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Have your say on council tax 

Have your say on council tax 

by | Sunday, November 29, 2015 | About town, News and views


Council tax is 10% lower in Portsmouth than for other similar councils and Portsmouth City Council has started consulting on whether residents would be willing to pay a 2% rise to safeguard essential adult social care services for vulnerable people.
These services support older people with dementia, people with disabilities or serious mental health issues.
The survey can be found here and I encourage you to have your say:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/CTASC2015?utm_source=hootsuite

Concerns over crime and levels of safety in Portsmouth grow

Concerns over crime and levels of safety in Portsmouth grow

by | Sunday, November 22, 2015 | About town, Campaigns, News and views

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Reductions to the local police force and other crime and disorder agencies may be starting to take their toll in Portsmouth, as recently released community safety statistics show that crime is on the up in the city.
According to recent data collated by the Safer Portsmouth Partnership, the city’s crime and disorder strategic partnership, overall crime levels have gone up across the country, whilst Portsmouth has seen a larger increase in police recorded crime (at 9%) compared to the national average of 3%. Worryingly violent crime has gone up and at the same time, youth crime has increased for the first time since 2007/8.
These trends come at a time when more and more social commentators are saying that cuts to policing and other community safety agencies are no longer sustainable.
Stephen Morgan, Labour’s candidate for Charles Dickens ward in the heart of Portsmouth for the city council’s local elections in May 2016, said:
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“Friends who work in the local police have told me that cuts by central government are starting to have a dramatic impact on their ability to keep crime down and help communities feel safe. On top of this, Portsmouth City Council’s administration are looking at reducing the valuable community warden service. Community Wardens are a well-respected visible presence on the streets of Portsmouth, often seen as the ‘eyes and ears’ of communities, reassuring people and helping to reduce anti-social behaviour.
I am very concerned to learn of the recent crime trends across the city, and in particular the increased challenges of youth crime in Charles Dickens ward. At a time of increasing crime, it is a mistake to strip important community safety services even closer to the bone. We all need to work together to ensure communities feel safer and crime levels come down again”.
For more information about crime statistics in Portsmouth and the work of different community safety partners in the city visit: www.saferportsmouth.org.uk

 

Lest we forget: Support the D-Day Museum in Southsea

Lest we forget: Support the D-Day Museum in Southsea

by | Sunday, November 8, 2015 | About town, News and views

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It was an excellent initiative by Portsmouth City Council to mark Remembrance Sunday by providing free access to the D-Day Museum in Southsea today.
The D-Day Museum is very dear to my heart as my late Grandfather was a veteran of world war two and one of the thousands of soldiers born and bred in Southsea who arrived on the Normandy beaches in June 1945. A book in the museum captures the stories of some of the veterans, and it felt fitting to pay the museum a visit this afternoon on Remembrance Sunday to look at the exhibits, and see the book (below) again.
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The museum is receiving significant investment from the Heritage Lottery Fund – with a grant of £4.1m – so that future generations can learn about this important historic events and how it led to the liberation of mainland Europe.
If you haven’t visited the museum for a while, or never before, be sure to pay it a visit!