On Friday, the Great South West will address a room of the South West’s best and brightest businesspeople at the South West Business Council’s quarterly conference at Exeter Racecourse. (see article below)

So this will be a “preaching to the converted “session. Owl desperately wants to see a thriving region but is confused as to who actually speaks for the region, and under what authority. Owl is also underwhelmed by the Great South West case which seems to emphasise presentation over substance. The “bottom line” of their prospectus seeks £2M handout from government over three years to create a team to flesh out a case (which they describe as “working at pace”). Heart of the South West has been plotting strategies to double the local economy in 20 years since 2014. All seem to agree that increasing productivity is an essential component.

So there is something the brightest and best business people could do right now, at no cost to the taxpayer. Read on.

In a recent article David Smith, economics editor for the times  www.thetimes.co.uk wrote

Productivity and investment are intimately related. The main reason that France has higher productivity than Britain, to the puzzlement of many, is that its businesses invest more. Capital per worker is higher, and so is labour productivity.

Investment matters for productivity growth. If business investment falters, as it has done in this country for the past three to four years, it means that a poor outlook for productivity turns into a terrible one…

……“There has been a major change in the incentives of senior management through the way and amount they are paid. Incentives determine behaviour, so we should not be surprised that behaviour changes when incentives change. Pay packages for management are formed today in a way that discourages investment.”

How? Executives are rewarded not for ensuring that the businesses they run are good and competitive in the long run, but on the basis of short-term performance — the average tenure of FTSE 100 chief executives is three to four years — and in particular share price performance. Investment often depresses short-term performance and the share price. Alternative uses of resources, such as share buybacks, do nothing for underlying performance but are popular with shareholders because they push up the share price. Fund managers, whose performance also is assessed on a short-term basis — quarterly, or even monthly or weekly — have an incentive to support buyback programmes because they flatter their investment records.

Charlotte Turner  www.devonlive.com

Representatives of the Great South West will be reminding the Prime Minister to put his words into action to back the region.

The Western Morning News’ editor-in-chief Bill Martin and David Ralph, CEO of the Heart of the South West LEP, will be speaking about the campaign which has stepped up its fight for investment and recognition – and they will be urging Mr Johnson to ensure he follows through with the pledges he made to the Great South West last year.

In December, a high-level delegation from the Back the Great South West campaign was invited up to Number 10 to discuss the needs for the area and how the Government can step up to help it thrive.

Mr Johnson told the Great South West partners from the region how important the South West was to him personally, as well as putting his backing behind the campaign.

At the time he said: “We want to address some of the infrastructure issues in the region, as well as other vital services. Because it is the mission of my Conservative Government to unite and level up the country, and the South West has potential in all sorts of areas – from the spaceport in Newquay to farming, fishing, tourism and technology.

“I want to see improvements to infrastructure and technology, better rail and roads, more schools funding and investment in health services. We’re One Nation Conservatives and we believe in a dynamic economy. The South West campaign is a great one and your region is an absolute priority to me. So I can assure you that we want to support and champion everything you do.”

On Friday, the Great South West will address a room of the South West’s best and brightest businesspeople at the South West Business Council’s quarterly conference at Exeter Racecourse.

The presentation is a chance to show how the Great South West is progressing and how the region’s ability to collaborate and speak with one voice has put it in a unique position in relation to a new Government that has vowed to level up the regions.

Something positive to report on health care

Claire  claire-wright.org 

After two years work, today a piece of work that has been close to my heart has been published.

Devon County Council’s Health and Adult Care scrutiny review on unpaid carers, has recommended 12 separate areas for action, starting with central government, in a paper that will go before its committee on Thursday 12 March.

I proposed the review almost two years ago when it became obvious from a carers survey I saw, that satisfaction rates are declining and unpaid carers were finding things increasingly tough.

It took several committee meetings before I could get agreement for the review to take place, which I then chaired from its start last summer.

I wanted it to be a truly thorough and extensive piece of work so that unpaid carers had the confidence we would make some strong and effective recommendations.

