unprecedented demand weve refused this year to reduce the level of service in adult care, making Nottingham one of the few places in England still offering services to high moderate citizens and were doing all we can to protect children.

We are also squeezing every penny out of our back office costs in order to protect front-line services. We have saved over 2.5m by swapping interest rates on loans or taking out low cost borrowing. The East Midlands Shared Services programme is another example. We are working together with other Councils to protect the services which matter to local people.

And of course were looking to protect our greatest achievements. Crime is down by 50% in Nottingham over the past few years. The Tories, with the Lib Dems, are cutting the Police budget by 20% but were going to spend every penny we can to tackle crime and Anti-Social Behaviour. Nottingham was also proud to be named Englands cleanest big city last year and were protecting that spending and our commitment to make peoples neighbourhoods as clean as our City Centre.

We have done all we can to cut the back office and are still having to take difficult front line decisions. Just some of the difficult decisions are:

The transfer of Portland Leisure Centre to the third sector,

Increasing Adults Fees Charges,

Ending the pilot of specialised Food Waste Collection,

Reducing Brewhouse Yard Museum to a group or school visitor attraction, like Newstead Abbey,

Cuts to Connexions services

Increasing Council Tax by 3.49%

One of those difficult decisions is to increase Council Tax by 3.49%. It is a choice however we must make. Eric Pickles has offered us a Payday loan of 2.5m, but its simply a trap. Next year if we take Mr. Pickles money well have to raise Council Tax by 5% to just keep up or make another 2.5m worth of cuts, on top of the 12m gap we already face. Thatll be 2.5m lost forever. Nottingham isnt the only Council set to increase Council Tax. Leicester and Tory run Peterborough are just a couple.

Not only that but the Government is set to devolve Council Tax benefits to Councils based on next years Council Tax collection rates, with a 10% top slice. Not increasing Council Tax by 3.49% will cost the City 1.1m a year, forever.

Cllr Chapman warned caution on future years: While were doing our best to protect these valuable services we have to make difficult cuts. Savings we dont want to make and cuts which we believe will further take demand out of the economy and harm Nottingham. This year weve been able to protect jobs, vulnerable adults and children, front-line services, the fight against crime and Anti Social Behaviour and clean streets but if the Government doesnt change course we cannot promise we wont have to make even more difficult decisions next year. The net effect will be to force British local government into an American system of minimal provision. Weve gone through the flesh now and we are beginning to get to the bone.

Article source: http://www.cllrjoncollins.co.uk/?p=213

Ive also got a second opinion piece, written by Councillor Chapman, for your info.

Come on Eric, give Greg Clark something useful to do

11 November, 2011 | By Graham Chapman

The appointment of Greg Clark as Minister for cities back in the summer was not just another idea Eric Pickles dreamed up in the bath but a decision loaded with significance.

First, it was a recognition by a party steeped in rural and suburban tradition and interest that cities were the key motor for growth in theUK.

Second, even more significantly, it was a recognition that there needed to be some genuflection towards a policy for growth at a time when the economy was flattening in a way the government had not predicted.

The problem is that the new minister was dealt a fairly poor hand.

Much damage had already been inflicted on cities and their prospects for growth in the form of local government cuts and cuts in regional budgets in which the poorer the city was, the more it lost.

There was no Plan B for growth to support Mr Clark. And for some months at least, he was Plan B.

Most of the instruments necessary to deliver growth the Regional Development Agencies in particular had been abolished and replaced with a loose and enfeebled system of Local Enterprise Partnerships.

The economy has continued to deteriorate and Mr Clark has no money, which has forced him into spending time not on growth but on process such as additional freedoms to make economic decisions. To give him credit, he has done it quite well but it is all jam tomorrow.

If cities are to be the motors of future growth then the minister and his government have got to get over a number of their hang-ups.

First, the problem for cities is not supply but demand, yet the response of government is mainly supply side. Credit easing is probably a good thing but it will take a long time to get going and there will be few takers if demand continues to dry up. Quantitative easing, on the other hand, is simply an efficient way of misallocating huge sums of money most of which are likely to bypass the productive economy in which cities are involved.

Second, you cant keep blaming everything on the Euro crisis. The problem of demand isnt just to do with exports, which are doing relatively well. Its to do with the collapse of the construction industry and languid demand in retail. We have an indigenous problem and the government should admit it.

