Some UEA students, who had bought annual bus passes, returned on the first day of this term to find their route had been withdrawn.

Simon Wright wants to hear people’s experiences and concerns ahead of the meeting.

“Many passengers have been in touch with me about their concerns. I want to encourage anyone who is affected to get in touch so I can present First with clear evidence of the impact of these changes on my constituents,” said Mr Wright.

The meeting comes as First announced changes to its services across Norwich including the 21/22 which will no longer stop at the University of East Anglia. In Lakenham & Tuckswood the number 17/17a has also changed its route.

Tash Ross, Community and Student Rights Officer at the Union commented: “This is really worrying. There seems to have been little thought of the students who use the service, especially given that many of them will have bought a yearlong pass expecting to be able to use the services for all of the academic year. We call on First Bus to review their decision, and consult with students who use the service, especially those who have already paid for their bus pass for the year.”

Dawn Dewar, UEA’s Transport Co-ordinator said: “The university encourages staff and students to use public transport in preference to cars wherever possible, but the services offered by First Buses are run on commercial grounds and decisions on which routes to operate rest with them.”

Nigel Barrett, Regional Managing Director, for First South East & Midlands has responded to criticism saying: “An extensive evaluation of the 21/22 service [..] was undertaken and showed that very few passengers were being carried between the University and the N&N Hospital. During these times of austerity, the UK bus industry continues to fight rising fuel and insurance costs, changes to concessionary fares reimbursement procedures, as well as reductions in fuel duty rebate and council funding.  We have to ensure that all of our routes are being fully utilised.”

The bus company has agreed to hold a UEA focus group inside 3 months to review the situation and are looking to create a similar group with staff and members of the N&N adding: “Our recent research has also indicated that there was customer demand at peak times between the Bowthorpe area and the University, and we have therefore introduced new ‘circular’ 40 Service between these points.  We expect that this will be adjusted in time to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of the UEA, using the feedback from the focus groups and customer service centre.”

They have also agreed to refund any passengers who bought an annual ticket who are no longer able to use it.

You can email your experiences and comments to Mr Wright by emailing office@simonwright.org.uk, by phone on 01603 627 660.

Emergency arrangements were made late last night, after contractor The Fountains Group went into administration.

The Fountains Group plc held an £8 million contact with Norwich City Council to cover street cleaning, tree management and grounds maintenance at parks, cemeteries and open spaces in the city. The waste management company, Biffa, who provide the city’s rubbish collections, were subcontracted by them, leaving questions over what would happen next.

The City Council, who had been given no warning that the group would go into administration, started immediate discussions with the administrators, The Fountains Group and Biffa to make sure key services such as bin collections continue.

Alan Waters, cabinet member for resources at Norwich City Council, said: “Our absolute priority is that we continue to provide the waste and recycling collections and other important services to our residents. As soon as we were told, we went into immediate discussions about how to maintain the waste and recycling contract with Biffa so that people’s bins continue to be emptied and their recycling collected.

We also focused on how to deliver the services Fountains has been providing, such as street cleaning, tree management and grounds maintenance at parks, cemeteries and open spaces in the city. We have already spoken to the administrator as a matter of urgency to discuss the continuation of these contracts and what we can do to try and protect local jobs. Sadly, this is another major company which has ceased to trade because of the difficult economic conditions and these unforeseen situations are now a financial reality for large organisations like ourselves, especially in the public sector.”

150 staff at The Fountains Group were told they were being made redundant yesterday. The company subcontracted the waste and recycling element of the contract to Biffa, worth £3.3 million per year, delivered by 60 staff.

A spokesperson from Biffa said this afternoon: “Biffa’s senior managers and the council are discussing possible options for the short and longer term future of the refuse and recycling collection contract.”

Next month there’s a chance to learn about after-school tuition at an Open Day at The Forum.

With over 200 children (many doing both subjects) already on their books, the director of First Class Learning talks about what they offer in our Features section: “Every child can do better given more practice and support.”

One local centre, which has over 200 pupils on its books, is holding an Open Day at The Forum next month for parents who want to find out more.

First Class Learning run centres in Cringleford as well as Taverham and Thorpe.

They aim to offer extra support and practice in English and Maths to help children get nearer to their full potential. Director, Charles Nevick, says they come for a range of reasons: “Some children come because they’re struggling and some come because they are bored at school. You get very bright, even gifted children who need to be stretched.”

The pupils range from age 4 upwards to GCSE. The director of First Class Learning explains: “No school can be all things to all children. Even the best schools are constrained by the other things they have to do, so the time spent practising Maths and English has been reduced.”

The children do a little work every day, typically 10-15 minutes per subject. During the sessions, the children are offered one-to-one support if they need it as they work through the programme: “Every child can do better with a little practice and support.”

Children who sign up with them, find they become more confident in key areas: “We get children who say ‘I know I’m thick’ which is a terrible thing for a child to say at any age. Given practice and help, practically everyone can do better. We get children coming almost every week who say they’ve moved up a set in school and they’re so pleased.”"

