Local MP Welcomes Olympic Legacy Funding for Tamworth Primary Schools

Christopher Pincher, MP for Tamworth, has welcomed the announcement that Tamworth primary schools are set to receive an additional £331,475 in additional funding to support physical education as part of the Olympic legacy.

The additional school funding will be ring-fenced to ensure the funds can only be spent on delivering first class physical education for primary age pupils to develop the next generation of Olympic athletes.

The Olympic legacy funding will be giving directly to head teachers to spend how they feel appropriate for their school on ensuring the best outcomes are achieved in developing sporting performance, sport participation and promote healthily lifestyles.

Mr Pincher said, “The introduction of this additional funding, and ensuring that it can only be used on physical education, is great news for all primary school children in Tamworth.  I hope that the additional resources will help develop our own Andy Murray or Jessica Ennis as well as to encourage all pupils to participate in a sport they enjoy.  It will continue to promote a healthy lifestyle which is important for many young people.”

The money will be made available to head teachers in September 2013 and how the money is spent on improving sport participation and performance will form part of the new Ofsted inspections.

Voters Have Growing Confidence in the Conservative Party to Handle Economy

A growing proportion of the public have faith in George Osborne and David Cameron’s ability to handle the nation’s finances, an opinion poll found in a fresh blow to the Opposition.

The ICM survey showed 40% of voters had confidence in the Conservative Chancellor and Prime Minister on the key issue of the economy, up from just 28% in June amid signs of a growing economic recovery.

Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls and Labour Leader Ed Miliband were well behind on 24%.  ICM Research interviewed a random sample of adults by telephone between August 9 and 11.

Staffordshire’s JSA Claimants Figures Fall for Fourth Consecutive Month

Staffordshire has seen a fourth consecutive monthly decrease in the number of people claiming job seekers’ allowance with more opportunities being created for people living in the county.

There has been a 1.4% decrease over the last month in the number of people claiming Job Seekers’ Allowance.  Over the last quarter the JSA claimant rate has fallen by 11.4%.  Staffordshire is below both the regional and national averages.

Conservative controlled Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Economy and Infrastructure Cllr Mark Winnington said, “For the fourth consecutive month we have seen JSA claimant figures fall in Staffordshire which really demonstrates the fact that we are leading the way in terms of ensuring the right opportunities are available for people looking for work.

“The County Council, Staffordshire’s LEP and other partners are working hard to increase skills so that businesses have the workforce they need.  We are also attracting new business to the area and supporting existing companies, both larger firms like JCB and Alstom and our smaller enterprises.  We are seeing continued positive announcements from Staffordshire businesses in terms of expansion and new jobs.

“Getting people back into work is an absolute priority for us and the fact that we have low unemployment rates compared to regional and national figures is extremely encouraging.”

Conservative Council Run Museums Scoop National Award

Two Staffordshire County Council run museums have both received a prestigious award from Arts Council England (ACE).

Shire Hall Gallery and the Staffordshire County Museum, which are both managed by Conservative controlled Staffordshire County Council, received their awards for excellence in the running of the venues, managing the collections and providing a high quality visitor experience.

The ACE Accreditation scheme has been developed to align the museums with visitor expectations and both Staffordshire venues are in the first group to pass the new standards.  The accreditation acknowledged the care and documentation of the extensive collections at both museums as well as how they are providing experiences that are both enjoyable and educational.

Staffordshire County Councillor, Mike Lawrence, Cabinet Member for Community, Culture and Localism said, “This is excellent news and a real pat on the back for our staff and volunteers. Getting an award of full accreditation is not easy and it is great to see our efforts recognised.

“Staffordshire County Council is committed to developing our museums and always strives to put on the best visitor experience possible. Staffordshire is, after all, the Creative County and we want to continue giving people access to great cultural activities.”

The ACE accreditation scheme is the national quality standard for museums and galleries. There are currently just under 1,800 museums participating.

Find out more about Staffordshire’s museums at www.staffordshire.gov.uk.

Modern Technology Starting to Boost Staffordshire’s Frontline

Staffordshire’s Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Ellis has this week signed off the decision to provide new technology to transform the police’s frontline resources.

The new GPS technology in cars will make sure that the right officer is sent to the most appropriate incident faster than ever before.  This move is a significant step forward in major investment in new technology that will see officers being provided with the right tools to do their job, freeing them up to be more visible and giving them more time to do frontline policing.

New technology is fundamental to the radical new approach in the Commissioner’s five year strategy, Safer, Fairer, United Communities which is currently under consultation.

