Or should one be incorporated into a wider Commission on the Governance of England as the House of Commons Public Administration & Constitutional Affairs Committee recommended in October 2022? Or alternatively, not have one at all and ‘let the market’ sort things out. Some of you may have seen the call by former Treasury seniorContinue reading “Should there be a Royal Commission on the state of Britain’s High Streets?”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
A Community Power Act will fail *unless* other radical policies are brought in alongside it
The group We’re Right Here is making the case for a new Community Power Act The problem is that the proposals need a host of other radical policies – ones that ministers are showing little genuine interest in – for the proposed legislation to achieve its aims. These radical policies include but are not limitedContinue reading “A Community Power Act will fail *unless* other radical policies are brought in alongside it”
Learning about local public services and how they function. And malfunction
I stumbled across the syllabus for the old BTEC National in Public Services from 2010 for both the uniformed and non-uniformed syllabuses. You can read the course outlines here. For those of you who are old like me, “Level 3” is the equivalent of A-level academic standard. The core units for a BTEC Diploma areContinue reading “Learning about local public services and how they function. And malfunction”
Why did the Greater Cambridge Partnership throw so much political capital at C-Charge proposals? Follow. The. Money.
The main driver for the element involving charging motorists was explained clearly in the meeting papers – if you could find the relevant paragraphs in the 500+ pages. “The overarching objective of the scheme is providing viable alternatives to private car use which means reducing congestion (to allow alternatives to be faster, more reliable andContinue reading “Why did the Greater Cambridge Partnership throw so much political capital at C-Charge proposals? Follow. The. Money.”
The Greater Cambridge Partnership was never designed to cope with a hostile political environment
“Greater Cambridge Partnership’s congestion charge plans unravel over ‘party politics’” declares the Cambridge Independent – and its right. But the GCP was designed and created in a very different party political environment – one that no longer exists. Today’s Greater Cambridge Partnership Assembly meeting was grim watching. I cannot recall a meeting where senior councillorsContinue reading “The Greater Cambridge Partnership was never designed to cope with a hostile political environment”
Can beautiful buildings & places be created within a fundamentally extractive economic system?
On the architectural battles between the traditionalists vs the minimalists Or rather Charles’s / Gove’s lot vs Le Corbusier’s / Norman Foster’s lot. For want of another set of descriptors. TL/DR? Read this I’ve moaned a lot about this subject because it’s something that stayed with me ever since we did a project on oldContinue reading “Can beautiful buildings & places be created within a fundamentally extractive economic system?”
The Cambridge Congestion Charge proposals collapse as political support evaporates
The writing was on the wall when senior Liberal Democrats’ MP-candidates spoke out against the plans – now Cambridge Labour has confirmed it won’t support the plans either. Cambridge University and the business community involved in the GCP’s plans also have some serious questions to ask of themselves See the Cambridge Independent here. This willContinue reading “The Cambridge Congestion Charge proposals collapse as political support evaporates”
Will we see more door-to-door leafleting by local campaign groups as social media fragments?
Quite a turn-around given over a decade ago I was urging organisations to make use of all things online. But with new and revamped community centres opening, how can we ensure they are used in the midst of our cost of living crisis? Especially if social media reach is much more limited than before? ThisContinue reading “Will we see more door-to-door leafleting by local campaign groups as social media fragments?”
“It is not the job of the Dept for Education to maintain school buildings…”
…But is is the job of The Government to ensure that local councils and other responsible bodies are properly funded to carry out the necessary maintenance. On that front, ministers haven’t just failed. Because failure implies making an effort to try and succeed in a task. And I’m not seeing nearly enough evidence of that.Continue reading ““It is not the job of the Dept for Education to maintain school buildings…””
Addenbrooke’s and The Rosie are facing challenges they have no powers to deal with
The Care Quality Commission graded maternity services as requiring improvement in the face of understaffing – but ministers are preventing the hospitals and local government from dealing with those problems by maintaining restrictions on local taxation and a broken structure of governance See the headlines here. You’ll have seen the headlines in the national newsContinue reading “Addenbrooke’s and The Rosie are facing challenges they have no powers to deal with”
The Cambridge Town Owl 