Monthly Archives: June 2018

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

30 Jun 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Education (local), Inequality, Sleaze

“Coalition education reforms ‘fuelled inequality in schools’ “

“Sweeping education reforms appear to be fuelling inequality in the schools system, according to a major analysis that shows high-performing and improving schools are accepting fewer children from poor backgrounds.

In a stark assessment of the impact of controversial measures introduced since 2010, the study warns that an original pledge to set schools free and give them more power has actually led to a system that is causing high levels of stress among teachers.

It finds the system is now pushing schools and their heads to prioritise “the interests of the school over the interests of groups of, usually more vulnerable, children”. Some schools were found to be engaged in “aggressive marketing campaigns and ‘cream skimming’ aimed at recruiting particular types of students”. …

… It warns that the system in which the involvement of councils has been stripped back, with fellow schools encouraged to help their struggling counterparts, is actually seeing the creation of a market for advice – with schools charging for their expertise on how to improve.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Thanks to our reforms and the hard work of teachers, the vast majority of pupils are in a good or outstanding school, 1.9 million more than in 2010, and an increase from 66% to 86% over that time.

“And thanks to our reforms schools that aren’t delivering for young people are being turned around, with 65 per cent of schools made into a sponsored academy seeing improvement from inadequate to good or outstanding. But there is always more to do, which is why we are investing £23bn by 2020 to create more good school places and we are targeting £72m at the areas that need it most to help improve prospects and opportunities for some of the most disadvantaged young people.”

The findings form part of a state-of-the-nation study of England’s education system, drawn up by academics at the UCL Institute of Education over four years, which will be published on Tuesday. It includes the examination of Ofsted data over a decade, a statistical analysis of the impact of multi-academy trusts (MATs), 47 detailed school case studies and a survey of almost 700 school leaders.

The reforms were largely implemented under the coalition government and championed by Michael Gove as education secretary. A plan to force all English schools to become academies was abandoned in 2016 after a backlash among Tory MPs.

The study concludes that any new autonomy handed to schools had been “more than balanced” by testing and inspections that had ensured the state remains in control from a distance. The drive to turn schools into academies, the key part of reforms since 2010, is described as “uneven and often fraught”.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/jun/30/coalition-education-reform-academies-fuelling-inequality

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

30 Jun 2018

Posted under

Affordable and Social Housing, Barratt Homes, Bovis, Developers/ Development, Persimmon, Redrow

“MP back plan for ombudsman to resolve new homes disputes”

“The government is under pressure to set up an independent ombudsman with the power to order housebuilders to pay out up to £50,000 or even reverse a sale, following reports of new-home buyers lumbered with defective properties.

A group of MPs and peers has called on the government to make it mandatory for housebuilders to belong to the proposed scheme, which would be free for consumers and offer a quick resolution to disputes. The scheme would be funded by a levy on housebuilders, with larger ones such as Berkeley Group, Persimmon, Barratt, Galliford Try, Redrow and Bovis Homes, paying more than small and medium-sized firms.

A report, Better Redress for Home Buyers, by the all-party parliamentary group for excellence in the built environment, highlights the confusing landscape buyers face when trying to resolve building defects, not helped by a plethora of warranties, housebuilding codes and complaints procedures.

It says the proposed ombudsman should be able to order payouts of up to £50,000 so buyers are not left out of pocket. Disputes over larger sums might have to be settled in court, but the report adds: “In certain extreme situations the new homes ombudsman should be able to reverse the sale.”

People have no idea that when they buy a new home directly from the developer, they have no access to redress.

The recommendations come after a scandal over the poor quality of new homes built by Bovis, while other housebuilders have also faced similar complaints.

A recent survey by the Home Builders Federation and the main warranty provider, NHBC, showed that 98% of new-home buyers reported snags or bigger defects to their housebuilder after moving in.

The parliamentarians have proposed a snagging app that would enable buyers to photograph defects and send them to the builder, monitor the progress of complaints and go to the ombudsman if needed.

