“… Very few surprises in terms of the Labour-Conservative battlegrounds. But noteworthy is that – as is echoed privately by many Conservatives from the area – the government regards Claire Wright, of the independent campaign in East Devon, as a serious challenger for the seat. …”
Monthly Archives: October 2019
Persimmon in the deep, deep manure yet again on leasehold houses
“Persimmon is heading for a bitter showdown with families who claim the housebuilder mis-sold them homes on toxic leasehold deals.
Hundreds of its customers bought leasehold houses and now claim they are trapped by ratcheting rent bills that have made it impossible to sell.
But the company, which is the UK’s most profitable developer, is playing hardball and has told desperate customers that it ‘does not accept’ their complaints.
Along with other developers, Persimmon has been banned from selling leasehold houses after a public outcry.
Persimmon and others were accused of charging extortionate ground rents, some of which rose dramatically over time, along with a raft of hidden charges.
Leaseholders effectively buy the right to live in a property for an agreed period, rather than ownership of it outright.
However, an inquiry by MPs earlier this year found that many leaseholders did not appear to have fully understood the deal.
In a recent row with Cardiff council, Persimmon was accused of mis-selling leasehold homes. It offered residents the freeholds to their properties at no charge as part of an out-of-court settlement.
Campaigners now argue all its leasehold customers across the country should receive similar compensation.
But in a letter sent to customers and seen by the Mail, the company rejected claims householders were misled.
It claimed staff would have explained the terms of the homes to customers during the sales process, that their solicitor should have advised them about it and that mortgage lenders would have also assessed the property at the time.
A separate survey by the Solicitors Regulation Authority also found one fifth of people sold leasehold properties were not even told the difference between leasehold and freehold homes.
MPs called for an investigation into possible mis-selling. They lambasted solicitors for being too cosy with developers and failing to warn clients about the rip-off deals.
Following their report, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a probe.
Sir Gary Streeter, Tory MP for South West Devon, accused the firm of telling ‘blatant’ lies to leaseholders in Plymouth, part of his constituency, during the sales process.
A Persimmon spokesman insisted the decision to ‘gift’ ownership to leaseholders in Cardiff was ‘not to do with the mis-selling of leasehold properties’, adding: ‘We firmly dispute the fact that the customers were not aware the properties were being sold on a leasehold basis.
Any suggestion that the decision by Persimmon to gift the freeholds was in relation to mis-selling of leaseholds is false and misleading.’
‘All customers buying leasehold properties are informed by the sales team at the time of purchase that the properties are leasehold and not freehold.’
‘It feels like we have been tricked’
Grandparents Noelle and Alf Lutton bought their five-bedroom home three years ago for £250,000 – but they have still been asking for problems to be fixed
Noelle and Alf Lutton claim the punitive terms of their leasehold home were not made clear to them by Persimmon.
The grandparents bought their five-bedroom home three years ago for £250,000 – but they have still been asking for problems to be fixed.
In addition, they face having to pay £150 in ground rent every year – a rate that increases every decade – and must fork out so-called ‘permission fees’ of £250 if they want to make even minor changes to the property.
They claim they were never told they would have to pay these charges. Former customer services worker Mrs Lutton, 75, says the couple had always previously lived in freehold properties but were not given that option when buying their current home in Market Deeping, near Peterborough.
Instead, they say a Persimmon sales representative verbally promised they could buy the freehold for ‘a couple of hundred pounds’ two years after the initial sale.
But Persimmon later quoted them a price of £3,750. And although it later reduced this to £500, the company insists they would still have to pay permission fees even if they now acquired the freehold.
‘Had we known then what we know now, we would never have bought the property,’ Mrs Lutton said. ‘We weren’t told about any of the fees we would have to pay. It feels like we have been tricked.’
A Persimmon spokesman said: ‘The details of the ground rent, associated fees and covenants were included within the contract and documentation at the time of purchase.
‘Following completion, Mr and Mrs Lutton raised a number of snagging issues with their property. The last one of these is due to be addressed shortly.’ “
“One in 10 pupils removed from school rolls ‘to boost GCSE results’ “
“Research into “off-rolling” from schools in England has found the scale of the problem may be worse than previously thought, with one in 10 secondary pupils removed from the rolls without explanation.
Researchers from the Education Policy Institute (EPI) found that more than 61,000 pupils out of the national cohort who sat their GCSEs in 2017 experienced an “unexplained exit” at some point during their secondary school career. Of these, two out of five never returned to school again.
The overwhelming majority of those affected were from the most vulnerable groups, including pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), those receiving free school meals or those in the care of the local authority.
