MPs calling for public inquiry into miners’ strike
Parliament has moved a step closer to calling a public inquiry into the 1984-1985 miners' strike after 28 MPs backed the campaign this month.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the strike, which was the largest ever industrial dispute in the UK. In the dispute, miners in Rotherham fought the attempts of Margaret Thatcher's government to break up the miners’ union and the labour movement, close down the coal mines, and make the way to a free market economy. Thousands of miners were sacked, arrested, fined, or imprisoned, and some of them never worked again.
Labour MP for Gateshead Ian Mearns has criticised Thatcher’s action during the strike as “a politically motivated attempt to provoke the strike and smash a union”.
Mr Mearns is the sponsor of the Early Day Motion, which has been submitted for debate in the House of Commons but has not yet been scheduled for discussion.
He helped run and coordinate a miners support group in Felling, Gateshead, where they provided food parcels each week to striking miners' families.
Mr Mearns said: “My dad was a miner and many of my friends in Parliament were miners.
“They deserve our support throughout. We do well not to forget that piece of political history.”
The move by the MPs has thrilled campaigners from the advocacy group Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign, who first campaigned the Home Office in December 2015.
Kevin Horne, an ex-miner arrested who was arrested during the strike at Orgreave, said it is “nice to have the support" from the MPs who signed the campaign call.
Mr Horne said: “We want an inquiry into the whole event of the minor strike. That's what we're aiming for.
“Mass police occupied villages in South Yorkshire. We couldn't travel anywhere, couldn't even get out of the street some days for being stopped by police.
Though an inquiry was not called, the Orgreave campaigners hope the MPs backing is all part of steady process.
Police seize £20k worth of drugs and illegal vapes during county lines crackdown week
South Yorkshire Police shut down over £50,000 worth of criminal activity last week as part of a national crackdown on county line crime, including thousands of pounds worth of illegal vapes.
As part of County Lines Intensification Week, police seized over £15,000 worth of cash and Class A drugs between 4 and 10 March.
Vapes and counterfeit cigarettes totalling £6,500 in value were also seized from four premises believed to be linked with organised crime in the Sharrow, Highfield, and Abbeydale areas of Sheffield.
Sheffield’s Supertram comes back under public control on its 30th anniversary
On its 30th anniversary, Sheffield’s iconic Supertram will return to being under control of the local authority.
South Yorkshire Future Trams Limited will officially take over all tram services from Stagecoach on Thursday 21 March.
In the future, there are hopes of expanding services. In the short term, this handing over of power will have little effect on people’s journeys, but residents will see a few changes, including a new Supertram logo, a brand new app, and some fares being discounted by 10% for the first 100 days of operation.
Stagecoach has had control of trams since 1997. The Leader of Sheffield City Council, Tom Hunt, has detailed exciting plans for the extension of the Supertram. He said: “We’re focused on working with the mayoral combined authority and our partners in central government on a plan to reopen disused rail lines.”
The council is preparing to renew disused rail lines across Sheffield to help the city be more connected. The old Sheffield Victoria Station could be reopened to provide tram services to Stocksbridge, as well as through North-East Derbyshire to Chesterfield.
Mr Hunt said: “Lots of people are commuting into Sheffield. By having tram train services running on those disused rail lines, we think that it would take off vehicle traffic from heavily congested roads.”
Plans have also been announced to create a new tram stop in Templeborough, with Network Rail and South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) hoping that 200,000 people will use it each year.
However, 20 years ago, plans were proposed to extend tramlines that never came to fruition, leaving much of the public at the time skeptical of transport promises.
The city was the last to abandon its tram service in 1960 and the second to bring it back in 1994 with trams becoming synonymous with the area.
Tennis club saved from collapse by parish council funding
An Ecclesfield tennis club has beaten the odds to survive after “phenomenal” support from the public led to a burst of funding.
The £10,000 from Ecclesfield Parish Council was critical to meet the crowdfund target goal of £25,000 needed to ensure Thorncliffe Tennis Club would retain its £7,500 Sports England pledge.
The funding comes after the only club in Sheffield’s north was on the brink of collapse, unable to raise enough money in enough time to urgently resurface its courts.
Without this funding, the three outdoor courts would have been be unable to pass safety standards, and the club might have been forced to close.
Karen Lyon, fundraising manager for Thorncliffe Tennis Club, said: “When we started out with this I can tell you people really didn’t think it would succeed. It took us nine weeks but we did it.
“The public has been phenomenal. The support from local tennis clubs, the offers from companies helping us to resurface the courts, and of course the parish council have been incredible.”
