Archive for September, 2009
Happy birthday Harrogate CAB
Many happy returns to Harrogate Citizens’ Advice Bureau which is 70 years old today. It was one of the first such organisations in the country and over the years has given sound advice to many thousands of local people at no charge.
The work they do is really vital to thousands of people and many of us have great reason to be grateful to the volunteers and the paid staff who run the organisation.
As well as giving advice to individuals they play an extremely valuable role in campaigning and lobbying government – local and national – on a wide variety of issues. At the moment they have a terrific campaign – Hung Up – about 08 telephone numbers, which cause unneccessary expense to many people who use only mobile phones or who have packages on their home phones. In some cases callers pay up to 40p a minute on these numbers and CAB has evidence to show that people frequently put off phoning 08 numbers because of the cost. This can result in the loss of benefits or a failure to report overpayments.
An announcement by the Health Secretary yesterday proposed the replacement of all 08 numbers in the health service. We also need our local authorities to change their use of them – Harrogate Borough Council, North Yorkshire County Council and North Yorkshire Police all have 0845 numbers, in the case of the latter two, as their main numbers. Many local authorities have already transferred but up to now ours have resisted although they have been asked to make changes. Could it be because they get a share of the profits from these numbers?
03 numbers – which have been available for some time now – offer them an opportunity to keep the services that they have on 08 numbers but mean that callers will pay no more than a call to an ordinary landline. Alternatively they could simply publish a number with a geographic code so that it is charged at the normal rate for landlines and included in the ‘free minutes’ on many phone contracts.
Harrogate secondary school admissions update
North Yorkshire County Council has now published its consultation on Harrogate secondary school admissions. The document itself is proving somewhat controversial and there is a feeling that it is perhaps not quite as objective as it should be. The Council also put out an incredibly self congratulatory press release which in an exemplary piece of spin completely glosses over the fact that three separate Adjudicators found the admissions procedures to be unfair.
However, this is a very welcome opportunity for local people to express their views on whether a new system should be introduced and if so, what form it should take. This first stage of the consultation runs until 2 November and includes a series of meetings in local schools. I can’t find details of these on the website yet, but no doubt the Council will make times and venues known soon.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Traffic arrangements – Killinghall & New Park
Last year the County Council’s Area Committee decided, against the advice of Highways Officers and the Police, to introduce a trial ban on heavy vehicles on the B6161 through Killinghall. This was a route which carried far too many heavy lorries and local residents and the primary school had good reason to be unhappy with the arrangements.
The problem was that the alternative route is also bad. The route is longer, the number of people inconvenienced greater and the congestion caused worse. A series of roadworks on Skipton Road added to the problems. The bridge over Oak Beck had to be reinforced leading to questions from residents about whether the road is sufficiently strong to take the impact of so many heavy trucks.
The trial period comes to an end on 30 December and the committee now has to decide whether to revert to the old arrangements, make permanent the ban on the B6161, or introduce another scheme altogether.
The Council’s Highways Officers recommendation is that the experiment has been unsuccessful and the previous arrangements should be reinstated. What will the Committee decide? The report is available on the County Council’s website.
The decision will be made at a meeting which takes place at 9.30 am on Thursday 17 September at the Pavillions. The item is one of the first on the agenda. Members of the public can apply to speak by contacting the Committee Clerk at the County Council. Three days notice is required.
Traffic on A59 Skipton Road at New Park
Claire Kelley's Diary 