Monthly Archives: May 2017

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4 May 2017

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Accountability, Devolution, Local Enterprise Partnership

English devolution – undemocratic and unrepresentative

“… The ERS (Electoral Reform Society) has been vocal in pointing out the solely economic focus of devolution – and the corresponding lack of attention to the democracy of devolution. With the public largely shut out of the process, and models imposed rather than chosen, so far citizen involvement in the constitutional future of their own areas has been minimal. …

… The creation of combined authorities highlights a continuing shift in the role of the councillor. Where once councillors took decisions directly on committees they are increasingly scrutineers: holding to account formal executive structures in the form of mayoral or cabinet/leader structures, or scrutinising bodies such as Clinical Commissioning Groups, Local Enterprise Partnerships, Police and Crime Commissioners, and now combined authorities.

The traditional argument for First Past the Post: that it elects ‘strong’ governments, cannot hold up to the reality of modern councillor life in which councillors are as often scrutinisers as decision-makers, not only of their own executives but of bodies external to the traditional council governance structure.

Yet, there are still many councils overwhelmingly dominated by a single party. …”

Click to access From-City-Hall-to-Citizens-Hall.pdf

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4 May 2017

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Post-Brexit Adjustments

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Pensioners should replace foreign fruit and veg pickers said former Agriculture Minister!

“Hapless former Environment Secretary, Owen Paterson, suggested that old age pensioners be put to work on the UK’s fruit farms. He even had the cheek to say that because they would probably be a bit slow, they should be paid less than the minimum wage so as not to waste the farmers’ money.

Paterson’s army of silver haired and grimy finger nailed serfs would have replaced some 20,000 (mostly youthful) Bulgarians and Romanians who had been employed seasonally under a scheme which preceded the total opening of the jobs market to the eastern European countries.

The proposals have been revealed by former Liberal Democrat minister David Laws, in a book about the uneasy coalition that saw the Lib Dems attempt to co-exist in government with David Cameron’s Conservatives from 2010-2015. Laws’ own time at the cabinet table was beset with controversy – he was forced to resign after only 17 days for improperly claiming over £40,000 in housing expenses, only to be welcomed back to the fold two years later.

Paterson himself was eventually given the hook from his environment role following a string of gaffes, such as turning up with no wellies to inspect the Somerset floods; saying: “the badgers are moving the goalposts” in reference to the cull of which he is such a supporter, and, crucially, appearing to have no interest in the environment. He was replaced by the less outspoken but equally inept Liz Truss. But this fresh revelation reveals just how cold-hearted and out of touch Paterson and some of his ilk are. …

… According to Laws, when Paterson voiced his plan for pensioner fruit pickers, it was a step too far for his colleagues in government. A civil servant apparently “tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle a laugh”. Sanity prevailed at that time but, if we allow the Tories to continue their destruction of society unchecked, how long before we see OAPs forced to earn their pension by spending 12 hours a day in the fields?”

https://www.thecanary.co/2016/03/14/get-pensioners-pick-fruit-vegetables-fields-says-tory-minister/

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4 May 2017

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Accountability, DCC, Democracy

Colyton issue makes Express and Echo front page, our other MP makes it a double for Private Eye

Here’s Mrs Parr (you can find her today making the rounds of Seaton and Colyton polling stations in her bid to become the area’s Devon County Councillor):

and, coincidentally, Conservative MP Neil Parish appears in this week’s Private Eye:

only one edition later than our other Conservative MP Hugo Swire appeared in the publication:

And who can forget 2013 when disgraced Conservative councillor Graham Brown made this headline:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9920971/If-I-cant-get-planning-nobody-will-says-Devon-councillor-and-planning-consultant.html

There’s no such thing as bad publicity, they say.

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3 May 2017

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Accountability, Democracy, Transparency

The law on disclosable pecuniary interest

“What happens if I don’t follow the rules on disclosable pecuniary interests?

It is a criminal offence if, without a reasonable excuse, you fail to tell the monitoring officer about your disclosable pecuniary interests, either for inclusion on the register if you are a newly elected, co-opted or appointed member, or to update the register if you are re- elected or re-appointed, or when you become aware of a disclosable pecuniary interest which is not recorded in the register but which relates to any matter;

– that will be or is being considered at a meeting where you are present, or
– on which you are acting alone.

It is also a criminal offence to knowingly or recklessly provide false or misleading information, or to participate in the business of your authority where that business involves a disclosable pecuniary interest. It is also a criminal offence to continue working on a matter which can be discharged by a single member and in which you have a disclosable pecuniary interest.

