Podcasts about oxfordshire county council

This episode Laura and Adam talk to two guests from PJA, who happen to be this week's sponsors, about rural active travel. Phil Jones is chairman at PJA and Ben Coleman PJA's technical director.Active travel is sometimes associated with busy urban bike lanes and bustling city pavements. But rural areas' transport needs are as, if not more acute. With fewer buses or rail services, and longer distances to travel along fast-moving country roads, people in small towns and villages tend to have few alternatives to the car. Rural car-dependence is high, rural transport poverty is higher. And while inter-urban paths connecting nearby settlements could offer transport independence from youth to old age, funding and delivering such connections can be fiendishly hard. Laura also spoke to Joaquim Muntane, Technical Lead (Movement and Place) at Oxfordshire County Council about their plans to deliver a network of greenways linking 60 settlements with the city of Oxford.PJA's vision is to create better places through great design. They bring together place-led transport planning, civil engineering and environmental solutions, partnering with developers, landowners and national and local government to enable good growth in urban and rural places. You can find out more: https://pja.co.uk/ Some issues we covered in this week's episode:Lives will be lost without better routes, say MPs: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1elnwn09vno; from a Parliamentary debate on rural cycling: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2024-12-10/debates/C12E8986-6FA2-4C57-98B8-2FC6F289C627/RuralCyclingInfrastructureFaversham's town-wide 20mph: https://pja.co.uk/2020/07/01/pja_faversham_20mph/English cycle route standards, LTN 1/20: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cycle-infrastructure-design-ltn-120The planning and Infrastructure Bill https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-planning-and-infrastructure-bill/guide-to-the-planning-and-infrastructure-billOxfordshire's Greenways Plan https://letstalk.oxfordshire.gov.uk/oxford-greenwaysCambridgeshire Greenways plan https://www.greatercambridge.org.uk/sustainable-transport-programme/active-travel-projects/greater-cambridge-greenways The decade-long B4044 path campaign https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/24718917.cycle-lane-oxford-step-closer-10-year-campaign/For ad-free listening, behind-the-scenes and bonus content and to help support the podcast - head to (https://www.patreon.com/StreetsAheadPodcast). We'll even send you some stickers! We're also on BlueSky and welcome your feedback on our episode: https://bsky.app/profile/podstreetsahead.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Highways Voices we hear from Sean Rooney, Head of Service in Highways Maintenance at Oxfordshire County Council and President of the Local Government Technical Advisers Group.You will discover what he is doing during his year in the post, and why a year might not be long enough, plus hear about opportunities from the Innovation Fund, his ideas on strengthening collaboration with other organisations and creating a directory of research projects.Subscribe to Highways Voices free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts or Pocket Casts and never miss an episode!Highways News reporter Kevin Borras chats to Sean, and they discuuss duplication and the importance of intelligent technology use with practical applications over blind adoption.Don't forget to sign up to our daily email to get all our news into your inbox, and you can also find our stories on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).

In this latest episode of Radical Reformers, I am joined by Lucy Butler, Director of South East Regional Care Cooperative. Lucy shares how her early life experience led her to a career in public services, starting in adult social care and ultimately to various leadership positions in children's services. Most recently, Lucy was Director of Children's Services at West Sussex. She discusses their improvement journey and the importance of ensuring a good culture filters all the way through an organisation and the key role persistence and consistency play in driving improvement. My favourite part of this episode is where Lucy shares the turning point in her career when she helped fight against child sexual exploitation (CSE) in Oxfordshire. She highlights the creative thinking that led everyone from hoteliers to taxi drivers to become part of tackling CSE during her time at Oxfordshire County Council. It's an inspiring listen. Enjoy it!

This Socitm Says podcast sets the scene for why social value is important for public sector – Hear from Hema Patel & Tim Spiers at Oxfordshire County Council and Kurt Frary, Norfolk County Council as we discuss what does good look like and how do we achieve better outcomes across people and place, when it comes to social value. Sign up to our upcoming Social Value webinar  (22 May 2024) join the discussion.

This Socitm Says podcast sets the scene for why social value is an important topic to explore – starting with the Private Sector. Hear from Hema Patel & Tim Spiers at Oxfordshire County Council and Kurt Frary, Norfolk County Council as we discuss what does good look like and how these challenges vary across different types of communities Sign up to our upcoming Social Value webinar join the discussion.

Dr. Nadina Galle is joined by Andy Lederer, Principal Arboriculture Officer for Oxfordshire County Council, to discuss how he got involved with trees despite growing up in North London, how data-driven decision-making is revolutionizing urban forestry, how his perspective on data has changed over his nearly two-decade-long career, how Andy has harnessed PlanIT Geo⁠⁠'s tree inventory and asset management software in Oxfordshire County (UK), the surprising way his team of tree officers reacted to a new, data-driven approach, and what he hopes the future of data-driven urban forestry might look like. This podcast episode is brought to you by ⁠PlanIT Geo⁠. Follow Nadina and the Internet of Nature Podcast on all social platforms: Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/internetofnature_LinkedIn: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadinagalleTwitter: ⁠⁠https://twitter.com/earthtonadina

 How can multi-party projects leverage data effectively to deliver an energy transition project? Join Lily Cairns Haylor and Alex Cameron to find out how local government and local stakeholders can collaborate to drive systems-level change.  Join Lily Cairns Haylor and Alex Cameron to talk about how collaboration and the right data and modelling capabilities can speed up the deployment of much-needed energy transition projects. You'll hear about Project RESOP, one of the energy transition projects that Advanced Infrastructure is engaged in and which brings together local government, utilities and industry. Advanced Infrastructure, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, DerryHirk, Oxfordshire County Council, Dundee City Council, Perth and Kinross, Arup and local stakeholders are coming together to drive forwards energy projects through digital collaboration. Key discussion points:  How can the right data help collaborators interact and work out key opportunities? Grid Constraints – how to assess and simulate alternative plans  How can organisations start quantifying the co2 savings and the real cost? How to determine the optimum bundle of projects and  The gap between public intent and private financing  Podnotes and Links: 1.       Find out about whole system modelling on this project. 2.       Watch a short video about the technology for local area energy management 3.       Find out more about Advanced Infrastructure and Lily's team Are you interested in industrial decarbonization projects and collaborations?  Join us at our Houston event in March 2023 - Decarb Connect North America. Use it as an opportunity to forge your next collaboration or to get ideas for your own decarbonization strategy.   Decarb Connect supports the acceleration of industrial decarbonization around the globe. We share insights and facilitate collaborations across the emerging decarbonization ecosystem. We look specifically at the most energy-intensive industrials from cement, metals and mining, glass, ceramics, chemicals, O&G and many more and help connect them to technology disruptors, investors and advisors.  Through the Decarbonization Leaders Network (DLN), our members (a cross-sector network of those leading decarbonisation in energy-intensive industries) share insights and experiences as they accelerate their net zero plans. Check out our full offering and learn more about our members, summits, reports and webinars. If you enjoyed this conversation, take a look at many more conversations and discussions about industrial decarbonisation taking place across our global event series Many thanks to our production partner and sponsor Janno Media for their support in delivering this podcast. They continue to facilitate great conversations that connect us with our audience, and their skills and expertise mean we can concentrate exclusively on generating great content to engage, inform and inspire. 

