Despite a formal public consultation the offices in major cities including London, Manchester, Glasgow, and Cardiff are to close, including award-winning jobcentres such as Camberwell where 2,000 local people signed a petition against its closure. Two offices in the public consultation will not now be closed: Edinburgh City and Old Swan on Merseyside, where there have been concerted PCS campaigns against closure.

The announcement is on top of the 22 benefit processing offices already earmarked for closure over the next year where despite initial assurances from the government there would be no compulsory redundancy there are about 350 people who have not been found jobs.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “It is madness to close jobcentres when unemployment is rising just to save a few quid on the rent. These plans were made on the basis of the government’s inaccurate economic forecasts. They must be shelved so that public employment services can be expanded to meet the challenge of the deepening jobs crisis.”

Jobcentre workers are campaigning against office closures and will lobby their MPs next Wednesday (2 November). Jobcentre Plus has slashed its workforce by more than 12,000 since January 2010 as ministers claimed unemployment would fall.

Last month unemployment rose sharply leading to fears that DWP will not have the capacity to cope. PCS has also criticised the cuts in policy and professional jobs in the department’s headquarters which fall heavily on labour market expertise. Ministers have demanded a further headcount cut on top of large cuts already made, despite announcing the largest programme of welfare reform for a generation.

The closure list is: London Heathrow; London Denmark Street; London Harrow Station Road; London Camberwell; Bluewater Recruitment Centre; Chelmsford Beeches Road; Dundee Gellatly Street; Aberdeen Chapel Street; Girvan; Glasgow Shawlands; Glasgow City; Glasgow Hillington; Aylesbury Heron House; Manchester Airport; Manchester Trafford Centre; Halifax Horton Street; Leicester Highfields and Cardiff Caradog House.

The late Jack Petersen was the first Welshman to win the British and Empire Light heavyweight and heavyweight boxing championships among a number of titles he won during his short but highly impressive career in the 1930s.

He was born in Whitchurch Cardiff on September 2, 1911 and enjoyed an excellent amateur record before turning professional in 1931. He won several titles including the British light-heavyweight crown, the British heavyweight title and the Lonsdale Belt which he defended eight times.

In his early twenties he defended a 22-fight unbeaten record and was pleasing local crowds of up to 50,000 people at Ninian Park. He went on to be Britain’s biggest box-office draw and won 33 of his 38 professional fights.

Petersen retired at an early age of 25 due to an injury to his eye. He went on to become a Cardiff Councillor and served in the Army attaining the rank of Major. He kept his interest in Boxing alive and was elected as the first boxer to the position of President of the British Boxing Board of Control, a post which he held until his death from lung cancer in 1990.

He also served on the Sports Council for Wales and was Deputy Chairman under Sir Harry Llewellyn. He was awarded the Territorial Decoration in 1950 and the OBE for Services to Sport in 1978. He married Betty Williams, daughter of a well known Cardiff auctioneer and had five children and 17 grandchildren.

The blue plaque is one of a series erected in South Wales, to remember famous people, events and places. It will be erected at number 6 -7 St Johns Street, outside the Blacks shop at the top of the Hayes.

The building once housed the Lynn Institute Gym, owned by Jack’s father, Pa Petersen, who became his mentor and manager. The facility offered boxing training, fitness, massage and hot baths to the citizens of Cardiff during the 1920’s and 1930’s, and was used by sportsmen including the Cardiff City football team who went on to win the 1927 FA Cup.

The Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Cllr Prof Delme Bowen and Deputy Leader of the Council, Cllr Neil McEvoy will attend the event as well as members of Mr Petersen’s family.

Cllr Bowen said: “I am delighted that we are honouring a respected and victorious boxing legend who was such a great role model for Welsh men during the dark days of the depression of the 1930s.

“This plaque will raise awareness of the achievements and success of Jack Petersen whilst adding historical value to the city.

“Cardiff is fortunate to have a rich history and culture of sporting figures and it is important to commemorate them for the education of future generations.”

Robert Petersen, Jack’s youngest son said: “On behalf of all the Petersen family I would like to thank the Lord Mayor and the City of Cardiff for giving my father such an honour. He was through and through a Cardiffian and it is most appropriate that this plaque has been erected outside the building which he trained so hard for all his fights.”

