Media Watch - September 28
Top Birmingham City Council stories:
Birmingham Weekender and Rugby World Cup (Birmingham Mail , Monday – pages 4-7, Sunday Mercury – p8/9 spread, and Birmingham Mail – Saturday, p6 lead) Extensive coverage of the weekend’s activities in the city. Cllr Ian Ward quoted talking about the success of the weekend.
Brum set for seven new speed cameras (Sunday Mercury – p7 lead) Report on how average speed cameras may be installed on Birmingham roads. Quotes council spokesperson saying that the council is currently completing consideration of the outcome of the procurement process for digital speed cameras and will be able to confirm exact details in the near future.
Nine new city roads limited to 20mph (Sunday Mercury – p7) Plans to introduce 20mph limits throughout parts of inner city Birmingham have been expanded following consultation with residents’ groups. Cllr Tahir Ali quoted.
City chief: give us power to enforce rules of the road (Birmingham Mail, Saturday – p13 lead) Birmingham’s transport chief has demanded powers to enforce the laws of the road amid fears that the city is being shut down too often by major crashes. Quotes Cllr Tahir Ali.
City centre park campaign gets a council boost (Birmingham Mail, Saturday – p17 lead) Hopes for a city centre park as part of the redevelopment of the Wholesale Markets site has been boosted after Birmingham City Council agreed to consider it. Quotes an email from Cllr Lisa Trickett to CityPark4Brum campaigner Jim Tucker saying there appeared to be sufficient justification to re-examine the current vision for the Smithfield development along these lines. Also quotes Cllr Ian Ward talking about the need to main and expand the city’s network of green space.
Sikhs urged to aid search for priceless relic (Sunday Mercury – p13 lead) Midlands Sikhs are being urged to help locate and return a priceless artefact – a stone wheat grinder – that once belonged to the religion’s founder and was ‘stolen’ from a temple in Pakistan. Quotes Cllr Gurdial Singh Atwal.
In depth look at mental health (Big Centre TV) Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, Cllr Paulette Hamilton, talking about attitudes to mental health and the support services available.
MP fury over councillor’s ‘imperialist terror’ insult (Sunday Mercury – p2 lead) Criticism by Solihull Tory MP Julian Knight of the use of the term ‘imperialist terror’ by Cllr Victoria Quinn at a conference in the context of comments she made about British people not knowing enough about their own history.
Regional Headlines:
Police in Bournville have seized thousands of black market DVDs during a raid after discovering a secret hatch in a building where the counterfeit discs were apparently being produced. A man has been arrested and charged.
Figures for Birmingham’s top 40 most sought-after schools have shown that one school – King Edward VI Five Ways School – is attracting ten applications for every place available.
National Headlines:
John McDonnell looks set to use his first Labour conference speech as shadow chancellor to push for a “Robin Hood tax” on stock market trading. Chancellor George Osborne has fought moves to introduce such a tax, warning it would harm the financial sector, but Mr McDonnell believes it could rein in the excesses of the City and help pay for improvements to the NHS and other public services.
Prime Minister David Cameron will hold face-to-face talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani as part of a bid to revive the Syrian peace process. The pair will meet on Tuesday in New York, where they are both attending a United Nations summit.