Dominic Raab, the housing minister, said this week that the “vice-like grip” of the big developers must be broken to boost the building of affordable homes.

Lord Best, vice-chair of the all-party group, says: “Buying a new home is stressful enough, but buying a defective one, as we heard from witnesses, can take a toll on people’s wellbeing as they wrestle with a Kafkaesque system seemingly designed to be unhelpful.”

The proposed scheme would be modelled on the property ombudsman, to which all estate agents must belong. If they are struck off, they can no longer trade.

Katrine Sporle, the property ombudsman, says: “New homes should be covered by an ombudsman. People have no idea that when they buy a new home directly from the developer, they have no access to redress.”

The proposed scheme would cover the first two years following a house purchase when housebuilders are liable for defects, while subsequent problems would be down to the warranty providers.

The report says: “Affected homebuyers are exasperated not so much by the existence of defects but by a builder’s failure or even refusal to put them right. Submissions we received described how buying a new home had been ‘the worst decision of their life’; how it was like ‘going through hell’ as the complaint passed between housebuilders and warranty providers; and how fighting for redress was taking a toll on their health.”

The proposals have been presented to the ministry of housing, communities and local government as part of its consultation on a single housing ombudsman.”

http://flip.it/716e6t

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

30 Jun 2018

Posted under

Accountability, DCC, EDDC, Mark Williams CEO EDDC

“Public sector bosses are on a ‘gilded staircase’ of huge pay rises they do not deserve, MPs warn”

“Public sector bosses are on a “gilded staircase” of huge pay rises they do not deserve, the chair of the public accounts committee has warned.

Labour MP Meg Hillier has written a damning statement about the “lack of oversight” that allows parts of the public sector to inflate its executives’ salaries – at the same time as cutting staff.

She highlighted the high pay received by some heads of academy schools, which her committee has been investigating.

“The lack of oversight is worrying,” Ms Hillier said in her annual report, adding: “The rapid expansion of academies and free schools raises questions about oversight of how these new schools are managed and how they are spending their budgets. …”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/06/29/public-sector-bosses-gilded-staircase-huge-pay-rises-do-not/

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

30 Jun 2018

Posted under

Air pollution, Developers/ Development, Environment (local), Fords of Sidmouth, Sidmouth/ Sidford/ Sidbury

Watch out Sidford: air pollution linked to Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, lung disease

Owl says: Time to get some baseline air pollution data in Sidford before the planned business park increases it? Evidence, evidence, evidence.

“While obesity, lack of exercise and genetic risk are major drivers for diabetes, studies have shown a link between the disease and pollution. Air pollution is thought to trigger inflammation and reduce the ability of the pancreas to manage insulin production. …

… Levels of air pollution well below what is considered safe by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization are causing an increased risk of diabetes worldwide, according to a study published Friday in the journal Lancet Planetary Health.

In 2016 alone, the study found that air pollution contributed to 3.2 million new diabetes cases –14% of the total — around the world. In the United States, air pollution was linked to 150,000 new cases of diabetes per year.

“There’s an undeniable relationship between diabetes and particle air pollution levels well below the current safe standards,” said senior study author Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, an assistant professor of medicine at Washington University. “Many industry lobbying groups argue that current levels are too stringent and should be relaxed. Evidence shows that current levels are still not sufficiently safe and need to be tightened.”

Particulate or particle air pollution is made up of microscopic pieces of dust, dirt, smoke and soot mixed with liquid droplets. The finest particles regulated by the EPA are 2.5 micrometers; to put that in perspective, a strand of human hair is 70 micrometers, or more than 30 times larger.

Anything less than 10 micrometers can not only enter the lungs, it can pass into the bloodstream, where it is carried to various organs and begins a chronic inflammatory reaction thought to lead to disease.

