Grimsby’s Fishing Heritage Centre has once again secured recognition for its standards in customer care and overall quality of its visitor experience.

Quality Assured Visitor Attraction status has been awarded to the attraction following a rigorous assessment by Visit Britain’s Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme (VAQAS).

All areas that impact on the quality of the visitor experience are assessed, ranging from the initial enquiry through to the departure.

The team’s dedication and commitment to ensuring a memorable visitor experience has seen the attraction’s score improve from being ‘good to very good’ to being ‘very good to excellent’ – the highest standard of accreditation available.

Councillor Steve Hocknell, portfolio holder for culture, leisure and healthier communities, said:

“This is a great achievement for the team and shows that we are committed to improving and providing the best possible service for our customers

The thorough assessment considered all areas of the attraction including information provided over the telephone prior to a visit, the website, the gift shop, information leaflets and the caféadded: “The inspector was particularly impressed with the welcome visitors receive and the friendly atmosphere, which is a credit to our front of house staff. The superb cleanliness of the centre was of particular note and the cherry on top of the cake was the wonderful meal in the café.”

Sue Marshall, operations manager for cultural services, said: “The centre was assessed earlier this year, but we had no idea they were coming. The level of service the assessor experienced on his visit was the same service all our visitors receive.

“Going forward we want to keep improving our performance to ensure we meet the highest quality of service for our visitors. The result of this latest assessment is a credit to everyone involved with the attraction.”

The Fishing Heritage Centre is a fascinating insight into Grimsby’s maritime history and visitors can navigate their way around the attraction and discover what life was like for trawlermen in the 1950s.

Visitors can also enjoy the current temporary exhibition for £2 – Titanic Honour and Glory

A Department overseen by the Chancellor, the HM Revenue and Customs appears certain to miss its target of reducing fraud and error to 5% by 2011 after disclosing that mistakes had risen from 7.8 to 8.6% in 2007/8, the latest year that figures are available.

Fraud alone is estimated to cost the taxpayer between £100 and £200 million, through the filing of 50,000 false claims, which has led the Tories to describe the complex system of tax credits, which was introduced by Gordon Brown while he was the Chancellor “a mess”.

The Government has admitted that fraud and errors in the tax credit system cost the taxpayer up to £2 billion last year, which amounts to £1 out of every £10 paid out.

Officials insist that many of the overpayments will be reclaimed, and that the system has been designed to make regular adjustments to the amounts low income families receive.

In a statement, Stephen Timms, Treasury Financial Secretary, added that HMRC was taking action to reduce fraud and error and “will use the analysis published today to refine its strategy further”’.

The Liberal Democrats said that the latest figures meant a total of £16 billion had been lost in overpayments, fraud and error since 2003, and that tax credits doomed families to a “financial roller coaster”.

Liberal Democrat Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, Steve Webb added:

“The tax credits system is so complex that it is abused by fraudsters, misunderstood by claimants and mismanaged by officials.

“The amount lost through overpayments, fraud and error is only going to keep on rising if changes are not made.

“Families are forced to ride a financial rollercoaster when they have to pay for mistakes made by officials who can’t understand the system themselves.”

The 8.6% figure for fraud was at the lower end of the analysis of a sample survey of 4,100 tax credit recipients, meaning that the real level of error and fraud could have been higher.

It was revealed today in a report from the housing charity, Shelter, that over one million children are now forced to live in overcrowded houses, a rise in the total of 54,000 over the last two years.

Figures released by Shelter reveal the that the number of under-15s who are trapped in cramped conditions in England has risen by 54,000 in the last two years.

One in 10 children in England, with one in five (331,000) children in London are living in overcrowded housing and a fifth of those in social rented housing (520,000) experiencing the problem.

The new figures from the Survey of English Housing shows the need to urge the government to provide more affordable family-sized homes.  This would help to take these children out of cramped conditions and help to end overcrowding for the next generation.

Living in confined conditions has a devastating effect on family life, particularly children’s safety and general  health, and it has been shown that children in overcrowded housing are up to ten times more likely to suffer from meningitis compared tochildren in general.

The current legal definition of overcrowding has remained unchanged since 1935.  It does not consider children under one-year-old as a person living in the property, and also considers kitchens and living rooms as acceptable places to sleep. Under the current legal standard, a family of four living in a one bedroom flat would not be classed as living in overcrowded accommodation.

