For the first time in a long while I took an hour out to walk today with no other purpose than to enjoy it. From Municipal Buildings down to the riverside footpath, along to the Infinity Bridge and over to the south side of the river, along the much less used path to the Millennium Bridge and over into the town centre. It's interesting and a little sad that the part of the path which runs beside buildings full of staff doesn't get walked on enough to kill the weeds which sprout up between the paving blocks. We need to encourage the people working in those offices to get out and enjoy the riverside on that side -it's too nice to waste.
Just time to pick up some Christmas cards for Sunday's Fairtrade stall and then it was off to the Library for the Cabinet meeting. This doesn't usually give rise to much debate but I couldn't help pointing out the irony of cabinet congratulating itself on being ahead of the game on Carbon Reduction strategies while sitting under an overhead projector which was switched on in readiness for a presentation to be made an hour and a half later!
The biggies on tonight's agenda were the Business Case for Building Schools for the Future which went through with no real comment from cabinet despite it depending on being able to sell the land on which closing schools stand for housing development; the pressures on Social workers at present owing to the continuing increase in referrals of children suspected of being abused in one way or another - no easy answers there as there's no end in sight to the problem and no bottomless pit of money to pay the extra staff and hours needed; Billingham Town centre, delayed yet again; and the economic climate which is looking slightly more positive with B&M taking over the old Woolworths store, opening on 14th Oct, and a few other retailers showing a great interest in the town along with one or two companies taking on more staff.
The cabinet meeting was followed by an update on the NHS Momentum plans - all very positive and not really looking at the possibility of not getting the money to carry on with the new way of working. I suppose it wouldn't do to come along and admit that of course if the government pulls the plug on spending it won't go ahead!
I was pleased to hear that they're expecting to have as a condition of the planning permission for the new hospital that the community facilities in Hartlepool, Billingham, Stockton and Yarm have to be up and running first. That's the best bit of the whole proposal. A nice new hospital will be a bonus but if we all have to have cars to access a range of treatment and diagnosis we won't be happy. The community facilities will allow basic x-ray and ultrasound, some simple surgery, plastering, maternity and childcare, physio and other therapies which currently are in hospital. It can't come soon enough in my opinion and I look forward to it. Next Friday will be the special planning committee which will give Stockton's response to the plans in readiness for Hartlepool's meeting the following week to determine the application.

Back in Harness

Conference is over and the queues for the terminals provided by Microsoft proved just too much of a barrier to blogging while there. Standing in a queue in order to stand at a terminal was not my idea of relaxation so it was a case of doing a quick check of emails and then handing over to the next person.
Suffice to say that the debates were very high quality, as they always are at our conference. Knowing that conference is setting the policy of the party makes sure that everyone takes the debates very seriously. On top of that there were some really good fringe meetings enabling us to discuss everything from nuclear power to economics to child welfare and fairtrade. I took part in a really interesting discussion on Islam and how it's perceived by some to be a threat to this country. It was a privilege to hear Islamic scholars debating the issue and to be able to join in the discussion. And of course Bournemouth is a lovely place with a beautiful walk from where I was staying to the Conference centre. The early morning sun on the sea was an inspiring sight.
Of course the world economic situation was never far from the front of discussions in the conference hall and the bars. Vince Cable seemed to gain in stature every day as other parties grappled to say something sensible about it. I don't pretend to understand the markets but I do know that Vince was warning of problems over a year ago and sadly, his warnings have been shown to be valid. I just hope that the measures being taken in London and New York settle nerves and get things back onto an even keel. Everyone needs the markets to be more stable than they have been recently for the sake of pensions, housing and everything else that's affected.
Meanwhile yesterday was a day of meetings - planning the scrutiny review of dog fouling and animal welfare, Environment Partnership response to a government consultation on renewable energy production and then the Parish Council. Today having just one meeting, all be it in Gateshead, seemed like a rest!