Tom Richmond: Pickles may need to reverse over car parking

HAVING lived up to his name with his rash promise to preside over the return of weekly bin collections, Eric Pickles threatens to do likewise with his call for town centre parking fees to be dropped.

At face value, the Local Government Secretary’s call is a plausible one as more town halls look to impose Sunday charges for the first time. In these recessionary times, struggling town centres need every possible assistance – and cheaper parking is one option.

However, the one-time Bradford Council leader needs to remember that successive governments, including his own administration, have been advocating a greater use of public transport because of concerns about climate change – this is why David Cameron visited the Arctic after becoming Tory leader.

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He also needs reminding of the extent to which motorists have been exploited by central and local governments. Lower income from parking charges will mean cash-strapped councils having to generate further revenue from other sources – and, frankly, I just can’t see this happening in the current financial climate.

Yes, Pickles is right when he says some communities have become “ghost towns” with empty premises while other town centres have become magnets for charity shops.

However, it would probably be far more beneficial if the owners of vacant premises, whether they be public sector organisations or private individuals, were persuaded to lease units for a discounted rent.

If they did so, it might be affordable for retailers and entrepreneurs to open shop premises – and breathe new life into Britain’s high streets.

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It certainly has a far greater chance of happening than the false promise of lower parking charges.

TALKING of Mr Pickles, he was supposed to put the stops on local authority newspapers.

It hasn’t worked on my patch. On Tuesday night, NHS Leeds and Leeds City Council delivered the 16-page newsheet called About Leeds.

It was headlined “Summer holiday essentials”.

I suppose it was a miracle that it arrived halfway through the holiday season – and not at the end.

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I’LL leave it to the Prison Service to explain why ex-Labour MP Jim Devine was released from jail after serving just 123 days of a 16-month sentence for making false Parliamentary expenses worth £8,300.

Evidently, Devine will be tagged as part of his release. But wouldn’t it be better if he was made to undertake community work for the remainder of his sentence? Leaving aside his expenses for a moment, he was, still, an MP and should be able to use his expertise to help his local Citizens’ Advice Bureau.

DID you spot the intriguing juxtaposition of education stories the other day?

Around 900 children are suspended from school every day for verbally abusing, or attacking, their teachers or classmates. Yet, at the same time, a growing number of youngsters do not even know their name – never mind how to spell it – when they start school.

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I wonder what proportion of youngsters fall into both categories. My guess is that it would be a pretty high percentage. Frank Field, the Labour MP and the Government’s poverty adviser, is right when he says more has to be done to make parents more aware of their responsibilities when they bring a child into the world. Yet, after initiative-itis on the part of successive governments, just what can be done in those families where a toddler is being expected to fend for themselves when plonked down in front of a television?

After all, education is supposed to begin at home and politicians of all persuasions need to recognise the need for more effective policies on early intervention rather than taking out their frustrations on the teaching profession.

IT is only because of consumerism that Britons are now aware of the importance of food labelling – and the unrivalled quality of home-grown produce. Public pressure persuaded the supermarkets to reform.

Likewise, the same must apply to dairy farmers – judging by the extent to which this industry, according to a Commons committee headed by North Yorkshire MP Anne McIntosh, is being compromised by the supermarkets.

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I’ve lost count in recent weeks at the number of times a pint of milk has changed price at my local Tesco in Leeds. Up to 49p some days, down to 48p the next – I can’t fathom it out. And nor can the staff – they tell me they’re still receiving complaints after a 3p increase earlier this year.

Yet it would help customers, and dairy farmers, if stores like Tesco produced a breakdown of costs – and explained just how much of the money goes back to the farmgate. If this happened, they may not need an Ombudsman to settle payment disputes with farmers – the public would be able to impose natural justice and take their custom to those stores that treated local farmers fairly.

LABOUR is going flat out to secure the student vote ahead of the next election and increase Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg’s electoral discomfort over his party’s U-turn on tuition fees.

Former Foreign Secretary David Miliband has agreed to visit over 20 university campuses in the next year to take part in a series of discussions and Q&A sessions on behalf of the party.

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He’s doing so with the full support of his brother, Ed, who has issued a gushing statement in support of this initiative. Yet students require a word of warning. As he’s not a member of the front bench, Miliband can be far more forthcoming on issues like tuition fees and their future funding.

His brother, however, does not have this luxury, largely because Labour have failed to cost any plans of their own.

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