Last week the Shadow Minister for Universities and Skills – David Willetts MP –  visited Brighton & Hove to launch the party’s new coastal towns action plan. This is a very useful document as it underlines some of the unique challenges that places like Brighton & Hove have faced over the years due to their unique location.

 Some of the policies contained in the action plan include:

• Giving local councils and the police new powers to restrict the large number of late licenses and tackle alcohol-fuelled anti-social behaviour.
• Cancelling Labour’s council tax revaluation which intends to charge residents higher council tax for having sea views.
• Creating a ‘Community Right to Buy’ to allow local groups to take over and save threatened community assets and buildings.
• Allowing privately owned, listed seaside heritage attractions, such as piers, to apply for Lottery funding.

There is also a very strong focus on supporting local businesses and jobs, something which we as a council have prioritised during the recession. For example, we have recently supported Domestic & General to secure 200 new jobs for people who were made redundant when the Lloyds TSB call centre announced it would close. We hope to do more of this sort of thing in the future.

Under a future Conservative Government there would be new tax breaks for local firms – including local business rate discounts, lower corporation tax on small firms, a new Business Increase Bonus to reward councils that attract new firms into their areas and waiving National Insurance on new firms which create jobs.

Brighton & Hove has weathered the recession relatively well but we must build on this as we emerge from the downturn. I believe that these new policies will allow us to do just that.

Last week I met the Conservative’s new prospective parliamentary candidate for Brighton Pavilion – Charlotte Vere. I think that Charlotte is an excellent choice and, if elected next year, I am certain she would serve the residents of that part of the City admirably. However, she is going to be in for a tough fight as both the Greens and Labour are pouring resources into this highly marginal constituency. The Greens particularly, seem to think that they already have it in the bag. I’m not so sure -  the more I see of her, the more I think that Charlotte will be equal to the challenge. It is worth remembering that she came through a very tough ‘open’ selection process which involved a public hustings with non-party members. This will stand her in good stead, as will her background as a highly successful social entrepreneur and businesswoman.

Alongside Mike Weatherley in Hove and Simon Kirby in Brighton Kemptown we have three excellent candidates and I am confident that whenever Gordon Brown choses to call the election, the political landscape in the city will become decidedly blue in 2010!

Alexander Technique Brighton Hove sport & fitness coaching with Alan Mars

Can you really, significantly, improve flexibility in 5 Minutes a day? Yes! http://tinyurl.com/yb3uzpq

I really enjoyed this Twitter post by colleague & former fellow student Robert Rickover.

 
The flexibility routine that Robert describes is one that use for myself and particularly with people who come to me for Alexander Technique, sport and fitness coaching.

Visit Robert’s world here http://twitter.com/BodyLearning

Robert Rickover

We are currently seeking placements in the following areas. All clients are work-ready and placements are for between 4-6 weeks, for 8-16 hours per week. Full details in the post below. If you can help, please email guy.walsh[at]careco-ops.org.uk

1. Supermarket/retail in Hove
2. Non-intensive admin in health/clinic environment
3. Admin in catering/restaurant/food environment (chef with 23 years experience looking for desk-based job)
4. Nursery (0-2 years) – preferably in Hove
5. Journalism/social commentary
6. Retail with ability to support English language improver with Bengali native tongue
7. Mental health care

Towards the end of last week I announced 10 actions that I want the council to deliver during the next 12 months. These are practical measures that I hope will inspire a renewed spirit of civic pride and will create a city of opportunity. The new programme will focus on the following areas:

1. Better Homes - improve housing in the city and build more affordable family homes

2. Stronger Communities - create stronger communities by focusing on encouraging people at the grassroots to have more say in shaping their communities and our city

3. Civic Renewal – protect and respect our heritage

4. World Class City - build on our reputation as a great place to live, work and visit

5. Community Safety – create safer and more cohesive communities that are resilient to the blight of crime and anti-social behaviour

6. Young people - creating opportunities so young people can meet their aspirations and potential

7. City Circle - ensure older people feel connected with their communities

8. First Class Education - continue to build on our strong education results

9. Sustainable City – promote Brighton & Hove as a sustainable city

10. Sustainable Economy – create a competitive and sustainable local economy

Read the full speech

Our recently refurbished Pilates matwork studio at the Academy of Creative Training located at 70a Church Road in central Hove, is ready just in time for the New Year! 

