“Levelling Up” in action. – Owl

At least 26 councils in some of Britain’s most deprived areas are at risk of effective bankruptcy within the next two years, according to a leading local government group, which says many authorities simply have “nothing left”.

Rob Davies www.theguardian.com 

Britain’s local government network has been shaken by a string of financial collapses in the past two years, starting with Slough and followed by Croydon, Thurrock and most recently Woking, which announced a deficit of £1.2bn in June after a risky investment spree.

The quartet could be only the tip of the iceberg, according to a survey of 47 councils in northern England, the Midlands and on the south coast, which revealed mounting anxiety that rising costs will blow irreparable holes in budgets that fund crucial local services.

Five members of the Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities (Sigoma) – a collective of 47 urban councils – said they were in such dire financial straits that they were considering issuing a notice of their inability to balance their annual budget for 2023-24.

A further nine Sigoma members said they may have to in effect declare bankruptcy next year. The group called on the government to provide additional funding to local authorities struggling to manage.

A spokesperson for the government said it had already agreed extra funding, adding that councils were ultimately responsible for their own finances and should not take excessive risks with taxpayers’ money.

The growing threat of a wave of effective bankruptcies is said to be driven by the dwindling of cash reserves usually held over to plug gaps in budgets.

Councils said the most common cause of financial pressures was increased demand for children’s social care services after the government said these should be given equal priority with adult social care and funded accordingly.

Other significant factors cited were sky-high inflation costs and related wage rises, the local authorities warning that an imminent increase in the cost of borrowing would add to the financial pressure they face.

Sigoma said it understood that at least 12 other councils across the country, which are not part of the group, were considering issuing a section 114 notice – an official declaration of inability to balance their books – in 2023-24.

Sir Stephen Houghton, the Labour leader of Barnsley council and the chair of Sigoma, said: “The government needs to recognise the significant inflationary pressures that local authorities have had to deal with in the last 12 months.

“At the same time as inflationary pressure, councils are facing increasing demand for services, particularly in the care sector.

“Pay increases are putting substantial pressure on budgets, and so the government must ensure that local authorities have the additional funding they need to fully fund these pay increases or risk impacting future service delivery.

“The funding system is completely broken. Councils have worked miracles for the past 13 years, but there is nothing left.”

Houghton called on the government to provide clarity on the timing of local government funding reforms.

Some recent local authority bankruptcies have come in the wake of financial scandals, including a disastrous property investment binge by Woking’s Tory council and a doomed borrowing spree at Tory-run Thurrock.

Labour-run Slough revealed a “catastrophic” £100m black hole in its budget in 2021, while Labour-controlled Croydon announced its third bankruptcy in two years in November 2022.

A government spokesperson said: “Councils are ultimately responsible for the management of their own finances … local authorities should not take excessive risk with taxpayers’ money, and we have established the Office for Local Government to improve the accountability for performance across the sector.

“We recognise all councils are facing pressures and, as well as making it a priority to halve inflation, we have introduced a one-off funding guarantee to ensure that every council sees at least a 3% increase in core spending power before any local decisions on council tax rates.

“We are also providing around £2bn in additional grants for social care.”

Could the dangers of “Defensive Leadership” also apply in the case of John Humphreys and the safeguarding of children? – Owl

More babies will be harmed unless “systemic changes” are made to end the “defensive leadership” and unacceptable treatment of whistleblowers in the NHS, the health service ombudsman has warned in the wake of the Lucy Letby case.

Andrew Gregory www.theguardian.com 

Rob Behrens said there were “lots of similarities” between the spate of baby death scandals in recent years and the failure of executives at the Countess of Chester hospital to act on repeated concerns raised about the neonatal nurse.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Guardian, he said rapid changes must be made to England’s maternity and neonatal services or more babies would suffer.

Senior doctors on Letby’s unit repeatedly raised concerns about her link to the growing number of unexplained deaths. But it was not until early July 2016 that her appalling crimes were finally ended.

Health workers must be “able to raise patient safety issues” and the “tribal approach” between different professions such as doctors and nurses must be eradicated, Behrens said.

Dr Stephen Brearey, a consultant paediatrician who was the first to alert an executive to Letby’s connection to unusual deaths and collapses, has claimed there was an “anti-doctor agenda” among the hospital’s executive team, which, he said, explained partly why senior executives treated the consultants’ concerns as “a case of doctors picking on a nurse”.

