Council Tax freeze & £25 back for every Croydon Taxpayer

Cllr Fisher, Mead & O'Connell announcing the good news

Today, the Leader of Croydon Council, Cllr Mike Fisher announced his intention to give every council taxpayer a rebate of £25 and also freeze its part of the council tax for the third time in four years.

These proposals are part of the 2014/15 budget that are due to be presented for approval at Council on 24 February.

Cllr Fisher said: "“We’ve been working hard to protect things that matter most to local residents in very difficult financial circumstances. This responsible management of our budget means we have, for the third time in four years, been able to ensure council tax bills will not rise.


“But we know how tough times are for many families and that is why we are going a step further this year and offering all council taxpayers a discount on their bills.


“As well as easing the pressure on household spending, this injection of cash should also benefit local businesses and help accelerate Croydon’s recovery.”

The 2014/15 budget also includes an ambitious multi-million pound programme of investment for the borough, focusing on building more schools and delivering more school places, regenerating the borough, improving highways and building new homes over the next three years.

Key points:

• £90m on primary and secondary school expansions, including five new schools
• £10m on special educational needs to provide extra places
• £24m on highways improvements
• £26m in improving public areas across the borough
• £17m on regenerating New Addington, including a new leisure centre
• £6m on building new social housing
• £26m makeover for Fairfield Halls to help secure its future and its place as a major centre for arts and entertainment

The Ugly Truth About Violent Assaults on Christian Leaders in the Modern Britain

Today, think tank Parliament Street is launching a campaign calling for greater protection for Christian Leaders from violent assaults, abuse and harassment. Across Britain, official Police figures show that nearly 200 Vicars and Priests have been victims of violent attacks, including grievous bodily harm over the last few years alone.

All too often Police are logging these vicious crimes as standard common assaults, including ABH and GBH without properly taking into account the fact that the victim was wearing a dog collar or the context of the attack being within a church.

It is time for the government to take steps to ensure these assaults are classified as religious hate crimes, instead of standard assaults. This will ensure greater protection for religious leaders as the penalties for religious hate crimes are far more severe and this will send a clear message that the government is doing everything it can to protect Christian leaders and those of other faiths in Britain.

All Croydonians should feel proud today

An artists impression of the scheme 

Like many Croydonians last night, I was delighted that the Westfield and Hammerson's £1 billion town centre regeneration project was approved at a special meeting of the Strategic Planning Committee. 

When the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson came to Croydon in January to announce the partnership between Westfield and Hammerson I was very excited as I knew that if this project was approved then it would provide the kick start for the Borough's much-needed regeneration. 

Croydon is a diverse town with the largest population in London and with an estimated 1.2 million people a year visiting the new retail hub, the local economy will benefit enormously from the increased footfall. 

For many years, Croydon has always been chosen by large businesses as the place to house their back office staff - rather than their shiny HQ, and last nights approval will encourage businesses to move to Croydon to launch and expand their operations in our town. 

With hundreds of new shops, cafes and restaurants being built this will create thousands of new jobs and regenerate the whole area. 

There are already many entrepreneurs across the Borough formulating ideas and launching businesses who have recognised that Croydon is a perfect town to invest in so lets hope that many more businesses follow suit so that all Croydonians can be proud of our town once again.

Click here to watch a video of how Croydon will be transformed by the redevelopment

Reflections on Hammermet 2013

This year I attended Hammamet 2013, a conference organised by the British Council, enabling delegates to form new relationships and share insights into some of the major political, social and cultural issues arising in the UK, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Morocco.

It was my first time in North Africa and in a short space of time I gained a real insight into the challenges that face both the UK and North African region. It was fascinating to meet people from other countries with different political stances who told me their stories. Despite these differences, it became clear how similar we all were as many of the issues facing our countries overlap and we share common values, goals and aspirations for the future.

Hammamet focused on five key themes; trust and accountability between citizens and leaders; difference, diversity and dialogue; active citizenship; reforming the education system and arts, culture and innovation. It was co-chaired by Dr Atia Lawgali from Libya and Lord Lothian from the UK.

Over the course of the two days there were numerous examples of mutual agreement and understanding between delegates. I attended a session on reforming the education system and we all agreed that our respective education systems were archaic and that schools should focus on both knowledge and skills so that students would be equipped with skills that would help them travel through life.

I also felt rather ashamed that political systems across the world are designed to focus on providing solutions for problems that countries are facing now, rather than plan and provide direction for issues that countries will inevitably face in the future. It is clear that all of the countries present at Hammamet face a crisis of education that our respective leaders need to work together on to tackle and change for the better, if our countries are to thrive in the global competitive world. Moving forward, it is clear that there is a very crucial mentoring role for NGO's and companies to play in this area as the curriculum within the UK is constantly changing and requires external support and direction to ensure it keeps up with the standards of other leading nations.

But ultimately, as well as improving the policies and skills of each of our respective countries, Hammamet was really about partnerships and building relationships for the future. Every conversation that I had with fellow delegates was ultimately about building a stronger and prosperous world for the next generation.

If you turn on the TV and look at the news or pick up a newspaper, you will all too often see headlines and stories focussing on the divisions and negativity between countries and cultures across the world. But we all know, through conferences like the one that I attended, that the world is becoming a better place and that all countries have an exciting opportunity to move forward, with mutual support and exchange of ideas to build a better future.

I left Hammamet with a better understanding of our values and cultures and realised that my optimism and understanding must be shared so that others are inspired to get involved and make a difference.

November is Croydon Business Month

Croydon Council, in partnership with NatWest, Croydon Voluntary Action, business support agencies and colleges, is organising a series of seminars and events throughout November for business start-ups, micro and small businesses operating in the profit and not for profit sector.

Croydon Enterprise was set up in 2012 and is a group of private, public and third sector agencies whose task is to promote Croydon as London's most enterprising borough. This is an informal partnership that reports into the wider Croydon Skills and Employment Strategy Group coordinated by Croydon Council. 

To attend, click here to see the events list.

Conservative Achievements

When the Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls welcomes the news that the UK economy has seen the fastest growth for three years, you know that Britain is on the right track! To add to the good Friday feeling vibe here is a summary of what the Conservatives have achieved since 2010…

• Deficit cut by a third
• 1 million more people employed
• Crime down by more than 10% 
• Car manufacturing up 10%
• 25 million people's income tax cut
• 1.4 million new private sector jobs created
• More than 1.5 million apprenticeships created
• Benefits capped
• Net immigration down a third
• Penny off the price of a pint
• Freezing and cutting fuel duty

Remember that we're on the right track and that Labour is the same old Labour who have opposed EVERYTHING we have done to turn our economy around. 

By opposing every single measure the Conservatives have taken to turn the country around, Ed Miliband has shown what a weak leader he is who cannot stand up for hardworking people. 

Don't let him lie about our achievements and remember to remind everyone the damage that a Labour government would do to Britain. 

http://sharethefacts.conservatives.com/

Cutting national insurance will create more jobs

Today, I am delighted that the Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that the government will cut National Insurance by up to £2,000 from April for small businesses.

Around 99% of Britain's five million firms are SMEs that employ less than 250 people and 96% are micro-businesses with fewer than ten employees. These businesses contribute £1.5 trillion and form the  backbone of the UK economy. Two-in-three jobs are based in SMEs and in some places the figure is much higher.

Today's proposal will help to show that the Conservative's are on the side of small business and 450,000 small businesses will benefit from this policy.

These businesses form the lifeblood of our economy and their success will determine our success.

For more information please click here