Daily Archives: 25 Apr 2018

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25 Apr 2018

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Education (local), Inequality, Privatisation

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“Free” schools – anything but free!

“The government’s free schools policy has come under renewed fire after it emerged that another of its studio schools, set up using millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money, is to close this summer after a brief, troubled existence.

Plymouth studio school will be the 19th of its kind to shut its doors to pupils since the policy was introduced in 2010, at

an estimated collective cost of £48.3m

according to the National Education Union (NEU).

This week it also emerged that Isle of Wight studio school, which opened four years ago, will close in the summer of 2019 due to lack of demand.

The NEU says the latest closures bring the total to 66 new schools launched under the government’s flagship free schools policy that have either closed, partially closed or failed to open at all, at an estimated cost of almost

£150m

in startup costs and capital funding. …”

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/apr/25/free-schools-policy-under-fire-as-yet-another-closure-announced-plymouth

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25 Apr 2018

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Accountability, Affordable and Social Housing, Climate crisis, Environment (local)

Rental properties can be very cold – but not icy, icy cold!

Rented properties energy rated F or G (properties are rated A = best, G = worst) have been told to bring their properties “up” to at least an E rating. This could cost landlords up to £1,400 per property.

Surely we should be looking for rented properties to be AT LEAST a Grade C!!!

However, of course the unintended (or is it intended?) consequence is that, landlords will raise rents to cover (or even over-cover) the costs involved.

Renters 1 – Landlords 101!

https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/300000-rented-homes-cheaper-bills-12302246

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25 Apr 2018

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Accountability, Accountable Care Organisation, Austerity cuts, Health and Social Care (local), NHS (local)

Asset-rich pensioners should fund NHS says its chief

“The head of the NHS has suggested that pensioners’ housing wealth should be used to fund social care as he warned that the equivalent of 36 hospitals were “out of action” because of bed blocking.

Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, said that given pensioners’ “relatively advantaged position” in terms of housing wealth, it was difficult to argue that working-age adults should fund the estimated £1 billion extra per year needed by social care services in increased taxes.

He was appearing in front of an inquiry by several Commons committees on the long-term funding of adult social care. …”

Source: Times, pay wall

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25 Apr 2018

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Affordable and Social Housing, Developers/ Development, Honiton/ Gittisham

Jobs before houses or houses before jobs on Honiton brownfield site?

“Plans to demolish the former Halse of Honiton site and convert it into a 32-home development are set to be rejected.

The Homes and Communities Agency submitted plans last year to build the new homes at Foundry Yard on a brownfield site that was recently vacated by Halse of Honiton, who have moved to a new site in Ottery St Mary. …

But East Devon District Council’s development management committee are being recommended to refuse the application when they meet on Tuesday, May 1.

The report says: “The site is considered to be an employment site and in assessing the proposal, it has not been demonstrated that a continued use employment use would significantly harm the quality of a locality whether through traffic, amenity, environmental or other associated problems.

“Furthermore, options for retention of the site or premises for its current or similar use have not been robustly explored, the site having been subject of a flawed marketing exercise that ruled out any such uses before marketing began.

Evidence from the Economic Development also indicates a strong demand for employment generating sites in Honiton coupled with a shortage in the supply of such sites. The release of the site for housing would therefore not comply with Strategy 32 of the Local Plan and the development would not be sustainable development as it would contribute to imbalances in the provision of housing and jobs in Honiton.”

The application submitted by the HCA had said: “The proposed development of the site creates an opportunity to provide a high quality residential development that integrates well with adjacent areas of Honiton.

“The development will be sustainable, providing much needed open market and affordable homes in a town centre location, with good connectivity.” …

The developer is also proposing ten of the proposed homes – or 30 per cent – to be affordable, five per cent more than the required provision of 25 per cent. …”

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/plans-former-halse-honiton-site-1495246

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25 Apr 2018

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Affordable and Social Housing, Health and Social Care (local), Inequality, Spin

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“Sleeping rough more comfortable than army exercises – Tory MP”

Where to start? Of course, sleeping rough for a TV programme is easy! A nice warm bed to return to (not to mention a nice MPs salary) AND a film crew to keep you safe! AND he forgets to say he did his TV programme in 1991!

“A Conservative MP and former army officer has said that sleeping rough is “a lot more comfortable” than military exercises, in a debate he led on tackling street homelessness.

Adam Holloway, the MP for Gravesham in Kent, told parliamentary colleagues in the Westminster Hall debate on Tuesday that if a person is “able-bodied and sound of mind” there are resources that make it possible to sleep rough.

He said begging was also part of the problem, allowing homeless people to make “quite a lot of money”.

Holloway, a supporter of the pro-Brexit campaign group Leave Means Leave, also said that a rise in street homelessness was driven by eastern European immigration, claiming that many migrants from that region preferred to sleep rough than pay for accommodation.

He said mental illness and drug addiction were “real ingrained problems” behind homelessness that needed to be tackled to solve the crisis.

Holloway, who told MPs he had spent a number of nights during the parliamentary recess in February sleeping on the streets as part of a television programme on street homelessness, said: “One observation I do have, if you are able-bodied and of sound mind there are all sorts of services – not quite 24 hours a day – that make it possible to sleep out.

“I’m 52, I was in the army; to be honest for me sleeping rough in central London is a lot more comfortable than going on exercise in the army.

“But if you’re mentally ill or you are old or you are personality disordered then it is a very different thing. Or if you’re drug addicted it is very difficult. We have to accept that some people are able to sleep rough because there are resources to do so.”

Holloway’s comments come after research revealed at least 78 homeless people died on the streets and in temporary accommodation this winter, bringing the number of recorded homeless deaths to more than 300 since 2013.”