Eric Smedley, 92, at Thorncliffe Tennis Club, Credit: Thorncliffe Tennis Club Facebook page.
DUP Stormont attempt to block new EU law a stunt, SDLP claims
A DUP attempt to veto a new EU law applying in Northern Ireland by using one of the democratic consent processes in the Windsor Framework is a “stunt”, the SDLP has claimed.
The unionist party is to use an applicability motion at Stormont on Tuesday to allow the Northern Ireland Assembly to vote on the protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products.
Under the rules of the Windsor Framework, a deal agreed by the UK Government to allay unionist concerns over post-Brexit trading arrangements, some EU laws still apply in Northern Ireland.
Police seize £20k worth of drugs and illegal vapes during county lines crackdown week
South Yorkshire Police shut down over £50,000 worth of criminal activity last week as part of a national crackdown on county line crime, including thousands of pounds worth of illegal vapes.
As part of County Lines Intensification Week, police seized over £15,000 worth of cash and Class A drugs between 4 and 10 March.
Vapes and counterfeit cigarettes totalling £6,500 in value were also seized from four premises believed to be linked with organised crime in the Sharrow, Highfield, and Abbeydale areas of Sheffield.
Two county drug dealing lines were shut down and 18 arrests were made for multiple offences of child trafficking, possession of Class A and B drugs with intent to supply, theft of motor vehicles, and possession of an offensive weapon.
Chief Inspector Leanne Dean, the Force's lead for County Lines, said: "This week of intensified activity demonstrates the strength in partnership working and sends a strong message that county lines gangs have no place in South Yorkshire."
This police action also resulted in the seizure of a motor vehicle worth £30,000, 160 cannabis plants, 13 mobile phones and 10 weapons, all used for criminal activity.
Police also actively safeguarded and supported 113 men and women at risk of exploitation and modern slavery.
Engagement stalls and events across city centres, GP surgeries and pharmacies saw officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) educate members of the public on how to spot signs of exploitation, cuckooing, and modern slavery.
Council plans to make Sheffield’s most dangerous roads safer for kids
In response to concerns that Sheffield is the second most dangerous city for children using roads, a new plan has been proposed to make Sheffield roads safer.
Sheffield City Council have launched a new Road Safety Action Plan that will focus on continuing to reduce the numbers of road accidents in Sheffield.
Cllr Ben Miskell, Chair of the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Committee, said: “Safer roads are a human right, and we want Sheffield to be a place where everyone is free to move in a safe and healthy way, every day.”
Council plans to make Sheffield’s most dangerous roads safer for kids
Council plans to make Sheffield’s most dangerous roads safer for kids
In response to concerns that Sheffield is the second most dangerous city for children using roads, a new plan has been proposed to make Sheffield roads safer.
Sheffield City Council have launched a new Road Safety Action Plan that will focus on continuing to reduce the numbers of road accidents in Sheffield.
Cllr Ben Miskell, Chair of the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Committee, said: "Safer roads are a human right, and we want Sheffield to be a place where everyone is free to move in a safe and healthy way, every day."
The Road Safety Action Plan was first introduced to the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Committee on Wednesday 13 March.
The plan includes suggestions of projects and ideas that the Council will adopt in order to reduce the number of people who are killed or seriously injured on Sheffield's roads by half before 2030.
One of the main focuses of the plan is the safety of children going to and from school. The plan includes an expansion of the School Streets programme, as well as part-time 20mph zones during morning and afternoon school run times. It even proposed to close some roads to give students and their parents a safe place to walk to and from school.
Parking outside of schools has also been identified as an issue, with the Council proposing to work with parking enforcement teams and South Yorkshire Police to tackle the issue.
The Safety Action Plan recognises the inevitability of human error, so, instead, prioritises creating safer road environments by redesigning roads for better visibility, changing speed limits, and creating infrastructure that protects road users.
Cllr Miskell said: "Statistics for the number of people killed or seriously injured on Sheffield’s roads shows that road safety in Sheffield needs to improve. We mustn’t forget that behind each statistic is a family or loved one, torn apart by pain and grief. These numbers are about people, people who have set off on a journey and, in some cases, never come home."
This comes after it was announced last year that Sheffield has a worse record on child road causalities than nearly all metropolitan areas.
Public Health England and the Department for Transport data shows 113 under-16s were killed or seriously injured in road collisions in Sheffield from 2016-18.
Sheffield is has the second highest number of children killed or seriously injured in road traffic accidents, after Leeds, with a rate of 3.06 incidents per 10,000 children, in 2020-22.
