It has been a busy week this week as the Group prepares for the Annual Meeting of the City Council next week and Council business begins to get underway. So we thought we’d do a quick round-up in case you missed anything.
Monday
On Monday the Group held their Annual Meeting and Cllr Robert Alden was re-elected unanimously as Leader, with Cllr Ewan Mackey as Deputy Leader, Cllr Adrian Delaney as Chief Whip and Cllr Gareth Moore as Group Secretary. The team will lead the group in holding the Labour-run City Council to account over the next year and the group congratulate them on their election.
Cllr Timothy Huxtable also welcomed the new transformational funding for cheaper, greener and active travel across Birmingham & the West Midlands.
We welcome the £17.25 million of Conservative Government funding for new walking and cycling schemes across Birmingham and the West Midlands, cleaning our air and making it easier to travel around and keep active. To read more about this you can click here.
Tuesday
On Tuesday we posted out a reminder to check if your eligible for help paying for
your childcare. You can:
- You can get 30 hours of free childcare per week for 38 weeks of the year (during school term time).
- You may be able to get free childcare for 52 weeks if you use fewer than 30 hours per week. Check with your childcare provider to find out if this is something they offer
To find out more about the scheme you can click here.
The Mobile Household Recycling Centre also visited Longbridge and West Heath which Cllrs Debbie Clancy and Ron Storer advertised. The Mobile Household Recycling Centre has been very well received but remains a drop in the ocean when it comes to fly-tipping and we will continue to hold the council to account on this issue.
Wednesday
On Wednesday Cllr Robert Alden announced his new Shadow Cabinet. The team, supported by the group, will be holding the Labour-run council to account & ensuring residents have a voice on the council. Congratulations to all who have been appointed. Details of their portfolios can be found here.
Thursday
On Thursday Cllr Robert Alden attended the Guiness World Record Attempt at the Edgbaston Stadium. The event organised by King Rise Academy Vice Principal Gary Byrne achieved something amazing! Along with their WM family of schools, pupils, staff and parents they attempted to break the official world record for the largest cricket lesson. They are confident that they did it and we were pleased to be able to support them in their attempt. The day highlighted what amazing potential our great City has in the next generation as well as the amazing teachers that support them on their journey.
We also drew attention to the national firearm surrender running from 12-29 May, giving people the chance to dispose of a gun or ammunition by handing them over at a local police station.
Anyone can do this anonymously; you don't need to tell them who you are.
So if you have an unused shotgun or antique firearms – maybe a World War relic gathering dust in the loft – a stun gun or pepper spray. You can take advantage of the surrender and hand them in at a local station.
You can read more about the firearms surrender, and if you need to know more about how to hand in items, click here.
Friday
Today we have also announced that Cllr Gareth Moore & Cllr Adam Higgs will be our Lead Members on Planning and Licensing respectively. Both will work hard to ensure that residents views are heard and taken into account in the meetings. To engage in the meetings or see what is being discussed you can click here.
Today we have also welcomed the Great news that the Government has announced a new £300 million package to help tackle Youth Crime.
Thousands of troubled children and teenagers teetering on the edge of crime will be put back on the right track thanks to the largest youth justice funding boost in a generation – cutting crime and making streets safer.
Around 80 percent of prolific adult offenders begin committing crimes as children, and the estimated cost of late intervention to the economy is nearly £17 billion per year. We will be working with the Government to ensure Birmingham gets its fair share of the new funding.
