Cambridgeshire County Council Plans To Build Homes

07:08 Tuesday 28th January 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: They’ve got the land. They need to make money to balance the books. So should Cambridgeshire County Council set up its own property development company? It’s an idea that will be discussed by councillors today, and the Council say it would generate income, at the same time as helping meet the urgent need for new homes. Well let’s hear now from Ashley Walsh, who’s the Labour Party’s spokesperson for Resources on Cambridgeshire County Council. Morning Ashley. Good idea or bad idea?
ASHLEY WALSH: I think it’s a good idea. I have families in my division in Cambridge who can’t afford to live and help their children live in the city they grew up in. There’s a massive housing crisis in Cambridge, and we need to build social housing. You said earlier that why did we ever stop building social housing. Well I’m glad to see the County Council and Tories on the County Council accepting the need to build more social housing.
PAUL STAINTON: Why did we stop building social housing? I grew up in a council house, pit houses in Yorkshire. That was de rigeur. Remind us why we stopped.
Continue reading “Cambridgeshire County Council Plans To Build Homes”

Ageing And Memory Loss

17:54 Monday 27th January 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: Now it’s time to join the Naked Scientists. .. Ginny Smith has a story about the ageing brain. It’s not all bad news. It’s about those moments when you think your memory is letting you down.
(TAPE)
GINNY SMITH: Well a lot of people will have experienced this idea of going upstairs and forgetting what you’ve gone for. It happens to everyone, even young people. But it does seem to happen a bit more as we get older.
CHRIS MANN: Losing your specs.
GINNY SMITH: Exactly.
CHRIS MANN: Where have they left the slippers.
GINNY SMITH: Although the problem with glasses is once you put them down you haven’t got them on, so you can’t see to find them.
Continue reading “Ageing And Memory Loss”

Welney Wash Flooding – New Warning Signs Offer No Respite

10:35 Monday 27th January 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[A]NDIE HARPER: Cambridge and Peterborough appear to be booming. But is it a different story in the Fens? Many of you have been in touch to have your say this morning. Last year there was a summit of local politicians, looking for a long term solution for flooding which closes the road at Welney year after year. Now villagers say the waters are getting higher and lasting for longer. New electronic signs were going to be fitted by Norfolk County Council, but the flooding has even stopped this happening. Karl Rands is Area Highways Manager for the west of Norfolk County Council. Karl, good morning to you.
KARL RANDS: Good morning to you.
ANDIE HARPER: It is a difficult place in many many ways, isn’t it, Welney, because it’s so very much on the borderlands , isn’t it?
KARL RANDS: Indeed, yes it is. It is a difficult location, obviously, because The Wash is there, which does cause residents and drivers a problem when it floods the carriageway.
ANDIE HARPER: And of course we have the two counties meeting, and so there are always issues there. As long as I’ve been doing this programme, and it’s a long time now Karl, around this time of the year we keep telling people that the Wash Road at Welney is closed, and all the usual diversions are in place. Surely to goodness there is something that could be done about it, long term.
Continue reading “Welney Wash Flooding – New Warning Signs Offer No Respite”

Age Discrimination In Cancer Treatment

10:09 Friday 24th January 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[A]NDIE HARPER: You might have seen in the papers today that the cancer charities are warning that some patients are being written off as being too old for treatment. MacMillan Cancer Support say that too many older people with a disease are being assessed on their age, rather than their individual fitness and condition. It says its research shows that many older cancer patients can live for a long time, and even be cured. Well I’m delighted to say that joining me is Jagtar Dhanda, Head of Inclusion at MacMillan. Jag, good morning to you.
JAGTAR DHANDA: Good morning.
ANDIE HARPER: I suppose the first question to ask Jag is when is too old. What sort of age group of people are we talking about here?
Continue reading “Age Discrimination In Cancer Treatment”

Peterborough City Centre – Halting The Retail Decline

07:20 Thursday 23rd January 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: Peterborough’s MP Stewart Jackson is stepping up his campaign to stop any more bookmakers opening up in the city centre. It’s not just the bookies he wants to block. Pawnbrokers and payday loan shops are also on the list. Mr Jackson’s campaign comes after we revealed in August that there were nearly 100 betting shops in the county, and one bookmaker had five outlets in the centre of Peterborough alone. And in fact, if you go down Broadway, most people nickname it bookie alley. Well Stewart Jackson is on the line now. Stewart, morning.
STEWART JACKSON: Good morning Paul.
PAUL STAINTON: This is something you’ve been campaigning about for a good few months now. Are you getting anywhere?
Continue reading “Peterborough City Centre – Halting The Retail Decline”

Colin Rosenstiel On The Rennard Affair

17:09 Monday 20th December 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: There has been no let up today in the row between Nick Clegg and the senior Liberal Democrat Lord Rennard. Mr Clegg has repeated his insistence that Lord Rennard should not return to his seat in the House of Lords until he has apologised to women who claim he behaved inappropriately towards them. The Liberal Democrats suspended their former Chief Executive on the grounds that he’s brought the party into disrepute. He insists he’s done nothing wrong, after an inquiry ruled there was insufficient evidence. Party President Tim Farron is defending the latest decision.
(TAPE)
TIM FARRON: If somebody is found in a position where they are asked to apologise, it is basically common courtesy to do so. Well I’ve known Chris for twenty years, and it saddens me desperately. But it also saddens me desperately that four women in particular, who took the best part of a decade to come forward, have also been put through deep distress.
(LIVE)
CHRIS MANN: Colin Rosenstiel is a Liberal Democrat councillor on Cambridge City Council. He used to work at the LibDem headquarters in Westminster, and he’s a close friend of Lord Rennard. In an exclusive interview he joined me earlier.
Continue reading “Colin Rosenstiel On The Rennard Affair”

Profumo Scandal Files Remain Secret

17:21 Thursday 16th January 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: The Government is refusing to release secret files on one of the central figures in the Profumo scandal of the ’60s. Ministers say that the documents contain sensitive information about people who are still alive. It’s yet another intriguing twist in the affair, which rocked the political establishment back in the early ’60s. Alan Soady reports.
Continue reading “Profumo Scandal Files Remain Secret”

A National Health Service Out To Tender

08:27 Wednesday 15th January 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[P]AUL STAINTON: New figures obtained by the BBC show that since April last year more than 70% of all contracts for NHS services in England have been awarded to private companies. Reforms to the health service mean that any qualified provider can compete to provide clinical NHS services. Campaigners say though, care is being transferred away from the NHS into the hands of commercially driven providers. .. Since April last year, more than £5 billion worth of contracts have been advertised. They include diagnostic services like scans and blood tests, mental health and GP services. Paul Evans is the Director of the pressure group The NHS Support Federation. He says the big question is whether all this is actually better for the patient.
(TAPE)
PAUL EVANS: We’ve already seen from those contracts where GP out-of-hours contracts have been organised by private providers, that they haven’t put enough staff in place. And that’s caused tragic consequences for some patients.
(LIVE)
PAUL STAINTON: Well this is particularly relevant in Cambridgeshire of course. Five organisations have thrown their hats into the ring for a billion pound contract to run health care for the elderly in the county, the largest outsourcing contract in NHS history, and we await with bated breath to see who wins that.

===========