Third, the public sector is not some parasitic leach living off the body private. Those cities which succeed do so where productive public sector investment underpins private sector growth.

The irony is that, despite declaring there is no Plan B, the government is gradually accepting the need for an alternative strategy. However, whether its called Plan B or Plan A+, because of government reticence, it is creeping out form undergrowth in an apologetic way which leaves it looking uncoordinated, contradictory and constantly behind the curve.

The Regional Growth Fund is supposed to be a major element but it is a third of what was being invested in key sectors by the RDAs and little of the 470m allocated to date has been spent. LEPs have no funding of their own to allocate and have only recently received a token amount to provide administrative support so, despite oozing lots of goodwill, they are not an effective tool. They have had some success in the recent RGF but they have no capacity to help deliver schemes.

The emphasis on cities is looking fairly contradictory in that the government is about to take yet another disproportionate slice of demand out of them in the form of cuts to local government and further benefit cuts in 2012-13. The government is also sending out mixed messages to foreign investors, having told the world after the summer disturbances that Britainis broken, and by implication that cities are the most broken part, it is now belatedly trying to reinstil confidence by talking theUKup.

Finally the grim and distorted budget message, that we are potentially in a as bad a positionGreeceunless government spending and by implication spending in cities, is substantially reduced, does not inspire confidence in anyone hoping to invest.

If we need to create more liquidity in the economy then we should be targeting key sectors and key physical sites in order to revive demand and, at the same, time lay foundations for future growth.

The plethora of enterprise zones could be the first blocks in an alternative strategy. Currently they have been designated but there has been little indication of what pump priming they will receive other than some vague promise of superfast broadband. The recent allocation of RGF funding missed out a number of enterprise zones leaving their future very much in the air. Yet they will not take off without infrastructure cost being borne mainly by the public sector.

As for key sectors, these are almost self selecting creative industries especially those linked to digital technology; science, particularly those aspects which can create employment; green energy where there is enormous capacity for reviving the construction industry; transport infrastructure for the same reasons; high-speed broadband; land preparation; and most of all skills training, using the opportunity of unemployment to retrain workers in order to fill the national skills gap.

The trebling of the RGF and involving the LEPs is a prerequisite, as is a substantial increase in the transport investment and support for manufacturing by substantially increasing capital allowances. All this is geared not just at restoring demand but also improving the competiveness and reinvigorating building sector with rapid multiplier effect on the rest of the economy.

If extra liquidity is directed towards investment in productive sectors the government will no longer have the excuse that the markets would react negatively to government spending.

Indeed, investment of this ilk with payback in the form of productive growth should reassure rather than scare the markets.

It might also mean that the minister for cities would finally have something to get his teeth into.

Graham Chapman (Lab) is deputy leader of Nottingham City Council

Article source: http://www.cllrjoncollins.co.uk/?p=203

Dear All,

The BBC Trust is currently consulting on the future of local radio stations such as BBC Radio Nottingham, the consultation period closes on Wednesday and Im hoping youll get involved and protect local radio.

With 12% cuts to local radio proposed there is a potential dilution and loss of quality of key local radio news programmes. Stations will have to pool their mid-afternoon slot with those in their approximate vicinity. Between 10pm and 1am stations will broken down into five super-regions, while from 7pm to 10pm a BBC England service will air the same, centrally-produced show.

Additionally both morning and drive time are likely to end up merely churning out of second- hand under-researched and under-prepared programmed. As a consequence a number of things will happen:

1 - The BBCs reputation for quality will be undermined
2 - The news coverage will be unable to fulfil its function of both informing the public accurately but also holding local decision makers to account. I write as someone often held to account on the radio. Democracy will suffer.
3 - Poorer, more generalised reporting will help sever the links with the local community. RadioNottingham has increased its listenership by around 29,000 since 2003 to over 200,000. Many of the audience listen only to Radio Nottingham and that is because of the quality of the local content.

The consultation closes on Wednesday 21^st December, so you only have 48 hours to respond, and can be found: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/consult/local_radio.shtml

Please get involved and help protect local radio.
P.S. Patrick Fosters article in Mondays Media Guardian which refers to some of the stuff which BBC Nottingham including the Big Night Out which was so important after the summer disturbances http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/dec/11/bbc-local-radio-cuts?INTCMP=SRCH

Article source: http://www.cllrjoncollins.co.uk/?p=207

I thought youd be interested in a news story that covers Greg Clarks praise for Core Cities Localism Bill amendment and the response of our Deputy Leader, Councillor Chapman, to the Growing Cities Fund.

