Fly tipping
I have been contacted by a number of constituents about the nuisance that is flytipping. Please see the below letter from our excellent Reddicap councillor, Richard Parkin, on the subject:
‘Residents are understandably growing increasingly frustrated and fed up with the abject failure of Birmingham City Council (BCC) to deal with the flytipping crisis which is sadly blighting areas of our Royal Town.
In recent weeks I have been horrified to see the amount of illegal flytipping that has been accumulating in our town, not least in Reddicap. It’s time BCC stopped talking about flytipping and started to do something to seriously tackle it.
Birmingham is one of the worst local authorities in the country for flytipping, yet between April 2022 and February 2023 just 95 Fixed Penalty Notices were handed out for flytipping across the entire city, a rise of just six from the previous year.
All BCC is doing at the moment is firefighting the problem by continuously sending out waste collection teams - as and when they are available - to clear the mountains of rubbish. But the longer flytipping hangs around, the more extra rubbish it attracts.
It must be costing the council a fortune to deal with the problem this way. They should be addressing the issue in better and smarter ways.
The Conservative Group at BCC have long been campaigning for the return of free bulky waste collections to help tackle the scourge of flytipping. BCC should also be taking more pro-active measures and imposing stiffer penalties. The lack of prosecutions serves only to encourage repeat flytippers to continue with their appalling behaviour, which is why we need more CCTV in flytipping 'hotspots' in our town to identify those responsible.
The flytipping crisis is also undermining the hard work of all the wonderful litter-picking volunteers across the town, not least the 1,000-plus members of the Sutton Coldfield Litter Action Group who have adopted over 600 roads.
I dread to think how much worse the town would look without the incredible efforts of Sutton Coldfield’s community litter picking volunteers who deserve all of our thanks and gratitude.
If anyone spots flytipping please report it to BCC at: https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/info/20140/environmental_concerns_and_requests/89/report_fly-tipping’
CQC report on Good Hope Hospital
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) recently shared the outcome of their inspection of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust and it’s rating as requiring improvement. You can view the report here: https://www.cqc.org.uk/provider/RRK
I am glad to learn that UHB fully accept the CQC’s recommendations and are already actively working through, alongside these in a patient safety review, and are committed to working with the CQC.
I will be keeping an eye on developments and hope to see positive change going forward from here.
Last week’s Schools debating contest
I mentioned this briefly last week, but I thought you might welcome a longer report.
The Chair of the debate and one of our Royal Town’s most respected journalists, Gary Phelps, has shared his thoughts on the evening:
‘Talented students from John Willmott School won first place in Sutton Coldfield’s annual Sixth Form School Debating contest, in a fascinating evening of argument and ideas.
Held at Arthur Terry School, the contest has been organised by Sutton Coldfield MP Andrew Mitchell for more than 20 years but last week returned after a three-year break caused by the pandemic.
During the competition’s two-decade history, John Willmott had been the only local school to never lift the top prize of Best Debating Team, but students Hunor Veres and Tatenda Mutonga changed that with a powerful performance at the event, on Thursday, April 20th.
The duo impressed judges Tina Swani, of Sutton Coldfield Charitable Trust, and Dennis Kennedy, of Community Games organisers Inspire Activity, with persuasive debates on Post-Brexit Britain and the Royal Family.
Mr Mitchell was unable to attend the debates for the first time in years, due to urgent Ministerial duties brought about by the crisis in Sudan, so head judge Gary Phelps stepped in to chair the event.
Mr Mitchell said: “I was so very sorry not to be able to attend Arthur Terry school, for the annual parliamentary debating competition, which always promises to be a highlight in my diary.
“This was because I was detained in London due to the ongoing crisis in Sudan which is threatening many including British Citizens, which I was dealing with in my ministerial role in the Foreign office
"However, it’s clear that a wonderful evening was had, leaving all those who attended inspired by the brilliant young people who took part.
“I would like to thank Gary Phelps for generously agreeing to chair the contest at such short notice, Dennis Kennedy and Tina Swani on the judging panel and all those involved in organising what was as many have told me since, a fantastic evening.
“Many congratulations to Hunor Veres and Tatenda Mutonga from John Willmott school - soon to be renamed The Royal Sutton Coldfield School - for their first ever win of the debating competition in the 20-plus years it has been in existence.
“Their success is a clear sign that the school is on the up, and I know everyone in the audience was hugely impressed by their debating skills.”
Nicola Gould, Headteacher of John Willmott, which is part of the respected Arthur Terry Learning Trust, was delighted at the win.
She said: “We are so proud of Hunor and Tatenda for winning the debating competition. It’s the first time our school has won it, and the quality of the competition was, as always, incredibly high.
