Possibly, good news on solar panels

Don't know how widely this has been reported but the High Court yesterday ruled that the Government's consultation on solar panel feed-in cuts is 'legally flawed'.  The government has been refused leave to appeal by the judge.  What does this mean for the council, schools etc?  No idea!  But we may be able to go ahead with some schemes.

It's yet another example of this government's incompetence.  If they had phrased their consultation right they might have got away with it.  I'm getting a bit fed up of the way that they are making policy on the hoof and only later realising the complete hash they are making of it.

Well done to Friends of the Earth for leading this legal challenge, with backing from many local councils, solar firms and others!

Extract from Reading Borough Council press release:

Yesterday's High Court hearing follows a challenge by environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth. Reading Borough Council was one of numerous local authorities who backed the challenge.

The proposed Government cut would see 50% less money paid to householders, schools or organisations after March for solar panels not fitted by December 12 this year. However - despite this December 12 cut off point - the Government's consultation is still on-going and does not close until tomorrow (December 23).

In the High Court yesterday Mr Justice Mitting ruled that if the planned cuts were implemented in April, this would be unlawful as they would refer back to Dec 12th, which was still within the consultation period.

The judge also refused the Energy Secretary permission to appeal against his ruling yesterday saying his 'prospects of success' were insufficient to justify permission.

While at this stage it is still unclear what the ruling will mean for householders, schools and organisations wanting to install solar panels - as well as hard-hit solar panel installation firms - the High Court ruling has been welcomed by Paul Gittings, Reading's Lead Councillor for Environment and Climate Change.

He said: "I am delighted by this ruling which justifies the stance taken by Reading Borough Council in supporting the Friends of the Earth legal challenge. Our hope must be that solar pv projects in schools, community buildings, and on our own council estate, will go ahead as previously planned and attract the full tariff if they can be installed by the end of March, but we still await the full implications of the judgement.'

Reading Borough Council hopes the High Court ruling means that the previous feed-in tariffs would revert to pre-Dec 12th levels for the full 25 years for all installations made until the end of March. If that proves to be the case, previously planned projects may be able to go ahead with full benefits to schools and communities as originally planned.

If the lower levels are introduced from Dec 12th, or indeed any time before the end of March as proposed by the Government, planned projects which go ahead would have significantly fewer benefits.

Looking ahead to 2012

There are already people looking ahead to 2012.  Personally I am not wishing away the last 2 weeks of the year - a time I plan to spend largely with family and friends and doing a bit of council business (no more formal meetings though!).  But we'll all need that respite I suspect based on what the pundits are already starting to say about next year.

Economically I think we can safely say 2012 will see more rises in costs while wages will continue to stagnate.  And that is assuming no doomsday scenario.  Reading is riding out the storm better than many places but I don't know anyone who has had a pay rise in line with inflation, and we only need to look at the fact that the sales have started 2 weeks before Christmas to know how that's affecting spending

For local government a fairly balanced view is here - it doesn't mention that councils are taking a 28% spending cut over the 4 years of Osborne's spending review while the average cut to central government is 8% but it sums up that councils are having to make some very unpalatable decisions.

Locally in Reading we as a council are no exception.  We'll use the consultation feedback we've had through "we need to talk" and we are looking at some relatively radical things but it's not going to be easy.

Politically I predict that Labour will return to being ahead in the national polls but by less than you would expect given the appalling nature of the government's policies.  We will need to show that we have an alternative and are on people's side.  The libdems will continue to be an irrelevance and the Tories will continue to triangulate and divide people in an attempt to boost their poll ratings.

Locally I fully expect all the Libdem council seats up for election to be lost.  Labour will take back overall control of the council with some excellent new councillors elected.  The Conservatives will end up net down on seats even if they take Tilehurst from the Libdems, with a number of sitting councillors vulnerable.