City calls for Clark to embrace role

11 November, 2011 | By Jim Dunton

The deputy leader of one of the Core Cities councils has questioned the power Greg Clark has to enact his newly created minister for cities role.

In an online-only opinion piece for LGC, Nottingham City Councils deputy leader Graham Chapman (Lab) argues that communities secretary Eric Pickles needs to put more substance and significantly more cash behind the new ministerial brief.

His words come as Mr Clark praised Core Cities for its contribution towards a significant breakthrough in opening up a route to greater devolution.

Mr Clark told fellow MPs in the House of Commons this week that the groups amendment to the Localism Bill, developed in partnership with crossbench MPs, would provide an important new power.

It will allow us to enact, without the need for primary legislation, agreed transfers of power between local authorities and central government, he said.

I should like to put on record my gratitude to the leaders and officers of the Core Cities group for their help.

The amendment opens the door to greater local control over investment to drive growth in housing and planning, economic development, or pooling resources and effort across functioning economic areas.

It means cities can be more joined-up about local investment, moving on from case by case funding applications, saving time and money.

Earlier in the week, Cllr Chapman warned that the governments promise of 17.4m for Nottinghamthrough the Growing Places Fund was just a drop in the ocean for the city, and called for serious steps towards Tax Increment Financing.

It sounds like a lot but it isnt, he said.

It would, for example, pay for one school to be developed, thats great but we need 164m to develop the A453, stopped by the government.

90m is needed to develop a number of schools, stopped when this government axed the Building Schools for the Future programme.

You start to see that while 17m is very nice, its a drop in the ocean of whats needed to get Nottinghams economy really kick started.

A serious level of investment in serious infrastructure will pay its way in the form of tax returns stimulated by growth.

He added that there were fears the fund was so complex that bureaucracy to support it would impinge on cash available for investment.

Article source: http://www.cllrjoncollins.co.uk/?p=197

Thought you may be interested in this press statement put out by our Deputy Leader, Cllr Graham Chapman, on the governments announcement of 17m Growing Places Fund for Nottingham.

17m Growing Places Fund a welcome drop in the ocean

The Deputy Leader of Nottingham City Council, Cllr Graham Chapman, has welcomed the Governments promise of 17.4m for Nottingham but warned it is just a drop in the ocean.

Weve been arguing for capital investment in the City, in order to stimulate growth and get people working, but while the Government appears to be changing course but its nowhere near meets the need for infrastructure. Cllr Chapman said.

Cllr Chapman said: 17m sounds a lot but it isnt. It would, for example, pay for one school to be developed, thats great but we need 164m to develop the A453, stopped by the Government. Boots wanted 230m to develop their site, it was a bit of an optimistic bid but showed the nature of the problem. 90m is needed to develop a number of schools, stopped when this Government axed the Building Schools for the Future Programme. You start to see that while 17m is very nice, its a drop in the ocean of whats needed to get Nottinghams economy really kick started. A serious level of investment in serious infrastructure will pay its way in the form of tax returns stimulated by growth.

Im also worried the Growing Places Fund is so complex the bureaucracy needed to extract money will drill down on the available cash to invest. While well be thankful for every penny we can spend on gettingNottinghampeople into work and stimulating growth; the Government needs to take investment seriously. Concluded Cllr Chapman

Article source: http://www.cllrjoncollins.co.uk/?p=192

My Open letter to the people of Nottingham:

I would like to thank you for your help during the disturbances last week. The council and the Police value the support and cooperation of local people.

Last week a small number of people showed a side ofNottinghamwhich is unacceptable and which will not be tolerated. But the vast majority of people showedNottinghamat its best, with a really positive response from citizens, council staff and Notts Police who did an excellent job.

I think its important that we thank our communities for their spirited response during and after the disturbances, who rallied in support of the Police and local businesses.

Id also like to thank the many young people who didnt engage in the disorder, the parents who acted responsibly and the community leaders who urged calm.

Thousands of people turned out to enjoy the Caribbean Carnival and take part in other events, including the key football match between Nottingham Forest and Notts County, which shows what Nottingham is really all about.

Yours sincerely

Cllr Jon Collins, Leader of Nottingham City Council Chair of the Police Authority

Article source: http://www.cllrjoncollins.co.uk/?p=187

Nottingham City Council Leader Councillor Jon Collins has praised Nottinghamshire Police for their swift and professional action in dealing with a night of disturbances on the citys streets.

