Today Hodge Hill MP Liam Byrne was at Hutton Hall in Birmingham to attend a Funders Conference.
We discussed the recent report that 1 in 3 of his constituents in Hodge Hill had no formal qualifications and how successful community groups were in helping people within communities become more employable.
The 'Martini' contract which has caused great consternation and distress amongst public sector workers in Birmingham was also mentioned but the MP was unaware of the name workers had given to the change in their conditions of service.
You can listen to the interview using the player below.
We discussed the recent report that 1 in 3 of his constituents in Hodge Hill had no formal qualifications and how successful community groups were in helping people within communities become more employable.
The 'Martini' contract which has caused great consternation and distress amongst public sector workers in Birmingham was also mentioned but the MP was unaware of the name workers had given to the change in their conditions of service.
You can listen to the interview using the player below.
Today saw mass protests around Birmingham, culminating in a rally in Victoria Square and a march around the city where public sector workers showed their objection to changes to contracts, redundancies and pension reforms.
Among those protesting, I spoke to Library Workers dismayed by the council's decision to categorise them as generic council workers who could be called upon to work in any council function and not in the work for which they had experience and training.
This contract change, nicknamed the 'Martini Contract' after the old Martini advertising slogan which read "Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere", is of great concern to many of the workers I spoke to who also expressed dismay at the removal of overtime/weekend payments, revised hours which could include Sundays and it being against the terms of the contract to get a second job.
Phillipa Hands who is a library steward described how her pay had only increased £3,000 over 21 years which in real terms amounts to a pay cut.
Below are a series of audio interviews with protesters, recorded in Victoria Square.
Among those protesting, I spoke to Library Workers dismayed by the council's decision to categorise them as generic council workers who could be called upon to work in any council function and not in the work for which they had experience and training.
This contract change, nicknamed the 'Martini Contract' after the old Martini advertising slogan which read "Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere", is of great concern to many of the workers I spoke to who also expressed dismay at the removal of overtime/weekend payments, revised hours which could include Sundays and it being against the terms of the contract to get a second job.
Phillipa Hands who is a library steward described how her pay had only increased £3,000 over 21 years which in real terms amounts to a pay cut.
Below are a series of audio interviews with protesters, recorded in Victoria Square.
A decision to axe a £1.4 million funding package for 13 voluntary organisations, including the Citizens Advice Bureau, was unlawful, a High Court Judge has ruled.
Mr Justice Blake said a Birmingham City Council decision to stop giving money to groups such as the Citizens Advice Bureau was “clearly defective” and that councillors appeared not to understand their obligations under the Race Relations Act, Sex Discrimination Act and Disability Discrimination Act.
Council leaders failed to take proper account of the impact that withdrawing grants would have on disabled and vulnerable people, the judge added.
Read the entire story at the Birmingham Post.
Hundreds of thousands of people joined in the TUC's 'March for the Alternative' in central London on Saturday.
A carnival atmosphere was generated as crowds estimated at over 400, 000 marched through the capital, from the Embankment to Hyde Park in protest against the coalition government's spending cuts. Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison said the numbers far exceeded organisers' expectations and "showed the anger of ordinary working people".
Protesters booed and hissed loudly as they passed Downing Street, during an excellently organised event that otherwise passed peacefully and in high spirits. Away from the main march though, a small minority of masked anarchists hijacked the occasion, using it as an opportunity to cause damage to properties including the Ritz hotel and clash with police. Officers reported having smoke-bombs and lightbulbs filled with ammonia thrown at them.
Later at Hyde Park, crowds gathered to listen to speakers including Labour leader, Ed Miliband and TUC general secretary Brendan Barber. Barber spoke out against attacks on pensions, youth unemployment and "cuts that will decimate this country's services". He elicited whoops and cheers from an impassioned crowd when he invited Prime Minister, David Cameron: "If you want to see Big Society in action, come down to Hyde Park!"
