megilleland

Remember the Irish voting No on the Lisbon Treaty Referendum only to be told vote again and vote Yes. Looks like the Tories will do anything to stay in power.

Hereford Times Thursday 4 September 2014 in Letters After moaning that the HT won't put over a positive view of the council, they have published the above pronouncement tucked away in "Letters" from our esteemed leader. Economic growth refers to the size of their wallets.

No idea Flamboyant, but I imagine there's a section of the software that allows them to print their own contracts and severance agreement and when they get the cheque the paperwork immediately shreds itself.

Yes this government hasn't got a clue. Everything they touch is in such a mess and all they are doing is stripping out the public sector and setting up their private companies, which when they are thrown out next May will provide an easy directorship here and there. They will do this for four years while Labour swing the pendulum to the left and so we go on ad infinitum. Can't the public see this - no one cares. From November 1st we are just a region of the EU and they will tell the Conservative, Labour or other parties how to administer our lives.

No Guy Taylor is in court on the 10th September.

UK Parliament comes to an effective end On the 1st November 2014 the right of Parliament to legislate over us in 43 areas, the important ones, will be removed and be made subject to approval. They call it QMV, Qualified Majority Voting. And at the same time, Home Secretary Theresa May is voluntarily handing the EU control over 35 areas of justice, including opting back into the notorious European Arrest Warrant, ending the principle of habeas corpus which has kept Britons safe from arbitrary arrest for 900 years. Both the Conservatives and Labour have promised that they will not transfer any more powers to the EU without giving the people a referendum. Some promise. Only a few months away. Expect UKIP to pick this up very soon.

In The Guardian today: In view of the above statement to move the fire station to Bath Street may be a little premature?

Yes Fire Service not Council. Doesn't really matter as the Fire Authority members are all Councillors.

Plenty to read concerning this planning application. Comments by Thursday 25 September 2014. The Council have used a London Planning concern called CGMS who judging by the characters working for them are pretty big guns. Note that as agents for the council they themselves paid the planning application of £10,000. Must be pretty sure they are going to get that back. I wouldn't be surprised if other companies consulted on other issues will also be putting in big bills for advice. The council both present and past have a poor history of conserving our heritage. I hope the Planning Committee, Civic Society as well as the Victorian Society are going to oppose this application. There is so much information to pick over in the numerous reports that the approach appears to be bamboozle the public. And of course our councillors are members of the public so H&WFR are expecting a push over. I won't be expecting any wise words from Tony Johnson at the Civic Society Question Time on the 18th September.

List of planning public notices affecting the city It is a legal requirement for the council to give public notice of certain types of planning application and other planning matters by the display of an advert in a local newspaper. If you wish to comment, please follow the advice contained in the notice. The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2010 Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, Sections 67 & 73 Application Types: P - Planning permission L - Listed Building Consent AC - Conservation Area Consent SL - Affecting the setting of a Listed Building AC - Affecting a Conservation Area D - Not in accordance with the provisions of the Development Plan RW - Affecting a public right of way T - For a telecommunications mast 28th August 2014 P142401/L & P142400/A – AC L SL Signage, external and internal alterations. Barclays Bank, 1-3 Broad Street, Hereford P142404/L, P142425/F, P142426/A – AC L SL Internal refurbishment, change of shopfront, addition of external ATM and new sliding entrance door, side entrance and low level lit fascia header to ATM. Santander, 20-21 High Town, Hereford P142339/F – AC SL One bi-folding door leaf to entrance. 31 Widemarsh Street, Hereford P142441/FH - AC Extensions. 39 Bodenham Road, Hereford P142255/F- AC L SL Demolition of external bar/servery and erection of garden room. Castle House Hotel, 11-13 St Ethelbert Street, Hereford If you wish to make representations or comments you can during the period of 21 days beginning with the date of the publication of this notice quoting the relevant number: By the Website: Using the online comment form By e-mail to: planning_enquiries@herefordshire.gov.uk By post to: - Planning Services, PO Box 230, Hereford, HR1 2ZB ANDREW ASHCROFT (Assistant Director)

Feeling aggro? Have a kebab They may play havoc with your cholesterol, but according to one lawyer the nation's favourite drunken snack prevents violence and stops house fires

Had to dig deep to find this: Section 3 - Confidential Reporting Code pp14 (Whistle Blowing) 5.3.1.3 This policy document makes it clear that staff can do so without fear of victimisation, subsequent discrimination or advantage. This Confidential Reporting Policy is intended to encourage and enable employees to raise serious concerns within the Council rather than overlooking a problem or ‘blowing the whistle’ outside.

