More regulation at EU level will bring savings

Government and regulation should be carried out at the level best fitted for the task in hand.

Let me give an example. While it is usual and right for the provision and management of waste collection and road maintenance to be at local level, the safety of medicines is of equal interest and importance to us all, regardless of nationality, so there is a European Medicines Agency to regulate the medicines market centrally, saving the need for and cost of 27 agencies at member state level, each doing their own thing.

There are yet more efficiencies to be achieved by passing other regulatory work from national to EU level. Telecommunications are such an example, now regulated by bodies in each of the 27 member states, quite cumbersome for this global, fast moving and highly innovative market. A private sector company operating with multi-national offices would long since have streamlined the structure.

UK's telecomms regulator Ofcom employs some 800 people; the proposed EU-wide telecomms regulator would start with a staff of 300. And in matters of defence, member states have 90 procurement programmes compared with just 23 in the US. Deeper co-operation in EU defence procurement could save up to 20% in national procurement budgets. It might have also saved the UK being the last to rescue stranded nationals in Libya, if we'd been co-operating on an EU basis.

EU governments are set to agree an increase in the EU budget of 2.9%. They should, at the same time, task the EU with regulation and procurement in areas of global activity, starting with telecommunications and defence procurement, to deliver even greater efficiency savings for us all.

Now is the time to invest in the EU and central regulation where it makes sense and see the investment pay dividends.

On the performance of Central Beds' Upper Schools

Central Beds Council ducked out of conceding recently that our upper schools under-perform when measured against the new English Baccalaureate standard.

At the latest six-monthly meeting of Central Beds Council with town and parish councils, delegates were encouraged to leave on the tables any questions that they were unable to raise and have answered during the conference. I can understand why this question found its way to the bottom of the pile on the night, but I'm glad it was asked and that Central Beds will be addressing the issue.

"Q: The outcomes achieved by our Upper Schools in CBC – published today – are not encouraging. Does CBC accept that there is a problem? If so, what is being done, what should be done?

A: The Local Authority is always striving to improve performance in all of our schools.
This year we carried out some focused work with some of our Upper Schools, as well as schools in other phases. We are pleased that there is evidence of real improvement this year in the results achieved by our Upper Schools.

Overall results in Central Bedfordshire were above the national average in 2010 and increased by 4.5% using the commonly used measure of the proportion achieving five or more GCSE grades at C or above, including English and mathematics. Nine out of the ten schools improved their performance. Some by as much as 10 or 11%. We feel sure that this improvement trend can continue this year, although it will be difficult for schools to increase at quite the same rate.

This year the Government has introduced a new measure of performance. This is called the English Baccalaureate. It measures the proportion of students who achieve English, maths, two sciences, a language and a humanities subject (history and geography). Schools have been evaluated using this indicator even though the measure was not planned two years ago when the students started their courses. It is therefore too early to evaluate performance against this indicator, although we will be working with our schools to continue to improve performance further against all indicators.

To see the full report from the conference, visit: http://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/councillors/parish/default.aspx

End pendulum politics: vote Yes to AV on 5 May

We'll have a once in a generation chance to improve our voting system on 5 May, when I urge you to vote yes to the Alternative Vote (AV) system for national elections.

For those of us who've had enough of the years of pendulum politics that the current first past the post system (FPTP) gives us, AV is a vast improvement. Not as good as full proportional representation in my view, but it's the best that the Liberal Democrats could squeeze out of the Tories in the coalition government and certainly better than the zippo, carry-on-with-the old-ways that would have been served up had the Tories got enough votes at the last election to rule alone.

AV is simple: it just means swapping the ‘X’ on your ballot paper for numbers. You can rate the candidates how you see fit and vote for as many or as few candidates as you like. If you only want to support one candidate, you can: just mark an ‘X’ as you did before. AV gives you the freedom to vote sincerely for any number of candidates you feel are up to the job.

With First Past the Post ('FPTP'), you get just one choice. And that has meant that most MPs – 2 out of 3 of those elected in 2010 - get to parliament with less than half of voters on their side.

What will it mean for our MP? We will still have one MP in our area, but they will have to speak for the majority of our community. They will have to work harder and try to represent more of their constituents’ interests. And they won’t be able to take the people for granted any more. Too many MPs have got used to ‘jobs for life’ in the safe seats the current system has created. AV gives these complacent MPs a wake up call.

To see a video of people saying why they will vote for AV, visit: http://www.yestofairervotes.org/people-say-yes

To sign up to the petition letter urging the Advertising Standards Authority to stop the anti AV campaign's misleading advertising, visit: http://www.yestofairervotes.org/demandmore-demandbetter

Central Beds' bus service changes from 28 March

On 28 March, 28 bus routes will be changed in some way, mostly curtailed as part of the cost savings exercise.

Two of these relate to the Barton-le-Clay ward:
79 (Centrebus): Luton, Barton Le Clay, Shillington, Meppershall, Shefford, Upper Gravenhurst
Revised timetable. Service via Hexton and Pegsdon withdrawn.

223 (Red Rose): Luton, Upper Sundon, Chalton, Toddington, Harlington, Westoning
This evening service is to be withdrawn.

For the full picture, visit the Council's website at http://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/advice-and-benefits/winter-weather/bus-service-changes.aspx

Will this affect you, your life, your loved ones? I'd like to hear from you, tel: 0300 300 8550 or by e-mail janet.nunn@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk

Rovers' Riders: a BMX skatepark for Barton-le-Clay?

What does Barton-le-Clay (and surrounding villages come to that) offer our teenage young people? The hills are great for picnics, walking and cycling in good weather but not for our many short, dark winter days.

The Youth Club is closed, but do young people want anything organised for them?

Would drama facilities be most in demand (think Glee Club?) or a BMX skatepark? or perhaps just an outdoor youth shelter for friends to hang out without disturbing anyone or having to spend money?

Please let me know what you think by completing the on-line survey by 28 February at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/W3BSDW7

You can also offer to help out with the project, whatever your skills.
Many thanks for your time and support.