New ERS research finds over two-thirds of councillors feel they lack the powers to represent the needs of their local community.

[“The yeast that lifts the whole mattress of dough, the magic sauce, the ketchup of catch-up”  Boris Johnson, remember his vacuous speech of last July? – Owl ]

Author: Jon Narcross, Acting Head of Communications www.electoral-reform.org.uk 

Local government is at the front line of our democracy. It’s the closest level of government to our communities and deals with many of the bread-and-butter issues that affect people in their day to day lives in the places where they live.

But for too long our local democracy has suffered at the hands of an over-centralised Westminster system where the ‘centre-knows-best’ mentality has left local democracy to wither – and councillors without the power to represent the needs of their local community.

In a survey of almost 800 local representatives from across England conducted as part of the research for our new report Democracy Made in England, the ERS found growing support for moving the balance of power away from Westminster and to communities across the country.

Exclusive new ERS survey research shows:

• Over two-thirds (68%) of local representatives feel they do not have sufficient powers to represent the needs of their community
• 70% called for decisions to be made in partnership between the national and local levels and implemented locally
• 65% of local representatives think citizens should be more involved in making decisions about their local area

It is clear that, for many who serve their communities at the coalface of local democracy, questions remain unanswered about how relations between the centre and localities can be better structured in favour of local decision making.

With so many local councillors feeling powerless to serve their constituents’ needs, we must find a better balance between those two levels of government that truly serves the interests of communities across England.

One of the basic ways to shift the balance of power between the local and the national is by creating genuinely empowered local government – real devolution that recognises the democratic, as well as economic, benefit of bringing power closer to communities.

Levelling up?

We’ve seen much talk recently of ‘levelling up’ and the need for devolution to English regions and localities. But as it stands England remains one of the most centralised countries in Europe and, unlike in the other nations, the balance of power has never deviated from the British political tradition of centralisation, power-hoarding and Westminster dominance.

Decisions around devolution have always been taken top-down, and there has never been an attempt from the centre at creating empowered alternative centres of power and a healthy democracy at the sub-national level.

The ERS are calling for parties to back new proposals for an overhaul of English local government – with a plan for genuine and democratic devolution underpinned by principles and values that put communities, not Westminster, in the driving seat.

But as well as radically overhauling our approach to devolution, we also need to shift the balance of power between the local and the national, and radically reform democracy in England.

Reform locally and at the centre

We too must tackle the warping effect of First Past the Post on our local elections – an undemocratic anomaly in the 21^st century. Proportional representation for local elections, as used in Scotland, would help reinvigorate democracy at the local level, ending the proliferation of one-party states and single-party domination of council chambers, and opening up councils to a diversity of voices.

And those voices must have a place in Westminster too – an elected second chamber that allows for the fair and equal representation of the UK’s nations, regions and localities could play a crucial role in improving the central-local relations.

Something must be done to address the lack of democracy across England. With this call, we are showing not only why but how devolution within England should be comprehensively reformed.

Because only when our local communities and those that serve them have the powers they need can we begin to address England’s democratic deficit.

Raw sewage spills into the sea more than 100 times during the bathing season at some blue flag beaches, according to water industry data that challenges official claims of excellent water quality.

Ben Webster www.thetimes.co.uk 

Campaigners are calling on councils to lower the flag when there is a spill to avoid giving swimmers and water sports enthusiasts false assurance.

Almost half of England’s 76 blue flag beaches were affected by sewage spills last year during the official bathing season, from May 15 to September 30, according to analysis by Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) of discharge notifications issued by water companies.

There were 123 notifications at Sandown on the Isle of Wight, 108 at Tankerton, in Kent, 92 at Sheerness, also in Kent, and 28 at Scarborough North Bay, North Yorkshire.

Councils left the blue flag flying after notifications, prompting accusations that they prioritise tourism over bathers’ health.

Councils wanting a beach to have blue flag status pay £730 a year to the charity Keep Britain Tidy, which checks it meets minimum standards, including on water quality, cleanliness and information displayed.

On water quality, the sea must be rated “excellent” based on tests carried out by the Environment Agency once a week or more often at one location on the beach during the bathing season.

SAS said the testing gave results only for part of the beach at a specific time and therefore might fail to detect significant sewage pollution. It said there was also a loophole in bathing water regulations under which up to 15 per cent of samples can be discounted when pollution is “exceptional” or “untypical”.

SAS compared Environment Agency ratings for each bathing water location with the number of sewage notifications and found those rated “excellent” had on average twice as many discharge notifications as those rated “sufficient” or “poor”.

Hugo Tagholm, chief executive of SAS, said visitors to beaches could be misled by the blue flags.

“Blue flag status in the public’s mind is an absolute clean bill of health and they would never expect to encounter sewage pollution at one of those beaches,” he said.