Why not start 2010 with renewed strength and flexibility?  Pilates mat class is suitable for everyone and is available throughout the week at all levels of instruction, from absolute beginners to classical advanced. 

The first and finest Pilates studio in Hove, founded by Paul Anthony McLinden.

www.oceanwavepilates.com

Our recently refurbished Pilates matwork studio at the Academy of Creative Training located at 70a Church Road in central Hove, is ready just in time for the New Year! 

Why not start 2010 with renewed strength and flexibility?  Pilates mat class is suitable for everyone and is available throughout the week at all levels of instruction, from absolute beginners to classical advanced. 

The first and finest Pilates studio in Hove, founded by Paul Anthony McLinden.

www.oceanwavepilates.com

Our recently refurbished Pilates matwork studio at the Academy of Creative Training located at 70a Church Road in central Hove, is ready just in time for the New Year! 

Why not start 2010 with renewed strength and flexibility?  Pilates mat class is suitable for everyone and is available throughout the week at all levels of instruction, from absolute beginners to classical advanced. 

The first and finest Pilates studio in Hove, founded by Paul Anthony McLinden.

www.oceanwavepilates.com

(but thanks to the ConArtists, they’re on their way home. This is the twenty minute exercise from today.)

Heads

I predict nothing.

I know that any prediction I may propose will be
gazumped by the she-devil snigger of Lady Luck.

I’ll put one foot forward, head held high, a determined stride,
Decided by long thought pros and cons, my self-deceit of self-control.

There’s that ringing in my ear, that delicate thought from him to me,
My mind in his, his heart in mine, one thought meeting in unworldly synchronicity –

An imagined kiss that flutters alive a childlike wish
that magic is not smothered by my grown-up sense of the ridiculous.

I predict that my life will dip and roll from irony to fate,
A coin flipped by sweet Kismet’s slight of hand,

Fortune delivered before it hits the ground –
Heads or tails tricked by the spin, defying mortal plans.

I predict it all.

.

If anyone would like to join us at the next ConArtists meet then please comment or email me. It’s a wonderful, lively group, with occasional cookies!

The Geffrye Musuem is hosting an exhibition, ‘Eco Home’ focusing on Eco Design within the home.

The exhibition will be exploring current ideas around eco living, looking into recycling, energy saving, human habits and behaviour and will offer visitors food for thought on what they can do to make small but important eco changes in their homes.

The exhibition will run from Tuesday 13 October 2009 to Sunday 7 February 2010.

On my Tango Blog, I have added a dance calendar to include Salsa, Tango and Jive in and around the Eastbourne area.  (See my latest post.) If you have a dance event, please send me a comment with the details and I can add it to the calendar.

There’s a place in Hove called ”I gigi General Store” and it’s spectacular. It’s only small, but having chopped out all unnecessary junk, it sells a refined selection of furniture, home wares, gifts, clothes for ladies and gentlemen.

I gigi hosts exhibitions too, and as though all of that weren’t enough, a radiantly lit cafe is nested up on the top floor and serves nutritious organic breakfasts and lunches.

There isn’t much in the way of Argentine Tango down in East Sussex, but I have been dancing in Eastbourne.  I am re-discovering my Salsa roots, and dancing LeRoc/Ceroc.  Amor is having LeRoc lessons, so it won’t be long before I have a dance partner, although getting dances hasn’t been a problem for me, after all, it is for only one dance and I don’t need to be too picky!

I have met many friendly people dancing down here and I may have even found a new hairdresser from my Salsa class!  I have met people in the shops or on the street that I have met in dance class.  This has never happened to me in all my years of dancing in London.  I am having a great time while settling into my new life.

