2011

If you are pessimistic by nature then 2011 holds much in store for you:

(1) Virtual absence of growth in the UK economy with the slight prospect of recession,
(2) Reduction in consumer spending due to inflation, job losses, income freezes/cuts, increase in VAT,
(3) Union action to seek to protect their members' interests,
(4) Reducing house prices,
(5) Next stage of the financial crisis (increase in UK domestic mortgage defaults?; Greece to be first country to leave the euro?; further difficulties for some bank as they seek to refinance existing debts)

Personally I'm optimistic by nature so whilst others see problems I see opportunities to increase community power, reassess what is really important and spend more time working on what is critical rather than what is urgent.

Elections

The primary purpose of the Conservative Party, like other political parties, is to govern by winning elections.  Sadly nobody won the 2010 General Election so we have been saddled with a coalition and now, horror upon horror, there is some suggestion that we would fight the next General Election on that basis.

Let me make my position absolutely clear.  I want the Conservative Party to win the next General Election without the assistance of any other political party.  The sooner that election takes place the better it will be for the UK.   There are already plenty of signs that the Liberal Democrats are unreliable partners (what a surprise) so I can only hope that they decide to walk away sooner rather than later.

What chance a 2011 General Election?

Make £3,300 for Cornwall

The next national census takes place on 27 March 2011.  In 2001 there was a 94% return of census forms in Cornwall.  According to information provided by the 2011 Census area manager for Cornwall each additional person included in the 2011 Census will be worth of the order of £330 each year to Cornwall in terms of Government grants.

Considerable efforts will be made to encourage a 100% Census return for Cornwall; anything anyone can do to encourage the achievement of the higest possible return of Census forms will have direct impact on the monies available to spent on local services for the ten years until the 2021 Census. 

£330 per year equates to £3,300 over 10 years.

It is disappointing that the 2011 Census will not have a 'tick box' for Cornish origin.  There will be a box in which 'Cornish' can be written .  However a protest vote by anyone deciding not to complete the Census form, due to the absence of a Cornish 'tick box', might succeed in registering a protest but at the above cost to funding for local services.

Bankers' Bonuses

I'm clearly missing something.  The UK banks have enormous loans granted to them by the Bank of England when the credit markets dried up, with the BoE requiring repayment by end 2012.  Without those loans those banks would have gone bust.

The banks with the largest loans are Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds TSB.  So the BoE, 100% owned by the taxpayer, is lending to banks partially owned by the taxpayer.

Yet RBS and Lloyds TSB will be paying £100k+ bonuses to certain staff.  So why are they not, instead, paying off their loans first?

I'm all for bankers, or anybody else, getting rewarded for their efforts but does that reward not come after settling the debts owed to taxpayers?

Schools Funding

Today's articles in the Media give some expectation that the long-standing under-funding of Cornwall's schools, when compared with pupil rates enjoyed by many other counties, may be in sight of coming to an end.  Whilst the Media is focussing on the removal of local authorities from the decision making process regarding the allocation of funding per school, the move to a new arrangement whereby the Government pays each school directly seems a good step forward.

Of course it will be necessary to ensure that the funding formula is genuinely fair, hence the reason that there will be a period of consultation, and fully addresses the range of issues including rural, inner-city, special educational needs, deprivation and disabled pupils to name a few.

Voice of the Child

Excellent morning yesterday listening to and watching presentations from seven groups - Youth Parliament, Germoe School, Young Carers, Penponds School, Illogan School, Volunteer Cornwall and Landrake Young Ladies.

Each of the presentations was well made demonstrating that youngesters are aware of issues, engaged with issues and able to put forward solutions. 

The event was part of a programme of increasing (and boy does it need increasing) the attention given to  seeking and understanding children's as part of the decision making process for those issues which effect them (and that is most issues) and ensuring that they understand the rationale for decisions when they are taken.

Public Consultation

The 'Hard Choices' public consultation evening meetings in Penzance, Saltash, St Austell and Bude last week were, given the lack of large numbers of attendees due to the short notice, a start in a process that should be continued; namely Cornwall Councillors holding meetings across the Duchy to seek the views of the local population.  This activity should not cut across the existing local activities of Cornwall Councillors but rather provide an opportunity for groups of Councillors, against the background of issues which to greater or lesser extent effect the entire Duchy, to seek the views of more representative samples of the population.

One noticeable absence from the meetings was people under the age of 40 (my apology if you were there and are under 40!).  I don't recall any children or young people attending.  The absence of children and young people, or rather more likely finding better ways to engage with them, will be addressed at meetings I'm attending over the next few days organised by Cornwall Council and voluntary partners.  These meetings will be centred on and led by children and young people as part of the programme to achieve in Cornwall real meaning for the 'giving a voice to the child' initiative.