Recognising National Careers Week and International Women's Day at the same time, this week Highways Voices hears from Donna Howard, Head of Social Sustainability at Kier Highways, as the company launches its Kier Pathways Scheme.Subscribe to Highways Voices free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts or Pocket Casts and never miss an episode!The strategy aims to engage vulnerable groups, schools and colleges and career returners.In the chat with Adrian Tatum, Ms Howard says the Pathway scheme will help address the skills gap and our ageing workforce, increase diversity and inclusion, meet the company's clients social and economic priorities and increase the profile of the highways and infrastructure careers​.Meanwhile, discussing supporting women at Kier, she says: “What we wanted to do is come up with a programme that was able to help people gain better routes into the highways industry and enjoy careers within the industry.“We want to make Highways an employer of choice for people when they want to come into the industry. The aim is to obviously reach those what some people would class as vulnerable groups, and help them on their journey into a career opportunity.”You'll also hear a round-up of the latest news on the Highways News website, what's happening among our podcast partner organisations ADEPT, TTF, LCRIG and ITS (UK), and why Oxfordshire County Council win Adrian's Accolade this week.

In a Mother's Mind: the mental health needs and experiences of women who have had children removed from their care  We are delighted to share this very special season of Pause and Listen with you! This season is called ‘In a Mother's Mind'. It aims to raise awareness about the mental health experiences and needs of women who have had children removed from their care. It was created by a group of five Pause graduates who have experience of having children removed from their care. In this episode, we discuss the stigma and judgement that women who have had children removed from their care face, and what can be done to erase that stigma and to better support women. We are joined by Pause Practitioner, Mary Grace, and Pause Trustee, Lara Patel, who is the Deputy Director of Children's Services at Oxfordshire County Council. Hosted by Helena, a woman with experience of the Pause Programme  Interviews by Heidi and Helena, women with experience of the Pause Programme  Produced by Fi Gilligan Music by Ben Jacob Editing by Will Jacob To find out more about Pause, visit: pause.org.uk 

WEF 15 Minute City The 15 Minute City In the WEF's own words — this rearrangement of cities is absolutely about climate change. It's permanent climate lockdown. The 15 minute city is not just Oxford, but turning up in Brisbane, Melbourne, Barcelona, Paris, Portland and Buenos Aires. It's everywhere. Oxford, England, is where the madness of the 15-minute system is first being implemented. James Woudhuysen: The green agenda is taking inspiration from the illiberal days of lockdown.To this end, Oxfordshire County Council, which is run by Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party, wants to divide the city of Oxford into six ‘15 minute' districts. In these districts, it is said, most household essentials will be accessible by a quarter-of-an-hour walk or bike ride, and so residents will have no need for a car.On the surface, these 15-minute neigbourhoods might sound pleasant and convenient. But there is a coercive edge. The council plans to cut car use and traffic congestion by placing strict rules on car journeys. … Residents will have to register their cars with the council and they will be tracked to count their journeys through the key gateways. Under the new proposals, if any of Oxford's 150,000 residents drives outside of their designated district more than 100 days a year, he or she could be fined £70. This is just my opinion. PS: If you enjoy my content, I will think of you while drinking my coffee. – Buy Me a Coffee The Slippery Slope Spotify J Fallon Apple Music J Fallon Spotify J Fallon YouTube The Slippery Slope Apple Podcasts The Slippery Slope YouTube The Slippery Slope Stitcher --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jason-fallon/message

