Owl understands the need to watch the pennies.

Job security for Conservative MPs is not looking good.

In his last week’s media column under the title: ‘It’s been a difficult day for the conservatives’ Simon Jupp said of the local election result:

“It’s going to [be] an interesting time, I just want to make sure that our council is value for money. I pay my council tax to East Devon and I want to make sure every penny that I give to the council is spent wisely, so as one of the MPs, I’ll be scrutinising every penny.” 

Well Simon, you may pay your council tax to EDDC but they aren’t the big spenders.

For every pound you pay in your council tax, 73p are spent by Phil Twiss, cabinet member for finance, and the conservative controlled Devon County Council (DCC). 

DCC raised what they take from you by 5% this year but they are still teetering on the edge of bankruptcy.

Next up, 12 of your pennies are spent by the Crime and Police Commissioner, Alison Hernandez. She hiked her budget this year by a whopping 6% to help pay for the 20,000 “Boris Bobbies” Johnson vowed in 2019 would  reverse Tory police cuts.

The jury is out on this one, police numbers are still not keeping up with local population growth.

Only 7 of your pennies are spent by EDDC.

The coalition of last year was the only Devon council to balance its books without digging deep into reserves. It managed to do so by a serious overhaul of the budget, raising its part of your council tax by only 3%.

[4p in every pound goes to provide fire and rescue and another 4p to provide Town and Parish council amenities].

By all means scrutinise expenditure but do please keep a sense of proportion.

Devon and Cornwall Police announces record officer numbers

Devon and Cornwall Police has said it has a record number of officers following the biggest recruitment drive in its history.

By Ben Woolvin www.bbc.co.uk

The force announced it had 3,716 officers in May; an increase of 6% since austerity cuts in 2010.

However, there are fewer officers per member of the public than in 2012, due to an 8% population increase, the Police Federation has warned.

It said there was a “significant demand” on officers.

The number of Devon and Cornwall officers dropped after 2010 and slowly climbed back up from 2017 onwards, with the region losing and then regaining around 500 officers.

In May 2023, there were 225 more officers in the two counties than when the austerity cuts began.

But the latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures show the number of people living in Devon and Cornwall increased by 131,000 between 2010 and 2021.

‘Through the roof’

Jim Colwell, deputy chief constable, said: “We have been able to boost resources in a range of key teams and departments to help us keep people safe and bring dangerous offenders to justice”.

Richard Poole, deputy secretary and conduct lead for Devon and Cornwall Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, told the BBC: “It’s really difficult now; the demand has gone through the roof.

“We’ve got around one police officer for every 444 members of the public in Devon and Cornwall… whereas back in 2012 there was one police officer for every 376 members of the public”.

“It’s a significant demand on our officers. The infrastructure hasn’t increased to support the increase in population.”

He added that in Devon and Cornwall, the population was increased by more visitors from within the UK than any other force area in the country.

Alison Hernandez, Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall, said: “This is the largest amount of police officers we have had on record since the inception and it’s thanks to the government and council tax-payers”.

Ms Hernandez said a campaign for an extra £17m to reflect the impact of summer visitors was still ongoing after the government turned down her request in 2020.

A Home Office spokesperson told the BBC: “We have delivered on the promise we made to the British people, which means more police on the beat…

“Progress is being made, with crime falling in England and Wales by 52% since 2010, excluding fraud and computer misuse.”

They added that officers were now “more representative of the communities they serve” which “offers a unique chance to deliver the highest standards and common sense policing expected by the public”.

Environment Agency pulls £50m scheme to protect homes in England from flooding

A £50m scheme to protect thousands of homes from flooding by the autumn has been pulled by the Environment Agency.

Sandra Laville www.theguardian.com 

Businesses that put together bids for the scheme to provide homes in England with flood defences including flood doors, non-return valves and waterproof floors, say they have spent tens of thousands preparing their bids.

But on Tuesday the EA said the tender process was being pulled. In an email to companies, the EA said: “Following careful consideration the Environment Agency has decided to discontinue the current procurement of a new property flood resilience (PFR) framework that was commenced earlier this year.

“We have written directly to the suppliers who have submitted bids to advise them of this decision and the grounds for this decision.”

The EA said they were pulling the scheme because they had not received enough competent tenders to provide value for money. But Simon Crowther, who runs one of the companies that bid for the work, said the EA had made the process so complicated and costly it had put people off bidding.