“Ten or 15 years ago, we thought that air pollution caused pneumonia, asthma and bronchitis and not much more than that,” said Dr. Philip Landrigan, dean for global health at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, who was not involved in the study. “We now know that air pollution is a very important cause of heart disease and stroke and contributes to chronic lung disease, lung cancer and chronic kidney disease.” …

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/29/health/air-pollution-diabetes-study/index.html

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

29 Jun 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Inequality

More free cash machines in Parliament than in some towns

There Are More Free Cash Machines In Parliament Than On Some UK High Streets, MP Says:

“… in Parliament there are two free-to-use machines in one corridor and a further four just a couple of minutes’ walk away.

Which?’s list of areas with only fee-taking ATMs includes high streets in Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness, Birmingham, Newcastle, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Hull, Bristol, York, Coventry, Milton Keynes, London, Brighton, Belfast, Cardiff and Swansea.”

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/there-are-more-free-cash-machines-in-parliament-than-on-some-uk-high-streets-mp-says_uk_5b35f9cce4b08c3a8f694cb1

and

“300 Cash Machines Are Disappearing Every Month In The UK”

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/300-cash-machines-are-disappearing-every-month-in-the-uk_uk_5b3608abe4b007aa2f7f080e

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

29 Jun 2018

Posted under

Affordable and Social Housing, Developers/ Development

One-third of “affordable homes” built by government agency in East Devon – are unaffordable!

“Nearly 30 per cent of the houses built in East Devon by a government body, responsible for improving the amount of affordable housing, were unaffordable.

Newly-released figures have revealed that Homes England, whose stated aim is ‘to deliver a sustained improvement in affordability’, built 262 homes in East Devon between April 2015 and March 2018.

Of those, just 71 per cent were defined as ‘affordable’ – including social housing and homes with rent capped at no more than 80 per cent of the local market average. Properties bought through a scheme such as Help to Buy or shared-ownership are also included.

It means 76 of the homes, built by private contractors with support from the Government, were sold or rented at market value.

The statistics have been released at the same time as data, from the Valuation Office Agency, which revealed the median cost of renting a home in East Devon was £675 a month. The figure is the median monthly rent for all houses in the area, between April 2017 and March 2018.

In the last four years the price has risen by 3.8 per cent – which is less than the average increase across England.

East Devon’s overall median rent is however lower than average for the South West, which is £700 a month.

The data also revealed that the median monthly cost of renting a one-bedroom property in East Devon was now £495 – 2.5 per cent more than in 2013/14.

Where as renting a three-bed family home the median cost was £795 a month – which has risen by six per cent in four years.

So far all of the 66 new builds, started by Homes England in the last year, have been designated as affordable.”

http://www.midweekherald.co.uk/news/nearly-100-unaffordable-homes-built-in-east-devon-by-affordable-housing-body-1-5582690

Homes England’s chief executive Nick Walkley said: “These official figures show that the overall number of homes being built continues to steadily increase, but we know there is more to do. Homes England will bring together our money, expertise, and planning and compulsory purchase powers to secure the delivery of new homes, where they are most needed, and improve affordability that can be sustained over time.

“We are investing over £3billion of affordable housing grant over the 2016-21 period to help housing associations, local councils and developers build affordable homes for communities across England, and are working closely with the sector to realise their ambitions for affordable housing.”

http://www.midweekherald.co.uk/news/nearly-100-unaffordable-homes-built-in-east-devon-by-affordable-housing-body-1-5582690

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

29 Jun 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Austerity cuts, DCC, Scrutiny

Two-thirds of (mainly Tory) county councils expect to be bankrupt by 2020

“… New research this week by the County Councils Network (CCN) shows that England’s largest, mainly Conservative-led, councils face a combined funding pressure of £3.2bn over the next two years; due to projected demand for services, inflation, and government cuts.

Even more worryingly, our research reveals that faced with these funding pressures, council leaders’ confidence in delivering balanced budgets – a legal requirement of councils – is dramatically falling.

Without a cash injection over the next two years, just one-third of respondents are confident of balancing their books in 2020.

Clearly, any scenario that sees a council unable to balance its budget in 2020 may seem a long way off, but it does not paint a reassuring picture for local councils nor bode well for the future of local services

In the short term, what does this all mean for local residents?