He said blue flags should not be flown when there had been a spill because that “could be misleading and might subject people to health risks”.

The Environment Agency issues “pollution risk forecasts” for beaches based on its weekly tests and computer modelling of rainfall, tide, wind and other factors. Councils put up signs warning against bathing in response to these forecasts but SAS said that they were not based on sewage discharge information, meaning they might miss serious pollution incidents.

Testing by volunteers for Hayling Sewage Watch in Hampshire found potentially dangerous levels of faecal pathogens in the water on several days last August at Beachlands, a blue flag beach on Hayling Island.

The highest reading was taken the day before an Environment Agency test that detected no problem.

Southern Water issues online notifications via its Beachbuoy service about sewage spills affecting Beachlands and other beaches in Hampshire, Sussex and Kent.

However, Mike Owens, founder of Hayling Sewage Watch, said most beach visitors would be unaware of the notifications. He said councils should warn swimmers by displaying information on electronic signs and replacing the blue flag with a brown one.

But he said councils used blue flags to attract visitors and were more concerned with protecting tourism income.

Havant borough council, the local authority, said: “There is no evidence, from the data taken by the Environment Agency, that the releases [of storm or wastewater] affect the water quality in the bathing area. In the event of a confirmed pollution incident of the beach the flag would be lowered.”

It said there were signs directing beach visitors to the Beachbuoy service.

Scarborough borough council said there was no legal requirement to notify the public of legal discharges into the sea but that they did put up signs advising against bathing when advised to do so by the Environment Agency.

Canterbury city council said it displayed signs advising against bathing at Tankerton when it received a pollution risk warning but left the blue flag flying.

Sandown town council said its lifeguards flew a red flag when there was a pollution incident but kept the blue flag flying as it was not an indication that it was safe to enter the water.

Swale borough council said it used signs and a red flag to warn people “if swimming isn’t advised due to water quality”.

The Environment Agency said that 95 per cent of bathing waters were classed as good or excellent but there was “clearly much more to do”,

Live pollution tests for bathers

Will this be introduced to East Devon beaches, paid for by South West Water? – Owl

Ben Webster www.thetimes.co.uk 

Swimmers will be able to get live updates on water quality under plans for real-time monitoring of bacteria from sewage and other sources.

The first monitor will be trialled this summer off Beachlands on Hayling Island in Hampshire, which is visited by up to 7,000 people a day.

Beachlands is a Blue Flag beach, which means it is officially rated as having “excellent” water quality, but it is sometimes contaminated by raw sewage from storm overflow pipes.

The Environment Agency’s existing water quality testing system does not reliably warn swimmers of the risks on the day because it involves taking samples from one location off the beach no more than once a week from May 15 to September 30. The samples are tested in a laboratory and the results take several days to be published.

The new £40,000 Proteus monitor, funded mainly by Southern Water, will be fixed to a buoy around 1,300 ft (400 metres) offshore and will test bacteria levels every 15 minutes all year round. The information will be uploaded automatically to a website where results can be checked.

A second monitor will be installed off Tankerton beach in Kent — and the water company then plans to roll them out at other popular locations.

Mike Owens, the founder of Hayling Sewage Watch, welcomed the monitors, which he said would particularly benefit the growing number of people who swam in the sea all year round, as well as windsurfers, kitesurfers and paddleboarders.

“All bathing waters affected by sewage overflows should have accurate real-time monitors so people can see the quality of the water at the time that they plan to be in it,” he said. “All water companies that pollute bathing waters should fund these monitors.”

Alex Rennie, the leader of Havant borough council, said: “This is new, ground-breaking technology that will allow our residents and visitors to check the water quality at Hayling Island and swim with confidence.

“This will be the first time this system is used in this country and could be the first of many such monitors along our shorelines in the future.”

Surfers Against Sewage, a marine conservation charity, received 286 reports of people falling ill after swimming in the sea or rivers across the UK last year, almost double the previous year’s total. The charity said it was able to link a third of the cases to a notification of a sewage spill.

Woman who lost dad to Covid challenges Government

Chloe Parkman www.devonlive.com

Two women have begun a High Court fight after complaining of government failure to protect care home residents during the pandemic, after their fathers died from Covid-19.

Cathy Gardner – from Sidmouth – and Fay Harris have taken legal action against Health Secretary Sajid Javid, NHS England and Public Health England, wanting declarations that unlawful decisions were made.

Dr Cathy Gardner, 60, lost her father Michael Gibson, 88, in April 2020 with his death certificate claiming the cause was “probable Covid” as he had not been tested.

At that time, elderly patients were sent into care homes from hospital without being tested, leading to thousands of deaths.

