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Good News Says MP As Cambridge Gets Paltry Fraction of Concessionary Fares Cash
Was Cambridge’s MP Julian Huppert Too Hasty to Describe the Local Government Settlement as Good News for Cambridge City Council? On Monday the 31st of January 2011 the amounts to be paid to local councils from central government for the 2011/12 financial year were announced. Cambridge’s MP Julian Huppert welcomed the settlement in a tweet […]
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Cambridge Community Safety Partnership December 2010
On the 14th of December 2010 I observed a meeting of the Cambridge Community Safety Partnership. Interesting Points The police have caught and bailed five “medium scale handlers” who have each been selling 20-30 stolen bikes per week online. The police think people like this are responsible for most bike theft in Cambridge. I think […]
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Cambridgeshire County Council Full Council December 2010
I observed Cambridgeshire County Council’s Full Council on the 7th of December 2010. The meeting was, as I had predicted from the sparse agenda, rather devoid of substantive content. The 450 jobs to go and £161 million cuts at the council which were reported in the media two days after the meeting were not mentioned […]
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Julian Huppert and Evan Harris on Science in Parliament
Cambridge MP Julian Huppert On Friday the 19th of November I attended a public lecture organised by the Centre for Science and Policy titled: “The future of science in Parliament” The speakers were Cambridge MP Julian Huppert and ex. MP Evan Harris. Cambridge’s previous MP David Howarth is now an Associate Fellow at the Centre […]
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Cambridge City Council Complaints Investigator Reports on Filming Protocol
Image from Video from Cambridge City Council North Area Committee September 2010 On Tuesday the 23rd of November 2010 I was sent a copy of a report into Cambridge City Council’s Protocol on Filming Committee meetings which has been produced by the council’s Independent Complaints Investigator Corinne Hibbert. The report was the outcome of an […]
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Jesus Green and Midsummer Common Tree Planting Consultation Farce
Top: Proposals for tree works on Midsummer Common currently being consulted on. Bottom: Proposals taken to the West Central Area Committee on 23 September and approved with exception of the lowest four trees. On Friday the 19th of November notices appeared on Jesus Green and Midsummer common announcing a consultation, under the city council’s tree […]
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Access Restrictions on Addenbrookes Road
Photo: steinhardt, via Cyclestreets Photomap (licence) At Cambridge City Council’s South Area Committee on the 11th of November 2010 I asked the police about the arrangements for enforcing the traffic regulation banning through traffic from using a stretch of the new Addenbrookes’ Access Road. I noted that in April 2009, in response to my question, […]
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Burglary and Robbery to be Dropped as Police Priorities for Cambridge
Last week I observed councillors, including Cllr Geoff Heathcock, the Liberal Democrat who has announced his intent to stand for the position of Cambridgeshire’s elected police commissioner in 2012, give their approval to a process which is set to see burglary and robbery dropped as city wide priorities for the police in Cambridge. Cambridge’s city […]
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Speaking About My Filming Ban at the Cambridge City Council Civic Affairs Committee
On the 15th of November 2010 I attended Cambridge City Council’s Civic Affairs Committee. I used the public speaking slot to let councillors know about my experiences recording council meetings and to ask questions about the fact I have now been banned from filming council meetings. A member of the public, Andrew Bower, recorded the […]
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Cambridge City Council Debates Cuts
I observed a special meeting of Cambridge City Council’s full council on Monday the 8th of November 2010. The meeting’s purpose was to consider the latest draft of the council’s Medium Term Strategy (3MB PDF) in light of the Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review the outcome of which was announced on the 20th of October. The […]