Ed Miliband provoked a more mixed reception, with sections of the crowd booing and heckling, particularly when he admitted that some cuts were necessary to reduce the country's deficit. In the main though, he won the audience over with a short but well-delivered speech in which he expressed support for a tax on bankers' bonuses and attacked the government's cuts policy:
" There is a need for difficult choices, and some cuts. But this government is going too far and too fast and destroying the fabric of our communities".
"... Our struggle is to fight to preserve, protect and defend the best of the services we cherish because they represent the best of the country we love".
(More photographs available on our Facebook group page)
The quality of patient care is going to be seriously undermined at Birmingham's new Queen Elizabeth Hospital when its budget is cut by 17% over the next year, according to nurses working there.
Unison released figures showing that the hospital will lose £22.4 million in funding from the South Birmingham Primary Care Trust, leading to a reduction in elective surgery for heart, kidney, liver and spinal injuries and up to a 30% reduction in outpatients follow up visits (reported Birmingham Post, March 9th).
This has caused dismay amongst hospital staff and has prompted one nurse to speak out against what she sees as a dangerous threat to patient care.
Mary (not her real name) is a 28-year-old ward sister. She asked that her area of nursing not be revealed. She told me why the impending cuts are causing deep concern for her and her colleagues:
“This dramatic reduction in funding is inevitably going hit nurses hard. We're going to be overstretched and the bottom line is that patient care will suffer”.
“Overtime will be the first thing that is cut. This means that if a nurse doesn't turn up for a shift, I will be unable to call in a replacement: The nurses on duty will have to take up the slack. Because we are worked so hard, it is not uncommon for nurses to pick up bugs and to have to call in sick. And of course there is no question of allowing a nurse to treat seriously ill patients if they could potentially pass on an infection”.
“As it is, nurses tend to work 13-hour shifts, often getting only one short break, late-on in their shift. The wards are run as tightly as possible, in terms of the minimum amount of staff required to carry out all of our work, and it is difficult to imagine how this could be stretched any further. But I know that with these cuts, we certainly will be stretched further – much further”.
“As dedicated as nurses are to providing excellent care and as much as we take pride in our vocation, we are only human. We are worried about the effect these cuts will have on our ability to carry out our duties effectively. Every nurse knows that a reduction in resources can only lead to a reduction in the quality of care we are capable of providing”.
“Less effective patient care really goes against your every instinct as a nurse and as a professional. It's definitely something that is going to cause a lot of frustration. More so even than the increase to an already enormous workload”.
Of course, cuts anywhere across society are always going to be unpopular. But in the case of safeguarding the nation's health, it's difficult to see the justification for such severe cuts to funding. However you look at it, there's never been a worse time to get ill.
On Tue 1st March Birmingham City Council agreed to budget cuts of £212m, leading to the loss of 2,450 jobs. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-12616144
At the same time, and in the two weeks since, work on the development of a play area in Highbury Park, Kings Heath commenced.
Birmingham Budget Cuts visited the park to ask its visitors if, given the current economic climate and with the aforementioned cuts, they felt this was a sensible way for the government to be spending taxpayer’s money.
Nicolas Morris, Kings Heath resident, said that he felt it was a complete waste of money. As a primary school teacher himself, he is already seeing cut backs at the school where he works both in terms of staff and equipment. He felt surely the kids would benefit more from investment in education than in a new play area.
Peter Griffin, Moseley resident, agreed. He said that over the last couple of months his bins had very rarely been collected due to cuts enforced upon local bin men. He said he would rather see an end to rubbish piling up outside his house than an unnecessary development in the park.
Frances Pinsk, Kings Heath resident and NHS nurse, was also unhappy with her tax money being spent on this project. She called for the local council to use some common sense. She said it was stupid to see the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital hit by cuts whilst the park received funding. She asked which is more important, a new play area or peoples lives?
Having received only negative feedback from the people we spoke to at the park, we approached the council for their views.