Mr Ellis said, “Getting officers visible and out and about in communities doing frontline policing, is the heart of my five year strategy to reduce crime and help communities to feel safer as well as being safer.  This is a small but significant change and goes some way towards my plans to provide the right tools for officers to free up thousands of extra hours a week for local policing.

“As budgets shrink, I’m confident that by spending better we can achieve more. If nothing changes in Staffordshire the reduced funding will mean poorer services in the future.  But things here are changing to provide better value for money, more targeted and more effective ways of delivering what’s needed.”

Chief Constable, Mike Cunningham added, “Public safety and quality of service are at the heart of this project and the new GPS system will mean that our control rooms have up-to-date information about where each vehicle is and what skills the drivers have so we can better deploy resources to incidents, getting the right person there, with shortest possible travel.

“The equipment will increase officer safety and the ability of the Control Rooms to send assistance.  However, in addition to the vehicle equipment, the new equipment will make use of GPS signals from hand-held radios, joining this information with the new data from vehicles to give the Control Rooms and commanders the best possible real-time picture of police resources.”

Conservative Controlled Council Provides More Garages for Rent

Conservative controlled Tamworth Borough Council have handed back two town centre garage sites to their tenants after a programme of works which saw 33 garages rebuilt or refurbished.

The block of 20 rented garages at Richmond Close has been completely refurbished, while 12 garages at Sunset Close have been totally demolished and rebuilt. The rebuilding programme has also created an extra garage and two disabled parking bays at Sunset Close.

The Richmond Close garages have been fitted with new secure doors, roofing, windows and guttering. The garage area has been resurfaced and new security lighting has been installed.  The garages at Richmond Close and Sunset Close were chosen for the first phase of the environmental improvement works in an attempt to create more much-needed residential car parking spaces close to the town centre.

Cllr Michael Greatorex, Cabinet Member for Public Housing and Vulnerable People, said, “I am really pleased that we are able to carry out these works, which have enabled us to increase the supply of high-quality garages for rent close to the town centre.  We have had very good feedback from the people who rent these garages, saying they are very happy with the works which have been carried out.”

Residents living near the town centre are now being encouraged to rent one of the garages, to reduce the amount on on-street parking.  Bids for garages to rent can be made on the Council’s Finding a Home website by first registering on the waiting list.  Available garages are advertised on the site every Wednesday.

The works are part of a number of environmental improvements across the borough, including repaving, provision of bin stores and sheds and repainting at five sheltered schemes, installation of security gates, fencing and lighting in Caledonian and the upgrading of drying areas at Masefield Drive and Thackeray Drive.

Garages at Leisure Walk in Tinkers Green are also currently being demolished and rebuilt.  It is hoped that the works will be completed by the end of the school summer holidays.  The former garages at Linthouse Walk, Stonehill Walk, Callis Walk and Bakers Walk have already been demolished and the area resurfaced to create additional parking.

All the works which are being carried out under the environmental improvement programme were suggested by residents and the Tenant Consultative Group.

Conservative Controlled Staffordshire Leading on Reducing Offending

Staffordshire’s Conservative politicians are delighted that work around early intervention in Staffordshire has been recognised.

The announcement that Staffordshire has been chosen to work with the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) came this week and was praised by Matthew Ellis, Staffordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, and Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, Cllr Robbie Marshall.

Working with the EIF will help Staffordshire to do even more work with offenders and those at risk of slipping into a life of crime. Evidence shows that the best way of preventing crime and having a positive impact on communities is to stop problems from arising in the first place.

Mr Ellis said, “This is brilliant news for Staffordshire, tackling the root causes of crime rather than the effects is absolutely key and at the centre of my plan for the next five years.  Making sure that public services intervene early and stop problems before they happen is not only better for those individuals involved but also the best way of reducing crime and making a positive impact on their communities for the long term.

“The evidence is clear that reducing repeat offending and in some cases ‘breaking the cycle’ which is often generational, really works, not just in short term, but for years to come.  It’s great that today that Staffordshire’s work has been recognised and with the extra support from experts more can be done.”

Robbie Marshall, Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, said, “As a county council we are committed to working with partners to shift focus to early intervention and prevention not just in crime, but in health, education and social care too.

“We are working hard to support families already in difficulties and if we want to reach more families sooner it is important to step in at an early an age as possible to give children the best opportunity to go on to lead healthy, fulfilling and rewarding lives and I am delighted Staffordshire has been chosen as a pilot area.”

Rise in UK Exports Helps Shrink Goods Trade Deficit

A rise in UK exports have helped shrink the UK goods trade deficit to its smallest amount in almost a year in June, official figures have shown.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the gap between imports and exports narrowed to £8.1bn in June, down from £8.7bn in May.  The ONS also said construction output grew more in the second quarter of the year than it had first estimated.  The data rounds off a week of positive economic news.