More than 240 police officers were out last night across the city, including 100 special constables, a mounted police unit and dog unit. During the course of the night, police officers made 90 arrests and have detained many who took part in, and incited a series of sporadic outbreaks of arson, criminal damage and other crimes.

Nottingham City Council provided vital support with youth service officers and councillors engaging with citizens in communities around the city during the evening, along with Community Protection Officers and Police Community Support Officers putting in extra shifts to provide a reassuring uniformed presence and advice. Cleansing teams worked hard to clean up quickly after any incidents. The City Council, in close liaison with the police, will today continue to monitor the situation and prepare for any further incidents.

Council Leader and Chair of Nottinghamshire Police Authority Jon Collins said:

Nottinghamshire Police deserve our thanks and praise for the way they have managed another evening of frankly disgusting behaviour from a mindless minority. The support that Nottingham residents have shown overnight shows that local people will not tolerate this behaviour and we will work together, with the Police, to bring these criminals to justice. We expect that anyone who is found guilty should be severely punished. We are committed to keeping Nottingham a safe place and we will not allow anybody who deliberately flouts the law in this way to threaten the safety of local people, families and hard-working businesses.

Whilst hundreds of incidents were reported overnight, Nottinghamshire Police have managed to limit the scale and severity by responding quickly and expertly as reports came in. Minor damage at a number of neighbourhood police stations has been reported, as well as a number of vehicle fires. A smash and grab attempt at a city centre jewellers ended in an arrest but no instances of looting occurred. A strong and united presence, together with the support of Nottinghams Community Protection Officers, led to large gatherings being dispersed quickly and led to many criminals being caught in the act.

The vast majority of incidents involved rowdiness, criminal damage and arson. No public injuries have been reported.

Local people have flooded social media sites Twitter and Facebook to show their support for last nights operations and today the Police have praised football fans attending last nights Carling Cup clash between Nottingham Forest and Notts County for their impeccable behaviour.

Assistant Chief Constable Paul Scarrott, who commanded the policing operation overnight, promised that all those who took part in the evenings criminality will be arrested, charged and taken to court.

A MESSAGE TO RESIDENTS

Nottinghamshire Police have issued a call to any residents waking up this morning to find that their cars or homes have been damaged overnight should contact police immediately to help with investigations. Residents can visit their local station this morning to report crime. Alternatively, contact Nottinghamshire Police on 0300 300 99 99 or approach one of the many neighbourhood police officers who will be out and about in the community this morning speaking to residents.

Anyone who has information about those responsible for last nights disturbances can call the Force on the 0300 number, visit a local station or ring Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 and speak anonymously.

Article source: http://www.cllrjoncollins.co.uk/?p=181

Yesterday in the July meeting of Nottingham City Councils Full Council I was asked about Nottinghams latest job figures. Below is my response, thought people might be interested to see what were doing to meet out manifesto commitments.

The latest unemployment statistics for Nottingham, showing unemployment at 6% are very disappointing but clearly justify why at the local elections in May we made this a priority issue for the Council to tackle. The current position is a reflection of a range of factors, including the impact of Government cuts to public services. Within Nottingham, a particular challenge has been presented by single parents being moved from Income Support to Job Seekers Allowance and by the ending of the successful Future Jobs Fund.

In our election manifesto we made cutting unemployment by a quarter over the next four years one of our top 5 promises.

We will do this by:

Investing 1m in the Nottingham Jobs Fund a locally designed and funded replacement scheme for the Future Jobs Fund to give young people real experience of the workplace;

Ensuring that more Nottingham City residents take up Nottingham City Council jobs, and ensuring that all entry level jobs are converted to Apprenticeships;

Creating 1,000 new jobs in the science and energy sector through our science city based work around the energy park and approaches to creating green tech jobs;

Securing local jobs through the establishment of Section 106 agreements in major developments, creating 500 jobs in the construction industry;

Creating an employer hub to connect local unemployed people to the jobs that are coming through the pipeline;

Running jobs fairs in local neighbourhoods throughout the City,

Running a social enterprise support scheme to support the creation of new social enterprises and entrepreneurship more generally.

Attracting new job opportunities into Nottingham through encouraging and promoting capital investment in the City and in particular through the Enterprise Zone, construction at the Station and lines 2 and 3 of the Tram, and the development of Victoria and Broadmarsh shopping centres.

