It is a remarkable and tragic example of bureaucratic amnesia, and one that deserves the full attention of the authorities now, and indeed when the public inquiry into the government’s Covid response eventually starts.

Editorial: www.independent.co.uk

Almost two decades ago, a detailed plan of how the UK should respond to a Sars-type coronavirus was drawn up by public health officials. They carefully examined the experience of the 2002 Sars outbreak in east Asia. Fortunately, the active virus at that time was not infective enough to trigger a global pandemic and was contained within China and its surrounding countries.

Nonetheless, the opportunity was taken to envisage what precautions should be taken if a subsequent episode developed in a more sinister fashion. The report was drawn up in 2005, apparently shelved and forgotten, and has only now come to light via a freedom of information request.

Too late to have any impact on decision-making now, had it been “remembered” in the early, panicked months of 2020 it would have been a useful guide and blueprint. From what can be gathered from the detailed eye-witness account of Dominic Cummings and other stories, Whitehall was by turns complacent, bewildered, panicked, and then disastrously slow and disorganised in its response to this unfamiliar crisis.

Yet what was clear from the first cases identified in Wuhan province, China, was that this was a coronavirus, and one with some features in common with the Sars, or avian flu, infections some years earlier. But the UK’s various public health authorities, along with the government, based their planning on the assumption that it would cause an influenza-style epidemic. It was the wrong diagnosis, and the outbreak could have been better managed if the correct lessons of past experience had been acted upon and the 2005 plan implemented.

The 2005 document makes for eerie reading. Its prescient recommendations included limiting travel, stopping “super-spreader” events, building stocks of appropriate protective equipment, “clear and transparent communications”, building surge capacity in hospitals, and rapid testing. In the event, all of those measures were implemented, but too slowly and with consequent loss of life. It even created a framework of six “action levels”, roughly equivalent to the tiers and stages later used to guide restrictions and relaxations.

The lesson learned now from this sorry story should be that the government needs urgently to create contingency planning for civil emergencies that may seem remote but which could, nonetheless, cause huge disruption, loss of life and economic damage.

So-called “black swan” events are not predictable, by definition, but there are certainly areas of threat to national infrastructure that deserve to be planned for, with regular “exercises” and a designated lead agency or government department, as well as named individuals, responsible for keeping data.

The banking crisis of 2008-09 was only the latest financial panic to expose the fragility of the credit system, prompting the Bank of England to plan for future responses. There is also the continuing risk of a mass hacking attack on the national digital infrastructure, covert activity from hostile foreign powers, energy shortages, and, of course, climate change, and the floods, damage to buildings, and droughts that could flow from that.

History suggests that, for whatever cultural reasons, the British response to an impending existential crisis has generally been a mixture of denialism, amateurishness and improvisation, and usually with disastrous consequences.

The nation has hardly ever been prepared for any war it has had to fight, for example, but the Dunkirk spirit should not be relied upon. Where, for example, is the plan for a response to the arrival of some heavily vaccine-resistant new coronavirus variant? It would be reassuring to know that Whitehall hasn’t already forgotten the lessons of what went wrong last spring.

Covid cases have fallen in every part of Devon except Torridge.

Joe Ives, Local Democracy Reporter exmouth.nub.news 

In the latest seven-day period (up to 25 July) cases fell by 2,335 across the county, a drop of almost 35 per cent on the previous week.

Plymouth had the largest fall, with new cases declining by almost half, from 2,549 to 1,344.

Last week the city saw numbers rocket by 1,126 (85 per cent), taking cases per 100,000 to 935, nearly three times (188 per cent) higher than the national average at that time.

Mid Devon recorded a similar drop with new cases falling by 135 (41 per cent).

Torridge fared better this week than last, although the number of infections rose, bucking Devon’s overall trend.

The area recorded 209 new cases, 19 more than the previous week. But the rate of Torridge’s increase is more promising: in the previous week, cases rose by more than 145 per cent.

Overall, new Covid-19 infections dropped by a quarter (23 per cent) across Devon’s district councils (which means everywhere except Plymouth and Torbay), although this is behind the one-third drop nationally (33 per cent).

Hospitalisations

Forty-five patients were admitted to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth with Covid-19 in the seven days up to Sunday 25 July, the latest date for which figures are available. This is 12 more than the previous week.

In Exeter, 29 patients were admitted to the RD&E, also 12 more than the previous week.

The Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs several hospitals in the area, admitted 11 new covid patients, while Torbay Hospital admitted 14.

Deaths

Two people died in Devon this week as Torridge registered its first deaths within 28 days of a positive test in more than five months.

The number of people who have died within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test since the pandemic began is 1,048 in Devon, including 206 in Plymouth and 156 in Torbay.