Behrens said: “The Letby case is unusual and horrific and not representative of the intentions and actions of the overwhelming majority of dedicated NHS staff. That said, it raises questions yet again about a dysfunctional, adversarial culture in many NHS trusts, sub-optimal methods for reporting and investigating wrongdoing and unacceptable attitudes to whistleblowing and raising concerns.

“Although the appalling actions of Lucy Letby are extremely rare, unfortunately the culture of fear in NHS trusts is not isolated to this case. Leaders dismissing the concerns of staff is a pattern of behaviour that we see repeated across the NHS.

“Some still pay a heavy price for speaking up and this victimisation discourages others from coming forward. It is unacceptable and against the principles of what the NHS stands for.”

Behrens added: “The reality is that the picture across many maternity services in the NHS is bleak, and the evidence to support this keeps mounting. Maternity services have had more policy recommendations than any other health area and there have been recent, significant, and well-documented major service failures.”

Three major inquiries since 2015 have laid bare serious failures that led to babies being harmed or dying at the Morecambe Bay, Shrewsbury and Telford and East Kent NHS hospital trusts. A fourth inquiry, into the Nottingham hospital trust, is now under way.

Last week, the government announced a fifth inquiry, into how Letby was able to murder seven babies and attempt to kill six others. Pressure has been mounting from bereaved families and experts calling to strengthen the investigation to a statutory inquiry where witnesses would be compelled to give evidence.

Behrens has this week written to Steve Barclay, the health secretary, saying he supports the calls to upgrade it to a statutory inquiry.

He told the Guardian that despite the many inquiries into baby deaths in the NHS, there had been “insufficient change and implementation”, progress was too slow and patients remained in danger. “It is a tragic inevitability that until comprehensive, systemic changes to maternity care are taken seriously, more women and babies will be harmed.”

Behrens said he had identified four specific failures in the Letby case that matched patterns he had uncovered while investigating harm to patients in other NHS maternity and neonatal services.

“First, the trust leadership, both management and board were too defensive and more concerned about the reputation of their organisation than patient safety. Secondly, the board was insufficiently inquisitive or assertive and failed to show effective leadership at a critical time.

“Third, those clinicians who tried, repeatedly, to raise their concerns about the deaths were directly prevented from having the issues discussed, called troublemakers and threatened with disciplinary measures. Fourth, there was a reluctance to carry out serious incident reviews of the deaths and little or no appetite for commissioning wide-ranging independent reviews.”

People generally work in the NHS “because they want to help” and that “when things go wrong it is not intentional”, Behrens said. But the intended commitment to patient safety was often “undone” by a “defensive leadership culture across the NHS”.

While acknowledging some new NHS safety initiatives in recent years, including the creation of a specialist maternity investigation unit, he said there were “huge challenges still to be addressed”. There must also be a strategic review of the multiple public bodies tasked with patient safety so they are better coordinated and more accessible to the public.

Asked about the consequences if changes were not made, Behrens said: “Not only will families experience compounded harm, where those who have been harmed or bereaved are then subject to inadequate apologies, delayed responses, a lack of accountability and insufficient investigations, but at a systemic level, the harms and deaths will continue to happen.

“From what I have seen in casework over the years, if defensive leadership, which enables defensive cultures, is allowed to continue, more patients will be harmed and even die. We’ve seen it time and again in the various independent inquiries that have taken place.”

In a statement released after the Letby verdict, Dr Nigel Scawn, the medical director at the Countess of Chester hospital, said staff were devastated by what had happened and “committed to ensuring lessons continue to be learnt”.

“Since Lucy Letby worked at our hospital, we have made significant changes to our services. I want to provide reassurance that every patient who accesses our services can have confidence in the care they will receive,” he said.

An NHS England spokesperson said: “NHS guidance is clear, staff should be supported to raise concerns and that these are acted on. We have reminded NHS leaders about the importance of this following the verdict.

“It has updated its Freedom to Speak Up guidance, brought in extra background checks for board members to prevent directors involved in serious mismanagement from joining another NHS organisation, and now when NHS staff raise concerns, action can be taken and overseen by a non-executive who can use their independent role to hold the organisation to account.”

“Tackiness fundamental to their charm” Hmm? – Owl

[Sidmothians this may not be for you!]