I have set up a new dance calendar for Eastbourne, Brighton and Hove.  It includes Tango, Salsa and Jive (Rock n Roll, LeRoc, Ceroc).  I will only list dancing events -  Milongas and Freestyle, with the occasional Workshop, such as Tango Boot Camp.

If anyone knows of or has a dance evening in or around these areas, please let me know and I will add the details to the calendar.

Happy Dancing!

I am grateful to Green Ben Duncan for breaking the news that the Lib Dem candidate in Brighton Pavilion, Andrew Falconer, has quit the race to succeed David Lepper. The only thing that has surprised me about this move is that the Lib Dems had a candidate at all. 

I watch politics in Brighton and Hove quite closely but have to admit that I had no idea whatsoever that the Lib Dems had selected anyone.  In fact, only last week I searched the internet, including the Lib Dems Brighton and Hove site, to see who the candidate was, and even the website had not been told about Andrew Falconer’s selection.

The Lib Dems in Brighton and Hove are a joke, holding just 2 seats on the City Council.  What will they do now?  Hold a joke ‘open primary’ like the Tories? S lect a woman in order to elevate the camapign to a level playing field?   Select a charasmatic, public figure to represent them, someone like …?  Actually, apart from Uncle Vince Cable the Lib Dems don’t have anyone known outside their own front room.

I hope the Lib Dems won’t waste their time fielding a candidate, even a token paper candidate, in Brighton Pavilion. They should concentrate their efforts in constituencies such as Lewes where they have a sitting candidate in Stormin’ Norman Baker, and Eastbourne where they have the best chance of beating the Tory Nigel Waterson. The Lib Dems could encourage their supporters to vote Labour or Green in Brighton Pavilion and Labour and the Greens should reciprocate being encouraging their supporters to vote tactically for the Lib Dems in Lewes and Eastbourne.

This announcement from the Government that they will only be giving Brighton & Hove City Council a 1.5% increase in central grant doesn’t come as a great surprise but is nonetheless disappointing for the residents of the city. We are once again at the ‘floor’ level of grant, meaning that this is the lowest possible increase we could have got. An increase of 1.5% represents roughly £1.5 million, which is a drop in the ocean when you consider that our overall budget is £750 million. Inflationary pressures alone more than wipe out this increase.

We are working extremely hard to cope with the double whammy of falling income and increased demand for services brought about by the recession. Despite the tough economic outlook, we are ensuring that as much money as possible is spent on the frontline services that so many of the city’s residents and visitors depend on. However, we are not helped in this regard by the ever increasing costs of centralised regulation, inspection and bureaucracy which have resulted from 12 years of a Labour Government which is not prepared to give councils the freedom to get on with it.

We have made over £10 million of efficiency savings over the last couple of years and we are proposing a further £7 million for next year. It is my number one priority to do everything I can again this year to keep council tax as low as possible whilst protecting frontline services. To do anything else at the present time would be to let down the residents and businesses of Brighton & Hove.

For the first time my wishlist for Christmas isn’t that long. I pretty much have all that I need, way more than I need. But there is always something you’d really like find under the Christmas tree, and these are my cravings:

1. Ticket to the Hove festival 2010.

2. Whyred Cardia suede 2-in-1 boots

3. Shoes from Mango

4. Lipsticks from M.A.C.

5. Suede wedge boots from Fornarina.

6. Last suede boots by Won Hundred.

7. 99 Zip Wedge from Jeffrey Campbell.

/Haha, I’m such a shoeaholic!/

In addition to this, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince in DVD, The Host by Stephenie Meyer, some random, old books from an independent book store, CDs, and The Body Shop- and Clarins products would be appreciated. If I know my family right though, I’ll probably only get 10% of this, and a whole bunch of crap they bought just to give me a present. It’s better drop it then, donate the money to a charity. Why buy me something I’ll never use, you know, when there are so many people around the world in need.

