Yesterday, Friday 13th, many of you put out your old blue boxes to be recycled when the new blue wheelie bins were emptied for the first time, and this morning some of you, like me, will be wondering why they were not collected. The answer is that a lot residents put their blue boxes out full when they should have been empty, so the bin lorry had to go round and empty them before the cage lorry could collect them, so if your blue boxes have not been collected yet please leave them out EMPTY and the cage lorry will collect them on Monday 16th August. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact either Neil or myself.

By now most of the Hagley ward will have had their new blue wheelie bin and this Friday (13th August) will see the first collection in the ward. If you want to keep you blue boxes for storage in the shed or garage then you are free to do so, but they can no longer be used for recycling purposes. However if you do not wish to keep them then they can be recycled, just put them out empty with your blue bin and the collection crews will send them for recycling with the contents of your new blue wheelie bin.

The next Rugeley Forum will be held on Tuesday 7th September 2010 at The Rugeley Rose Theatre in Taylors Lane, the forum will start at 7.00pm. At the forum there will be local Councillors, Council officers and the local Police commanders. It is an opportunity for members of the public to come along and raise any concerns they have with their local representatives. Whilst items to be discussed must have been placed on the agenda before hand, you will be able to speak to your local Councillors afterwards.
If you wish to have items placed on the agenda for this Forum meeting please contact Steve Partridge at Cannock Chase District Council on 01543 464588 or Email Steve on StevePartridge@cannockchasedc.gov.uk. Agenda items must be submitted by FRIDAY 20th August 2010.

I have had many complaints during the last month about noisy scrap collectors vehicles operating in Rugeley and in particular on the Pear Tree estate. Many residents have supplied Environmental Health Officers and myself with vehicle registration numbers, model details, dates and times these illegal collectors are operating.

If any of these vehicles are found not to be registered as waste carriers with the Environment Agency the Councils Environmental Health Officers will seek to prosecute owners of these vehicles. If any of these vehicles was to be reported as using an amplified sound system as such this is against the law and they should be prosecuted.
I would ask if you see any of these vehicles operating a scrap metal collection service in the district again to please let me know and I shall investigate further to see if they have applied for a waste carriers license.

I would remind residents that it is a risk for them to allow unlicensed contractors to remove their waste, If the waste is fly tipped and is traced back to the resident they too can be prosecuted for illegal waste disposal. If you have any concerns or complaints around scrap dealers please contact Environmental Health on 01543 462621 or email:environmentalhealth@cannockchasedc.gov.uk or contact me. All in total confidence.

The Coalfields Regeneration Trust has funds available for voluntary and community groups in Rugeley, they will consider requests for funding 0f between £500 and £5000. The funding programme will run till March 2011.

Who Can Apply. To be eligible, you must be a voluntary or community sector organisation  and your project must show a clear benefit to a coalfield community. Your organisation must hold a bank or building society account, have a constitution or set of rules, hold annual accounts and have an unrestricted income of less than £100,000 per annum.

Types of Projects Supported. Improvements to a community facility, new sports equipment, training projects teaching people new skills, putting on an event, support and advice for unemployed people, setting up a small transport scheme, after school clubs, holiday play schemes, playgroups, setting up a social enterprise, equipment for a community facility, and improvements to a sports facility.

Costs. The Trust can fund up to 100% of total project costs for capital and revenue projects, up to a maximum of £5,000.

Eligible Areas. Projects must show a clear benefit to their communities, former coalfield areas with a high level of deprivation. Eligible wards in Rugeley are Hagley, Brereton and Ravenhill, Western Springs and Etching Hill and The Heath.

Please contact the regional office for information about eligible areas because some wards are only partially eligible for funding.

For further information please contact Noelle Hillman, Project Support Officer at the West Midlands Regional Office on 01782 563112.

E-mail: Noelle.hillman@coalfields-regen.org.uk

Improvement work will start at Rugeley Town station on the Chase Line during the summer. Planned improvements include better seating, CCTV and lighting, new ticketing machines and electronic information boards. The project is due to be finished by the autumn.