From Wikipedia

He was born John Charles Peterson in Cardiff, the son of Thomas Peterson, a massage specialist and his wife Melinda Laura Rossiter. He took up amateur boxing as a youth and at the age of 18 he reached the Welsh Amateur Boxing Association finals at both middleweight and light-heavyweight. The following year he won the Welsh ABA titles at light-heavyweight and heavyweight, as well as winning the British ABA title at light-heavyweight.

He turned professional in 1931 and fought under the name of Jack Petersen. He was 6ft 1½in tall and was a well proportioned athlete. His first professional fight was in September 1931 at the Holborn Stadium, London, against Bill Partridge. Petersen won the fight by a knockout in the fourth round. Petersen won his first sixteen fights, in one of which he knocked out Dick Power to win the Welsh heavyweight title.

Petersen’s 17th fight was for the British light-heavyweight title. It took place at Holborn Stadium in May 1932 and Petersen beat Harry Crossley on points over 15 rounds to take his title. He later relinquished this title without defending it. Two months later, in July 1932, Petersen fought Reggie Meen for his British heavyweight title, in a bout held at Wimbledon Stadium, London. He knocked Meen out in the second round, becoming the first Welshman to be British heavyweight champion. He had accomplished this in a career lasting less than ten months.

He had one more fight, scoring a knockout, and then defended his title against Jack Pettifer in January 1932. The bout was at Olympia in Kensington and Petersen scored a knockout in the 12th round to retain his title.

Petersen had three more fights, winning them all, before defending his title again against Jack Doyle, a young boxer from County Cork. The bout, in July 1933, was held at the White City Stadium in front of a crowd of about 30,000. It lasted less than two rounds as Doyle was disqualified for repeatedly punching low.

In his next fight, Petersen made his third title defence, against Len Harvey. The bout was in November 1933, at the Royal Albert Hall, and Harvey won on points over 15 rounds. This was Petersen’s first defeat in his 25th fight.

Petersen resumed his winning ways, winning his next 4 fights on knockouts. Three of the victims were top fighters Reggie Meen, Harry Crossley and Ben Foord. Petersen was now ready to try to win back the heavyweight title.

The re-match with Len Harvey was for the British and the British Empire (now Commonwealth) titles. They fought in June 1934 at the White City Stadium, London and this time Petersen was victorious by a twelfth-round technical knockout.

Next, Petersen defended his British Empire title against the Canadian boxer, Larry Gains, in September 1934. The bout was at the White City Stadium and Petersen won by a technical knockout in the thirteenth round.

He then defended his titles against George Cook in December 1934, winning on points over fifteen rounds. He had so far suffered only one defeat in 32 bouts, but he was to suffer two at the hands of the same fighter. Petersen twice fought a young German heavyweight, Walter Neusel at Wembley, in February and June 1935, and lost both bouts by a technical knockout in the eleventh round.

These two defeats were a shock. Throughout his short career he had been managed by his father, but the relationship broke down following his latest defeats and Petersen decided to manage himself in future. Petersen continued to defend his titles successfully. He met Len Harvey for a third title fight in January 1936, at Wembley, and won on points over fifteen rounds.

He made a third title defence in April 1936 when he met Jock McAvoy at Earls Court. He again won on points over fifteen rounds. McAvoy was the reigning middleweight and light-heavyweight champion, and in his previous fight had unsuccessfully fought for the world light-heavyweight title.

Petersen’s fourth title defence was against Ben Foord, whom he had knocked out in thirteen rounds in 1934, when preparing for his re-match with Len Harvey. Foord was a South African, who was qualified by residence to fight for both titles. The bout was in August 1936 at Leicester, and Petersen lost by a technical knockout in the third round.

Having lost his titles, Petersen had one last fight before retiring. He had a third bout against Walter Neusel, at Harringay Arena in February 1937. He lost to Neusel for the third time, by a technical knockout in the tenth round.

He retired at the relatively young age of twenty-five. In his five and a half year boxing career, Petersen had won 33 of his 38 fights, 19 of them by knockouts, losing 5 and drawing none. Three of his five defeats had been to the same man, Walter Neusel. Neusel was later to be German heavyweight champion.