A total of 129,583 people have now died within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test in the UK, a rise of 439 in the last seven days.

Vaccinations

As of 28 July, 87 per cent of adults in the Devon County Council area have now had their first dose of a vaccine, with 72 per cent having had both.

In Torbay, 85 per cent of adults have had their first jab while nearly 73 per cent have had both doses.

The gap in the number of adults who have had both their first and second doses in Plymouth fell slightly this week, narrowing by two per cent. The numbers are now sitting at 82 per cent and 65 per cent respectively.

The UK total is currently at 88 per cent for one dose and 72 per cent for both doses. A total of 84,737,932 jabs have now been given across the country.

In the Exmouth Nub News, Simon Jupp appears to sing from a different hymn sheet to John Hart. in the Exmouth Journal.

Perhaps Robert Jenrick didn’t make him a copy addressee to his “Dear John” letter? The key message being Robert Jenrick says councils with common history and identity should work more closely together on existing boundaries to deliver a better deal for their residents, and won’t be required to elect Mayors or become combined authorities.

Doesn’t look like he has received the John Hart: “We need to present a united front to the Government” message either or he would have mentioned “Team Devon”. 

Owl isn’t surprised, Tories seem to be incapable of presenting a coherent message at the moment.

Owl’s advice: stick to the pub crawl Simon.

East Devon MP says a ‘conversation’ is needed about turning Devon’s councils into a single unitary authority

Joe Ives, Local Democracy Reporter exmouth.nub.news 

What’s the current system?

In Devon we have one county council, eight district councils, and two unitary authorities (Plymouth and Torbay).

The county council and district council ‘partnership’ is called a two-tier system.

What’s being proposed?

We could see a unitary authority for the whole of Devon – that means all of the current councils would combine into one council.

Or, we could see Exeter promoted to a unitary authority in the same way as Plymouth or Torbay.

—–

Earlier in July, it was announced by the government that five councils in Somerset are to be replaced by a single unitary authority. If matters progress as expected, the county and four district councils will cease to exist on 1 April 2023.

A similar slimming down for Devon’s local government has been discussed for years, often meeting with fierce debate.

Between 2007 and 2010, significant energy was put behind attempts to reorganise Devon’s two-tier structure.

The two options on the table included a unitary authority for the whole of Devon. The other would have promoted Exeter to its own unitary authority.

The Exeter option was given the green light by the Labour government only to be scrapped when the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition came to power.

But the issue is still bubbling away. Speaking this week, several Devon’s MPs declined to dismiss the idea outright, citing the potential efficiencies and cost-savings of streamlined local government services.

Simon Jupp, Conservative MP for East Devon, said; “I believe we need a conversation as a county about the future of local government and value for money for the taxpayer.

“I don’t think a single council covering the whole county would be advised by government due to the significant size of our population.

“However, our neighbouring counties have all now decided to reduce the number of councils to help neighbouring communities work stronger together, build better services and squeeze every taxpayers’ penny.”

Kevin Foster, Conservative MP for Torbay, said: “Over the next two years it is right councils across Devon focus on the recovery from the coronavirus, rather than their own structures, yet in the longer term a discussion about a unitary system of local government for Devon is inevitable as the two-tier structure disappears across England, having already been abolished in Wales and Scotland.

“Unitary structures work well across the south west and few in Cornwall would now argue for a return to the previous two-tier structure abolished in 2009.

“Torbay should be a pro-active part of any discussion about how a unitary system would work across Devon and the potential boundaries of new councils created to cover the current two-tier area, for example, Torbay becoming part of a wider South Devon Unitary.

“A core part of any move to unitary status would also be deciding how communities across Devon could still shape and influence items which related to their own community.”

Meanwhile, Selaine Saxby, Conservative MP for North Devon said: “Devon is a very big county so would one unitary work here? I think there are benefits of having local councils.

“The joy of North Devon council is that it’s here in North Devon and therefore it properly understands the people of North Devon and the local area, whereas when a lot of issues arise I know our county council is a very long way away from us.

“But similarly I do think there are benefits from a unitary and I think talking and working in the pandemic with different authorities and knowing what’s gone on in Cornwall I think there are some advantages of having a bigger authority managing everything in one place.

“To bring planning and infrastructure and schools all into one body so they’re not separated I can see some advantages to this.

“So I think it’s something we should probably look to in case there are advantages that we can benefit from moving forward.”

Councillor Philip Bialyk (Labour), leader of Exeter City Council said that, having spoken to council leaders across the county, that a unitary authority “is not the direction we would want to go.”

“However, we do feel there are a number of areas we can work together in the interests of Devon and we will hopefully be bringing a county proposal to government for a county deal which clearly will be lead by the county with all the district councils participating.”

