This blog is my attempt to connect directly with the people of Essex. I hope that it will become a forum for discussion and debate around many of the issues and challenges facing our county. In a sense this is as much your blog as it is mine - so make the most of it and send me your thoughts and comments. In return, I hope to be able to get across a little of what I and the rest of my colleagues in County Hall do; how we are trying to make Essex a better place to live and work, how we are trying to improve the services we offer to you and how we are attempting to promote Essex, locally, nationally and internationally.
Sunday December 23, 2007 I would just like to wish everyone a very happy and peaceful Christmas. I am taking a few days off and will be spending it with my family and friends and I hope that many of you will be able to do the same. I would also just like to thank all those county council staff who will be working over the festive period in order to keep crucial services running. It is appreciated. Thank you.
Thursday December 20, 2007 So we now know that Post Office Ltd intend to shut 29 out of 31 post offices in the county that had been earmarked for closure, though the 2 that have been saved have simply been replaced by a proposal to close 2 more that will now go through a further six week consultation process. The County Council has been fighting against the closures since the announcement in October. I am truly saddened that this decision has been made, coming especially just a few weeks before Christmas. It is now obvious that the consultation undertaken by Post Office Ltd was just a sham to try to give credibility to a decision that had already been taken.
Monday December 10, 2007
Last Friday I, like thousands of others in
Tuesday November 27, 2007 You may have seen the announcement made last week by the government over its plans and support for a third runway at Heathrow. This, combined with the Transport Secretary’s comments that
Monday November 05, 2007 A few weeks back I had the privilege of meeting one of Essex County Council’s new TASCC teams (Teams Around Schools, Children and Communities) - an innovative new method of working for the council, bringing professionals dealing with children together at the local level and so facilitating effective communication between these important services.
Friday October 26, 2007 I believe that the Government’s proposals to close 2,500 post offices nationally – including 31 in Essex – is a crisis for the communities and businesses which depend on these valuable assets. Many of these are in rural areas, and prove to be vital lifelines as well as important to the fabric of those communities.
Wednesday October 10, 2007 Well despite our urging and lobbying the government’s spending plans for the next three years, announced yesterday, have done little to tackle some of the more entrenched problems that we are facing here in
I wanted to mention the closure of the A12 and the
Monday October 08, 2007 The government will tomorrow announce its Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR). This will effectively set the budget for public spending including services provided by local government over the next three years. And it is crucial that the government recognises the financial pressures that we are facing here in
Thursday August 23, 2007 On Monday, I and the Leader of Brentwood Borough Council, signed a letter of intent to wherever possible bring our operations together and to provide one point of contact for all council services under one Chief Executive throughout the Brentwood area. You may ask yourself surely this would appear to be just plain common sense and should have been done ages ago – I would answer – I couldn’t agree more and indeed it should have been.
Thursday August 16, 2007 I believe that Council Tax has reached the end of its useful life and should be scrapped. However, before you start jumping up and down for joy, it's a fact of life that the costs of local services have to be paid through some or other means. How we do just that, is, of course, not so clear cut and is why I am keen to start a public debate on it. Like the proverbial dead-man walking the days of Council Tax days are well and truly numbered. It's only a matter a time before someone finally puts its out of its misery. We therefore have a fast approaching opportunity to look again at the entire system of funding our local services.
Monday August 06, 2007 I, like everyone else I'm sure, was shocked and horrified to learn of the case of foot and mouth discovered on a farm in Surrey on Friday. I remember only too well the awful events of 2001 and the impact it had upon not just our farmers but the entire rural economy here in Essex. Mercifully, however, at the moment this remains an isolated case, and we hope it stays that way.
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Monday July 30, 2007 Today I had the chance to walk round the World Scout Jamboree in
Thursday July 19, 2007 Today I tabled a series of questions in parliament asking if the government would reconsider its position on its existing aviation policy. As he did with supercasinos, Gordon Brown now has a great opportunity to review the more ill-judged policies he inherited from his predecessor.
Monday May 21, 2007 Extremely pleased to see Alistair Cook doing so well in the first test at Lords. A century and half-century is obviously a decent effort but also shows he has the potential to go on and become a key figure in the England set-up for some time. I just hope he gets a chance to play at least a few games for ECCC this season. (but that's a different argument about central contracts of course) Credit also to Graham Gooch for the excellent Academy system he’s developed that is now bringing on talented youngsters such as Alistair. It bodes well for the future success of cricket in our county.
