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Residents
in the North West should look at Local Government Review.
AT THE request of the Government, on 17 June 2003 The Boundary Committee for England began a major review of local government structure. The three regions they have been looking at in great depth are the North West, North East and Yorkshire and the Humber. Provided with guidance by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Committee must recommend at least two options for a single tier of local government in areas where there are currently both district and county councils.
A referendum will be held in all three regions to decide whether the public want an elected regional assembly. People living in Cheshire, Cumbria and Lancashire will also be able to vote for their preferred option for unitary local government. These options will only be implemented in the event of a ‘yes’ vote for elected regional assemblies.
The review is divided into 4 stages, which includes 2 twelve-week public consultation periods. The deadline of 23 February 2004 for the second consultation is swiftly approaching, after which the Committee will spend the final weeks of the review considering all submissions received. To date, nearly 4,000 submissions have been received about local government structure in Cheshire, Cumbria and Lancashire. More are arriving on a daily basis. The Committee must submit their final recommendations to the Deputy Prime Minister, no later than 25 May 2004.
The Committee must ensure that its recommendations, amongst other key criteria, reflect local communities and community interests.
Since the start of the review, The Boundary Committee has been attending regular meetings in the North West with representatives of all 27 authorities which may be affected by the review, as well as other stakeholders and interested parties. They welcome the cooperation they have received, with many councils working together to put proposals to the Committee. The Committee has also attended two briefings to MPs at the House of Commons. MPs representing all parties have had an opportunity to air their views on the patterns of unitary local government in Cheshire, Cumbria and Lancashire.
Boundary Committee Director, Archie Gall said:- “We are now approaching the final stage of the review. We have seen well-constructed arguments from local government, stakeholders and the public, which will enable us to make informed decisions for changes to local authority structure in Cheshire, Cumbria and Lancashire. We look forward to receiving further submissions before the 23 February deadline.
The Committee is required to identify at least two options for unitary authorities in each area and recommend them to the Government. These must provide the basis for high performing unitary local government in the two-tier areas of the North West, combining effective service delivery across all local authority services with responsiveness to local communities.”
Submissions from local people, councils and other organisations can be made by writing to:- The Local Government Review Team
(Cheshire / Cumbria / Lancashire), The Boundary Committee for England, Trevelyan House, Great Peter Street, London SW1P 2HW, or by logging on to:-
www.boundarycommittee.org.uk. Proposals during this final stage of consultation must reach the Committee by 23 February.
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The Mona Lisa Smile.
Cert. 
Commencing 11th March in Southport.
(Release date 27th February.)
AT last, an enjoyable film with no
physical violence, but which nevertheless has depth and content.
Julia Roberts admirably portrays a young, somewhat ‘Bohemian’,
Berkeley high-flyer who, in 1953, against all the odds takes a
position as an instructor in Art History at Wellesley.
This establishment is conservative in outlook
and seemingly caters for bright upper-crust women with powerful
parents. Miss Watson is an independent-minded and ambitious young
lady who is keen to share her enthusiasm and has high expectations
of her talented class. Soon however, she comes up against the
expectations of the day for such ladies, namely that their primary
duty is to secure a ‘good’ marriage.
Being idealistic and ‘progressive’
both in personal life and in the classroom, we witness her attempts
to encourage the students to reach out and to be receptive to new
ideas. She experiences minor triumphs and many frustrations. This is
“woman’s lib”, but without present -day cliques and
political correctness. It stems from her real passion and is very
compulsive.
I suspect this film will appeal more
to a female audience, although there is much for men to enjoy as
well. Older viewers will no doubt recognise aspects of their own
youth. I particularly enjoyed Miss Watson’s skilful portrayal of
the climate of the times by use of advertising materials. Younger
members of the audience will gain some insight into the precursory
years of today’s freedoms.
Although one sees things primarily
through the eyes of Miss Watson, the arguments for the status quo
are also cogently given, when one young student acts in a way which
surprises her teacher and her views could themselves be provocative
to today’s ‘set’ values.
This film is superbly cast and all
give excellent performances. The material is sensitively handled and
well crafted. It is well worth seeing.
Our verdict out of five
ticket stubs was:-
4 out of 5
Fatal Road Traffic Collision
near to Queens Square, Liverpool
MERSEYSIDE Police are appealing for witnesses to a fatal road traffic collision which occurred at about 2.10pm on Thursday
19 February in Roe Street, Liverpool 1 near to Queens Square.
A 33 year old female pedestrian was in collision with a single-decker bus and as a result received injuries from which she later died. Any witnesses to this collision should contact Merseyside Police on 0151 777 5730.
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