Court appearance for former UKIP MEP for St Albans

From the BBC:

A British member of the European Parliament has been charged with false accounting and money laundering.

Tom Wise, 60, from Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, was elected for UKIP in 2004 but is now sitting as an Independent MEP for East Anglia.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the UK police inquiry followed a news report in 2005 concerning Mr Wise’s use of allowances.

The MEP has been charged along with his then researcher Lindsay Jenkins.

News article

Both are accused of one count of false accounting and one count of money laundering.

The offences are alleged to have taken place between October 2004 and September 2005.

Derek Frame, from the CPS, said: “Following the publication of a news article in October 2005 relating to Mr Wise and Ms Jenkins, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) began an investigation into Mr Wise’s use of allowances.

“OLAF subsequently passed the investigation to Bedfordshire Police Economic Crime Unit for investigation. ”

Mr Wise, who represents Suffolk, Essex, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, is one of seven MEPs who cover the eastern region.

He was unavailable to comment on the matter.

Mr Wise and Ms Jenkins are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 27 April.

Uproar over county plans to replace slabs with black top in Salisbury Avenue

On Sunday morning I put round a note indicating that Herts Highways were planning to replace the pavements with ‘black top’, something I believe would alter the character of the street.

The email and web response has been overwhelming and very clear: only one resident so far has said they favour this solution. Everyone has backed my stance.

I have relayed this to Herts Highways and will post their response when I get it.

Swine flu: advice to the public from the Local Government Association

Advice to the public

• Although of concern, the events in Mexico are unusual. The UK government is closely monitoring the situation and bringing together key agencies to ensure an effective and efficient response
• People returning from a visit to an affected area are advised to monitor their health closely for seven days. If during this period they develop a feverish illness accompanied by one or more of a cough, sore throat, headache or muscle aches, they should stay at home and contact their GP by phone or seek advice from NHS Direct (0845 4647)
• At the moment advice is to be vigilant and take sensible precautions
• Good hygiene like using a tissue and washing hands thoroughly can help reduce transmission
• The Health Protection Agency is the lead agency responsible for providing public health advice to the Department of Health and supporting all aspects of the public health response to a flu pandemic
• Some press coverage is not surprisingly emphasising the potential risk of a flu pandemic: this is alarmist and it is important to note that there is currently no pandemic. This message is reinforced in an LGA press notice issued today

Housing tenants to have more choice

Statement from St Albans District Council

Applicants registered on St Albans’ housing waiting list will soon have
more choice in deciding where to live.

From 1st May 2009 St Albans District Council will be introducing Choice
Based Lettings (CBL), a new way of allocating council and housing
association properties in the district.

CBL represents a massive shift in the traditional points-based system
where applicants waited until they were top of the list and were then
allocated the next suitable available property. This may have been a
property that they did not want, in a location they did not like. Now
applicants will be able to see what properties are available in a
fortnightly magazine and on the internet and they can choose to express
an interest in homes they are eligible for. These will then be allocated
according to applicants’ housing need and the length of time spent on
the waiting list.

Cllr Joyce Lusby, portfolio said “The council officers have worked
extremely hard to put the new system in place, they and I are excited
about Choice Based Lettings because it gives the applicants choice about
their new homes and should result in greater contentment. Well done to
the St Albans’ Housing department.”

Update on ‘pedestrianisation’

I have secured a statement from Hertfordshire County Council about their intentions about both Market place and St Peter’s Street. I am dismayed to read that there is no consideration of consulting with the public on any of these issues. I will, howeer, make sure that the public is fully involved, eve if HCC has lost sight of them.

I would warn readers that ‘pedestianisation’ is a loose term and that it often means just the banning of motor vehicles other than for access or emergencies.

Pedestrianisation of Roads in St Albans

Further to the public consultation on the St Albans Urban Transport Plan
during the summer and autumn of 2008, a number of comments were made
from members of the public and local councillors regarding the
pedestrianisation of both Market Place and St Peter’s Street. This
feedback has been incorporated into the final document which has been
completed but has not yet been published.

Now that these suggestions have been formally raised and noted they will
be taken into consideration when any new proposals are brought to the
drawing board. No work is planned for 09/10, apart from a Traffic Model
which will be constructed this financial year and from which computer
simulations can be run.

This model is the first analysis of existing traffic problems within the
City and will be used in future decision making processes for schemes.
Whilst models have been done in the past, there has been nothing of this
scale and detail. It will look at traffic travelling into St Albans, as
well as the routes that people choose when simply passing through. It
will look at the places where congestion regularly occurs and therefore
the impact that schemes and improvements to other areas e.g. the Ancient
Briton or the King William junctions could have on these already traffic
affected areas. It will also look at how pedestrianisation could affect
other roads i.e. moving the problem elsewhere etc.

It is not currently the ambition of HCC to pedestrianise either St
Peter’s Street or Market Place. Certainly no funding has been secured
for either location. If pedestrianisation was to occur then a full
consultation process will be carried out with local businesses. Access
will always be maintained for deliveries though possible at restricted
hours. It has also been suggested whilst hypothetically discussing the
pedestrianisation that provision be made for customer collections.

Primary school places – academies are NOT the answer

Just when I thought I could not be more depressed on the subject of primary school places, the Tories are proposing giving them Academy status. This means interference from sponsors, semi-selection, a disengagement from the community – all the reasons why Academies at secondary level are a major problem but with added absurdity.

I cannot understand why Con-Lab politicians can’t understand that it’s not structures but resources and quality management that count. A good head teacher and some decent building make all the difference.

If we had ‘Academies’ in St Albans those without places might find themselves discriminated against even more because of admissions rules determined by the schools. Moreoever, very small organisations with huge autonomy will need to employ more admin staff. That’s money taken away from teaching.

Sopwell Lane posts demolished

I have reported the two demolished posts to Herts Highways. This of course emphasises yet again that this street needs to have some physical pinch point to prevent oversized vehicles from entering. A number of residents have complained about damage to their cars over the past twelve months or so.

I will continue to press for urgent action.

Sadness as Conservative smear campaign continues

brighton-2007-1.jpg

I am very sad that the Conservatives have continued to smear me in this campaign by alleging that I have demanded a cut in highways sending. Given that I have been campaigning on roads and highways for no less than 16 years, this was anyway unlikely.

Where, of course, the Tories made a fatal mistake was to assume that my words were not recorded anywhere: but full council meetings are recorded and my speech is now available (see below). This makes it clear that I proposed both a gross and a net increase in highways spending, as was anyway clear from the amendment tables, which have been on HCC’s website since February.

I have demanded an apology and may have to report at least once councillor to his council’s Standards Committee. All of this does no good to politics – but we have to keep it clean.

My speech: chris-white-budget-speech.pdf

Our budget amendments: liberal-democrat-amendment-to-budget.pdf