There are already thousands of families on the local authority housing waiting lists, who desperately need an affordable family-sized home, but recent Local Government Association estimates predict that waiting lists will rise to more han two million by 2011.

Sam Younger, Shelter’s Chief Executive, said:

“For too long the issue of children living in overcrowded housing has been a hidden problem.

“There is no doubt that overcrowding has a massive impact on children’s health, safety and future prospects and can cause depression for parents struggling to cope in cramped conditions. With many children unable to study due to a lack of space, the impact of overcrowding is robbing them of an education and a fair chance in life.

“Government must ensure enough affordable family-sized homes are built and introduce an updated definition of overcrowding that reflects a modern need for space and privacy.”

Liberal Democrat shadow housing minister ,Sarah Teather , said:

“We have a chronic lack of family-sized social housing and unless the government addresses this shortage, many more children will be condemned to life in crowded housing. We need a massive increase in the number of social homes to stop more families suffering the misery of overcrowded and unsuitable housing.”

I have been asked recently by some residents of the Ridgeway area of the ward about the progress towards providing a safe pedestrian crossing on the Laceby By-Pass. 

I am arranging to have a news sheet printed which will be delivered to all of the area’s residents over the next few days.  The text of the letter will be as follows:

Dear Resident

I thought that it is time that I gave an update on the results of the recent consultation and let you know about progress towards the provision of the pedestrian crossing.

The video survey conducted in this area showed that a large majority of pedestrians choose to cross the A46 close to the roundabout at Bradley Crossroads, and the results of the recent consultation confirmed that this would be the preferred site for the crossing.

The Highways Department have informed me that the money to pay for the work has been included in the budget for the current financial year, and has been ring fenced for this project.  The crossing has also been included in the work programme for this year, and the work will commence following a technical investigation into the site that will ensure that the crossing ends up as close to the roundabout as is practical.  I have been assured by the Highways Department that that the work should be completed by the end of this financial year at the latest.

Yours Sincerely
 Cllr Les Bonner

I have received an e mail update on progress towards the replacement of the footbridge over the river Freshney from NELC which will interest some of the readers of this site.   I have copied the relevant parts of the message below: 

“I last wrote to you on 29 June with an estimated timescale for replacement of the bridge of 6 weeks (i.e. the new bridge would hopefully be in place by 7th August).  Following an enquiry from Councillor Boylen, we have contacted the manufacturers and it looks like that was a pretty good assessment.

“The fabrication of the bridge was completed early last week, after which it was sent for galvanising.  It got back from there on Monday and is currently being painted ‘Grimsby green’.  Weather permitting it will be ready for us to inspect next Monday / Tuesday and, subject to there being no problems, we should get it installed by the end of the week.

“I understand how frustrating it must have been for those wanting to use the bridge but considering other manufacturers were quoting lead times of 12 weeks I think these people have done pretty well. ”

The government is thinking of altering the regulations that control Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) or shared houses.

At the moment some HMOs are subject to licensing conditions under the Housing Act 2004, but one of the options now being considered by the government is a change to the “Use Classes Order” which would allow tighter planning controls over HMOs. The consultation is open till 7th August.

Liberal Democrat Don Foster MP commented,:

“It is high time that the government looked at altering the rules on HMOs. It is quite clear that a heavy concentration of such houses causes certain issues and strains on communities, and currently there is little we can do to protect such communities.

“I hope the residents living in areas of Bath which are densely populated by HMOs will take the time to respond to the government consultation, as I will be. This is not about stopping people living in HMOs, clearly they serve a purpose, but about being able to control how and where they grow and finding a balance for local communities.”

“A chance to swing the balance towards permanent residents “is how Liberal Democrats in Don Foster’s constituency of Bath are describing the current government consultation on shared houses.

You can find more information about the consultation by clicking HERE

The North East Lincolnshire Council has launched its “Quids In” Campaign to make sure that everyone in the N E Lincs receives the benefits they are entitled to from NELC relating to rent and council tax.

Although the campaign is still in its early stages, almost £100,000 in extra benefit has already been committed.