Simon J Cooper, Constituency Parks Manager, told us that the work at Highbury Park is funded by Central Government through the Department of Education under its Play Build Initiative (www.playengland.org.uk/our-work/playbuilders-and-play-pathfinders ). He stated that the initiative started with the previous Labour Government and is continued, albeit with a reduction in the finances, by the present Conservative/Liberal coalition.
Simon then went on to say ‘If we had refused the funding then I am sure another local authority elsewhere in the country would have been more than happy to have received the funds and Highbury Park would once again have missed out on the limited opportunities to develop its parks and children's play.’
David Papadopoulos, from http://highburyparkfriends.org.uk/ also spoke of the length of time that this process has taken. He told us that local people have consistently asked for a play area in the park. He also went on to say that they would be happy to support getting volunteers to help with developments.
What are your views on this matter? Is the play area development, given the recent cuts, a misspending of taxpayers money? Or is the council simply following through with long standing plans to regenerate the local area?
At the same time, and in the two weeks since, work on the development of a play area in Highbury Park, Kings Heath commenced.
Birmingham Budget Cuts visited the park to ask its visitors if, given the current economic climate and with the aforementioned cuts, they felt this was a sensible way for the government to be spending taxpayer’s money.
Nicolas Morris, Kings Heath resident, said that he felt it was a complete waste of money. As a primary school teacher himself, he is already seeing cut backs at the school where he works both in terms of staff and equipment. He felt surely the kids would benefit more from investment in education than in a new play area.
Peter Griffin, Moseley resident, agreed. He said that over the last couple of months his bins had very rarely been collected due to cuts enforced upon local bin men. He said he would rather see an end to rubbish piling up outside his house than an unnecessary development in the park.
Frances Pinsk, Kings Heath resident and NHS nurse, was also unhappy with her tax money being spent on this project. She called for the local council to use some common sense. She said it was stupid to see the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital hit by cuts whilst the park received funding. She asked which is more important, a new play area or peoples lives?
Having received only negative feedback from the people we spoke to at the park, we approached the council for their views.
Simon J Cooper, Constituency Parks Manager, told us that the work at Highbury Park is funded by Central Government through the Department of Education under its Play Build Initiative (www.playengland.org.uk/our-work/playbuilders-and-play-pathfinders ). He stated that the initiative started with the previous Labour Government and is continued, albeit with a reduction in the finances, by the present Conservative/Liberal coalition.
Simon then went on to say ‘If we had refused the funding then I am sure another local authority elsewhere in the country would have been more than happy to have received the funds and Highbury Park would once again have missed out on the limited opportunities to develop its parks and children's play.’
David Papadopoulos, from http://highburyparkfriends.org.uk/ also spoke of the length of time that this process has taken. He told us that local people have consistently asked for a play area in the park. He also went on to say that they would be happy to support getting volunteers to help with developments.
What are your views on this matter? Is the play area development, given the recent cuts, a misspending of taxpayers money? Or is the council simply following through with long standing plans to regenerate the local area?
Late last year when the Office of National Statistics (ONS) announced that, of Britain's eight core cities, unemployment rates in Birmingham were the highest, the harsh realities of the credit crunch were drawn into uncomfortably sharp focus.
The council at the time admitted that due to our local economy relying more heavily than most cities' on public sector jobs, Birmingham would be particularly hard-hit by public spending cuts, and that manufacturing would “remain the main source of gross job loss... over the next ten years”.
The one glimmer of hope on an otherwise dark horizon, according to council regeneration strategists was “in promoting the visitor economy”. In other words, tourism. Venues such as the NIA, ICC and NEC, as well as the Bull Ring shopping centre were held up as being vital to the city's ability to attract visitors and thereby keep the economy afloat.
But even this lifeline is now under threat as the council's budget cuts bite into yet another aspect of public sector funding: Marketing Birmingham has had its annual funding cut by 11%, greatly reducing it's ability to promote the city to potential visitors.
The cuts to the city's marketing budget may seem relatively inconsequential to some, in comparison to the cuts being made to other, more high-profile services. But at a time when people have less disposable income in any case, Birmingham's ability to attract visitors from outside the region is of greater importance than ever. A reduction in the revenue generated by the city's service industries and retail sectors will have knock-on effects throughout the local economy.