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily Newsbrief for Wednesday, December 7th, 2022. Before I get to the news today, how about a little on this day in history? On December 7, 1941, Japanese planes attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl HarborExternal, Hawaii Territory, killing more than 2,300 Americans. The U.S.S. Arizona was completely destroyed and the U.S.S. Oklahoma capsized. A total of twelve ships sank or were beached in the attack and nine additional vessels were damaged. More than 160 aircraft were destroyed and more than 150 others damaged. A hurried dispatch from the ranking United States naval officer in Pearl Harbor, Admiral Husband Edward Kimmel, Commander in Chief of the United States Pacific Fleet, to all major navy commands and fleet units provided the first official word of the attack at the ill-prepared Pearl Harbor base. It said simply: AIR RAID ON PEARL HARBOR X THIS IS NOT DRILL. The following day, in an address to a joint session of Congress, President Franklin Roosevelt called December 7, 1941 “a date which will live in infamy.” Congress then declared War on Japan, abandoning the nation’s isolationism policy and ushering the United States into World War II. Within days, Japan’s allies, Germany and Italy, declared war on the United States, and the country began a rapid transition to a wartime economy by building up armaments in support of military campaigns in the Pacific, North Africa, and Europe. So there ya go, a little history for you guys on this Wednesday morning. Let’s start the news off with this: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/vladimir-putin-bans-all-lgbt-propaganda-far-reaching-move Vladimir Putin bans all 'LGBT propaganda' in far-reaching move Russian President Vladimir Putin signed legislation banning all LGBT "propaganda" on Sunday, according to Russian media. The far-reaching bill prohibits the creation or sharing of content depicting nontraditional sexual relations, gender reassignment and pedophilia in a positive lights, according to state-run media. The law reportedly extends to social media platforms, as well as mass media like films and advertisement. The law also has a provision pertaining to minors and empowers to country's media watchdog to implement systems preventing minors from viewing such content. The law went into effect the same day it was signed, on Sunday. Putin has long waged a political war against the LGBT movement in Russia, and his allies have in the past cited the movement's success in the U.S. as an excuse for expansive actions. State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin, who authored the bill, cited trends in the U.S. and Europe as a reason to pass it in November. "He cited data from opinion polls, according to which 16% of Europeans aged 14 to 29 identify themselves as LGBT," the Duma reported at the time. "And in the U.S. state of Maryland, the number of students who have not decided on their gender due to the promotion of non-traditional relationships has grown almost six times in two years and today makes up 45% of all students in the state." The Duma did not cite where it received the polls, and it was not immediately clear if the polls are in fact accurate. Violations of the new law are mostly punished with fines, ranging from $800 for citizens infringing on the lowest tier to $160,000 for legal entities that infringe on the highest tier, which is pedophilia. Now moving on to our stellar economy: https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2022/12/06/u-s-trade-deficit-rises-5-4-to-four-month-high/ U.S. Trade Deficit Rises 5.4% to Four-Month High The nation’s trade deficit widened 5.4 percent in October to a four-month high of $78.2 billion, data from the Commerce Department showed Tuesday. This was lower than expected. Economists had forecast the deficit would rise to around $80 billion. The October increase in the goods and services deficit reflected an increase in the goods deficit of $6.1 billion to $99.6 billion and an increase in the services surplus of $2.1 billion to $21.4 billion. The U.S. is typically a net exporter of services to the rest of the world and an importer of goods. So far this year, the goods and services deficit is up $136.9 billion, or 19.9 percent, from the same period in 2021. Exports increased $415.3 billion or 19.8 percent. Imports increased $552.2 billion or 19.8 percent. Economic weakness around the globe, particularly in Europe, has softened demand for U.S. energy imports, including natural gas and petroleum products. Crude oil exports, however, grew by $1.6 billion. The numbers are not adjusted for inflation so the declines also reflected the recent weakening of the dollar against many other currencies .Exports of consumer goods were also lower, led by a decline in pharmaceuticals due to lower demand for drugs to treat or prevent infection of China’s coronavirus. The U.S. spent more on imported cars and pharmaceuticals. Imports of cell phones, toys, games, and sports equipment slipped lower. Let’s check in on our southern border: https://dailycaller.com/2022/12/06/ice-biden-immigration-border/ ICE Is Massively Misreporting How Many Illegal Immigrants Are Being Released With GPS Trackers Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is significantly misreporting the number of illegal immigrants released into the country with GPS tracking technology by nearly 600%, according to an internal document exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. ICE disclosed privately to participants of a closed-door event about the agency’s “Alternatives to Detention” Thursday, attended by ICE Director Tae Johnson along with several agency officials and non-profits, that 8,118 illegal immigrants are monitored with GPS tracking through the program as of Nov. 14. Publicly, however, ICE says on its website that 56,805 illegal immigrants are monitored by GPS as of Nov. 19. Former ICE Chief of Staff Jon Feere, who now serves as director of investigations at the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), believes that the Biden administration is seeking to appease groups that have fought ICE detention, such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which was listed as an attendee at Thursday’s event. The ACLU has a campaign on its website titled “SHUT DOWN THE ICE DETENTION MACHINE,” which encourages the public to email Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to urge ICE against any new detention contracts. The ACLU didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The program given to the Thursday event’s attendees also showed that ICE underreported illegal immigrants without tracking technology by more than 18,000%, as previously reported by the DCNF. ICE disclosed to the attendees that as of Nov. 14 there are 49,459 illegal aliens that aren’t monitored with any tracking equipment, while its own website says that as of Nov. 19 there are 266. The Biden administration continues to see record numbers of migrants illegally cross the southern border, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountering over 2.3 million in fiscal year 2022 and more than 230,000 in October. Story Real Estate: Home. It’s where you build your legacy. Where traditions are started, seeds are planted, meals are shared, and stories are told. Home is where you prepare to go out into the world. Finding the home that’s perfect for your family is a big job. Story Real Estate is Moscow’s top real estate team. They give people real estate advice all over the country. Family homes, investments, land, new construction, or commercial— they know real estate. If you’ve thought about a move to Moscow or anywhere in the country, reach out to get connected with a Story Real Estate agent. Wherever you’re going, they can help guide you Home. Visit storyrealestate.com. How about a word from our friends across the pond? https://www.dailyfetched.com/uk-government-approves-climate-lockdown-trials-for-2024/ UK Government Approves Climate Lockdown Trials for 2024 Residents would be confined to their local neighborhood and would not be able to leave unless they requested permission from the government. As part of the climate lockdown plan, the ’15 minute cities’ would place electronic gates on key roads in and out of the city, so the government would be instantly alerted by anyone trying to leave. Those who request permission to leave their city would be profiled by the government, which would make a decision on whether to let that person out. Under the new scheme, residents would be permitted to leave their zone a maximum of 100 days per year, according to reports. However, every resident must register their car details with the government, enabling them to be tracked via smart cameras around the city. As Vision News reported: Oxfordshire County Council, which is run by Labour, the Liberal Democrats, and the Green Party, secretly decided to divide up the city of Oxford into six ’15 minute’ districts in 2021 soon after they were elected to office. None of the councilors declared their intention of imprisoning local residents in their manifestos of course, preferring to make vague claims about how they will ‘improve the environment instead. Every resident will be required to register their car with the County Council, which will then monitor how many times they leave their district via number plate recognition cameras. And don’t think you can beat the system if you’re a two-car household. Those two cars will be counted as one, meaning you will have to divide up the journeys between yourselves. 2 cars, 50 journeys each; 3 cars, 33 journeys each and so on. Under the new rules, your social life becomes irrelevant. By de facto, Councils dictate how many times per year you can see friends and family. You will be stopped from fraternizing with anyone outside your district, and if you want a long-distance relationship in the future, forget it; you are confined to dating only those within a 15-minute walk of your house. A single person’s life will be at the mercy of Communists in the central office, dictating the same draconian rules we had to avert the last crisis, a mild flu virus so deadly 80% of people didn’t even know they had it. An entirely new social structure is being imposed on Oxford’s residents ( and more cities are to follow) under the lie of saving the planet. but what it really is, is a plan for Command and Control. There will be permits, penalties and even more ubiquitous surveillance. Council officials will determine where you can go and how often, and will log every time you do. 15-minute cities, or 15 minute prisons? According to an article on The World Economic Forum’s website, ’15 minute’ cities are a powerful tool for action: Would Paris’s Mayor Anne Hidalgo have pushed for progressive urban design without this framing? Undoubtedly. But with COVID-19 and its variants keeping everyone home (or closer to home than usual), the 15-minute city went from a “nice-to-have” to a rallying cry. Meeting all of one’s needs within a walking, biking, or transit distance was suddenly a matter of life and death. The pandemic created an urgency around equitable urbanism that sidelined arguments about bike lanes and other “amenities” that have roiled communities for years. Such calls for draconian measures to fight climate change are nothing new. In November 2020, the Red Cross declared climate change is a more significant threat than COVID, saying it should be confronted with “the same urgency.” Meanwhile, Bill Gates demanded dramatic measures to stop climate change, arguing it would be worse than the pandemic. Former governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, said that climate deaths would dwarf those of the pandemic. So what is the solution? More lockdowns. Politicians and government know that fear helps the public to accept dramatic curtailing of freedoms, especially with vague promises of safety. The COVID lockdowns proved this. So now power-hungry bureaucrats can utilize the precedents for more comprehensive lockdowns in the future. And finally, from California: https://thepostmillennial.com/california-english-teacher-says-proper-grammar-is-white-supremacist-refuses-to-teach-it?utm_campaign=64487 California English teacher says proper grammar is ‘white supremacist,’ refuses to teach it A California high school English teacher claimed that she undermines "white supremacy" in her classroom by educating students about the overemphasis placed on writing rules and grammar usage. According to Fox News, as a tenured English teacher at Oroville High School, Marta Shaffer began this school year by teaching parts of linguistics as a way of "fighting white supremacy in my classes." She posted on TikTok that her goal was to be "inclusive of all kinds of ways we use the language." https://twitter.com/i/status/1599466639740706816 - Play Video Schaffer said in another video obtained by the outlet that a student's "codes" – how they speak at home or with friends – is "just as important, if not more than important," than a boss's expectations of how their employee communicate. "Just because your teachers, your professors, and your boss may expect you to write and speak in a certain way that may not be natural to you, does not mean that your more natural… languages are not important. They are just as important, if not more important than the ‘language of respectability.’" Schaffer said she feels like a "cringe white lady" when "teaching students of color" about linguistics. Hey something we can both agree on ms. schaffer!

