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Merseyside - Make your vote
count in the Liverpool City Region Mayoral Election!
THE 1st ever Liverpool City Region
Mayoral Election takes place, on Thursday, 4 May 2017. All residents across the
Liverpool City Region (Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helens, Sefton and
Wirral) over the age of 18 are invited to elect a new Mayor for the Liverpool
City Region. The Liverpool City Region
Mayor will work alongside the 6 Local Councils to improve the economy of the
area, bring in new investment, improve transport, strategic housing as well as
creating more jobs.
Having a Liverpool City Region Mayor was a
condition of the Devolution Agreement secured with the Government, which as well
as devolving decision making on key issues, it also secured ₤900m of additional
funding for the Liverpool City Region, over the next 30 years.
This is your opportunity to influence who will make major
decisions about the Liverpool City Region.
Having the ability to control budgets and decisions at a local
level means that they are aligned to the needs of our residents, business and
region. The Devolution Agreement enables
the transfer of significant powers for economic development, transport,
strategic housing and planning and employment and skills which will positively
impact on the lives of all of our residents and businesses.
The Liverpool City Region Mayor will initially be for a period of
3 years, with a further election being held in 2020.
The full list of candidates will be available on
online
from 5 April 2017.
In addition, every household across the
Liverpool City Region will be receiving a Mayoral booklet before the end of
April 2017, which gives further information about the Elections process and each
candidate.
To find out more on the official
website, about the Liverpool City Region
Mayoral Elections. On this site, you will also find some handy questions and
answers too about what the role is and why it's important that you cast your
vote. Make sure your vote counts on 4 May 2017!
Please visit our Twitter
Page
to let us know what you think about this…
Waves of support for River
Festival
3 leading businesses have been given
the lucrative naming rights to one of Liverpool's most popular annual events.
Plans for the 2017 Mersey River Festival are well underway, and following a
lottery style draw involving dozens of local businesses which are part of the
Mayoral 100 Club; a business networking scheme which sees each organisation pay
₤3,000 to become a member which is then invested in to the development of the
festival; the 3 official sponsors have been revealed.
The maritime event takes place across the waterfront, over Saturday, 24 June and Sunday,
25 June 2017, retail and leisure giant Liverpool ONE has scooped top
prize and secured the overall naming rights. This means it will be officially
called:- 'The Mersey River Festival in partnership with Liverpool ONE.'
Chris Bliss, Estate Director at Liverpool ONE, said:- "We are delighted to
be named as this year's headline sponsor. The Mersey River Festival has
established itself as a much loved annual occasion which celebrates Liverpool's
cultural heritage. We are proud to be a part of this and look forward to
showcasing everything which our vibrant City has to offer. Collaborating with
partners across the City is something which is really important to us at
Liverpool ONE and this partnership marks a further great opportunity for our
magnificent City to confirm its place on both the national and international
stage."
Heritage Great Britain which owns and operates some of the UK's most popular
visitor attractions and represents outstanding landmarks, together with
Liverpool's Mattel Play! and last Christmas' Dreamworks Lights destinations, has
been named as the official sponsor of the music zone.
Allan Leech, CEO of Heritage Great Britain PLC said:- "We are proud of our
roots as a Liverpool based company with a portfolio literally stretching from
John O'Groats to Land's End. We welcome more than 2.5 million people every year
to our attractions including Snowdon Mountain Railway and The Needles on the
Isle of Wight and many more and hence we recognize the importance of such large
scale events to the visitor economy. We also work with global brands and
are proud to bring many of these to the City, which is helped again by our
membership of the Mayor's 100 Club, as it continues to promote itself to
national and international markets. The Mersey River Festival is a
fantastic event and we are thrilled to be supporting the musical element of the
event and look forward to the line up being revealed."
1 of Merseyside's largest employers Home Bargains, became the sponsor for the
family zone which will see family entertainment such as street theatre, face
painting and craft workshops taking place across the festival site.
