News reports located on this page = 3.

Hospice to host grand Midsummer Night Ball

ASA Murphy and his swing band will entertain guests at the St. Joseph's Hospice Midsummer Night Charity Ball on this year's summer solstice. The black tie event will take place at The Crowne Plaza Hotel in Liverpool on Saturday 21 June and the Hospice is inviting businesses from across Liverpool and Merseyside to attend and pledge their support to the future of the Hospice.

The Midsummer Night Charity Ball will be a celebration of St. Joseph's Hospice, its heritage and its future as it plans to grow and expand the facilities, care and services it offers to patients and families.

As well as featuring live music from Liverpool's very own Asa Murphy and his swing band, the Ball will be hosted by compere, Ronnie Orr. There will also be a raffle and an auction with some incredible prizes to be won.

Tickets to the Midsummer Night Ball cost just:- ₤65 per person, which will include a drink on arrival plus a delicious 3 course meal. Various sponsorship opportunities are also available.

Norma Young, head of fundraising for the Hospice, said:- "This will be a momentous night as we invite hundreds of business men and women to join us and help us to take the Hospice on a journey. We will be celebrating how far we have come over recent years and how much we have achieved, including our recent Good rating from the Care Quality Commission. But, most importantly, we will be laying the foundations for the future of St. Joseph's Hospice and that lies in our premises, the facilities we have and the services we offer to those living in our community with a life limiting condition as well as to their families. We promise to put on a fantastic evening and to show our patients, families, volunteers and local communities just how generous and compassionate the business community of Liverpool and Merseyside is."

To buy tickets for the Midsummer Night Charity Ball or to enquire about event sponsorship, please call:- 0151 932 6044 or send them an email.

Merseyside Police Commissioner not seeking re-election

MERSEYSIDE'S Police Commissioner has announced that she will not be seeking re-election in May 2020.  Jane Kennedy informed the Labour Party this weekend that she would not be putting herself forward for re-selection after they asked incumbent Commissioners to make clear their intentions in time for selections to take place for the next election for Police and Crime Commissioners in May 2010.

Jane became Merseyside's 1st Police and Crime Commissioner, on 22 November 2012 and was re-elected to serve a second term, 6 on May 2015, with 61.7% of the vote.

During her 6 years as Commissioner, Jane has been a vocal opponent of cuts to policing and successfully campaigned against proposed budget cuts of up to 40% threatened by the then coalition Government. She has also been instrumental in transforming Merseyside Police's Stations and buildings to ensure they are fit for purpose and for fighting crime. This has included overseeing the opening of the Force's new Operational Command Centre, in Speke, which is now the Region's major centre for tackling serious and organised crime.

She has also delivered support for thousands of victims of crime, through the Victim Care Merseyside service, which provides specialist support and care for victims of some of the most serious crimes, including rape and sexual assault, domestic abuse and child exploitation.

Jane said:- "I have been immensely privileged and honoured to serve the people of Merseyside as their 1st Police and Crime Commissioner. Merseyside Police are the most effective and efficient urban Police Force in the country, so say the inspectors of HMICFRS. I have been so very proud to work alongside them as their Commissioner. After considering it very carefully with my family, I have come to the decision that I will not stand for re-election in May 2020. By that point, I will have served more than 7 years as PCC, and I will be ready to step back from public life and hand over the responsibilities of this hugely important job to the next commissioner. I have made improving efficiency and driving vital funds to frontline Policing a hallmark of my time as Commissioner. I'm pleased to say that; if nothing else; compared to my predecessors, I have reduced the cost of the scrutiny of the Police on Merseyside by 43%. This has saved more than ₤1m each and every year. Money which has gone straight to Merseyside Police. There have been many other proud moments; thanking our former Chief Constable, Sir Jon Murphy, for 41 years of exemplary service as he too retired; appointing Chief Constable Andy Cooke QPM who is leading the Force admirably, despite the challenging circumstances; officially opening the new Operational Command Centre and securing public support for sweeping changes to the rest of the police estate and introducing Victim Care Merseyside which has provided vital support to many thousands of vulnerable victims of crime. While those are the headline events, there are so many other, day to day interactions with the Officers, PCSO's and staff of Merseyside Police and the people I was elected to serve which have brought me great satisfaction and pleasure. To hear the everyday stories of bravery, dedication and service of the men and women who put on the uniform to serve the public of Merseyside has been an honour. I still have 14 months left in office and there is much more I wish to achieve. I will be working right up to the point that I hand over to the next Commissioner and my campaign for fair funding for Merseyside Police will continue right up to that point."

Prior to her time as Police and Crime Commissioner, Jane was an MP for 18 years, serving as a Government Minister, within 6 different departments. She was Britain's 1st woman Security Minister, with responsibility for Policing within Northern Ireland, and the 1st woman to hold Ministerial Office in the Lord Chancellor's Department, with responsibility for magistrates, the judiciary and family law policy.

World's Biggest Electronic Line Up Unleashed - Creamfeilds 2019

CREAMFIELDS has upped its game for their 2019 edition, having already dropped a series of headline artist announcements which will see performances from the likes of:- Swedish House Mafia, Calvin Harris, Tiësto, deadmau5, Adam Beyer - Cirez D (Debut Festival Exclusive), The Chemical Brothers (Live), Martin Garrix, Carl Cox, Above & Beyond and The Black Madonna to name a few.

And the wait is finally over as they've unleased more big names and their arena hosts for this year's 4 day festival. Artists just announced for what is undoubtedly the biggest electronic line up of the year include:- Fatboy Slim, Duke Dumont, Fisher, Jauz, Rezz, Holy Goof, Malaa, Testpilot, Dillon Francis, Will Sparks, Da Tweekaz, Shy FX, B.Traits, Coone, Ferry Corsten, Sub Zero Project, Sam Divine, Radical Redemption, Marcel Dettmann, UMEK, La Fleur, High Contrast, Aly & Fila, Cristoph, Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, Matrix & Futurebound, Danny Howard, Benny Benassi, ilan Bluestone, Sonny Fodera, Grum, Dusky, Gabriel & Dresden, Dyro, Dimension, Cosmic Gate, Laidback Luke, Joyhauser, Bart B More, Weiss, Mason Collective, Sidney Charles, Jon Rundell + many more.

With over 300 acts expected to perform across 30 stages and Friday's Steel Yard headline show still be announced, we can't wait for the next drop!

Creamfields returns to Daresbury, Cheshire, UK over:- Thursday, 22 August 2019 to  Sunday, 25 August 2019 (Bank Holiday Weekend). Tickets on sale now:- Creamfields.Com/Tickets.

Line up...