The remaining two cases were successfully prosecuted in court.  Jacqueline Kinsella was issued a fixed penalty notice (FPN) for dropping a cigarette end.  She failed to pay the £75 fpn and was successfully prosecuted for littering.   She had to pay a £275 fine.

Roxanne Woodward was also issued a fixed penalty notice for cigarette ending littering on the same smoking litter operation. She failed to pay her FPN and also failed to attend court and was prosecuted in her absence.   She too had to pay £275

Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Housing, Communities and Social Justice said, “All citizens have a duty to dispose of cigarette butts in a responsible manner.  Littering of this nature impacts on our everyday environment and cannot be tolerated.  There are a number of suitable cigarette butt receptacles for people to use in the City Centre and there is really no excuse for tossing any kind of rubbish on the floor.  Cardiff Council works extremely hard to ensure our streets are as clean as possible and the vast majority of people help us in this goal.”

The exercise saw a Council employee in a wheelchair mystery shop a number of taxis to establish whether they had vehicle ramps and that they were used properly, how they secured the wheelchair and that they were not over charging wheelchair users.

Of the four vehicles approached for a hiring one refused to take the employee, two made an additional charge, one of which also did not correctly secure the wheelchair. Only one out of the four correctly performed his duties. The drivers will be reported for disciplinary action.

Refusal of a fare or failure to use a meter can result in a taxi driver being fined up to £500, but for charging or obtaining more than the legal fare a taxi driver can be fined up to £1,000. In some exceptional circumstances, the Licensing Authority also has the power to revoke or suspend the drivers licence.

The exercise came about following an increasing number of complaints to the Licensing Section from wheelchair users claiming taxi drivers do not treat them fairly and are reluctant to accept fares. They are often refused fares, overcharged or are not secured correctly.

Since 1991 all new taxi drivers are required to undertake disability awareness training, and since January 2011 all new drivers also have to pass the new Level 2 BTEC Award in Transporting Passengers by Taxi and Private Hire, before being granted a licence. The BTEC includes a practical module on securing a wheelchair in a taxi.

Councillor Ed Bridges, Chair of the Council’s Public Protection Committee said “We expect taxi drivers to comply with the legal requirement to transport passengers in wheelchairs safely and in reasonable comfort. It is disappointing and concerning when we see any driver not living up to that expectation. The Public Protection Committee is here to protect the public – and we will take strong action against those drivers who shirk their responsibilities to assist the most vulnerable passengers.”

CEO of The Cardiff and Vale Coalition of Disabled People and Chair of the Cardiff’s Access Group, Charles Willie said: “It is vital that all hackney carriage drivers understand their duties and do not discriminate against disabled persons, we are very supportive of the action taken by the licensing authority and will be assisting in whatever way we can.”

The Licensing Section will continue to work with Cardiff Council’s Access Team to ensure that taxi drivers are up to date with knowledge, law and what is the correct treatment of people with disabilities.
Due to the disappointing level of compliance in this small operation further education initiatives and similar exercises are planned by licensing officers.

For further information on this matter please contact Cardiff’s Licensing Section on 029 20871651 or licensing@cardiff.gov.uk

The out-of-contract Scotland winger says he has agreed terms with Cardiff City and will have a medical in the next few days with the Championship side.

“I was really impressed by Malky Mackay when I met him when he was manager at Watford.” New Cardiff manager Mackay tried signing Conway during his time as Watford manager and even though Conway’s agent, Mark Donaghy, has held talks with Rangers, the winger has chosen to play for Cardiff. Along with Rangers and Watford, he had been a target for a number of English clubs including Leicester City and Leeds United.

Conway signed for Dundee United in June 2006, he has made two appearances for Scotland and scored two goals in Utd’s 3-0 win over Ross County in the 2010 Scottish Cup final.

With only weeks to go until Take That tour together as a five-piece for the first time since 1995, the band announced that the successful pop duo will be their very special guests for the spectacular live shows that celebrate their biggest hits from the last two decades.

Robbie commented: “I’m a huge Pet Shop Boys fan so for me it will be an absolute joy to be able to watch them every night.”