According to the EPI, while a proportion of those unexplained exits will be legitimate decisions made in the interests of the child, others are the result of schools – under pressure from government and amid increased scrutiny of league tables – deliberately gaming the system by offloading challenging students to boost GCSE results. …”
“MP Neil Parish wants to hear from you”
Isn’t it strange that, just before elections, our MPs want to know what we think and the rest of the time they barely give us a thought!
Meanwhile, departing MP Hugo Swire has never really cared what we thought anyway and cares even less now so don’t expect any of thissort of electioneering from him!
“MP for Tiverton and Honiton, Neil Parish, is asking the members of his constituency to share their views on a number of topics – including the impending Brexit deal.
It’s a chance for the people of Honiton to voice their opinions on what is currently taking place within government and what roll-on effect this could potentially have on lives and businesses.
Neil Parish said: “As your local Member of Parliament I am keen to hear your views on the issues that matter to you, so I can continue campaigning to get a good deal for you.
“I am proud of all the work our local Conservative team has done so far. But there is more work to do.
“Please complete this survey so that you can have your say and make sure your interests are protected now and in the future.”
https://honiton.nub.news/n/mp-neil-parish-wants-to-hear-from-you-1570624544
EDDC resigned/sacked councillor attempts to change constitution over parking price rises
Nice to see the non-Independent Group councillors of different parties and no party flexing their collective muscle!
“Councillor Paul Millar has tabled a motion for the next full council meeting, calling for car park strategy to be added to the list of 12 areas of policy the full council has the final say over – taking decisions out of the cabinet’s hands.
The cabinet, made up of nine councillors from the ruling Independent Group, has agreed to put parking charge changes out to a public consultation.
The proposals include raising the hourly rate in some East Devon car parks from £1 to £1.20 and introducing pay-and-display to previously free car parks.
According to the council’s constitution, cabinet can make decisions on parking changes without consulting full council.
Cllr Millar’s motion, which has been ratified by the chief executive, would force cabinet to make a recommendation to full council instead.
In an email seen by this title, Cllr Millar writes: “I believe this amendment is a vital safeguard to ensure the leader does not rush ahead with a consultation on a policy the vast majority of members do not support.
“It would be a waste exercise, and a waste of taxpayers’ money.
“I believe we must ensure that democracy is served.”
In response, East Devon leader Ben Ingham said: “With most notice of motions, unless I have put them forward or supported submission, I like to hear the debate in full before deciding.
“In the past, I have found keeping a motion simple is best.
“We shall see.”
Following the cabinet’s decision to launch a consultation, the proposals were called in by EDDC’s scrutiny committee which decided to set up a forum to consider car parking tariffs in East Devon.
Cllr Millar, an Independent councillor who is no longer part of the ruling Independent Group, is concerned that cabinet will press ahead with the consultation before the parking forum reports back with its findings.
The motion to change the constitution, set to be discussed at the full council meeting on Wednesday, October 23, has received cross party support having been seconded by Liberal Democrat Eileen Wragg.
Two other Lib Dem councillors and one Conservative have backed the motion.
Eight of the Independent East Devon Alliance councillors, including leader Paul Arnott, are listed as supporters.”
https://www.midweekherald.co.uk/news/east-devon-constitution-amendment-tabled-1-6314614
Councils scrutinising our Local Enterprise Partnership? In your dreams!
HEART OF THE SOUTH WEST (HOTSW) LOCAL ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIP (LEP) JOINT SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
Thursday, 17th October, 2019
A meeting of the Heart of the South West (HotSW) Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Joint Scrutiny Committee is to be held on the above date, at 2.15 pm
Here is the agenda for the scrutiny committee (and the minutes of the previous one):
and here is a chart which accompanies Agenda item 6:
Joint Scrutiny LEP Review (Pages 5 – 16)
from which it can be extrapolated that scrutiny …. needs tightening? … beset by lack of co-operation? … unsatisfactory? … non-existent? … utterly ineffective, pointless and dangerously ineffective stewardship of OUR money?
Take your pick?
Young people – your vote really CAN change history this time round
How?
Since 2016 2 million older people have died. Research showed that their age group in 2016 voted for Brexit and denied or did not care about global warming and the destruction of our environment. Many had owned their own homes since they were in their 20s. By and large they did not want change.
Since 2016. 2.5 million teenagers have reached voting age. Although turnout in this age group tends to be low, those that would vote are overwhelmingly in favour of wanting Britain to stay in the EU, are unlikely to ever own a home, or, if they do so, it will be with help from asset-rich patents or not before they are in their 40s, mostly accept and are concerned about global warming and are passionate about the environment. They want CHANGE.
