“… Hammond is one of Parliament’s richest MPs with a net worth estimated at £8.2million in 2014.
He made much of his money after setting up housing and nursing home developer Castlemead in 1984.
He still benefits from a trust that controls the firm, alongside his £143,000 salary for being a minister and MP.
But he refused point-blank to publish his tax return – leaving it difficult to estimate what he’s worth now. …”
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/who-philip-hammond-what-net-11560679
Another one of those Tory “funds” (this one supposedly £2.3 billion) that achieved NOTHING.
Question: Where DID the money go?
“A flagship government programme to deliver 200,000 discounted new homes to first-time buyers is yet to see a single one built.
The 2014 Starter Home initiative was touted as part of “a major push” to help people on the housing ladder, but officials admit delivering any properties under the scheme remains an “ambition”.
It promised to achieve its target by pushing councils and developers to bring forward unused land and build on old industrial sites, measures that Chancellor Philip Hammond will again pledge to carry out as he makes housing a key plank of his Budget on Wednesday.
The Starter Home initiative’s lack of concrete progress also comes as Labour claimed Conservative spending plans since 2010 have stripped some £20bn out of UK housebuilding projects, robbing the country of an extra 280,000 homes.
It was just before Christmas three years ago that David Cameron announced the Starter Home project, promising to build 100,000 properties and offer them to young people at a 20 per cent discount.
At the Autumn Statement in 2015, then-Chancellor George Osborne said a £2.3bn fund would help boost the number to 200,000, “in addition to those delivered through reform of the planning system”.
None have been built despite officials in 2014 saying work would begin on the homes the following year.”
“An apology from Ambulance staff to our families, friends and the community:
Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes when you see an ambulance attending an incident what it might be like to work for the South Western Ambulance service?
Although we love what we do, behind the professional facade we portray to the public we are struggling to maintain a crumbling service deliberately being underfunded by the Government and made worse when those over pressured resources and stressed staff are then badly managed locally.
If you’re unfortunate enough to have to call us, please remember that although we will potentially often be the Deliverer of the First High Quality Care you receive in an accident or illness, we are not only not classified as an Emergency Service by the government but not appreciated or cared for by our employer.
We, as ambulance professionals, are trying to change that. Our Union, GMB, are trying to change that, but our employer and our Chief Executive are ignoring both our complaints and calls for change, so in order to explain to our families, friends and the public and even our employer SWAST we send out our heartfelt apologies:
TO THE PUBLIC:
We’re sorry for not getting to you or your loved ones quick enough because there are just not enough of us or we are called out to answer non-emergency calls.
We’re sorry for the patient and family members that have been left on the floor for hours as a consequence of not getting to you on time.
We’re sorry when you remain in the ambulance or in the hospital corridor for hours when we are stacked at A&E’s because we can’t complete our hand over.
We’re sorry that our employer is so poor in managing their resources that they are potentially putting your family at risk.
We’re sorry you sometimes feel the need to verbally abuse or physically threaten us while we treat your family and friends.
We’re sorry it appears that SWAST deployments and performance targets are more important than patient care.
We’re sorry if we arrive at your emergency at the end of a 12 hour shift and possible overrun if we are so tired we potentially fear making a wrong clinical decision.
TO OUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS:
We’re sorry for not being able to be there when you as family and friends need us.
We’re sorry for missing yet another family occasion.
We’re sorry we are refused annual leave when we want it meaning no family holiday once again.
We’re sorry yet another overrun has meant we are late home again.
We’re sorry kids that we couldn’t tuck you in and read you a story at bedtime.
We’re sorry for being so tired or stressed when we do finally get home.
We’re sorry for the occasions you’ll see us angry, frustrated, unhappy and sad.
We’re sorry when we witness yet another colleague’s relationship fail.
TO SWAST:
We’re sorry for feeling unsupported by you, our employer.
We’re sorry when we are stretched ever more thinly across a greater area of deployment that we don’t hit your targets for reaching critically ill patients in time.
We’re sorry for being sick in an environment and workplace that doesn’t allow it.
We’re sorry for what must be our annoying constant requests for annual leave and you having to take the time to respond and refuse them.
We’re sorry for our claims of PTSD.
We’re sorry for appearing ungrateful that your recent rota review has in fact destroyed our work life balance even more beyond acceptable limits.
We’re sorry for the inconvenience when injuries at work happen.
We’re sorry if we appear concerned that we will not reach retirement age as a result of physical or psychological injury.
We’re sorry for not agreeing with the Chief Executive, and his teams ‘my way or the highway’ attitude towards us as staff.
And finally in closing:
We’re sorry for saying sorry, time and time again to all of you because nothing ever changes.
We’re sorry for having to write this.
We’re sorry for asking, but it’s time for everyone to support our call for the Chief Executive to stand down.”
… When you announce a fund of £1.7 billion and, in the same press release, announce that you have only agreed to spend £250 million!
“… The Transforming Cities fund aims to improve connectivity, reduce congestion and bring in new technology to create high-quality jobs and spread wealth around the country.
Some £250m has already been allocated to the West Midlands. …”
https://news.sky.com/story/theresa-may-reveals-16317bn-transport-boost-ahead-of-budget-11135211
”A report into Britain’s seaside towns says there are still perceptions of them as old-fashioned, closed in the winter and difficult to get to.
The conclusions come from the all-party Parliamentary Group for the Visitor Economy, chaired by St Austell and Newquay Conservative MP, Steve Double.
The group has been looking at how the seaside economy could continue to thrive if and when European funding is withdrawn once the UK has left the EU.
They’ve come up with a list or recommendations which include reducing VAT on tourist accommodation and attractions to 5%, introducing more frequent bus services, and reducing the aggressive behaviour of seagulls in some resorts which have been putting visitors off.
Mr Double said the British coastline was a national asset with great potential and which, with the right investment, could drive regeneration, economic growth and job creation.”
“Funding for public services in rural communities is “outdated and chronically unfair” when compared to towns and cities, the County Councils Network has stated.
The body, which represents county councils, has demanded the government address the ‘postcode lottery’ of government funding.
It says there are large disparities between resources allocated to rural public services and their urban counterparts.
Paul Carter, chair of the CCN, will tell the network’s annual conference today that 26 million countryside residents receive almost 50% less funding for their public services compared to their neighbours in England’s largest cities.
“Our services are threatened and under pressure like never before.
“Unless these inequalities are addressed, many of the highly valued services to our public will diminish or disappear,” he warned.
Carter highlighted that this year, collectively, England’s 37 county areas received £3.2bn less than the English average, including London and towns and cities outside rural areas.
He added: “This impacts on the daily lives on our residents, all whilst they unfairly subsidise services enjoyed in other parts of the country through higher council tax bills.
“This is outdated and chronically unfair.”
The inequality in the current system means that, on average, county councils received £650 per person for public services in 2017-18 however a city or metropolitan borough resident receives £825 for their services, whilst those in inner London enjoy £1,190 per person, the CCN said.
This gulf in funding received by different communities comes at a time when county authorities face a funding black hole of £2.54bn by 2021, caused by austerity and these funding inequalities between rural and urban areas, according to the CCN.
Carter is also expected to warn that the government’s review of local government finance will not resolve historical inequalities, and is likely to “fudge” the issue.
The CCN noted that these historical quirks mean a rural taxpayer in Leicestershire gets £428 per person for their public services, but those living, in some cases, less than a mile away in Leicester, a unitary city council, get £1,107 per person for their services – 61% more.
County leaders say they have little choice but to raise council tax to make sure the shortfall, meaning that their residents are unfairly subsidising the services enjoyed in other parts of the country.”
East Devon Watch 