Category Archives: Uncategorized

How might these affect the South Cambridgeshire District Council elections in 2022? I had a look at some of the data in the House of Commons Library following the outcry at Stoke-on-Trent Council (Unitary – Cons) announcing it is gutting a core part of its heritage function. It currently has a minority-led Conservative administration, withContinue reading “Tory ministers cut ***how much???*** from local council budgets?”

…in the context of non-medicinal treatment for a variety of illnesses & conditions I won’t take too long with this one. It stems from this post: The article above is here, and the “[Draft] Depression in adults: treatment and management (update)” is here. NHS relations with local government – an ongoing issue since the former’sContinue reading “Linking doctors’ surgeries with local government”

In his speech in Birmingham on 04 Jan 2022 he name-checked the county, but the transcript says the city. Above – the Leader of the Labour Party said “biopharma in Cambridgeshire” (At 11m35s) …although the transcript from the party’s website reads as: “Labour would create 100,000 new start-up businesses and new hubs of excellence buildingContinue reading “Sir Keir Starmer’s plan for a Biopharma ‘hub of excellence’ in Cambridge[shire]”

Did it achieve anything? Have a read of the agreement here. The purpose of this post is to shine some light on a previous generation of local government relations with central government – one that for today’s generation of teenagers and young adults might look baffling. What I hope it reveals is the complexity ofContinue reading “Cambridgeshire’s Local Area Agreement 2006-09”

The national picture is grim. “The initial teaching and learning funding allocations for adult further education (FE) and skills in England fell from a 2010‑11 baseline of £3.18 billion to £2.94 billion in 2015‑16” Adult further education funding in England since 2010 – House of Commons Library Given where it was in 2003, funding for adultContinue reading “Why have ministers given Mayor Dr Nik Johnson so few funds for adult education?”

In 2012 Cambridge City Council & South Cambridgeshire District Council commissioned Peter Brett Associates LLP to produce an Infrastructure Delivery Study. You can read both the executive summary and the full report from the papers here from 11 Sept 2012. “Why does this matter?” Because it enables residents and councillors to hold planners and developersContinue reading “What is Cambridge’s social and civic infrastructure deficit?”

Only Cambridge University are taking ages with the one they are supposed to be building, the city is already at capacity, and further growth in North East Cambridge will only put further pressure on existing swimming pools. [Updated to add:] It’s worth noting the both Cambridge City & South Cambs District Councils have committed toContinue reading “Is the Milton Road Garage site in North East Cambridge suitable for a new municipal swimming pool?”

A decade after I first blogged about loneliness, it is now a local as well as a national public policy issue – see the House of Commons Library earlier in 2021. My previous blogposts include: The curses of loneliness and isolation – Sept 2011 Overcoming society’s problem with loneliness – Dec 2013 Loneliness – andContinue reading “Cambridgeshire vs loneliness – what do we need to deal with this challenge?”

The closure was announced in March 2021 and was missed by many – myself included. What does the decision by Reach PLC mean for a growing city like Cambridge to have its only daily newspaper being entirely virtual? Ever since Reach PLC took over the Cambridge News, I’ve been concerned at the direction that itContinue reading “The impact of the Cambridge News no longer having a Cambridge-based office”

The ones from Victorian times only dealt with things like street paving and lamp posts. But at least people knew what they were there to do. I mentioned the old Improvement Commissioners in my previous blogpost – who were initially empowered by Acts of Parliament to improve the streets in a given town. A 21st CenturyContinue reading “The Greater Cambridge Improvement Commissioners – revamping local government”