ACTION REPORT – February 2024
And then it was nearly March! Here’s my February action report giving an update on my work both in the Moseley Ward but also the work I do within the wider council. February has been another busy month and this update does not include everything! I realise I have missed out my attendance at the February meeting of Moseley in Bloom amongst other community meeting and events but want to make sure residents have a flavour of the work and of the contribution I make.
The Budget and Council Cuts
The budget will be presented to a meeting of the Council next Tuesday but papers have been published in advance of the meeting to be held on the 5th March. The proposals, to save over £300 million over the next two years, will mean significant cuts across all service areas, with the biggest cuts put forward to children’s services and adult social care. All statutory services will continue to be delivered but anything deemed not mandatory will cease. The budget proposals put forward will involve staff redundancies, and sales of council assets. Council tax will rise by 10% and the government has agreed to lend the council 1.2 billion pounds in the form of Exceptional Financial Support which must be paid back through the sale of assets. Another one of the potential savings included in the proposals is to reduce the number of public libraries in Birmingham from 36 to 11. It has been suggested that this could become ‘one library per constituency’, a principle I disagree with given parts of our constituency are amongst the most deprived in the City. You will see that some councillors who have libraries in their wards are running campaigns, and you can sign the petition to keep Kings Heath Library here – http://chng.it/LPgDzbhzZS.
I have continually challenged proposals in relation to any cuts to front line services, particularly those being delivered to children and young people. I supported young people at their rally to protest potential cuts to Birmingham Youth Service. I believe that cutting these services would be failing our young people who are facing huge challenges and need safe spaces and trusted adults. I was pleased to see that the protest achieved a lot of press coverage. You can read about it here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c06mej6d7ero and I was interviewed by Kathryn Stanczyszyn for BBC WM here: https://t.co/QCJ2GJhvnl
There is no doubt that serious errors have been made in the financial management of the council and those liable must be held to account, but there must also be a recognition of the dire hand that local government has been dealt from government over the past 13 years. Birmingham’s budget has been reduced by over a billion pounds and this has been at the same time of soaring inflation and a rising demand for services. The budget that has been published is not of our choice. It is a budget proposed and agreed by senior officers and government commissioners and one that Labour councillors have not been able to effect and are duty bound to set.
Moseley Ward Meeting
The Ward meeting held last week gave residents and business owners the opportunity to hear from Birmingham Connected Officer, Joe Green who updated us on the Council’s Road Harm Reduction Strategy (currently subject of consultation) , the Birmingham Transport Delivery Plan and progress of active travel schemes in Moseley.
These included the Cannon Hill Park to Chantry Road cycle route extension, the Moseley Village cycle lane and Tranche 2 of the Places for People (LTN) scheme. The meeting was very well attended with lots of information shared and great questions asked. The slides from the presentation are available here – https://www.moseleylabour.co.uk/ward-meeting-15-2-24/
Holocaust Memorial Day
I attended the civic commemoration held in the Council House for the Holocaust Memorial Day alongside others including the Lord Mayor, Nicky Brennan, Cabinet Member for Social Cohesion and Equalities, Adrian Goldberg and Simone Schehtman, Chair of King David’s School. Candles were lit in memory of the six million Jewish men, women and children murdered by the Nazis between 1941 and 1945 and asked all to reflect on how freedom is fragile and vulnerable to abuse. We were asked to pledge not to take our freedoms for granted and to consider what we can do to strengthen freedoms around the world.
CurfewVR Training with Moseley and Kings Heath Police
I was really pleased to be invited by Sgt Chris Gallon from Moseley and Kings Heath Policing Team to share the experience of officers piloting the CurfewVR with We Are Calico. This training is designed to be empathetic and to raise awareness of lived experience. Its aims are to give police officers a virtual insight into some of the challenges and experiences that women/girls face particularly in respect of activities undertaken in everyday life. This exercise highlighted issues and experiences of travelling on public transport at night, getting a taxi alone and walking home avoiding shortcuts because of the fear of what might happen.
Community Matters Networking Event
I was really pleased to attend this event that brought together individuals and groups, both small and large, to talk about what’s happening in the local area and giving an opportunity to discuss how we can work together to do more across Moseley. I made some new contacts and will be following up to see how we can work together but also see how we can support some of the key actions in the Moseley Ward Action Plan.
