Expulsion for Temporary Classrooms as £48 Million Schools Investment Programme Confirmed

River Festival 2014: First Details and Confirmation of Dates - 19th & 20th July

Freezing Council Tax and Protecting the Vulnerable - Mayor Dave Writes

Writing in his latest monthly column for the Times and Citizen newspaper, Mayor Dave Hodgson has outlined some of the key features of the Council's 2014-15 budget, which was supported unanimously by councillors of all parties and of none at the recent budget Full Council meeting.

Mayor Slams Magistrates' Court Downgrade

Mayor Dave Hodgson has slammed the recent decision by Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service to take away all criminal cases from Bedford Magistrates' Court, with only family court cases and potentially limited localy authority-related work remaining.

Towards 95% and Beyond: More Good News on Superfast Broadband

Following the Government's announcement of the 'Superfast Extension Programme', Mayor Dave Hodgson has confirmed that he will ensure that the project to ensure 95% of homes have superfast broadband access by 2017 will be delivered in Bedford Borough.

National Apprenticeship Week: Momentum Builds Towards 2016 in 2016

This week is National Apprenticeship Week, with a range of events going on around the Borough to promote the benefits to individuals of seeking apprenticeship opportunities, and to employers of providing those opportunities. In January Mayor Dave Hodgson announced the Apprenticeship Challenge: "2016 in 2016". This followed an apprenticeships summit Mayor Dave convened where the Council, training and education providers and employers sat down and agreed to set an ambitious target to reflect the ambition they all have for increasing high quality apprenticeship opportunities for young people and adults. So, while we have already seen huge growth in apprenticeships in Bedford Borough recently, the Apprenticeship Challenge sets the shared challenge of achieving the annual figure of creating 2016 new apprenticeships in 2016.