The British seaside may be derided by some for being as tacky as the candyfloss stuck to the side of your mouth. Yet tackiness is fundamental to its charm, according to campaigners who say that seaside heritage sites should be protected as fiercely as castles and stately homes.

James Tapper www.theguardian.com 

The Seaside Heritage Network (SHN) says amusement parks, lidos and scenic railways are all part of the UK’s role in the creation of modern tourism and should be cherished.

The network is running a public vote for its first annual Bucket and Spade List – a top 10 of the UK’s best seaside places and experiences – which includes staples such as Blackpool Tower and Bournemouth’s beach huts, as well as the Victorian-era Kursaal in Southend, one of the world’s first amusement parks, and the Morecambe Winter Gardens, which has been revived through the work of local volunteers.

“There are all sorts of preconceptions about the seaside,” said Dr Kathryn Ferry, a founder of the SHN. “We want to draw attention to some of the real quality of the historical structures, as well as the intangible heritage of something that’s really British and crucial to our sense of identity.

“OK, so people have been getting on aeroplanes and going abroad, but domestic tourism used to be the tourism. It was an industry, it was economically important to our country and it’s not often recognised. We’re still seeing much-loved landmarks fall into disrepair due to lack of investment.”

Southend’s Kursaal was built in 1898 and included a music hall, funfair, 90 shops and a menagerie, then was transformed into Luna Park in 1910 with joy rides including a rollercoaster. It was still a destination for Londoners into the 1960s, but declined as the package holiday grew. The last attraction was a bowling alley which closed in 2020 and the only remaining tenant of the Grade II listed building is a Tesco Express.

“It’s a really important part of Southend’s heritage,” said Matt Dent, a local Labour councillor and part of Concrete Culture, a group set up by musician Sam Duckworth of Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. “There’s a lot of people locally who have memories centred around it and a lot of people from east London who do too. It’s a huge waste that it’s not open to the public – there’s a lot of Victorian architecture that’s gorgeous.”

Although Southend-on-Sea city council owns the freehold, the 200-year-leasehold is owned by a global property investment group which has so far shown no sign of intending to invest, Dent said.

There are plenty of other seaside structures with uncertain futures. The Regent, a 1928 art deco cinema in Deal, has been closed since 2009. There is now a proposal to build townhouses on the plot, and a local campaign against the plans. The New Palace and Adventureland in New Brighton, Merseyside, was reportedly facing closure two years ago, although the owner appears to have had a change of heart after the growth in staycations following the pandemic.

The Weston-super-Mare Odeon cinema closed permanently in June, and Ferry hopes that it might receive support like the resort’s Birnbeck Pier, which closed in 1994 but was bought by the local authority in July and will receive substantial investment.

“You could go to a mill or a coal mine and think about our industrial heritage, and we’ve come to a place where we can celebrate that, and it’s taken a few decades’ worth of work to get to that point,” Ferry said. Cornwall and west Devon’s tin mines and mills became a world heritage site in 2006. “There are things on the Bucket and Spade List like the Morecambe Winter Gardens because people have been raising money to restore the building, and they’re doing brilliant work.” The theatre and concert hall, built in 1897, is receiving nearly £2.8m from the government’s Cultural Investment Fund to restore it as a 1,600-seat music venue.

It will be close to the site of Eden Project Morecambe, an attraction similar to Cornwall’s indoor rainforest, and “those two things will mutually enhance the status of a resort that has had some major problems over the last few decades,” Ferry said.

Seaside buildings often receive less protection from English Heritage and Historic England because they have been altered due to the corrosive effects of salty sea air, according to Dr Allan Brodie, a visiting fellow at Bournemouth University who worked for both agencies and is a member of the SHN.

“There’s a plethora of plastic windows instead of original wooden sashes,” he said. “Therefore things don’t end up being listed.” Traditional shops may be well maintained, but the flats above them can be neglected, and in resorts with high levels of deprivation, it can be harder to meet heritage thresholds. “There are huge structural problems with seaside resorts and we argue they should be a special case for funding.

“I’ll take issue issue with anybody who slams the English seaside for being bad because it’s tacky. That’s one of the great things about it – it is tacky. We want to go there for a bit of tacky, and then go to a hotel. It’s got a decent ensuite, and a couple of decent restaurants around.”