Eva and THAT famous advert

I own this seemingly unmarketable object – Brighton’s loudest alarm clock – because a magazine advert, not dissimilar to the famous one on the top of this page, caught my eye. I don’t remember it well but it probably had one of those catchy little slogans that adverts have: “Don’t live a little, live an alarm clock”, for example, or “If you like a lot of alarm clock on your biscuit, join our club”

Bear with me; I’m coming to my point – but first I must brief you about two other events yesterday that bring me to write this blog.

Half an hour after rising, I was on Twitter when I noticed a message exhorting people to race to www.millionpoundlist.com. The website was one of those attempts to raise money without doing anything much. Click on the link if you want to know how crass it is. In most cases, you’d have to be as thick as a rhino’s bunions to fall for this sort of thing. Alas, it was persuasively worded and I stumped up a tenner hoping there would be some eventual advantage for the tea shop. In retrospect, there won’t be.

The third event took place at Asda in the Marina, where I got so angry I left my half-filled trolley in the frozen peas aisle and came home empty-handed. Brighton and Hove is full of supermarkets from which I have flounced without any groceries and this time it was because they didn’t have the nut roast I wanted. Or any nut roast, for that matter.

How are these three events linked? Well, they’re all about advertising, or ‘legalised lying’ as HG Wells called it, and how it works.

In the first two, I was duped into parting needlessly with cash by forms of advertising. The third is an example of how I was left disappointed because I didn’t take advantage of the available advertising – in this case, the product search facility on Asda’s website.

Advertising, you see, is everywhere and in some form or another affects you and me hundreds of times a day. This fact, and the fact that the advertising industry here in Brighton alone is worth tens of millions of pounds, tells us one thing: advertising works. For small businesses like Metrodeco, there’s no hiding from that fact. And that is the point of this blog. Sure, if you’re like us, you’ll take advantage of free advertising, or PR, as the PR industry calls it. But you won’t get a steady stream of timely, high profile, on-message coverage unless you pay for it. A local press campaign can increase awareness, establish familiarity and, ultimately, drive up sales.

I’m not going to go further into the boons or the banes (ie. the cost), but what I want to do here is give you the benefit of my limited but valuable (I hope) experience of Brighton and Hove’s advertising industry from the perspective of a small business. That way, if you ever have a heart attack, a brief period of internet stupidity and a bout of intense trolley rage all in one morning and decide that you too need to advertise, it might be a little bit easier for you to navigate that murky world.

So, onto business. Like all good things, good advertising is like tea.

It’s:

Trustworthy

Energetic

Appropriate

Taking each criteria in turn, it has to be trustworthy because, if it’s not, people will find you out and your adverts and everything else you say will become ineffective. Have you seen the recent national newspaper adverts by Halifax building society, in relation to the floods in Cumbria? They claim to have ‘put in place a number of special arrangements to help Halifax customers’ affected. These include three month mortgage payment holidays and emergency overdraft increases. Piffle! These things were available at all reputable banks and building societies before the floods, including Halifax. It looks like spin and makes Halifax look cynical.

People are already suspicious of the whole industry without being lied to and our detailed research on the issue in the Brighton & Hove area shows us why:

Metrodeco Guesstimate Graph 2009

Why energetic? It’s thought we are bombarded with around 3,500 media messages a day from brands attempting to capture our attention and engage us with their products. Even my local bus stop in Kemp Town has now started talking to me with its ‘real time’ display, rather than behaving like a normal inanimate object. Most of this noise is boring. Deeply, mind-numbingly, soul-scarringly, eye-gougingly boring. And utterly pointless too. So by the following day, 99.9% of these messages forgotten. You, too, will be forgotten in the blink of an eye if you don’t attempt to bring something fresh and original to the table. So think about what your advert is saying and whether the consumer will have seen a similar message that day.

Finally, your advertising has to be appropriate in terms of the audience, the likely affect of that advert on that audience and the cost. It’s pointless advertising zimmer frames at the local youth disco, especially if you have to sell your husband or wife to afford the advert.

