Media Watch | 42

Media Watch is a weekly round-up of the latest major stories on the local (parish and town) council sector.

• NALC’s Head of Policy and Development, Justin Griggs, gave a series of interviews to BBC London radio and TV around the burgeoning campaign to create a new parish council for Hampstead

  • BBC (7am, 8am and 8.49) (Limited availability)

  • BBC London News (6m 55secs into programme, limited availability)

  • ITV News London (limited availability)

• Meanwhile in Birmingham there is movement towards micro local devolution with Birmingham City Council using Sutton Coldfield as standard bearer for its plans for the transfer of powers and responsibilities to communities and parishes (via Sutton Coldfield Local and Sutton Coldfield Observer)

• Cllr Caroline Johnson, Feock Parish Council, has had a letter published in The Guardian in response to their article earlier in the week about the loneliness epidemic in the elderly, telling how the Feock local transport scheme we run, as well helping people get about, can also help to combat loneliness (via The Guardian)

• February’s LG First has a feature on parliamentary work and highlight the work of the APPG on Local Democracy chaired by Andrea Jenkyns MP and the secretariat provided by NALC (via Local Government Association - p14/15)

• NALC defending the right of parish councils to raise precepts for legitimate reasons (via Lancashire Evening Post)

• Civic update: NALC give talk to Coventry society - Justin Griggs, the Head of Policy and Development for the National Association for Local Councils (NALC), gave a talk to the Coventry Society on Monday. The Society was keen to learn more about Parish Councils following the approval for a new Parish Council for the Finham area of the city. There was a very interesting presentation and question and answer session and members felt much better informed about the potential for some practical localism in their city.