It has been recognised by the train operators, London Midland, how highly passengers valued the Chase Line and this work will give them a more comfortable and safer waiting environment and improved travel information. Other stations are also getting the improvements, they are Hednesford, Cannock, Landywood, Bloxwich North, and Bloxwich.

The latest Tory Party newsletter promise’s to freeze the council tax whilst maintaining front line services, that’s another Tory “Election Promise”(lie), To quote local Conservative leader Cllr John Burnett, “That’s an election leaflet and has no bearing or relevance in the council chamber”, in other words they will say anything to get elected and then to hell with the voters once they are elected. Between 2011 and 2015 we will see the largest cuts in public spending since the late 1970’s.

Estimates show the Conservatives would need to make the biggest cuts.

Meanwhile a Labour government would see the biggest tax rises, the IFS think tank predicts. The Liberal Democrats would need to cut an accumulated £51bn from spending on public services by 2017 nation wide. Labour’s plans would require a slightly smaller cut during that time of £47bn, Institute for Fiscal Studies has said, while the Conservatives would cut by the largest amount - £57bn.

Conservative plans would imply massive cuts to spending on public services that have not been seen over any five-year period since the Second World War”.

Tax increases would be highest under Labour, the analysis has suggested, totaling £24bn over the course of the next parliament, although £17bn of these have already been announced, but that still leaves £7bn unaccounted for.

But the IFS study has shown that Conservative plans to raise taxes by £14bn looked at best optimistic, given the Conservatives commitment to scrap a rise in national insurance, and shows that an additional rise of £3.5bn would be necessary.

The Liberal Democrats plans to raise taxes by £20bn matched the party’s current budget plans, the IFS has said, but it meant we would have to make the harshest cuts later on in the parliament. At least we are telling the truth about the fiscal situation the country is in and not making empty election promises like the Tories.

We have put forward plans to share more services to benefit local taxpayers. We and Stafford Borough Council announced last year that we were to share our technology, building control and revenue and benefits functions. Now we are pressing ahead with plans to combine more of our councils functions to help save money - but this will NOT mean reducing the service to local residents and businesses. A report on our plans is to go before the Cabinets of Stafford Borough and Cannock Chase in separate meetings on 15th April. The report stresses that proposals would not go ahead “unless it leads to clear savings to both authorities or would demonstrate clear improvements in service - or both”.  And more than £110,000 could be made available from a regional government agency to help support the project. The West Midlands Regional Improvements and Efficiencies Partnership has already agreed a grant of £40,000 and has indicated that a further £78,000 could be made available to assist the shared agenda. Among the new areas being considered for sharing are in the Legal and Democratic services - which includes running elections - Community Safety and back office functions such as payroll, training and internal audit. Proposals to share services first came about after both authorities received low grants from the Government to run their public services over the next few years. This comes on top of the ongoing economic climate which has had an impact on income for both councils. Sharing services is nothing new to both councils. Stafford Borough share a Health and Safety function with Lichfield and also run Lichfield’s payroll. Cannock Chase Council already operates an out-of-hours telephone service for Lichfield and Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council. Local councils across the country are anticipating severe cuts in funding from central government from 2011 as the national debt is reduced. By working to share services with Stafford Borough we can make vital savings to our budgets while enhancing those services for residents. This important work is to protect services for local taxpayers in Cannock Chase District in the face of impending severe cuts in funding from central government. If we can deliver a service to our residents and businesses which is better than the one we currently provide and at the same time make savings to our budgets then it would be foolish to ignore the opportunity. There is a lot of uncertainty over finances for local councils in the coming years so it is important we have our plans in place to protect our services for the local tax payer.

A copy of the full report will be available on Cannock Chase Council’s website at www.cannockchasedc.gov.uk on Thursday 8th April.

A pledge to tackle anti-social behaviour has been made to residents, businesses and visitors by the Cannock Chase Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership.

