The Darwin Manuscripts at Cambridge Digital Library

17:47 Monday 24th November 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

CHRIS MANN: Images of Charles Darwin’s original papers where he came up with the theory of evolution are being made freely available online today. The Cambridge Digital Library is releasing more than 12,000 images, which chart everything from his early reflections while on board HMS Beagle, to the publication of On the Origin of Species, which happened 155 years ago today, I can report. I’m joined now by Alison Pearn from the Darwin Correspondence Project at Cambridge University. Alison, hello.
ALISON PEARN: Hello.
CHRIS MANN: 155 years eh?
ALISON PEARN: Yes.
CHRIS MANN: Extraordinary. And such a bit of history.
ALISON PEARN: Yes it really is. And now anybody can go and look at actually how that history was made, in amazing detail.
CHRIS MANN: And such a Cambridge man of course, Charles Darwin, and his antecedents afterwards.
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Unison protest against erosion of NHS salaries

08:27 Monday 24th November 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

DOTTY MCLEOD: A second week of strike action by NHS workers is starting this morning. There are picket lines at hospital buildings across Cambridgeshire. Staff including midwives, nurses and paramedics are involved. They’re not happy about a Government decision to give them either a 1% pay rise or an annual increment, but not both. Sue Marchant’s been at Addenbrookes Hospital this morning. She caught up with Martin Booth who is the Cambridge Health Unison Branch Manager, and asked him about the turnout at the picket line.
MARTIN BOOTH: Well we’re certainly pleased with the response that we’re getting. We’ve got a number of members as you might have seen here, picketing the various entrances. And the people going into work, a lot of them not on strike for various reasons, but they are very supportive of the case that we’ve been making this morning.
SUE MARCHANT: So for those who are not aware, why are you striking?
MARTIN BOOTH: Because 1% which is what all public sector workers have been offered is way below the rise in the cost of living. In the case of health workers it’s even worse, because we’re recommended to get a 1% pay rise, but Jeremy Hunt said we’re not even going to get that. The only people getting that are the people at the top of their pay bands, but there’s about two thirds of health workers who are not at the top of the pay band. They’re getting no pay rise to make up for the rise in the cost of living this year, and next year we’ve not been promised anything at all. We can’t go on like this.
SUE MARCHANT: This isn’t the first strike though, is it? So where does this fit in with the strategy of what you’re trying to achieve?
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Council in crisis awards large payrises to top staff

07:45 Friday 21st November 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

DOTTY MCLEOD: Yesterday there was a big meeting of Peterborough City Council’s Employment Committee. They were discussing the wages of senior officers. Some of them earn as much as £140,000 a year, and some top council staff received pay increases of up to 30% earlier this year. They were taking on new roles. The decision to award these increases has now been revisited. Nick Sandford is the Leader of Peterborough’s Liberal Democrats. Nick, what happened at the meeting last night?
NICK SANDFORD: Well just to put the context, earlier this year back in February there was a private meeting of the Employment Committee, at which these very large pay rises of up to 33% were pushed through. When this became public at Full Council there was complete outrage, and it was decided to refer it back to the Employment Committee. I proposed at the Employment Committee not that we try and unpick all these increases, but that we ask each of the senior officers earning over £100,000 to take a small reduction in their salary.
DOTTY MCLEOD: So when we say small, how big?
NICK SANDFORD: I wasn’t really concerned. I quoted a figure of around about 15%, but it could be 10%, it could be only 5%. But that was rejected by the Committee.
DOTTY MCLEOD: OK. Why are you so worried about these wages? Do you just think it’s too much money?
NICK SANDFORD: We’ve currently got a situation where senior officers, some of them earn up to £170,000. And as I said earlier, some of them had increases of 20% and 30%. One actually had the increase backdated for a three year period, so got £30,000 on top of that. That’s at the same time that the Council is cutting its adult social care budget by 16%. People who are receiving council tax benefit are going to have that reduced by about 40%. So I think all that I was saying was these senior officers on these really high salaries, we should ask them to share in just a small amount of the pain that people on the smallest incomes are having to feel.
DOTTY MCLEOD: Let’s bring in councillor Wayne Fitzgerald who is Peterborough City Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care. Councillor Fitzgerald, why did you reject this idea?
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Council budget proposals make grim reading

