Tag: James Palmer

East Cambs Employs Former Deputy To Advise On Budget Cuts

17:20 Thursday 1st August 2013
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: East Cambridgeshire is to spend £30,000 to ask a former council official how to save money. As we reported on Drivetime earlier in the week, the district council needs to find £900,000 of savings in about eighteen months time. So former Deputy Chief Executive Cecilia Tredget is being hired to find those savings. James Palmer is the Council Leader, and he joins me now. Hi James.
JAMES PALMER: Good afternoon.
CHRIS MANN: Do you really need to pay somebody £30,000 to tell you how to save money? Continue reading “East Cambs Employs Former Deputy To Advise On Budget Cuts”

James Palmer On The Future For East Cambs District Council

17:20 Friday 12th July 2013
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

[C]HRIS MANN: As the Government slashes local government budgets by another 10%, our local authorities are facing tough decisions. They’re being told at the same time to keep council tax the same, so they have to make cuts. But where to make them? Services, public transport, roads, care, schools, libraries? Many have already frozen pay and cut jobs. Sharing backroom operations with other councils is already the norm. One council facing such choices is East Cambridgeshire District. based in Ely. It’s rural, but fast growing. 80,000 people. 250 square miles. Right now they’re carrying out a root and branch analysis to try and answer those questions. And the Council Leader, the new Council Leader, is James Palmer, who’s a milkman from Soham, from the Conservative Party. And he joins me now. James, hello to you.
JAMES PALMER: Good afternoon.
CHRIS MANN: Big problems, big decisions to make, to decide the future. Where do you cut the cost? Continue reading “James Palmer On The Future For East Cambs District Council”

Rescue Remedies For Victims Of Cambridgeshire’s Housing Crisis

08:20 Tuesday 25th June 2013
Bigger Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: A homeless hostel in Littleport is reopening to support families who find themselves with nowhere to live. It’s part of a five year plan by East Cambridgeshire District Council to reduce the amount they spend on emergency bed and breakfast accommodation. earlier we heard from Council Leader James Palmer. He said the hostel was closed in 2009 because homelessness wasn’t a problem. (TAPE)
JAMES PALMER: No problem goes away for good, but for several years we hadn’t had an issue on homelessness at all. And obviously, as any council does, savings have to be made where they can. Now the situation arose that there were people in homelessness. We made changes to the system we were using. We had I think twenty three families homeless at Christmas, and now we’re down to one. And obviously we are reopening, we’ve refurbished and we’re reopening the hostel in Littleport, which will help, should there be an influx in the future. (LIVE)
PAUL STAINTON: Well Jenny Rhodes is running that hostel. She’s from Sanctuary Housing. Morning Jenny.
JENNY RHODES: Morning Paul.
PAUL STAINTON: So who exactly does the hostel provide accommodation for? Continue reading “Rescue Remedies For Victims Of Cambridgeshire’s Housing Crisis”