There will be a new Conservative leader in January, which is no secret.  I am not going to guess who will take on that role, all I can say is they will have their work cut out.  Rumours and counter rumours have been flying though - with perhaps the oddest and most convoluted one being that Cllr Tim Harris will become leader with Cllr Willis as deputy followed by Cllr Harris resigning his Church ward seat to stand in a North of the river ward (possibly with Cllr Ballsdon moving to Mapledurham while Cllr Pugh retires).  Suffice to say whatever happens I doubt it will be that, although given the current state of the local Conservatives it would take a lot to surprise me.  It's sad to an extent as there is a lot of cross party work that needs doing, whether it is setting up the scrutiny of the local Health service or ensuring that local residents are properly represented in Conservative-held wards.  Of course there's an easy solution to the latter that residents can make happen in May.

Meanwhile in the Labour group we are focused on delivering change that will help us to deal with the chaos of government policy and give better services to residents.  After all that's why we got involved in politics in the first place.

Management savings at #Rdg council and good news for housing and neighbourhoods

As probably many already know the council recently agreed to reorganise the senior management team.  This was to both improve service delivery and join up working and also to save money at the senior level, to help protect to the extent possible the key services that residents rely on.

From a housing and neighbourhoods point of view Housing will be brought together with a number of other areas that go to improve our local neighbourhoods and there will be some real opportunities and joint working for improvements in this area, which is very exciting both to me personally and I hope for residents who want to see vibrant local communities.

The current director of Housing and Community Care has been appointed to the role, and she is (as Jo Lovelock says in the press release below) both hugely able and passionate about delivering for residents.

It's a worrying time for everyone in local government as we make big changes to survive but at the same time I think there will be some really good and exciting things that we can do as a result of this change.

This shouldn't be seen as a political move and it was supported by the Liberal Democrat group (although when they were part of the administration they didn't manage to bring forward savings in senior management costs).  However it is worth noting that both the Green and Conservative groups voted against it.  It would be nice to know what they would have saved £500,000 on instead.  That's a lot of care assistants and street cleaners.

Council press release:

Avril Wilson will take up the new post of Director of Education, Social Services and Housing at Reading Borough Council, it was confirmed today (Dec 14).

In November this year the Council's Personnel Committee agreed to join together the Education and Children's Services and Housing and Community Care Directorates, together with parts of the Chief Executive's Directorate, to form the new Education, Social Services and Housing Directorate.

Avril Wilson - who has been with Reading Borough Council for 7 years - currently holds the post of Interim Director of Housing and Community Care. She will move into her new role almost immediately, continuing the significant work that has already taken place to plan and prepare for bringing the new Directorate successfully into being in the new year.

As part of the Council's on-going drive to find more efficient ways of working and improved service-delivery for residents, plans were confirmed last month to merge the current Housing and Community Care (HCC) and the Education and Children Services (DECS) directorates, into one new directorate. The Education, Social Services and Housing Directorate will have a particular focus on the needs of children and adults, with a stronger emphasis on housing and neighbourhood working. It will also support the Council's programme of community engagement, and lead to reduced management costs.

Avril Wilson said: 'I am delighted to be taking on what is a key role at such an important time. The new Education, Social Services and Housing Directorate will allow us to look at new ways of delivering services to residents in a more targeted and effective way, and using the full expertise and experience of officers here at Reading right across the range of teams. It's a challenge I am very much looking forward to.'

Reading Borough Council Leader Jo Lovelock said: 'I am delighted that Avril has been appointed. She has a good track record of managing change and is passionate about providing good services for residents. The current directorates are rightly praised for their commitment and improvement, but I believe that by making this radical move we can transform the way in which the Council works with and delivers services to families and individuals in need of support.'

Ms Wilson will now be involved in the appointments to the new Head of Service posts, with the new team starting all the detailed planning necessary before the new Directorate gets fully up and running, currently anticipated to be by April next year."

Still here...

I've not posted for ages as I've been ill and then with what energy I have had focusing - as I'm sure you'll understand - on my main job and my council work rather than posting on my blog.

