ACTION REPORT – May 2024
Local events
Food Bank Collection – Our May Labour stall collected £85 cash for Kings Heath Foodbank and also saw 35.2 kg of food in donations for the Trussell Trust. A big thank you to all those that donated. Our next collection will be on 29th June and we will be collecting for both Kings Heath and the Anawim Foodbanks. Please do come and donate if you can.
As part of their ‘Going Nowhere Fast’ project, BRAP held an event which was hosted by Moseley Hive. It was great to be able to be a part of the local community conversation and hear from others about how structural racism and long term patterns of racial inequality continue for so many people.
Advice surgeries – I continue to hold regular advice surgeries on the first and fourth Thursday of the month. My SEND surgery is held on the 1st Thursday from 5-7pm by appointment only at the Hive. You can make an appointment here: https://www.moseleylabour.co.uk/surgeries/
I also hold a general advice surgery on the fourth Thursday of the month from 6-7pm at the Moseley Exchange, no appointment necessary.
Casework and other updates
Manhole cover – the very noisy manhole cover that I reported on Yardley Wood Road has now been repaired by Severn Trent but reports are coming in that it is again causing problems. I have reported it to Severn Trent and am hoping they can sort this problem.
I make regular ward walkabouts and unfortunately found lots more flytipping to report over the last month and it is such a shame to see our community blighted by such irresponsible behaviour. I have reported a number of fridge-freezers and have been told it could take up to a month before they are removed. Please help spread the word and if you see a neighbour put out a fridge or fridge-freezer for the ‘scrap’ then let them know that they will not take them and that they need to be taken to the Tyseley recycling site for free disposal. If you spot flytipping you can report it either via the council website here – https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/info/20021/rubbish_and_recycling/89/fly-tipping or through Fix My Street.
Lots of complaints regarding public litter bins overflowing and these were all reported. I have been assured that they will be emptied regularly.
Last month I reported the phone box on Forest Road and I am extremely thankful for the action taken by BT to remove all graffiti and give it a thorough clean. It was positively sparkling!
Council Meetings
Education, Children and Young People O&S Committee
The Scrutiny Committee met for it’s final meeting of the municipal year and heard from the Director of Children’s Services, Dr Sue Harrison for an update on the Improving Services for Children and Families Plan and from the Chair of the Birmingham Children’s Trust, James Thomas on the Short Breaks Review. A webcast of the meeting can be found here – https://birmingham.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/875599
We also had the Council AGM which celebrated the work of Cllr Chaman Lal in his role of Lord Mayor over the past year and also welcomed Cllr Ken Wood as the new Lord Mayor. I wish him a happy and successful year as Birmingham’s First Citizen.
General election
I continue to be out knocking doors and talking to residents about the issues that matter to them. Now we have a date for the General Election we are of course canvassing across the Moseley Ward. After 14 years it really is time for change and time for a Labour government. Please make sure you are registered to vote, and that you have photo id. Key dates:
June 18 – Deadline to register to vote. This can be done online at gov.uk/register-to-vote.
June 19 – Deadline to apply for a postal vote.
June 26 – Deadline to apply for a proxy vote – in other words, for someone to vote on your behalf – and to apply for a Voter ID certificate, if you do not already have a valid form of photo identification.
I have a secure Whats App Channel providing regular news snippets relating to Moseley and other issues of interest. It is really easy to use and keeps your phone number private. Do have a look and sign up.
Follow the Moseley News from Cllr Kerry Jenkins channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va87zIp9Gv7YCfKLLc3A
Don’t forget there are lots of ways to keep up to date with what I am doing and you can look at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (search Moseley Labour and/or Kerry Jenkins).
Please let me know if I can help with any issues in your bit of Moseley and I will do my very best to help.
Thanks for reading,
Kerry Jenkins, Labour Councillor, Moseley