Craft in for Palestine
This event was held at Moseley Hive on Wednesday 21st February to raise funds for Medical Aid for Palestine. I thoroughly enjoyed teaching other women to crochet and making yarn flowers that were being created for an art piece. There were lots of different crafts being shared and I was amazed by the origami skills of one of the young boys who came over to show me his paper birds.
Education and Children’s O&S Committee
I chaired this month’s meeting on the 28th February which discussed a new SEND Sufficiency Strategy and Early Years Education Entitlement. I highlighted that future meetings would need to focus on budget proposals and examine the impact of any service cuts to children, young people and families in Birmingham.
You can watch the webcast here: https://birmingham.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/850093?force_language_code=en_GB
Full council meeting 9th January
Scrutiny Business Report – I was pleased to speak on the Coordinating Scrutiny Business Report. You can watch my input here – https://birmingham.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/841431/start_time/6303000?force_language_code=en_GB
Motion to allow Private Hire Drivers in our bus lanes – I was not called by the Lord Mayor to speak on the Labour amendment to the opposition motion asking that Private Hire Vehicles be allowed to use bus lanes.
If I had been able to contribute to the debate, I would have highlighted that this motion was in direct conflict with the Birmingham Transport Plan, a policy adopted by the council, that recognises that more passengers on buses means fewer cars on the road, meaning better air quality and quicker journeys for everyone. Bus lanes are important to help support public transport, reduce congestion and keep Birmingham moving. This was a motion that could allow 30k more vehicles to use our bus lanes!
I was disappointed that by bringing this motion, and by voting in favour of it, the Birmingham Liberal Democrats showed their lack of support for our vision to reduce the number of vehicles on our roads, to reduce air pollution, to promote the use of public transport and to make our roads safer for all.
Casework and other updates
Flytipping – I’m pleased to say all flytipping reported last month was collected but unfortunately, it seems to reappears as quickly as you have got rid of it! I reported more last week across the Ward including several mattresses and fridge dumped on Harrisons Pleck. I received a quick response from GreenSquare Accord who cleared it from their land and I have asked them to consider CCTV at this hotspot.
Bins – Residents on Mayfield Court asked me to help progress getting replacement recycling bins in place and after working with the depot manager I was pleased to be advised that the new bins have now been delivered.
“Hi Kerry, the bins arrived this morning – thank you!”
Lighting – The light on Laburnum Grove is still out of action and I have asked for an update on when this is going to be completed given it has been two months since I reported it.
Highways works – The resurfacing works on Reddings Road was completed at the end of January and this has made a huge improvement to the surface of the road and made it much safer for cyclists.
Lots of potholes reported last month have now been scheduled for monitoring and/or repair. The deep pothole reported on Wake Green Road was serious enough for the priority response team to attend and undertake a temporary repair. Other less serious potholes have been marked up for attention.
SEND – I am currently supporting a number of families who are in the process of appealing decisions regarding Education and Health Care Plans (EHCP) regarding appropriate school places for their children.
Housing – I am supporting a number of families currently living in temporary accommodation and who are facing real challenges around education and employment. These families have been made homeless through no fault of their own but have been evicted by landlords wishing to sell the properties. As we know, government has again failed to protect renters against the issuing of Section 21 no fault eviction orders. We have a housing crisis in this city and the number of people on the waiting list for council and social housing is over 20,000. That means that priority must be given to those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness and those at risk of violence.
Dates for your diary
Mobile Household Recycling Centre – The next visit of the MHRC will be on Wednesday 6th March, Moor Green Lane, B13 8QR between 7am and 12:30 pm.
Food Bank Collection – This month I collected nearly £100 and around 30kg of food for local foodbanks but over the whole of last year we collected £2000 for Kings Heath Foodbank, over 100 Easter eggs, and around a tonne of food for the Trussell Trust. The next collection on the Moseley Labour stall will be on the last Saturday in April.
Advice surgeries – I 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. I also hold a general advice surgery on the fourth Thursday of the month from 6-7pm at the Moseley Exchange, no appointment necessary.
My monthly SEND advice surgery for March is already fully booked but of course if any Moseley resident needs advice and support they can contact me directly to discuss and to arrange a time when I can visit them to investigate any concerns or issues with more detail.
Contact and Communication
I try and use all channels of communication including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (search Moseley Labour and/or Kerry Jenkins). I have a secure Whats App Channel which is really easy to use, it keeps your phone number private and gives access to updates of interest posted for residents every few days.
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