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily Newsbrief for Wednesday, December 7th, 2022. Before I get to the news today, how about a little on this day in history? On December 7, 1941, Japanese planes attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl HarborExternal, Hawaii Territory, killing more than 2,300 Americans. The U.S.S. Arizona was completely destroyed and the U.S.S. Oklahoma capsized. A total of twelve ships sank or were beached in the attack and nine additional vessels were damaged. More than 160 aircraft were destroyed and more than 150 others damaged. A hurried dispatch from the ranking United States naval officer in Pearl Harbor, Admiral Husband Edward Kimmel, Commander in Chief of the United States Pacific Fleet, to all major navy commands and fleet units provided the first official word of the attack at the ill-prepared Pearl Harbor base. It said simply: AIR RAID ON PEARL HARBOR X THIS IS NOT DRILL. The following day, in an address to a joint session of Congress, President Franklin Roosevelt called December 7, 1941 “a date which will live in infamy.” Congress then declared War on Japan, abandoning the nation’s isolationism policy and ushering the United States into World War II. Within days, Japan’s allies, Germany and Italy, declared war on the United States, and the country began a rapid transition to a wartime economy by building up armaments in support of military campaigns in the Pacific, North Africa, and Europe. So there ya go, a little history for you guys on this Wednesday morning. Let’s start the news off with this: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/vladimir-putin-bans-all-lgbt-propaganda-far-reaching-move Vladimir Putin bans all 'LGBT propaganda' in far-reaching move Russian President Vladimir Putin signed legislation banning all LGBT "propaganda" on Sunday, according to Russian media. The far-reaching bill prohibits the creation or sharing of content depicting nontraditional sexual relations, gender reassignment and pedophilia in a positive lights, according to state-run media. The law reportedly extends to social media platforms, as well as mass media like films and advertisement. The law also has a provision pertaining to minors and empowers to country's media watchdog to implement systems preventing minors from viewing such content. The law went into effect the same day it was signed, on Sunday. Putin has long waged a political war against the LGBT movement in Russia, and his allies have in the past cited the movement's success in the U.S. as an excuse for expansive actions. State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin, who authored the bill, cited trends in the U.S. and Europe as a reason to pass it in November. "He cited data from opinion polls, according to which 16% of Europeans aged 14 to 29 identify themselves as LGBT," the Duma reported at the time. "And in the U.S. state of Maryland, the number of students who have not decided on their gender due to the promotion of non-traditional relationships has grown almost six times in two years and today makes up 45% of all students in the state." The Duma did not cite where it received the polls, and it was not immediately clear if the polls are in fact accurate. Violations of the new law are mostly punished with fines, ranging from $800 for citizens infringing on the lowest tier to $160,000 for legal entities that infringe on the highest tier, which is pedophilia. Now moving on to our stellar economy: https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2022/12/06/u-s-trade-deficit-rises-5-4-to-four-month-high/ U.S. Trade Deficit Rises 5.4% to Four-Month High The nation’s trade deficit widened 5.4 percent in October to a four-month high of $78.2 billion, data from the Commerce Department showed Tuesday. This was lower than expected. Economists had forecast the deficit would rise to around $80 billion. The October increase in the goods and services deficit reflected an increase in the goods deficit of $6.1 billion to $99.6 billion and an increase in the services surplus of $2.1 billion to $21.4 billion. The U.S. is typically a net exporter of services to the rest of the world and an importer of goods. So far this year, the goods and services deficit is up $136.9 billion, or 19.9 percent, from the same period in 2021. Exports increased $415.3 billion or 19.8 percent. Imports increased $552.2 billion or 19.8 percent. Economic weakness around the globe, particularly in Europe, has softened demand for U.S. energy imports, including natural gas and petroleum products. Crude oil exports, however, grew by $1.6 billion. The numbers are not adjusted for inflation so the declines also reflected the recent weakening of the dollar against many other currencies .Exports of consumer goods were also lower, led by a decline in pharmaceuticals due to lower demand for drugs to treat or prevent infection of China’s coronavirus. The U.S. spent more on imported cars and pharmaceuticals. Imports of cell phones, toys, games, and sports equipment slipped lower. Let’s check in on our southern border: https://dailycaller.com/2022/12/06/ice-biden-immigration-border/ ICE Is Massively Misreporting How Many Illegal Immigrants Are Being Released With GPS Trackers Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is significantly misreporting the number of illegal immigrants released into the country with GPS tracking technology by nearly 600%, according to an internal document exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. ICE disclosed privately to participants of a closed-door event about the agency’s “Alternatives to Detention” Thursday, attended by ICE Director Tae Johnson along with several agency officials and non-profits, that 8,118 illegal immigrants are monitored with GPS tracking through the program as of Nov. 14. Publicly, however, ICE says on its website that 56,805 illegal immigrants are monitored by GPS as of Nov. 19. Former ICE Chief of Staff Jon Feere, who now serves as director of investigations at the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), believes that the Biden administration is seeking to appease groups that have fought ICE detention, such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which was listed as an attendee at Thursday’s event. The ACLU has a campaign on its website titled “SHUT DOWN THE ICE DETENTION MACHINE,” which encourages the public to email Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to urge ICE against any new detention contracts. The ACLU didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The program given to the Thursday event’s attendees also showed that ICE underreported illegal immigrants without tracking technology by more than 18,000%, as previously reported by the DCNF. ICE disclosed to the attendees that as of Nov. 14 there are 49,459 illegal aliens that aren’t monitored with any tracking equipment, while its own website says that as of Nov. 19 there are 266. The Biden administration continues to see record numbers of migrants illegally cross the southern border, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountering over 2.3 million in fiscal year 2022 and more than 230,000 in October. Story Real Estate: Home. It’s where you build your legacy. Where traditions are started, seeds are planted, meals are shared, and stories are told. Home is where you prepare to go out into the world. Finding the home that’s perfect for your family is a big job. Story Real Estate is Moscow’s top real estate team. They give people real estate advice all over the country. Family homes, investments, land, new construction, or commercial— they know real estate. If you’ve thought about a move to Moscow or anywhere in the country, reach out to get connected with a Story Real Estate agent. Wherever you’re going, they can help guide you Home. Visit storyrealestate.com. How about a word from our friends across the pond? https://www.dailyfetched.com/uk-government-approves-climate-lockdown-trials-for-2024/ UK Government Approves Climate Lockdown Trials for 2024 Residents would be confined to their local neighborhood and would not be able to leave unless they requested permission from the government. As part of the climate lockdown plan, the ’15 minute cities’ would place electronic gates on key roads in and out of the city, so the government would be instantly alerted by anyone trying to leave. Those who request permission to leave their city would be profiled by the government, which would make a decision on whether to let that person out. Under the new scheme, residents would be permitted to leave their zone a maximum of 100 days per year, according to reports. However, every resident must register their car details with the government, enabling them to be tracked via smart cameras around the city. As Vision News reported: Oxfordshire County Council, which is run by Labour, the Liberal Democrats, and the Green Party, secretly decided to divide up the city of Oxford into six ’15 minute’ districts in 2021 soon after they were elected to office. None of the councilors declared their intention of imprisoning local residents in their manifestos of course, preferring to make vague claims about how they will ‘improve the environment instead. Every resident will be required to register their car with the County Council, which will then monitor how many times they leave their district via number plate recognition cameras. And don’t think you can beat the system if you’re a two-car household. Those two cars will be counted as one, meaning you will have to divide up the journeys between yourselves. 2 cars, 50 journeys each; 3 cars, 33 journeys each and so on. Under the new rules, your social life becomes irrelevant. By de facto, Councils dictate how many times per year you can see friends and family. You will be stopped from fraternizing with anyone outside your district, and if you want a long-distance relationship in the future, forget it; you are confined to dating only those within a 15-minute walk of your house. A single person’s life will be at the mercy of Communists in the central office, dictating the same draconian rules we had to avert the last crisis, a mild flu virus so deadly 80% of people didn’t even know they had it. An entirely new social structure is being imposed on Oxford’s residents ( and more cities are to follow) under the lie of saving the planet. but what it really is, is a plan for Command and Control. There will be permits, penalties and even more ubiquitous surveillance. Council officials will determine where you can go and how often, and will log every time you do. 15-minute cities, or 15 minute prisons? According to an article on The World Economic Forum’s website, ’15 minute’ cities are a powerful tool for action: Would Paris’s Mayor Anne Hidalgo have pushed for progressive urban design without this framing? Undoubtedly. But with COVID-19 and its variants keeping everyone home (or closer to home than usual), the 15-minute city went from a “nice-to-have” to a rallying cry. Meeting all of one’s needs within a walking, biking, or transit distance was suddenly a matter of life and death. The pandemic created an urgency around equitable urbanism that sidelined arguments about bike lanes and other “amenities” that have roiled communities for years. Such calls for draconian measures to fight climate change are nothing new. In November 2020, the Red Cross declared climate change is a more significant threat than COVID, saying it should be confronted with “the same urgency.” Meanwhile, Bill Gates demanded dramatic measures to stop climate change, arguing it would be worse than the pandemic. Former governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, said that climate deaths would dwarf those of the pandemic. So what is the solution? More lockdowns. Politicians and government know that fear helps the public to accept dramatic curtailing of freedoms, especially with vague promises of safety. The COVID lockdowns proved this. So now power-hungry bureaucrats can utilize the precedents for more comprehensive lockdowns in the future. And finally, from California: https://thepostmillennial.com/california-english-teacher-says-proper-grammar-is-white-supremacist-refuses-to-teach-it?utm_campaign=64487 California English teacher says proper grammar is ‘white supremacist,’ refuses to teach it A California high school English teacher claimed that she undermines "white supremacy" in her classroom by educating students about the overemphasis placed on writing rules and grammar usage. According to Fox News, as a tenured English teacher at Oroville High School, Marta Shaffer began this school year by teaching parts of linguistics as a way of "fighting white supremacy in my classes." She posted on TikTok that her goal was to be "inclusive of all kinds of ways we use the language." https://twitter.com/i/status/1599466639740706816 - Play Video Schaffer said in another video obtained by the outlet that a student's "codes" – how they speak at home or with friends – is "just as important, if not more than important," than a boss's expectations of how their employee communicate. "Just because your teachers, your professors, and your boss may expect you to write and speak in a certain way that may not be natural to you, does not mean that your more natural… languages are not important. They are just as important, if not more important than the ‘language of respectability.’" Schaffer said she feels like a "cringe white lady" when "teaching students of color" about linguistics. Hey something we can both agree on ms. schaffer!