Essentially, the worst is yet to come in reductions to local services if county authorities are to balance their books over the next two years with no additional help from government.

The £3.2bn funding black hole will be filled, but substantial cutbacks will have to be made to residents’ local services.

With county authorities seeing their core government support grant reduced by 92 per cent by 2020, the room for manoeuvre is becoming increasingly small for our councils.

Having made savings in back-office, less visible, or non-essential services, our member councils tell us that they will have little choice but to now cut frontline services substantially.

Last month, our research pointed out that due to unavoidable reductions in home to school travel, some 20,000 less pupils receive free travel to local schools.

This week’s budget survey shows more of this is on the way, with at least £466m in savings being made to frontline areas – think adult social care, children’s social services, pothole filling, and bus services.

At the same time, they will have to introduce new charges for services, or significantly raise council tax to make up the shortfall.

While Liz Truss may not want ministers to make the case for extra cash now, a strong but considered voice round the cabinet table for local government – in the form of James Brokenshire – is desperately needed.

Counties want to work with government in a proactive, and constructive way; supporting the new communities secretary in his case to the Treasury for more resources for councils. Otherwise, we might see drastic changes to our local services over the next few years.”

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/local-councils-england-county-finances-chaos-uk-government-2020-a8421591.html

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

29 Jun 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Bovis, Developers/ Development, Persimmon

Comments

1 Comment

New Facebook page: AvoidPersimmonHomes

A new Facebook page called “AvoidPersimmonHomes” has been overwhelmed with stories and pictures of homes which occupants are finding impossible to live in. At the time of writing it has 269 members.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/316825475386299/about/

This follows on from a similar page for Bovis homes which has 3,113 members
https://www.facebook.com/groups/BovisVictimsGroup/

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

29 Jun 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Austerity cuts, Democracy, Inequality

The shame: UN to investigate Tory record on poverty and human rights

The sound of Charles Dickens as he turns in his grave.

“The United Nations has launched an investigation into poverty and human rights in the UK which will examine the impact of the austerity policies of Theresa May and David Cameron over the past eight years.

The inquiry will be led by Prof Philip Alston, the UN’s special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, who angered the Donald Trump administration this month when he concluded after a similar visit to the US that the White House’s contempt for the poor was driving “cruel policies”.

The fact-finding trip is scheduled for this autumn and will be the first visit to a western European country by a representative of the UN’s rapporteur’s office since a trip to Ireland in 2011. Alston’s most recent inquiries into extreme poverty have taken him to the US, China, Saudi Arabia and Ghana.

“The UK has gone through a period of pretty deep budget cuts first under the coalition and then the Conservatives and I am interested to see what the outcome of that has been,” Alston told the Guardian. “I am also interested to look at what seems to be a renewed debate on all sides about the need to increase spending at least for some of the key programmes.”

He said the challenges facing the UK were different to the US, where he has concluded Trump’s policies were “tailor-made to maximise inequality and to plunge millions of working Americans, and those unable to work, into penury”.

Alston said: “In the UK, things are at a different place where there is no great budget surplus to be mobilised. Welfare cuts have taken place but there is now an interesting debate on whether they have gone too far and what measures need to be taken to shore up the NHS and other programmes.”

Alston has not yet determined exactly what he will focus on and will shortly invite submissions from groups who want to suggest matters for him to consider. They could include housing squalour, insecurity at work, in-work poverty, mental health and political disenfranchisement. …”

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jun/28/united-nations-tory-record-poverty-human-rights

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

28 Jun 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Democracy, East Devon Tories, EDBF, Graham Brown, Scrutiny

Should local party members elect council leaders?

So says a writer (Labour) in a Huffington Post blog. No problem in East Devon – most of the dwindling local Tory party membership are already councillors!