Cllr Miskell said: “We, as a community, have the power to change this and as a council we must show leadership and that is why we are adopting Vision Zero, which is a strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all.
“To achieve our vision in Sheffield, we will continue to work with our partners and develop and invest in our education, engineering, and enforcement programmes to ensure we are making our city as safe as possible.”
Sheffield council approve additional funding for new post-16 SEND accommodation
In a meeting today, an additional £1,085.0k was approved for funding of an additional 100 more post-16 SEND places at the Peaks Campus of Sheffield College.
Sheffield’s special schools have already been significantly expanded and are on constrained sites, so the most viable way to increase sufficiency is to develop provision in post-16 and increase the flow of pupils to these settings.
Finance manager, Damian Wilkinson said: "It will be really helpful for relieving places that are over filled in the secondary school area."
Post-16 learners with Education, Health and Care Plans across mainstream and special education settings are forecast to increase by 284% by 2029, with at least half these learners expected to be in special education settings
The Peaks Campus has been closed since September 2023 and capital work is needed to make it fit for purpose.
This includes remodelling rooms, new fencing, the building of life skills suites and installing a fire evacuation lift.
The funding from the project is coming from High Needs Capital Allocation (£1,193.1k) and Sheffield College (£3.9k)
“Best way out of poverty is through work” says Work and Pensions Secretary
The “best way out of poverty…is through work”, the Work and Pensions Secretary has said in response to calls for legislation to ensure Universal Credit will cover essentials such as food, household bills and travel costs.
SNP MP Kirsty Blackman (Aberdeen North) told the Commons: “Research from the Trussell Trust shows the devastating truth though, more than half of people receiving Universal Credit ran out of food in January and couldn’t afford more, and 2.4 million Universal Credit claimants have fallen into debt because they couldn’t keep up with essential bills.
“Will the Secretary of State back their joint campaign with the Joseph Rowntree foundation and commit to legislating for an essentials guarantee in Universal Credit to reduce food bank use and ensure everyone has a protected minimum amount of support in order to afford life’s essentials, yes or no?”
In his reply Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said: “This Government recognises that the best way out of poverty, the best way to address the circumstances that (Ms Blackman) describes is through work, and that is why the Chancellor reduced taxation making work pay evermore, it’s why the national living wage is to be increased by close to 10% as of this April, following a similar increase around this time last year.”
Yorkshire village celebrates local art in annual festival
The village of Penistone is hosting a festival of local talent to celebrate all things art from Friday 15 to Monday 25 March.
Chrissie Yates, Chair of the festival, Penistone Arts Weeks, said: “There are a plethora of writers in Penistone with amazing artistic flair and this festival has given them a platform.”
After seven years of community success, the festival has seen the likes of Carol Ann Duffy, Ian Macmillan, and Willy Russell. Mrs Yates said: “2024 has blown us away.”
The festival includes a range of music, literature, drama, film and art.
The festival began in 2017 when Mrs Yates, invited residents and councillors to discuss setting up arts events for the community.
With no financial backing to raise funds for this year's events, The Penistone Arts Collective - a group of talented artists, have created a 2024 calendar which will be sold in local stores, cafes and venues.
One of the community's favourite events is the annual High Street Gallery, which sees Penistone Arts Collective decorating the high streets' shop windows with their artwork.
Another festival activity is the National Theatre Live's The Motive and the Cue, an award winning new play by Jack Thorne, writer of the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The show will go up on 21 March at 7pm at Penistone Paramount.
To check out the festival, go to Welcome to Penistone Arts Weeks 2024 – 15-25 March 2024 (wordpress.com)
Royal Visit: Prince William expected to unveil plans to prevent homelessness in visit to Sheffield
Prince William is expected to visit Sheffield tomorrow where he will unveil major commitments, secured through The Royal Foundation’s Homewards programme, to prevent homelessness.
The Prince of Wales will meet with local landlords to discuss how they can assist with ending family homelessness within the city and hear about housing commitments they are making to support the Homewards programme.
Last year, Sheffield was announced as one of the locations to benefit from The Royal Foundation's Homewards Programme. Homewards is a five-year locally led programme launched by Prince William which hopes to show that it is possible to end homelessness.
Speaking last year, Prince William said: “In a modern and progressive society, everyone should have a safe and secure home, be treated with dignity and given the support they need.
“Through Homewards, I want to make this a reality and over the next five years, give people across the UK hope that homelessness can be prevented when we collaborate."