Here is a link to the latest planning applications for the Brandwood Ward, published today; Spent a good proportion of the day tidying up case work from my Saturday Advice Centre at The Brandwood Centre and others which came in over the telephone.
In the afternoon went out and did a delivery round of letters, around two hundred in total, which is all part of politicians keeping in touch with local electors.
Tuesday
First email of the day was from a resident about EMPTY buses once again using Hazelhurst Road and Abbots Road Kings Heath, it seems that these buses start as early as 5:50am, to get them on to services from Kings Heath going westward, towards Hall Green. But once locked in to their route buses stop at around 7:15am. I would reckon it could be quite disturbing for residents at that time of morning.The battle for funding to allow Brandwood West Neighbourhood Forum to continue it's work goes on. Those who read this blog may recall in my blog of 31st January, that the Two Conservative Councillors for the area, are of the opinion that The Forum doesn't do any real work, which runs contrary to that argument with a complete history of public meetings and consultations taking place over the past seven years. The truth will out.
Later in the afternoon, both myself and Councillor Carl Rice turned up to what should have been a "Peer Review" towards The Council's Comprehensive Area Assessment audit, undertaken by the Improvement and Development Agency. The only thing wrong was that it had been postponed and no one had bothered to inform us. To say I was extremely annoyed would be an understatement, I informed the lead officer from IDeA that I hadn't been informed and that I would not be able to go along on Wednesday to the rearranged appointment.Wednesday
Just announced today, The Spearhead Trust and Bells Farm Community Association, both of which are local charities are to merge in to one charitable organisation and manage The Bells Farm Community Centre, this is great news, as they will now be able to apply for funding to restore the badly damaged part of this very historical building.
I had another email from an officer over one of my Advice Centre cases, the really annoying part was that the email had been circulated to a number of Councillors, without my permission. I have always treated my cases with confidentiality, so why on earth do SOME council officers think that they can broadcast information willy-nilly. Needless to say, I sent off quite a damming email to there seniors about how officers should handle advice case information. This isn't the first time this has happened to me since being back on the council and it works both ways, I don't want to know about other councillors case work, which is something I've taken up with Birmingham's Chief Executive on more than one occasion. In one instance I was sent a copy of a letter sent to another councillor on a similar vein, when I write in on behalf of a resident I want a reply that I can send to them in my name not someone else's letter.
Thursday
The real big announcement of the day has been that Birmingham has fallen down the league places of Best Councils, going from a THREE star council to TWO stars. What I stated at last weeks Full Council Meeting, that we were failing to tackle serious problems on children safety, those who are known to our social workers, that lack of moral in that department and the increasing pressure placed upon a diminishing number of social workers has been proven right. I daren't say "I told you so", but I did and all I got was rabid comments from those who should know better.So can we expect a seismic change by this administration, I doubt it. I expect someone had a big kick up the backside, but until we start to take very seriously deficiencies in budgets and staffing levels in certain departments we will unfortunately start going backwards, which won't help anyone, particularly Mike Whitby, whose friends want a knighthood, better still a peerage for him, in soon to be announced Queens Birthday Honours List.
Did my Advice Centre at Dell Meadow, this is becoming more poplar than all the others I do, I'm on the go from whenever I get there, usually around 1:30pm till quite late, usually around 5:00pm, but not today though, as I have to be somewhere else at that time, so had to limit each case to less than ten minutes.
Dashed off at 4:30pm to the Council House to here a seminar on the Housing Departments new "Choiced Base Letting" system which they hope to introduce later this year. This is where those on the housing waiting list and those who want a transfer, literally bid, using their allocated points for a property suited to their needs/wants. The only real downside to this, is that Birmingham has nearly half of it's properties in Tower Block, where a large number of residents want to move out of, talk about building up peoples hopes. Until we start to get to grips with building more social housing in Birmingham, it will continue to be one step forward and two back.
The evening was taken up with the first of Neighbourhood Tasking Meetings at St Bede's, this is an area of Brandwood which has been left out of the equation, now however, we have arranged for meetings every month for the remainder of the year. I only hope that we can build on the sizable number who turned up, this time encouraging those who live in the Woodthorpe Road and Taylor Road areas.Friday
Attendance at a Co-ordinating and Overview Scrutiny Committee was in order. here we heard about Birmingham's plans on Climate change, on this occasion The Climate denier, Cllr Keith Barton, actually agrees that we should be doing things and he came out with some supporting comments and stated that he even used his bicycle occasionally. WELL DONE Keith. Then the old saga of Business Transformation, what was so amusing was that the report was making saving projections for the next twenty five years. How many Councillors on this committee will still be around, very few in my opinion and the same goes for officers, who will have retired thank you very much on an inflation proof pension, a lot more than many of our residents, so who will be around to challenge, your guess will be as good as mine?Had a good walk around The ward in the afternoon, chatting to residents about this and that, finding out what really concerns them.
In the early evening went to my Advice Centre, to my complete surprise someone had been telling bus users of the 85 route that there was a meeting arranged at St Bede's, funnily enough at the same time as we had our Advice Centres. On my arrival not only did we find these residents who were bus passengers, but who pops his head in, Cllr Neville Summerfield, who had just come to pick up one of his supporters, who was in the very middle of this group. I took them all off together in to the small prayer room, which can comfortably sit around 15 people and held a short meeting with them, informing what had been taking place, promises made by Travel West Midlands and I was informed that on this very day one resident had waited more than FIFTY minutes for a bus. I then sent off an email to Yardley Wood Garage and took everyone's name and address. It seems that everyone of them went home pleased with what I had done and said to them and it only took thirty minutes of everyone's time. Then got down to seeing all the other people who needed help and advice
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