East Devon’s current MP (Conservative Hugo Swire, who votes for Brexit) is standing down and the most serious contender for his seat is local Independent Claire Wright.
Find out what she stands for here:
If you 2.5 million don’t vote you will have left YOUR future to older people to decide for you.
If you have not registered, register NOW:
https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
and vote on the day!
Candidate for new House of Commons speaker says it must be cleaned up of drink and drugs
“During a Press Gallery hustings for the nine Commons Speaker candidates, Sir Lindsay Hoyle said: “It’s not just drink we’ve got to catch out, there is a drug problem, and I genuinely believe that counselling and real support should be available for all staff and members.”
Source: The Waugh Zone, Huffington Post
Sale of Knowle site to PegasusLife – final numbers in
You decide whether it represents value for money (and maybe take some developer costs with big pinches of salt):
Such good timing: “Decision on whether fire stations will be axed delayed until just before Christmas”
“Devon residents [and firefighters Owl adds] could get an unwanted early Christmas present in the form of cuts to their fire service.
The Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service has been consulting with the public on its Safer Together programme, which looks at how fire stations, engines and crews can be best deployed for the future needs of the two counties.
Among the proposed changes include Appledore, Ashburton, Budleigh Salterton, Colyton, Kingston, Porlock, Topsham, and Woolacombe fire stations closing.
A decision on which savings proposals would be taken forward and implemented was originally due to be taken by the fire authority in early-November.
The fire service confirmed that around 3,300 surveys had been completed during the 12-week consultation window, and it also received 700 written submissions and five petitions on the subject.
The responses are now being independently analysed by the Swansea-based firm Opinion Research Services, with formal proposals coming to the fire authority on December 18, rather than November 8 as originally hoped. ….”
https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/decision-whether-fire-stations-axed-3410173
Notorious ex-councillor Graham Brown died in March 2019
News has only just reached Owl (via a notice to anyone interested in making a claim against his estate in an Archant publication) that notorious ex-Councillor Graham Brown died on 16 March 2019.
As far as Owl can recall, this was not marked by East Devon Conservatives. But then, of course, he did have to resign from the party after many years loyal service to it.
“Revealed: the 20 firms behind a third of all carbon emissions”
“The Guardian today reveals the 20 fossil fuel companies whose relentless exploitation of the world’s oil, gas and coal reserves can be directly linked to more than one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions in the modern era.
New data from world-renowned researchers reveals how this cohort of state-owned and multinational firms are driving the climate emergency that threatens the future of humanity, and details how they have continued to expand their operations despite being aware of the industry’s devastating impact on the planet….”
“Seaside residents earn £1,600 less than people inland”
“Workers living in seaside areas are likely to earn on average £1,600 less per year than those living inland, BBC News analysis has found.
The research also found two-thirds of coastal areas had seen a real terms fall in wages since 2010.
The All Parliamentary Group for Coastal Communities said the findings showed seaside towns were “being left behind”.
But the government said its £200m Coastal Communities Fund was changing lives.
This week BBC News is profiling what life is like in seaside communities across the country as part of the Coastal Britain project.
The most deprived places in England are found by the sea, according to government figures…..
The issue of low pay affects coastal communities across the whole country.
BBC News has analysed income data collected by the Office for National Statistics for 632 parliamentary constituencies in Great Britain. Taking into account full and part time workers the analysis found:
In coastal constituencies, the typical (median) worker in 2018 earned £22,104 before tax
That was £1,681 less than the typical worker in a non-coastal area, who earned £23,785 before tax
When inflation was taken into account annual wages fell in two-thirds of constituencies between 2010 and 2018, a “real terms” decrease
The coastal constituencies of Wirral West and Weston-Super-Mare have seen real terms wages fall by around 25% since 2010
Mike Hill MP, chair of the all Parliamentary Group for Coastal Communities, said “for a long time coastal communities have felt forgotten”.
“Many of these areas have lost industries like shipbuilding that once provided thousands of well paid jobs,” he said.
“There’s research that shows that without major changes, by 2030 places like my own constituency of Hartlepool could see lots of young people leave coastal areas, which underlines why we need the right investment to protect the long term future of our coastal towns.”
At its party conference in September, Labour promised to build 37 offshore wind farms, which it claimed would generate more than 60,000 new well paid jobs in coastal areas. …”
Hard luck if you bank with Barclays and there is no branch or ATM in your town: you can no longer use the Post Office for cash
“A decision by Barclays to pull out of an agreement allowing bank customers to withdraw cash from post offices for free has been criticised as “shocking”.
