Solihull goes blue with green tinges!

The Conservative Party has gained six seats to regain its position as majority party on Solihull Council. Previously Solihull was run by a Liberal Democrat/Labour Coalition. It is interesting to see that the BBC has not caught up with local coalition deals preferring to retain the nebulous "No Overall Control" label. NOC gives the impression of a council out of control, or at best not quite in control of things!

The total votes cast for candidates (numbers in brackets) were -

Conservatives (17) 30,321
Liberal Democrats (15) 12,980
Labour (17) 11,076
Greens (17) 4,972
Solihull and Meriden Residents Association (17) 3,728
English Democrats (4) 746
UK Independence Party (3) 447
British National Party (2) 305

The council looks like this now -

Conservative Party - 29 (up 6)
Liberal Democrat Party - 12 (down 4)
Labour Party - 6 (down 2)
Green Party - 3 (up 2)
Independent Liberal Democrat - 1 (no change)

So the Conservatives have a 5 seat majority.

Whilst the Conservatives did very well, it has to be said that the Green Party is putting down roots. In fact they already did this and two more shoots sprung up. Also SAMRA - Solihull and Meriden Residents Association - have broken out of the also rans club by doing quite well in Blythe Valley and the Shirley wards, where they robbed the Liberal Democrats of a seat or two. As for the BNP, they've shrunk and sunk and leave little trace of their venture into Solihull politics.

Snow in Solihull

I see the council is predicting "snow disruption" as if this is a given. Another thing is that the chief executive is saying that school closures are up to the head teachers and the head teachers are saying it's up to the council. That's what I call responsibility (as we've come to expect it this country!). A decision will be made at 21.30. Don't hold your breath! I'm quite prepared for them to shut up shop and let the kids have a day off.

What if it freezes over until March? Have they thought of that?

UPDATE!!!

All schools will be closed in Solihull tomorrow, so no lessons learnt from last year then. I walked to Sainsbury's tonight and witnessed the traffic moving slowly. No gritting but perhaps it will happen overnight. Now we know that teachers can't drive in the snow. My suspicious mind tells me it has rather less to do with snowflakes but everything to do with ticking the boxes and keeping the rules in place. I also think, having witnessed the children getting extremely excited in the playground that a certain level of juvenile excitement is OK but too much is far too much.

I think they ran the white flag up the pole - couldn't see it - and decided it was all getting beyond their ken!

No sneezing in Solihull!

I see that the swine flu epidemic is now well entrenched in Solihull! According to the BBC health officials have designated Solihull as an "area of widespread community transmission" for swine flu. So that's what it's called!

Perhaps we could have "widespread community transmission" of other such things, such as more considerate driving, not walking out of shop doors as if the streets are empty, not spitting in the street (with a pre-emptive phlegm-based cough!), and other such anti-social stuff.

I'm all in favour of widespread community transmission if it is for good. In fact, Solihull Council could employ Widespread Community Transmission officers to go round spreading joy and social happiness. Umm! Pigs will start flying first, I think, with or without their porcine flu!

Solihull Council contributes £1M plus to recession!

It is estimated by the Federation of Small Business that Britain loses £1 billion a day in lost productivity due to the inability to cope with the snow. Last week Solihull Council, or at least the chief executive, shut schools down three days out of five. At a conservative estimate, this weak-willed decision has contributed at least £1 million from Solihull alone. You'd think these well-paid chief executives would be there to think instead of panic. Because panic is all that there is to show for it.

Tuesday was a complete waste of time. Money down the drain as very little snow fell. Thursday was a blanket closure and Friday was a joke day. That was when we all turned up only to be told the staff had snow phobia and were trying to maintain the assinine line put out by the chief executive. Now here's a man who used to teach special needs children. There have to be some special needs that he urgently requires, along with all the other local government chief executives who are taking the shilling but delivering very little.

First, they need forward planning. Find all those teachers living in cottages at the end of farm tracks without cars and check whether they can actually be bothered to attempt getting in. Second, ask the independent schools how they do it. Third, get the playgrounds cleared of snow. Fourth, stop wingeing about health and safety and begin to take responsibility for once.

I'm not against having fun in the snow. If we want to take a day off when it snows, let the country have snow days. However, I don't see that happening any more than I can see these cretinous council officials actually sitting down to unravel their own warped logic. After all, the chief executive and his minions got in so why not the school community?

