Up to date ‘child measurement’ figures have been released today, showing levels of obesity amongst Birmingham children at ward and constituency level. There’s a huge amount of data but I’ve put links to what I think are the most pertinent graphs below. There’s a clear link between obesity and deprivation with the figures showing that:

• The greater the deprivation, the higher the level of obesity in both Reception Year & Year 6
• Kingstanding and Soho have the highest levels of obesity in Year 6
• In Reception Year obesity is highest in Black African, then Black Somali then Bangladeshi. In Year 6 obesity is highest in Black Caribbean, then ‘White and Black Caribbean’ then Black including Black British then Pakistani
• Ladywood and Hodge Hill constituencies have the highest levels of obesity in Reception Year & Year 6
• Those areas with the densest concentration of hot food takeaways also have the highest concentration of obesity

obesityward  (where a category has a significantly higher obesity prevalence than the Birmingham average it is shaded in red, if it is significantly lower than it is shaded in green)

obesitydeprivation

obesityethnicity

obesityconstituency

 

Just received the following from BCC:

 

1^st September 2011

 

BULLETIN 4 – SUPPORT FOR BIRMINGHAM BUSINESSES AFFECTED BY THE DISTURBANCES

 

Accessing Information and Application forms for the High Street Support Scheme

 

The Business Recovery page on the Birmingham City Council Website is now fully live, so information about the support available together with grant application forms, can now be obtained from www.birmingham.gov.uk/businessrecovery

 

Deadline for submission of applications

 

As previously stated, the deadline for submission of applications is 9^th September 2011.  These applications will be assessed shortly after the deadline and businesses will be informed as quickly as possible of the outcome of their application.  A second phase of applications will now be accepted if submitted by 16^th September 2011.  Again, these applications will be processed and a decision made as soon as possible.

Free Advice Sessions for Businesses

 

Following on from the session we organised for businesses on Wednesday 24^th August, we can now give details of 4 further drop-in sessions.  These sessions are taking place in Local Centres, but are open to businesses from all over the city which were directly affected by the disturbances.  The sessions are:

 

Monday 5th September 10am – 12pm	Handsworth Community Fire Station 41 Rookery Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, B21 9QU
Monday 5th September 2pm – 4pm	Perry Barr Methodist Church Aston Lane Handsworth, B20 3BP
Tuesday 6th September 10am – 12pm	New Testament Church 240-244 Lozells Road, Birmingham, B19 1NP
Tuesday 6th September 2pm – 4pm	ACMC – 339 Dudley Road Winson Green, B18 4HB

Businesses are welcome to come along to any of these sessions without appointment in order to speak with City Council Officers and get advice on the help available.

 

 

Riot Damages Act

 

The Chief Constable of West Midlands Police has still not made any announcements regarding the declaration of a riot which would activate the Riot Damages Act.  We would advise that businesses go to the West Midlands Police Authority website via the following link.  This will give access to further details about eligibility and claim process as well as a link to the claim form.

http://www.west-midlands-pa.gov.uk/riotdamagesact.asp

 

 

Please note that claims must be submitted no more than 42 days after the incident in order to qualify (ie.19^th/20^th September).  Claims can only be made for direct costs resulting from damage or looting during the disturbances – loss of earnings is not covered.  This funding will only cover costs which cannot be claimed through an insurance policy.

West Midlands Police Authority event at MAC

 

West Midlands Police Authority will be holding a public meeting at the Midlands Arts Centre at  9am on Thursday 8 September 2011 to consider the recent disturbances in the West Midlands.

Details about this event can be found on the Authority’s website or via the link below:

http://www.west-midlands-pa.gov.uk/viewpr.asp?id=103&category=pressreleases

 

Summary of support available

 

 

Support	Criteria
Recovery Fund www.birmingham.gov.uk/businessrecovery	SMEs only.  Businesses must carry insurance.  Losses relating to damage & looting which are not covered by insurance can be claimed, along with exceptional business costs directly related to the disturbances.
Business Rates Hardship Relief Fund www.birmingham.gov.uk/businessrecovery	Open to all businesses, insured or not, who have suffered or are likely to suffer hardship as a result of the disorder.
Riot Damages Act http://www.west-midlands-pa.gov.uk/riotdamagesact.asp	All businesses damaged/looted during the unrest.  Claims can only be made for uninsured losses due to damage & theft.
Crisis Support Team	0800 073 0440 between 8am and 8pm Monday to Friday.