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily Newsbrief for Wednesday, December 7th, 2022. Before I get to the news today, how about a little on this day in history? On December 7, 1941, Japanese planes attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl HarborExternal, Hawaii Territory, killing more than 2,300 Americans. The U.S.S. Arizona was completely destroyed and the U.S.S. Oklahoma capsized. A total of twelve ships sank or were beached in the attack and nine additional vessels were damaged. More than 160 aircraft were destroyed and more than 150 others damaged. A hurried dispatch from the ranking United States naval officer in Pearl Harbor, Admiral Husband Edward Kimmel, Commander in Chief of the United States Pacific Fleet, to all major navy commands and fleet units provided the first official word of the attack at the ill-prepared Pearl Harbor base. It said simply: AIR RAID ON PEARL HARBOR X THIS IS NOT DRILL. The following day, in an address to a joint session of Congress, President Franklin Roosevelt called December 7, 1941 “a date which will live in infamy.” Congress then declared War on Japan, abandoning the nation’s isolationism policy and ushering the United States into World War II. Within days, Japan’s allies, Germany and Italy, declared war on the United States, and the country began a rapid transition to a wartime economy by building up armaments in support of military campaigns in the Pacific, North Africa, and Europe. So there ya go, a little history for you guys on this Wednesday morning. Let’s start the news off with this: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/vladimir-putin-bans-all-lgbt-propaganda-far-reaching-move Vladimir Putin bans all 'LGBT propaganda' in far-reaching move Russian President Vladimir Putin signed legislation banning all LGBT "propaganda" on Sunday, according to Russian media. The far-reaching bill prohibits the creation or sharing of content depicting nontraditional sexual relations, gender reassignment and pedophilia in a positive lights, according to state-run media. The law reportedly extends to social media platforms, as well as mass media like films and advertisement. The law also has a provision pertaining to minors and empowers to country's media watchdog to implement systems preventing minors from viewing such content. The law went into effect the same day it was signed, on Sunday. Putin has long waged a political war against the LGBT movement in Russia, and his allies have in the past cited the movement's success in the U.S. as an excuse for expansive actions. State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin, who authored the bill, cited trends in the U.S. and Europe as a reason to pass it in November. "He cited data from opinion polls, according to which 16% of Europeans aged 14 to 29 identify themselves as LGBT," the Duma reported at the time. "And in the U.S. state of Maryland, the number of students who have not decided on their gender due to the promotion of non-traditional relationships has grown almost six times in two years and today makes up 45% of all students in the state." The Duma did not cite where it received the polls, and it was not immediately clear if the polls are in fact accurate. Violations of the new law are mostly punished with fines, ranging from $800 for citizens infringing on the lowest tier to $160,000 for legal entities that infringe on the highest tier, which is pedophilia. Now moving on to our stellar economy: https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2022/12/06/u-s-trade-deficit-rises-5-4-to-four-month-high/ U.S. Trade Deficit Rises 5.4% to Four-Month High The nation’s trade deficit widened 5.4 percent in October to a four-month high of $78.2 billion, data from the Commerce Department showed Tuesday. This was lower than expected. Economists had forecast the deficit would rise to around $80 billion. The October increase in the goods and services deficit reflected an increase in the goods deficit of $6.1 billion to $99.6 billion and an increase in the services surplus of $2.1 billion to $21.4 billion. The U.S. is typically a net exporter of services to the rest of the world and an importer of goods. So far this year, the goods and services deficit is up $136.9 billion, or 19.9 percent, from the same period in 2021. Exports increased $415.3 billion or 19.8 percent. Imports increased $552.2 billion or 19.8 percent. Economic weakness around the globe, particularly in Europe, has softened demand for U.S. energy imports, including natural gas and petroleum products. Crude oil exports, however, grew by $1.6 billion. The numbers are not adjusted for inflation so the declines also reflected the recent weakening of the dollar against many other currencies .Exports of consumer goods were also lower, led by a decline in pharmaceuticals due to lower demand for drugs to treat or prevent infection of China’s coronavirus. The U.S. spent more on imported cars and pharmaceuticals. Imports of cell phones, toys, games, and sports equipment slipped lower. Let’s check in on our southern border: https://dailycaller.com/2022/12/06/ice-biden-immigration-border/ ICE Is Massively Misreporting How Many Illegal Immigrants Are Being Released With GPS Trackers Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is significantly misreporting the number of illegal immigrants released into the country with GPS tracking technology by nearly 600%, according to an internal document exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. ICE disclosed privately to participants of a closed-door event about the agency’s “Alternatives to Detention” Thursday, attended by ICE Director Tae Johnson along with several agency officials and non-profits, that 8,118 illegal immigrants are monitored with GPS tracking through the program as of Nov. 14. Publicly, however, ICE says on its website that 56,805 illegal immigrants are monitored by GPS as of Nov. 19. Former ICE Chief of Staff Jon Feere, who now serves as director of investigations at the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), believes that the Biden administration is seeking to appease groups that have fought ICE detention, such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which was listed as an attendee at Thursday’s event. The ACLU has a campaign on its website titled “SHUT DOWN THE ICE DETENTION MACHINE,” which encourages the public to email Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to urge ICE against any new detention contracts. The ACLU didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The program given to the Thursday event’s attendees also showed that ICE underreported illegal immigrants without tracking technology by more than 18,000%, as previously reported by the DCNF. ICE disclosed to the attendees