The Quids In Team can be reached via a hotline at (01472-324999) or by email at quidsin@nelincs.gov.uk

There has also been a stand in Freshney Place and visits to children’s centres and supermarkets are also planned.

Anyone who would like to invite the Quids In Team to an event can contact Cindy Laherty on 323879.

Comprehensive Area Assessment is a new way of assessing local services to help people to hold them to account, began in April 2009.

Public bodies are being assessed at present, and the Audit Commission has announced that CAA will publish its first reports for all areas of England on 10 December via the oneplace website.

Oneplace will help answer the simple question ‘how well I am being served by local public services?’.

There will be jargon-free, easy-to-read narratives on every place in England, and links to detailed information from the independent inspectorates behind CAA – the Audit Commission, Ofsted, Care Quality Commission and Her Majesty’s Inspectorates of Constabulary, Prisons and Probation.

The oneplace site is being designed to be as user-focused and user-friendly as ossible – easy to navigate and easy to understand.

In the spirit of CAA’s mission to shine a light on peoples’ experience of public services, the six inspectorates behind oneplace are now joining forces with one of the most recognisable brands in public service information- Directgov.

Oneplace will be available through the Directgov website as well as via each inspectorate’s site. This nnovative agreement will give Oneplace impressive visibility, as Directgov has up to 18 million visits each month.

In addition to oneplace’s internet presence, ways are being found to create access to CAA assessments for those not online, or in other hard-to-reach groups.

Anthony Lester (Lord Lester of Herne Hill, QC), who was recruited by the Government as an advisor as a part of it’s GOAT (Government of all talents), has written in today’s Guardian, entitled “My misery as a tethered goat in Gordon Brown’s big tent”, about the time he spent attempting to advise the Prime Minister and Jack Straw on their programme of constitutional reforms.

Lord Lester has written about the inertia in government that persuaded him to resign, and the way in which proposals for reform were put together at the last minute.

“On the final day before we went into recess, the constitutional reform and governance bill was born at last. It is a mouse of a bill…

“The sad reality is that the government is illiberal and often deeply reactionary. It lacks imagination, ambition and respect for personal liberty. It continues to make too many vastly complex laws instead of making existing laws work in practice.

Lord Lester acknowledges that Brown is sincere in his desire for a “modern democratic system of government” but points out witheringly that he does not seem to realise that it is too late for grand schemes

“…his dreams will not happen during the brief months of life remaining for his lame duck government. He and his colleagues have wasted the opportunity of a generation.”

You can read the complete article from today’s Guardian by clicking HERE

Latest figures in the Daily Mail show that 203 school and comunity playing fields have been sold by the Government since they came to power in 1996.

Even in the four years since London was chosen as the host for the 2012 Olympics, the Government has still allowed 49 school sports fields to be sold.

 203 pitches have been lost since Labour came to power in 1997.  In its 1997 General Election manifesto, Labour pledged to bring bring an end to the previous government’s policy of forcing schools to sell off playing fields to an end.

MPs say that the latest figures conflict with the commitment of the Government to encourage sport in schools, with every child now intended to be doing five hours a week in the approach to the 2012 Olympic Games.

In addition to the playing fields, more than 1,000 other smaller pieces of school land have also been sold.

Five years ago, the Government said any future sales would have to be approved by the Secretary of State and any money raised should be reinvested in educational facilities.

Pieces of land smaller than half an acre can still be sold without ministerial approval, but  the limit was one acre until it was changed in March this year, meaning that sizeable areas were still being sold.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families has rejected claims that it is allowing schools to cut sports facilities, saying that playing field have never been better protected, and sales are only allowed at schools that had been closed, or where the land was surplus to the needs of the school and local community.

Margaret Morrissey, of campaign group Parents Outloud, said:

“Despite all the Government’s wonderful words on this issue, it seems that when we get to the truth playing fields are still being removed.

“It’s something that ministers should be seriously ashamed of.

“One of the excuses we often hear is that an area of AstroTurf is being built instead, but it just isn’t the same thing. Children do not run around in the same way and play on a sterile surface.

“Ministers are very keen to be seen playing cricket and football and running around gyms with schoolchildren, but when there are playing fields disappearing, they’re nowhere to be seen.”

“It’s clear there have been a considerable number of sales over recent years.  That is a real worry.”