The bank is the only one to scrap over-the-counter cash withdrawals at Post Office branches, with 28 other UK banks signing up to a new deal that means millions of people can continue to benefit from free access to everyday banking services.
The move by Barclays prompted a wave of criticism, including from a regulatory body, and appears to be linked to a sizeable rise in the bank-funded fees paid to postmasters for providing these services. Barclays has separately announced its own proposals, which it said were designed to boost bank branch demand and improve access to cash. …”
Green or Greed?
From a correspondent:
“Owl is not the only one to shine a light into the darkest corners of East Devon and keep an eye on local issues, with last night’s BBC Inside Out programme investigating the reality behind the ‘green’ credentials of local anaerobic digesters by focussing on the sizeable expansion of digester developments attached to Enfield Farm, Clyst St Mary and Menchine Farm, Nomansland, Tiverton.
Regrettably, the finest technological innovations that could benefit our local districts and, indeed, our entire planet can be corrupted for short term financial gain by the few! There is, no doubt, that environmentally-sound, sustainable waste to energy systems have the potential to be beneficial but such eco-friendly practices must be governed by the law and flouting local planning conditions specifically in place to protect the environment and local people is both intolerable and insupportable.
The Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is a Parliamentary Law in place to regulate the development of land and is not to be manipulated, abused and interpreted by developers seeking to achieve huge profits under the guise of conforming to national and international renewable energy targets. Non-recognition of authority and controlling systems is the definition of anarchy – none of us are above the law!
Although the Planning Permitted Development Rights have recently been extended in 2019 to achieve greater flexibility and speed up planning delivery processes, none of us envisage a carte blanche approach, where we can all ignore planning laws and embark on building high-rise blocks of flats in our gardens, whilst justifying their existence through Government housing needs figures!”
“First-time buyers using Help to Buy paying 10% more for homes than everyone else”
Catch 22: first-time buyers can buy only new properties; if they could get the discount on ANY property many would save at least 10% – and have none of the poor-quality build issues affecting new properties.
But developers won’t allow that!
“First-time buyers using the Help to Buy scheme in England are paying an average of 10% more than those buying a new home without Government support, figures suggest.
Those who purchased a new-build home in the past year using the scheme paid an average £303,450 each, significantly more than those who bought without Government help.
On average, the premium paid by those using the scheme was 10.3% in the 12 months to September 2019.
That’s according to a report on 41,500 new build properties, which also found huge price disparities between properties sold in London and the rest of the country. …”
https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/first-time-buyers-using-help-20536679
“East Devon leader responds after call for him to resign”
Might more councillors who rushed into “The Independent Group” which Ben Ingham was so very keen to lead, be regretting their choice? If so, interesting times. As Owl has already pointed out, if all other non-Tory and non-TIG councillors came together (Independent, East Devon Alliance, Green and Lub Dem) they would be the majority group …
“East Devon leader Ben Ingham said he will not be ‘stepping aside’ after a former cabinet member called for him to resign.
Writing for this title, Councillor Paul Millar said Cllr Ingham has ‘failed to deliver a workable policy let alone the change people were asking for’.
In response, Cllr Ingham said he will not be stepping down ‘just yet’ and the ruling Independent Group are focused on delivering on its policies ‘including a balanced budget for next year’.
Cllr Millar said: “I call on Ben to do the right thing and step aside to allow someone more in touch with the reality of people’s lives to lead the council.”
In response, Cllr Ingham said: “I won’t be stepping aside just yet.
“There is so much to do and the Independent Group is eager to put our priorities into action.
“This includes preparing a balanced budget for next year.”
https://www.exmouthjournal.co.uk/news/ben-ingham-response-to-resignation-call-1-6311778
Nurse shortage now a serious Health and Safety issue for patients and nurses
“The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has published a report today, called ‘Standing up for patient and public safety’, outlining the serious staffing crisis and its potential causes.
The report warns of the need for legal responsibilities regarding the supply and planning of the health and care workforce. It says they need ‘Investment, long-term solutions and legislation to futureproof the workforce’.
This comes after current NHS figures show that there are now a record 43,671 empty nursing positions in the NHS in England alone, with 12% of posts are now without a full time Registered Nurse (RN).
RCN have stated in the report that there must be clearer roles, responsibility and accountability with workforce planning and supply, clearly defined in law.
Since 2017, the number of nurses in England joining the professional register for the first time has consistently been lower than the number of people leaving the register,
Recent polling for the RCN pointed out that 80% of the public agrees that the Government should have a legal responsibility for ensuring there are enough nursing staff.