Some of the comments seem quite pertinent to East Devon:

” … a council leader who oversees a large budget and thousands of local government workers, is only selected by the party members who live in their individual ward to be a candidate for councillor, from there a vote of councillor colleagues takes place behind closed doors. There is no mechanism for members to have a say on who should be the Labour [or other political party] group leader or to debate the principles, priorities and policies they will lead before they are in place. In practice, there is no recourse for members if the leader chooses to act in a way that undermines the values our party is founded upon – other than to deselect them as a candidate to be councillor when they are next up for election, which may be four years away. …

[Ah, yes, who can forget Diviani being told to save community hospitals at EDDC and voting to close them at DCC]

… Too often we see Council Cabinet members dependent on the grace and patronage of their leader for their income and livelihood – no Cabinet position means no job, and as such very little dissent. In some places even scrutiny chairs – the name should give away what they’re there for – are put in place by the very leadership they are supposed to scrutinise. …”

[Scrutiny – we never did manage to get to the bottom (or even very slightly below the surface) of the relationship between disgraced Councillor Graham Brown, the council and their relationship with the East Devon Business Forum]

Source: Huffington Post

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

28 Jun 2018

Posted under

Misc

Comments

1 Comment

EDDC Planning: One rule for the businesses, one rule for residents?

How very differently EDDC planners seem to have treated an Ottery St Mary resident with a basic and simple planning question, demanding £40 to start a conversation, compared to an out of Devon business person who may be seen as saving their hide over the Exmouth Seafront debacle!

The Sidmouth Herald reports how EDDC planners tried to get £40 out of Ottery local Adrian Forster who just wanted to know if he needed to go through building regulations to renew his roof.

http://www.sidmouthherald.co.uk/news/fees-for-planning-advice-virtually-a-scam-says-householder-1-5580051

He is apparently not the first to be charged for the privilege of speaking to a planner. (Tip – ask a decent builder not EDDC or, if you can wait for an answer, put in a Freedom of Information request (FOI)!).

Contrast this with how a planning inquiry and subsequent requests for information were dealt with concerning the “Exmouth Eye” business.

In a January 2018 an FOI request was made to EDDC about a planning inquiry submitted by EDDC staff member Alison Hayward (to her planning colleagues) concerning some possible irregularities in the application form for this business.

Investigation showed that the form categorically stated that a named planner had given pre-planning assistance or prior advice (17/2944/FUL). EDDC was asked by FOI for information about that advice. EDDC stated that the pre-application advice was purely verbal advice given to the agent about what needed to be submitted with the application and was not recorded in any format, so presumably the advice was given free of charge and no receipt was issued for any payment.

A business appears to get free advice, a resident has to pay.

By amazing coincidence, WhatdoTheyKnow.com published a response into two further Exmouth Ferris Wheel FOI enquiries (https://bit.ly/2tCGwX4) The answers suggest that EDDC was somewhat economical with the truth about fees being charged – originally stating that fees charged by EDDC for the wheel to take up a great chunk of Exmouth Seafront were exempt from disclosure.

When pressed, however, they did say: “We are charging £151.80 per operational day and no charge on non-operational days”. Earlier, they suggested free non-operational days were not unique to this Ferris Wheel operator and gave a link to their charging regime.

It seems the operator may be in a unique pisition – as their scheme and rates actually appear to make no mention of free days.

The denial of special treatment for their Ferris Wheel friends looks rather hollow now and the ducking, diving and avoiding providing proper answers to FOI’s might be of interest to the Information Commissioner yet again?

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

28 Jun 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Midweek Herald, Scrutiny, Spin

Comments

1 Comment

“‘Britain’s fearless and independent Press is one of the foundations of democracy and must be protected’: Minister’s call to save print media as 300 local papers shut”

Owl says: Well, some local papers might be fearless and independent- but others are fearful and political toadies – naming no names …!

“Britain’s ‘fearless and independent’ Press is one of the ‘foundations’ of democracy and must be protected, the Culture Secretary has warned.

Matt Hancock has spoken out in defence of journalism as figures released today reveal that more than 300 local and regional titles have closed since 2007 – meaning some large towns are left without a local newspaper.

