Wednesday 22 January 2014

Stoke Park Employment latest

Although Ipswich figures have remained pretty stagnant for the last month, we have had some good movement in my ward. 

Population aged 16-64 (2010)
This summary gives an overview of the labour market
within ward Ipswich .

All people - aged 16 to 64    4,700 
Males - aged 16 to 64          2,300 
Females - aged 16 to 64      2,400 

Total claimant count down: 217 in December, 220 in November, lowest since October 2008.
 
By sex
Males: 152 in December, 154 in November, lowest since October 2008
Females: 65 in December, 66 in November, lowest since December 2010
 
By age
18-24: 55 in December, 60 in November, lowest since June 2008
25-49: 125 in December, 120 in November, November was lowest since October 2008
50+: 35 in December, 35 in November, lowest since September 2011

Over 6 month figures
 6 months – 12 months: 30 in December, 30 in November, lowest since April 2008
>12 months:    90 in December, 90 in November, lowest since Jan 2012, peak 115 in Jan/Feb 2013.

Tuesday 14 January 2014

Choices Programmes and Free Parental Courses Ipswich

Triple P (Positive Parenting Programme)
This set of interventions was developed at the University of Queensland, Australia, by Professor
Matt Sanders, a clinical psychologist, and is now run worldwide. There are a variety of different
group and individual programmes varying according to need, from universal (information and
advice), through to support with common issues in children and young people, to group
programmes and 1:1 work (both face to face and by phone).


Strengthening Families Programme
An evidence based programme from Oxford Brookes University for parents and young people
aged between 10 and 14 years. This is a DVD and activity based programme, which supports
families to have a positive outlook as young people approach their teenage years.
Parents aim to improve their nurturing and support skills while considering effective discipline and
guidance strategies. Young people build skills for resisting peer pressure and dealing with stress.
During the sessions the families work together to reflect on the strengths of their family.
This programme has been proved to be effective in preventing alcohol and substance misuse
amongst young people.

Parents are People
A series of workshops designed to give struggling parents an opportunity to develop their own
sense of self-worth as individual people, rather than to concentrate solely on their seeming failure
to cope as a parent. To look at their strengths and talents, to encourage them to see themselves
as likeable, capable individuals and to reflect back to the aspirations they had before they became
parents and see how these can be realised in their everyday lives. To encourage them to be good
role models for their children.
The workshops have been developed to complement Parenting Programmes such as Triple P,
Strengthening Families and also to encourage individuals to participate more positively in their
interactions with schools, social services and other organisations involved in their lives. Whilst the
focus is on the individual, we concentrate on the family as a whole.

Freedom Programme
This is a nationally-established 12 week programme for women who have experienced domestic
abuse. The course provides women with an opportunity to share their experiences of domestic
abuse in confidence and without judgement, and helps them to make positive choices to protect
themselves and their children. The Freedom Programme examines ‘the dominator’ (an abusive
person) and the tactics they use to manipulate and control. It also looks at healthy relationships,
and how a non-abusive person behaves. The course is women-only and is run by trained female
facilitators.

Living with Children/Living with Teenagers
These courses are offered as part of the Suffolk Community Learning Adult Education Programme
and are accredited with the Open College Network. The course is open to any parent or guardian
of a child or teenager who would like to develop their skills and knowledge. Parents can enrol
themselves or agencies can make referrals on their behalf.
The course offers parents a chance to develop their skills and learn some new ideas. The course
covers understanding children’s needs and parent’s needs, recognising different styles of
parenting, developing skills in a positive communication style, listening skills and ways to support
children’s self-esteem, positive strategies for managing behaviour and setting limits. Participants
will also be able to receive information about other learning opportunities they may wish to go on
to.

Caring Dads
Developed in Canada, Caring Dads is an intervention programme for fathers (including biological,
step, common-law) who have physically abused, emotionally abused or neglected their children,
exposed their children to domestic violence or who are deemed to be at high-risk for these
behaviours.
It consists of a 17-week, empirically-based group parenting intervention for fathers, systematic
outreach to mothers to ensure safety and freedom from coercion, and on-going, collaborative case
management of fathers with referrers and other professionals.
The group component of Caring Dads combines elements of parenting, fathering and child
protection practice to enhance the safety and well-being of children. Programme principles
emphasize the need to enhance men’s motivation, promote child-centred fathering, address men’s
ability to engage in respectful, non-abusive co-parenting with children’s mothers and recognize
that children’s experience of trauma will impact the rate of possible change.
The programme helps fathers learn how to work collaboratively with other service providers to
ensure that children benefit (and are not unintentionally harmed) as a result of father’s participation
in intervention. Run by team of male and female facilitators.


And much more! - See below for contact details and more info

For programmes in your area contact:
Carole.Williams@ipswich.gov.uk
Ipswich Senior Parenting Officer – Ipswich Borough Council, 07921 941620
Judith.moore@suffolk.gov.uk
County Parenting Co-ordinator – Suffolk County Council, 07515 188522
Kay.witchalls@suffolk.gov.uk
Ipswich & Coastal – Area Parenting Co-ordinator, 07540 671191
Gill.black@suffolk.gov.uk
South Suffolk – Area Parenting Co-ordinator; 07540 671192
Frances.desborough@suffolk.gov.uk
Lowestoft, Waveney and Central Suffolk – Area Parenting Co-ordinator; 07540 671193
Frances.mcginn@suffolk.gov.uk
West Suffolk – Area Parenting Co-ordinator, 07734 848938
www.suffolk.gov.uk/theparenthub
Autism Suffolk
Autism Suffolk is an advice/support/information service for families of children who have a diagnosis of ASD.
Offers support to families from the point of diagnosis up to the child’s 14th birthday.
Tel 01473 632700
www.autism.org.uk/autismsuffolk
autism.suffolk@nas.org.uk

Wednesday 8 January 2014

If Labour has Anything to do with it - We'll always have a Shortage of Good Housing

Once again the local council paper is an advert for the Ipswich labour administration.

