An Ofsted inspection of Wiltshire Council's safeguarding and looked after children services has graded the provision as "inadequate". This is the worst possible outcome in Ofstedspeak, and means that the service does not meet even the bare minimum of requirements. Ofsted had little confidence in the council's ability to put things right, grading capacity for improvement as 'adequate' - the second worst grade.
Littering on our streets is utterly unacceptable. Words of condemnation are not enough, however, and that is why we are taking real action to crack down on this form of anti-social behaviour which can blight our neighbourhoods. In fact, there have been a few illustrations in the last few weeks of how our 'zero tolerance' approach in this area means that if you litter the streets of Bedford Borough, you should expect to face punishment.
Wiltshire Council has been attempting to educate councillors on the implications of the new legislation. The Act was signed off by HMQ in November, but much of the detail was reserved for the Secretary of State to publish when he gets round to it, so there is still uncertainty about how things will work in the new world. Although the changes are significant this is not a people's revolution, and much of the political rhetoric we heard from the Conservatives and Lib Dems before the election has been watered down.
Tom Smith Hughes - 14 July 1948 - 18 April 2012
A 1,125-strong petition was handed in to County Councillor Jude Deakin by the residents of Chelmsford in support of a zebra crossing on Linnet Drive. See reports in the Chelmsford Weekly News and the Essex Chronicle.
South Lakes MP Tim Farron is supporting Alice Pyne who is raising money, along with a number of cyclists, for Alice's Escapes, a charity that organises holidays in the Lake District for families of seriously ill children.