There are also 25 per cent fewer full-time journalism jobs than there were in 2007, while a quarter of all regional and local publications have closed. …

… The figures released today are part of a report conducted by research group Mediatique and commissioned by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

It found that the newspaper industry has been under ‘sustained threat’ for the past decade – with print advertising slashed in half since 2007.

The Mediatique report found that the ‘dramatic changes’ in revenue and number of publications had been fuelled by shifts in consumer behaviour – and the reliance on devices such as phones and tablets.

Figures by Mediatique revealed that there were 1,303 regional and local newspapers in 2007 compared with 982 in 2017.”

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5893993/Minister-calls-save-print-media-300-local-papers-shut.html

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

28 Jun 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Accountable Care Organisation, Health and Social Care (local), Integrated Care Systems, NHS (local)

Celebrate 70 years of OUR NHS at Respect Festival Saturday 30 June, Exeter

KEEP OUR NHS PUBLIC (KONP)

The NHS is 70: celebrate and protest to preserve it

Saturday 30th June 2018
In Exeter

KONP will have a stall at the Respect festival (Belmont park, Exeter) to celebrate the NHS and spread the word about KONP campaigns.

This includes information on accountable care organisations, the Friends of the Sidwell Street Walk-in Centre, and others.

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

27 Jun 2018

Posted under

Art and Culture, Asset Management Group, Coastal communities, Developers/ Development, EDDC, Philip Skinner, Regeneration, Sidmouth/ Sidford/ Sidbury

Community has 6 months to bid for Sidmouth’s Drill Hall

“Community groups have been given six months to make their submissions by January 11, 2019.

Exeter-based JLL, have been appointed by East Devon District Council as property marketing advisor, and will be offering advice and taking bids from non-commercial organisations immediately.

In the autumn, the company will open the bidding up to commercial property sector who will have only three months to put forward a bid.

Councillor Jeff Turner, of Sidmouth Town Council, said: “I’m pleased to see that the six month period has now started for the local community in Sidmouth to come forward with any ideas they may have.

“This commences the next stage of the process in finding a way forward for this area of the seafront which is of significant interest to a great many people in Sidmouth.”

It follows 18 months of consultation, which included a scoping study around the town’s Port Royal area to find out what the community would like to see there.

EDDC also carried out a marketing exercise to see about the possibility of adding attractions such as a high quality restaurant/bar development or something similar.

An EDDC spokeswoman said: “As a result of hearing what local people wanted and also acknowledging the constraints of the site including increased risk of flooding, a lack of financial viability in relation to large scale mixed use development and existing covenants, it was agreed that the original proposals should be ruled out.”

Cllr Philip Skinner, Deputy Leader of East Devon District Council and its economy portfolio holder, said: “I’m delighted that we are now able to offer this opportunity for the local community in Sidmouth to come forward during the next six months with their ideas for the site.

“Our property advisor will be available to offer guidance to interested parties and I look forward to seeing a range of proposals when the marketing period concludes in January next year.”

http://www.sidmouthherald.co.uk/news/bids-now-open-to-redevelop-sidmouth-s-drill-hall-1-5580801

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

27 Jun 2018

Posted under

Austerity cuts, Education (local)

Textbooks or tanks?

“Trade unions have said they estimate an additional £2.7bn a year is needed to take funding per pupil back to the level of 2015-16.

The NHS has been given a financial settlement, and there has been noisy lobbying within government for more defence spending.

Perhaps Mr Hinds had in mind the reproach from Treasury Minister Liz Truss to colleagues demanding extra money.

The Conservative chair of the committee, Robert Halfon, told the BBC: “After we got a wonderful settlement for the NHS, I believe we also need a ten-year plan for education and a five-year funding settlement too.”

Three teaching unions, the GMB, Unison and Unite have claimed the government is breaking a promise to maintain funding at the same level per pupil, after rising costs are taken into account.

They argue schools have been allocated an average of £4,630 per pupil, which is roughly £59 less in real terms than 2015-16.

The government says these calculations omit a large part of overall education spending, the central schools services block, which funds support services for schools.

