Oxford birth rate reflects diversity

The latest chart of the month produced by the City Council’s Social Research officer shows how the increasing birth rate is making Oxford a yet more diverse and international city

Births to UK-born mothers have remained stable over the last decade, and the increase over the last decade has been largely caused by increased births to mothers born in the European Union and Asia. Most of the EU increase has come from mothers born in one of the new (post 2004) eastern European EU states.
In Oxford nearly half of births (47%) in 2010 were to non UK-born mothers, compared to a national and county average of 26%. Oxford has always been a diverse, international city attracting people from all over the world, and these figures reflect the increasingly international nature of our society.

You can see the full chart here

Latest planning decisions

Decisions have been made on 3 planning applications week ending 20/1/12 by officers using delegated powers.  One was permitted and two were withdrawn. Application sites included: Lime Walk, Staunton Road, and Old High Street. You can view these applications by clicking on our Planning Decisions tab (top bar).

Good news! Postbox to remain in Highfield!

You asked for our help to  get the All Saints Road postbox reinstated.

We’re delighted to announce that we have spoken to the Royal Mail on your behalf and they have promised a brand new pillarbox for Highfield!

Its new location is likely to be on the corner of  Barrington Close.

There will be a two to three month delay before the new pillarbox comes into operation as the Royal Mail needs to liaise with the utility companies and  County Highways

Sadly the old George VI box cannot be reused but we are looking for suggestions on where it should be kept in a public place that Headington residents can access.  Do you have any ideas where it should be kept? So far people have suggested the Library (as a suggestions box) and the Post Office on display. If you have any comments or ideas please let us know!

News on meeting with County planners

Ruth has supplied the County planners with a transcript of all the comments we have received from you on the All Saints/Lime Walk junction

Officers have agreed to look more closely at the lighting, drainage and sight line issues

They feel that the corner cutting across dropped kerbs by vehicles will stop when they put up timber bollards at the end of the month (6-8 in total) They will consult Highfield Residents Association on where these should go

The corner cutting is happening at the top of Latimer Road too, so we need to get this sorted out before there is a casualty

Officers want to stick with the idea of not having priority signage as they believe this makes drivers more cautious. This premise was challenged in our meeting!

The possibility of painting 20MPH roundels on the road has not been ruled out, but officers want to monitor the  speed of traffic following the works before a decision is taken on whether or not this is necessary

The County team is meeting reps from Highfield RA on Thursday

Accident figures down for Headington

The County officer responsible for the recording of accident data has confirmed to us that in the 12 months following road improvements in November 2010, the number of recorded accidents in the stretch of London Road between Osler Rd and Wharton Road was 3, compared with an average of around 8 per year in the 5 years prior to the scheme.

It’s difficult to draw definite conclusions from such a small amount of data, and figures can blip quite easily from one year to another, but this is still very positive news

Update on works at All Saints/Lime Walk junction

Ruth and colleagues have been listening to the views of residents in Lime Walk, Stapleton Road, Cecil Sharp Place, Nursery Close and New High Street concerning the ‘new look’ junction near All Saints Church.

We are collating responses we have been given and have scheduled a meeting with County Transport Officers on Tuesday morning.

The line markings have helped a great deal but there is still concern from motorists about right of way and sight lines, and some pedestrians have witnessed vehicles mounting pavements via the dropped kerbs as they turn.

The timber bollards are on order but have not yet arrived. Ruth and David have agreed with County Officers that gully emptying and drainage problems will be resolved and that the lighting at the junction can be re-tested

We are working alongside residents’ associations on this issue. If you have not yet been emailed a survey or been in when we called to see you, and you want to tell us your comments, please contact us as soon as possible.

Lib Dem achievements in Government

  • Income Tax. Nearly 900,000 of the lowest earners were lifted out of paying tax altogether and a further 23m people received a £200 tax cut. This will happen again next April, and again the April after that, until no one pays any tax on the first £10,000 they earn.
  • Pupil Premium. This year also saw the Pupil Premium take effect, giving schools extra money for the most disadvantaged children. The Pupil Premium will double to £1.25bn next year and rise every year until by 2015 when it will be worth £2.5bn.
  • Apprenticeships. More than 440,000 new apprenticeships started in 2010/11, a 50% increase on the previous year.
  • Pensions. Thanks to the Lib Dem triple lock, the Basic State Pension was raised by £4.50 and will rise again by £5.30 next year.
  • Banks. The £2.5bn bank levy was introduced and the Coalition has accepted in full proposals championed by the Lib Dems to separate high street and casino banking.
  • Youth Contract. Nick Clegg announced a £1bn scheme to help get young people into work or training, including 410,000 new work places for 18-24 year-olds over three years.
  • Regional Growth Fund. £1.4bn has been invested in businesses across the country, to create or safeguard more than 300,000 jobs, largely in manufacturing in areas that have been heavily dependent on public sector jobs.
  • Child detention. Liberal Democrats ended the disgraceful practice of locking up children for extended periods for immigration purposes this year.
  • Green Deal. Chris Huhne announced the most ambitious home insulation programme the UK has ever seen. The Green Deal will help people save money on energy bills, reduce carbon emissions and create thousands of green jobs.
  • Early years. Liberal Democrats extended free early years education to the 140,000 poorest two-year-olds and announced the doubling of provision for nursery places.

These are the top ten achievements this year. For a more complete list showing manifesto commitments achieved please click Lib Dem Achievements in Govt JAN 2012

Extra Social Care Funding for Oxfordshire

An extra £1,366,292 for social care in Oxfordshire will mean people can leave hospital earlier and receive better care at home.

This comes from an extra £150m announced by the Coalition Government this week to be spent on shortening hospital stays across the country during the busy winter period.

Thanks to the Liberal Democrats, the cash can be used to access various preventative services such as better home care support, crisis response teams and specialist equipment for people in Oxfordshire.

For more information, please see the Department of Health website

Minister responds to City Lib Dem lobbying on feed-in tariffs

In response to the issues raised by the City Lib Dem Group about feed-in tariffs, Lib Dem Minister for Energy and Climate Change Chris Huhne has replied:                

“Re community schemes, I am considering whether more could be done to support genuine community projects in the FITs scheme. I will provide more detail on this in the second consultation on the comprehensive review, which I will publish this month.”

 The City Lib Dem Group is lobbying for a higher tariff return for community schemes.