Crime and anti social behaviour is well down, the area is looking good and people say it’s a pleasant place to live.

All good news considering there were a few issues in parts of Fazeley and Mile Oak three or four years ago. Since that time there’s been increased policing and a new local police office, more community events and a successful youth club with growing number of young people attending.

And today saw more improvements with the opening, after building work, of the Mill Lane Link local office. A face lift of new decor and building work to improve facilities to make it more child and family friendly.

This to make ready for new services provided by the County and aimed at helping and encouraging good parenting and enthusiastin well rounded youngsters. I opened the revamped centre with Lichfield District Council Chairman Joe Powell and plenty of the regular users turned out in force.

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I visited the Garrick today to see a trade event where 16 and 17 year olds from local schools were showing off their business ideas.

All sorts of things from celebrity cookery books to novel ways of encouraging people to save money via money boxes you have to actually break to get the coins out.

It was all part of this year’s Young Enterprise scheme which is a charity encouraging young people to learn practical business skills. Very apt in the difficult business climate at present. Entrants have had to build small businesses from scratch, working out how to fund the start up, look after cash flow and, in the end produce a financial profit.

As someone who enjoys cooking, I found one company particularly interesting. Called Simply Cooking, they’d put together a simple recipe book which had also got special ideas in it from well known celebrity cooks. They’d had great success in getting some pretty heavy weight people to contribute, free of charge, to the book.

You can find out more or buy one of their recipe books for a fiver at simplycooking@live.co.uk.

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Awful for those people who have lost friends and family with yet more revelations in the fourth report on what is thought to be over 400 deaths in dubious circumstances at the hospital.

I met with Robert Francis, who has led the Inquiry team, six months ago to discuss his scope and approach in advance of him starting his work.

I wrote at the time that he seemed determined, honest and hopeful although it’s fair to say that during the ninety minutes we spent talking he was doubtful that his remit allowed a close enough look at the national hospital regulators… something I was certain he should look at from my experiences to date in the world of public inspection and regulation.

That meeting was soon after I’d taken up my new Cabinet responsibilities for Social Care and Health in Staffordshire and my only direct experience around the events at the hospital at that time was when I took part in a County debate on Stafford Hospital just before the elections of last June.

That debate and the research I’d done in prep also convinced me that apart from the obvious catastrophic failings of the hospital and Board, the regulators nationally must be at direct fault and local bodies looking at the hospital’s work clearly needed greater powers and much better coordination to be more effective.

I’ve spent much of the last seven months in post tackling the culture of ‘tick box’ inspection and the gathering of inordinate amounts of data to support inspection and the bureaucratic appetite of those ‘men in suits’ who swoop in and out of the public sector to take their ’snapshot’ based almost entirely on data and almost no people focussed view to quality.

And the industry that has grown up, in effect, to meet (or beat) that Government appetite for target based inspecting is too costly to the tax payer, takes money and resource away from front line delivery and devalues further the limited amount of data and target based inspection which may have some use. In the last seven months I’ve learned far more about the performance and service outcomes in my Department from human beings, internal and external… good and bad, rather than stats.

Figures and data can be made to say what is needed much of the time in the inspection busting world but talking to those at the sharp end, service users and providers, often gives one a sense of an organisation’s ‘health’ and effectiveness in a way bureaucracy cannot.

I’m not saying don’t collect any performance information… the right stuff in the right quantity is useful, particularly for an organisation’s self awareness. In Staffordshire’s Social Care and Health that message is now embedding nicely. One of my most senior officials regularly now says to management… ‘We do what’s right for people and for Staffordshire and if that gets the Stars (public services are often marked like hotel in star ratings) that’s a bonus, but we don’t live and die by it’. Wise words, I wonder who said that! 

That principle is fundamental to me and it’s clear that the management and Board of Stafford Hospital were focussed almost entirely on targets and providing rich pickings for those ‘men in suits’ rather than the people they should be… patients and quality staff.

I believe the robotic style of inspection and regulation has pretty well seen its day, and rightly so. Talk to people, talk to those who have human reasoning and use figures, data and bureaucracy to support or challenge those human views… don’t let it dominate.

