PEOPLE POWER: FOR WHAT ARE WE WAITING?

With the Localism Bill's 'General Power of Competence', local authorities will basically act in the same way as a natural person, except where restricted by statute such as creating a new tax.  Groundbreaking shifts of power provide opportunities to restore civic pride, democratic accountability and economic growth. So where do YOU fit in, as a natural person? HERE IS YOUR CHANCE to act as a natural person NOW: SUPPORT THIS PETITION to provide (i) free Youth Clubs (ii) create Civilian Street Patrols and (iii) turn the lives of offenders around. Saving our communities and taxpayers pounds, exponentially.  Sign/Like here:  http://twitition.com/vdsns

P E T I T I O N

(Right click on page and select 'print' for your own copy of the Petition

 then send it to me at my home address)

To: Chief Executive, Borough of Broxbourne c/o Cllr Mrs Joanne Welch, Independent Conservative, Cheshunt North (Central) Ward, Brookholme, 6 Saunders Close, Cheshunt, Hertfordshire EN8 0UQ
brookholme@talk21.com (email me for a copy of this Petition) or call me 07734057707.


Dear Mr Walker

I ........................................................................................... (name in block capitals) wish to petition the Borough of Broxbourne to (i) provide children and young people with locations and facilities for youth play ie free 'Youth Clubs' (ii) 'break the cycle of offending' (iii) create civilian street patrols ~ as described below in the Open Letter to Neighbours (Petition).

I would like to see these proposals put in place with immediate effect not only to help create enjoyable and safer communities but also to save taxpayers money, exponentially.


I look forward to receiving your written reply, soonest.


Yours sincerely


Taxpayer of the Borough of Broxbourne

______________________________________________________
Address ............................................................................................

..........................................................................................................

Signature: ................................................................. Date: ...............
 
_______________________________________________________

OPEN LETTER TO NEIGHBOURS (PETITION) 

 

Dear Neighbours

Let's bring back pride into our politics by making people's policies.

Let's enhance our Quality of Life with these three initiatives:-

(i) Open Village Halls to provide free Youth Clubs 'to focus on developing locations/facilities for (free) youth play' Broxbourne Scrutiny Review 2007;

(ii) Tackle Anti-Social Behaviour via St Giles Trust  by also 'working with ex-offenders and the homeless to break the cycle of offending and create safer communities'. Motion to Full Council, Agreed 2010;

(iii) Create Civilian Street Patrols by which 'is the only regulated community civilian street patrol scheme in the UK that involves the whole community. The model is fully transferable' and endorsed by Nick Herbert, MP, Policing Minister.

Let's make this happen, together.

How?

Complete the Petition to Broxbourne Council and send it to me at my home address, Brookholme, 6 Saunders Close, Cheshunt, Hertfordshire EN8 0UQ.

Thank you for your support of these initiatives.

Cllr Mrs Joanne Welch

Local People, Local Power, Local Politics

LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS

BY CLICKING 'COMMENTS' BELOW

Amazing young woman who is an inspiration to all

A sense of humour is essential ...

How many people use experiences to grow rather than get stuck in their story, anger and past?

If you were not able to turn your head or feed yourself what would you want to change?

'People's attitudes towards disability' was Nicola's immediate response, swiftly followed by 'Having needs met appropriately when learning', 'not only from teaching staff but also from peers' in both integrated and segregated environments.


We may well now ask ourselves if it is possible to be more selfless upon hearing this crie de coeur from a young woman who was born to inspire others;  and for whom she volunteers what precious little time she has between managing her health appointments, treatments and also mountains of paperwork associated with her health maintenance programme.


One would think that a wheelchair services review would be simple for such a person, however, the appointment is still awaited from Herts Wheelchair Services at QEII. That said, the physio, acupuncture, neurological assessments are thesedays working well albeit only part of the said health programme.


The transformation of Dial-A-Ride's services is settling down, although the booking, double-checking and chasing of these appointments can sometimes be tiresome. Mum and Dad readily cover the journeys to-and-from health programme appointments and social gatherings too.


'My parents are amazing' was met with praise for Nicola by her adoring Mother, sharing her daughter's talent for language since 'she was 9 years old' when she asked her Father to help with a project entitled 'Bliss'.


Eighteen of Nicola's adult years have been spent volunteering at a Special Needs School where she shares her talents around speech and language, this being an invaluable therapy, not least, for those experiencing severe learning difficulties.


Nicola's Carer's keenness to support her enhances my own observation in that  'she can be a little too modest .... she is an inspiration to what can be done, when you are determined and willing'.


'Nicest man ever' my GP, Dr Femi Idowu, Stockwell Lodge Medical Centre, Cheshunt. 'If we get the foundation right, the GPs' consortia will work well'. 'Although, it is a great pity the forgotten disabled young people of 18+ have to fight for their support systems which should be automatic'.


'When Nicola's consultant retired, he wrote a beautiful letter to her' and this esteem is reverberated by love in the heart and hearth of the family home and in the photographs on the walls and mantelpiece.


Nicola's words echo in my mind as I head for home 'My Carer works hard' and 'I hope that The Coalition's assessment programme for those people in similar circumstances to my own are not punitive to me, as I wouldn't want to lose her'.


Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.

Thank you Nicola, you are an inspiration to all who have the privilege of knowing you; as Prime Minister, David Cameron says, 'We are in this together'.

Public Consultation : Schools

Schools Minister, Nick Gibb MP (click here/listen) 

You may wish to read the Financial Times, Leader, on School Reform dated 13th January 2010 which provides readers with an interesting view.