“The claim that real terms per pupil funding has decreased in the last year is completely false,” a spokesperson for the Department for Education said.
“These figures fail to take into account that in 2018-19, we have provided an additional £450m of funding – making this comparison factually incorrect.”

Independent economists might think the government has a point, as it has previously been included in calculations.

Luke Sibieta, from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said: “Changes were made to the school funding system for 2018-19 and funding for central services was separated out. Previously it was part of overall school funding.”

Mary Bousted, the joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “It is no wonder that schools are increasingly struggling to provide pupils with basic essentials and having to ask parents to fill the gap.” …

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-44633831

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

27 Jun 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Austerity cuts, DCC, EDDC

Comments

1 Comment

“Half of council staff considering quitting their job, survey finds” (What! only half!)

“Half of council workers are thinking of leaving their job for less stressful work elsewhere, according to a new survey by trade union Unison.

Six out of ten council workers surveyed said they don’t feel secure in their job, with over half (53%) saying their workload is unmanageable.

The survey also found eight in ten (79%) council workers have no confidence in the future of local services due to spending cuts, with 83% saying cuts have had a negative impact on their ability to do the job as well as they can.

Over half of those surveyed (53%) believe their council no longer delivers quality services, with 48% saying their employer doesn’t make the right decisions for the public, according to the survey results.

Unison general secretary, Dave Prentis, said: ‘Local services are collapsing and council workers are being left to pick up the pieces and do the best they can amid the chaos. This disturbing survey should ring alarm bells in Whitehall and also alert ministers to the crisis happening in councils up and down the country.

‘Local authorities have had to cut so many vital services that they have now reached a point where vulnerable children and the elderly struggle to get the help that they need, entire communities are suffering, and the public are being put at risk.’ “

https://www.localgov.co.uk/Half-of-council-staff-considering-quitting-their-job-survey-finds/45490

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

27 Jun 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Austerity cuts, DCC, East Devon Tories

Comments

1 Comment

Mostly Tory county councils moan about Tory cuts

“England’s mainly Conservative-run county councils have warned ministers that the “worst is yet come” over cuts to local services and that several authorities risk going bust unless steps are taken to shore up crumbling budgets.

Only an emergency injection of funds next year to counter a growing financial “black hole” would head off severe cuts to services and potential unrest among local MPs, the County Councils Network said.

It said councils faced having to make “truly unpalatable” cuts to key services such as social care, refuse disposal, libraries, Sure Start centres and roads maintenance while putting up council tax bills and introducing new charges.

There is growing concern about the financial resilience of county councils, which are struggling to meet rising demand for high-cost, high-volume services such as adult and children’s social care.

This year the Tory-run Northamptonshire county council effectively went bankrupt after failing to balance its budget, and the National Audit Office said one in 10 councils with social care responsibilities could follow suit.

A survey carried out by the County Councils Network, which represents 36 councils delivering services to 27 million people, found that a third would struggle to balance their budgets for 2019-20 without extra funding, rising to two-thirds by 2020-21.

A budget analysis estimates that county councils face a £3.2bn gap between income and costs over the next two years, caused in part by projected extra demand for social care services and in part by government cuts.

Paul Carter, the County Councils Network chairman and Tory leader of Kent county council, said: “We will work hard to deliver the savings required this year, but the scope for making deliverable savings has dramatically reduced and decisions for next year will be truly unpalatable if we are to fulfil our statutory duties. Without additional resource, the worst is yet to come.”

Nick Rushton, the leader of Leicestershire county council, said savings of £200m locally since 2010 had cut services to the bone. “Without extra money the consequences could be dire,” he said.

The recent announcement of £20bn of extra funding for the NHS has left local authorities frustrated at the government’s lack of urgency in addressing the simmering financial crisis in town halls and the growing crisis in adult social care and child protection services.

The government recently announced that the social care funding green paper, expected before the summer recess, would not now appear until the autumn.”