As far as Stafford Hospital is concerned I said a year or so ago that ‘everyone was looking but nobody saw’ what was happening. By that I mean the other local bodies that oversee health in Staffordshire also broadly missed what was happening and certainly didn’t manage to stop it.

And there too it was pretty obvious that there were too many bodies overall and a lack of clear accountability and collaboration. The Local Involvement Network (LINk) is a good example as is its lack of joined up working with Staffordshire’s statutory Health Scrutiny Committee made up of elected Members.

I’ve written before about LINk and I decided it needed a fresh start, not directly because of Stafford Hospital (there were many bigger national regulatory failings than LINk), but because it wasn’t working and there was certainly little sign of the LINk volunteers being the boots on the ground for hands on practical inspection and then feeding back in to the Staffordshire Health Committee who are tasked with the strategic overview and have the teeth to ask the hardest questions of those running health and social services (including me!).

Going forwards, I know that the Health Committee since the June election has a more focussed approach and I’m determined that the relaunched LINk should work closer and more collaboratively with that statutory committee. So moving forwards I do have more confidence under the new and improved local arrangements now being developed since June.

I also have much greater confidence in Anthony Sumara, the new Chief Exec of the hospital. As I’ve said before he is not frightened to start at the ground up, working on basic human good manners, care and dignity for people. And he’s someone who has, not a low, but no tollerance of staff who cannot grasp that fundamental value. He’s also someone who is big enough (literally in Anthony’s case) to admit there’s a mountain to climb.

That’s fine, as long as there is clarity about the fastest and safest route to the top. I think he has that clarity and is actively, no, robustly determined to achieve what is needed.

As far as the past is concerned there a lot of people, hurt people, who feel they still don’t have all the answers. I think that the report which comes out today will answer many more questions than ever before but if a Public Inquiry offers people, so many people, the semi-closure and comfort it might then perhaps there is value for that reason alone.

The question I struggle with is this. What are the consequences for those who worked at the Mid Staffs Foundation Trust directly overseeing and contributing to such a human and managerial catastrophy? This was so bad, so cruel in places that the fact there are so few sanctions for such bad leadership other than living with what happened for the rest of their lives is troubling and, probably, wrong.

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Gosh, it’s been a battle and it looks set to escalate. I’ve written numerous times about the total failure over many years of previous Labour County Councils to halt ever greater quarrying across Staffordshire.

They never challenged either Government’s assessment of what the West Midlands should contribute to the national aggregates quota and failed to make any attempt at all to reduce what Staffordshire provides to that regional tonnage.

And that means that our county has more quarries than any other place in the West Midlands providing a massive 65% of all sand and gravel extracted in the region. That’s crazy and we pledged, when we won the County after nearly 30 years of uninterupted Labour control, that we’d stop the constant increase and reverse the trend in quarrying downwards.

It was going well and our efforts culminated a few weeks ago with an independent report taking into account everything from mineral reserves in each of the six strategic authorities that make up the West Midlands Region (Warwickshire, Staffordshire, West Midlands County (Greater Birmingham), Shropshire and Worcestershire and Herefordshire) to demand, historic contributions and environmental damage.  

That report concluded that Staffordshire is providing far more than is fair and my Cabinet colleague, Robert Marshall, set about negotiating to reduce our tonnage for the next fifteen years. Result! Or so we thought, until today when politicians from the other counties dismissed the report out of hand. Pure self interest because if Staffordshire provides less, the others will have to provide more.

Labour’s legacy is proving tough to break. So, we are now doing two things. Firstly, Staffordshire’s Legal Department will now start to prepare the groundwork for legal challenge, probably under some sort of Judicial Review, and secondly, Robert Marshall will return to the negotiating table to try for an amicable settlement in advance of the Courts.

This rollercoaster of eighteen months continues with more uncertainty… but we will not relent on this.

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And it’s easy to get caught up in the claim and couter-claim on the run up to an election. But the claims that HM Government’s overall spend has increased in the last year by nearly 40% are manifesting themselves through the radio, our home letterbox, local papers and, above all, the TV.