And now, both Cathy and Fay want declarations that unlawful decisions were made.

Lawyers representing Mr Javid, NHS England and Public Health England are fighting the claim.

Two judges began overseeing a hearing – which is due to last six days – at the High Court in London on Monday.

A barrister representing the two women told Lord Justice Bean and Mr Justice Garnham that between March and June 2020 – when Matt Hancock was Health Secretary – more than 20,000 elderly or disabled care home residents had died from Covid-19 in England and Wales.

Jason Coppel QC said the fathers of Dr Gardner and Ms Harris were part of that “toll”.

“The care home population was known to be uniquely vulnerable to being killed or seriously harmed by Covid-19,” said Mr Coppel in a written case outline.

“The Government’s failure to protect it, and positive steps taken by the Government which introduced Covid-19 infection into care homes, represent one of the most egregious and devastating policy failures in the modern era.”

Mr Coppel told judges: “That death toll should not and need not have happened.”

He added: “Put together, the various policies were a recipe for disaster and disaster is what happened.”

Mr Coppel said other countries, particularly in the Far East, had shown the way to safeguard residents by stopping the virus getting into care homes.

“This claim is a legal challenge to the Government’s failure to protect care home residents and to the key policies and decisions which led to the shocking death toll,” he said.

“The most notorious of these policies is that of mass discharge of around 25,000 elderly or disabled patients from NHS hospitals into care homes – including the homes of the claimants’ fathers – without Covid-19 testing or ensuring that suitable isolation arrangements were in place.”

Dr Gardner, who has an academic qualification was at the hearing.

She said her father, Michael Gibson, had died at the age of 88 at a care home in Bicester, Oxfordshire, in April 2020.

Ms Harris was not at the hearing.

Sir James Eadie QC, who is representing Mr Javid and Public Health England, told judges, in a written case outline, that the women’s claim should be dismissed.

“This is a judicial review challenge to six specific policies made in the early stage of the pandemic,” he said.

“As the evidence demonstrates, the defendants worked (and continue to work) tirelessly to seek to protect the public from the threat to life and health posed by the most serious pandemic in living memory; and specifically sought to safeguard care homes and their residents.”

He added: “The lawfulness of the decisions under challenge must be assessed in the context of the unprecedented challenge faced by the Government and the NHS at that time, in particular March and April 2020.”

Eleanor Grey QC, who represented NHS England, also argued that the claim should be dismissed.

“(NHS England) wishes first to express its regret that Dr Gardner and Ms Harris have lost their fathers, and that others who have filed evidence in this matter, as well as others across the country, have lost loved members of their families in the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic,” she said in a written case outline.

“Although it is necessary to respond to the factual and legal merits of this claim, nothing which follows should be read as detracting from this sincere regret.

“(NHS England) and its staff have sought throughout the pandemic to ensure provision of the highest quality care possible to all those who need it in England.”

A Government spokesman said outside court in a statement: “Every death is a tragedy and we worked tirelessly to protect the public from the threat to life and health posed by the pandemic, and specifically sought to safeguard care homes and their residents.

“We have provided billions of pounds to support the sector, including on infection and prevention control, free PPE and priority vaccinations – with the vast majority of eligible care staff and residents now vaccinated.”

Miss Grey said evidence did not show that Ms Harris’s father Donald died as a result of the “March hospital discharge policy”, and the death of Dr Gardner’s father could not have been caused by the policy.

The hearing continues.

Britons should brace for rising Covid cases, says Sajid Javid

But with testing becoming “unfunded“ and free testing stopping on April fool’s day, how will we know what is happening? – Owl

Rachel Hall www.theguardian.com 

Britons should brace for a rise in Covid infections after the easing of restrictions, the health secretary has said, as the latest figures show rates are increasing as people socialise more.

Sajid Javid said the UK remained in a “very good position” but rising infection rates were to be “expected”. To reduce the risk of serious infection, he urged adults eligible for a booster vaccine to have one, given that one in five had not yet received it.

The latest data from the Office for National Statistics Covid-19 Infections Survey showed an increase in cases across the whole of the UK. In the week ending 5 March, one in every 25 people in England, one in 13 in Northern Ireland, one in 18 in Scotland and one in 30 in Wales were estimated to have Covid-19.

Asked about the newly identified Deltacron variant, which contains elements of Delta and Omicron, Javid told BBC Breakfast a “handful” of cases had been identified in the UK but were “not of particular concern”. About 99.9% of infections in Britain were of the Omicron variant, he said.

Javid told Sky News: “We keep the situation very carefully under review. There’s no other variant of concern out there that is an issue at this point in time.”

Javid told Times Radio that officials continued to monitor infections, case numbers, hospital admissions and capacities. “We’re the most open country in Europe and that’s happened because of the country’s approach and the British people’s approach to vaccination,” he said.

