A local government spending watchdog has warned South Gloucestershire Council that failures in the way it managed grant applications from disabled people could mean central government will cut its funding. The Audit Commission has published a critical account of the way in which Conservative-run South Gloucestershire Council managed its process for awarding Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs). Councils are obliged by
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Labour’s leader in South Gloucestershire will challenge the other political parties to join him in asking the local NHS to overturn a decision to hand nursing care at the new Frenchay community hospital over to the private sector. Bosses from the North Bristol NHS Trust told councillors last month that they do not see themselves as running the new community
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A South Gloucestershire council building which has recently received a multi-million pound makeover could lie half-empty when it re-opens, and senior Labour councillor Terry Walker is challenging the ruling Tories over the reduced number of staff now scheduled to work at Kingswood Civic Centre. The council has embarked on a major accommodation strategy with a view to consolidating its headquarters
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Nursing staff at the new community hospital planned for Frenchay will not work for the NHS it has emerged, prompting claims from Labour councillors that Frenchay is being “part-privatised”. At a meeting of South Gloucestershire Council’s Health Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday, bosses from North Bristol Trust (NBT) who currently run Frenchay said that they do not see themselves as running
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The campaign by local people and politicians to resist moves to close and develop Filton Airfield is beginning to take shape. South Gloucestershire’s Labour Group, which recently outlined its opposition to the closure in its response to a council ‘position statement’ consultation, has now set up an online petition and is encouraging likeminded residents to sign it. The petition is
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South Gloucestershire’s Conservative administration has come under pressure to say what impact a new college might have on neighbouring schools. Labour councillors representing the Filton and Patchway areas are seeking assurances about future educational provision following the recent bid for a University Technology College (UTC) for 14 to 19 year olds to be located on land adjoining Abbeywood Community School.
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Labour councillors have submitted their formal response to South Gloucestershire Council’s (SGC’s) consultation on the Filton Airfield Position Statement, a proposed addition to SGC’s Core Strategy document. The need for a statement has come about because of BAE’s announcement that it plans to close the airfield at the end of 2012, and the government-appointed Planning Inspector’s demand for references to
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The agenda of an upcoming meeting of South Gloucestershire Council shows that Labour is continuing to press for answers to the key questions on the future of Filton Airfield, after its owners, BAE Systems, announced that they would close it. Following a public meeting organised by the Labour-run Filton Town Council last Friday attended by around 100 residents, local councillor
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Labour in South Gloucestershire has unveiled its new team of lead councillors, following an increase in numbers at this month’s elections. Only one third of the 15-strong Labour Group were members of the last council, resulting in a lot of new faces in key roles. The new Leader of the Labour Group is Councillor Andy Perkins, who has been Deputy
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An analysis of the total votes cast in the recent South Gloucestershire Council election shows that Labour came a clear second in the popular vote behind the Conservatives, but despite this ended up with six fewer councillors than the third-placed Liberal Democrats. All three of the main parties fielded a full slate of 70 candidates across the district. The Conservatives
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