Paul Varnsverry

The Coalition Government has today announced how much Pupil Premium money each school in England will receive in 2013/14.

The cash targets extra money to schools depending on the number of children from disadvantaged backgrounds they have. The Pupil Premium is a major Liberal Democrat priority that is being delivered by the Coalition Government.

The Pupil Premium will be worth a total of £1.65bn, or £900 per child, in 2013/14. It covers any primary or secondary school pupil that has been registered for Free School Meals in the past six years.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Schools Minister, David Laws said:

“Liberal Democrats are building a strong economy and a fair society where everyone can get ahead. Education is absolutely at the heart of that.

“The Pupil Premium is extra support for the children who need it the most, whether it is catch-up classes, one-to-one tuition, extra IT support – whatever the school thinks best.

“Helping the most disadvantaged children helps every child. Fewer children falling behind means less disruption in class and a better education for everyone.”

You can find details of how much each local school in England will gain from the Lib Dem Pupil Premium, by visiting this website: http://bit.ly/TyVK6D

Image Copyright: Flickr/Educationgovuk

You can help Liberal Democrats keep cutting your taxes by supporting our Fairer Tax campaign at http://www.fairertax.org/

Northamptonshire Liberal Democrat prospective Police and Crime Commissioner candidate, Paul Varnsverry, plans to put Northamptonshire at the forefront of community-based justice schemes if he is elected and is looking to secure government support by speaking at his party conference next Tuesday.

Restorative Justice is an approach to repairing the harm to individuals and to society done by crime and antisocial behaviour, enabling victims to tell offenders the real impact of their crime, to get answers to their questions, and an apology. Restorative justice holds offenders to account for what they have done, helps them understand the real impact of what they’ve done, to take responsibility and make amends.

Paul Varnsverry said “Changes are under way which could see Restorative Justice adopted nationwide. I am in contact with Government Advisors and have made it clear to them that I want to put the victims of crime first and enable Northamptonshire’s residents to experience the same benefits that have occurred elsewhere in the country, where Restorative Justice has cut re-offending rates by up to 95% in some areas.

“Restorative Justice is not a “soft touch” approach to dealing with offenders – it is highly effective and the figures back this up. Offenders who have been through the process find it humbling and victims find it enables them to move on after what are traumatic experiences.

“As Police and Crime Commissioner for Northamptonshire, I would also want to see police officers given greater discretion to use Restorative Justice to deal with low-level crime and antisocial behaviour when it happens. Many victims of antisocial behaviour only contact the authorities when they are at the end of their tether, only to be told they may have to wait weeks or months whilst evidence is gathered. Use of restorative practices would enable swift justice and an earlier resolution to the problem.

“The initiative must be led by victims of crime and antisocial behaviour, however, and I would work with organisations such as Victim Support to ensure best practices are adopted and address the flaws in the present criminal justice system, which can re-victimise the victim.

“Restorative practices also have a role to play in our schools, enabling bullying and intimidation to be tackled effectively and instilling in young people a much clearer understanding of how such behaviour impacts on its victims. I would therefore work with partner authorities on this approach.

“If I am called to speak at the Liberal Democrat Conference next Tuesday, I will be pressing for Northamptonshire to be one of the first police areas to embed Restorative Justice within its county Police & Crime Plan, linking into my policies on Neighbourhood and Community Management and paving the way for Neighbourhood and Community Justice Boards; placing local people in the position where they can have real influence over how crime and antisocial behaviour in our communities are addressed.”

For more information on Restorative Justice, please visit http://www.restorativejustice.org.uk/

Northamptonshire Liberal Democrat prospective Police and Crime Commissioner candidate, Paul Varnsverry, has called for Councils across the County to work more closely with communities and back neighbourhood management.

Paul said “It is crucial for residents and communities to be fully involved in how crime and anti-social behaviour is tackled. I know from talking to local residents and my work on Northampton Borough Council how important it is for Councils to make sure they are working with local people. Neighbourhood management achieved this by bringing together community leaders – including chairs of residents associations and other local groups – with the police, county and local councils, fire service and other bodies, to discuss and identify local solutions. This was local people making local decisions.

“Regrettably, the county council has a history of first supporting, then withdrawing from community engagement initiatives; first with the Area Partnerships in 2005, then with Neighbourhood Management in 2009. Consequently, there is no active, ongoing engagement and involvement between the county council and the people of Northamptonshire.