Jason added, “I’m flattered and very happy they’ve agreed to do it. They’re so talented; I thought they’d be above it and us.”

“Pet Shop Boys was the first CD I ever bought” said Gary. “I’ve followed their whole career and always loved their unique approach to records and live performance. That combined with two lovely people means we’re in for a great tour.”

Pet Shop Boys are the most successful duo in UK music history, having sold 50 million records. With classic hits such as ‘West End girls’, ‘It’s a sin’, “Go West” and, more recently, ‘Love etc.’, they have crafted a unique and hugely influential sound which has seen them achieve seven platinum, two gold and four silver albums in the UK alone. In 2009 they won the “Outstanding Contribution To Music” award at the Brit Awards. Their ballet, The Most Incredible Thing, recently completed a sold-out, two-week season at Sadler’s Wells in London.

Pet Shop Boys said: “We are delighted to accept Take That’s invitation to be part of their Progress show and tour which is undoubtedly going to be one of the most exciting events of 2011. We look forward to every night being a huge celebration of pop music.”

The Millennium Stadium scooped a double date with Take That following exceptional demand for tickets and record hospitality sales at the iconic venue.

General Manager Gerry Toms commented: “There is already a huge buzz around the Take That concerts in Cardiff and I’m sure all pop music fans with tickets to the shows will be thrilled that Pet Shop Boys have been added to the bill.”

“This promises to be a spectacular show, Take That and Robbie Williams have each raised the roof at the Millennium Stadium in the past but this show sees them return for the biggest ever reunion tour charting two decades of pop.

“The demand for tickets has been awesome and we’re all looking forward to the two hugely-anticipated dates in June.”  

Pet Shop Boys 40-minute set will include highlights of their recent Pandemonium tour which was designed by Es Devlin who is part of the creative team working on the Progress Live 2011 tour.

Progress Live 2011 presented by Samsung kicks off at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light on May 27th, then heads to The City of Manchester Stadium, Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, Dublin Croke Park, Glasgow Hampden Park, Birmingham Villa Park and finishes in the UK with a record breaking eight shows at London’s Wembley Stadium. Pet Shop Boys will also join Take That for the subsequent European leg of the tour.

Take That’s Progress Live 2011 tour became the biggest tour in UK and Irish history when a record breaking 1.34 million tickets were snapped up in less than 24 hours of going on sale.  The band smashed their previous box office record set in 2008 with The Circus Live Tour more than doubling their own record for sales in a single day.  850,000 tickets went on sale at 9am on October 29, 2010 and throughout the day the band added a further 11 dates to the tour to cope with demand.

Between them, Take That and Robbie Williams have sold over 80 million albums, had 14 number one albums, 18 number one singles, played to over 14.5 million people live, won 20 BRIT Awards, eight MTV awards and five Ivor Novello awards; and the list goes on.

Progress Live 2011 Presented by Samsung full Tour Dates
Friday 27 May 2011                Sunderland Stadium of Light               SOLD OUT
Saturday 28 May 2011            Sunderland Stadium of Light               SOLD OUT
Monday 30 May 2011             Sunderland Stadium of Light               SOLD OUT
Tuesday 31 May 2011 Sunderland Stadium of Light                           SOLD OUT
Friday 3 June 2011                  City of Manchester Stadium                SOLD OUT
Saturday 4 June 2011              City of Manchester Stadium                SOLD OUT
Sunday 5 June 2011                City of Manchester Stadium                SOLD OUT
Tuesday 7 June 2011               City of Manchester Stadium                SOLD OUT
Wednesday 8 June 2011          City of Manchester Stadium                SOLD OUT
Friday 10 June 2011                City of Manchester Stadium                SOLD OUT
Saturday 11 June 2011            City of Manchester Stadium                SOLD OUT
Sunday 12 June 2011              City of Manchester Stadium                SOLD OUT
Tuesday 14 June 2011             Cardiff Millennium Stadium                SOLD OUT
Wednesday 15 June                 Cardiff Millennium Stadium                SOLD OUT
Wednesday 22 June 2011        Glasgow Hampden Park                      SOLD OUT
Thursday 23 June 2011           Glasgow Hampden Park                      SOLD OUT
Friday 24 June                         Glasgow Hampden Park                      SOLD OUT
Monday 27 June 2011 Birmingham Villa Park                                    SOLD OUT
Tuesday 28 June                      Birmingham Villa Park                        SOLD OUT
Thursday 30 June 2011           Wembley Stadium                               SOLD OUT
Friday 1 July 2011                   Wembley Stadium                               SOLD OUT
Saturday 2 July 2011               Wembley Stadium                               SOLD OUT
Monday 4 July 2011                Wembley Stadium                               SOLD OUT
Tuesday 5 July 2011               Wembley Stadium                               SOLD OUT
Wednesday 6 July 2011          Wembley Stadium                               SOLD OUT
Friday 8 July 2011                   Wembley Stadium                               SOLD OUT
Saturday 9 July 2011               Wembley Stadium                               SOLD OUT