Crowther, a civil engineer and chartered water and environmental manager, said his company had spent tens of thousands of pounds over the past six weeks preparing its bid. He said the failure of the agency would impact on climate emergency resilience, and leave an increased number of communities exposed to flooding.

“I feel I have to speak out about this. The actions of the Environment Agency will delay the protection of thousands of homes. Flood victims do not have a voice and they will not know that these protections were coming or that they are now being delayed because of the actions of the EA. So I feel I need to raise awareness about this failure.”

Crowther, whose firm bid to carry out surveys of homes in the north-east, the Midlands, London and Kent as part of the scheme, said the timetable provided to the company showed the protections for homes could have been in place by the autumn. “That will now all be delayed,” he said.

Mary Dhonau OBE, who was awarded an OBE for work on reducing flood risk, said the companies bidding for the work were all small businesses who had spent thousands preparing their bids.

She said: “I know all those who tendered were proud with the high standard of the tenders they submitted. The Environment Agency has now discontinued the procurement process and intend to invite tenders for a new procurement shortly.

“The property flood resilience industry is expected to go through the whole process again. I have explained the state of the marketplace. Over the last few days, I’ve talked to quite a few companies. One of them has held a crisis meeting and wonder if it’s worth staying in the PFR industry, another isn’t going to bother again and is changing direction. All of the companies are reeling with shock and disbelief.”

Cancellation of the process came as areas of the south-west were hit by flash flooding after heavy rain this week. In Somerset homes were evacuated and a major incident was declared.

The EA has spent two years preparing for the scheme. In its email to companies the agency said it still intended intention to go ahead with the flood defence project and would be in touch with those interested “as soon as possible”.

The project was pulled by the EA as the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) revealed only a third of local authorities had enough staff to manage flash flood risks.

CIWEM said more than 5m households are reported to be at risk from this form of flooding and surface water management in England was not consistently coordinated, or funded to manage future flood risks.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “These claims are patently untrue. Not only is the Environment Agency continuing to work with partners to promote and deliver Property Flood Resilience solutions for many communities, we are also currently developing a new framework for suppliers which we aim to have awarded by the end of this year. As part of that process, we are focused on options to encourage more suppliers to submit bids, to drive competition and maximise value for money for the public.”

DEVON MP Richard Foord has written to the Enviornment Minister Rebecca Pow calling on the government to do more to help flood-hit families in East Devon.

Adam Manning www.somersetcountygazette.co.uk

In his letter to Rebecca Pow MP, who is responsible for overseeing the Government’s response to flooding, Mr Foord has urged the Government to outline what additional support is being given to Devon County Council to help with the clean-up and repair work. 

He also called for clarity from the Government over what the protocol is for support being allocated to local authorities and communities in response to environmental events like flooding. 

Thunderstorms and heavy rainfall was particularly heavy along the banks of the River Otter in and around Newton Poppleford which caused roads closures and houses being flooded out.

The most affected parts of East Devon was in Tipton St John, whose school is currently partially closed after flood damage. Houses in Newton Poppleford, East Budleigh and Otterton were also flooded.

Lib Dem MP Richard Foord has recently spoken to community activists and a local district councillor, with many voicing concerns about the absence of support offered to help the community recover from the damage once the initial emergency response had been scrambled. 

Richard Foord MP said: “The impact of recent flooding along the River Otter has been damaging and disruptive, particularly for those living in villages like Newton Poppleford. 

“The work of both emergency service workers and the local community has been inspiring. Their swift response has seen us at our best and helped minimise the impact of the flooding. 

“However, now the focus turns to the clean-up operation and arduous task of repairing the damage caused by water, mud, and silt. 

“We must ensure that this work is properly supported, both by Devon County Council and the Conservative Government, both in the immediate aftermath – but also in the medium-term too. 

“That’s why I’ve urged the Flooding Minister to clarify what additional support Devon County Council will be getting from central Government to enable this work in relation to public spaces, and how communities affected by flooding in a future will be supported too.” 

A well-connected Tory police and crime commissioner triggered two different police investigations into political opponents in recent weeks, Sky News can reveal. 

Aren’t crime commissioners supposed to be “neutral” and seen to be so? – Owl

Sam Coates news.sky.com 

Steve Turner, PCC for Cleveland, was attempting to become a Tory councillor in Redcar in the Tees Valley, in addition to his existing £73,300 role overseeing the area’s police service.

During the campaign, Mr Turner twice alleged crimes were committed and triggered investigations by his local force.