“Even worse, Northampton Borough Council has recently decided to make its successful neighbourhood management team redundant. This is the team that has drawn some £1.8 million of inward investment into deprived areas in Northampton. This action by the Borough Council will put a further £0.5 million of pending applications at risk. This comes after NCC and NBC’s withdrawal of funding for Police Community Support Officers, who form an integral part of the neighbourhood management model.

“As Police and Crime Commissioner I would back neighbourhood management and community engagement, and encourage Councils to do so too; asking them to commit to a ten year programme of participation. I want to see a Police force that is responsive to communities and whose priorities are directly informed by local residents. Councils must not turn their backs on neighbourhood management because money is tight. That is a false economy. Strong links with the residents of Northamptonshire must be the building blocks of creating safer communities.”

Northamptonshire County Council has axed its funding for PCSOs, putting at risk the future of these men and women who are at the heart of community policing and who make our streets safe.

Paul Varnsverry is the only one of the currently announced candidates for the Police and Crime Commissioner election in Northamptonshire to have spoken at council meetings and had letters published in the press against this crazy Conservative cut.

Now you can sign an online petition calling on the Conservatives to reinstate the funding at http://www.shout-louder.org/pcsos.html

“Please sign the petition and show your support for our hard-working local PCSOs” Paul asks all visitors to this web site.

Green Deal – Update

Image: (CC) Flickr/DECC

Northamptonshire Liberal Democrat prospective Police and Crime Commissioner candidate, Paul Varnsverry, supports the consultation on road safety by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and calls for more action to be taken in Northamptonshire.

Paul said “More tragic deaths have occurred on Northamptonshire’s roads in 2012 to date, than during the whole of 2011. This makes road safety a high priority in our county.”

“ACPO’s consultation, seeking the public’s views on how the police are addressing road safety, is to be applauded. Locally, I believe there is much more we must do; in particular in improving driving standards. Education is key to preventing accidents. It is important to work with groups such as the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) and campaign groups, such as Brake. The insurance industry has ended its premium discount incentive for newly-qualified drivers taking the Pass Plus course. As a consequence, applications have plummeted by almost 30%. They should reinstate the discount.”

“By encouraging drivers to take practical steps to improve their driving skills, accidents at all levels of severity could be reduced or prevented. This is where the IAM and RoSPA have a vital role to play. We must make our roads safer and address the tragic human cost of road traffic collisions.”

Northamptonshire Liberal Democrats have selected Paul Varnsverry to be their candidate for the Police and Crime Commissioner election in Northamptonshire in November.

Paul works with policing, security and government organisations across the globe. He has chaired the British Standards committee for police protective equipment since 1998. As an experienced and respected authority, Paul has also addressed parliamentary committees and he has worked with ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) and the Home Office.

Paul, who was born in Northampton, was Deputy Leader of Northampton Borough Council from 2009 – 2011. Paul also stood for Parliament in Northampton South at the General Election in 2010.

Paul said “It is a privilege to be selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Northamptonshire Police and Crime Commissioner. I fervently believe I have the experience and knowledge to be a strong voice for Northamptonshire residents. I know it is crucial that local people have confidence in the police and that the police themselves are grounded in the communities in which they work. My priorities will include early intervention on crime and anti-social behaviour, increasing public confidence and engagement in how our communities are policed, and initiatives to reduce the number of drivers killed and seriously injured on the county’s roads. My energies will be focused on making sure that our county is a safer place and that local residents are fully engaged in how our communities are policed.”

Scott Collins, chairman of Northamptonshire Liberal Democrats Coordinating Committee, said “I am delighted the Liberal Democrats have selected Paul. He is by far the most experienced of the three main candidates – Labour have selected a union man with no experience of working with police forces; meanwhile the Conservatives have gone for a candidate whose only qualification is having worked in a back office role for the Conservatives at Northamptonshire County Council as they have switched off half our streetlights and broken their manifesto pledge by cutting PCSOs. The Conservatives at County Hall have made our county more dangerous.”

Cllr Brendan Glynane, Leader of the Opposition at Northamptonshire County Council, added “Whilst we do not support the Conservative-origin policy of introducing police commissioners, the positions exist and it is vital that the public are given the choice to vote for people who have the experience and credibility to provide the kind of leadership that is required. If we did not stand a candidate, the election in Northamptonshire would be between two main party candidates with absolutely no experience between them of working with the police.”