We spoke to around 100 carers across Devon, travelling out to all parts of the county, in order to hear what pressures carers were facing.

It was tough hearing the stories. Our hearts went out to people who told us repeatedly that they felt trapped, stressed, were responsible for caring for their loved ones 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Added to this were people who are worried about the future. Stressed about the uncertainty of how they will manage an increasingly frail partner, with a paucity of options available.

Often unpaid carers are unwell themselves, as they neglect their own mental and physical health, with the demands of caring for their husbands or wives, mothers or fathers.

The pressures that austerity has created relating to there being less paid personal care, an ongoing shortage of paid care workers, the closure of many residential homes, including Devon County Council owned homes, has taken its toll.

Paid care is not only hard to find, it is expensive.

Adult Social Care budgets have been eviscerated under this government and it has also been remiss in not providing a solution to the resulting crisis, where people are at risk of losing their life savings if they need non-NHS care.

It is grossly unfair for people to be means tested for basic care if they have dementia, yet receive care for cancer under the NHS.

Quite clearly, in an evolved democracy and the sixth largest economy in the world, we must provide much better support for our vulnerable citizens.

There must be urgent action from central government on this and new funding needs to be provided to ensure that unpaid carers and those they care for are fairly and adequately provided for.

This is ultimately, where the buck stops.

There are also a raft of more localised recommendations for Devon County Council carers service, as well as Devon’s NHS Clinical Commissioning Group.

The most often cited request, was simply: I need a break. But the only break I get is an hour in Tesco’s once a week.

Many carers told us that they were struggling financially and had trouble claiming the benefits that they were entitled to, despite letters of support from their GP.

There are recommendations for central government on this too.

I am confident (hopeful!) that our recommendations address the most pressing issues that were raised with us and that we have been assertive and frank in our recommendations.

I’d like to thank scrutiny officer, Dan Looker, for managing the review. And I’d also like to thank my task group colleagues for leaving politics at the door and working effectively as a team to help produce this report.

Councillors will be asked to vote to approve the report at the next Health and Adult Care Scrutiny meeting on next Thursday (12 March).  The meeting starts at 2.15pm.

There is an option for public speaking but you will need to register four working days in advance with Gerry Rufolo – Gerry.rufolo@devon.gov.uk

The full report is here – https://democracy.devon.gov.uk/documents/s30160/04%2003%2020%20Carers%20Spotlight%20Final.pdf

The meeting’s webcast will be available here – https://devoncc.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/455423

Pic: Devon County Council’s Health and Adult Care Scrutiny Committee.

By Robert Plummer, Business reporter, BBC News www.bbc.co.uk

Although it has been around under various names for the past 40 years, Flybe was never an airline for the masses.

The number of passengers it carried pales by comparison with better-known budget carriers such as easyJet or Ryanair.

As a travel company, it is only a tenth as big as collapsed holiday firm Thomas Cook.

But those who have habitually chosen Flybe see it as a vital service, because it reaches the places that other airlines fail to touch.

“Mainland UK doesn’t understand how vital Flybe is to Northern Ireland,” tweeted one regular passenger, Jason, back in January when the airline narrowly avoided going bust, only to limp on for another two months.

“As someone who travels with them frequently for work, Flybe’s collapse would be a disaster for the NI economy.

“If this happens, Belfast City Airport will have only four flight routes. FOUR.”

Wider connections

Despite Jason’s heartfelt words, there are a number of other locations that owe just as much to Flybe in terms of connections to the wider world.

Cornish holiday resort Newquay, for one, has no direct rail services from London for much of the year and the journey takes about five hours. But Flybe could get you from London Heathrow to Newquay airport in little more than an hour.

Flybe was due to re-route its Newquay flights to Gatwick at the end of this month, but that plan has now fallen victim to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on demand for air travel.

If you live in the Isle of Man, Flybe’s service has literally been a lifeline.

The airline had a contract with the government to transfer NHS patients from the island to medical facilities in Liverpool when they required treatment that could not be provided closer to home.