We have got to a stage where, as the country's finances sink down the toilet, we are led by pusillanimous people with "agendas". Geoff Hoon is the Transport Secretary. He's about as helpful as a snowflake in Hell. As a trite retort to those who claimed he was ineffectual, he suggested people go out and buy snow chains for their cars. Now these might be a great help in Canada, but they would crack up our roads in no time. What then? More cost in rectifying the damage!

On the Andrew Marr show this morning, the weather forecaster was standing in the snow in Devon. "All the roads have been closed!" he said. Whereupon a van went by with no problem. Unaware of this, he prattled on about the "problems" to come. The BBC, the council chiefs and Buff Hoon himself, are all forecasting problems. Don't these people realise that common sense and a sense of proportion are required? I'm waiting to see if the odd snowflake comes our way tonight! I cannot take seriously and I have virtually no respect for this nonsense. We must get them to see sense or ask that the desist from their moronic ways.

We cannot allow billions of pounds to drift out of the economy, especially at this time, because some crazed "rationale" is driving their furrowed brows to hold some health and safety dogma up for sanctification!

Snow Sanity!

I walked to school today with the children. We were looking at Solihull Council's website until it was time to go. No "closure agenda" on for us. So we walked to school, but as we got nearer there were parents telling us that the schools were just shutting up shop. I walked on to find out the reality of it all.

One of the schools was actually open, technically, but "it was up to parents to decide whether they wanted their children to stay". The general gist of all this is that the chief executive had passed the responsibility for decision making onto the headteachers who were then left to impart to the assembled parents/carers/guardians that the final decision was theirs.

I'm not sure if I'm angry, sad or just bemused. We all walked or got there despite the snow. In fact everyone I spoke to thought there was no problem. However, the assumption is that snow is problematic. I can assure you that it is not so in Solihull today. We have a chief executive who appears to see snow as an automatic reason to close schools regardless. The assumption is that teachers cannot get in. They are the only ones in the workforce with this pre-existing difficulty. But I would have thought that, as a precautionary measure, teachers are asked whether they can get in if there is snow, so alternative arrangements can be made. (Always assuming that the roads are gritted, etc).

It is said that the playgrounds are unsafe for the children (for health and safety reasons) but not a finger has been lifted to clear them of snow. Independent schools carry on as normal, so why should the local education authorities think they are any different? If these chief executives cared about health and safety they would clear the snow from the playgrounds.

Now a sense of proportion would be nice, but I doubt that that is possible. If we have blizzards and everything generally resembles the Arctic, then nobody would or should demure from proaction. But it seems the chief executive works from closures first and then hopes that Mother Nature will bail him out. All the local government chief executives have been mumbling about snow and how this curse has suddenly afflicted them, rather like the Lady of Chalot. But an elementary geography lesson would tell them that wintry conditions like these are not a rarity in Britain. So no forward planning, no contingency arrangements, just a rough idea that things will get better if the sun shines! They are squabbling about salt and gritting supplies. Luckily Solihull has plenty, so the website tells us, but not enough for the schools to stay open apparently.

So what have I learned from all this? I think -

1. That local authorities close first in order to save money and have an easy life.
2. That nobody asks teachers if they would have any problems getting in should there be snow.
3. That independent schools generally take the opposite approach.
4. That playgrounds are deemed unimportant for snow clearance.
5. That there is no forward planning, or any that merits much attention.
6. That buckpassing is generally to be expected.

If we do not change our attitudes to this, then next winter will bring the same nonsense. Children are understanding that this is how it is. "My hands are tied!", is one thing they've heard. All we get is a vague "apology" - "We would like to apologise for the inconvenience this will cause".

Britain cannot cope with drought, with floods or with snow. The reason - because of underfunding and a propensity for washing of hands by those "in charge". They take the shilling but fail on the delivery.

Solihull Council speaks up!

This is the message from our Chief Executive at Solihull Council regarding the snow!

Message from the Chief Executive

School Closures - Tuesday 3 February 2009
In response to a number of enquiries from parents, carers and the wider community this morning, please find below the Council's rationale for decision to close the Borough's schools today.

The primary reasons for reaching a decision to close were:

*The weather forecasts received from the Met Office throughout Monday 2nd repeatedly indicated further potentially significant falls of snow - both during the afternoon (which, indeed, materialised) and overnight (which did not materialise). Additionally, it was also forecast that, following the further falls, there would be a drop to sub zero temperatures before dawn resulting in dangerous icy conditions on untreated surfaces;
*Throughout Monday morning and afternoon, the Council had received a range of calls from head teachers, parents/carers and the public expressing concern for the safety of children, young people and workers should there be further snowfall and/or ice - and, importantly, asking for an early decision about the likelihood of closures in order for childcare plans be made;
*Information from neighbouring Councils suggested that they were in the same position in terms of forecasting more snow (and overnight ice), receiving concerns about pupil safety and being requested to make an early decision.

