The DVLA - nothing better to do?

My Dad went to get an MOT for his car today.

He went to a small local garage in a village near where they live. It's run by a father and son and provides an excellent service. The chaps are friendly, do the job while Dad waits and, best of all from Dad's point of view, have a good old chin wag with him while he is there.

It's the kind of personal service that doesn't make anyone astonishingly rich, but does ensure customer loyalty and therefore a regular income in the face of larger and often cheaper competitors.

Except today, when Dad went there he was told very apologetically by the father of the pair, that he couldn't really stop to talk until the MOT inspection was completed. The reason for this was that, at the commencement of the inspection, the garage log in to the VOSA computer. They then have a certain time to complete the inspection. If they take longer than this allotted time, the VOSA ring them up and start quizzing them about why the inspection has take too long and what is wrong the with the car.

What happens if there is an issue which needs discussion? What happens if the person doing the inspection is called away?

The whole thing seems mad to me. What possible benefit is there for the VOSA to insist that an MOT inspection take a certain amount of time? More importantly, who is paying for the person to sit on the end of the phone calling these various garages to enquire why the inspection is taking so long?

Talk about the Nanny state sticking its nose in to everyone's business, this really is an example of bureaucracy gone mad.

Update: Thanks to the person who posted the comment to put me right about the difference between the VOSA and the DVLA and to suggest the garage talk to them. Quite right, I'll get Dad to mention it, however it still seems draconian to me; an intrusion and a waste of resources.

New recycling facility in Upton

Lytchett Minster & Upton Councillor Paul Johns has worked with the Town and District Councils to obtain a plastic bottle recycling bank in the Upton Community Centre car park. This is a convenient site for many Upton residents and we hope many of you will find it useful.

The recycling bank was moved, as a temporary measure, from the Upton Oil Company site to the Community Centre and unfortunately it has taken longer to get a replacement unit for the Oil Company site. Therefore if the plastics bank at the Upton Oil Company is full please use the one at the Community Centre.

Bearwood Community Centre - An apology and a correction

Back in January I posted this message which involved a reference to the local church being involved in the refurbishment of the Bearwood Community Centre.

I'm very sorry to say that this was wrong. I misunderstood the information I was given about the refurbishment of the centre. For that error I'm very sorry and I'm pleased to correct it publicly here.

Milhams Recycling Site

I attended the Environment Scrutiny and Review Panel at Bournemouth Council tonight.

One point that was raised was the exclusion of anyone who isn't a Bournemouth Council Tax payer and lives more than 3 kilometers from Milhams Recycling and Waste Centre.

Undoubtedly this policy has helped Bournemouth's recycling and waste targets, but it has inconvenienced people in the general locality greatly.

Milhams is on the edge of Bournemouth, essentially where Bournemouth, Poole and East Dorset Councils' boundaries meet.

I'll be campaigning for this radius to be widened after the local elections in Bournemouth in May. The site is the closest waste facility for people in Merley, Bearwood, Canford Bottom and Colehill, yet many of these places are more than 3 kilometers from the site. If we are really committed to improving recycling and waste management we should find a formula by which people in the wider area can use the facility.

Wimborne Conservatives

Wimborne Conservatives have a new web site. You can take a look here.

Excellent effort from their team.

Conservatives confirm opposition to ID cards

The Shadow Home Secretary, David Davis MP, has today written to the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Gus O'Donnell giving formal notice that an incoming Conservative Government would scrap the Government's ID card project.

David has also asked what provision, if any, has been made in the relevant contractual arrangements to protect the Government - and public funds - against the costs that would be incurred as a result of early cancellation of the scheme.

A similar letter has also been sent to the likely major contractors warning them of our intentions.

This is the text of the letter to Sir Gus...

"I am writing to you in relation to the Government's planned roll outof its national identity card scheme, commencing this year. You will be aware that there is a long standing convention that one Parliament may not bind a subsequent Parliament.

As you will also be aware, the Conservative Party has stated publicly that it is our intention to cancel the ID cards project immediately on our being elected to government. You are now formally on notice of our position and fully appraised of the contingent risks and associated liabilities arising from the national identity card scheme.