This will be the third time i say this in 2014 - but it's true - they really do not let the truth get in the way of a good story

Council team that is building jobs and confidence - Hilarious

Council homes newly built - thanks to the coalition government and policies that enabled IBC to provide new council homes.

Well that's their voters sorted out! - What about good quality private housing that will attract good quality jobs and investment into the town? 

Don't be silly - of course not!

Labour don't want people to better themselves - where would their votes come from then?

No - Status Quo is very nice, thankyou very much. Let's leave enterprise, confidence, attainment to those 'orrible' Tories.

Yes, tories like me who started out in a council flat in the East End of London but whose family found a way out and bought their first house, encouraging their offspring to buy their first house too and then buy a bigger one as fortunes were turned around by - you guessed it - The Tories.

In the three years since Labour won back control of Ipswich, there has been no progress on any of the town centre's redundant development sites. Nor does there appear to be any strategy to engage with the owners to bring these sites forward, and create more jobs.
The £70m Grafton Way project was to have created 900 new jobs linked not only to the Tesco superstore, but hotels and small retail outlets. The Labour run council blocked every attempt by the owners to see a new planning consent for a smaller store and housing instead of flats. 

Now we see the St. Clement's application withdrawn because of the council's intransigence over its excessive S106 demands after nearly 3 years of negotiations.

Absolutely and completely disgraceful.

The Angle should be renamed The Wangle...


9/1 - since I wrote the above - this happened on twitter - I rest my case...


AlasdairRoss
AlasdairRoss@StokeParkCllr what position did I make clear? Planning is non political unless you are telling me the tesco vote was Tory group decision ?7:21pm, Jan 08 from Twitter for iPad
bredsell
bredsell@AlasdairRoss@StokeParkCllr You told IpsSpy at the time that Labour Group were against Tesco & that Labour voted against it.#groupdecision11:55pm, Jan 08 from Twitter for BlackBerry®

bredsell Jan 08, 11:57pm via Twitter for BlackBerry®
@AlasdairRoss @StokeParkCllr Alasdair you crowed that Labour against it immediately after planning meeting


Sunday 5 January 2014

Happy New year!

This is my first post for 2014 and since a month ago.

Christmas has come and gone so quickly and during that time I have reflected on my political year as well as my forthcoming re-election.

But first of all let me start by saying to all my readers and residents in Stoke Park and Ipswich - Happy New Year and may 2014 be the beginning of some better times.

There is much to do in this lovely town of ours and I feel that we are being let down by the Labour administration.

So much of what has been achieved has been delivered by Ben Gummer or instigated by the previous Conservative/Libdem administration but you wouldn't think so by the amount of credit councillor David Ellesmere takes. In fact Ipswich Spy wrote about it here

It might seem like a compliment from the headline but actually the writers notion of a good politician is one that describes a person that manages to get all the right publicity and doesn't let the truth get in the way of a good story. I'd say Spy is right in this context but I am rather hoping that Ipswich residents are a bit more savvy than that.

Where I do disagree with Spy is on the point about Ben communicating in only a few wards. I have been delivering Ben's latest communication in Stoke Park which summarises all the good work he has done. As I have been ill for the last 2 weeks, I was'nt able to complete it by the year end, but I will continue to do the rounds.

My definition of a good politician is not the same as Spy's. Being less political and rather more proactive in doing what's right for my residents, I believe a good councillor does the following:

Responds promptly to e-mails, phone calls and letters from residents regarding issues they have.
Finds the right person to deal with it immediately and monitors the action, keeping the resident updated where necessary
Communicates in a newsletter what has been going on by positive actions
By attending as many community events as is possible where a councillor adds value or the event adds value to the councillor (as I am invited to so many this is the criteria I use to decide whether to go. I don't pay lip service or attend somewhere just for a photo opportunity).
By balancing council meetings and committee meetings with the work on the ground and with business/work that actually pays the mortgage!
Be accessible and approachable via several means including social media.
Liaises with the councils partners so that the best organisations are used to resolve problems in the town.
Help to formulate policies and creative ideas
By being honest, open and upfront, staying true to themselves even when it can actually lose them votes.

And I have tried my best to do all the above in the last 8 years, succeeding most of the time but sometimes falling short due to other demands. Being a councillor has been an honour and I never forget that.

I intend to stand for another 4 years in May and I accept that the national tide will have a big say in whether I win or not - however that will not be any excuse. A good councillor is hard to come by and I hope that the residents in Stoke Park will pick a hard and proactive worker, irrespective of whether they agree with David Cameron or Ed Milliband.

So Councillor Ellesmere is welcome to Spy's definition of politician of the year. When you read it you will see why I would rather have Honest, Hardworking & Efficient councillor of the year who is sometimes known not to do as she is told if she thinks it's right for the people of Ipswich. A bit of a maverick but someone who listens and gets things done.

If you want to help me or Ben Gummer MP, either delivering, knocking on doors or just to be kept informed of events, then let me know and I'll take you up on that!

If you want to know more about my beliefs, work, actions then follow me on twitter @stokeparkcllr and look out for my regular Nadia's News as well as the usual forms of communication..

I look forward to seeing some of you on the doorstep!

Here's to an exciting 2014!