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jun/27/english-councils-warn-worst-is-yet-to-come-on-cuts

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

27 Jun 2018

Posted under

Accountable Care Organisation, Integrated Care Systems, NHS (local), Tax avoidance

NHS and taxes – it doesn’t need special taxation

Gower Institute for Money:

“Yet again we have politicians saying that taxes need to be increased to “pay for” spending; this time it’s for social care.

In the UK, as many other nations, Government spending comes before taxation. The UK Government creates new money every time it spends and deletes it by taxation. We can spend the necessary money NOW, we do not have to tax first to pay for the spending.

As for borrowing, that is not borrowing at all, it is providing investment vehicles called gilts to investors. These defend the desired interest rate, the money saved in gilts does not pay for anything either. The interest paid on these accounts is a matter of choice too.

The Government should spend the money necessary to provide the service. Taxes collected will increase anyway as the people who do the work providing the service will pay tax and NI on their wages and taxes on their spending.

Of course the tax system needs sorting out; avoidance needs to be tackled. But we can do the spending needed now; the tax issue is an important, but separate, fight.”

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

27 Jun 2018

Posted under

Accountability, AONB, Cranbrook, Developers/ Development, EDDC, Fords of Sidmouth, Greendale, Planning System, Sustainability, Villages Development Plan, Woodbury

Village Development Plan Approved by EDDC Strategic Planning Committee

The long-suffering residents of Farringdon and Woodbury Salterton are now one step closer from being a little more confidant with their fears of further growth from the Industrial Business Parks on their doorsteps from Hill Barton and Greendale Business Parks.

These 2 business parks have been growing at a considerable rate over the last 20 years which has provided important business opportunities and employment. However, it has been felt that further growth would be inappropriate in the open countryside some distance away from any major towns.

East Devon Local Plan proposals in the Local Plan approved in 2016 supported planned commercial growth would be at Cranbrook and areas close to Exeter together with other major towns in the district.

However there has been a number of challenges made to these policies with a number of Planning Inspectors hearings and High Court cases to these particular policies.

It was always known that the Local Plan would be challenged for development at these Business Parks and some villages. Therefore, the Local Authority proposed an additional planning document known as the “Villages Development Plan” which is an additional planning document drawn up by the Strategic Planning Department at East Devon which will provide further guidance and clarity to the largest villages in the district and the two business parks.

Finally, after 3 years of deliberation and public consultations, East Devon`s Strategic Planning Committee meeting this week, agreed to recommend to the East Devon`s Full Council meeting on the 25th of July that the “Villages Plan” be adopted.

The Villages Plan has been through several rounds of public consultation and the plan text has been refined to reflect the comments made.

Then followed a Planning Inspectors hearing plus an examination and recently returned by the Planning Inspector with an agreed approval following further changes and amendments.

The result of the Strategic Planning Committees approval and recommendation to the next Full Council meeting to adopt the new policy document will provide clarity and guidance on planning matters to the Villages and to the two Business Parks.

In the case of the Business Parks new planning policies are to be adopted.

Policy VP04 and VP05 which include a map that shows the extent of authorised uses at the Business Parks. Beyond the “Employment Area” shown on the map, any further planning applications will be considered to be in the “open countryside” and will be subject to stringent countryside protection policies.

It is therefore hoped by the rural villages of Farringdon and Woodbury Salterton that this endorsement of restricting further expansion at these Business Parks will provide clarity and certainty for the community for many years.

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

27 Jun 2018

Posted under

AONB, Developers/ Development, Sidmouth/ Sidford/ Sidbury

Sidford Business Park: owner tries to justify it

Says there are not enough spaces on his other business park in Sidmouth (remember that if an application to build housing there ever comes up!) so he has no choice but to build in the AONB with access on a narrow road:

http://www.sidmouthherald.co.uk/news/no-development-possible-on-alexandria-industrial-estate-says-owner-1-5576933

But … but … but ANOTHER businessman hoping to build similar units on a brownfield site with direct access to the A3052 nearer to Sidmouth:

http://www.sidmouthherald.co.uk/news/sidmouth-businessman-s-plans-to-make-town-s-garden-centre-special-again-1-5576929