07:41 Monday 17th November 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

CHRIS MANN: Conservative councillors in Peterborough have announced how they plan to balance the city’s budget for next year. It makes pretty grim reading. Peterborough City Council face the challenge of bridging a £25 million shortfall in funds, created by reductions in central government funding. The main headlines from the budget proposals include a £7 million reduction from the adult social care budget, a minimum 10% rise in parking charges for city centre council-run car parks, the introduction of a parking charge for blue badge holders, more than £500,000 to be cut from the budget for Amey who run bin collections and street cleaning. And 30 members of staff will compulsorily be made redundant. And this is just the first wave of cuts. There will be more proposals in the new year. Some Opposition councillors have described them as ‘an attack on the city’s most vulnerable‘. Others have hit out at the Coalition Government for not giving the city enough funding. Joining us now is councillor John Holdich. Morning John.
JOHN HOLDICH: Good morning.
CHRIS MANN: The Deputy Leader of Peterborough City Council of course. A leading member of the Cabinet that put this together. You’ve been in the council for 37 years. Is that right?
JOHN HOLDICH: I have indeed Chris. Yes.
CHRIS MANN: Known anything tougher than this?
JOHN HOLDICH: Never, and it really wasn’t what I was elected to do.
CHRIS MANN: So where (how) did you decide where to put the red pen then?
JOHN HOLDICH: Well it is extremely difficult particularly this year. 14% of our Government funding has been cut,, which is equivalent to £44 million over five years. The next financial year as you’ve reported it’s £12.3 million, but we do have pressures of another £12 million because of the extra people coming into the service. And we do need to make £25 million worth of reductions to be able to balance our books.
CHRIS MANN: Some people will have noticed the correlation. You’re a Conservative. The Government is a Conservative-led coalition. Shouldn’t you be telling the Prime Minister and the Chancellor that they need to stop these cuts, and it’s really affecting people in your area?
JOHN HOLDICH: Well I think we’re always making representations across all the services, and one shouldn’t underestimate the task we’ve got here. For some councillors to attack it, this is the first tranche …
CHRIS MANN: Can you just answer that question again. The Government are the ones who are causing this, according to you, because you’ve had your central funding cut. It’s a Conservative government. Are you going to speak out against them?
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Social security and megatrends – transparency and open discussion

17:40 Thursday 13th November 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

JOZEF HALL: A report by one of our region’s best known universities is warning we’ll need to drastically change the way we manage natural disasters over the next hundred years or we could end up in trouble. Dr Aled Jones from Anglia Ruskin University has written a dramatic report for the ISSA. I spoke to him earlier.
ALED JONES: The ISSA is the International Social Security Association. So it’s the collection of all the social security departments at governments around the world. They work together to look at trends, and how they manage social security, whether it’s health or employment benefits or all the things that come within that area.
JOZEF HALL: What have they asked you to look at, and what have you written?
ALED JONES: So we’ve written a chapter for their new Megatrend report, looking at natural resource trends and climate change. So in effect natural disasters and availability of energy and food, and what that could potentially mean for societies, wherever they are around the world.
JOZEF HALL: I’m probably wrong here, but some scientific soothsaying, looking ahead, modelling, looking back on what’s happened historically, that kind of thing?
ALED JONES: What we’ve been trying to do is looking at emerging trends. So where people have been impacted by flooding, we’re looking at the impact on mental health, where people have been impacted by rising energy prices, what that potentially means for society going forward, the increased number of food banks in the UK and food price rises, what’s likely to happen over the next hundred years and shorter term. And then what does that mean for government responses.
JOZEF HALL: OK. In a nutshell, give us the good news.
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New challenges for Cambridgeshire hospitals as patient numbers rise and winter approaches

08:07 Thursday 13th November 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

CHRIS MANN: A new initiative to help reducing waiting times at A&E has been launched today by Cambridgeshire’s NHS Clinical Commissioning Group. It comes as figures from our three major hospitals show they’ve seen big increases in the number of people coming to the emergency department. Our reporter Sue Marchant explains.
SUE MARCHANT: The hospital’s Chief Executive Keith McNeill has blamed the severe pressure from admissions, saying the knock-ons have resulted in postponed surgery. But as far as admissions, papers reveal concern over the number of staffed beds available to patients. Bosses have also admitted eHospital is also hampering efficiency. The roll-out of the new electronic patient record system has, in their words, prompted a dip in A&E performance.
CHRIS MANN: Sue Marchant there with the situation at Addenbrooke’s in Cambridge. Well joining me now live from Peterborough City Hospital’s A&E department is our reporter Johnny D. Morning Johnny.
JOHN DEVINE: Good morning there Chris.
CHRIS MANN: And last night they went on to ‘black alert’. Is that still the case this morning?
JOHN DEVINE: No it’s not Chris I’m glad to say. We’re going to find out a bit more about that in a moment. But I’ll just describe to you the scene here. It’s a large circular reception desk in front of me. There’s a member of staff busily tapping away on the computer keyboard Chris. It’s a relatively new building this, it’s light bright and spacious. And there’s about thirty seats in front of me for admissions and their relations. I’m pleased to say they’re all empty at the moment. There is a children’s area just on the other side of the room as well. And they have nearly 2,000 people a week coming through these doors with things like bruises, sprains and fractures. But it’s all quiet on the western front at the moment Chris, and I’m going to introduce our guest for you, Celia Kendrick.
CELIA KENDRICK: Good morning.
CHRIS MANN: Good morning Celia, Head of Nursing at Peterborough City Hospital. So we’ve heard that things are pretty busy, that there are some real strains. What’s it like in your view? How bad is it at the moment?
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Stagecoach concern at fewer passengers since the parking fee