This issue is having a knock-on effect on patient care, with new analysis showing that wards working with less than 50% of the expected registered nurses were twice as likely to admit they had to compromise on care.
This is why RCN have said, it is no longer the time to be discussing whether we need law, but rather how we secure these vital changes in legislation.
Despite the fact that The Health and Social Care Act (2012) devolved many of the roles and responsibilities on this issue, the RCN report shows that the subsequent poor clarity across all parts of the health system has left parts of it in ‘limbo’ and limited any potential progress on the staffing the crisis.
Dame Donna Kinnair, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing said:
“Nurses are working harder than ever to deliver safe patient care but are being held back by a system that is legally lacking teeth. Despite the public, patients and nurses all agreeing that clarity is needed on responsibilities for delivering enough nurses, we have yet to see any government pledge anything of the like, and as a result are staring down the barrel at a record 43k empty nursing posts.
“We know how dangerous it can be when there aren’t enough nurses to provide care, but at present, almost all accountability rests with the frontline nurse working on the understaffed ward, rather than those responsible for the system they work in. We believe the time has come for change and that patient care was future-proofed by law, and that from the government down, decision makers are held to account.
“Without these bold changes, the public and staff within health and care services cannot be confident that safe and effective care can be delivered, risking the health of patients now and in the future.”
In September, after pressure from RCN members, NHS England and NHS Improvement stated that the issue of accountability for workforce planning and supply remains an area that needs be resolved.
The alarming new report indicates clearly why action is needed to tackle the current workforce crisis but also to ensure there is a sustained investment in the future workforce, at least £1bn per year, according to the RCN.”
94-99% of rented accommodation too expensive for those on benefits
And remember this includes working people whose wages are so low they are entitled to benefits (effectivelya subsidy to employers).
“The government must increase the levels of housing benefit given to people in the private rented sector as families are being priced out of homes, according to a trade association.
The National Housing Federation analysis has found that 94% of homes for private rent – and up to 99% in some areas – are too expensive for those on housing benefit.
The Local Housing Allowance – used to calculate how much benefit households in the private rented sector will receive – when introduced in 2008 was worked out from the bottom 50% of market rents and later reduced to 30% under the coalition government.
In 2013, rates of LHA were separated from market values and eventually frozen in 2016 leaving working families unable to afford a place to live, the federation said.
NHF said the benefit – for which there are 1.3 million claimants – is inadequate and is leading to increasing levels of poverty and debt.
Kate Henderson, chief executive of the NHF, said: “Low income families are being punished two-fold, no longer able to access social housing because of the dire shortage of it, they now can’t access enough housing benefit to rent privately either.
“The crippling effects of the housing crisis and significant cuts to benefits have forced thousands of parents into impossible situation in order to keep a roof over their children’s heads, many having to choose between crippling debt, overcrowding or homelessness.”
The number of homeless children in temporary accommodation has increased by 83% since 2011 to 126,020, the report added.
The federation has urged the government to end the freeze on LHA and increase it so that it covers 30% of private rent homes in any local area. It also repeated its recommendation to spend £12.8bn each year on new social housing.
The NHF analysed 75,000 rental homes advertised on Zoopla in July 2019 and compared the cost of rent for each property with the rate of LHA that a family requiring that sized property would be entitled to.
A government spokesperson said: “Providing quality and fair social housing is an absolute priority. The government increased more than 360 Local Housing Allowance rates this year, by targeting extra funding at low-income households.
“We’ve helped councils and housing associations to speed up the delivery of more homes, including social housing, through our £9bn Affordable Homes Programme – delivering over 430,000 affordable new homes since 2010.”
Housing minister Esther McVey told the Conservative Conference last week that the government would prioritise brownfield land for new builds.”
https://www.publicfinance.co.uk/news/2019/10/nine-out-10-families-priced-out-private-rented-sector
Post-Brexit employment law at risk
“Three low paid workers and their union are launching a legal challenge to make the prime minister seek an extension to the Brexit deadline.
The government has promised EU-law derived employment rights will remain in UK law after Brexit.
But if there were a no-deal Brexit, the union says, ministers would have free rein to water down these rights.
And workers could no longer rely on the supremacy of EU law, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights or Court of Justice.
The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB), is currently relying upon these aspects of EU law in a number of worker’s rights court cases.
The organisation, which represents some 5,000 workers – 1,000 of whom are EU citizens – has now filed court papers to begin legal proceedings.
Key workers’ rights based on EU law include:
minimum paid holiday
working hours regulation
equal pay
protection against discrimination
consultation on redundancy plans …”
East Devon Watch 