At the moment, it is unclear what will happen to that service.

Small wonder, then, that Ben Bradshaw, the MP whose Exeter constituency is close to Flybe’s base, has spoken of the “valuable connectivity” that the carrier provides.

In fact, he described the airline as “a strategically important business”.

Thanks to Flybe, Mr Bradshaw’s constituents were able to fly from Exeter direct to a variety of destinations including Amsterdam, Paris and Geneva – places that would otherwise be accessible to them only after a lengthy trek via other places.

And Flybe’s community links with the area go further, since it has sponsored Exeter City football club since 2003 and has its logo prominently displayed on players’ shirts.

Other regional airports where Flybe has a significant presence are Birmingham, Southampton, Manchester and Cardiff. Some of them may have difficulty continuing as going concerns now that Flybe has gone into administration.

Friends and relations

As well as business people and tourists, Flybe has also helped many far-flung friends and relations to maintain links.

Alex Simpson, who is British but lives and works in the Netherlands, said on Twitter: “I fly with Flybe regularly from Amsterdam to visit my family in Devon.

“Compared to other airlines, it is punctual with charming staff. I do hope that a solution is found that allows it to continue to operate long-term and sustainably.”

Freelance art director Sarah Ward, who divides her time between London and Cornwall, is another Flybe frequent flyer. She tweeted that she would have to move house if the airline ceased to exist.

In an appeal to her local MP, Derek Thomas, she asked: “What are you doing to protect such vital infrastructure?”

In a country where costly infrastructure projects such as HS2 and Crossrail take an eternity to build, Flybe has provided a nimble solution to tough transport problems.

Its demise will leave a vacuum that is hard to fill – and pose a dilemma for many people whose lifestyle depends on the routes that it serves.

What happens to Flybe’s routes now?

If an airline goes out of business, no other operator automatically takes over their routes and there is no guarantee any would.

However, rival companies can bid to buy take-off and landing slots previously used by collapsed airlines.

In November 2019, EasyJet and Jet2.com bought all of the UK airport slots owned by collapsed travel firm Thomas Cook.

The slots can be highly sought after: those at London Gatwick and Bristol cost EasyJet £36m.

For regional airports, the withdrawal of routes can have serious consequences.

Flybe is Europe’s largest regional airline, a main operator at both Exeter and Newquay airports, and the major provider of flights for the Channel Islands.

Owl knows that to save carbon emissions we need to move from away from air transport. Rail is the obvious replacement for most regional transport in the UK. But the rail link, even from relatively well connected Exeter, to the Midlands and further North and Scotland, compared to London, is poor.

Sidmouth district and county councillor Stuart Hughes is so concerned about the state of the cliffs, he is funding the survey “himself” out of his locality budget. (Elections coming up?) Cliffs erode as part of a natural process – that’s why they look like they do – Owl’s advice is not to stand close under them! 

Philippa Davies   www.sidmouthherald.co.uk 

Sidmouth’s crumbling cliffs are to be surveyed to assess the rate of erosion, following Monday’s rock fall at Pennington Point.

He has already called on East Devon District Council to take immediate action to reduce the risk of further collapses, given that the start of the beach management plan is 12 to 18 months away.

Cllr Hughes said: “The large cliff fall on Monday has made the need to carry out emergency works even more urgent, as what has now been exposed is very loose Triassic sandstone that will soon fall victim to more rough seas.

“I have agreed for the use of some of my locality budget to be used to carry out a further cliff survey by the county bridge engineers, which will give accurate and vital information on the rate of erosion since the last survey was carried out in 2015.”

He expects the survey to be carried out as soon as possible, with the results available about three weeks later.

He said the district council could carry out emergency work on the cliffs without the need for a planning application, but approval would be needed from the Environment Agency.

Owl is a little wary of promises on broadband.

Jurassic Fibre has announced its commercial launch following a successful test phase near Exeter.