Below this blog, I have provided a run-down of some of what’s on offer in Brighton and Hove and how much it will cost you. Admittedly, it’s only the print side of things, but I’m sure our friends in TV and radio will let me know if they have interesting to add.

Next week: how to solve the Iranian nuclear crisis.

Ends

CITYWIDE PUBLICATIONS

• BRIGHTON AND HOVE LEADER

Delivered once a week (on Fridays) to homes across Brighton. Importantly, it’s free, which means it has a huge readership (over 95,000 according to its publishers, Newsquest). On the upside, this means all sorts of people will read it, from sports fans to politicians to religious leaders – so you’re likely to reach your target audience and some you didn’t know you wanted to reach. It’s also only available in Brighton and Hove – so if that’s where you customers are, then you’re not wasting any money advertising in places like Lewes, Crawley or Worthing. The downside is that it’s fairly expensive at £7.50 per column centimetre. In English, this means it’s going to cost you in the region of £330 for a quarter page colour advert.

• THE ARGUS

The city’s daily paper and key publication. Same price for adverts as the Leader but slightly fewer people will see your ad – 91,000 read each paper (about three times as many as actually buy it). Thursday is a good bet if you think this is the publication for you as it’s the best-read with jobs guide and motoring pull-out. Again, it’s got mass appeal, but although its core readership is in Brighton and Hove, it is sold across Sussex. If your advert is in the Argus, it’s likely that it will be on the side of a packet of fish and chips within 24 hours, whereas the Leader can hang around homes for a week. However, the Argus is more influential insofar as it is read by far more of the city’s power-brokers and decision-makers than. It might interest you to know that nearly half of the Argus’s readers are over 55. Of those in the core area of Brighton and Hove, 56% regularly enjoy eating out.

• BRIGHTON VISTOR

One of the hardest working ad teams of them all, the Visitor gang are our favourite of all the magazines. They will not only put your ad on the pages of the mag AND the website but will promote you endlessly on Twitter and by word of mouth. At only £275 for a half page ad this publication is definitely recommended. Also, if you’re looking for an ethical ad placement, Brighton Visitor puts massive amounts of time and effort into community events, like the annual Food Festival and does a lot to promote the city in their own time and at no profit to themselves.

• LATEST 7/LATEST HOMES

Available for free at hundreds of Brighton and Hove outlets, this weekly glossy mag is a bit younger and fresher than the Argus stable and at £300 for a half page advert, your money goes a bit further. Of all the zillions of city magazines it has the feeling of being the most established and trusted. It’s the one, for example, that the city council leader writes in and has a talented editor in Bella Todd, formally from Time Out. The Latest sales team claim that more than 100,000 ‘in Sussex, London and the South’ read it, which begs the question: “How many of those live in Brighton?” For my money, it’s not as credible as an independent news and features publication as the Argus because it offers favourable ‘editorial’ with paid adverts, leaving readers wondering just how honest the many supposedly objective reviews inside are. However, one of the best advertising opportunities in the city is the Latest’s ‘Hot List’ listings at £10 per week per entry (minimum of six issues). Very cheap but advertisers tell us it is effective.

• ABSOLUTE BRIGHTON

EXPENSIVE!!! £650 for a half page ad but this is the posh kid in the class. This glossy magazine looks higher quality than Latest, with its spine and professional front page photography – so it’s a surprise that it’s free. It is delivered to a limited area of the city around the Dyke Road area (ie the posh houses). My feeling is that if you’re selling dental cosmetic treatment or Ferraris, this might be your publication. There are some very high profile celebrity interviews, high end interiors features, travel features and reviews. However, the writing is not up to the standard of Latest. 25,000 copies of Absolute Brighton are distributed around Brighton and Hove and the surrounding areas and it claims to have a readership of 65,000 plus.

• YOU GOT PAPPED

Unlike most new kids on the block, you get the feeling Papped is here to stay because it’s a bit different being so photo-based. This monthly publication describes itself as “a photographic review of all that happens in Brighton and Hove”, covering “fantastic events, as and when they happen”. Describes ‘mud wrestlers’ among its key audience, making the point, which I’d agree with, that it has a wide appeal. It’s only £200 for a half page ad but that’s because there are only 10,000 copies of each edition, which are distributed to bars, restaurants, hotels, gyms, other clubs.

