A few weeks ago I suggested to colleagues that our children were all being over stressed, trained like dogs for exams to tick boxes, that this wasn’t an education just a sausage machine and little else – and so we should look at how scrapping exams for under-16s and scrapping AS levels would work.

Blow me – the national exams sat by under-16s in England’s schools should be scrapped, a teaching standards watchdog has now urged: the General Teaching Council (GTC) believes the tests are failing to raise standards and placing “added stress” on pupils, teachers and parents.

I must be clairvoyant!

Further to the story of Crimestoppers adverts appearing on a pirate radio station – Bizim FM – the offending advertisements look like having been downloaded from the web by the radio station and then broadcast.

However they got there – you cannot have the Met’s brand on an illegal radio station – and the Met are investigating. They say that they have had this type of problem before so we’ll see what they decide to do this time!

I have had a few emails saying that Bizim is better than London Turkish Radio (LTR). Not my focus – I am not judging the relative excellence or otherwise of the two stations – only their legality or otherwise. I am also getting a few identical letters from supporters of Bizim (so orchestrated clearly) who say that it is just a ‘licensing technicality’. I think that’s the sort of technicality that costs money – i.e. applying for a license – in fact quite a lot of money. Licensing is what keeps our airwaves clear – not just for our enjoyment but also for our safety in that the frequencies are also used by the emergency services. Illegal broadcasting is not acceptable. Nor is one station having to pay whilst another decides it won’t.

Listen guys – I have no axe to grind here other than a business in my constituency is being financially damaged by an illegal pirate radio station.

I am meeting with Ofcom in a couple of weeks – so watch this space!

I think you can guess my answer! But there’s an online poll running over at Daily Referendum – do go and vote!

Grants up of to £1,500 are available to local groups to help mark the 200th anniversary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act. The deadline for applications is 21st June. Let me know if you’d like an application form or you can contact Haringey Council – 020 8489 2583.

After meeting constituents face-to-face to hear the issues they wanted to raise with me it was off this morning to Budgens in Crouch End to launch / support their new scheme for getting us all to cut out using plastic bags for our shopping.

Their campaign is called ‘Pennies for Plastic’ because the cost of each plastic bag is 1p and for every single one that the customers don’t use Budgens are giving that money to a local project. This time the money will go to Weston Park Primary School. They have had the children draw this huge painting of the Clock Tower and the kids arrive for photo opportunities with their painting, trolleys full of plastic bags (5,000 per day are used) and T-shirts to support the cause. Budgens want everyone to use the purchasable environmentally sound bag – and reuse it every time – or bring their own shopping bag. And it isn’t stopping there – as Budgens are getting together all the independents in Crouch End to support this campaign. It’s win, win, win, win! Local store, local produce, local schools and local community – that’s how to do it!

And because I am so pleased with Budgens taking on this environmental challenge I want to big them up on their approach to their food too! Their new smoothies and fresh food stand is at the front of the shop (delicious smoothie – all fresh ingredients as you can get as they are frozen at the height of their fruit being lives and then used when needed).

Andrew Thornton showed me around and what is clear is that Budgens has decided to make their food as local as possible and as fresh as possible – thus proving that providing good produce reaps financial rewards too! I was amazed that they were able to commission individual orders from specialist local food producers or makers – like the pesto where the father grew the herbs (locally) and the daughter picked them and took them back to her kitchen to make, with the end product now on Andrew’s shelves.