Whilst watching the small amount of television I do it’s been apparent there’s something in those claims. The number of different adverts on the TV about the Government’s national website, www.direct.gov.uk, has been extraordinary recently.

Then there’s the leaflet which arrived today, never had one before, about anti-social behaviour and how to report it. Or the clever police reassurance ad on the tele which sees the constable straightening a police sign on the way out of a troublemaker’s house.

Radio seems crammed with everything from appeals to make sure people know about greater pension income for less contributions to adverts by the Health and Safety Exec about keeping safe at work. And then there’s the Department of Children, Schools and Families with their rainbow logo who have TV spots about everything from diplomas to social work promotion.

Now, I’m in no way saying these are all wrong. Some of them to my mind do sail a little close to the wind regarding the test of whether they promote Government services and information or political policy (some may say the two are inextricably linked) but it’s the very obvious recent escalation of media use which is a little suspicious.

Whatever the arguments the latest figure of £250million is quite hefty.

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I’ve written before about the amazing efforts of a volunteer group of locals who set out determined to restore an historic and very lovely Walled Garden at Elford to its former glory of over 200 years ago.

At that time a grand Hall stood over the gardens area but the whole estate was bequeathed to the care of the City of Birmingham many years ago and fell into disrepair. The Hall was pulled down 50 years ago and the Walled Gardens have deteriorated badly ever since.

But five years ago a handful of local people from Elford Village decided enough was enough and something needed to be done. That ’something’ was a plan to restore the Walled Garden and remaining Gardener’s Cottage.

And after a bit of help from me along the way in dealing with Birmingham City Council, and a rollercoaster ride, the group are now proud holders of a long peppercorn rent lease for the Gardens and a big fat cheque after a successful Heritage Lottery application.

So an amazing boost to the enormous and stunning work the volunteers have been doing to the Gardens and Cottage over the last year or so. Birmingham are fully on board, the Elford Walled Garden is fast returning to its former glory and the £250k funding will mean a significant speeding up towards something very special indeed. 

A wonderful example of a determined community (and lots of them now) pulling together against the odds and my heartiest congratulations to all concerned.

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And each year the County aims that at young people by organising a growing number of events for schools, mainly primary, to give the kids an idea of why it’s important and what it means in reality.

Local Democracy Week from Staffs CC on Vimeo.

I didn’t do quite as many of those events last year as I normally do because of time constraints and one of the schools in my patch that we couldn’t fit in then were so keen they were happy to do it recently instead. Just on that, I think what the County are doing on this is great but in my view it should be more than just a couple of weeks a year. I’m encouraging that and I know they are looking at some sort of expansion to the programme.

Anyway, 30 youngsters from Manor Primary in Drayton Bassett between Lichfield and Tamworth came up to County Buildings a couple of weeks ago and what a fabulous bunch of youngsters they were… a credit to their school and parents.

We did a question and answer session to kick things off and then the kids split into four teams to represent political parties. They each set budgets for a variety of services and soon learned that there’s limited money and lots that needs doing.

After each team set their budget by prioritising which services were most important and therefore should get more money it was debated by all the ‘parties’. The debates were of excellent quality and it’s clear there were some budding public speakers in the making… and I mean that.

In the end every individual had a personal secret vote to decide which of the teams’ budget made most sense and which team had put up the best argument to vote for them. An excellent couple of hours and the teachers and parents who viewed appeared genuinely surprised saying that some youngsters who were normally pretty quiet really came into their own.

The final show of hands which was to find out how many children understood better how democracy and politics work in our country was unanimous.

Several dozen schools took part last year and I’m hoping the short clip of the recent event with Manor Primary will encourage even more Staffordshire to take part this year.

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As someone who takes our democracy and the electoral accountability which goes with it very seriously I’m furious that Staffordshire Police Authority, which is not electorally accountable, have set a local tax increase only fractionally under the government’s legal maximum. If it wasn’t for that legal limit I’m sure it would have been even higher.

