Apologies for not updating the Blog for a while...I've been up to my eyes!
The Council diary is back in full effect, although my casework (and campaigning) never really stopped over the Summer and August ended up being very busy. Unlike MPs, councillors don't get an official recess period.
Unlike some councillors I don't feel the need to produce an 'activity report': I would have thought my activity in and outside the Council speaks for itself.
It is interesting, however, that activity reports started appearing when the Council's 'Acolade' statistics for measuring casework logged by councillors were made public a couple of times .
When I get the time I blog what I've been up to (usually around particular local campaigns I am involved in) but 80% of the work I do on behalf of constituents I don't even mention here, and I'm happy with that.
After all, there's a lot more to being an effective councillor than showing up to meetings and signing the attendance sheet.
On Friday, I attended my induction into the Local Government Association following my election to the Safer Communities Board a few weeks ago. It was great to meet Cllr Duwayne Brooks and Cllr Anita Lowther who will be joining me on the Board representing the Lib Dems. We are all really keen to bring a fresh perspective and energy to the Board's activities.
Looking around at the other Parties' represented at the event I could see why the officials we met were so excited about us joining the LGA: the Lib Dem Group is 70% women with a number of young and BME councillors in the Group. We're all looking forward to shaking things up a bit!
The first Board meeting is taking place on 14 September. I'm really pleased to see Policing is on the agenda with an opportunity to influence the Labour government's Policing White Paper on issues such as improving Neighbourhood Policing, Police accountability and joint working at a local level: all areas I have campaigned on a lot in Reading.
We will also be discussing what councils can do to help stop violence against women (the government is planning a strategy on this issu). Sadly research has shown that women have very little confidence in the criminal justice system which should be there to protect them.
Back in Reading last Tuesday I chaired a meeting of the South Reading Safer Community Forum which covers bits of Redlands, Church, Whitley and Katesgrove wards.
From what we heard at the meeting Neighbourhood Policing in South Reading is really starting to have any impact, with crime down around 20% on two years ago. A lot of this is down to the hard work of Inspector Kevin Sinfield and his team. Kevin won Thames Valley Police's neighbourhood bobby of the year award earlier this year: it was really well deserved.
Other good news we heard is that the Police and Council are working together (at last!) to tackle anti-social behaviour problems on Northumberland Avenue. This has long been a concern for residents across the area (and has been reflected in Police surveys).
The increased Police presence in Whitley is clearly working and the Council plans to support this work by improving security lighting at the South Reading Youth & Community Centre and fencing is going to be improved to stop youths hanging around intimidating people.
There is still more work to be done to help support the two Neighbourhood Action Groups in Whitley. We successfully campaigned for extra cash to help NAGs communicate with local residents and the Council now needs to target support where NAGs most need it. Cllr Gareth Epps and I are in discussions with officers to make sure this happens.
We also heard about the great work the Youth Service is doing in South Reading. I touched on the work Kevin Black is doing on Hexham Road a couple of months ago: it's not rocket science but it's really important that meaningful activities are put on for young people (and these services may well be under threat come Budget time if we do not stand up for them).
Last Wednesday I attended a meeting of the CCEA Scrutiny Management Panel where we planned the agenda for the next meeting.
A big item that came up is the fact that significantly, councils (including Reading) now have the power to scrutinise Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs): the bodies which set the community safety/crime policies in local areas, in public.
This is a big step forward: at present, opposition councillors are not represented on the Reading CDRP although I hear this is set to change (for years Labour politicians and officers agreed policy behind closed doors).
I hope these changes will make these partnerships more accountable to the public. They have a lot of power and I feel strongly that the public have a right to know what decisions are being taken in their name.
I have campaigned on the need for greater transparency before, notably around the process for approving grants to voluntary organisations in Reading. Until I raised the issue millions of pounds of tax-payers money had been effectively rubber-stamped by one councillor (who currently happens to be Labour). My motion resulted in a cross-Party working-group being set up to look into improving the arrangements. This is due to report later this year.
The reforms in CDRP scrutiny means that next year we will be able to quiz the Chair, Michael Coughlin (who is also Chief Exec of RBC) and the Police Superintendent on their strategies for tackling crime in Reading.In public - for the first time.
In between meetings and work I've also been actively supporting a couple of families in the Hexham Road area on some housing issues. I have managed to move things along which is great because in at least one case the delays were causing not inconsiderable distress to a family.
Yesterday I attended a residents' meeting to listen to local concerns about plans to convert a small hotel into an HMO on Kendrick Road.
Down the road on Alexandra Road residents have contacted me with concerns about a not dissimilar planning application.
I have managed to get both applications 'called in' to the Council's Planning Applications Committee to ensure that they get proper attention from Members.
I am also supporting residents on Eastern Avenue with concerns about plans to redevelop a small site for housing.
The one thing these three applications have in common is a concern on behalf of residents about the impact these developments will have on Conservation Areas and neighbourhoods.
As I've said time and time again, Labour-run Reading Borough Council needs to do more to ensure people living within Conservation Areas are given more of a voice on planning matters.
As I explained a few weeks ago, there is widespread concern amongst residents about the spread of HMOs in Redlands: myself, Kirsten and Glenn have our work cut out to ensure that these developments do not have a negative impact on the area. It's sad to see residents raising the same concerns repeatedly with planning officers and yet the applications continue to go in.
One further thing I did this week was to meet David Ireland Chief Executive of the Empty Homes Agency. We are currently discussing ways we can work together to campaign nationally on the issue of empty homes and to bring down the number of long-term empty homes in the UK.
The current figure stands at over 1 million, which is frankly unacceptable when thousands of families are in need of housing. I hope to have some exciting news to report about this relationship soon.
Well, it's only Wednesday and there is still plenty to do. Next week I will be chairing scrutiny, so I need to prepare for that. Time to sign off for now.
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