The trade gap in goods with non-EU countries fell sharply from £4bn in May to £2.6bn in June, well below forecasts of a £3.8bn deficit.  UK manufacturers have been urged to trade with countries outside Europe – which have been growing far more quickly in recent years – rather than with those in the eurozone, where growth is much weaker.  However, the UK’s single biggest trading partner remains the eurozone.

Although the UK usually imports more goods from other countries than it exports, it normally makes more from services sold abroad than it imports, and taking this into account the overall trade gap, including both goods and services, was £1.55bn, the lowest since January.

Over the three months to June, export volumes grew by 5.9% almost twice as fast as the growth in imports.  June exports were worth £26.9bn, taking the total for the three months to the end of June to £78.4bn, a record sum.

Separately, the ONS released data on construction output, showing it rose by 1.4% in the three months to the end of June, up from the previous estimate of 0.9%.  Earlier in the week, ONS figures showed that manufacturing output rose in June at the strongest pace since the end of 2010. Other surveys have also pointed to strong growth in the service sector and in retail sales.

UK Manufacturing Sector Surges in June

Manufacturing output surged in June at the strongest pace since the end of 2010, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Manufacturing output rose 1.9% month-on-month in June, following declines in both May and April.  This growth came at more than twice the rate expected by analysts.

The latest upbeat news follows a stream of recent economic data that has indicated an improvement in the UK economy.

• Retail sales enjoyed their fastest July growth in seven years, according to the British Retail Consortium, as the heat wave boosted sales of swimwear, sandals, sun cream, beer and barbecue foods
• UK car sales enjoyed another strong month in July, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, with a total of 162,228 new cars registered in the month, up 12.7% on a year earlier
• On Monday, a closely-watched Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey indicated that the UK service sector expanded last month at its fastest pace since December 2006
• Last week, the PMI survey for the construction sector suggested it was growing at its fastest pace for three years

Overall, industrial production, which covers output from the UK’s factories and mines, rose by 1.1% between May 2013 and June 2013.

The figure was held back by lower oil and gas extraction and a fall in energy output, the ONS said.  However, manufacturers reported rises in output across all sectors, with the strongest contribution coming from transport equipment, up 5.3%.

Manufacturing output was up 0.7% between the first and second quarters of 2013 and up 2% from June 2012.  The statistics mirrored the recent manufacturing PMI survey by Markit, which indicated that the sector grew at its fastest pace for more than two years in July.

Discounted Travel and Theme Park Thrills for Staffordshire’s Teenagers

Staffordshire’s travel scheme and Drayton Manor Theme Park have joined forces to offer young people discounts this summer.

Conservative controlled Staffordshire County Council’s Your Staffordshire Card has teamed up with Drayton Manor Theme Park to offer young people up to half price entry to the park.

Holders of the Your Staffordshire Card already benefit from £1 bus travel across the county, and a range of special offers from almost 80 businesses. Now the card is even better and is a must for thrill seekers, with discounted entry to Drayton Manor Theme Park, near Tamworth.

The card was introduced in April 2011 by Staffordshire County Council following consultation with young people and Staffordshire’s Youth Action Council (YAK).  The scheme, which now has over 35,000 young people signed up, gives 11 to 19 year olds in the county bus travel for £1 per journey.

Staffordshire County Councillor, Simon Tagg, Cabinet Support Member for Transport and Connected County said, “We want young people to be able to get around the county and take part in lots of activities this summer and we know the Your Staffordshire Card will help us do this.

“Over a third of eligible teenagers in the county now have one, but I would like to see even more taking advantage of the cheap travel and the many great discounts available.  Bringing local businesses onboard is also great for the Staffordshire economy and provides a real boost for retailers as many continue to trade under challenging circumstances.”

Colin Bryan, Managing Director of Drayton Manor Theme Park said, “It’s great to be able to work alongside Staffordshire County Council and local businesses to help young people save money on what we hope to be a fantastic day out.  With a Ben 10 rollercoaster, a variety of thrill rides, Europe’s only Thomas Land™, a 4D Cinema and 15-acre zoo there’s something at Drayton Manor for the whole family to enjoy.”

To apply for a Your Staffordshire Card visit www.yourstaffordshirecard.info, or apply in person at your local library (with a parent if you are under 16). For further information or assistance call 0300 111 8000.  Young people must live in the Staffordshire County Council administrative area.  Young people who live in Stoke on Trent are not eligible.