Ines Dearman, Engagement Management for the organisation said:- "Home
Bargains are delighted to be the Family Zone sponsor this year. We hope to see
lots of children enjoying the River festival activities and entertainment."
The programme for the maritime extravaganza is still being finalised, but will
see a number of Tall Ships sail in to the City, which will join several military
vessels and research ships.
Thanks to its inaugural success last year, The British ThunderCat Racing Tour
will make a welcome return and where boats will be battling it out on the Mersey
reaching speeds of up to 65mph. Audiences can also expect the usual incredible
jet skiing, fly boarding, canoe polo and wakeboarding displays along with some
dry land exhibitions or unarmed combat and weapons displays and the Sea Cadets
will be performing their field gun window ladder semaphore and club swinging
activities.
The Northern Boat Show will also return for its 3rd year, running from Friday,
23 June until Sunday, 25 June 2017. It covers all aspects of the leisure marine industry
and there will be displays of power boats, cruisers, narrow boats, and sail
boats and features some of the biggest brands in the marine world such as
Bavaria, Beneteau and Dufour Yachts.
There will also be an exciting music soundtrack to the weekend, taking place on
stages located across the waterfront.
Full details of the programme will be released in April 2017.
Liverpool's Assistant Mayor and Cabinet Member for culture, tourism and events,
Councillor Wendy Simon, said:- "The Mersey River Festival is a much loved
part of our events calendar and draws in huge crowds each year.
It's wonderful that we can work in partnership with Merseyside based businesses
to contribute and grow the event, and I'm delighted that once again, three more
companies will have the kudos of being associated with this fantastic festival.
This year's festival coincides with Liverpool being the national focus for Armed
Forces Day, so there will be a unique dynamic to 2017's River Festival as the
City comes together to say thank you to all those servicemen and women who make
up the armed forces community."
The companies who received the naming rights in 2016 were Kier Group, Wilmott
Dixon and A&B Engineering.
For more information about the Mayoral 100 Club, can be found
online.
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Liverpool City Region mayor
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Prosperity must reach all boroughs after May's election
DRIVING up employment, wages and skills
for people in all 6 boroughs in the Liverpool City Region must be the number 1
priority for the new metro mayor elected in May, according to the independent
Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF).
In its briefing for the candidates standing in May's elections, JRF says the new
post gives Liverpool an opportunity to deliver inclusive growth; growth that
benefits everyone living in the City Region.
Liverpool City Region has enjoyed an economic and social revival in recent
years, and the new mayor could lead the way on ensuring all places thrive.
But there remain significant challenges to creating an inclusive economy: almost
330,000 people are income deprived and more than one in four children lives in
poverty.
Analysis by JRF found significant disparities between the areas in the City
Region:-
► Employment across the City Region stands at 67.7%, behind the national average
of 74.1%. It falls as low as 63.2% in Liverpool, compared to 73.7% in Halton.
► Median full time weekly wages are ₤40 a week lower in the City Region (₤504)
than they are nationally (₤545), and there is considerable variation: from a
median of ₤526 for people living in the Wirral to ₤475 in Knowsley.
► Liverpool City Region has a much higher proportion of entirely workless
households compared to England (22.5% and 14.9% respectively). The rate of
economic inactivity among the working age population is also high, and ranges
from 23% in Halton to 32% in Liverpool City.
► In 2015, 53% of children in Liverpool City Region achieved five good GCSEs
including English and Maths, but among children eligible for free school meals
the figure is just 29%; and falls as low as 21% in Knowsley.
To deliver inclusive growth, JRF recommends the mayor:-
1. Create the conditions for more and better jobs.... Liverpool City
Region
has identified seven sectors with significant growth potential. The mayor can
use their business and support skills powers to address issues such as skills
shortages or high staff turnover and connect people in poverty to job
opportunities in growing sectors. The mayor must also ensure low-paid sectors
such as retail and care are supported to boost productivity and wages, working
with businesses and industry bodies.