that as of Nov. 14 there are 49,459 illegal aliens that aren’t monitored with any tracking equipment, while its own website says that as of Nov. 19 there are 266. The Biden administration continues to see record numbers of migrants illegally cross the southern border, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountering over 2.3 million in fiscal year 2022 and more than 230,000 in October. Story Real Estate: Home. It’s where you build your legacy. Where traditions are started, seeds are planted, meals are shared, and stories are told. Home is where you prepare to go out into the world. Finding the home that’s perfect for your family is a big job. Story Real Estate is Moscow’s top real estate team. They give people real estate advice all over the country. Family homes, investments, land, new construction, or commercial— they know real estate. If you’ve thought about a move to Moscow or anywhere in the country, reach out to get connected with a Story Real Estate agent. Wherever you’re going, they can help guide you Home. Visit storyrealestate.com. How about a word from our friends across the pond? https://www.dailyfetched.com/uk-government-approves-climate-lockdown-trials-for-2024/ UK Government Approves Climate Lockdown Trials for 2024 Residents would be confined to their local neighborhood and would not be able to leave unless they requested permission from the government. As part of the climate lockdown plan, the ’15 minute cities’ would place electronic gates on key roads in and out of the city, so the government would be instantly alerted by anyone trying to leave. Those who request permission to leave their city would be profiled by the government, which would make a decision on whether to let that person out. Under the new scheme, residents would be permitted to leave their zone a maximum of 100 days per year, according to reports. However, every resident must register their car details with the government, enabling them to be tracked via smart cameras around the city. As Vision News reported: Oxfordshire County Council, which is run by Labour, the Liberal Democrats, and the Green Party, secretly decided to divide up the city of Oxford into six ’15 minute’ districts in 2021 soon after they were elected to office. None of the councilors declared their intention of imprisoning local residents in their manifestos of course, preferring to make vague claims about how they will ‘improve the environment instead. Every resident will be required to register their car with the County Council, which will then monitor how many times they leave their district via number plate recognition cameras. And don’t think you can beat the system if you’re a two-car household. Those two cars will be counted as one, meaning you will have to divide up the journeys between yourselves. 2 cars, 50 journeys each; 3 cars, 33 journeys each and so on. Under the new rules, your social life becomes irrelevant. By de facto, Councils dictate how many times per year you can see friends and family. You will be stopped from fraternizing with anyone outside your district, and if you want a long-distance relationship in the future, forget it; you are confined to dating only those within a 15-minute walk of your house. A single person’s life will be at the mercy of Communists in the central office, dictating the same draconian rules we had to avert the last crisis, a mild flu virus so deadly 80% of people didn’t even know they had it. An entirely new social structure is being imposed on Oxford’s residents ( and more cities are to follow) under the lie of saving the planet. but what it really is, is a plan for Command and Control. There will be permits, penalties and even more ubiquitous surveillance. Council officials will determine where you can go and how often, and will log every time you do. 15-minute cities, or 15 minute prisons? According to an article on The World Economic Forum’s website, ’15 minute’ cities are a powerful tool for action: Would Paris’s Mayor Anne Hidalgo have pushed for progressive urban design without this framing? Undoubtedly. But with COVID-19 and its variants keeping everyone home (or closer to home than usual), the 15-minute city went from a “nice-to-have” to a rallying cry. Meeting all of one’s needs within a walking, biking, or transit distance was suddenly a matter of life and death. The pandemic created an urgency around equitable urbanism that sidelined arguments about bike lanes and other “amenities” that have roiled communities for years. Such calls for draconian measures to fight climate change are nothing new. In November 2020, the Red Cross declared climate change is a more significant threat than COVID, saying it should be confronted with “the same urgency.” Meanwhile, Bill Gates demanded dramatic measures to stop climate change, arguing it would be worse than the pandemic. Former governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, said that climate deaths would dwarf those of the pandemic. So what is the solution? More lockdowns. Politicians and government know that fear helps the public to accept dramatic curtailing of freedoms, especially with vague promises of safety. The COVID lockdowns proved this. So now power-hungry bureaucrats can utilize the precedents for more comprehensive lockdowns in the future. And finally, from California: https://thepostmillennial.com/california-english-teacher-says-proper-grammar-is-white-supremacist-refuses-to-teach-it?utm_campaign=64487 California English teacher says proper grammar is ‘white supremacist,’ refuses to teach it A California high school English teacher claimed that she undermines "white supremacy" in her classroom by educating students about the overemphasis placed on writing rules and grammar usage. According to Fox News, as a tenured English teacher at Oroville High School, Marta Shaffer began this school year by teaching parts of linguistics as a way of "fighting white supremacy in my classes." She posted on TikTok that her goal was to be "inclusive of all kinds of ways we use the language." https://twitter.com/i/status/1599466639740706816 - Play Video Schaffer said in another video obtained by the outlet that a student's "codes" – how they speak at home or with friends – is "just as important, if not more than important," than a boss's expectations of how their employee communicate. "Just because your teachers, your professors, and your boss may expect you to write and speak in a certain way that may not be natural to you, does not mean that your more natural… languages are not important. They are just as important, if not more important than the ‘language of respectability.’" Schaffer said she feels like a "cringe white lady" when "teaching students of color" about linguistics. Hey something we can both agree on ms. schaffer!