The work is linked to the National Curriculum, with practice papers provided for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 tests, and GCSE. First Class Learning also run additional sessions for Year 6 children coming up to the change from primary to high school: “A lack of understanding in Year 6 inevitably means allocation to a “low set” on arrival at high school, with the associated disadvantages that brings.”

A free trial is available at any time, subject to capacity. The cost of First Class Learning is £50/month for a child doing one subject.  For a second subject, or for a sibling, the cost is £35/month.  There is a one-off £15/family enrolment fee. There are no set times for arrival; parents drop at staggered times during a session. The centres are open on three afternoons per week after school, Saturday mornings and for part of the school holidays.

Prospective parents can call 01603 423405 for an information pack.

The Open Day at The Forum outside The Millennium Library is on Saturday 25th February 2012 between 9am and 4pm, giving parents a chance to see examples from the programmes, pick up leaflets, and talk to staff and current students.

Available to download from next week, all the proceeds will be ploughed back into the charity.

YMCA residents and staff have been working with youth arts organisation, Culture Works East, to create an original album from scratch.

All the young people are either not in employment, education or training. By working with industry professionals, they’ve learnt what it takes to work in the music industry, including album design, marketing, social media and advertising.

Elli Chapman from Culture Works East said: “It’s about giving young people ownership of a project. If you set the bar high enough for them, they’ll reach for that bar.” Many are now hoping to find apprenticeships locally, drawing on their experience of making the album: “They can use the album as a virtual cv, allowing them to talk to potential employers about how they kept to deadlines and worked as part of a team.”

One of the young people involved, Sonya Dover, said: “I have been in charge of doing things like press releases and creating marketing materials. The money raised will contribute to homelessness, training, education and making sure that people get back on the right track.”

Tim Sweeting, Chief Executive of YMCA: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Culture Works to create our first charity album to promote gifts of our amazing young people who will be using and developing their talent for design, promotion, sound technology and other industry skills as well as expressing their own story through music.”

For more information and to purchase the ‘Right Tracks’ album, go to the YMCA online.

Over in our Opinion section, local solicitor Andrew Wood explains his involvement with Start-Up Masterclass.

Start-Up Masterclass is holding events throughout the year, helping young companies get off the ground and creating local jobs for the future.

At next Monday’s event, I’ll take entrepreneurs through the legal pitfalls to avoid at the John Innes Centre.

One of the biggest issues that startups face is coping with the legal aspects of setting up and running a business.

From the outside this can look pretty arcane and frankly a bit dull but it needs to be handled correctly or you risk facing major problems as your company develops. Whether it is protecting your idea or structuring your business to minimise risk, these are all decisions that need to be researched and thought through when you begin.

The law is also one of the areas where businesses often struggle most to find impartial, non-technical advice that sets out the options tailored to their own needs. And while the web can provide background information, nothing beats a face-to-face conversation that allows you to ask (and get answers to) your individual questions. Every business is different.

With BusinessLink moving solely online, there’s even less free advice available, hence this month’s Norfolk Startup Masterclass session focusing on How to avoid awful muddles and other legal nasties. To be held from 6pm on January 16^th at the John Innes Centre, I’ll go into more detail on the legal decisions you need to take at all stages of the startup lifecycle.

Without giving too much away, it comes down to what I call the 5 Rs – questions you need to ask yourself when setting up:

• Risk – how much am I happy with?
• Responsibilities – who am I responsible for? What are my obligations?
• Rights – What are my rights?
• Rewards/Return on exit or otherwise – What am I looking for?
• Relationship with others, particularly stakeholders and employees – How will these be managed?

Aimed at early stage businesses and those looking to launch into startup life, the session will give an introduction to what you need to think about and the options out there. Sign up online for the event and see the whole programme for the year.

Read what’s been getting you talking in our Comment round-up.

The search is on to find Britain’s Favourite Market. To vote, go to the National Association of British Market Authorities’ website before Thursday 5th January 2012.

Ian Patterson, markets manager for Norwich City Council, said: “Norwich Market is still very popular with people living in the city and visiting it. We’re very proud of the market and we’d urge everyone who feels the same to give it their vote and help it lift the national title.”

Norwich Market is unique in Britain with almost 190 stalls, it it the largest Monday-to-Saturday open market in the country.

There’s been a market in Norwich since Saxon times and it’s been on its current site longer than any of the buildings that surround it.

Originally the market was held in Tombland, in the open space now occupied by café terraces. This ancient market was displaced when the Normans began to build the cathedral, and so, for more than 900 years, the market has been on its current site.

Unique to Norwich, Moorish is a falafel bar on Lower Goat Lane.

This month they’re featured in our series giving a snapshot of local businesses.

• Popular in London and the Netherlands, owner Ayyub King took his inspiration from Amsterdam.
• Falafels are healthy, vegetarian fast food: Lebanese in origin, they’re made from chickpeas and are served in pitta.
• A small, independent business, Moorish opened in October 2011 and open daily from 11-8pm.
• Moorish falafels are freshly made every day, prepared on the premises.
• This summer they’re looking to branch out into music festivals, having covered the Norfolk and Norwich Festival in Chapelfield Gardens last year: “Falafels are really popular at music festivals. It might not have worked 10 years ago but we found we had queues all day long.”