Adam has joined fellow Cardiff City Academy product and team-mate Darcy Blake in the Wales squad to face Bulgaria at Cardiff City Stadium this Saturday and is also available to play against Switzerland in Basel next week, October 12. Both players and the Welsh squad took part in a training session at Cardiff City today (Wednesday).

The new Park and Ride in the east of Cardiff is proving to be extremely popular, with the numbers of people using it rising each week.

Since its launch on October 19, the weekly number of cars using the Park and Ride has more than doubled, with the latest count showing 1548 drivers taking advantage of the service from November 16 to 22.

Both commuters and shoppers are finding the Cardiff East Park and Ride invaluable and the approaching festive season, coupled with the recent opening of St David’s, has boosted figures significantly with more than 6000 vehicles using the service.

Councillor Delme Bowen, Executive member for Traffic and Transportation, said: “People are realising just how easy the new Park and Ride makes it to get in and out of the city centre and I am getting nothing but positive feedback about it.

“It’s great to see people actively seeking alternative travel solutions to get into Cardiff to help reduce congestion problems and carbon emissions. The Cardiff East Park and Ride looks to be a resounding success.”

Based just off the A48 (Eastern Avenue) the Cardiff East Park and Ride can be accessed from the Pentwyn Interchange. It has 340 car parking spaces, including 19 disabled spaces, with buses running every 15 minutes direct to Dumfries Place at the end of Queen Street (next to Sainsburys) via a dedicated bus lane.

The bus journey gives people a quick and environmentally friendly way of travelling into Cardiff city centre, with the amount of spaces to be eventually extended to 1100.

The cost of the Park and Ride for all-day parking is £2.50 per car with buses running from 7am to 8.30pm Monday to Friday (Thursdays 7am to 10.30pm), Saturdays 9am to 7pm and Sundays 9am to 5.30pm. The buses are low-floor, wheelchair accessible and able to take prams.

There is a Park and Ride bus every fifteen From Monday to Friday the service operates from 7am until 8.30pm and 10.30pm on Thursdays. On Saturdays buses run from 9am to 7pm and on Sundays from 9am until 5.30pm.

The new Park and Ride is part of Cardiff Council’s Sustainable Travel City initiative, which is partly funded by the Welsh Assembly Government, and links in with the ‘Free B’ shuttle bus, which helps in getting people between key points in the city centre, with a bus every 10 minutes.

Cardiff East Park and Ride also links up with existing Park and Ride facilities which are available to the west of the city at the new Cardiff City stadium in Leckwith.

Opening times are 7.30am to 7.30pm Monday to Saturday, except on match days.

At the weekend the regular Cardiff South and Cardiff North Park and Ride services are in operation. On Saturday these run from both County Hall and Crown Way from 9am to 6pm and on Sunday from 10am to 5.30pm (Cardiff North Park and Ride,is open on Sundays until January 3 for the Christmas period).

The Youth Wind Band at St David's Hall

This Christmas will be busier than ever for the Cardiff County & Vale of Glamorgan Music Service ensembles, with no less than 14 festive concerts and events taking place, involving over 1,000 children.

The season begins with the Transitional Wind Band Concert at St Andrew’s & St Teilo’s Church in Woodville Road on Friday, December 4.