2. Close the education attainment gap... Work with local education
authorities and the Regional Schools Commissioner to focus on using evidence
effectively and schools supporting one another to improve attainment among
children from low income backgrounds. Over time there may be a case for the
powers of the Regional Schools Commissioner to transfer to the mayor.
3. Focus on access and quality in apprenticeships... Liverpool City
Region
has devolved responsibility for the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers, and has
trialled changing the incentives to prioritise younger age groups and higher
qualification levels. The quality of apprenticeships remains a challenge in some
areas. The Mayor could work with learners, businesses and training providers to
develop an Apprenticeship Charter setting out quality standards. Pushing for
powers over the apprenticeship levy would enable the mayor to ensure
apprenticeships are focused on delivering better employment and earning
outcomes.
4. Use their influence by making inclusive growth an explicit aim of
their time in office. In the mayor's first 100 days, their 1st actions should
be to:-
► Create a cabinet position with responsibility for Inclusive Growth,
integrating social and economic policy.
► Set ambitious targets to focus action on the employment rate, and boosting
educational attainment from the early years to adult skills.
► Convene stakeholders across business, economic development, employment and
skills providers, education and early years providers, other public service
providers and civil society to develop a City Region, wider strategy for
inclusive growth and solving poverty.
Katie Schmuecker, head of policy at JRF, said:- "Creating more and better
jobs, and connecting people in poverty to these opportunities, must be at the
heart of an inclusive growth agenda; and this should be the number 1 priority
for the mayor when they take office in May. Economic growth in Liverpool
City Region increased 8.4% in the 5 years to 2014, and it has the second highest
rate of high growth firms in the country. The labour market increasingly
requires workers to be more highly skilled and adaptable, meaning access to
training and re-training throughout working life will only become more
important. Making sure everyone, wherever they live in the Liverpool City
Region, is equipped with the skills and support to find and then get on in work
will be crucial for the new mayor if everyone is to share the benefits of
economic growth." Popular café prosecuted over
food safety concerns
A café at a popular Wirral park is
making improvements after being prosecuted for falling foul of food hygiene
standards.
Representatives of Shanterz, the visitor café, at Tam O'Shanter Urban Farm,
pleaded guilty to four food safety offences relating to cleaning, protecting
food from contamination, pest control and training of food handlers at a hearing
at Wirral Magistrates Court last week.
The offences had been highlighted in November 2015, when Environmental Health
Officers carried out a routine inspection of the café and found standards of
food hygiene were unsatisfactory and required enforcement action.
At court the business was fined ₤1,500 for each offence and ordered
to pay costs of ₤3,526.42, together with a victim surcharge of ₤150.
Colin Clayton, Wirral Council's Senior Manager in Environmental Services, said:-
"Our aim is to support local businesses wherever possible. However, when
necessary, we will take legal action in order to protect consumers from the
risks associated with food poisoning. The Council wants to ensure that our
businesses are healthier, safer and fairer for consumers and the business
community alike. I am pleased to note that the most recent visit by
Environmental Health Officers confirmed that hygiene standards at Shanterz have
improved and that officers' advice was being implemented. We look forward to
working with this business in future to help ensure that they are successful and
that consumers' health is protected."
Do you play chess and are
you a model?
WE are looking for actors and models
who with like to take part in a human game of chess, that will be taking place
in Southport, in June, as part of King's Garden's International Celebration
Event. This fantastic event will see the area around the Marine Lake taken over
by many different and interesting activities. If interested in taking part in
the Human chess, please send us your information by 30 March 2017, with your
full name and contact information. You must be over 18 and able to stand or sit
for long periods of time, in one place. If interested, email us to:-
info@vamphire.com
with the subject:- "Human Chess – Southport." Please note that we
can only have 32 people taking part on the board. If you have a group, say
Scouts etc. who could supply a team of 16, for one side, please let us know.
This is not paid, as you will be helping raise funds for The Friends of Kings
Gardens. More information about the full event will be added to next week's
edition. |