Get ready for some real inspiration from today's guest! After years of keeping his faith quiet, he's found incredible liberty and opportunity to share Jesus within his workplace - a modern and sprawling local council.  Many would say it's an environment pushing "inclusion and diversity" policies that sideline Christians, but Matt explains the incredible openings this gives for the real message of the gospel.Matt Chapman is the Training and Development Group Manger for the fire service at Oxfordshire County Council. He serves on the Diversity and Inclusion Group and runs the Christian Network Group at the council. Support the show

2021: it happened, that we can say for sure. Ned, Laura and Adam go through their highlights and lowlights of the year - and look back at some of the big stories in active travel.Plus: Adam has a new job. Ned and Laura quiz him on being the new West Midlands Cycling & Walking Commissioner.Thank you for your support this year and we look forward to bringing you new episodes in 2022!We hope you enjoy this episode of Streets Ahead, a podcast dedicated to the world of active travel, liveable streets and people-focused urban design.We're on Twitter and welcome your feedback on our episode: http://www.twitter.com/podstreetsaheadIf you're reading this, please can you take 1 minute to give us a rating and write a review? It helps us more than you probably think.CORRECTION: In this episode, we stated that the Cowley LTN in Oxford had been made permanent. In fact, Oxfordshire County Council agreed to an ETRO of 3 further LTNs in East Oxford. This is on top of the 3 Cowley LTNs which have been in place for nearly a year. The decision as to whether the Cowley LTNs will be made permanent will be made in February. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

When a school in Oxfordshire moved to a new site, the heirs of the landowner who donated the original plot came out of the woodwork to argue that they should be entitled to the proceeds based on an old law from 1841. In this episode we consider the response from the Supreme Court and also how judges should interpret statutes that are so old. https://uklawweekly.substack.com/subscribe Music from bensound.com

Andrew Small, partner at Russell Cooke, explains the Supreme Court decision in Rittson-Thomas and others v Oxfordshire County Council [2021] UKSC 13; [2021] PLSCS 78 - a hard-fought battle over the proceeds of sale of a former school site in Oxfordshire, donated long ago for educational use. Small looks at the key provisions of the School Site Act 1841, and how they continue to apply in the modern day to land donated for school use, in particular when schools are relocated. As well as describing how the case has seesawed through the courts, he analyses the definitive ruling of the Supreme Court - and goes on to consider how widespread its potential implications may be.

