Launch of new consumer led financial lobby organisation

THE Vice Chair of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, Euro MP, Arlene McCarthy is one of a key group of Euro MPs who have helped establish a new people focussed lobbying organisation to provide a more balanced voice in financial lobbying. On Thursday, 30 June 2011, “Finance Watch” will be formally established at their 1st Annual General Meeting. Arlene said:- "The Financial Services industry has a very powerful influence on EU law and its time we heard the voice of other stakeholders. We need to hear the voice of the ordinary person, who bailed out the banks in the crisis. That is why I joined the call for a ‘Finance Watch’, a new organisation of NGOs, Trade Unions and sympathetic experts that will provide an alternative view in debates on financial regulation. With organisations such as OXFAM, Friends of the Earth, Transparency International, The Tax Justice Network and the World Development Movement on board, we will now have a more inclusive and informed debate. Finance may be complex but it’s too important to leave to those who work in financial services. A movement for reform, openness and transparency must draw on the resources of all those who share the determination to reform the finance system so that it serves society and the real economy. We need to open up the opaque world of high finance so that everyone can understand its economic contribution."

Manufacturers open doors to next generation of engineers

STUDENTS across the country will get the chance to see one of the UK’s vanguard industries as companies in the automotive sector throw open their doors in a pilot for a new government initiative, started on 29 June 2011.

As part of the See Inside Manufacturing programme, the Government and industry are calling on the budding young engineers of tomorrow to see how they can play a role in designing, developing or producing some of the world’s most desired and ground breaking products.

The automotive sector is spearheading the campaign this year inviting pupils, teachers and careers advisers to see first hand some of the UK’s world class automotive and motorsport facilities and research centres.

They will be able to talk to apprentices and learn more about modern high-value manufacturing and the wide range of rewarding
jobs in this exciting and diverse sector.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said:- "The UK has one of the most diverse auto sectors in the world. It is vital for us to enthuse the next generation about the opportunities these industries have for them. Anyone who visits the research labs or production facilities that drive our economy cannot fail to be impressed. This initiative will give thousands of school pupils and their teachers an experience they may never forget. I hope the people who take advantage of this opportunity leave with a better understanding of how they can aspire to be part of the success story of British automotive manufacturing."

Minister for Manufacturing Mark Prisk said:- "Today teachers and careers advisers across the country will get a unique opportunity to see the excitement and sense of achievement that careers in industry could bring to young people in their working lives. Our manufacturing industries are known around the world for high-tech, high-quality products. Some of these are brands recognisable to millions, but we are also known for the smaller firms who have carved out a niche in which their skills and innovation are unmatched. To secure long-term growth in the UK we must make sure the next generation has both the skills to succeed and the aspiration to use these skills to unlock their own potential."

More than 35 companies and organisations from the automotive sector including some of the most well known names in the Britain’s car industry are supporting See Inside Manufacturing. The automotive sector is trailblazing this year and it is expected that See Inside Manufacturing will be rolled out to the wider manufacturing sector next year.

Vince Cable is attending See Inside Manufacturing events at BMW’s MINI plant in Oxford and the catalyst manufacturer Johnson Matthey in Royston, while Mark Prisk is visiting Toyota’s engine plant in Deeside and GM’s plant at Ellesmere Port.   The See Inside Manufacturing programme will show the importance of the sector to the UK economy and inspire young people to take up a career in engineering, whether in designing, building or testing new products.   Manufacturing accounts for 55% of UK exports and is vital to the country’s long-term economic success.  This programme is one example of how government and industry are working together to tackle high youth unemployment rates and train more skilled engineers, alongside other measures including:-

► Increased investment in apprenticeships.

►New national prize for engineering.

►A new all-age national careers service.

►Giving colleges and training providers more freedom to work with local businesses to help them meet skills needs.

Liverpool youngsters to ‘graduate’

HUNDREDS of children are donning caps and gowns and ‘graduating’ from Liverpool Children’s University. Pupils from 16 primary, three secondary and two special schools in the city gain credits for clubs or projects they are involved in outside of school such as dancing, music, sports or theatre.  They also go on trips to libraries and museums such as The Beatles Story, Liverpool Tate and the World of Glass in St Helen’s.   The aim is to encourage learning, raise aspirations, broaden horizons and celebrate participation, attendance and achievement.  The graduations take place on Friday, 1 July and Monday, 4 July 2011, at Liverpool Hope University.

