City Councillor arrested on suspicion of sex assault

Councillor Ahmed is again the the news for all the wrong reasons.

Nottingham Evening Post reports that ” A LEADING city councillor has been arrested on suspicion of assault and sexual assault.

Coun Hassan Ahmed, 58, who is the council’s portfolio holder for employment and skills, is accused of assaulting a 47-year-old woman who was a teacher at a college in the Notts area.

The offence is alleged to have occurred late at night in July. Coun Ahmed has denied the allegation.”

Follow the link below to read the original article.

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/homenews/City-Councillor-arrested-suspicion-sex-assault/article-1480339-detail/article.html

Rise in gun crime

Nottingham Evening Post reports that “GUN crime in Notts has increased 116% in nine years, according to new figures.

 There were 240 offences involving guns in the county between April 1 2007 and March 31 2008, compared to 111 in 1998/99. The Notts rise is above both the national and East Midlands average for the same nine year period.”

Under the comments for this article the following interesting point is made.

“A Home Office spokesman said it was “misleading” to compare figures for 2007/9 with those from before 2002, due to changes in recording practices.

The spokesman added: “There has been an 11% fall in gun crime since 2005 and provisional figures for firearm offences recorded by the police show they account for 0.2 per cent of all recorded crime¿.

So the reason for the fall in crime figures is¿¿¿.due to changes in recording practices. QED.”

Follow the link below to read more.

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/homenews/Gun-crime-Notts/article-1457616-detail/article.html

31% say council does not offer value for money

Between September and December 2008, all local authorities across the country were required to conduct a postal survey of residents. 2311 residents in Nottingham were asked their views on local services.

When asked about their local area “7 in 10 residents (mentioned)they were very or fairly satisfied.  This is low compared to the national average of 80%….

Nearly half of residents generally felt they belong to their immediate neighbourhood, although this is lower than the national picture of 59%.

 30% of residents agreed that Nottingham City Council provides value for money, although a similar proportion (31%) disagreed, placing the City below the average for the core cities. 

30% of residents agreed that Nottingham City Council provides value for money, although a similar proportion (31%) disagreed, placing the City below the average for the core cities.”

 

Follow the link below to read more.

 http://www.nomadplus.org.uk/secure/Intelligence/Council,%20government%20and%20democracy/Mori/Place%20Survey%20Summary%20-%20with%20background.doc

English Defence League come to Nottingham

The English Defence League are planning to demonstrate in Nottingham City Centre on the 5th of December 4-6pm against ‘muslim extremists’. This group emerged about 3 months ago in Luton linked to extremist muslims demonstrating against British soldiers who were parading in Luton.

The protests by the English Defence League in a  number of cities have ”sparked civil disorder and led to city councils pleading with the Home Secretary to take action against them…

The EDL has been involved in running battles with young Asian youths on Birmingham’s streets…It is accused of links with far right groups…

The English Defence League is linked to the Casuals United – a Welsh football firm with connections to Cardiff City…There also appears to be some loose affiliations with far right groups.”

Some of the left wing groups claim that the EDL are part of or very closely linked to the BNP, but both the BNP and EDL deny this. There are also claims that attacks on individual Muslim’s have increased after EDL demonstrations.

What is clear though is that demonstrations by the EDL have led to clashes between EDL members and members of left wing groups.

Follow the links below to read more. 

http://www.britainsgotissues.com/index.php/2009/09/18/policing-the-english-defence-league/

http://nottmstopbnp.wordpress.com/2009/09/27/stoped/

http://www.englishdefenceyouth.org/About-EDY.php

Rude staff & dirty toilets

A patient at QMC complains about some of the staff.

“I have recently stayed at the Queens Medical Centre (Nottingham) Ward E14.

The ward on the whole is pleasant enough and the majority of the staff are courteous and professional. However, I felt that some members of staff are rude to patients and visitors, some showing outward signs of verbal aggression and frustration, with what I can only be described as a ’superior attitude’.

