Richard Taylor

Tag: Democracy

  • Performance of NHS Cambridgeshire’s Exceptional Cases Panel

    I have been looking into the performance of Cambridgeshire Primary Care Trust’s “Exceptional Cases Panel”. The panel is tasked with deciding if public money ought be spent on a treatment which is not covered by existing NHS contracts and policies. The kind of requests which the panel deals with include high cost treatments for rare […]

  • Cambridge City Council Parks and Open Spaces Strategy Omits Trees

    Cambridge City Council held a Community Services Scrutiny Committee on the 12th of March 2009. I used the opportunity for members of the public to speak at council meetings to ask why the draft Parks and Open Spaces Strategy being put to the committee didn’t mention the trees on the parks and open spaces. I […]

  • Opposing the Database State – Clause 152 of the Coroners and Justice Bill

    On Saturday the 28th of February NO2ID organised a “Convention on Modern Liberty” held in various locations “across the UK”. A satellite meeting , which I attended, was held in the Cambridge Union. This article focuses on just one of many important items which were discussed during the day. Clause 152 of the Coroners and […]

  • Questions to the Cambridge City Council Executive – February 2009

    At full Cambridge City Council meetings councillors are able to ask questions to executive councillors; these have to be submitted in writing the day before the meeting. A ballot is held to determine the order of questions and as many as can be dealt with in thirty minutes are answered. Any questions remaining beyond that […]

  • The Santa Hat of State

    During the State Opening of Parliament a military officer is given the role of parading in front of the monarch with what looks like a santa hat on a stick. It is a symbol of the monarchy which is kept with the crown jewels in the Tower of London. It is properly known as the […]

  • Influencing North Area Policing

    I spoke on the setting of local policing priorities at Cambridge City Council’s North Area Committee on the 6th of March 2008. I said that I had attended these meetings a number of times, particularly when the police were present to make suggestions on improving policing in the area. I believed that I was participating […]

  • Accessibility of Cambridge City’s Planning Process

    I believe: There should be clear, timely notification of the speaking rules at planning meetings given to applicants and interested parties. Site notices should used in a greater proportion of applications, and should contain more details of how to have your say. Site notices should be placed in prominent places*. It should not be necessary […]

  • North Area Committee – March 2008

    I attended Cambridge City Council’s North Area Committee meeting on the 6th of March 2008. The official minutes won’t be published for many weeks and judging by past experience they’ll miss out the interesting bits. So here’s my recollection: Councillor Nimmo-Smith updated the meeting on his discussions with Anglia Water, The Environment Agency, South Cambridgeshire […]

  • School Councils

    I wrote to relevant Cambridgeshire County Council officers also copied my local county councillor on the subject of School Councils. I can see that a number (around 15%) of the authority’s schools are members of Schools Council UK from: http://www.schoolcouncils.org/map_view However others run school councils without membership, are they doing so without training and support? […]

  • Council Scrutiny of Dispersal Zones

    Dear Councillor Ward, In response to the Police priorities section of Wednesday’s North Area Committee Meeting, I asked the councillors if they were happy with the process for introducing dispersal zones in the City. I noted that the council leader appeared to be authorising these police powers without routinely seeking input from other councillors at […]