Councillor Jane Corbett, cabinet member for education, said:- "This is a great scheme which encourages children to build learning into their everyday life, and not just think it is something that happens within school. I am delighted that so many of our young people have taken part in the Children’s University and are picking up habits that will stay with them for years to come. It’s hugely important that our young people realise their potential and this scheme is a major part of them making learning an integral part of their lives."

The schools involved in the graduation are:-  St Cecilia’s; Gilmour Infants; Anfield Infants; St Oswald’s Infants and Juniors; Holy Name; The Beacon; Childwall Valley; St Sebastian’s; St Cuthbert’s; St Hugh’s; St Christopher’s; St Finbars; St Oswald’s
Juniors; St Christopher’s; Childwall Valley; Rice Lane Infants and Juniors; Springwood Heath; Sandfield Park; Palmerston; Faith; Broadgreen High and Parklands High.

Dumped tyres turned into growth business

FLY-TIPPED tyres have been retrieved from a stream in Liverpool by council staff and are now being used to help grow vegetables.

Twenty tyres were removed from the Deysbrook stream in Yew Tree by members of the Liverpool East neighbourhood services team and taken to community allotments on the site of St Albert’s Primary school in Stockbridge Village where they can be usefully put to good use.

The tyre removal was part of a two day clean-up effort in which four members of the team – Colin Harris, Tracey Murphy, Paul Byrne and Noel Kelly – cleared a number of grot spots in the Yew Tree area.

In total 18 tons of rubbish was removed from the sites.

"This was a great effort by the team. The sites they have cleared have been hot spots for fly-tipping and were real eyesores. They are all privately owned and have cost thousands of pounds over the years to have cleared. The stream in which the tyres were dumped is notorious for this type of activity but not only has it been cleared but the tyres are being recycled in an imaginative and useful way for the benefit of the community." said Councillor Steve Munby, cabinet member for neighbourhoods.

Andy Hubbard, Chair of the Community Allotments scheme, said:- "With a little ingenuity and creative thinking something like fly-tipped tyres can become a mobile wind-brake, or a series of stackable towers for raising crops of potatoes."

Among the sites which were cleared were the former Yew Tree Public House site, the rear of shops on Princess Drive, a public footpath on Aspes Road and vacant land on Barons Hey and Finch Dene.

FREE SUMMER FUN AT THE NORTON PRIORY VICTORIAN FETE

ENJOY a traditional Victorian fete in the beautiful walled garden at Norton Priory from 1pm to 4pm on Sunday, 10 July 2011. Following in the footsteps of the Brooke family who lived on the estate in the Victorian age this summer celebration will be bursting with family favourites such as hook a duck, tombola and hoopla. Try your hand at skittles and circus skills including juggling, stilt walking and the diablo or take your chance to win a prize in the coconut shy. You can dress up in Victorian costume to blend in with the Priory Victorians and have your photograph taken before they put you to work washing clothes the old fashioned way with a dolly tub and peg! Younger visitors can have their face painted, enjoy a trail in the walled garden and a chance to make their own traditional catch ball game. Alongside a display of photographs of the now demolished Priory Mansion there will be a chance to browse fresh produce, cake, plant and craft stalls from the Walton Lea project, talk with historians from Daresbury Church and enjoy a craft demonstration by local quilters Allison Kirk, Learning & Community Manager says:- "There is so much history to discover at Norton Priory, our fun Victorian fete will provide a glimpse of what life was like at the Priory over 100 years ago and will have something to keep the whole family entertained. This event is sponsored by Liverpool Housing Trust and Plus Dane with support from The Co-operative food, Windmill Hill, Runcorn which has enabled us to make entry free for all visitors on the 10 July 2011. Don’t miss this fabulous afternoon of good honest family fun from 1pm to 4pm including free admission to the museum, woodland and walled garden. Please note there will be small charges for some activities and all proceeds will go towards improving signage and interpretation in the Walled Garden."