Quinborne Car Boot and Jumble Sale, Saturday 10th September, 9am-1pm

Open Day at Woodgate Valley Fire Station

Woodgate Valley Fire Station (161 Stonehouse Lane, Bartley Green) are having an open day on Saturday 13th August from 10.30am until 3pm. They'll be lots to see and do, including:

• Chip pan fire demonstration
• Road traffic collision demonstration
• Rope rescue demonstration
• Stalls from partner agencies

Hope to see you there.

Martineau Centre Consultation - More Dates

I have successfully lobbied the Council to add extra dates to the current consultation on the Martineau Centre on Balden Road. These are in addition to the two consultation dates that have already taken place. The consultations will take place at the Martineau Centre itself, on the following dates and times.

• Monday 25 July, 10am–8pm
• Saturday 30 July, 9am–noon
• Saturday 13 August, 9am–noon

If you have any questions or comments about the Martineau Centre or any other matter, I would be more than happy to hear from you.

Supporting The Pod

The Pod, off Selcroft Avenue, is a new initiative to help local young people express themselves through art. I paid today's launch a visit and I was very impressed with what I saw. We talked over a few ideas about how I could help them achieve their goals, so watch this space!

2011 Elections - Commiserations to Len

I've managed to have a bit of a sleep after the manic election campaign in Quinton and Harborne and thought I'd do a quick post on the result. Clearly it's is disappointing that Len Clark was not successful in getting re-elected. Len has spent most of his adult life in public service and I've learnt a lot from him. I wish him a long and thoroughly deserved retirement from front-line politics.

Looking at the votes for each candidate, it appears that the Conservative vote held up very well: compared with 2008, we lost hardly any votes. Two things seem to have happened: the turnout increased, and most of this increased turnout voted Labour, and the (small but significant) Lib Dem vote collapsed, with those voters probably either staying at home or voting Labour too.

The local Labour team did an excellent job of exploiting their own government's economic incompetence by running a largely anti-cuts message, and this appears to have resonated well with voters. But I don't believe that the Labour party, either locally or nationally, is offering a credible alternative, and that's why I'll keep fighting to represent the people of Quinton ward.

Harborne Leisure Centre Picture Competition

Harborne Leisure Centre Open Day

Mobile Phone Mast Outside Old House at Home, Lordswood Rd

If you want to try to stop this, sign the petition at http://is.gd/cwknB9.

Quinborne Jumble Sale, Saturday 19th March, 10am-1pm

Malcolm Harbour MEP Backs HS2

I've recently been talking to West Midlands Conservative MEP Malcolm Harbour about the planned high speed rail link from Birmingham to London. Representing the whole of the West Midlands, Malcolm has to take a balanced view as to HS2's benefits versus any potential disruption caused along the route.

While recognising that some communities and individuals in the wider region will be adversely affected, Malcolm has given his firm backing to HS2. He says, 'The Government has pledged to build a new High Speed Rail network as part of its programme of measures to create a low carbon economy. I fully support this decision and believe it will be a vital measure that will help to deliver significant and long-lasting economic and societal benefits for Britain.

High Speed Rail has the potential to transform the way Britain works and competes in the 21st Century. It can also play a significant role in easing congestion and making the transport system in the UK greener, by offering an alternative to thousands of short haul flights and road journeys. Furthermore, it will also free up capacity on our existing rail infrastructure and improve frequency and service levels for passengers. The Birmingham and West Midlands economy will benefit significantly from the links to the North and South, with the planned extension to Manchester and Leeds which will continue our region’s regeneration.'

I welcome Malcolm's commitment to HS2 and agree that the benefits to Birmingham and the West Midlands will be significant and long-lasting. Bringing Birmingham and London closer together will be a great thing for both cities.

UPDATE 24/02: There's a letter in yesterday's FT from 69 business leaders and others backing HS2.

John Lewis comes to Birmingham

The rumours are true! Scheduled to open in 2014 as part of the New Street Station regeneration project, the new 250,000 sq ft John Lewis will be one of the largest outside London. Featuring more than 350,000 products including fashion, furniture, homewares, beauty and the latest technology, it will be another great boost to the city centre and bring in much needed jobs.