In light of these risks, I urge you to consider very carefully the government's position, in advance of the roll-out of the scheme later this year. As a matter of financial prudence, it is incumbent upon you to ensure thatpublic money is not wasted, and contractual obligations are not incurred, investing in a scheme with such a high risk of not being implemented. In particular, I would be interested to know what provision, if any has, been made in the relevant contractual arrangements to protect the Government - and public funds - against the costs that would be incurred as a result of earlycancellation of the scheme.

The Conservatives will be a launching campaign against Labour's ID Cards proposals tomorrow."

Hat Tip: Iain Dale

I'm voting, are you?

Estonia's General Election is on March 4th. This advert is appearing to encourage people to vote. The people are the well known Estonians in different fields (yes, they do exist).

The message on the shirts means 'I will vote, and you?'.




Perhaps we should organise similar adverts for the next local or general elections. Who would you choose? For me: Johnny Wilkinson, Dame Judy Dench, Cliff Richard, Richard Branson and Lord Coe.

Useless fact and Eurovision Link: Ines (laulja - which means singer) sang the 2000 Estonian Eurovision entry 'Once in a Lifetime', it came fourth.

Family Farms

Iain Dale has a great post about how the changes to UK Farming have effected he and his family here. I highly recommend it to you.

My family are remarkably similar, my mother's family were in farming in North Herfordshire on the Essex border and we subsequently moved to North Devon. The changes Iain talks about and, particularly in the Torridge area, Foot and Mouth, have changed farming and the countryside for ever, and not for the better.

BIC Wedding Fayre

I spent this afternoon helping man the Rubyz stall at the Wedding Exhibition at the BIC. In fact I didn't need to do that much really, Dame Kitty was a draw in her own right and I was lucky if I could get a word in edgeways!

I never knew that weddings were SUCH a huge business. It's the first time we have exhibited there, this is only the first day of two and we have already taken bookings for over 500 people, filling up what available space we had on Saturday evenings throughout April and May.

The range of services and products on offer is astounding. It's a real testament to the ingenuity and entrepreneurialism of people that they should develop businesses that cover such a diverse range of services.

Talking to other business owners there it was apparent though that everyone is suffering under the burden of extra regulation, both directly and indirectly applied by government.

I heard more than once that people were wondering whether it was worth continuing with their businesses and more often that they were no longer keen to employ people because of the regulation and additional cost concerned.

We must make moves quickly to begin to simplify legislation for businesses, take away some of their tax burden and make it easier and more flexible for them to employ people. Rescinding our introduction of the EU's Social Chapter would be a great start.

The place was packed and the organisation was clearly very professional. It's success is a huge credit to the BIC staff and Bournemouth Borough Council's events team.

This week news broke that the Conservative Party would not be coming to Bournemouth for our conference next year. I have to admit to having known this for a couple of weeks. What is heartening is that we will be returning, and more importantly for the staff of the Council and BIC, I know the party chairman has sent a message to them making it clear that the decision in no way reflects on their service, professionalism and the standard of the venue.

Bournemouth Mobile Phone Mast refused on appeal

I've just posted this on my Bournemouth Councillor's blog:

I have received the result of the Inspector’s report about the O2 mast at the back of the houses in Southwick Road.

I’m absolutely delighted to report that it has been turned down and the Inspector has basically told O2 to go and look again at a site on Iford Meadows.

I really thought we might lose this one and can’t tell you how pleased I am that it’s been turned down.

What's remarkable about the decision is that the Inspector based it upon quality of life issues. Our campaign majored on planning grounds, but also highlighted that the stress of having a mast in this location and it not being clear whether there was or was not a health risk effected the local residents quality of life and therefore breached their human rights.

I hope that we might be able to bring the same arguments in to play to help the residents fighting the mast at The Clump in Broadstone and elsewhere in Mid Dorset and North Poole.

Bournemouth Borough Council Post Offices Meeting

Straight off the plane this afternoon and down to the Town Hall to attend a meeting of the Developing Communities and Tackling Crime Scrutiny and Review Panel. The meeting was about the Post Office closure programme in Dorset and a number of councillors and members of the public attended.

I'm delighted to report that a motion deploring the closure programme was passed by the panel unanimously. They also called for Bournemouth Council to approach Poole and Christchurch to organise a joint approach to any proposed closures, starting with Bournemouth offering support to Poole over their opposition to the closure of the Post Office at Adastral Square, Canford Heath.

The motion now goes to Bournemouth's Cabinet for their approval and action.