Episode #72/ My guest today is Abi Louise Partridge and she comes to my podcast all the way from the UK. Abi is a book designer, and publisher of Iola bookazine. She specializes in self-published books, magazines and author resources. Over 15 years, she's produced design work for Oxford Psychologists Press, Pentacor (textbook and magazine design for BBC, OUP, Pearson, Hodder and Stoughton), Pear Tree Design, Just Fabrics, Oxfordshire County Council and Iola bookazine. She was mentored by designer for British Vogue magazine, Peter Jones.She's an avid reader of books, drinks coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon and takes photos of flowers like they are going out of fashion!Abi and I discuss her work as a book designer, what inspired her to start her own business, and what women readers can find in her publication, Iola. Her bookazine lifts spirits with a layout of beautiful photos, stories from women who have struggled through the same things we do, who know what it is like to question life's direction and moving forward in a positive direction toward their life goals and purpose. Abi will be giving away two print copies of Iola. The most recent issue, CHANGE and the upcoming issue in June. Winners will be chosen through participation of "likes" and "comments."Thanks again to Abi, for coming on and sharing her knowledge, talent and personal story. You can find her in the links below:Writers looking to submit content and soon to be authors looking for a that unique book cover should check out her website.Website: https://abipartridge.co.uk/about/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abipartridgedesignLinktr.ee https://www.linktr.ee/abipartridgedesignYouTube Video: https://youtu.be/ZgVAKI8GSUo

What are the priorities for Amazon Business UK? Why did a large public sector customer turn to Amazon Business during the COVID-19 crisis? Listen to this OPI Talk podcast as Dave Brittain, Head of Amazon Business UK, and Paul Ashby, Strategic Procurement Manager at Oxfordshire County Council, answer these questions and more during conversations with OPI News Editor Andy Braithwaite. This 20-minute podcast features extracts from those two interviews, conducted during the Amazon Business ABX conference in October. For a more comprehensive write-up and analysis, including thoughts on how the contract channel for office products might evolve, please read this article on the OPI website.   Episode produced by Andy Braithwaite Music by: Extreme Energy by MusicToday80: https://soundcloud.com/musictoday80/r... Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Music provided by Free Vibes: https://goo.gl/NkGhTg  

Our journalist Alex Meakin gets his results after being tested for coronavirus antibodies in South Oxfordshire and we find out how Oxfordshire County Council is planning to save £16m after overspending because of the pandemic. These stories and more feature in the latest episode of JACK's 'VIRAL' podcast, download it now ...  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our journalist Alex Meakin gets his results after being tested for coronavirus antibodies in South Oxfordshire and we find out how Oxfordshire County Council is planning to save £16m after overspending because of the pandemic. These stories and more feature in the latest episode of JACK's 'VIRAL' podcast, download it now ...  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our journalist Alex Meakin gets his results after being tested for coronavirus antibodies in South Oxfordshire and we find out how Oxfordshire County Council is planning to save £16m after overspending because of the pandemic. These stories and more feature in the latest episode of JACK's 'VIRAL' podcast, download it now ...  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our journalist Alex Meakin gets his results after being tested for coronavirus antibodies in South Oxfordshire and we find out how Oxfordshire County Council is planning to save £16m after overspending because of the pandemic. These stories and more feature in the latest episode of JACK's 'VIRAL' podcast, download it now ...  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chatting with local anti-racism groups on standing up to racism in Oxford, Oxfordshire County Council on improving safety during the school run, and the JR staff looked after by real life cabin crew! It's JACKfm's semi-regular podcast plucking out some of the local stories that have come out from the coronavirus pandemic across Oxfordshire. Please wash your hands before downloading. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chatting with local anti-racism groups on standing up to racism in Oxford, Oxfordshire County Council on improving safety during the school run, and the JR staff looked after by real life cabin crew! It's JACKfm's semi-regular podcast plucking out some of the local stories that have come out from the coronavirus pandemic across Oxfordshire. Please wash your hands before downloading. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chatting with local anti-racism groups on standing up to racism in Oxford, Oxfordshire County Council on improving safety during the school run, and the JR staff looked after by real life cabin crew! It's JACKfm's semi-regular podcast plucking out some of the local stories that have come out from the coronavirus pandemic across Oxfordshire. Please wash your hands before downloading. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chatting with local anti-racism groups on standing up to racism in Oxford, Oxfordshire County Council on improving safety during the school run, and the JR staff looked after by real life cabin crew! It's JACKfm's semi-regular podcast plucking out some of the local stories that have come out from the coronavirus pandemic across Oxfordshire. Please wash your hands before downloading. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Paul Clarke of Esri UK, Graeme McDonald of Solace and Stuart Cole of Oxfordshire County Council explain how crowd-sourced, interactive maps help create active citizens. Stuart Cole, who is part of the Innovation team at Oxfordshire County Council says that digital maps are enabling a whole new degree of interaction between local authorities and the people who live ‘in their patch'. Citizens can contribute their local knowledge (eg reporting potholes or problems with footpaths) and their views (eg about local development plans) and councils can share this crowd-sourced data with them in a time and cost-effective way. Map-based tools are also helping galvanise local volunteers to support local services like libraries and parks and an important consequence of this is that it tends to increase people's interest in their local area and its publicly available facilities. These developments have been facilitated by significant improvements in the usability and presentation of digital mapping tools, so that they are much easier for the non-specialist to use than they were even five years ago.

Llewelyn Morgan of Oxfordshire County Council tells CLGdotTV's Joe Tibbetts about iHub, the 24-strong innovation unit he leads that is 80% externally funded. Most of this funding comes from sources like InnovateUK, Horizon2020 and the European Investment Bank: only four posts are currently funded by OCC to do core council activities like transport modeling, research to support policies and business case development. Other-funded work is looking into things like solving the problems of rural transport provision (now that austerity has removed many bus subsidies), piloting use of council assets to provide ‘mobility as a service', as well as projects around green energy, public health, drones, and more. The unit has developed provision of ‘innovation' as a service to the rest of the council, helping service teams get to grips with the process of innovation so that they have the capabilities to carry forward projects once developed, by themselves. iHub also collaborates with Oxfordshire's universities and local industries to help identify and pilot innovations that can be taken up by the council or elsewhere, in an approach very much in line with the Government's Industrial Strategy. Working in collaboration with commercial brains and adopting a more commercial approach to innovation has been a new and instructive experience for the team. This podcast is sponsored by Rapier Systems Established in 2003, Rapier Systems designs, builds and manages Wireless Infrastructures for clients in the public, private and third sector. Customers range from hospitality to healthcare and aquaculture. An unwavering focus on wireless means we are trusted to manage Scotland's largest Metropolitan Area Network delivered entirely by Wireless and we are the most prolific provider of public realm Wi-Fi in the UK. Responsible for many industry firsts, including first use of true Gigabit Speed Microwave for the NHS in England and Wi-Fi at Sea for the renewable energy sector in Scotland – We Live Wireless!