Birmingham Council to host a series of events at Lib Dem conference

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Published: Wednesday, 31 August 2011 16:30

Written by Jonathan Walker

Birmingham City Council is certainly making the most of the Lib Dem conference coming to the city by hosting a range of fringe events designed to tell delegates and senior politicians what the city is up to.

Fringe events are an important part of any party conference. They take place in meeting rooms during breaks in the main conference, such as during lunch or in the evening, and usually involve a panel of experts making short speeches before the floor is opened up to conference delegates to ask questions or make their own contributions.

Although the topics to be discussed - such as how to promote a "green" economy - are relevant to cities across the country, the fact that Birmingham is hosting an event means it is guaranteed a place on the panel.

In most cases, Councillor Paul Tilsley, the Lib Dem Deputy Leader of Birmingham City Council, will be doing the honours. Stephen Hughes, the council's chief executive, will also be making appearances.

Read more http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/birmingham-post/news/jonathan_walker/~3/KqCYz5hhKRc/birmingham-to-host-a-series-of.html

Want to run the new local television channel for Birmingham (or Bromsgrove, Hereford, Kidderminster, Malvern, Shrewsbury, Stoke on Trent, Stratford or Telford)?

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Published: Tuesday, 30 August 2011 10:00

Written by Jonathan Walker

A little bit cheeky, but I thought I'd give a wider airing to an article I wrote for the Post recently which doesn't seem to have made it onto the website. It's an interview with Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt about his plans for local television stations, and I thought it would be of interest to people involved in media in Birmingham:

Plans to give towns and cities their own local television channels have been hailed by Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt as "the biggest change in the broadcasting landscape for a couple of decades".

A new Birmingham station will serve 1.2 million people in the city and some of the surrounding area, including Walsall, Dudley and parts of Wolverhampton.

Read more http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/birmingham-post/news/jonathan_walker/~3/qIpGWdCJHQA/want-to-run-the-new-local-tele.html

Government help and advice for businesses affected by the riots

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Published: Thursday, 11 August 2011 12:00

Written by Jonathan Walker

Business Secretary Vince Cable has issued a statement setting out what the Government will do to support businesses affected by riots or looting:

The appalling criminality we have seen across England in recent days has devastated not only local communities but also a very significant number of businesses. BIS and other Government Departments are working with local enterprise partnerships, local authorities and business organisations to ensure affected businesses have access to practical advice, information and support to get back on their feet as quickly as possible. I would like to set out what help and advice we can offer these businesses.

Read more http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/birmingham-post/news/jonathan_walker/~3/EDQUircpx04/government-help-and-advice-for.html

TV crew give police a lift to help catch rioters

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Published: Thursday, 11 August 2011 11:00

Written by Jonathan Walker

A team from community television station Sangat TV, reporting live from Birmingham during riots on Monday night, gave a lift to police officers chasing suspects and took this amazing footage:

Read more http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/birmingham-post/news/jonathan_walker/~3/zbFhMUo3jVo/tv-crew-give-police-a-lift-to.html

Muslim Council condemns violence, calls for calm and support of police

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Published: Wednesday, 10 August 2011 14:00

Written by Jonathan Walker

The Muslim Council of Britain issued this statement:

UK Riots: MCB Condemns Riots and Joins Calls to Clean up Our Cities

9th August 2011

The Muslim Council of Britain expresses its condemnation of the violence, destruction of properties, looting and disgraceful attacks on the police in various parts of the capital and other towns. There can be no justification whatsoever for such mindless and thuggish behaviour.

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Those charity funding cuts in full

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Published: Wednesday, 03 August 2011 10:30

Written by Jonathan Walker

We report details this week of 191 Birmingham charities facing substantial cuts in funding. The details were compiled by a campaigning group called False Economy, which submitted freedom of information requests to local authorities.

For anyone who wants it, here is a link to a copy of the source material. It has information about councils all across the country and the cuts they are introducing, in .xls format (ie, you'll need Excel or a similar application to open it).

Link: http://www.walkerjon.com/images/voluntary sector cuts database.xls

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Councils open their accounts

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Published: Friday, 22 July 2011 11:00

Written by Jonathan Walker

Did you know councils are obliged to open their books to members of the public - allowing them to see every invoice, every payment and every receipt - for 20 days each year?

This isn't new, but it's not always well publicised. This year, the Government is making an effort to get word out, so that "residents and armchair auditors" have a chance to inspect spending in their local authority.

It's set up a search engine allowing people to check when their local authority is making its accounts available, which you can find here: http://local.direct.gov.uk/LDGRedirect/index.jsp?LGSL=1584&LGIL=8 .

Read more http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/birmingham-post/news/jonathan_walker/~3/QgX26uaIx5Q/councils-open-their-accounts.html

Hackgate - The Movie

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Published: Sunday, 17 July 2011 18:30

Written by Jonathan Walker

Spotted this on YouTube (hat-tip to Richard via restirred.com). Brilliant stuff:

Meet Ed Miliband

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Published: Thursday, 14 July 2011 14:00

Written by Jonathan Walker

Birmingham Post readers have been invited to meet Labour leader Ed Miliband to tell him what Labour should do to support Birmingham and the West Midlands.

Readers from Birmingham and the surrounding area are invited to meet Mr Miliband, put their questions to him and tell him what they think Labour should be doing, at an event hosted by our sister paper The Birmingham Mail on Thursday July 21.

Since winning the Labour leadership last September, Mr Miliband has battled to rebuild his party following its defeat in last year's general election.

Read more http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/birmingham-post/news/jonathan_walker/~3/J06S9B4F05M/meet-ed-miliband.html

MPs could jail Rebekah Brooks if she refuses to face them

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Published: Wednesday, 13 July 2011 18:30

Written by Jonathan Walker

Could Rebekah Brooks face jail if she refuses to answer questions in the House of Commons?

In theory, MPs do have the power to jail News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks if she fails to submit herself for questioning to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.

Along with Rupert and James Murdoch, she has been asked to attend a session of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee on Tuesday. If she turns up, her interrogators will include committee member Tom Watson (Lab West Bromwich East), News International's most outspoken and fearsome critic.

Read more http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/birmingham-post/news/jonathan_walker/~3/YBoCMqsRcJQ/rebekah-brooks-could-face-jail.html