Anyway someone else who is sticking around is my colleague and comrade in Whitley ward Mike Orton who we have just announced is standing again for election in 2012.  He's a hugely experienced and able councillor, who knows WHitley insie out and is trusted across the community, from established areas, such as where he lives in Whitleywood, to the new part of Whitley on Kennet Island.

He's also a cabinet member with responsibility for adult social care, the area where the council both spends huge amounts of money and serves people at a very vulnerable time in their lives.  As a new cabinet member I always find in our discussions he brings both knowledge of how similar situations have been faced in the past along with a flexibility of thinking and willingness to try something new.  He's always focused on what things mean for the residents we serve.

In short I'm delighted he has chosen to stand again and Whitley members backed him.

 One of our new candidates is Eileen McElligott who is standing in the neighbouring ward to Whitley of Church ward..  Paul Woodward our councillor elected there last May has hit the ground running and worked incredibly hard for the area and we wanted to be sure of a candidate who would be the same - Eileen is that.  She's passionate and will bring great experience from her existing roles - she's a school governor, works as an IT specialist and has 3 children.  She's also committed to getting results for residents and will be a brilliant councillor.

A full list of our candidates is below (we will be contesting Mapledurham but haven't selected our candidate yet):

Wards where Labour councillors are standing again:

Labour Leader Jo Lovelock (Norcot) and Deputy Leader Tony Page (Abbey) head Labour’s list of candidates for the Borough elections on 3 May 2012. Cllr. Lovelock says the party has a mix of experienced hands and new talent all keen to continue to take Reading forward in these difficult times.

Also standing again are Reading’s Mayor Deborah Edwards (Southcote) and Deputy Mayor Gul Khan (Battle). Lead Councillor for Adult Social Care Mike Orton (Whitley) is also seeking re-election.

Labour councillors stepping down:

In Minster, Debbie Watson is not seeking re-election as her job now gives her responsibilities across the south-east of England.  Labour’s candidate will be mother of three Liz Terry, who was born and grew up in Reading and is a former senior executive in local government.

In Park, Jon Hartley is standing down as he is moving to London with his partner. Labour’s candidate will be Rachael Chrisp, a ward resident who works in recruitment.  Rachael is Reading Labour Party’s Women’s Officer and has been leading the campaign to highlight the way the Coalition’s policies have hit women twice as hard as men

Wards were we are challenging an incumbent (except where that incumbent is stepping down, as all the Libdems up for election are...)

Richard Davies is Labour’s candidate in Caversham, where he has lived for the last ten years, and his two older children are at Thameside Primary where his wife used to be a teacher. He owns and runs a small IT company.

Labour’s candidate in Church, one of the three seats the party won back this year, will be mother of three Eileen McElligott, who was born in Reading and has lived here all her life. Eileen is an IT specialist working in the pharmaceuticals industry, who says she is fed up with how Reading is being ripped off by the Conservative Government.

In Katesgrove, which Labour won from the LibDems this year, the party’s candidate will be Rose Williams, who previously represented Southcote, was a popular Mayor and brings huge experience to the role. She stood down to care for her ageing parents during their final years, has worked in banking and retail but is now “retired”, a tenants’ rep on her housing association and involved with several charities.

Daya Pal Singh will be standing again for Labour in Kentwood, where this year he reduced the Tory majority to 210 votes. A prominent member of the Sikh Gurdwara, Daya Pal owns runs a news agent and off licence on Oxford Road.

David Absolom, who runs a gardening business with his wife and who stood in Peppard this year, is Labour’s candidate there again.

Another former Mayor, Tony Jones, is Labour’s candidate in Redlands, the other seat the party won from the LibDems this year.  A trade union official and Labour’s ward organiser for that campaign, Tony has represented the ward before, when he was involved in a regeneration of the Hexham Road estate.

Reading Labour Party Secretary Duncan Bruce is Labour’s candidate in Thames, where he also stood last year.  Duncan is a free-lance film editor who was trained in Reading.

Taxi driver Haji Banares is Labour’s candidate again in Tilehurst, which he also contested two years ago.