West Midlands and Chilterns Rail Route Consultation

If you want to have your say on this important rail route, you have until the end of the week. More details here:

http://is.gd/ItdxT2

Refuse and Recycling Collection in Birmingham - Update 2

• Tomorrow's and Friday's half-day strikes have been called off.
• The work-to-rule by the regular crews is also off for the time being.
• The Council will continue to deploy the casual crews as well as the regular crews to clear any backlog.
• Further talks are scheduled for Tuesday.

If there's any more news, I'll let you know.

Refuse and Recycling Collection in Birmingham - Update 1

Despite the snow in mid-December, the trade unions decided to press on with their strike on Monday 20th and they’ve been working four day weeks and refusing overtime since.

To compensate, we’ve recruited a casual workforce, working seven days a week, to pick up the work that the unions are leaving behind. Over the last weekend, this workforce of over 200 members of staff in 70 vehicles collected 1,410 tonnes of refuse in 282,000 black bags.

We’ve also continued to extend the opening hours at the City's five household recycling centres to 8am to 9pm, seven days a week.

The latest advice from Cllr Huxtable, who's the Cabinet Member responsible, is to put out fresh waste only on your scheduled collection day.

The unions are determined to inflict as much disruption as possible on the ordinary people of Birmingham and no-one in the Labour leadership, locally or nationally, has come out and condemned their actions. However, I’m determined that Labour and the unions won’t take Birmingham back to the 1970s.

Refuse and Recycling Collection in Birmingham

I hope that everyone had a good Christmas and is looking forward to the New Year.

I thought it would be a good time to update everyone on the situation regarding refuse and recycling collection in Quinton ward. I have been in direct contact today with Cllr Huxtable, who's the Cabinet Member responsible, to get the latest information.

Unfortunately, we've been hit with a 'perfect storm' of industrial action by our regular workforce on the 20th December and work-to-rule since, the unusually bad weather (even for December) and the extra refuse generated due to the holiday period.

However, none of this is much consolation if your black bags and recycling boxes are still outside. To try to get around the problems, the Council has recruited a casual workforce to provide collection services in the absence of the regular workforce. This workforce is being expanded as drivers are recruited. The Council intends the casual workforce to work continuously including the weekend and to catch up on the work as soon as possible.

The Council has also arranged for extended opening hours at the City's five household recycling centres: 8am to 9pm seven days a week.

The current advice is to leave your black bags and recycling on the kerbside, even if it's not your normal collection day, and the Council will try to collect them as soon as possible.

There are also a few scheduled bulky refuse collections taking place in various parts of Quinton ward; these are all expected to go ahead as planned.

I am in regular communication with Cllr Huxtable and I will update the blog if the information or advice changes.

Timely Advice from West Midlands Police

Letter from Eric Pickles about the Localism Bill and Local Government Finance Settlement

A new relationship between central government, local government and local people starts today.

Like all Conservative Councillors in England, I've just received a letter from Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP, Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government, with some information about the Localism Bill and Local Government Finance Settlement. I thought it would be useful to post the letter in full. Here is is.

Dear Colleague,

Localism Bill and Local Government Finance Settlement

Today the Coalition Government has published the Localism Bill and announced the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for English councils. I wanted to take the opportunity to outline some key political points on these two major announcements.

Local Government Finance Settlement

Local government finance is notoriously arcane and ridden with Whitehall jargon. So my department has published a plain English guide to the settlement, to help explain the detail. It can be found at: www.communities.gov.uk/documents/localgovernment/pdf/1796186.pdf

· This is all about how we raise and spend taxpayers’ money. Every part of the public sector needs to do its bit to help reduce Labour’s legacy of debt and the massive overdraft they left the nation. The Labour Government had been living a credit card lifestyle at taxpayers’ expense, and now it is time to pay off some of those bills.

· This is a progressive settlement – we are taking into account that some councils are very dependent on central government grants, and we are taking steps to mitigate the effect of spending reductions in those needy areas.

· The settlement will be fair between different parts of the country – north and south, rural and urban, metropolitan and shire. Unlike Labour, we will not play one part of the country off against another for narrow partisan gain.