Dr Anya Chapman, a member of the National Pier Society, said the trend was for more domestic holidays. “Inevitably we’re going to see a resurgence of more environmentally friendly forms of tourism – we certainly won’t be going to southern Spain or Greece in 20 years’ time in the summer.

“So we need to cherish the experiences we’ve already got, which are unique, because British seaside holidays were the first form of mass tourism in the world. We’ve really got something that we can be proud of.”

Police forces have committed to follow all “reasonable lines of enquiry” in an effort to improve investigations and drive down crime rates.

First find your Police Officer ! – Owl

Sophie Wingate www.independent.co.uk

The standards setting body published guidance for officers in England and Wales to consider all potential evidence – such as footage from CCTV, doorbells and dashcams, as well as phone tracking – if it could lead to a suspect or stolen property.

The public will therefore know what they can expect from police when they report a crime such as burglary or theft, according to the College of Policing.

It said this will make the service more consistent across regions and solve more crimes.

While the pledge applies to all crimes, home secretarySuella Braverman implored officers to act on leads for phone or car theft, shoplifting and criminal damage.

She said it was “unacceptable” such crimes have been treated as “less important”.

The commitment, agreed by the Home Office, the National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing, comes as part of a “crime week” of policy announcements planned by the government.

But Labour branded it a “staggering admission of 13 years of Tory failure on policing and crime”.

Ms Braverman said: “The police have made progress in preventing crime across the country with neighbourhood offences like burglary, robbery and vehicle theft down by 51 per cent since 2010.

“Despite this success, since I became home secretary I’ve heard too many accounts from victims where police simply haven’t acted on helpful leads because crimes such as phone and car thefts are seen as less important – that’s unacceptable. It has damaged people’s confidence in policing.

“Criminals must have no place to hide. The police’s commitment today is a huge step forward towards delivering the victim-focused, common-sense policing the public deserve.”

The move comes on top of a previous commitment for forces to attend every home burglary in a new set of standards announced last year.

Ms Braverman has also asked for plans from police chiefs on how they intend to improve visibility in communities.

Policing minister Chris Philp said “there is no such thing as a minor crime” and all “merit proper investigation where there are leads to follow”.

“There are now record numbers of police officers and record funding that has gone into policing, including for more patrols in hotspot areas of crime, and to make neighbourhoods more secure with better street lighting and CCTV. Along with camera images, combined with facial recognition, this will mean many more offenders can be brought to justice.”

Head of the College of Policing, chief constable Andy Marsh, said: “It is critically important the public know that when a crime has happened the police will consider all reasonable lines of enquiry and, where appropriate, arrest the person responsible.”

He said the new guidance will support time-pressured officers “to make effective decisions on what is a reasonable line of enquiry”.

“It means all forces are working to the same standard as we come down hard on criminals and deliver what the public want from their police service.”

He added: “Our focus will be on where there is information we can act on.”

National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for investigations, chief constable Scott Chilton, said: “Crime has changed and got more complex in recent years, but we have also seen big changes in technology, such as video doorbells and dashcams, that can greatly assist an investigation.

“It is important to remember that each and every case is different and has different complexities, however, officers will use these new technologies when appropriate to gather evidence to build a case for prosecution. There are opportunities to identify offenders that we never had before, and that is something to be very positive about.”

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: “This is a staggering admission of 13 years of Tory failure on policing and crime.

“Pursuing reasonable leads like CCTV is what the police should be doing, but – because of abysmal Tory management – over 90 per cent of crimes go unsolved, the proportion of crimes prosecuted has dropped by more than two-thirds and more criminals are getting off.

“Instead of supporting our brave officers to catch criminals, the Conservative government have cut neighbourhood policing by nearly 10,000, left a 7,000 shortage of detectives, and allowed the growth of appalling delays between the police, CPS and courts.

“The fact that the Tories are boasting about asking the police to do the basic minimum that victims of crime should rightly expect, whilst failing to tackle the underlying problems they have caused shows how badly they have failed over the last 13 years.

“The Tories are weak on crime and the causes of crime. Labour will put 13,000 extra neighbourhood police and PCSOs back on our streets, increase detective recruitment and ensure more crimes are charged to keep our streets safe.”

(Not to be confused with rotting seaweed. – Owl)

For many years, Wyke Regis has been lovingly named “Windy Wyke” thanks to its coastal winds – but now it has a more unfortunate term thanks to its smell. The “Wyke Wiff”, as coined by residents, is so bad that a councillor and resident of the Weymouth area has called on Wessex Water to investigate and take action after an increase in residents’ complaints.

