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MERSEYSIDE
POSTMAN LANDS STARRING ROLE IN NATIONAL TV ADVERT
THE ad campaign features a
version of' The Beatles' classic song:- 'All You Need Is Love'
sung by the Royal Mail Choir.
The adverts will be screened from tomorrow; a short version can be
seen
online now.
A postman from Southport, Merseyside, will make his debut to
millions of people tomorrow as he features in Royal Mail's first
major TV advertising campaign in 6 years.
Tim Freer, who is based at Royal Mail's office in Southport, is
starring in the advert called:- 'We Love Parcels' which
celebrates the 1 billion parcels its postal workers deliver a year.
In the advert, Tim can be seen delivering parcels first hand to a
very excited little girl.
The advert will screen during the ad break on Saturday night's X
Factor on ITV. The advertising campaign has been launched at the
start of Royal Mail's build up to Christmas; the company opens 10
temporary parcel sort centres across the UK on Monday, as part of
its planning for the festive season deliveries.
Tim was chosen to appear in the ad after Royal Mail issued a call to
132,000 of its front line staff to invite them to audition for a
part. 2,500 employees applied and Tim was one of 25 who were
selected to star in the commercial after auditioning in front of an
accomplished judging panel of film producers and directors.
51 year old father of twins Tim Freer, who has been working for the
Royal Mail for twelve years, said:- "I'm very proud to be
given the opportunity to represent Royal Mail in an advert that will
be aired on national TV, and I've really enjoyed the experience of
being part of this huge project."
The advert is accompanied by a special version of the iconic Beatles
song:- "'All You Need is Love". It was sung by the official
Royal Mail choir and recorded at the famous Abbey Road Studios; 46
years after The Beatles recorded the original version at the very
same address.
The launch of the ad has been timed to coincide with the onset of
Christmas, Royal Mail's busiest time of year.
The 60 second commercial shows the care and commitment taken by
Royal Mail's people to deliver parcels to addresses across the UK no
matter the weather, as well as the joy people receive when they get
their parcels.
A special Christmas version of the advert, which despite the snowy
scenes was filmed on location in the UK in July, will air later this
month.
Cambridge Ward
Conservative Councillor Surgeries
THE next surgery will be
held on Friday, 8 November 2013, from 2:00pm to 3:00pm.
Cambridge Ward Conservative Councillor Tony Crabtree will be holding
a surgery on the 2nd Friday of each month at the Crema Café at the
same time. The Crema Café is located at 48 Park Road;
this is part of Hesketh Park Shops on the corner of Queens Road and
Park Road, Southport. Tony will be there to meet you and
discuss any Council problems you may have. No appointment necessary
- just pop in. If you prefer, Tony will make arrangements for
a home visit and can be contacted by calling:- (01704) 506 505 or
via
email. |
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Have a go at
setting Council budget
RESIDENTS in Liverpool are
being urged to help decide where the Council should prioritise its
spending in the face of huge cuts.
A Budget Simulator has been launched on the Council's
website; for residents to
consider where efficiencies might be made, spending should fall and
income be generated to balance the books for 2014 to 2015. For the 1st
time, it is also available via a mobile app for use on smartphones
and tablet computers.
The latest estimates show the City Council has to save a further
£156 million over the next 3 years, on top of the £173 million that
has been cut in the past 3 years; that's a total of £329m in 6 years.
Using a series of sliders, people can opt to prioritise a range of
different services including children's and adults services, roads
and refuse, housing and community services and environment and
regeneration. The simulator then outlines some of the consequences
of their actions.
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said:- "We are a much leaner,
smaller and efficient Council than we were, and have already had to
make significant cuts to services and to the number of people we
employ.
We continue to face some stark and difficult choices and it is vital
that people understand the gravity of the situation. There is no
option other than to deal with the situation head on and make the
decisions in the fairest way possible. That is why I want people to
get actively involved in telling us what they believe is most
important and the services they believe should be protected.
I am anxious that residents, customers and other interested parties
get a chance to tell us what their priorities are. It is clear that we won't be able to satisfy everyone due to
the vast range of ways in which the Council touches people's lives,
but it will at least give us a sense of what our citizens think.
Their selection and comments give us valuable feedback on what
people see as the priorities for spending over the next year. This
is just part of our consultation efforts over the coming months with
service users, partners and other stakeholders as we start an
enormously important conversation with the City about how to
overcome the challenges together."
The latest financial position shows the City Council will have to
save £45 million in 2014/15, £63 million in 2015/16 and £48 million
in 2016/17. People can also
find out more about the budget
online or via
email.
The Budget Simulator will be available until mid-January.
The budget for 2014 to 2015 will be set in March 2014.
FINANCE MYTHBUSTER
►
Why don't you cut the number of staff and managers to save money?
The senior management team has been halved, saving £6 million per
year. We have also reduced the size of our workforce by 1,600
through a voluntary severance scheme.
► What are you doing to collect unpaid
Council tax? Liverpool
City Council's Council Tax collection rate is as good as
other large cities, at around 96 percent. However, unlike many other
Councils, we do not write off old arrears, which means that the
amount of Council tax debt that appears in the accounts is far
higher than other Councils. But any comparison is meaningless as
they treat their debts differently and have written off any chance
of recovering the money. Last year, the Council brought in £8.5
million in historic Council tax arrears and £381,000 of poll tax
debt, which was then invested in services. This is money that the
Council would not otherwise have had.
► Why don't you dip into your reserves to cover the gap?
The City Council has reserves of £115m, which will halve over the
next three years as we pay bills such as legal claims and other
committed future expenditure. Some of the reserves are held on
behalf of other organisations, for example schools. Councils are not
allowed to use reserves to plug holes in the budget as it is a
one-off fix which just causes more problems in the future; once it
is spent it is gone altogether.
► You've recently announced that you've bought Everton FC's
training ground and the Cunard Building. How can you afford to do
that? The Council is not allowed to borrow money to pay for day to say
services, but can do so if it is an investment that generates a
return, such as rental or lease income. The revenue stream can then
be ploughed back into providing essential services. The Council will
only invest in schemes when it is confident it will generate a
return, and the risk is minimal.
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