From our Reporter at the Parish Council Meeting
THIS REPORT WAS WRITTEN BEFORE 20TH OCTOBER when the Comprehensive Spending
Review was announced by our Chancellor. Before this a small proposed pension
age reform in France had brought out onto the streets over one million people.
While here in England the child benefit reform had also stirred up a pretty
heady response. For example, on the 9th October in the newspaper people love to
hate or love to love -the Daily Telegraph -Judith Woods wrote that "Now,
on the Coalition's watch, the middle classes are being expected to survive
on ship's biscuits, sodomy, and the lash." The mind boggles. This
nautical reference either means Judith was once a wren or she is married to a
Naval Commander. And where would this interesting behaviour take place. At one
time one might have thought "down the fen" (but not now of course)
or, if in Cambridge, in the once reputedly lascivious De Freville Avenue. Keep
your eyes and ears open.
The Coalition has also had a noticeable influence on the Parish Council, though not along the lines of Judith Woods -I hope. For the first time the PC expressed serious doubts about the effectiveness and value for money of the various initiatives which cross its path. Take Neighbourhood Panels. Allen Alderson has always defended their value and thought the last one really needed another half hour. Not at all said Geoffrey. "I've been to every single one and am no more enamoured now than when they started." He went on -and I now use my words rather than his spirited statement - "Goodness me, I wonder why on earth I go."
Allen made some attempt to defend them by saying "We can help the PCs by giving them more information." Looking at the list of official correspondence and bumph sent out each month I'd say the PC could do with a lot less information, and be much the better off without it. Steve now entered the fray and said the Panel had been misnamed, and that it should be "Local Police Liaison" . At one time 6-7 police always attended though now it's slightly less. Steve maintained that apart from telling the police our concerns (do we have any at present?) the rest is useless. He said that they should "trim away all the other functions and just have the police involvement."
Allen continued his defence and said that it all cost very little as the police and many others attended in their own time and were not paid. The fact that it is cheap does not mean it has any value. And couldn't the people attending be doing something more useful. And who controls it, books the halls, writes, prints and circulates the reports, and takes up invaluable space in the Crier. Someone must be paid for this and he may even have a desk at ECDC. And no-one mentioned the one time obsession of the Neighbourhood Panel with Dog Poos. How would Allen have defended that?
But Neighbourhood Panels, like other of John Prescott's initiatives may linger on for some time. One might have supposed that Parish Plans had been totally discredited and had had their day. But five weeks ago Reed, in North Hertfordshire, began working on a Parish Plan. There are fewer than 300 people in Reed. What a waste of time and money! There are still people employed by ACRE, by ECDC, and by central government somewhere -working on It was so good to witness the PC flexing its common sense muscles. And these appeared again when discussing ACRE's wish to address the PC and to hold a "Housing Needs Survey for Swaffham Prior." Geoffrey said he was "not entirely trustful of the basic science of surveys" and with this I entirely agree and would like to make a personal digression which also has an importance for the village. So please bear with me.
A few weeks ago I received a notice from the Office for National Statistics saying I had been selected from over 60 million people "to help shape Britain today and tomorrow." Many times I have been selected by Readers Digest, some Chief in Nigeria, etc and I did not reply. Two days before the PC Meeting a really striking attractive lady rang the doorbell at night, established I was alive and in good health, and asked if she could sit down with me and ask me some questions. She was from the Office for National Statistics and had tracked me down. I, like Geoffrey, said I doubted the science of the survey. She was disappointed and said I was the only person selected from Swaffham Prior. This alarmed me, and I suspect it will alarm many people in the village even more to know that I was the selected representative of local opinion. This also means that Swaffham Prior is not helping to "shape Britain" because they "cannot replace me with another household as that would upset the balance of our sample." Elisabeth said that she would have enjoyed answering the questions -but this would not have done at all, and gently I had to explain to her that she was not the Chosen One. Was I right or just a curmudgeon? Now to return to the proposed ACRE Housing Needs Survey. Steve wondered "what is the point of having another survey." He also said that "it was bound to cost something" and asked "who was going to pay?" "A very good question" said Geoffrey, and complimented Steve on being so voluble at the meeting. "Ah!" said Steve, "I had to down a pint in thirty seconds to get here on time." And so he did but in slightly less than thirty seconds. Paul wondered "what new could be added if she did come to speak" . Even Allen wondered about the need for a survey as the important facts were already established. He also observed that "we will never be able to catch up with the needs."
Steve pointed out that ACRE was working with nine Housing Associations and that it just seemed a punt for one of them to get hold of some land. It was pointed out that they were charities, to which the response was that they still have to compete like any business. Steve was also disappointed that though Swaffham Prior had been selected as "a priority area" ACRE had put us in South Cambs rather than East Cambs. He just wondered whether every PC had received a letter.
David Almond had not said anything until towards the end of the argy-bargy when he said in a very calm reasonable voice that he thought "it might be useful to have a person from ACRE to speak." Everyone appeared to be stunned by such quiet reason, there appeared to be an agreement, to which was added Steve's rider that they would only hear her if it cost no money and the PC could bypass the survey.
Previously Allen had reported that there had been a cut in the funding of CAB. He regretted this and truly it is terrible news as CAB is one of the really important institutions. Can't ECDC dump Parish Plans and Neighbourhood Panels and pass the money saved to CAB? Or does ECDC receive special funding if it complies with John Prescott's ideas.
Other news from Ely is that the CCT cameras for Soham and Ely will now be controlled from Ely and not Cambridge, thereby becoming not only more efficient but saving £85,000. Why not give some of that to CAB? Or save £14,000 (or was it £45,000) by making people buy their own black sacks. And give that to the CAB. It shows what can be done.
If you wish to know about the rest of the meeting you'll have to read the Clerk's report -not necessarily the abbreviated one in the Crier -but the full version which is posted on the Village Notice Board. For some time Karen has feared that the ageing notice board will fall on top of her. No-one wishes this to happen so a new one has been agreed which may be a little closer to the railings making to easier to read the full minutes. It is possible that the Conservation Officer will not be involved and that planning permission is not required.