Daily Archives: 3 Jul 2016

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3 Jul 2016

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Scrutiny, Transparency

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Torbay council Scrutiny Committee being blocked from seeing report on cuts

Bet they don’t get to see devolution reports either!

How similar to East Devon.

“ANGRY councillors who say ‘the future of Torbay council is at stake’ claim they are being blocked from seeing a vital new report.

A row erupted over the timescale of the efficiency plan which will give details of cutbacks and savings, enabling the council to receive the next four years’ funding from central government.

The overview and scrutiny committee demanded mayor Gordon Oliver keeps them updated with the detailed efficiency plan after hearing they would not have sight of it until eight days before final decisions are made.

The council is required to have an efficiency plan in place by September 2016, to receive a four-year revenue support grant settlement from the Department for Communities and Local Government. It has to published and sent to DCLG by October 14.

However, the overview and scrutiny committee were angry when they were told they would have just eight days to scrutinise the plan before making recommendations to full council.

Cllr Chris Lewis said: “The future of Torbay Council is at stake. We are making lots of cuts and we should have started this work months ago. How can we have just eight days to look at it?”

Mayor Oliver told the committee: “We have spent months working on this. Officers have been left to make their judgement as to how to balance the books correctly.”

However, the report would not be ready before July.

Then, before the full report can be shared by councillors, it would have to go to the mayor’s executive group in August, before coming to overview and scrutiny eight days before full council has to vote on it.

But councillors are asking for the report to be ‘drip-fed’ to them to enable them to scrutinise the details of cutbacks.

Cllr Alan Tyerman said: “We are going around in circles here. After the August meeting it needs to come to overview and scrutiny as soon as it can so we can understand what is in the plan. I feel we are getting muddled here, but we need to know what is in the plan. We have to have involvement in this vital piece of work. If we only have sight of it at the last minute it won’t work.”

Torbay Council chief executive Steve Parrock said there were 42 pieces of work involved.

But, Cllr Nick Bye replied: “It feels like there is some political blockage in sharing this important work.

“It is going to be a pile of poo anyway, but the danger is we won’t be allowed to have an impact.” Cllr Bye felt there was a political reason why councillors were being blocked, but mayor Oliver said: “There is no Agatha Christie plot here I am aware of.”

The committee unanimously voted information be shared to them as early as possible on elements of the plans which are non-controversial. And that as soon as it is complete and gone to the mayor’s executive group, it be shared with them formally.

http://www.torquayheraldexpress.co.uk/councillors-anger-over-time-span-to-study-vital-new-report/story-29452846-detail/story.html

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3 Jul 2016

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Accountability, Democracy, Neil Parish, Post-Brexit Adjustments

Leadsom, Remainer in 2013 does not rule out working with Farage

This is what Andrea Leadsom, leading Brexiter and Tory candidate for PM (backed by our MP Neil Parish) said about the EU in 2013 and her current ideas:

” … Tory leadership contender Andrea Leadsom has refused to rule out giving Nigel Farage a position on the government’s EU negotiating team if she becomes Prime Minister.

The admission comes despite the Ukip leader drawing boos and shouts of rage from MEPs in his ‘victory’ speech last week as he declared many of them had never had a proper job.

Asked if she’d appoint Mr garage to help lead Brexit negotiations, Ms Leadsom – who has painted herself as the heir to Margaret Thatcher – said: “I don’t want to get into who would do what.” …

… ,Ms Leadsom was forced to confront claims of hypocrisy today after a tape emerged of her saying Brexit would be a “disaster”.

She said in 2013: “I’m going to nail my colours to the mast here: I don’t think the UK should leave the EU.

“I think it would be a disaster for our economy and it would lead to a decade of economic and political uncertainty at a time when the tectonic plates of global success are moving.

Like the rise and fall of the Roman and Greek empires, we are seeing the rise of the Asian or South American economies at a time when our own future is less certain.

“And to be honest, economic success is the vital underpinning of every happy nation. The wellbeing we all crave goes hand in hand with economic success.”

Asked to respond to the remarks, Ms Leadsom told the BBC’s Andrew Marr show: “It’s been a journey”. …”

She also did not rule out employing Nigel Farage, or possibly offering him a knighthood if she gets the power to do so.

Source: Andrew Marr Show, 3 July 2016

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/no10-hopeful-andrea-leadsom-refuses-8338756

As Mr Parish has also changed his mind about Brexit a couple of times, one can perhaps understand why she is so attractive a candidate to him.

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3 Jul 2016

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Accountability, Democracy

Principles

“We need a PM with principle – it’s Gove.”
Simon Heffer, Sunday Telegraph, page 22

“Those are my principles, and if you don’t like them… well, I have others.”
Groucho Marx

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3 Jul 2016

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Accountability, Claire Wright, Democracy

5 independent MPs hold the balance of power in Australian general election

Who said independent MPs can’t influence government?

“Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten have begun courting the five lower house independents who will be kingmakers if the 2016 election delivers another hung parliament, although the prime minister insists he is “quietly confident” of a narrow majority after postal votes are counted.

After suffering an unexpected nationwide 3.4% swing and losing 11 seats to Labor, with at least six more in doubt, Turnbull has begun contingency planning for the minority government he has long argued would be chaotic and disastrous for the nation.

While he insisted he was “quietly confident” of a majority Coalition government, the prime minister – in a sharp contrast to his election campaign warnings about the dangers of a vote for minor parties – emerged on Sunday afternoon to promise to “work constructively” with the crossbench to deliver a stable government “without division or rancour”.”

http://gu.com/p/4nj7c

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3 Jul 2016

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Accountability, AONB, EDDC, Environment (local), Rural communities, Sidmouth/ Sidford/ Sidbury, Transport (local)

Hold your breath in Sidford, the HGVs are coming

Imagine the increase in particulate discharge, particularly its effect on the health of the children of the village.and the integrity of the structure of those beautiful old houses on the route, most built with shallow foundations. And in a flood-prone area of an AONB. Wouldn’t happen in the Blackdown Hills!

“Campaigners have branded Sidford and Sidbury’s ‘bottleneck’ roads ‘too narrow’ to handle the increased transit of lorries.

Councillor Marianne Rixson said traffic is predicted to increase by a third along ‘pinch point’ roads if plans for a business park in Sidford go ahead.

She said the roads are already congested – particularly School Street, near Sidbury Mill and through Sidbury – and branded claims that the site ‘is well served by highway access’ as misleading.

Cllr Rixson, who represents the Sidmouth-Sidford ward on East Devon District Council, said: “The roads are too narrow yet they are predicting a 32 per cent increase in traffic through School Street if the development is approved – Sidbury, too, has various ‘pinch points’ where two vehicles cannot pass.” She added that there needed to be a ‘duty of care’ to pedestrians on roads where there are no pavements.

And with HGVs nearly three metres wide, Cllr Rixson fears two lorries could not pass each other in School Street – which is just 4.8 metres wide.

She said: “The A375 is an upgraded B road and is essentially still a B road. Already lorries drive on the pavement in School Street and, in Sidbury, there are stretches where there are no pavements at all.”

Devon County Council’s highways team is being consulted on the application and said it is considering its response.”

http://www.eastdevonalliance.org.uk/in-the-press/20160702/sidmouth-herald-hgv-increase-issue-on-narrow-roads/