One complaint was about a Labour election leaflet in Tory blue colours – which he thought might break electoral rules – which he referred to Redcar council who forwarded it automatically to the police. The other complaint was about alleged harassment, which he alerted police to via the 101 hotline.

Mr Turner’s complaint about the Labour election leaflet led to an inquiry which lasted almost a week. It involved fraud officers making three home visits to see three different activists, where they were “interrogated” over the contents of their election literature.

Sky News has been told by one of those interviewed that the plain clothes policeman said they were investigating because an election leaflet had “upset Steve”. They added the police officers they were talking to “seemed a bit embarrassed to be dealing with it and said they’re normally fraud officers but were working the election”.

At the end of both investigations, police concluded there was no offence committed.

Mr Turner told Sky News he acted to address the “bile and abuse aimed at me and my wife simply for standing as candidates” in the recent local elections, and that “at no point did I ask or attempt to direct Cleveland Police to take action against the candidate, either as a member of the public or as PCC.”

His wife, Andrea Turner, insisted his actions were appropriate, saying: “My husband was a candidate in this race and he had every right the same as any other member of the public to report offences to the public.”

‘Abuse of power’

Nazir Afzal, former prosecutor and former chief executive of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, said Mr Turner appeared to have received special treatment by police.

“The perception is that he abused his power in this case,” he said.

“Nobody else would have got the level of attention that the police gave him and this allegation… and that clearly demonstrates that he had the power to make it happen. Whereas you and I would not have been able to do that.”

Cleveland Police will also face questions about the scale of the effort put into the investigations, at a time when resources are stretched and they are one of the worst performing forces in the country.

After the third and final home visit to Labour activists over the leaflet complaint, Cleveland Police telephoned Mr Turner to update him about their probe into his complaint – a level of engagement which Labour officials say is rare when they raise similar issues elsewhere.

In a statement, Cleveland Police said the force “received a complaint from local election candidates in Redcar and Cleveland regarding information relating to them, in a leaflet distributed to homes in Redcar”.

It added: “Routine enquiries were made to establish who had created and distributed the leaflet, and following a review of the circumstances it was concluded that no offence had been committed.”

Mr Turner said he was updated personally about both cases by the police but said he did not know the police had made home visits to his Labour opponents until he was contacted by Sky News.

After receiving the call about the election leaflet investigation, Mr Turner wrote on social media that the police had “confirmed” Labour leaflets contained “lies”.

On his “Steve4PCC” Facebook page, he wrote “it’s been confirmed by the police today last week’s Labour attack leaflet, that was made to look like Conservative campaign material and was intended to deceive voters, contained lies”.

The code of conduct for police and crime commissioners says they must “not use the resources of the elected local policing body improperly for political purposes (including party political purposes)”.

Mr Turner is a significant figure in North East politics. He works alongside Ben Houchen, the most prominent Tory mayor in Britain. He has been defended by Boris Johnson in broadcast interviews, worked in the office of ex-cabinet minister Simon Clarke and sits on the board of the Middlesbrough Development Corporation.

The officer ultimately accountable for the Labour activist probe, chief constable of Cleveland Police Mark Webster, also sits alongside Mr Turner on the Middlesbrough Development Corporation – which “funds, manages, and accelerates regeneration” in that part of the North East. He is listed as an “Associate Member”.

Referring to the complaint connected to the election leaflet, Mr Turner said in a statement: “Until your note today I had no idea any of those individuals had been visited by the police and my complaint about the leaflet was before I knew it was a Labour Party product.

“This initial complaint went into the monitoring officer as I believed it was election material without an imprint. The monitoring officer referred it to the Police election SPOC (‘special point of contact’ for elections) as per protocol.”

“My contact with Cleveland Police’s SPOC came when he contacted me to confirm there was an imprint but it was only 1mm high and that it was promoted by the Labour Party. As 1mm high is a 3pt font it is considered illegible on a printed product and therefore was clearly not meant to be identified which is misleading to the public.

“At no point did I ask or attempt to direct Cleveland Police to take action against the candidate, either as a member of the public or as PCC.”

In connection to the alleged harassment complaint, Mr Turner told Sky News: “My call to the police via 101 was regarding a completely separate individual and a threat he’d made against me via what’s app messages. The police dealt with this 101 call as they would any other and I received updates about the threats and that individual.”

Mr Turner is a controversial figure as police and crime commissioner after confirming in a BBC interview that he received a police caution for handling stolen goods. He says it was 22 years ago and the value was just £15.