Andrew Smith

Today is the last working day Chichester District Council’s Chief Executive, John Marsland, after 38 years of public service.

This morning there is a full Council. On the agenda member allowances, corporate plan and financial strategy – including decisions on whether or not to accept Govt. grant to cover a 2.5% Council Tax increase and allocate £0.5m for Festival Theatre’s refurbishment.

I wonder on which item there will be the longest discussion…

At today’s County Council meeting the Leader, Louise Goldsmith, vigorously defended the Council’s proposed £1.5m capital investment in the Theatre to release a £10-12m grant from the Art Council to help fund the £22m project.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t called to ask why, if the County Council is so supportive of the Theatre, it has registered a formal objection the Theatre plans.

It wants to see a cycle path routed around the theatre rather than carrying on straight down the Broyle Road. Why cyclists should be expected to take a circuitous route into the city centre I don’t know. Whilst the Broyle Road narrows considerably at this point the answer is to convert College Lane to northbound only to motorised traffic with a dedicated cycle path.

The District Council planners are recommending that councillors approve the application next Wednesday, notwithstanding the County’s objection. The proposed cycle route through Oaklands Park is outside the control of the Theatre and therefore not a reasonable imposition to make. The District Council, as owner of the Park, opposes the proposed cycle route for its own, perfectly justified reasons.

Nick Clegg has rightly told the French Prime Minister that critical comments of members of the French Government of the UK were unacceptable.

Whilst broad agreement on improved fiscal discipline within the Eurozone was agreed last week the details have yet to be agreed, yet alone applied. Until they are the Eurozone remains in danger.

It is precisely because the UK has been prepared to take the tough, unpleasant decisions required that the UK government can raise loans cheaply.

In an article in The Guardian Nick Clegg expands in greater detail what he believes should be next steps.

Upgrades to the A27 weren’t mentioned in the Chancellor’s autumn statement. They remain as far away as ever. One of the reasons for this is the Highways Agency cost benefit analysis disregards economic benefits and measures benefits in terms of reduced car journey times and accident rates.

There is a smaller project to improve the drainage along the A27 around Chichester. So far £55,000 has been spent on investigations. But there is no guarantee that any improved drainage work will be undertaken. Again the Highways Agency’s cost benefit analysis does not look good.

I pressed the County Cabinet member for highways to lobby the Agency for action – in my view the problem clearly has got worse in recent years and the chances of a major accident are all the greater.

Ofsted have published a league table of school performance.

This raises the issue of how you measure a school. Is it by how much children improve or the standards attained? Are children in deprived areas inherently at a disadvantage? If so, are schools whose catchment area serves a deprived at a disadvantage if league tables are based on attainment and not added value?

Prime Minister David Cameron recently complained of “coasting schools” in “prosperous shires and market towns” implying that backgrounds do matter. Yet the new Ofsted head, Sir Michael Wilshaw, having turned around a failing school in a deprived area, takes a somewhat different view.

Both today’s County Council meeting and yesterday’s Police Authority meeting have on their agendas Mid Year Tresury Management reports. Pretty dry stuff.

Local authorities are rightly cautious about protecting their (ie the taxpayers funds) with security rather than investment return being the main objective.

With more and more financial insitutions having their credit worthiness being downgraded the number of places where authorities are prepared to place their cash is reducing too. That itself potentially introduces a new risk, namely the deposits are concentrated in too few institutions.

It was announced yesterday at the Police Authority meeting that Assistant Chief Constable Nick Wilkinson is leaving the Force for pastures new. After 30 years outstanding service he decided to pursue new pastures and challenges. This was a voluntary decision on his part and not a forced departure on account of implementation of regulation A19.

In his autumn statement the Chancellor promised £600m to fund the creation of 100 free schools.

I met the lead of the group trying to establish a free school in the Chichester area.

To set up a 1400 pupil school from scratch is a massive undertaking.

Land acquisition alone is a huge ask where land is a premium.

Difficult to find objective reporting to make a judgment of one’s own.

The UK would be right to use the veto if what was being proposed threatened the City of London as a global financial centre. But this does not mean that reforms of the City are not required to prevent the excesses of the past and present. Right wing Tory Euro sceptics must face up to this.

Monetary union implies greater fiscal union. The need for the Eurozone to address key issues is urgent and cannot wait for complex Treaty re-negotiations.

As more details emerge better analysis – rather than the usual soundbites will emerge.

It is in the UK’s interest that the Eurozone is a success. Eurosceptics’ delight in its struggles is entirely misplaced.

Postscript: A New York perspective

On Tuesday evening I attended a meeting for parents of pupils at Tangmere Primary School to discuss issues arising from its plan to join The Kemnal Academy Trust.

Under the Labour Government failing schools were given academy status and removed from local authority supervision. Under the coalition government all schools will go down the academy route.

Parents raised questions about finance, financial management, the pitfalls of academy status, governance arrangements, the future name of the school, the choice of Kemnal, Ofsted inspection, future capital investment and potential for expansion if Tangmere grew siginificantly.

The answers given seemed to reassure the parents present that the future of the school was bright and that it would remain a community school under local governance for day to day mangement.