On December 9, 500 children from all over Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan will take part in the Music Service Christmas Showcase at St David’s Hall. Of the nine ensembles involved, one will be this year’s massed choir, consisting of 250 pupils from eight primary schools. All feed into St Cyres and Stanwell schools in Penarth, where the pupils have been busily rehearsing since September.

The ensembles taking part in the annual prestigious event are: the Youth Brass Band, the High Schools’ Orchestra and Choir, the Youth Big Band (“Jazz News”), the Advanced Percussion Group, the High Schools’ Wind Band, the Intermediate Brass Band and Junior Jazz.

Performances will include arrangements of traditional, pop and classical music, ranging from The Holly and the Ivy to Christmas at the Movies.

Executive Member for Education and Lifelong Learning Cllr Freda Salway, said: “The annual music service Christmas showcase at St David’s Hall is a real highlight of the festive calendar. It’s really wonderful to see the children and young people coming together to put on such a professional performance.

“A lot of hard work has gone into their performances and I’m sure the standard will continue to be high again this year.”

Other concerts scheduled for the festive season include the Christmas Celebration at City Hall, featuring the Youth Orchestra and Choir. At Llandaff Cathedral the Youth Brass Band will perform with Llandaff Choral Society. At the Wales Millennium Centre the Youth Wind Band will take to the stage and the Junior Schools Choir will perform at St Germans Church.

Jeff Davies, Head of CCVG Music Service said “It’s a very busy time for us but it’s fantastic to see and hear the talents of so many young people at Christmas”

All performances can be found on the CCVG website: www.ccvgmusicservice.org

Bute Park - Best in Wales

Bute Park in Cardiff has been awarded the prestigious accolade of the best park in Wales, in Britain’s Best Park competition.

The park scooped the regional award back in 2008 and has beat off tough competition from other parks across Wales to take the 2009 title.

Parks were judged on various criteria including environment, design, usability, access, maintenance and community involvement. Judges were particularly impressed by Bute Park’s wide variety of attractions and community events, excellent horticulture and ease of accessibility to and from Cardiff city centre.

Executive member for Culture, Leisure and Parks, Councillor Nigel Howells, said: “This is a fantastic achievement for Bute Park and all the staff that work so hard to make it look so fantastic all year round. Following on from the park’s Green Flag earlier in the year this is another important accolade and a strong endorsement that we are getting it right in the park.

“Judges clearly understood the considerable benefits of our new access arrangements and the great news is that Bute Park can only improve and get better as we embark on our £5.6m conservation project, supported by the £3.1m Heritage Lottery Fund grant, to restore, enhance and help people learn about the many historic features in the park including the Animal Wall, Blackfriars Friary and West Lodge.

“Visitors to Cardiff are always impressed by the park and how much green space there is in the city centre. Cardiff Council is committed to making sure we keep winning these top awards by working hard to maintain and improve Bute Park – which really is a jewel in the crown of this city and used and enjoyed widely by the community, including disability groups.”

Ian Small, business development manager for petrol lawn mower engine manufacturer Briggs & Stratton UK Ltd, who sponsor the award, said: “Bute Park has a traditional feel, it is maintained to the highest standards and its community attractions make it a worthy winner of the regional prize.”

Jennifer Stewart, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) Wales, which is supporting the restoration of the park with a £3.1m grant, said: “Bute Park is enormously popular with both local people and visitors, and deserves to be celebrated.

“When the work is complete the visitor experience will be enhanced even further as the park will once again be connected to the gardens and Castle, creating one fantastic space to explore and enjoy in the heart of the city.”

The judges for this year’s competition comprised of a panel of trade and consumer horticultural journalists. On the panel was; Peter Seabrook MBE and Steve Bradley (gardening editors, The Sun), Matthew Appleby (news editor, Horticulture Week), Anisa Gress (The Garden), Jean Vernon (freelance gardening journalist) Trevor Pfeiffer, (Garden Trade News), Laurence Gale (Pitchcare magazine) and Nicole Gritzmacher (Briggs & Stratton Europe).

The Britain’s Best Parks competition was started in 2003 by Briggs & Stratton as part of a global network of competitions recognising and rewarding excellence in park design and maintenance. Similar competitions run in six countries including Sweden, Germany, Poland, France and Italy.