Media Watch - Feb 17
Top Birmingham City Council Stories:
Council leader warns over improvements (Birmingham Mail) Birmingham City Council leader Sir Albert Bore has told a meeting of the authority’s cabinet that the ‘writing is on the wall’ for the council if it does not rapidly improve performance following the Kerslake review.
Council opposes free school opening (BBC Local Live) Birmingham City Council has formally opposed the opening of a new free school, Perry Beeches V, in Small Heath.
Lollipop lady cuts row (Daily Mirror) Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles has been accused of hypocrisy after criticising Birmingham City Council of scaring “the bejesus out of people†after it threatened to sack school crossing patrol workers because of cuts imposed by his party. The claim came from Labour MP Nick Brown.
Mercedes left in car park for three years finally towed away after racking up £14,000 in fines (Birmingham Mail, Daily Telegraph, Mail Online, Mirror Online, Daily Star) Report on how a car left in the Broadway Plaza car park in Birmingham has now been towed away after three years. Quotes a car park spokesman saying they were expecting Birmingham City Council to tow the vehicle, as it had done previously. Not reported in this article, but Birmingham City Council has previously said it would not remove the vehicle as the car park was privately owned (Mail article misleadingly claims the council has ‘shrugged off’ its responsibility)
Troubled bar to become diner (Birmingham Mail) The Mono Bar, at the Arcadian, has had its licence suspension extended by a further 28 days by Birmingham City Council’s licensing committee. The bar’s owners now plan to rename the venue and turn it into a restaurant.
Fake cigarette gang caught hiding their illegal tobacco in secret compartment in shop that is revealed at the flick of a switch (Mail Online) Smuggled cigarettes worth nearly £11,000 were discovered at the Supersam Mini Market in Handsworth, with most of them hidden behind a fake roof. Quotes Trading Standards officer Chris Perry.
Super strength cannabis warning (BBC WM, Heart FM) Birmingham Public Health’s Ricky Bhandal interviewed about a study by King’s College London that found smoking potent cannabis was linked to 24% of new psychosis cases.
Chinese New Year funding fear for 2016 (Birmingham Mail) There are concerns over the future of Birmingham’s Chinese New Year celebrations in light of city council budget cuts. Quotes Birmingham Chinese Festival Committee chairman Jeffrey Yap saying they may have to consider charging in 2016 due to council funding cuts. No quote sought from council.
Regional Headlines:
The success of Jaguar Land Rover proves that the British economy can succeed in the 21st century, according to Labour leader Ed Miliband during a visit to the company’s new engine manufacturing centre near Wolverhampton.
Corrupt policeman PC Nigel Orme, a beat officer in Wolverhampton, has been jailed for six months for leaking information to the prime suspect in a sham marriage case.
National Headlines:
Young people out of work, education or training will have to do unpaid community work from the very start of their claim to get benefits, under plans due to be unveiled by Prime Minister David Cameron today. The scheme will involve about 30 hours a week of mandatory community work for about 50,000 18 to 21-year-olds.
All state primary and secondary schools in England should have to teach sex-and-relationships education (SRE), MPs have said in a report. The Commons Education Committee’s inquiry was launched after Ofsted found more than a third of schools were failing to provide age-appropriate SRE.