Trevor Bevins www.dorset.live 

Cllr Kate Wheller says despite the company’s claim that all is well at their local treatment plant – a rise if people reporting problems suggests otherwise. She said: “There is a significant problem for Wyke residents and it does impact significantly upon them enjoying their gardens as they try to spend time with their families and friends during the summer.

“This is one more example of water companies, Wessex Water in this instance, showing scant regard for their customers and for the environment. I call upon them to investigate the source of the current problem and instigate corrective works as a priority.”

She has said that, in the past, residents have been encouraged to report to Wessex Water knowing that sometimes smells do occur, but are often short-lived. “Problems with smells from the sewage plant occur from time to time,.” the Weymouth mayor added. “Sometimes they are slight and relatively short lived and sometimes, as now, they are quite severe and prolonged (…) Sometime ago Wessex Water undertook a significant upgrade in their plant and their work practices to combat the problem, which seemed quite successful. In recent times they seem less keen to acknowledge any problem.”

In response to the water company’s statement that the treatment plant does comply with all the relevant rules and regulations, a leaflet campaign has now started in Wyke Regis to persuade the water company to do something to stop the smells. It advises people how to complain if they have been affected.

A Wessex Water spokesman said: “The site is operating normally and complies with all permits, along with an odour management plan which is being followed.”

Residents in Wyke Regis have been encouraged to report to Wessex Water knowing that sometimes smells do occur, but are often short-lived

Mr Orchard has also denied a residents’ claim of pollution from the plant following a fire in July: “Unfortunately our Weymouth water recycling centre suffered a third-party power outage which meant we had to use standby generators to maintain customers’ sewerage services.

“The site operated as normal throughout with no impact on the environment. Mains supply has now been restored and the generators have been removed.”

Said one resident: “We were asked by Wessex Water to keep a “smells diary” coming from the Langton Avenue treatment centre – but there seems little point, as we get the smells every day… which I have told the company, but they seem reluctant to do anything about it.”

The leaflet now being distributed lists a series of places to complain to include the environmental health team at Dorset Council, Wessex Water and South Dorset MP, Richard Drax.

It asks several questions including – has the smell from the water treatment plant become worse? Have you had to close windows and doors or been forced not to sit out in the garden because of the smell, or felt forced not to hang out washing, or felt unable to invite friends or family around because of the smell?

Said the leaflet: “ If the answer to any of these questions is yes I would urge you to make a complaint or this will become the new normal.”

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Doctors have launched a campaign to curb the use of unregulated assistants being deployed as a “short-term fix” to plug gaps in the NHS workforce.

By Nick Gutteridge, Political Correspondent www.telegraph.co.uk

Medics say that the health service is turning more and more to “associate” practitioners because they are much quicker and cheaper to train.

They have warned patients, often unaware when they are seen by such staff, that they are not being treated by a qualified doctor.

Associates do not go to medical school, and instead do two years of post-graduate training on top of a degree in a subject like biomedical sciences.

Ministers have unveiled ambitious plans to increase the number of them working in the NHS by almost fourfold to 12,000 by 2036-37.

Currently there are about 3,000 physician associates who support doctors in diagnosing and managing patients and 300 anaesthetist associates.

Unlike doctors and nurses, they are not overseen by a dedicated independent regulator.

Alarm

For several years the Government and General Medical Council, which oversees doctors’ standards, have been discussing plans for associates to be regulated by the GMC, but the watchdog says this will not happen until “the second half of 2024 at the earliest.”

Senior medics have now sounded the alarm on their expanding use and said the NHS should put more money into training fully-fledged practitioners.

They have set up a group called Anaesthetists United and are piling pressure on the Royal College of Anaesthetists into opposing the plans.

“The Government is trying to solve the NHS workforce crisis, not by recruiting and retaining more doctors, but by training cheaper replacements,” it said.

“They wouldn’t do this in other safety-critical industries, why in medicine?

“We are calling for anaesthesia associates to be properly supervised and we’re not prepared to see individual hospitals opt-out of proper supervision just to save money.

“Patients need to be made aware when they are being anaesthetised by a non-doctor.”

The group is now set to trigger an extraordinary general meeting of the Royal College of Anaesthetists after securing the signatures of almost 500 worried doctors.