“We think this is the best way to have a collective forum in which we can do the best things for Devon.”

Cllr Bialyk said discussions for this proposal were in an early stage at the moment and included Devon County Council and other district councils and said that he hopes it would “bring forward a good deal for Devon.”

Asked what areas he would like to see these councils collaborate on he said that was all part of the discussion, adding: “We are diverse county. Rural meets urban. We’ve got to make sure we get the right mix.

“We’ve got to try to make sure that we get an attractive proposition to government which reflects the needs of our residents.

“We know what we want in Devon. We’ve got to get around the table. We’ve got to get our heads together and that’s exactly what we all want to do.

“We want to work together with the county council and we feel we can get a good deal which represents everybody.”

Explaining his thoughts of a unitary authority for Exeter, like that which almost came to pass early in the 2010s, he said: “That’s not on the agenda.

“I’m not giving that any thought because that’s not a possibility. We are a strong sovereign district council, we want to remain as that.”

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service in July last year about the potential to unify Devon councils, leader of Devon County Council John Hart (Conservative) said: “I have no wish to open up a guerrilla war and start something and get us into a position that might not be resolved in the short term and argue with the districts for years on end and ruin the current good relationship.”

Councillor Rob Hannaford, leader of the Labour group, added: “There is clearly no appetite in Devon for another costly and disruptive reorganisation of our local government.

“To blow everything up now would be an act of political vandalism to our local communities, and a terrible barrier to making the progress that we need to make across the whole county.”

In his ‘Levelling Up’ speech on 15 July, the prime minister set out a new County Deals system that would look to devolve more power to local communities. More details will be announced in the Levelling Up white paper, due later this year.

Commenting on the potential for unitarisation in Devon, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said:

“We’re open to discussion with councils about unitarisation where there is a good deal of local support.

“We are clear that any reform of an area’s local government is most effectively achieved through locally-led proposals put forward by those who best know the area, the very essence of localism to which the Government remains committed.”

The MHCLG said it was conscious that councils are more focused on service delivery than any structural changes in the wake of the pandemic.

They said they want to see the Levelling Up White Paper before developing proposals for local government reform or county deals, as they did not wish to see councils spending money on developing new proposals at this time.

The department said that there will be no requirement to unitarise for the forthcoming county deals.

In his latest press article, John Hart explains that government thinking on power devolution may have changed. He intimates that “three homes” Robert Jenrick is now suggesting councils with common history and identity should work more closely together on existing boundaries to deliver a better deal for their residents. And he won’t require elected Mayors or combined authorities.

This is to be welcomed, especially as Owl was under the impression that Cllr Phill Twiss was, King Lear like, plotting to divide the County.

He ends by saying:

“The South West has long been the poor relation when it comes to funding. I will continue to work with councils of all political colours across the region to be a voice for the South West in Westminster and Whitehall and to campaign for a fair deal for local people.”

Too true, when was the last time a government of any colour took any notice of The South West?

Owl’s advice: start rocking the boat John!

United Front needed to ensure Devon does not remain poor relation

John Hart, Leader DCC, this week’s Exmouth Journal

Just a couple of months ago we had elections for Devon County Council and I don’t recall a single voter raising the issue of local government reorganisation with me.

I’m sure that’s not a huge surprise to you. Suffice to say, it’s always been my view that most people just want us to provide a good school for their children, to look after the elderly and the vulnerable, to deal with potholes and to empty their bins on time.

They don’t much mind if that’s done by unitary councils, district councils or county councils as long as it’s done effectively and efficiently and their council tax is affordable.

So I was interested to receive a letter last month from the Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick, outlining his thinking about devolution and how councils could work more closely together to drive the recovery from the pandemic. Previously, Government thinking on devolution has always favoured elected Mayors or new tiers of bureaucracy but he is now suggesting councils with common history and identity should work more closely together on existing boundaries to deliver a better deal for their residents. And he won’t require elected Mayors or combined authorities.

I’ve written here before about Team Devon which I set up with Devon’s district and town and parish councils to respond swiftly to all the extra needs and requirements of our people during the pandemic. Working with community groups and local volunteers, I believe we have delivered for Devon during the pandemic and used the additional money that was available effectively and efficiently. And our regular meetings of council leaders and chief executives throughout the crisis has brought us closer together – no matter what our individual political colours. That’s true on a wider scale with South West Councils of which I’m privileged to have been re-elected as chairman. The organisation represents 33 county, unitary and district councils stretching from Cornwall to Gloucestershire and Wiltshire as well as police, fire and rescue services, national parks and town and parish councils. A region that size obviously has differences. But we also have many issues in common, with the economic recovery from the pandemic as our most urgent task alongside support for our vulnerable residents and our vital tourism, hospitality and food and farming sectors.