• GSCENE

This is a bit of a no-brainer. It’s a gay lifestyle mag so is probably the one for you if your audience is the gay community. Worth noting here that, while you might not have thought your audience was necessariy the gay community, Brighton’s gay population is estimated at 50,000. Furthermore half own their own home and 75 per cent are working – so there’s likely to be a bit of spending power there. Gscene is high quality and very independent, which accounts for the fiercely campaigning style of its reportage and comment. There are 20,000 copies distributed in Brighton and Hove, and 10,000 to London and the south coast from Bournemouth to Eastbourne. The editor claims that approximately a further 15,000 readers nationwide download a copy online each month. A good bet at £275 for a half page ad.

• ONE80NEWS

Lesbian and gay free newspaper, fortnightly, claims to be for an older, more informed read. Print run of 20,000 but is read by 60,000. A half page ad is £460.

• ABC MAGAZINE

Free Brighton-based parenting magazine and directory. Distributed in local libraries, leisure centres, children’s centres, doctor surgeries and the like. There are three issues a year and the print run is 35,000 (estimated readership 105,000) – distributed across the county. In Brighton, it counts among its advertisers organisations like Brighton Baby Expo, Tumble Tots, St. Aubyns School, Susanna Cassam Music Tuition and Rox School of Dance & Drama – all give glowing references. The cost is £460 for a half page ad.

• WHAT’S ON

Free pocket-sized monthly listings guide to Brighton and Hove, launched in 1995, 10,000 copies every month, nearly half distributed to pubs and clubs. In the words of the sales team: “Your advertising has greater potential to be viewed repeatedly in a listings guide more than a magazine as the reader returns to the guide on a regular basis throughout the month to view events.” A half page ad is £275.

• BRIGHTON SOURCE

Principally a monthly listings magazine, but also contains interviews with local ‘characters’. Distributed in pretty much in every pub, bar, café, record shop and cool clothes shop in the Brighton & Hove area. A very good cheap option at £40 a month for a listing.

STUDENT MAGAZINES

• THE BADGER

Weekly student newspaper of the University of Sussex Students’ Union.
It covers news, reviews, comment and listings. Claims to have secured exclusive interviews with Will Smith and Johnny Depp. Written by students so likely to be more trusted than the official university magazine. A half page ad is £380, which is expensive for its measly print run of 3,000.

• THE PULSE

Sussex University’s termly glossy mag politics, culture, feature investigations, arts and lifestyle. Again, expensive at £380 for a half page considering the even smaller run of 2,000. But it’s likely to be kept for a longer period than The Badger.

• THE PEBBLE

With a print run of 7,000, Brighton University’s Students’ Union newspaper would seem to be better value at £375 for a half page ad.

BEST OF THE REST

In the West of the City, HOVE FACTUALLY is delivered monthly to 5,000 homes in central Hove, 2,700 in the Hove Park area and 3,000 in Hangleton. It’s A5 booklet size and an ad is cheap at only £65 for a half page ad.

In the East, the KEMPTOWN RAG is widely read and well-loved with its eccentric columnists. It’s hand-delivered to 7,000 homes in Kemp Town (note correct spelling) and Queen’s Park.

There are many other publications that are very local. Some are good, some less so. They’re distributed to anything from 5o to 5,000 homes and ads are usually around £80 for a half page but can be as cheap as £10.

I list some of them here:

Seven Dials Directory (9,500 homes), Fiveways Directory (3,000), Hangleton Harbinger, Hanover Herald, Hollingdean News, Knoll Scroll, Mosaic, Moulsecoomb Community Forum Newsletter, North Laine Runner, North Portslade community newsletter, Portslade Pages, QPCV News, Roundhill Reporter, South Portslade newsletter, West Hove News.