If you are found guilty of such a criminal offence, you can be fined up to £5,000 and disqualified from holding office as a councillor for up to five years.”

Click to access Openness_and_transparency_on_personal_interests.pdf

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3 May 2017

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Accountability, Colyton, Councillor Helen Parr, Developers/ Development, EDDC, Local Plan, Planning System, Seaton/ Colyford / Colyton, Transparency, Voting

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Express and Echo names EDDC Vice-Chair Helen Parr as councillor under police investigation at Colyton

Councillor Parr is standing for the DCC Seaton and Colyton seat at elections tomorrow.

“The vice-chairman of East Devon District Council is under investigation over an allegation she influenced plans to develop her area while failing to declare an interest.

Councillor Helen Parr will be speaking to police officers on a voluntary basis, the Express & Echo understands.

The investigation into the councillor for Coly Valley regards late changes to the East Devon Villages plan made after she was among those who spoke at the meeting of the East Devon District Council strategic planning committee on February 20.

Cllr Parr is a director of a company which owns land next to the former Ceramtec factory site in Colyton. The factory was due to be slated for housing until Cllr Parr spoke at the planning meeting and it was decided to recommend that it remains for employment.

She told the committee: “The main concern and why people are not at all happy about what is proposed in the document is that the built up area boundary line now has suddenly, after the consultation, gone out round the built section of the Ceramtec site.

“It is a very large site and will accommodate, if it went only to houses, about 80 houses. It would be a large development for Colyton which nobody, until now, had any inkling of, in that the built-up area boundary excluded this site.

“There is concern because the bottom line for Colyton is that we lost 80 jobs when this factory closed and we would like to retained as much as possible for employment land.

“I would ask the committee to agree or to propose that the wording should make it clear that on the preamble to the plan that on page 20 it includes words that show that this is protected as an employment site and it should be retained for employment use.”

The East Devon Alliance – a group of independent district councillors – has raised concerns about Cllr Parr’s conduct with Devon & Cornwall Police.

Members say she should have declared and interest and not spoken on the issue.

Cllr Parr and her husband are directors of J & FJ Baker & Company Limited, which owns land at Turlings Farm, next to the Ceramtec site.

East Devon Alliance Councillor Cathy Gardner, at last week’s East Devon District Council meeting, revealed that there was an ongoing police investigation into the council’s handling of the matter.

A spokesperson for Devon & Cornwall Police said it could not confirm or deny the scope of the police investigation. Cllr Parr was asked for comment, but said that due to purdah – rules brought in before an election – she could not say anything.

Last year J & FJ Baker & Company Limited bought land on the south side of Turlings Farm which connects the Ceramtec site to the farm that the Parrs own. They paid £1 for the strip of property.

Cllr Gardner said at last week’s meeting of East Devon District Council: “It may be proven that undue influence has distorted the content of the plan. If that does turn out to be the case, do you agree that it is the responsibility of this council to rectify the result of this influence – in order to ensure the residents of Colyton are not adversely affected and to do so before the plan goes to the (Planning) Inspector?”

In response, Cllr Paul Diviani, the council’s leader, said: “In terms of the village plan, I can’t see a reason why we should be inclined to second guess what an inspector or other authority or otherwise is going to do and in that respect I will reserve judgement as to when we actually do take action.”

An East Devon Alliance source told the Echo: “She is the vice-chairman of the council and has been the chairman of the planning committee for years, so she knows what she is doing, so we have got to pursue this.”

An East Devon District Council spokesman said: “Only the three statutory officers at the council together with one other officer were aware that there was a police investigation prior to the meeting of council on Wednesday and these officers have kept the matter confidential.

“Given that there is an active police investigation, and the sensitivities around purdah for both the county and General Election, it would be wholly inappropriate for the council to comment on the investigation at this time. The council also cannot comment on how Cllr Gardner became aware of the police investigation, and the chief executive and monitoring officer were surprised that she raised this matter at a public meeting.

“The process that has been followed for the village plan and the representations made/considered by officers and reported to the strategic planning committee, can be found on the East Devon District Council website.”

The East Devon Villages Plan – a blueprint for development in the area – is currently out for consultation”.

REPRODUCEABLE IMAGES:

UNFORTUNATELY SOME IMAGES IN THIS ARTICLE ARE NOT REPRODUCEABLE HERE – SEE LINK TO FULL ARTICLE AT END OF THIS POST WHICH IS REPEATED VERBATIM FROM THE DEVON-LIVE WEBSITE. FOR FULL STORY AND ALL EVIDENTIAL IMAGES SEE:

http://www.devonlive.com/east-devon-council-vice-chairman-to-speak-to-police-over-plan-changes/story-30310460-detail/story.html

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3 May 2017

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Accountability, Democracy, NHS (local), Voting

Make your vote count in tomorrow’s county council election

Vote only for those whose ACTIONS show their dedication to causes such as the NHS, education and the environment.