“We’ll be bringing the trophy back to John Willmott now, and hope it inspires our students to go on and compete in more contests and aim ever higher.”
Second place went to Arson Kalambettu and Sam Bryars from Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School, while Arthur Terry’s Isla Bergin-Smith picked up the award for ‘Best Speaker’, after passionately talking about Brexit and the sale of human organs.
Schools involved in the contest were The Arthur Terry School, John Willmott School, Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School, Plantsbrook School, Bishop Walsh Catholic School, Sutton Coldfield College, Fairfax Academy and Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls.
All of the debaters who took part in the contest will visit Mr Mitchell for a tour of the House of Commons later this year, where they will get the chance to see Parliamentary debates in action.
And as winners, John Willmott will host next year’s competition.’
Statement on Sudan
The crisis in Sudan has been a very great concern.
Ending the violence is the single most important action we can take to guarantee the safety of British nationals and everyone in Sudan.
The Foreign Office has been running the crisis centre across government all week, and we are in continuous contact with allies and regional partners to agree a joint approach to both evacuation and de-escalation of violence in Sudan.
You can read my statement to the House of Commons on Sudan here:
Or watch it here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001lsh0/house-of-commons-sudan-statement
Chatham House
It was a pleasure to speak at @ChathamHouse yesterday about a new UK approach o development aid. I reaffirmed our commitment to reducing poverty and tackling climate change and set out how UK International Development will work in partnership to deliver this. There are no quick fixes in development, and the UK is in it for the long haul. The final prize is greater partnership and prosperity. #UKDev
Read my full speech here: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/minister-andrew-mitchell-speech-on-the-future-of-international-development
Extended Cost of Living Payments worth £900 for vulnerable families in the Royal Town
Households are facing rising living costs in the wake of Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine and the Government is rightly protecting the most vulnerable people in Sutton Coldfield.
6,900families in the Royal Town have become eligible for a further means-tested costof living payment worth £301 from last Tuesday, and £900 in total for 2023-4.
These payments will give families much needed support, protecting vulnerable people who are most exposed to rising prices.
7,800 eligible individuals in Royal Sutton Coldfield will also received the Disability Cost of Living Payment with £150 again this year.
Further information
Civic Sunday - 21st May
Residents are invited to attend the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield's Civic Service to be held at Holy Trinity (CE) Church, Mill Street, Sutton Coldfield, B72 1TF at 10.00am on Sunday 21st May 2023.
The annual service welcomes our civic guests and those who represent the many public and voluntary organisations within our town. The service has become an annual event and provides a visible reminder of the important roles so many people play in our local community in many different ways from which we all benefit.
The service is well attended and guests are encouraged to RSVP to enquiries@suttoncoldfieldtowncouncil.gov.uk by Friday 28th April.
Light refreshments will be served after the service.
The civic service from a few years ago:
Sutton Coldfield Society of Artists - Spring Exhibition 2023:
Message from the Sutton Coldfield Society of Artists:
We are delighted to announce that the Spring Exhibition of the Sutton Coldfield Society of Artists will take place in the Crush Hall, Sutton Coldfield Town Hall from 11:00am Sunday 7th May until 4:00pm Sunday 14th May.
Exhibition open 9:00am to 5:00pm
We would also like to extend a warm invitation to the Official Opening and Award Presentation, which is to be held on Sunday 7th May at 11.00am. if you are unable to attend the presentation, we hope that you will be able to visit the exhibition during the opening hours.
We look forward to welcoming you and we hope that you enjoy our exhibition!
From,
Rachel David
Chairman
MHRC Locations:
Please see below the visits scheduled for the week commencing 1st May 2023 of the BCC Mobile Household Recycling Centre.
- Mon 01/05/2023, Leigh Road B75 7NP, 07:00- 12:00, Sutton Reddicap
- Wed 03/05/2023, Plants BrookRoad B76 1EX, 07:00 - 12:45, Sutton Walmley & Minworth
National Highways work at M6 Bromford Viaduct
National Highways have sent me the following update:
‘We wrote to you on 3 February 2023 to inform you of the M6 junction 6 to 5 southbound Bromford Viaduct scheme that was scheduled to be carried out from 20 February to 25 March 2023. Our work included resurfacing and the replacement of bridge joints.
Due to adverse weather and other unforeseen circumstances, we were unable to complete all of the work within the previously allocated timeframe.
We’ll return to continue work under full closure of M6 junction 6 to 5 southbound, between 10pm and 6am of the following nights -
Wednesday 26 April, Thursday 27 April and Friday 28 April
Tuesday 2 May, Wednesday 3 May, and Thursday 4 May
Tuesday 9 May and Wednesday 10 May
During these closures the following diversion route will be in place -
We apologise for short notice and any inconvenience this may cause.’