We all have a common goal in tackling climate change and reducing our carbon emissions. We must also stimulate our economy by improving communications with the rest of the country – whether that is physical infrastructure or digital – ensuring fast broadband coverage for our rural areas at an affordable price and promoting greater skills and employment for our young people.

We need to present a united front to the Government to ensure we do not remain the poor relation when it comes to funding and that we get a fair share of cash for levelling-up.

We have worked hard to support the region and been particularly active in lobbying to improve the resilience of our road and rail network.

We need to improve the supply of affordable housing for our young families who are often priced out of buying a home where they grew up. And we have to move swiftly to ensure that the professionals we are seeking to attract here like nurses, teachers and social workers can find suitable accommodation.

The South West has long been the poor relation when it comes to funding.

I will continue to work with councils of all political colours across the region to be a voice for the South West in Westminster and Whitehall and to campaign for a fair deal for local people.

Campaigners have threatened to blockade all routes into Cornwall in protest against second homeowners in the county.

Lee Trewhela www.devonlive.com 

Kernow Matters to Us, a Cornish campaign group, said it is making a stand against non-locals coming into the area, in an attempt to ensure every “Cornish person” has one first.

The group said it was discussing the possibility of blocking routes including the A30 and Tamar Bridge if the problem was not addressed.

A spokesperson said: “It is within our power to do these things and there is little to stop us.”

The comments come as it was announced that a protest will be held in Truro later this month to highlight the growing housing crisis in Cornwall.

It was previously revealed dozens of former council homes are being illegally let as student accommodation and AirBnBs for the sake of profit.

Kernow Matters to Us said this keeps these properties extremely high in rent and inaccessible to the people who need them.

Cornwall Council announced in 2019 it would take legal action against homeowners who did not abide by the covenants attached to the sale of former council homes.

However, there are now concerns that the promise of taking action dropped off the radar after council officers were diverted to other roles due to the Covid pandemic.

A Kernow Matters spokesperson said: “We cannot live like this any longer, and we won’t accept growing mass homelessness of people in Cornwall and ever-expanding house prices becoming an accepted part of life.

“We demand action, we demand change, we demand dignity.

“We are not just bartenders, ice-cream servers, and lifeguards, we are people who deserve to be able to rent and buy where we live.

“This is a protest to demand immediate, emergency action from our MPs and Westminster to tackle this crisis.

“We deserve affordable housing and rental properties. Cornwall is not a playground, it is not just a tourist-hot-spot and nice place to live by the beach if you have the cash for it – it’s our home, it’s our culture, our family, friends, livelihoods – and we can’t even afford to live here.

“No more second homes. No more exorbitant rents. No more holiday lets over council homes. Enough is enough.

“Cornwall Council building cabins is not enough, and does absolutely nothing to address the roots and growing catastrophe of this crisis.

“Come to the protest, show your support, and you can share your story or someone else’s in living through and experiencing this housing crisis.”

Formed during 2015 to proclaim and celebrate Cornish culture, history, language and music “whilst speaking out unashamedly for the Cornish,” Kernow Matters’ members support the Cornish National Minority.

They are urging people concerned about housing issues in Cornwall to attend the demo on Truro’s Lemon Quay on Saturday, August 21.

The protest is asking for the following demands:

• “That (MPs) George Eustice, Scott Mann, Sheryll Murray, Steve Double, Derek Thomas and Cherilyn Mackrory commit to sending a public joint letter to Parliament, demanding immediate and material action to end the housing crisis.
• That all six of Cornwall’s MPs commit to participating in a community-led Housing Crisis Action Plan Group.
• That Cornwall Council leader Linda Taylor and the newly formed Conservative-led council agree to the demands of a housing crisis petition, which has been signed by 44,581 people as of July 31 to:
• Levy a higher, more stringent tax on second homes which recognises the threat they pose to local communities.
• Close the loophole which allows them to be classed as ‘businesses’ allowing them to tap into locally allocated funds and in some cases avoid paying council tax altogether.
• Work quickly towards outlining firm strategies to cap local rents in keeping with local incomes so that local families are not left homeless.
• Use the funds accrued from taxing second homes properly into building FIRST and ONLY affordable homes for local families.”

Bella Smith, 21, from Newquay, who has organised the Truro demonstration, told CornwallLive : “We need the government to truly address and commit to ending Cornwall’s extremely high poverty rates and housing crisis – we need action on many things including second home ownership, the illegal letting of former council houses as Airbnbs, a limit on holiday lets, and much, much more.”