Although marketing probably does not feature highly on most people's list of concerns, it may prove to be an under-estimated cog in our city's economic machinery.
On the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, the topic on the lips of most of the women, attending the Birmingham event, was budget cuts.
Gathering at the foot of Victoria square the women in attendance banged pots and pans, sang protest songs and took it in turns to address the crowd.
Mary Pearson, speaking for ‘Birmingham Against The Cuts’ said that the cuts target the most vulnerable members of our society, children, the elderly and disabled. Mary said that the planned cuts to old peoples homes, where the majority of residents are women, will lead to the private sector taking over the services leading to raised prices.
A spokesperson for refugee women, Liz, said that refugees, including herself, come to England to seek security from an unfair and repressive society, but the cuts are ruining this. She asked where will they now go to learn English? How can they live in this society without help? She urged the crowd to fight against the cuts, saying that if they don't fight back now more cuts could be expected in the future. She also talked about the rising student tuition fees, saying that her annual income is around £10,000, so how can she afford to pay £9,000 to send her son to university.
Mary speaking on behalf of UCU (University and College Union), told the crowd that Cameron and Clegg were mocking International Women’s Day by announcing that asylum speakers and people on housing benefits would now have to pay for English classes. She said that we should all celebrate International Women’s Day by being really active and making sure that the cuts don’t happen.
Mariam, a lecturer at Birmingham University, told of her utter disgust at the government for announcing massive cuts aimed at homeless people and threatening to make it illegal to sell soup to the homeless. She said that cuts to universities would force them to have to charge the higher fees. She also told the crowd that these cuts as Birmingham Universities Vice Chancellor has just awarded himself an 11% pay rise on his £392,000 a year position.
The rally ended with traditional womens day poems and songs and finally with chants of “David Cameron can’t you see, we’re the big society”.
International Womens day was first honoured in 1911 with more than 1 million women and men attending rallies campaigning for women's rights to work, vote, be trained, to hold public office and end discrimination.
Gathering at the foot of Victoria square the women in attendance banged pots and pans, sang protest songs and took it in turns to address the crowd.
Mary Pearson, speaking for ‘Birmingham Against The Cuts’ said that the cuts target the most vulnerable members of our society, children, the elderly and disabled. Mary said that the planned cuts to old peoples homes, where the majority of residents are women, will lead to the private sector taking over the services leading to raised prices.
A spokesperson for refugee women, Liz, said that refugees, including herself, come to England to seek security from an unfair and repressive society, but the cuts are ruining this. She asked where will they now go to learn English? How can they live in this society without help? She urged the crowd to fight against the cuts, saying that if they don't fight back now more cuts could be expected in the future. She also talked about the rising student tuition fees, saying that her annual income is around £10,000, so how can she afford to pay £9,000 to send her son to university.
Mary speaking on behalf of UCU (University and College Union), told the crowd that Cameron and Clegg were mocking International Women’s Day by announcing that asylum speakers and people on housing benefits would now have to pay for English classes. She said that we should all celebrate International Women’s Day by being really active and making sure that the cuts don’t happen.
Mariam, a lecturer at Birmingham University, told of her utter disgust at the government for announcing massive cuts aimed at homeless people and threatening to make it illegal to sell soup to the homeless. She said that cuts to universities would force them to have to charge the higher fees. She also told the crowd that these cuts as Birmingham Universities Vice Chancellor has just awarded himself an 11% pay rise on his £392,000 a year position.
The rally ended with traditional womens day poems and songs and finally with chants of “David Cameron can’t you see, we’re the big society”.
International Womens day was first honoured in 1911 with more than 1 million women and men attending rallies campaigning for women's rights to work, vote, be trained, to hold public office and end discrimination.
On Thursday 24th February, Birmingham City University students joined up with union members to protest against the cuts in Birmingham. The Higher Education Funding Council (HEFCE) are planning to axe up to £940 million in funding for Universities in England in the next financial year with severe cuts to budgets and teaching. This could result in lecturers losing their jobs, whilst it is expected that approximately 4,300 jobs will be cut from the council itself over the next 4 years.