· We are limiting the reduction in councils’ spending power. Making savings to grants is not the same as reducing council spending by the same amount – this is since councils raise money from council tax and other sources.

· Council tax bills more than doubled under Labour. So we are providing additional funding to help England’s councils to help freeze their council tax bills this year. This will provide real help to struggling families and pensioners.

· Councils can protect frontline services by sharing services and back office functions, improve procurement to get more for less, bring escalating senior pay under control, and use transparency to empower the public to see how their money could be better spent. Next month, councils should be publishing online their spending over £500, creating an army of ‘armchair auditors’ to cut out waste and deliver better value for money.

A Government press release with top-line local figures on spending can be found at:

www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/1795445

Localism Bill

· The Localism Bill overturns decades of central government interference and gives power back to local communities. We are not just devolving power to local councils – we are also giving more power to citizens, community groups and neighbourhoods, to help local people shape and influence the places in which they live and help build the Big Society.

· We are giving more freedoms and flexibilities to councils, from reducing ring-fencing to bringing in a general power of competence in the Localism Bill. By cutting the red tape and Whitehall micromanagement which holds councils back, this will give them the ability to protect frontline services and focus their spending on local priorities.

A Government press release on the Bill can be found at:

www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/1794946

My Ministerial colleague, Greg Clark, has also today published a pamphlet on our decentralisation agenda which is available at:

www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/decentralisationguide

Key policy initiatives in the Bill which may be of direct interest to your ward include:

· The abolition of Labour’s Regional Strategies and top-down system of planning. This legacy of John Prescott threatened environmental sustainability, and it completely failed to deliver the homes that communities wanted by fuelling resentment at development.

· A new system of neighbourhood planning to put local communities in charge of the look and feel of their locality. Parish councils and new neighbourhood forums of local people – rather than town hall officials – will lead the way in shaping their community. Incentives, such as the New Homes Bonus and a reformed Community Infrastructure Levy, will ensure that local people directly benefit from new development.

· Protection for local taxpayers from Labour’s planned tax hikes. We are abolishing Labour’s bin taxes, cancelling Labour’s planned council tax revaluations in England and Wales, and giving local residents new powers to veto future excessive council tax rises via local referendums.

· New rights to protect community facilities and build the Big Society: A Community Right to Buy will give local groups new rights to protect vital community asset including local shops, pubs, libraries and leisure centres, giving them the opportunity to take over services which face closure. An accompanying Community Right to Challenge will open the door for local community and voluntary sector groups, as well as parish councils and council employees, to bid to take over and improve local council services.

We have a strong message that the Coalition Government is championing the interests of local taxpayers in difficult times, and is putting more power and responsibility into the hands of councils, communities and citizens.

Yours truly,

Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP

Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government

Nativity Play Photos – A Victory for Common Sense

The Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham, has recently issued some guidance on taking photographs at school concerts or plays this Christmas.

He says, ‘Having a child perform at a school play or a festive concert is a very proud moment for parents and is understandably a memory that many want to capture on camera. It is disappointing to hear that the myth that such photos are forbidden by the Data Protection Act still prevails in some schools.

‘A common sense approach is needed – clearly, photographs simply taken for a family album are exempt from data protection laws. Armed with our guidance, parents should feel free to snap away this Christmas and stand ready to challenge any schools or councils that say “Bah, Humbug” to a bit of festive fun.’

This guidance should put an end to this persistent myth, and I’ve written to all of the local schools to make sure they know about it. Now let’s all get on and enjoy Christmas!

You can download the guidance note at http://is.gd/is2Qo.

Forthcoming Events at The Quinborne Centre

Welcoming an Irish Councillor to Birmingham

I spent the morning at our popular Advice Bureau at the Quinborne Centre. Many local people came to see me for all sorts of help and advice, and I'm looking forward to resolving each and every issue.

I was then pleased to welcome Cllr Sean McKiernan, elected Member of Cavan County Council in the Republic of Ireland and Vice-Chairman of the Fine Gael National Executive to Birmingham.

We had a very interesting conversation about the various issues in our respective countries and localities - it was great to meet someone else who had a genuine passion for improving their area. I wish Sean well in his visit to Birmingham and I hope that I can pay a visit to Cavan at some point in the future.