Marginal Cost

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All fired up to help make community a safer place

0 Comments | Hull Daily Mail, Jul 13, 2010 | by JENNA THOMPSON

ADVICE on sexual health, diet and quitting smoking does not usually come from firefighters.

But as part of a radical education programme run by Humberside Fire and Rescue Service, that is exactly what some are doing.

Officers from the brigade’s four community protection units (CPUs) are going out into their communities and delivering a range of educational initiatives.

As well as the brigade’s own BTEC course, officers are also delivering fire safety advice to vulnerable adults and citizenship tips to young people.

And none of this would be possible without the brigade’s learning centre – a hub of educational resources and packages to support the firefighters and education liaison officers in their work.

The centre, which is based at Hull’s central fire station in Worship Street, city centre, is run by a small team of dedicated staff.

Together they have provided advice and resources to firefighters to help them produce the packages they require since the centre was established in 2007.

As community safety manager Claire Clucas explains: “We are a support unit for the CPUs for any educational packages they develop themselves or ideas they have for new initiatives.” Learning centre manager Jo Brown says: “We have a lot of resources for the staff to help them develop whatever it is they want to do.”

Recently, the CPU in the East Riding has been running a good citizenship programme for young people aged from 14 to 16.

Ms Clucas says: “Some of them may be struggling academically or have behavioural issues, so they come out of school for a period of time and do different modules in good citizenship.

“This might be improving their communication and interpersonal skills as well as how to work with each other.

“We also teach them about fire safety or road safety, which is quite important in the East Riding where the number of collisions is higher.

“However, we make sure everything also links into the curriculum.”

Firefighters have also been into colleges across the region giving advice to mechanics students about the potential hazards, as well as visiting stroke victims to offer tailored advice on how to avoid fires at home.

At the heart of the centre’s work is its BTEC programme – a vocational qualification that is being offered to young people across the region.

The course includes a range of subjects including diet and fitness.

Ms Clucas says: “As firefighters, we have to be fit and healthy so we are in a good position to get these messages across to young people.

“We work with other agencies, such as the NHS, to help them to reach their targets as a lot of issues involving young people all link together.”

Ms Brown adds: “We get the young people to do the bleep fitness test, as well as talking to them about nutrition, sexual health, drugs and alcohol.

“A lot of the young people who were on the course used to get ‘belly-buster’ sandwiches for lunch, but after some of the lessons, they are now having things like chicken or ham salad.”

Ms Clucas says: “Our overall aim is to have safer firefighters and safer communities and what we strive to achieve in the learning centre encompasses all of that. We try to engage the community in our initiatives, so that it is fun for them and gets our messages across.

“We are working with our partners to reduce accidental dwelling fires, the number of people killed or seriously injured in road traffic accidents and help our partner agencies achieve their targets.

“This includes helping to reduce obesity and smoking, which has a knock-on effect for us in terms of accidental dwelling fires, a lot of which are started by cigarettes. We also want to reduce secondary fires, such as rubbish fires, so we want to reduce fly-tipping.”

She says the BTEC course, which costs about Pounds 16,794 in external funding, saves taxpayers money in the long term, as just one young person who is not in employment, education or training will cost the tax-payer about Pounds 97,000 per year.

“The cost of someone not being in education, employment or training is very high in terms of the benefits they receive and the lost income through taxes,” she says.

“By running these courses and getting them into education or employment, it saves a lot of money.

“Young people not in education or employment are more likely to be involved in anti-social behaviour or crime, so reducing that saves money and means there is less crime.

“The BTEC is funded externally, too, so there are no costs to the fire service, but it brings massive savings.”

Link Humberside Fire and Rescue Service www.humbersidefire.gov.uk

Our overall aim is to have safer firefighters and safer communities and what we strive to achieve in the learning centre encompasses all of that CLAIRE CLUCAS

Strach Is A Con Man

0 Comments | Sunday Mail (Glasgow, Scotland), July 18, 2010

MIDDLESBROUGH boss Gordon Strachan will this week launch a pounds 550,000 bid for Dundee United midfielder Craig Conway.

He has told Boro chiefs to make contact and thrash out a fee.

The Arabs want to keep Conway but may not be able to resist a bid as they attempt to reduce their debt of around pounds 5.5million.

Conway helped Peter Houston’s men finish third in the SPL and win the Scottish Cup. His consistent displays have attracted several clubs but Boro lead the chase.

If the move goes through it will be the eighth player Strachan has signed from the SPL.

Meanwhile, Aberdeen have joined Hearts in the race to sign Scotland star Paul Hartley.

Hartley wants a move back to the SPL from Bristol City and Dons gaffer Mark McGhee hopes to pip Jim Jefferies to his signature.

Ex-Celt Hartley is expected to make a decision this week.

A30 project is said to be a waste of money [Edition 4]

0 Comments | West Briton, The; Truro (UK), Jul 8, 2010 | by DAVID GREEN

THE need for junction improvements to the A30 at Treswithian has been questioned by Camborne town councillors. Cornwall Council is about to launch a public consultation on the scheme but an advance look was given to the town council’s planning committee last week.

Under the proposals, traffic lights will be provided on both slip roads and on the westbound slip road the existing right turn will be closed.

Traffic wanting to turn towards Reskadinnick and Kehelland will have to turn left and use the roundabout.

Trees and shrubs will be cut down to improve visibility and the road will have a new anti-skid surface.

The footway will be widened to three metres to create roomfor cyclists as well as pedestrians.

As part of the proposed Treswithian bypass scheme, to create access for a 2,000-home development, the roundabout will be altered to create room for a possible fourth arm.

Committee member Councillor Jean Charman said: “It strikes me all this work is being done to facilitate the Treswithian urban development. The Government said the area action plan housing proposals were being got rid of, so why is this work being done?” She added: “We couldn’t see that there would be any improvement to the junction. A lot of money will be spent unnecessarily.”

Committee members asked detailed questions of highways official David Phillips, who gave them a presentation on the scheme
floor safe