Anyone ask us? The Guardian isn't allowing any comments on this or other similar topics. Even Milliband looks as though he is thoroughly behind Cameron and Clegg. Closer to home just down the road - West on alert for violence at Nato summit at Celtic Manor resort near Newport. Won't be surprised if Boris's water cannons will be trundling down the M4 to join in the party. Anyone going to nominate these dimwit politicians, obsessed with power, for an ice bucket water cannon spray. Should be a cosy affair at Celtic Manor this Thursday, deciding who is going to be sacrificed, in order to defend their principles.

General Overview & Scrutiny Committee Monday 8 September 2014 10.00 am 7. Public Realm Services - Balfour Beatty Living Places To provide an update on the services provided by Balfour Beatty Living Places (BBLP) during the first year of the council’s Public Realm contract to enable the committee to provide feedback to Cabinet and inform the work of the Task and Finish Group which has been established to examine this area in more detail. Quite a lot of self congratulatory information to read here.

Just posted a reply on Hereford Times about their article on council tax. I said that this was drawn attention to earlier this year on Hereford Voice highlighting the differences between Westminster and Hereford (see post 15 above) and that I paid £120 a month over a 10 month period. Also the rateable value is used to calculate your water rates if you are not on a meter, so you will be paying more again than those in Westminster. However at least we won't be drinking recycled sewage water.

Also came across this news item "Police defy force with Masonic lodge" reported in The Independent in 2000. Note it is openly promoting itself today here. Not sure whether this would be classed as a social networking site!

One high-ranking West Mercia officer, shown to be an inspector or above, was disciplined for discussing information about a police investigation with friends online. They will have to add inappropriate use of social networking sites to the following: Misconduct Outcomes Apr 2014 to June 2014 Misconduct Outcomes Dec 2013 to March 2014

I always wish the underdog well. At least he has got some balls.

Nothing to stop the council giving it away or as in the case of Guy Taylor, Bodenham Manor being sold after auction for an undisclosed amount and possibly resold on.

Especially if there are going to build 800 homes off the link road, it would be best to be sited as close as possible to this amount of housing. Also the getting off the link road will access the other parts of Hereford much quicker, contrary to what the fire service told us at their consultation.

Thanks for the clarification

Hereford Times: Wednesday 27 August 2014 in News by Bill Tanner “There is already argument that Council takes too long to make decisions. With solely a committee run Council, there has by law, to be an agenda published and seven working days notice published, before meeting can take place, too long to get Balfour for example, to be asked to take on extra gully cleaning duties,†he said. Not sure what you are getting at here. All council meetings at present produce an agenda what's the difference? It's the fire service that have trouble producing an agenda and publishing their meeting minutes. Still waiting for the Policy and Resources Committee 2nd June meeting minutes before their next on 10th September concerning the relocation of the fire station.

Open and accountable local government A guide for the press and public on attending and reporting meetings of local government August 2014 Department for Communities and Local Government Your rights to attend and report meetings Why are there new national rules? We now live in a modern, digital world where the use of modern communication methods such as filming, tweeting and blogging should be embraced for enhancing the openness and transparency of local government bodies. This will ensure we have strong, 21st century, local democracy where local government bodies are genuinely accountable to the local people whom they serve and to the local taxpayers who help fund them. Who do these rules help? These rules help any members of the press and public who want to know about, view or report the work of local government bodies. The “press†is defined in the widest terms – including traditional print media, filming crews, hyper-local journalists and bloggers. The new national rules have increased your rights to film, audio-record, take photographs, and use social media such as tweeting and blogging to report the proceedings of all such meetings that are open to the public. But the local authority says reporting is a breach of its Standing Orders? It is a legal duty for the local government body to follow the new provisions. If a local government body’s existing Standing Orders are not fully in line with the new legislation, in the short-term, we recommend they simply waive the relevant provisions of those old Standing Orders which could be taken to inhibit the new reporting rules, and then take steps to update formally its Standing Orders. And it applies to the Fire Service and Police as well - especially as they can't keep their Agendas and Minutes of meetings up to date. The Local Enterprise partnership is however exempt! To facilitate public scrutiny and public reporting, local authorities should not conduct their meetings in foreign languages. Does that include "council speak"?

I may know the answer, but I don't know how it works. Came across this article today in The Guardian: But now I do.

Many public sector organisations have recently adopted category management as a strategic transformation tool. Sir Philip Green, in his “Efficiency Review†of UK government spending, recommended that “centralised procurement [should be] mandated for common categories to leverage this buying power and achieve best practiceâ€. The Category Management Association (CMA) is the global category management community that enables professionals to connect with peers around the world and further their careers with the latest in best practices and certification. Although some people realised this from an earlier stage.