In the coming weeks, several smaller communities will receive the full ultrafast broadband offering including Clyst St George, Clyst St Mary, Ebford, Exton, Lympstone, Woodbury and Woodbury Salterton.

Daniel Wilkins  www.exmouthjournal.co.uk

Ultrafast broadband being rolled out in smaller East Devon communities could reach Exmouth by this summer.

By early summer, the network will have reached Exmouth – the first large town to have access.

Michael Maltby, CEO of Jurassic Fibre, said: “I’m proud to announce that we will be bringing full fibre ultrafast broadband with speeds of up to one gigabyte per second to thousands more people in local communities.

“We’ve completed the test phase to the east of Exeter, which was a great success, and our first customers have started to benefit from ultrafast fibre direct to their door.”

To mark the roll-out towards Exmouth, more than 60 of the company’s team gathered on the town’s beach to recreate their fossil-shaped logo, which could be seen thanks to aerial photography.

Exmouth town councillor Pauline Stott said: “We desperately need better broadband in Exmouth and so it is very positive that Jurassic Fibre is bringing their network to the town.

“I am really pleased that we are finally getting better connected in this part of the world, as this area has previously been overlooked.

“I am certain that it will help businesses and residents enormously.”

The roll-out has been welcomed by chamber of commerce chairman Ian MacQueen.

He said: “The chamber very much welcomes the significance and opportunities for businesses and households that the arrival of ultrafast broadband will generate.

“This will provide a more reliable, resilient and faster connectivity.

“The potential benefits for the local ecomony are considerable and will make the town a more viable choice for businesses to open and relocate.”

Five-star Lympstone Manor, owned by celebrity chef Michael Caines, was one of the first businesses to sign up to Jurassic Fibre.

Mr Caines said: “We pride ourselves on providing guests at Lympstone Manor with the best of everything, and that now includes ultrafast broadband.”

Faster implementation of District Heating Networks planned in East Devon’s West End is being facilitated by the council. (Too much management speak for Owl).

Order aims to speed up East Devon’s District Heating Networks

Daniel Clark  www.devonlive.com 

East Devon District Council’s Development Management Committee on Tuesday morning unanimously agreed to go out to consultation on a draft Local Development Order (LDO) for District Heating Networks.

The LDO will reduce the regulatory processes and delays associated with the submission of planning applications and facilitate faster implementation of the District Heating networks, councillors were told.

Already the Skypark Energy Centre provides hot water and heating to housing in Cranbrook and commercial buildings at Skypark as well as a private wire to the Lidl distribution centre, while the Monkerton Energy Centre is in the process of being commissioned and will provide hot water and heating to housing around Monkerton and Pinhoe and also commercial buildings at the Science Park.

Frances Wadsley, Project Manager Simplified Planning, in her report to the meeting said that decentralised heating systems result in significantly lower carbon emissions than conventional heating systems, helping to achieve sustainable development and resulting in a positive impact on climate change.

She added: “District Heating networks are an essential part of East Devon’s plan to facilitate more sustainable forms of energy consumption. As well as decreasing carbon emissions they reduce heating bills for both domestic and commercial customers.

“The LDO is seen as an effective tool for simplifying and speeding up the planning process. It is a proactive approach to planning which provides certainty and clarity to developers and landowners and supports the objectives of the Enterprise Zone

“A Local Development Order will enable simpler and faster implementation of the decentralised heating systems which are currently being delivered within East Devon’s West End.”

Chris Rose, the council’s development manager, added that the LDO would remove the need for developers to apply for planning permission for the installation of pipes, cables and wires, heat exchange equipment and ancillary engineering works, provided the development complies with the limitations and conditions set out in the Order.

Cllr Helen Parr proposed that they approve going out to consultation on the LDO, saying: “This will assist us in a key aim of the council plan to be carbon neutral by 2040.”

Statutory consultation on the LDO will now be carried out with a report on the revised draft of the LDO, following any representations received, will be presented to the Development Management Committee and then sent for Adoption of the LDO by the Full Council