 

 

 

 

 

Other Financial Support Schemes

 

We now have information about 3 further financial support schemes available to businesses. 

 

Please note that these schemes are not being administered by Birmingham City Council, and we have no influence over how funds are distributed.  Please direct any questions you have about these schemes directly to the providers.

 

The High Street Fund:

The High Street Fund is aimed at helping businesses carry out repairs, replace stock, and return to trading.

http://www.thehighstreetfund.co.uk/index.htm

 

Reclaim Our Streets:

The Daily and Sunday Express has launched a major new crusade to Reclaim Our Streets and help raise funds for the hard-working people and businesses hit by the devastating outbreak of rioting.

http://www.express.co.uk/reclaimourstreets

 

Birmingham Mail Fightback Fund:

Small businesses directly affected by the can apply for a grant of up to £1000 from this fund. 

http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2011/08/24/no-headline-97319-29293167/

 

 

Received this morning:

 

Leaders, Chief Executives,

 

Derek Webley, Chair of West Midlands Police Authority, has asked me to write to you.

 

West Midlands Police Authority will be holding a public meeting at the Midlands Arts Centre at 9am on Thursday 8 September 2011, to consider the recent disturbances in the West Midlands.

 

Councillors and members of the public are invited to attend. 

 

If people have questions or issues they would like raised, please contact us via our website http://www.west-midlands-pa.gov.uk/contactus.asp, email police-authority@west-midlands.police.uk, or call 0121 626 5143.  There will also be an opportunity for councillors and others to ask questions or raise issues in the meeting with prior notification.

 

Derek has said, “The objective of this meeting is to consider the recent disturbances that impacted across the West Midlands, affecting all the local authority areas to differing degrees.  We need to understand what happened, why it happened, what lessons can be learned, and what we need to do in future.  Effective partnerships with all our local authorities will be key, and I therefore invite you and your councillor colleagues to attend.  Please could you circulate this invitation to councillors and anyone else you think would be interested in attending.”

 

Directions to the MAC can be found here:

http://www.macarts.co.uk/plan-your-visit/getting-here/

 

Best wishes

 

Jonathan

 

Jonathan Jardine

Policy Manager

West Midlands Police Authority

Lloyd House

Colmore Circus Queensway

Birmingham

B4 6NQ

Just received the below guidance from BCC. In essence:

• All businesses affected by the riots can now apply for business rate relief
• Temporary changes to planning rules mean that shops can now install shutters (subject to conditions) and apply for permission retrospectively
• SMEs can apply for a grant from the Recovery Fund to re-coup costs
• An event at the Council House next Wednesday, at 5pm, will give advice on the High Street Support Scheme
• No confirmation from government yet as to whether businesses can claim compensation through the Riot Damages Act

I imagine this last point will be soon be cleared up given that Cameron said the following at the emergency session of Parliament:

“On repairing the damages, I can confirm that any individual, homeowner or business that has suffered damage to or loss of their buildings or property as a result of rioting, can seek compensation under the Riot Damages Act, even if uninsured.

The government will ensure the police have the funds they need to meet the cost of any legitimate claims.

And whereas normally claims must be received within 14 days, we will extend the period to 42 days.

The Association of British Insurers have said they expect the industry to be paying out in excess of £200 million.”

—————————————————————————————————————————

Birmingham City Council

Update: 23.08.11

SUPPORT FOR BIRMINGHAM BUSINESSES AFFECTED BY THE DISTURBANCES

Business Rate Hardship Relief Fund

Further to the information in Bulletin 2 regarding eligibility to apply for the Business Rates Hardship Relief Fund, it has since been announced that this fund is open to all businesses affected by the disturbances, not only SMEs as previously stated.  However, all businesses will still be required to demonstrate that they will suffer hardship as a result of the disturbances.

Please note that this applies only to the business rates section of the Scheme. The Financial Recovery Fund remains open only to SMEs.

Further Information and Application forms for the High Street Support Scheme

 

The Birmingham City Council Website is in the process of being updated and further information, application forms and links to relevant websites will be available through www.birmingham.gov.uk/businessrecovery from Wednesday 24th August 2011.

