John Guinn

1 week ago | bedfordtoday.co.uk | John Guinn

Bedford borough councillor Caroline White has left the Labour Group and is now an Independent councillor. The councillor for Kempston Central and East confirmed the news in an email to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) and will be commenting later. The Bedford Borough Labour Group has been approached for a comment, but did not give a statement at the time of publication. Councillor White is the second councillor to leave Labour since the local elections in May 2023.

1 week ago | bedfordtoday.co.uk | John Guinn

Bedford Borough Council has taken disciplinary action against multiple taxi and private hire drivers following safety complaints, traffic offences, and failures to meet licensing standards between February and May this year. A report presented to the General Licensing Committee last night (Thursday) revealed that one driver had their licence revoked with immediate effect after being charged with “coercive and controlling behaviour and actual bodily harm”.

1 week ago | leightonbuzzardonline.co.uk | John Guinn

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, visited Leighton Buzzard Health Centre yesterday (Thursday, June 19) to officially open new clinical rooms that will provide over “56,000 additional GP appointments per year”. Speaking during the visit, Mr Streeting said the new rooms were a significant boost in capacity for local residents — but acknowledged that they do not provide a full solution to the area’s healthcare needs.

1 week ago | bedfordtoday.co.uk | John Guinn

Bedford Borough Council is carrying out a review of its staff procurement cards to ensure tighter controls and improved transparency, according to an internal newsletter. v.1Bedford Borough Council is carrying out a review of its staff procurement cards to ensure tighter controls and improved transparency, according to an internal newsletter. The newsletter said “heightened public scrutiny” is part of the reason for the review.

1 week ago | bedfordtoday.co.uk | John Guinn

Bedford Borough Council has been named the top-performing council in Bedfordshire for climate action, according to the latest Council Climate Action Scorecards from Climate Emergency UK. The borough scored 41 per cent, marking an 11-point increase on its 2023 performance – the highest jump in the county. The independent scorecards, described by Climate Emergency UK as a “holistic analysis” of all UK councils’ climate efforts, rank authorities based on their publicly reported actions and plans.