I think the toilets are dirty and on numerous occasions I found blood stained dressings and clothes soiled with human excrement in the toilets.

On the whole I did feel cared for, but there were times, when I did feel that I was an inconvenience to them.”

Follow the link to read more.

http://www.patientopinion.org.uk/opinion.aspx?opinionID=21242

Living in fear

I have just been talking to the police this morning about a young couple who are being targeted by a group of up to 20 lads. It’s the usual harassment of stones and cans thrown at the windows and walls, verbal abuse and threats.

The couple are fairly quiet people who are being terrified by this intimidation. The husband works, but his wife is too scared to go out of the house during the day whilst he is at work.

The police don’t seem that interested - I think because there is little they can do. Everytime the couple phone the police the young lads disperse until the police have gone away. Then they come back to resume their harassment.

It makes me angry that there are people in Nottingham who are living in fear like this.

QMC wait time records changed

An article in the Evening Post today highlights how the QMC have changed records.

“HUNDREDS of records of patients who waited too long for treatment at the Queen’s Medical Centre’s emergency department have been changed, bosses have admitted.

 A review has found that 765 records were altered between March and September to falsely show that patients were seen in less than four hours. Ninety-eight per cent of patients have to be admitted, treated or discharged within that time to meet national targets.

And the extra breaches of the four-hour mark means Nottingham University Hospitals Trust is missing the target for the current year.

Officials are now looking back even further to uncover the true scale of the problem.”

Follow the link below to read more.

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/homenews/QMC-records-changed-shorter-waiting-times-E/article-1417979-detail/article.html

No room in cells

Some of you may remember the arrest of 114 people at the Iona School on the 13th of April 2009. The arrests too place it was alleged that they were planning a demonstration at the eon power station on Ratcliffe on Soar.

Now it emerges that no arrests were made at a brawl on the same night, because the cells were full up with 114 people who were arrested because they allegedly planned to protest.

“We were unable to make any arrests,” PC Poyser told the panel. “If we had made any arrests that night those prisoners would have gone outside the county.

“That would have reduced my staffing level there by two. We would have had to travel to Derbyshire or Yorkshire.”

Moreover the brawl sounds like a dangerous fight.

“PC Major, another officer on duty on April 12,..(said) that up to 15 men were involved in the brawl.

“At least ten males rushed out the club carrying bottles of Moet,” he said. These bottles were then smashed and used to attack people. It was a bit Wild West.”"

To read more follow the link below.

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/homenews/Isis-hearing-Gangs-swung-Moet-bottles-nightclub-brawl/article-1381849-detail/article.html

Waste of taxpayers money

Nottingham City Council is again wasting money on glossy pr leaflets according to one letter writer in the Evening Post.

“A few days ago my small business received a letter and double sided glossy sheet from Nottingham City Council about the Workplace Parking Levy – which I prefer to call the Tram Scam Tax.

 It was all about whether my business would have to pay and emphasised that the “chances are you won’t have to pay”. Well, they are right, I won’t have to pay because we don’t have enough parking spaces – but surely the council has a very good idea which businesses will have to pay. Why not simply write to them and save money by only writing to the 20% of businesses that will have to pay….

The letter and glossy seem to be to be an example of the worst kinds of self-justifying stupidity we get from politicians and are a complete waste of money.”

Follow the link below to read more.

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/letters/Tram-tax-letter-waste-money/article-1373178-detail/article.html

Grotty Nottingham?

A letter in the Evening Post highlights the grotty state of many student areas.

“A new batch of students has arrived with the same old story.Noise and filth. If I was a tourist visiting Nottingham I would not want to come back.

Walking round Lenton, the city centre and Arboretum, I am disgusted and ashamed that this is my home city.

It really looks grotty with the litter, broken glass, food scraps, vomit, dog faeces, and various obscene stains on the pavement, not to mention the student areas where bed sheets and various items of clothing are being used as makeshift curtains.”

Follow the link below to read the original letter.

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/letters/City-looks-grotty/article-1377337-detail/article.html