Free Advice Session for Businesses

 

We have organised a briefing session on the High Street Support Scheme for businesses affected by the disturbances.  It will take place on Wednesday 24^th August 2011, 17:00 to 19:00 in Committee Room 3 at the Council House in Victoria Square.  City Council staff will be on hand to offer advice on what assistance is available and how to access it.

Riot Damages Act

 

As of today we still do not have confirmation from West Midlands Police or the Government as to whether or not Birmingham businesses will be able to claim compensation through the Riot Damages Act for damage caused during the disturbances.  We are vigorously pursuing an answer on this and will update you as soon as we can.

Relaxation of Planning Permission Regulations

 

We are pleased to announce that Birmingham City Council’s Planning Committee has agreed a plan to allow shops to install a new shop front and/or roller shutters and apply for planning permission retrospectively.  This concession will remain in place for a period of 6 months. However, the alterations will still need to comply with the Council’s Shop Front.  A copy of this guidance can be accessed on www.birmingham.gov.uk/businessrecovery

Free Legal Advice

 

The Law Society has established a help line for those who have been affected by the riots through which they can access free legal advice.  The help line number is: 020 7092 3949.

 

Further Support

To help staff in businesses which have been affected by the disturbances there is free and confidential help available from the Crisis Support Team within The Adults & Communities Directorate, Birmingham City Council. They are specially trained and available to be called upon to offer immediate, short-term emotional support to those affected by an emergency.

Anyone who would like to talk to someone in confidence about their experiences can call 0800 073 0440 between 8am and 8pm Monday to Friday.

 

At the ‘informal meeting of councillors’ held at the Council House last week in the aftermath of the riots, the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police expressed his irritation at the manner in which national television covered the events in our city. The way in which images of disorder in Birmingham gave way to similar scenes in London, Manchester and Liverpool had the effect, he claimed, of making the riots look much worse than they (undoubtedly) were. It was as though our entire city had gone up in smoke. He was right – the absence of a free to view, Birmingham based TV station, with the scheduling freedom to just keep filming,  meant we were largely stuck with national television coverage of a very local story (one happening on the streets of our city, within a few miles of where most of us live and work). It was left to the likes of Sangat TV, the charitably funded Sikh channel based in Edgbaston, to fill in the gaps with their coverage receiving plaudits both for the bravery of its reporters and the extent of its filming.

By coincidence, a few days after the council meeting, the Culture Minister, Jeremy Hunt, was in town to kick off the bidding process for local TV licences. “There’s a huge appetite for local news,” he said at the summit at Millennium Point, “and I want people to be able to watch television that’s truly relevant to them…about what’s happening where they live and featuring the people they know.” There’s money, too, with £25m being made available to cover the set up costs and pay for the technology, as well as an assumption that local stations will be viable on an (advertiser funded) operating budget of £500k per annum.

I certainly agree with the need for more extensive, and more tightly focussed local news coverage. The riots alone, sadly, made that case very strongly. If money was no object a local TV network could be a hugely valuable addition to the media offer in this city and, subject to the detail, a ‘Birmingham bid’ would certainly get my support. But given that there’s minimal state funding for this initiative, just how sustainable are the DCMS plans? And given that young people now spend more time on the internet than they do watching the box (and will carry this habit into their 20s, 30s and beyond), isn’t television set to lose its dominance anyway? In fact, as Marc Reeves at TheBusinessDesk.com points out, wouldn’t the £25m be better spent developing/nurturing local online broadcasting and improving the existing broadband infrastructure?

Given that £500k isn’t going to buy an awful lot of broadcast time (about one and a half hours it seems) and much of the programming is likely to be community focused and consequently quite ‘niche’, local TV is going to have to come up with something really special to entice advertisers from the web. If this is the model that we are going to have to work with then I hope it succeeds.

Birmingham hosted two rounds of the European BMX Championships at the weekend, at the city’s new state-of-the-art track in Perry Park. It’s a brilliant facility, right on our doorstep and even if you’re not into BMX (like I’m not, though I was very happy to be asked to make some of the presentations on Saturday) it’s great that we’ve now got one of Europe’s best tracks here in Birmingham. Next May the 2012 UCI BMX World Championships will be held at the National Indoor Arena with the new track at Perry Park remaining the home of the Birmingham BMX Club as a legacy of the Olympic Games. The Club will now have a permanent year-round training facility to introduce new riders into the sport and it’s a facility that’s already received plaudits from across the sport, including from World Champion Shanaze Reade (who won on Saturday).