Independent – Claire Wright
Claire’s committment to these values at DCC has been shown on a weekly basis
Save our Hospital services speaker and supporter
Standing against Tory Tim Venner, who said Ottery Hospital was just a geriatric home
Garnered more than 13,000 votes when she stood in the last General Election against Hugo Swire, East Devon’s mostly absentee MP.

Independent East Devon Alliance:

Paul Hayward:
Axminster Town Councillor,
Clerk to 3 parish councils
Save our Hospital Services activist and supporter

Martin Shaw – Seaton and Colyton
Town councillor, Seaton planning committee chairman who puts the area first – spoke out against development of Green Wedge adjacent to Wetlands
Save our Hospital Services activist and supporter

Marianne Rixson
Sidmouth Sidford Town Councillor
Fighting to stop massive industrial development in Sidford
Save our Hospital Services activist and supporter

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3 May 2017

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Accountability, Democracy, General Election, Spin, Voting

Voters beware personalised Facebook spam from political parties

“A tool exposing how voters are targeted with tailored propaganda on Facebook has been launched in response to what is likely to be the most extensive social media campaign in general election history.

Experts in digital campaigning, including an adviser to Labour in 2015, have designed a program to allow voters to shine a light into what they describe as “a dark, unregulated corner of our political campaigns”.

The free software, called Who Targets Me?, can be added to a Google Chrome browser and will allow voters to track how the main parties insert political messages into their Facebook feeds calibrated to appeal on the basis of personal information they have already made public online.”

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/03/free-software-reveal-facebook-election-posts-targeted-chrome-extension

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3 May 2017

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Accountability, Colyton, EDDC, Independent Councillors, Planning System, Scrutiny, Spin

Midweek Herald manages 2 sentences on Colyton Village Plan story that took half a page in Western Morning News!

No boat-rocking investigative journalism here! Actually, no journalism at all! See if you can spot it:

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2 May 2017

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Accountability, Colyton, Councillor Cathy Gardner EDA, DCC, East Devon Alliance, EDDC, General Election, Mark Williams CEO EDDC, Monitoring Officer, Police (local)

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EDDC uses purdah rules to avoid tricky questions on police criminal inquiry into Colyton Village Plan.

The Western Morning News has today covered in detail the situation in Colyton where police investigations are ongoing into aspects of its Village Plan.

When asked questions by the newspaper on this – via its CEO Mark Williams – EDDC hid behind rules covering “purdah” before local and general elections, when council officers must maintain political neutrality and avoid politically contentious subjects and instead went on the offensive against the EDDC Councillor (Cathy Gardner) who brought it into the open, querying where Councillor Cathy Gardner had got her information from, saying it had been known to only three senior officers.

He added that those three officers did not intend to comment until after local county elections on Thursday this week – and (possibly) even not until after the General Election, if anyone involved were to indicate that they wished to stand for Parliament. He said:

“…The council cannot comment on how Councillor Gardner became aware of the police investigation. The Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer were surprised she raised this at a public meeting”.

THIS IS WRONG.

First, because the act of drawing attention to Councillor Gardner breaks his own rule! He is not willing to discuss if any councillor is involved in criminal proceedings in Colyton but IS prepared to discuss Councillor Gardner’s action in drawing attention to it.

Secondly, purdah can be overridden if it is in the public interest as this surely is.

Thirdly, had she not raised this matter at a public meeting – where was she expected to raise it? In private? Far, far too much of THAT going in at EDDC!

Purdah is NOT law, it is advice. Or, as the Local Government Association puts it, Civil Servants ARE (REPEAT ARE) ALLOWED TO:

“Use a politician who is involved in an election when the council is required to respond in particular circumstances, such as in an emergency situation or where there is a genuine need for a member-level response to an important event beyond the council’s control. Normally this would be the civic mayor (as opposed to the elected mayor in those areas with elected mayors) or chairman (that is, someone holding a politically neutral role). If the issue is so serious, it is worth considering asking the council’s group leaders to agree to a response which would involve all of them.”

Click to access purdah-short-guide-public-4d3.pdf

Owl contends that this IS such a circumstance.

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2 May 2017

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Accountability, Developers/ Development, Planning System

“Planning chief faces prison for illegal changes to home”

“A senior Conservative councillor is facing jail for illegally altering her grade II listed 14th-century cottage that was featured on the Channel 4 show Double Your House for Half the Money.