07:06 Wednesday 12th November 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

CHRIS MANN: Parking charges are to be introduced at the two park and ride sites along the Guided Busway. Do you agree? The £1 all-day parking fee was brought in at the five other sites in Cambridge in the summer, and now county councillors have voted to bring in the same fee on the sites at St Ives and Longstanton. My producer Katharine Park has more details. Just tell us the background Katharine.
KATHARINE PARK: It was earlier this year, as you said, that councillors voted to bring in the £1 charge at the five park and ride sites around Cambridge. Those are the ones at Milton, Madingley, Trumpington Road, Newmarket Road and Babraham Road. The Council said they had to bring in the charges to help pay for the running of the sites. Those charges were brought in in July this year, and according to Stagecoach which runs the bus services, passenger numbers have dropped approximately 10% compared to the same time last year.
CHRIS MANN: So why are they being introduced along the Guided Busway route now?
KATHARINE PARK: Well initially when councillors discussed introducing the charges, they didn’t look at the Guided Busway route. However at a later stage they decided they would, and this is the result of that process, which led to yesterday’s vote on introducing the changes at Longstanton and St Ives. Reading through the Council papers, they say running the Guided Busway and the two park and ride sites is cost-neutral, because they recoup the money from the bus companies. However they say that it’s the concessionary fares that are costing them money. So for example, if somebody has a bus pass and can use the bus for free, the Council are losing money there. And they say they need to make the money back, or will have to make cuts to vital services elsewhere.
CHRIS MANN: So how much money could they make?
KATHARINE PARK: Well the St Ives site can hold up to 1000 vehicles, whilst Longstanton can hold 300. So in theory the Council could make up to £1,300 a day. In reality though the Council tell us there are about 600 to 700 vehicles using the site each day, so if those people paid to pay, that’s between £600 and £700 a day. Calculate that over a year and that would add up to £200,000.
CHRIS MANN: It’s a pretty contentious issue, even though it’s only £1 we’re talking about. So what’s the reaction been to the news Katharine?
KATHARINE PARK: As you say there’s been a very mixed reaction to the news of this £1 charge. You’ll be talking in just a few moments time to Stagecoach who run the majority of the services along the route. BBC Radio Cambridgeshire has spoken to Whippet Coaches who run some of the services. They’ve told us they do have concerns that the charges will affect passenger numbers. They point out that they have to pay a charge to the Council to run routes along the Busway, and need to attract more passengers to make services viable. They also point out that when they first tendered to run the service along the route, the new town of Northstowe was an integral part of the plan. And as you know, that’s now been delayed, and with the service being relatively new, it’s only been going for three years, they say they’re still working to increase passenger numbers. ..
CHRIS MANN: When will the charges be introduced?
KATHARINE PARK: Well the Council says it will take them a little time to order machines, put them in place and get them running, and it’s anticipated that the charges will be brought in at some time early next year. But obviously if they’re not, then cuts need to be made elsewhere.
CHRIS MANN: Katharine thank you. That’s our producer Katharine Park. Well joining me in the studio now is Andy Campbell, who is the Managing Director of Stagecoach in Cambridge. Andy, good morning to you.
ANDY CAMPBELL: Good morning.
CHRIS MANN: And your connection to all this is you run the buses.
ANDY CAMPBELL: We run the majority of the buses on the Busway.
CHRIS MANN: But you don’t run the park and rides. ..
ANDY CAMPBELL: No we don’t actually manage the car parks. No. But we do pay for that in the access charge.
CHRIS MANN: So what do you think of the charges?
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Labour councillors in marginal constituencies back Miliband

17:52 Tuesday 11th November 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

JOZEF HALL: A political poll carried out by a history lecturer at nearby Anglia Ruskin University suggests that Ed Miliband still has strong support as Leader. The survey by Dr Richard Carr was answered by 202 Labour Party councillors in key marginal constituencies. They include councillors from the 106 target seats Labour have in their sights for 2015, as well as the 50 Labour-held seats most vulnerable to a Conservative swing. Richard Carr is on the phone now. Richard, good evening.
RICHARD CARR: Good evening Jozef.
JOZEF HALL: Clearly you haven’t been reading the papers or watching the news.
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