“But also the support that we have from all the different treatments that the NHS is now able to offer and on our testing offer where we focus very much on the most vulnerable.”

There were 72,898 cases of Covid-19 reported in the UK on Friday. On 24 February, when most of the remaining Covid-19 restrictions in England ended, there were 38,933 cases reported.

There are also almost 12,000 people in hospital in the UK with Covid-19.

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Britons should brace for rising Covid cases, says Sajid Javid

But with testing becoming “unfunde “, how will we know? – Owl

Rachel Hall www.theguardian.com 

Britons should brace for a rise in Covid infections after the easing of restrictions, the health secretary has said, as the latest figures show rates are increasing as people socialise more.

Sajid Javid said the UK remained in a “very good position” but rising infection rates were to be “expected”. To reduce the risk of serious infection, he urged adults eligible for a booster vaccine to have one, given that one in five had not yet received it.

The latest data from the Office for National Statistics Covid-19 Infections Survey showed an increase in cases across the whole of the UK. In the week ending 5 March, one in every 25 people in England, one in 13 in Northern Ireland, one in 18 in Scotland and one in 30 in Wales were estimated to have Covid-19.

Asked about the newly identified Deltacron variant, which contains elements of Delta and Omicron, Javid told BBC Breakfast a “handful” of cases had been identified in the UK but were “not of particular concern”. About 99.9% of infections in Britain were of the Omicron variant, he said.

Javid told Sky News: “We keep the situation very carefully under review. There’s no other variant of concern out there that is an issue at this point in time.”

Javid told Times Radio that officials continued to monitor infections, case numbers, hospital admissions and capacities. “We’re the most open country in Europe and that’s happened because of the country’s approach and the British people’s approach to vaccination,” he said.

“But also the support that we have from all the different treatments that the NHS is now able to offer and on our testing offer where we focus very much on the most vulnerable.”

There were 72,898 cases of Covid-19 reported in the UK on Friday. On 24 February, when most of the remaining Covid-19 restrictions in England ended, there were 38,933 cases reported.

There are also almost 12,000 people in hospital in the UK with Covid-19.

Covid cases in Devon have skyrocketed after weeks of consistent drops in infections.

Joe Ives www.devonlive.com

In the latest complete seven day period (to Sunday, 6 March) the county recorded 6,517 new cases, 1,899 more than in the previous week. The 41 per cent rise takes the infection rate across Devon to 556 per 100,000 of the population, higher than the national average of 459.

The Devon County Council area, which excludes Plymouth and Torbay, recorded 3,133 cases, 37 per cent (1,158) more than the previous week. The jump in cases takes the area’s infection rates to 529 per 100,000.

Plymouth has 532 cases per 100,000 of the population after a spike in infections. The city’s 1,399 new cases represent a 449 (39 per cent) rise on than the previous week.

Torbay’s 826 new infections represent a sharp, 55 per cent (292 cases) increase compared to the previous week. The Bay’s infection rate now sits at 606 per 100,000 of the population.

It reflects a national picture where, in the seven day period (to Sunday, 6 March), the UK recorded 307,679 cases, a 31 per cent increase on the previous week.

It follows the government’s decision to launch its “living with covid” strategy on February 24, which ended all restrictions in England, including the requirement to stay at home if infected. As things stand free lateral flow tests will no longer be available for most people from April 1.

Hospitalisations

As of the most recent data (from Tuesday 8 March) 216 patients were in Devon’s hospitals with covid, 48 more than the previous week. At 106 Plymouth has the highest number of infected people in hospital. Elsewhere, 62 infected patients are in the RD&E in Exeter, while Torbay has 31 and north Devon 17.

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Across Devon, five patients are on mechanical ventilation beds, four more than in the previous week.

Deaths

Deaths have risen in the most recent complete seven-day period (to Sunday 6 February). Ten people died within 28 days of receiving a positive covid test across Devon, three more than in the previous week.

Eight people died in the Devon County Council area, which excludes Plymouth and Torbay. One death was recorded in Torbay and another in Plymouth. Across Devon, a total of 1,620 people have now died within 28 days of a positive covid test.

Vaccinations

Eighty-nine per cent of people aged 12 and above have had their first dose of a vaccine in the Devon County Council area, which excludes Plymouth and Torbay, with 84 per cent receiving both doses. Seventy-one per cent have now had their ‘booster’ dose.

In Plymouth, 85 per cent have had one dose, while 80 per cent have had both. Sixty-one per cent have had the booster.

In Torbay, 86 per cent have received one dose, while 82 per cent have had both jabs. Sixty-six per cent have had their third vaccine.

The national rates are 92, 86 and 67 per cent respectively.