But it wasn't just the education cuts that people were protesting against. Amongst those who attended the protest was Pete Duffy, a representative for Cuts Against Council Conditions, who said he was disgusted at the proposed public sector cuts. "I work with people who work at the low end of the scale, such as cleaners and dinner ladies, and we are all against these cuts. These people are on a low pay and they can't afford for their wages to be cut. At a recent meeting, 95% of us voted that action needs to be taken. I will be attending the march in London, and I think action needs to be taken right now".
Also in attendance at the protest was NUT member, Stuart Richardson and Richard Hatcher who works at the University, who had some strong words to say about the budget cuts. "I believe that the cuts will decimate the board right across (the city). There isn't a family in Birmingham that won't be affected in some way by the Government". He also went on to comment on the effect the cuts will have in the Education sector. "I work in education and I understand how important education, especially early education, actually is. They're planning to cut back the Surestart programme, meaning that families and children who need to benefit from the scheme, wont".
However, opposition to the planned cuts is not limited to Birmingham. All across the country people are protesting against the cuts in their respective towns and cities, whilst a huge march is scheduled to take place in London on 26 March 2011, protesting the cuts to public spending. It is thought that up 250,000 members of the public will attend the protest, which has been organised by the Trades Union Congress.
For more information about the march in London and for details on transportation to London from Birmingham, visit http://www.coalitionofresistance.org.uk/2011/01/tuc-national-demonstration-against-cuts-26-march-london/
The harshest spending cuts in Birmingham City Council’s 173-year history have been approved as Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors agreed to slash public services by £212 million.
A long and rowdy council meeting heard claims that next year’s budget would unfairly hit pensioners, children and the poor, while leaving thousands of vulnerable elderly people to rely on the private and voluntary sectors for social care in future.
Read the entire story in the Birmingham Mail.
Angry residents fear that the most vulnerable people will be left out in the cold in light of the latest cuts.
Dozens of people voiced their concerns at a public meeting held on Wednesday and questioned Councillor Nigel Dawkins over what they believe will be the inevitable closure of the Cotteridge Church Day centre, without the £68,000 government funding for a much loved resource for older people in the area.
A local Nurse said: "Social integration for the vulnerable is essential for everyone to be included so that no-one left behind."
As with thousands of centres like this one in Cotteridge, the effect of cuts in government funding mean that even with ‘Big Society’ volunteer help and donations, they could still face closure.
Another worried local said: “How will we provide services for people without the funding? Where else will people go?"
The Councillor at the meeting said: “These are difficult times; we are facing huge cuts that are not our choice. We will try and squeeze the maximum benefit out of the budget we have. Hopefully when the economy is stronger we will be able to reinvest in these services." He also assured residents that the cabinet member will ‘hear the cries of Cotteridge.’
The council also proposes to close half of the neighbourhood offices in the city, which was met with outrage from the meeting attendees who marched on Saturday, 12pm-2pm outside St. Phillips Cathedral and joined in with the fight against the cuts.
A local Nurse said: "Social integration for the vulnerable is essential for everyone to be included so that no-one left behind."
As with thousands of centres like this one in Cotteridge, the effect of cuts in government funding mean that even with ‘Big Society’ volunteer help and donations, they could still face closure.
Another worried local said: “How will we provide services for people without the funding? Where else will people go?"
The Councillor at the meeting said: “These are difficult times; we are facing huge cuts that are not our choice. We will try and squeeze the maximum benefit out of the budget we have. Hopefully when the economy is stronger we will be able to reinvest in these services." He also assured residents that the cabinet member will ‘hear the cries of Cotteridge.’
The council also proposes to close half of the neighbourhood offices in the city, which was met with outrage from the meeting attendees who marched on Saturday, 12pm-2pm outside St. Phillips Cathedral and joined in with the fight against the cuts.