As you may be aware, the Hertfordshire County Council has adopted a strategy of primary school expansions in response to the rising demand for school places across the county. This is set out in the Meeting the Rising Demand document and the related proposals in the 2010 update which can be found at www.hertsdirect.org/schoolplaces

Having looked carefully at the supply of school places for reception aged pupils, the county council is launching public consultations on the permanent enlargement of existing school premises in the following areas:

Hatfield
Hertford Town

Hitchin Town

Turnford

Waltham Cross

Cheshunt East
Stevenage
Welwyn Garden City
Abbots Langley
Berkhamsted
Borehamwood
Hemel Hempstead
Watford

Further details about the specific proposals in each area can be found at www.hertsdirect.org/schoolplaces
School Planning Team
01992 555811

Chim chim-in-ey, chim chim-in-ey, chim chim cher-ee!

Panto~mode ... ... 

Bert: "A sweep is as lucky, As lucky can be!" 

Great Britain's Young carers: "Oh no (s)he isn't!" 


Mary Poppins:  "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!" *

*{super- "above", cali- "beauty", fragilistic- "delicate", expiali- "to atone", and docious- "educable", with the sum of these parts signifying roughly "Atoning for educability through delicate beauty."} Wikipedia

From the late 18th Century, orphans and abandoned children came under the care of the Poor Law, but were usually put into the care of employers who provided for them in return for their work.

'Climbing boys' were recruited by chimney sweeps or apprenticed by parish authorities to climb into and clean chimneys.

Jonas Hanway, Philanthropist, had campaigned extensively to improve such working conditions and, eventually, an Act of 1788 specified a minimum age of eight years old for apprentices, but this and other regulations were never enforced.

The Chimney Sweeps Act was passed in 1834 outlawing the apprenticing of any child below the age of ten.  Furthermore, no child was to be actually engaged in cleaning chimneys under the age of 14.

In 1840, a revised Chimney Sweeps Act raised the minimum age of apprenticeship to 16. As with earlier legislation, this was largely ignored due to the absence of any means of enforcement.  Children younger than ten were still being made to climb chimneys.

In 1863 the publication of 'The Water-Babies', a novel by Charles Kingsley, did much to raise public awareness about the gross mistreatment of children in this kind of employment through its central character, Tom, a child chimney sweep.


The 1864, Chimney Sweepers Regulation Act was ineffective despite its humane purpose.  In 1875, a successful solution was implemented by the Chimney Sweepers' Act which required sweeps to be licensed and made it the duty of the police to enforce all previous legislation.

One hundred years to create an effective Act of Parliament to protect vulnerable children.  And now?  How long will it take to protect young carers?  Another 100 years?

 Today, the Citizens Advice Bureau's guidance for 'Young People and Employement' describes the general rules and 'what the law says' on this topic with which Children, Schools and Families directorates will be familiar, not least, under the Safeguarding Children banner.

Of the 8,500 identified young carers in Hertfordshire whose average age is 12 years old and some as young as 8 years old, 28% have 'problems at school', 68% are 'bullied', one quarter of these receive 'no other support' than that of the Young Carers Project via the Young Carers Council: only servicing about 1/12th of the known young carers in Hertfordshire.

What would Jonas Hanway have to say  about the young carers' responsibilities in this, the 21st Century? 

  

Thankfully, Broxbourne's Mayor, Cllr Mark Mills-Bishop has engaged with local young carers and he has presented one young person with a civic award for having beaten adversities and also having started a career helping others.

Nonetheless, questions remain, where are the extended families, friends, neighbours, churches, charities, statutory bodies and 'others' when our young carers need them most, to allow them to be children and not employees of the 'parish authorities' with adult family responsibilities.

Let's pray that the impact of the Comprehensive Spending Review on CSFs' budgets allows such young carers projects to continue their invaluable work.

 

RIP Jonas Hanway.

Local people, local politics, local power

Stargazing

Astronomers will be looking out for the Quadrantid meteor shower tomorrow night, which should reach its peak that evening, within 8 hours of the new moon.



The meteors can streak across any part of the sky, so you don't need to look in a particular direction to see them. The Moon is out of the way, so it should be a good show.


Many look to the stars for zodiac forecasts as the New Year begins, others state that they prefer to be more pragmatic ~ that the truth of an idea needs to be tested to prove its validity.


Thus Stockwell Lodge Medical Centre's formed its own Patient Forum whereby patients are able to participate in the transformation of its services under the auspice of GPs Consortia.


Stockwell Lodge Awareness Day was a great success, highlighting its own services and those operating within its' communities.  Having extended invitations to civic leaders and accepted the invitation to man the Balloon Release, I enjoyed a magical day meeting patients, the public, staff and community stalwarts on whom The Big Society depends.

The day also helped to clarify the mutual understanding of the constraints of limited resources across the country and our obligation to use such finite resources wisely.

Partners and Forum Members have together worked hard to transform Stockwell Lodge's services over the past year, having overhauled its appointment system, its new telephone system and practice website ~ these changes have enabled the medical centre to communicate more easily with its patients and also to better monitor its own performance.

Coupled with the new 'patient friendly' reception and Information Screens/Booklets, Extended Hours and Nurse Triage system, the customer experience has been much improved, although a 'doctor of choice' cannot always be guaranteed.

You are most welcome to offer your views via its Patient Survey available on reception or by calling 01992 624408 and requesting a copy.

LOCAL PEOPLE, LOCAL POWER, LOCAL POLITICS works, try it and see!