In the past, it has been common to wait until early morning to announce closures, but this has proven problematic in terms of the short notice it leaves for making childcare arrangements. Therefore, with the above factors in mind, it was decided that it would be most helpful to advise schools and the media in advance of the main evening news bulletins (at 6.00 pm) of our intention - which, on the available information, strongly suggested that closures would be justifiable and necessary.

As it turned out, the weather conditions did not materialise and it is probable that many, if not all, of our schools could have opened today. As the Council's Chief Executive I fully accept responsibility for the decision taken yesterday and regret that the Council's proactivity has proven unnecessary in the changed circumstances of much improved weather conditions. I do apologise to those children, young people and families who have had a disrupted day and hope that you will understand the inexact science involved in reaching a decision.

It is with some trepidation that I announce that it is the Council's advice to all schools that they can safely re-open tomorrow (ie Wednesday 4th February).

Mark Rogers
Chief Executive

He may be concerned, but not enough to get the playgrounds of the two schools my children attend freed from snow. All that happened was that the schools closed. Chief executives are paid handsomely for the work they do. In emergencies or situations like this, it is paramount that common sense prevails. Mr. Rogers has "inexact science" to rely on. The weather forecast predicted no snow for today. Actually, he is concerned about the authority being sued over accidents. But he would not get accidents if he cleared the playgrounds of snow. I contend that this is a very poor reaction to a very simple matter. If he is relying on Mother Nature to bail him out we have come to a pretty poor pass!

Solihull snowed under by health and safety!

This morning the sun has been shining brightly in Solihull. Just the best type of weather for walking about, even in the snow. I rang Solihull council to get an explanation for this crass stupidity about closing the schools. In fact, I was also complaining, but I had anticipated beforehand that it would be a forlorn attempt. The girl answering the phone gave me some vague response about allowing people to get to work. "How about teachers getting to work?" I quickly responded. "Well," she said, "it's about Health and Safety!" "Ah," I replied, "the dreaded Health and Safety!". She then terminated the call.

It's no use really complaining, because they had an agenda already in place. Their paranoia is all about children not falling over, parents not skidding around in the playground, and teachers not slipping on the school steps. It is about not being sued, or rather, the crazed thoughts running around their heads that they may be sued. I'm also wondering what will happen tomorrow if the snow isn't shifted. Will they repeat the episode?

Reality has gone out the window. They can't or won't clear the snow. Cost too much! So they shut the schools which costs us all too much. Lost days at work, time not productively spent. I'm thinking of ways to sue them for my lost time, but there probably aren't any.

If they want to be in charge of education let them educate themselves first by going to a country that knows how to deal with snow. Even 10% of the tips they pick up will help alleviate this insanity. Because unless they change their ways, we can only understand that every time it snows the schools close down.

That seems to be the first lesson they want to teach the kids!

It snowed! Brum shuts down!

With an alacrity unknown elsewhere in the Universe, the school system goes into freefall in a sympathy action with the snowfall. Shut the schools, they screech. Let's add to the economic woes by causing more days off work. Educate by example. Show the children how you can really mess up an economy.

As with last year, Birmingham City Council along with my local council, Solihull "Metropolitan" Borough Council, have decided all schools will shut today, Tuesday. They will help the country lose over £1 BILLION pounds in lost production just today.

I can quite easily walk to school right now. In fact better than yesterday. However, the perceived wisdom, or insanity actually, is that it is unsafe to go to school. It is, on the other hand perfectly safe for children to be let out of school to wander the streets "having fun".

Yesterday lunchtime I was alerted to the fact that children were "being let go early" by a neighbour's child knocking on the door. We were not told formally by the school. I decided not to break with my routine and our son was picked up normally. Had he been in lessons? No, he had been watching a film, because there were only three of them left. I really feel the education establishment should get a grip and realise that snow is not a blanket problem. Our school is not a village school. I can readily understand that if a school is cut off by drifting snow, it would be ridiculous to attempt to push on regardless. But this is just hands up we can't cope stuff.

To the education chiefs of Birmingham and Solihull et al. You really are the least likely to get us out of this economic mess. We need people with brains in their heads not in their........!!!