Braintree and Witham Liberal Democrats

£10m to boost literacy - Clegg

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced on Monday that there will be up to £10m additional support for Pupil Premium children who leave primary school without Level 4 literacy - the expected level.

In a keynote speech to teachers and school leaders, he said that the Education Endowment Foundation will be awarding the money to pilot projects to help disadvantaged pupils make the transition from primary to secondary school. The money will be targeted at struggling Year 7s from deprived homes.

"How can a child start secondary school unable to read with confidence?" declared Nick. "That is a basic building block of a good education and no child should begin the race so far behind the starting line. We need to do everything we can to help these children through this transition to get them up to speed.
"That is a responsibility the government takes extremely seriously. And I can confirm that the Education Endowment Foundation will shortly be inviting groups of local schools, in the areas that suffer most with this problem, to bid for extra funds for struggling Year 7s from deprived homes to help them get their reading and writing up to scratch. Extra 'catch up cash', if you like.
"We envisage that schools will want to use it for small catch up classes, or one-to-one tuition, or vouchers for literacy tuition that parents can spend. We will run a proper evaluation, sharing what works with all schools not just those areas taking part in these pilots. It's likely this kind of targeted support is the best way to crack this problem - next year we'll know.
"Of course, we hope as few pupils as possible need it, thanks to the Pupil Premium. And I know primary and secondary schools up and down the country are determined to make this work.
"Some are using the money for breakfast clubs; homework clubs; or to provide one-to-one-tuition. Some are funding counselling services, so troubled kids are in the right place, emotionally, to learn. Some are using it for educational visits to places like museums: the sort of experiences middle class children take for granted but poorer child might rarely enjoy."

Nick also announced that he wants to "strike a deal between the Coalition government and our schools and teachers. Teachers who help these children unlock the doors that otherwise hold them back ... they are the key to an open and fair society ... the key to the opportunity Britain I am determined we build."

The best teachers will be offered incentives to work in schools that have large numbers of disadvantaged pupils. The government will ask the School Teachers Review Body to look at giving other schools the same flexibility Academies currently have to use pay to hold on to the best teachers.

Also, from next year, there will be Pupil Premium Awards for the 50 schools that do the best to boost the performance of their poorest pupils and narrow the gap - with cash prizes of up to £10,000 for the best of the best.

Cambridge MP, Julian Huppert and Liberal Democrat councillors answered a call for more blood platelet donors on Friday, May 18.

Julian and the five city and county councillors supported a campaign by the NHS Blood and Transplant service to find more platelet donors for the Cambridge Blood Donor Centre.

Cllr David Kendall restated his commitment at last night's Annual Council meeting to take a 5% cut in his Leader of the Opposition Special Responsibility Allowance (SRA) for the next financial year.

After being confirmed as Chair of Overview & Scrutiny, which also attracts an SRA, Cllr Barry Aspinell also confirmed that he will take a 5% cut.

Cllr David Kendall has questioned the ruling administration's "double standards" over the dichotomy of action taken by the Conservatives over the appointment of chairs.

Back in 2009, Lib Dem Deputy Leader Cllr Barry Aspinell was stripped of his chairmanship of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee whilst he was being investigated by the Standards Board (charges he was subsequently completely cleared of). However, this year, the Leader, Cllr Louise McKinlay, has appointed a number of her own councillors to the front bench despite them currently being under investigation by the Standards Board.

Cambridgeshire County Councillor, Geoff Heathcock has sent a formal complaint to telecom giant, BT, after frail, elderly residents were without working phone lines and unable to summon emergency help for 10 days.

Some of the pensioners rely on Personal Emergency Response Systems worn around their necks which allow them to raise the alarm through the speaker on the phone without having to reach the receiver.

Estimates of the potential cuts required to fire services across Cambridgeshire have been increased by £800,000 to a minimum of £5 million with fears this could go even higher if the government grant settlement for the service is low again this year.

The news has prompted the Tory-controlled Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority to revise its savings plans and led to reinforced opposition to front-line cuts from the county's Liberal Democrats.

Villagers in Waterbeach and Landbeach fear they may lose their 'life-line' hourly bus service to Ely after giant company, Stagecoach decided to cut it back.

From June 10, the X9 will only call at the villages in the early morning on its journey from Ely to Cambridge and late afternoon in the opposite direction. At other times it will stay on the A10 bypassing both villages.

Utility companies could be charged a daily fee for road closures while they carry out work across Cambridgeshire.

The idea has been put forward by Liberal Democrat Councillor Sarah Whitebread and would apply to companies laying new gas or water mains or carrying out similar work in the county.

Cllr Whitebread, who represents Cambridge's Market Ward on Cambridgeshire County Council, claims the move could prevent lengthy closures such as the one which brought the city's East Road to a virtual halt for weeks while new gas mains were laid.

Commenting, Stephen Williams said:

"This is a very popular idea which would give the public something back for bailing out the banks.

"I welcome the Treasury Select Committee's review into what to do with the Government's holding in RBS and Lloyds and hope that it furthers the case for giving the public their share."

Cambridge Liberal Democrats have today (Monday, May 14) announced that Councillor Tim Bick will be taking over from Councillor Sian Reid as the group's new leader.

Sian has decided to step down following surgery earlier this year and the need to take some time to fully recover.

The Lib Dems have also elected their front line team for the coming year with Cllr Catherine Smart continuing as the group's deputy leader. They propose she will continue to have responsibility for housing, Cllr Tim Ward with the planning and sustainable transport portfolio, Cllr Rod Cantrill with arts, sport and public places and Cllr Jean Swanson with the waste and recycling portfolio.