West of England mayor defends hiring comms director on up to £138,000
'Tell story'
The director of communications advert said the successful applicant will be able to "craft the narrative" and "shape a compelling story".As well as a salary of between £102,000 and £138,000, the role also comes with concessionary bus travel - a perk offered to all staff within the combined authority.Ms Godwin defended the salary, which is understood to have been set after an assessment of communications roles at similar organisations."Because the combined authority hasn't performed as well as I think it should have done, we are not in a good position to really tell our story to government", she told BBC Radio Bristol's John Darvall.Under her predecessor Dan Norris, the combined authority was put into special measures because of concerns about its performance."If we want more money from government", Ms Godwin said, "I need government to look at what we do over here and say 'ok they know how to do it, they're spending that money well, they're making a difference to their resident's lives'."Whether we like it or not, how we communicate and tell that story is a really important job", she added.One of Ms Godwin's first decisions was to offer under-16s free bus travel across the region during the school holidays. The combined authority said 275,000 free journeys were taken in the first two weeks.Asked about the proposed expansion of Bristol airport to carry 15 million passengers per year, Ms Godwin said she was "concerned" about the timing, the lack of public transport, and the impact on the airport's net zero operations target."It's important for the region that we have a decent airport", she said. "But most importantly I think we need a decent route from the airport into the major centres."We cannot have people going by car as the primary route into that airport any more, that has to change."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
4 minutes ago
- The Independent
Starmer could attend second US-Russia meeting on ending Ukraine war, says Trump
European leaders including Sir Keir Starmer could attend a second meeting with Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky which could bring the war in Ukraine to an end, the US president has said. On the eve of the summit, Mr Trump said leaders from Europe, which could include members of the so-called 'coalition of the willing' that have supported Ukraine, could attend a subsequent meeting if the event in Alaska on Friday is successful. The Prime Minister has been a key player in the group which has also included French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office at the White House, Mr Trump said: 'We have a meeting with President (Vladimir) Putin tomorrow, I think it's going to be a good meeting. 'But the more important meeting will be the second meeting that we're having. We're going to have a meeting with President Putin, President Zelensky, myself, and maybe we'll bring some of the European leaders along. Maybe not.' He added: 'I think President Putin will make peace. I think President Zelensky will make peace. We'll see if they can get along. And if they can it will be great.' Mr Trump said the summit aims to bring peace to Ukraine, and 'save a lot of lives'. Earlier this week the US leader told his European counterparts that his goal for the summit was to secure a ceasefire. Sir Keir chaired a meeting of the 'coalition of the willing' on Wednesday – a European-led effort to send a peacekeeping force to Ukraine to monitor any deal – and said there was a 'viable' chance of a truce. It came after Sir Keir and Mr Zelensky met on Thursday at Downing Street, where they said there was 'strong resolve' for peace in Ukraine. The two leaders embraced as the red carpet was rolled out for Mr Zelensky's arrival in Downing Street, and they later had breakfast. They expressed cautious optimism about the prospect of a truce 'as long as Putin takes action to prove he is serious' about ending the war, a Downing Street statement said. In a separate statement, Mr Zelensky said there had been discussions about the security guarantees required to make any deal 'truly durable if the United States succeeds in pressing Russia to stop the killing'. But concerns linger over the prospect of Kyiv being excluded from negotiations over its own future, and pressured to cede territory, after Mr Trump suggested any agreement may need to involve 'swapping of land'. Ukraine has already rejected any proposal that would compromise its borders. In a readout of the morning meeting between Sir Keir and Mr Zelensky, a Downing Street spokesman said: 'They had a private breakfast where they discussed yesterday's meetings. 'They agreed there had been a powerful sense of unity and a strong resolve to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.' During the meeting on Thursday, Mr Zelensky urged the UK to join PURL – Nato's Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List initiative – to provide weapons to Kyiv. 'It is important that, within the framework of the coalition of the willing, we should all be able to achieve effective formats for security co-operation,' he later said. 'We also discussed the continuation of support programmes for our army and our defence industry. Under any scenario, Ukraine will maintain its strength.' The Times reported that Britain was planning to scale back its plans for a military peacekeeping force in Ukraine. UK military chiefs are said to be considering air reassurance over western Ukraine, training support to the Ukrainian military and the clearance of mines from the Black Sea. The Government has been contacted for comment. Further sanctions could be imposed on Russia should the Kremlin fail to engage and the UK is already working on its next package of measures targeting Moscow, the Prime Minister said. 'We're ready to support this, including from the plans we've already drawn up to deploy a reassurance force once hostilities have ceased,' Sir Keir told allies on Wednesday. 'It is important to remind colleagues that we do stand ready also to increase pressure on Russia, particularly the economy, with sanctions and wider measures as may be necessary.'
