Community News

The Government has confirmed it has lifted the Improvement Direction on the city council after over ten years. This follows the publication last month of Ofsted's report of its inspection of children's services services which saw all rated ‘Good’.

Birmingham Children's Trust has also announced that Andrew Christie intends to retire as Chair of the Trust. Andy Couldrick intends to resign as Chief Executive and has been asked by the Council and the Trust Board to become the next Chair of the Trust.

The cost of food continues to soar and stretch family budgets across the country, but today marked the formal opening of another community shop in Wolverhampton to help all citizens eat well for less. Eastfield Community Shop celebrated its formal opening today with community chefs doing demonstrations and providing tasty food to sample, a chance to try Zumba classes and with experts on hand to give advice on a wide range of issues.

Recent surveys have revealed that many ECRs feel they lack sufficient knowledge and experience to conduct safe fieldwork expeditions to the polar regions. Furthermore, they face limited opportunities to join established scientific programs on polar research ships or bases. The Clean Planet Peninsula project seeks to address these issues by offering cost-effective training both in the UK and in the polar regions through a series of courses, remote fieldwork camps, and future expeditions.

An investigation into allegations of bullying and discrimination at Britain's equality watchdog has been paused. The claims by staff are made against Baroness Falkner, the head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), and other members of its board.

Details of the allegations were recently reported by Channel 4 News. A spokesperson for the EHRC said it is now seeking legal advice "on the impact of leaked confidential information".

An interim High Court order banning street cruising across Birmingham will remain in place until a final hearing is held following a review at Birmingham High Court last week (19 May 2023).

This injunction, prohibiting drivers or riders or passengers from taking part in a street cruise anywhere in Birmingham, has been in place since December 2022. Any driver, rider or passenger breaching the order could be arrested immediately, and could face up to two years in prison, a fine, or have their assets seized.

Hundreds of people attended the funeral of a forgotten World War Two RAF airman at a church in Westminster after a campaign was set-up for him to have the send-off he deserved. Jamaican-born Flt Sgt Peter Brown was one of the last pilots of the Caribbean, who volunteered as RAF personnel. He died in at his home, in north London, in December.

Citizens have been given the chance to name an iconic animatronic bull that stole the show during the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Currently known as the Raging Bull, the 10m (32ft) tall sculpture featured in the opening ceremony last year before going on display in the city centre. Originally destined for the scrap heap, a campaign to save it saw Network Rail commit to giving it a home in the city's New Street Station.

Worcester Cathedral’s famous clutch of peregrines chicks have this week been ringed by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) – meaning they are now recorded on the national database and can be identified in the future. 

More than 200,000 people have watched as the chicks, who started hatching last month, have grown in the nest perched on the Cathedral, on a YouTube livestream. On Monday, ringers from the BTO rung the chicks, measured their wing spans, weighed and recorded them on the national database.

Tina Turner, whose death was announced yesterday, suffered a number of health issues in recent years including cancer, a stroke and kidney failure.

The soulful pop icon who rose to fame alongside husband Ike in the 1960s with songs including Proud Mary and River Deep, Mountain High, was a solo sensation with classic pop hits like The Best and What's Love Got to Do With It made her a superstar. Dubbed the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll, Tina Turner was famed for her raunchy and energetic stage performances and husky, powerful vocals, with younger stars who have felt her influence include Beyoncé, Janet Jackson, Janelle Monae and Rihanna.

Birmingham City Council’s new Cabinet has been announced. At the annual meeting of the council in the Council Chamber, Councillor John Cotton was confirmed as the new Leader of the city council, while Cllr Sharon Thompson was confirmed as Deputy Leader.

British Safety Council held a Gala Dinner on 19 May to celebrate the International Safety Awards (ISAs) 2023 at the Landmark hotel in London. This is the 65^th year the awards have taken place.

The event was hosted by British racing driver Perry McCarthy (aka the original ‘Stig’ from BBC Top Gear). The prestigious event included speeches by British Safety Council CEO, Mike Robinson, its chairman Peter McGettrick, and Jason Anker MBE who, alongside his daughter Abbi, spoke about his accident working at height 30 years ago which left him paralysed from the waist down, how it affected them as a family, and how he found the motivation to recover and achieve career success since then.

Thanks to funding from Near Neighbours, the London borough of Newham will mark the 75th anniversary of Windrush with a series of events which include art exhibitions, talks, workshops and music with DJs and local artists. 

The celebrations will kick off with a launch event at Stratford Old Town Hall on Windrush Day, Thursday 22 June, 6.30-8pm, with speeches, networking and refreshments. WINDRUSH JOURNEYS: A black and white photographic exhibition of the Windrush community and the journey they made, with augmented reality will also be on display.

Religious freedom is a universal human right. The United States’ defence of that right includes issuing the International Religious Freedom report each year to assist those who protect this fundamental freedom.

On May 15, Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued the 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom and credited those who work to advance religious freedom, often at great personal risk.

Following the announcement of Birmingham Festival 23, and confirmed funding from Arts Council England, local artists Elizabeth ‘Zeddie’ Lawal and Mukhtar Dar joined the Festival team as Artistic Associates. Mukhtar and Zeddie have been working closely with Creative Director, Raidene Carter and the wider producing team to bring their broad experience, perspective and knowledge of the city’s cultural communities to help ensure a varied and exciting Festival programme that is relevant to the city’s diverse audiences.

Dr Steven McCabe and Beverley Nielsen, Associate Professors and political economists at Birmingham City University, have commented on the appointment of Councillor John Cotton (Lab, Glebe Farm and Tile Cross) as the new leader of Birmingham City Council, who took on the role yesterday following an intervention by the national Labour Party.

Associate Professor Steven McCabe said: “That the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) has produced a report which concludes the climate within Birmingham City Council’s group as ‘dysfunctional’ and that there were instances of racism, misogyny and harassment is not good. Little wonder it has taken the decisive action to remove current leader Ian Ward and replace him with politician John Cotton, seen by many as a ‘vanilla’ choice, supported by deputy Sharon Thompson. 

It was announced that Martin Amis, one of the most celebrated British novelists of his generation, died of oesophageal cancer at his Florida home, by his wife, the writer Isabel Fonseca. Best known for his 1984 novel Money and the 1989 work London Fields, the author of dozens of novels and non-fiction books, he is widely considered to be one of the most influential writers of his era.

Born in 1949 in Oxford, he was the son of the novelist and poet Kingsley Amis. The younger Amis followed in his father's footsteps with his first novel, the Rachel Papers.