At the County, we’ve sweated blood to keep the council tax rise under inflation and the lowest increase in Staffordshire since 1993. Just 1.9% despite the problems we inherited from the previous Administration.

At the Police Authority, unelected magistrates and unelected ’appointees’ can impose local tax on the public in Staffordshire and there’s nothing that we, even with our winning electoral mandate, can do about it.

Setting tax without public accountability is unacceptable in 2010.

The first thing to be clear about is that the Police Authority IS NOT the police. They are different and seperate.

Police are operational and get on with the job of policing and the Police Authority sets local priorities and the budget and precept (the police bit of the council tax bill). The Police Authority is a bit like a normal council except that there’s no democratic public election. It’s a bit of a Club and most have been on it for years and years.

The only sign of any democracy are a few Staffordshire County Councillors and Stoke City Councillors who sit alongside the appointees/magistrates. But they include County Councillors from the old Labour Administration which was swept from power in June.

The fact is that because of a complicated formula which includes Stoke, decided nationally many years ago, the electoral mandate achieved after June’s Conservative landslide in Staffordshire means nothing as far as the Police Authority is concerned. It’s even more extraordinary because even Stoke is now Conservative led and that makes no difference either.

So, I’m bemused when I look at the electoral map how the tax setting and leadership of Staffordshire Police Authority is in the hands of unelected individuals and the few remaining Labour politicians.

The result of all this is that despite elected Conservatives opposing the recent tax rise at the Police Authority it was voted through by unelected appointees, the magistrates and opposition Labour politicians.

Oh, and by the way, they stuffed a cool couple of million pounds back into their coffers instead of using it to keep the local tax down.

Take a look at the electoral map and tell me please how Labour County Councillors hold the balance of power with unelected people. Democracy in Action… I don’t think so!

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There are just 3 Labour County Councillors left in Staffordshire since June’s election.

It must be tough for them to get used to being a minority (very) party after nearly 30 years of uninterrupted control in Staffordshire. The atmosphere in County Buildings has changed dramatically in the last few months since Labour lost almost 90% of their Seats but it’s pretty clear that all four opposition parties are at sixes and sevens.

As someone who is passionate about democracy that really does sadden me because I believe tough challenge and alternative views make for better decision making… that challenge really isn’t happening.

But a recent County Question by Peter Beresford (Burton upon Trent), one of Labour’s stalwarts during their previous ‘reign’ who’s still there, was very odd indeed and rather confirms my earlier comments. It basically asked me how I was coping with the difficult financial position that the previous Labour Administration had left in my Social Care and Health Department. 

The process works with written questions being submitted by Members a few days before debates which are then answered verbally in the Chamber by the Cabinet Member responsible… me in this case. The Member who submitted a question then has the chance for one off-the-cuff verbal question which the Cabinet Member then answers without prior knowledge. The advance written question is usually only a set up for the much tougher and highly political supplementary.

However, as you’ll see from the clip, Mr Beresford suddenly realised his written question was highlighting financial failings under the previous Labour Administration and tried very hard to bury it as fast as he could without asking his extra question. But it’s so unusual not to get a supplementary question that the County Chairman, who presides over Chamber sessions, was taken by surprise and asked me to answer anyway. My questioner’s face was a picture when he realised what had happened. It was a chance to good to be missed for me. See what I mean about sixes and sevens!

County news packages and webcasts are available to watch here.

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Staffordshire Flag to fly as Wave Ruler deploys for year long tour of duty

I think it could help the sense of identity here which in turn could lead to social benefits and more overt pride in our county.

There’s growing interest with more and more Staffordshire Flags flying and greater awareness that our county even has a flag… all English Counties do. I’ve even had interest from flag organisations based in America.

And this week the Staffordshire Flag is set to fly even higher for a wider audience across the world with one of the nation’s biggest naval ships deploying under Staffordshire colours on a year long tour which will take in Africa, South America, the Falklands and the Caribbean.

RFA Wave Ruler, under the command of Captain Shaun Jones, will set sail later this month and you can keep up with their progress here. The best of luck to the officers and crew.

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