The 1980s and early 1990s under the last Conservative government underlined for many of us the damage long-term unemployment has within our communities as generations of youngsters grew up without an understanding of the world of work or any expectation that beyond school, there was a job for them. The current governments mismanagement of the economy and their indifference to rising youth unemployment in particular raises the prospect of similar damage being done to our communities all over again.

Thats why we are determined to tackle this issue head on and believe that with this approach we will be able to save and create jobs over the next four years.

Article source: http://www.cllrjoncollins.co.uk/?p=176

On the 24th June 2011 Nottingham Post gave the impression that I was preventing my Council e-mails being made available under the Freedom of Information Act. I believe this was misleading since all my Council e-mails are covered by the act and the Council has spend hundreds of thousands of pounds of City tax-payers money providing this information to the Nottingham Post and other newspapers and media.

But when it come to access to information it seems the Nottingham Posts attitude seems to be do what we say not do what we do. What have they got to hide or is it just hypocrisy?Ill leave you todraw your own conclusions from my correspondence with their Editor below.

Article source: http://www.cllrjoncollins.co.uk/?p=153

Its hard to believe how quickly the time has flown by since Nottinghams local elections took place last month.

And there are a couple of things to reflect on about the elections before they fade too far from the memory.

Firstly, can I also thank everyone who came out to vote. Turnout was 37.6% which, while it was still at the lower end of what we would like to see, was up by 5% and that continues an improving trend in our city.

Secondly, we saw 21 new city councillors elected with notable success for a number of younger candidates from a variety of backgrounds which can only be good news for the democratic process. Of course, there were also a number of long-standing councillors who had either decided not to stand or lost their seats and I would like to thank them for their dedication to serving Nottingham during their time on the Council. Thats particularly true of Gary Long and Andrew Price, the former Leaders of the Councils Liberal Democrat and Conservative Groups who, politics aside, always showed a commitment to Nottingham and the kind of independent judgement that made them easy to work with.

Last Monday, at a meeting of the City Council, we debated and adopted the Labour manifesto we stood on at the elections as council policy over the next four years. Much of the debate was discussion about what next for the coming years and what are the big issues that we face as a City?

With the economy still fragile and the council facing the prospect of further cuts in Government funding to come, the position is challenging. But we remain ambitious for Nottingham and have some key priorities we will be pursuing even in these difficult times.

One way to help protect our citys economy is to do what we can to create jobs and keep people in work through capital projects, and by encouraging inward investment. This is key to the cohesion and prosperity of the City and its why we pledged to cut unemployment over the next 4 years by a quarter. Creating new jobs and helping to sustain people in work are vital to supporting local people and their communities and the future economic wellbeing and prosperity of Nottingham . Its also vital for us to support young people into work, training or further education and this will be a major focus for us.

Educating our young people will continue to be right up there at the top of our list of priorities. While we have seen significant improvement in our school results, we want to do more and we will look to achieve ambitious new targets over the coming years.

We also want to continue to crack down on crime and to halve anti-social behaviour in the City as local people continue to tell us that this is an important issue for them. The fact that crime has more than halved in the city since 2003 and we are becoming more and more effective in tackling anti-social behaviour is making a real difference to the quality of peoples lives.

We want to continue to make our neighbourhoods places people are proud to live and work in. Nottingham has already been judged the cleanest big city in England . We want to maintain that achievement and also ensure that standards of cleanliness are high not just in the city centre but across all our neighbourhoods as well. That means continuing to keep on top of things like graffiti, flyposting and dog mess.

Supporting a green and sustainable Nottingham will also be a major issue for us. The development of lines 2 and 3 of the tram will be a focal point for our transport network across the city that will help to underpin the citys economic development. And with energy prices continuing to rise, we want to continue to pursue a cleaner and greener city with energy-efficiency, cutting carbon emissions and developing employment opportunities in the emerging green technology a major priority.

Finally, while these are some of our big issues, its important that we dont lose sight of the way we do things at the Council, particularly with a smaller opposition. So we will be looking to encourage greater transparency in our decision-making and widening the scrutiny of our decisions by inviting more people from outside the Council to get involved in this.

Nottingham is a great city. Im incredibly proud and honoured to have been elected as Leader once again and to be given the chance to help steer our city through the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Article source: http://www.cllrjoncollins.co.uk/?p=148