The partnership, which has seen anti-social behaviour rates drop dramatically in recent months, is aiming to enable all community members to enjoy their homes and neighbourhoods in safety.

Incidents of anti-social behaviour dropped by 36 per cent in the Cannock Chase District from December 2009 to February 2010 compared to the same three-month period 12 months ago. This equates to around 468 fewer victims.

The District also performed well in a recent Staffordshire Police survey (March 2010) that registered residents’ level of confidence in their local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership - 56% of people surveyed agree that the police and Council are dealing with anti-social behaviour and crime issues that matter in their area. Now the partnership is focusing on improving public satisfaction even further. We recognise that anti-social behaviour can have a serious impact on the quality of life of individuals, families and communities who are affected by it and we are committed to significantly reducing the problem for residents in all areas of the District.

Communities

The pledge sets out service standards, taking people from the first step of reporting the incident to possible court proceedings. In a bid to build stronger communities the partnership will use a range of measures including joining forces with local organisations and the media and supporting people who make complaints.

The police and council are working together to keep the communities of Cannock Chase District safe and to improve their quality of life.

Click here to read the anti-social behavior pledge.

This commitment forms part of wider work being undertaken across the partnership to target perpetrators and to offer greater support to victims and witnesses.

• To report anti-social behaviour call Cannock Chase Council’s 24-hour anti-social behaviour hotline on 01543 462621 or report online at www.cannockchasedc.gov.uk
• Anti-social behaviour can also be reported to Neighbourhood Policing Teams on 0300 123 4455 and to Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.
• Call 999 if the situation is an emergency.

The number of people without jobs in Cannock Chase is too high and not falling, according the latest figures released last week.

Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate Jon Hunt is now calling for forward-looking policies to bring “real jobs” to the Chase as short-term measures continue to have minimal impact.

“Many people are suffering in silence having lost their jobs and are now facing an uncertain future,” he said.

“Action is needed nationwide to get the banks investing in British business and to create jobs in 21st century businesses.”

The latest jobless figures show the number out of work in Cannock Chase doubling in the last two years.

Jon Hunt has been working with leading Liberal Democrats on radical new policies to revive British industry.

“Although Cannock is traditionally a mining area, in fact the greatest number of jobs in the district are in manufacturing,” said Jon.

The figures for March show about 4,000 people estimated to be unemployed in the Cannock Chase district  - a rate of 8.5 per cent.

This compares with 2,000 - a rate of 4.4 per cent - just two years ago.

Jon worked with local Liberal Democrat MP Lorely Burt, a party business spokeswoman, on updating policy on manufacturing. The proposals were adopted earlier this month when Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrat spring conference met in Birmingham.

The aim is:

- to enable businesses to develop the technology we’re going to need in the future, particularly to provide energy in new ways and create energy efficient machinery;

- to encourage youngsters to train as engineers capable of keeping Britain at the forefront of technology;

- to make sure finance is available for investment - ideas include boosting the existing West Midlands Equity Xchange;

- making sure local authorities work together to support the local economy.

Speaking in Birmingham, Liberal Democrat shadow chancellor Vince Cable pledged to set up an infrastructure bank. He said: “We want a Green New Deal. Investing in jobs by improving our homes and building more social housing. And we will set up an infrastructure bank to invest in big projects like railways and renewable energy.”

And, also speaking at the conference, party leader Nick Clegg backed the plans.

Jon Hunt said: “This means a government that will invest in real things and real engineering. Manufacturers and industry make real things and we must make sure that this kind of investment creates real jobs in places like Cannock Chase.”

* The figures quoted are estimates for the number of unemployed from the Office for National Statistics. As the unemployed are estimated by using figures for various kinds of benefit claimants

There are also related figures for the total number of benefit claimants of working age in Cannock Chase district. These are lower as they do not include people who are not claiming benefits, for instance people who have lost their jobs but whose partners continue to work. However they are not estimated and are based on real claimants and show the same trend of no improvement.

These show:
March 2010 2,416
February 2010 2,416
March 2008 1,342