The Independent
4 minutes ago
- The Independent
Rise in no-fault evictions despite Labour's pledge to ban them
Thousands of people have had their homes seized after receiving controversial 'no-fault' eviction notices despite Labour pledging to abolish them, new data shows. Labour said in its election manifesto it would abolish Section 21 eviction notices 'immediately' after winning the election. A year on, and the relevant legislation still progressing through parliament means that the ban is still not in effect. According to Ministry of Justice figures released on Thursday, 11,400 households received no-fault evictions by bailiffs in the year to June. The number of bailiff evictions is an eight per cent rise on the previous year, continuing a trend of a heightened use of the notices. Housing charity Shelter said it is 'unconscionable' that renters 'continue to be marched out of their homes by bailiffs' a year after Labour 's election victory. It warned that nearly 1,000 households could be evicted from their homes by bailiffs every month until the ban on the notices is finally put in place. Section 21 notices grant landlords the power to evict tenants from their properties at two months' notice without needing to give any reason. Former prime minister Theresa May first announced the Conservatives' intention to abolish Section 21 notices in April 2019. Shelter described no-fault evictions as one of the leading causes of homelessness. Mairi MacRae, its director of campaigns and policy, said: "It is unconscionable that more than a year after the government came to power, thousands of renters continue to be marched out of their homes by bailiffs because of an unfair policy that the government said would be scrapped immediately. 'For far too long, tenants' lives have been thrown into turmoil by the rank injustice of 'no-fault' evictions. At the whim of private landlords, thousands of tenants are being left with just two months to find a new home, plunging them into a ruthless rental market and leaving many exposed to the riptide of homelessness.' The government's Renters' Rights Bill, sponsored by the Ministry of Housing, is currently in its final stages. It is expected to pass before the end of the year, or early 2026 at the latest. Alongside abolishing Section 21 notices, it would give tenants a 12-month protected period at the beginning of their tenancy, alongside increasing the notice requirement for landlords to evict on other grounds from two to four months. The bill would also provide protection against 'backdoor eviction ', where tenants are effectively pushed out by above-market rent increases, by giving them greater powers to challenge them. Housing charity Crisis has called on the government to bring forward the legislation and name a date when it will be implemented. Matt Downie, chief executive at Crisis, said: 'Despite good intentions from the Westminster government, thousands of people are still being unjustly evicted from their homes and threatened with – or even forced into – homelessness.' The new data comes after Labour MP Rushanara Ali recently resigned her role as homelessness minister following reports she gave tenants in a property she owned four months' notice to leave, before relisting the property with a £700 rent increase just weeks later. Such a move would likely not be allowed under the Renters' Rights Bill, which is set to introduce new protections for tenants, including banning landlords who evict tenants in order to sell their property from relisting it for rent for six months. A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: 'No one should live in fear of a Section 21 eviction and these new figures show exactly why we will abolish them through our Renters' Rights Bill, which is a manifesto commitment and legislative priority for this government. 'We're determined to level the playing field by providing tenants with greater security, rights and protections in their homes and our landmark reforms will be implemented swiftly after the bill becomes law.'
Glasgow Times
5 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Large drop in number of pupils studying Welsh at A-level since 2005, data shows
More than 500 fewer students studied Welsh to a high level this year than in 2005, the latest data shows. The drop has come despite the Welsh Government having set a target of one million Welsh speakers by 2050. Around 538,000 people can speak the language in Wales. Data examined by the PA news agency shows some 372 students took Welsh as a first or second language at A-level this year, down from 927 in 2005. The lowest year on record was 2023, when just 353 pupils took the subject. This year has been the lowest year for people taking Welsh as a first language, with 185 entries, compared with 260 in 2020. Some 187 pupils took the subject as a second language, with 209 having taken it in 2020. Efa Gruffudd Jones, the Welsh Language Commissioner – an officer appointed by the Welsh Government to oversee an independent body aiming to promote the use of the Welsh language – described the drop as a 'matter of concern'. Speaking to PA, Ms Gruffudd Jones said she supported calls from the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol (Welsh National College) for Welsh to become a protected subject. She said: '(This would) make sure that every educational institution post-16 offers the course. 'What I hear from people who get in touch with my office, if only you know three or four people want to study it, then schools don't offer the subject at all. 'I believe they need 12 before they decide to run the course. I don't think that's right. 'I think it should be offered at every educational institution post-16.' Ms Gruffudd Jones also said the qualification itself is under review, and the content needs to be made more attractive and relevant to students. She added: 'The other thing is that you can study many more courses through the medium of Welsh now than you used to be able to. 'You can study psychology, criminology, etc, through the medium of Welsh. 'Maybe people in the past who would have wanted to study through the medium of Welsh chose Welsh, but now they have a wider range of choice.' The commissioner stressed that Welsh is not the only language to have seen a decline, with many European languages having seen a drop across the UK. Total entries for French, German, and Spanish were down by 20% from 443 to 352 in Wales this year, with Ruth Cocks, director of British Council Wales, describing the drop in interest in international languages as a 'concerning story'. Ms Gruffudd Jones said the reason for the move away from studying languages was unclear, but may be due to pupils being encouraged to study more Stem subjects. 'I understand that we need people with technical ability, but I would argue that you also need linguistic ability in order to communicate with people in workplaces, to articulate yourself well in future,' she said. 'I would argue that literature gives you some insight into the world. 'I don't think really that it should be either or. 'What's important is that it doesn't go any lower, and we continue to make efforts to attract people to learn Welsh to a high standard.' The Welsh Government's aim to have one million Welsh speakers by 2050 was first set out in 2017. Earlier this year, a new five-year plan was unveiled by the commissioner to help achieve the goal. And the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill, which aims to close the gap in Welsh speaking ability among pupils from different schools, passed in the Senedd. Figures from the 2021 census showed a decline in the number of people who can speak Welsh compared with a decade earlier. Around 538,000 people in Wales – roughly 17% of the population – said they could speak Welsh, compared with 562,000 in 2011, around 19% of the population. Recent years have seen Welsh place names take prominence over English as the default, with Eryri replacing Snowdonia on official communications from the national park authority. In response to the decline in A-level entries, a Welsh Government spokesperson said: 'We would like more learners to take Welsh as a subject. 'A consultation is taking place to look at creating new Welsh AS and A-levels, making them engaging and attractive to learners. 'We see the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Act 2025 as a means to provide more children and young people with access to the language within the education sector than ever before. 'We want all young people to leave school with better Welsh skills, regardless of whether they do A-level Welsh or not.'