The £830,000 property was held up as a good example of how to renovate an old house. But Barby Dashwood-Morris, 70, had failed to get planning permission from Wealden district council, despite serving as chairwoman of the planning committee.

At Brighton magistrates’ court she admitted six of 22 charges of executing the demolition or alteration of a building affecting its listed character, including removing a barley twist banister and rail and replacing them with a glass panel and new handrail. Some of the alterations to the cottage in the East Sussex village of Hellingly were alleged to have been carried out while she was chairwoman of the committee. The alterations came to light when prospective buyers ordered a survey.

Dashwood-Morris said on the TV show it was “an example of how to turn an ancient Sussex hall into a home that meets all the comforts of modern living”.

She was bailed until a hearing later this month.”

Source: The Times (paywall)

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2 May 2017

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Developers/ Development, Health and Social Care (local), NHS (local)

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NHS Property is planning to sell hospital sites to private sector health firms

Noted by Claire Wright via Twitter:

“Plans to release NHS-owned land and buildings for commercial use could be further delayed, after the future of a report into the UK’s health system was thrown into doubt.

The Department of Health was due to report its findings into public health in July, but there are now concerns it could be delayed amid wrangling around the June’s General Election.

The project, known internally as Phoenix, is set to overhaul the way in which healthcare services are procured and run.

The new report was set to review the system, and a proposal to split the country into six regions so that buildings could be run more centrally. The Government wants to raise £5bn from the sale of public land by 2020.

This was expected to result in an acceleration of the release of land and buildings to the open market as more surplus stock was identified across the estate. This could have been snapped up by developers wanting to build much-needed homes, or bought by the private sector to be improved and then leased to local health services.

At present, buildings are run and leased to service providers by LIFT Partnerships, which bring together local public health bodies and private sector providers, working with NHS Property Services.

But property professionals have warned that the election could cause further delays to the implementation of the new system.

One developer, who did not wish to be named, said the report was also supposed to clarify the way the estate would be managed in the future.

“This could have also paved the way for private healthcare companies to acquire property to provide better local services,” he said. “These things take long enough as they are without further delays.”

Another warned that any new administration could seek to slow the sale of land or property under pressure from local opposition.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/05/01/nhs-property-strategy-could-delayed-election-developers-warn/amp/

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2 May 2017

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Accountability, Devolution, Local Enterprise Partnership

Devon County Council witholds payment to LEP over CEO 24% salary increase

Owl says: treat the LEP’s comments about the size of its investment with tons of salt, ask for a REAL breakdown of the figure, particularly all expenses related to Hinkley C nuclear power station in Somerset.

“Politicians from across the political spectrum have joined forces to condemn a publicly-funded local enterprise partnership for giving its chief executive a £24,000 pay rise.

Devon County Council has withheld £10,000 of the funding it gives to the Heart of the South West LEP after Chris Garcia, its boss, took a 26% pay rise. Eight Devon district councils have each held back £1,000 in protest.

The LEP was one of six set up in the South West in 2011 to replace the regional development agency (RDA), which was abolished by the incoming coalition government.

Its chief executive’s pay leapt from £90,729 to £115,000 in January, voted through by business representatives on the board in the face of fierce opposition from local authority members.

John Hart, leader of Devon County Council, told a meeting of the full council that Plymouth was the only council on the board which supported the increase. He said the LEP should be called in for scrutiny after Thursday’s local elections “to ask them to justify their existence”.

Alan Connett, Devon Lib Dem leader, asked councillors to pull out of the partnership “until common sense prevails with regard to top management pay increases”.

He told last week’s meeting: “To award a £24,000 pay rise was obscene in the circumstances, at a time when teachers, nurses, doctors and the public sector generally had been under restraint of low or no pay rises for years.”

Coun Hart said the council should take no further action because it had gone past the point where anything could be achieved. He said the RDA was a body that was strong and represented the whole region, and it had some clout behind it. “The six LEPs are six mini-RDAs,” he said.

Coun Hart said the Government put up £189 million to be shared among the six LEPs. “The initial allocation for Devon and Somerset was abysmal. It did improve, but at the same time it’s not much in relation to what was being asked for,” he said. “Now, unfortunately, a decision has been taken by the LEP which is beyond our control, but I think it’s right that we show that we are not happy with what’s going on.”

Coun Hart said some of the money allocated in the second tranche of funding still had not been spent, while the third tranche was on the way.

Exeter Labour county councillor Rob Hannaford said: “The time for this body to be abolished has clearly come.”

