Bristol

Random Acts of Kindness

Submitted by JMB on Sat 21/Aug/2010

If you spot a backpacker or tourist who appears to be a bit lost, and has just climbed one of Bristol’s steeper hills, then here are a couple of cheap places to send them:

http://www.bristolbackpackers.co.uk/ (Bristol Backpackers Hostel) (+44 117 925 7900)


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http://www.fmbristol.co.uk/ (The Full Moon) (+44 117 9245 007)


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A Mosque at Ground Zero? Well, not really.

Submitted by JMB on Mon 16/Aug/2010

New York City does things on a grander scale than Bristol, but behind every great building is a planning office (the Department of City Planning), a local government body (The New York City Council), a planning committee and a few community groups to soak up the energy of local do-gooders (specifically Manhattan Community Board 1 in this case). And also a huge pile of planning and zoning applications.


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Proposals to create a mosque in an old coat factory in New York – previously “Cordoba House”, now the “Park 51 center” - have raised the expected heat and light in political and media circles due to its proximity to the site of the former World Trade Centres (Ground Zero). A particularly well-quoted poll purports that 64% of Americans think it is “wrong”, or that 34% say the group “don’t have the right”.

As with all polls: the trick it to ask the right question to get the required answer.

I suspect the following questions were not included asking:

  • Does a government have the right to stop the owner of a building using it for lawful purposes?
  • Is it wrong for the government to prevent a place of worship being opened?

As with all polls: ignore it, and look at the details.

One might think from what has been said in much of the press that this initiative is a plan to create a cubby hole for a store-front preacher. In fact the mosque is one tiny part of a $100 million property deal (the Cordoba Initiative) run by Soho Properties, a moderately successful developer backed by money from the Arab diaspora. So although one of the main backers, Imam Feisal Abdul Raif opting to make himself scarce, you can relax; this is all about Capitalism, not Islamism or indeed Terrorism. This bunch are no more likely to blow themselves up than is the Archbishop of Canterbury to strap on armour and smite unbelievers in the Holy Land.

This property deal is in the news due to the  August 3rd decision of NYC’s Landmark Preservation Committee to not designate the Park Place building as a Landmark; more bureaucratically “to remove it from the Commission’s calendar”. The original proposal put to the commission (someone local needs to find the RFE form) was as follows:

45-47 PARK PLACE BUILDING, 45-47 Park Place (aka 45-51 Park Place)
Landmark Site: Borough of Manhattan Tax Map Block 126, Lot 9 in part, consisting of the portion of the lot bounded by a line beginning at the southeastern corner of the lot; running westerly along the southern lot line 54 feet 5 inches to the southwestern corner of the 45-47 Park Place Building; thence northerly along the exterior of the western wall of said building and parallel with the easterly side of West Broadway to the northern lot line; thence easterly along the northern lot line to the eastern lot line; thence southerly along the eastern lot line to the point of beginning.

But if you have a look at it:

(note – I’m working by comparison to this picture of the old coat factory which is approximately half of the block, rather than the Google Maps address)

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then surely as long as the developers re-use the marble columns, what’s the problem? Mind you, I may be biased due to my old world values; I’m pretty sure I can stand in the middle of Bristol blindfolded and confidently point at something older than New York.

Academies in Bristol – School Reform and Job Cuts. What’s not to like?

Submitted by JMB on Sun 25/Jul/2010

[Note – front page of the UK parliament’s website is currently broken. This link works.]

The Academies Bill [Latest Draft] is on the final stretch in parliament, and seems likely to pass before the summer recess. The blurb is:

Academies are all-ability state funded schools. They have sponsors from a wide range of backgrounds, including universities and colleges, educational trusts, charities, the business sector and faith communities.

The big difference with (new) Academies is that they are entirely removed from Local Authority oversight (they are not “maintained”). Now my usual working theory is that life will be a lot easier for everyone if we get rid of as many layers of government bureaucracy as possible, starting at the centre. This Bill concerns itself with the middle-men at the Local Authorities, whereas I would have opted for a massive reduction in head count amongst the mandarins at the Department for Education (no longer the “Department for children, schools and families” and properly capitalised).

Will this legislation improve state education in Bristol, or indeed Britain? Not for a few years, no. This new legal status won’t magically solve the three major problems of parental indifference, weak senior management teams and teachers motivated more by ideology than idealism. But it’s a start, and once passed the Act will remove most of the obligations on a school to adhere to the National Curriculum, and create some opportunities for cost savings in Local Government.

Cuts in Local Government: break out the Chaumet Sparkling Perry (£1 at Lidl)

Since Academies will not be maintained, they will be funded directly by a grant (per pupil) from central government, I believe the affect on Councils will be a reduction in the council’s Dedicated Schools Grant, and probably the Area Based Grant and its share of National Non-Domestic [Business] Rates by the time some of the other marginal programmes have been cleared out.

As soon as this Bill becomes an Act of parliament, the theory is that all schools currently deemed “outstanding” by Ofsted will automatically be able to tell their Local Authority to get stuffed, thus – again, in theory – the process could start as early as September/October 2010 after parliament returns.

There is a slight fly in the appointment: none of Bristol’s existing maintained secondary schools have an outstanding ratings; only the Voluntary Aided School St Bede’s Catholic College manages that.

  • Total number of state secondary schools in BCC area: 20 (see here)
  • Total number of BCC maintained schools and existing academies: 20 (see here)
  • Number of maintained secondary schools with “Outstanding” ratings: ZERO (via Ofsted)

Which is pretty amazing when you look at the numbers involved:

But if we look at Primary Schools as well:

  • Total number of state primary schools in BCC area: 138 (see here)
  • Number of maintained secondary schools with “Outstanding” ratings: 9 (via Trym Tales)

then we’re in business. Taking 6.5% of schools out of LEA control is a reasonable basis for a headcount cut of say… 5% as a starter? Rounding up, let’s say 30 Full Time Equivalent LEA Staff.

As to what affect this will have on Bristol Council’s £400m annual budget (yes, really, £400 million, and that doesn’t count the running costs of the schools), my guess would be a reduction of around £8-10 million in the dedicated schools grant. A 30-person cull within CYPS could potentially bolster this with a £750,000 cut in Council Tax next year. That’s only about £5 for each tax paying household, but it’s better than a kick in the teeth.

Add in a few non-job holders like the Enrichment Coordination team (£57k), the Playing for Success Scheme (£50k), the Business Partnership Manager (£62k), the Drugs Coordinator team (£149k), the 14-19 Advisor consulting contract (£159k), the EMAS service (£35k), and cheaper biscuits for the SACRE meetings (£17k) then suddenly you’ve got a fairly decent set of cuts; maybe an easy £10 off a typical Band D council tax bill.

Local Note

The recently deflowered Charlotte Leslie MP (Coalition, Bristol North West) has got herself a place on the Education Select Committee, so she’ll no doubt be front and centre with subsequent Academies legislation.

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