NOTES:

Rates are for one-off ads – discounts are nearly always available for bulk purchases.

Want to come to an accounts/tax return/bookkeeping study group? Got a pile of receipts and no organised bookkeeping system set up? After Adam Hickie’s talk ‘Bookkeeping for Small Businesses’ at Bscene last Tuesday Kat Neeser of BScene feels inspired to set some time aside, preferably with other people, to get organised, and also do something about the looming TAX RETURN (deadline Jan).

Anyone who would like to get together at Westwerks on Fri 4th or 11th Dec, 11am till 1pm to work on their accounts/bookkeeping/tax returns together should contact Kat on 07958964810 or email katneeser[at]hotmail.com saying which date you prefer.

Adam Hickie’s printed notes will be available.

It’ll be small donation only for teas and wifi.

Councils and other public bodies have come in for a lot of criticism in recent years for overzealous use of surveillance powers to investigate varying degrees of criminal activity.  In the most extreme cases, powers which were designed for use in tackling terrorism have been used to investigate relatively minor offences.

I have always been very much against such a heavy-handed and intrusive approach and, as a Council, we have always tried to use surveillance and the accessing of communications as a very last resort. We have also tried to be as open and transparent as possible about when we do have to resort to these measures.

Last week at our Cabinet meeting we received our annual report on use of the so-called Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act. As far as I’m aware, not many Councils operate with this amount of transparency and I’m pleased to say that the Government Inspectors have stated that we use our powers in a ‘measured and justifiable’ manner.

Clearly, there are circumstances when we would be neglecting our duties not to use some of the powers to investigate criminal activity. Most of the covert surveillance that we do carry out relates to housing benefit fraud, harassment and fly-tipping – offences which I would think most people would consider to be very serious. Indeed, benefit fraud costs Brighton & Hove’s taxpayers somewhere around £1 million a year and I make no apologies for doing everything possible to bring the perpetrators to book.

However, there is a general feeling in the country, which I share, that the surveillance state has gone too far in recent years. The Government’s recently announced Vetting and Barring scheme, which requires millions of parents and volunteers to be ”approved” for working with children by the Government after registering on a state-run database, is a classic example.

This Government seems to think that mammoth national databases and data-sharing will make citizens more secure. I think that more and more people are beginning to realise that this is simply not the case.

Just a quick reminder that tomorrow is the launch event for the Council’s ‘Get Involved‘ campaign at Hove Town Hall.

This is a nine month campaign which aims to make residents aware of the many ways they can get involved in contributing to their community. This could be in various ways, for instance through taking part in local decision making, voting, having a say in local consultations or participating in voluntary work.

You may already have noticed a brightly coloured camper van travelling around the City recording residents’ views – diary room style – on what they think about local politics, the council and the community around them. Excerpts from this will be shown tomorrow and there will also be information stalls, activities and the opportunity to ’speed meet’ your councillor.

I will be taking part in a Question Time panel discussion hosted by ITN newsreader Nicholas Owen. This starts at 3.30pm for anyone who is interested and there will also be a live webcast.

Tomorrow marks the start of Get Involved but there will be further events organised over the coming months. Keep an eye on this website for more information – www.getinvolvedinthecity.org.uk

I hope to see you tomorrow!

Update – Around 500 people came through the doors on Saturday which was really great! Thanks to everyone at the Council who organised the event and gave up their time on Saturday to help out. And thanks to you for coming!

When: Week 6 – Tuesday, November 17, 2009 from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM at Westwerks.

Host: Adam Hickie

Adam Hickie from Brighton-based accountants Lucraft Hodgson & Dawes came along to Westwerks and gave

There were loads of questions and lots of feedback.  Adam also left us with some helpful handouts, including a great guide to allowable expenditure.  Copies are available at Westwerks.

• What records do I have to keep?
• How long do I keep my recordds and why bother?
• How shoul I record my income and what are my expenses?
• Writing up books and records
• Using dedicated software
• Other bits and bobs (VAT etc)

More feedback on our Ning http://bscene.ning.com