A LEP spokeswoman said: “We look forward to working with the confirmed leaders of the local authorities following the elections and working with them on how we can together increase productivity and prosperity for all in Devon, Somerset, Plymouth and Torbay.”

She said the LEP had brought in £722.70 million investment and that the LEP was spending tranche two.”

http://www.devonlive.com/politicians-protest-as-devon-enterprise-boss-takes-24-000-pay-rise/story-30305397-detail/story.html

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2 May 2017

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Accountability, Hinkley C, Post-Brexit Adjustments

Nuclear power warning for Brexit talks

“Britain’s power supply could be in jeopardy if it loses access to nuclear fuels and expertise because of Brexit, the government is being warned. Critics say the Tories have no coherent plan for what comes after the Euratom treaty, which governs safety standards, cooperation, research and trade in atomic energy across the EU.

Cross-party MPs are warning that unless proper arrangements are made, Britain could be reduced to a “rule-taker”, forced to comply with European rules and standards without having any say in them. And the UK could end up running out of nuclear fuel for reactors that are relied upon heavily for electricity. “Decisive action must take place now,” says Justin Bowden from the GMB trade union.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/02/tuesday-briefing-britain-unplugged-brexit-warning-over-nuclear-power

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2 May 2017

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Accountability, DCC, Democracy, East Devon Alliance

County elections: only 8 seats need to change hands to change the political majority

As EDA candidate Paul Hayward points out on his Facebook page:

“Over the last 8 years, across the whole of Devon, decisions have been made by a majority group with no effective opposition. Result. Cuts, cuts and more cuts.

But in 2017, it only takes 7 seats to change and a new era of cooperation, debate and compromise can begin at Devon County Council.

Services can be protected. Fair funding can be applied. National party politics can be taken out of local government.

On May 4th, please choose to mark Independent, East Devon Alliance on your voting slip.”

You want change, you have to vote for it.

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1 May 2017

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Accountability, Democracy, Devolution

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“Tory candidate defends spending up to £1m on West Midlands mayor campaign”

You just KNOW when a Tory candidate has £1 million behind his campaign that most of the people or companies contributing are not doing it out of the goodness of their hearts!

“Labour’s campaign spending is thought to be between £100,000 and £200,000. It has focused on social media campaigning and phone banks, where volunteers call up voters to ask for their support. The Lib Dem candidate has spent about £50,000.”

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/may/01/andy-street-mayor-campaign-spending-labour-sion-smith-west-midlands

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1 May 2017

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Accountability, Democracy, General Election, Transparency

CPS criteria for election fraud prosecutions

“Proceedings for major infringements will normally be in the public interest.

Proceedings for other infringements may not be in the public interest in situations where:

the offence is of a “technical” nature which does not infringe the spirit of the legislation;

the offence was committed as a result of a genuine mistake or misunderstanding;

the offence could not have influenced the result of the election process; or
the offender has remedied any breach of the law.

If the offence falls to be considered under one or more of the criteria above, the matter may be dealt by way of a caution administered by the police or, where appropriate, the provisions of advice as to an individual’s future conduct.

In practice, it may be difficult to prove that the result of an election has been affected by an infringement. However, the fact that a breach has or may have affected the result of an election is a factor to be taken into consideration in deciding whether proceedings should be instigated.

Whilst every case will of course turn on its own facts, where there is clear evidence that a breach has affected the result or is likely to have done so, the public interest is more likely to require a prosecution – even if the infringement itself is relatively minor.”

Dr Mark Pack notes:

“It’s worth in particular noting that a few of the more common reasons that crop up on online chatter either from Conservatives, or reported as being said by Conservatives, do not feature in the criteria.

In particular, the fact that someone might have secured re-election before a court case could proceed against them is not a factor.

Moreover, prosecutions are not restricted to proceeding only on the basis that the offence altered the election result. That’s only required for one very specific set of legal action, which isn’t what’s at stake in the current cases involving so many Conservative MPs.”

http://www.markpack.org.uk/149609/cps-prosecution-guidelines-election-offences/

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1 May 2017

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Accountability, Health and Social Care (local), NHS (local)

Don’t get skewered on NHS pledges

Save Our Hospital Services (SOHS) campaigners are calling on East Devon’s county council candidates to sign a pledge opposing further NHS cuts. …

All Independent East Devon Alliance candidates and Independent Claire Wright have done so – and have shown by words and actions that this is something they passionately believe in.

Unlike Mrs May this morning on Andrew Marr’s show:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/theresa-skewered-live-tv-refusing-10326568

Anyone who signs the pledge will be held to account in coming months and years but beware those who are signing just for votes … particularly those in the majority party. Judge by past and current actions.