Regulatory system

Richard Marks, a consultant anaesthetist in London, said associates need to be brought under the oversight of an independent regulator.

“As a doctor, you are registered with the GMC and in order to get onto and stay on the medical register you have to do a lot of things,” he told The Sunday Telegraph.

“There definitely needs to be some sort of regulatory system for individual medical associates, so the public has the assurance that they are properly qualified and are still fit to practise.”

He also warned that associates had been through “much narrower” training which raised concerns about “how people manage the 1pc of the time when things go wrong”.

“It’s like flying a plane. Most of the time it’s alright but it’s when things go wrong that you see the difference,” he said.

Dr Marks said hiring associates rather than training fully-fledged doctors was a “short-term fix” to the NHS’ staffing problems.

He added: “Patients are often confused about the terminology. They have a right to know who is looking after them, especially when they are asleep and unaware.”

There have also been concerns raised about the use of physician associates in place of fully qualified doctors, including at GP surgeries.

Emily Chesterton died last November after she was misdiagnosed by a physician associate who she mistakenly thought was a GP.

Blood clot

The 30-year-old, who lived in London, was seen twice by an associate and told that her calf pain was an ankle sprain when she actually had a blood clot.

A coroner ruled at her inquest that she should have been sent to A&E straight away and that if she had been then it is likely she would have survived.

Her mother, Marion, told the BBC that she “didn’t know she hadn’t seen a doctor” and that more regulation is needed around associates to guarantee patient safety.

“Physician associate sounds grander than a GP,” she said.

“If I had known earlier that she had not seen a doctor, I would have marched back to the surgery or gone straight to hospital.”

In June last year an investigation by BBC Panorama found that the UK’s biggest chain of GP practices was allowing associates to see patients without adequate supervision.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: “Our Long Term Workforce Plan will deliver the biggest training expansion in NHS history and recruit and retain hundreds of thousands more staff.

“Patient safety remains of the utmost importance, which is why we are working with the General Medical Council to regulate physician associates and anaesthesia associates.

“We are clear that the role of associates is to support doctors, including GPs, and not to replace them. This supports the government’s plans to grow the multidisciplinary NHS workforce.

The chief executive who was in post during the Lucy Letby scandal was stopped from running Cornwall’s hospitals trust by former staff who were “outraged and distressed” that he had applied, it has been claimed by a senior NHS source.

Make you wonder how Chiefs of public sector bodies are chosen. – Owl

Lee Trewhela, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk

The Times reported this week that Tony Chambers, who was chief executive of the Countess of Chester hospital trust at the time Letby was murdering babies, was due to be made the permanent boss of the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust until senior staff were alerted to the Letby investigation by someone who worked at the Chester hospital.

Last week Dr Stephen Brearey, Chester neonatal unit’s senior paediatrician, claimed that Mr Chambers insisted that consultants who raised concerns about Letby should apologise to her and warned them that a line had been drawn and there would be “consequences” if they crossed it. Dr Brearey also claimed that Mr Chambers had told them he had spent a lot of time with Letby and her father, and had apologised to them. Mr Chambers said his comments to consultants had been taken out of context.

After leaving the Chester trust, Mr Chambers earned £345,000 as interim chief executive of Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals, where he worked between January 2020 and August 2021.

He then moved to Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust (RCHT) where he earned £90,000 for a five-month stint between August 2021 and January last year. A senior NHS source told The Times that Mr Chambers was thought to be the frontrunner to become its permanent boss until the trust was alerted to the Letby scandal by a member of the Countess of Chester’s staff, who was “distressed and outraged” that Mr Chambers could lead another trust.

According to The Times’ report, Dr Mairi Mclean, chairwoman of RCHT, telephoned an executive in Chester and, following the call, Chambers was not appointed.

We approached RCHT to comment on the report. A Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust spokesperson said: “Tony Chambers was interim chief executive for less than five months between August 2021 to the start of January 2022, whilst we went out to recruitment for a substantive chief executive. This interim appointment followed due process for an executive position and fully considered information available at the time.

“We cannot comment on personal information relating to a recruitment process. Mr Chambers was not appointed to the substantive position.”

A spokesperson for Dr Mairi Mclean referred to the above statement.

Last week Mr Chambers said that he was “truly sorry for what all the families have gone through”. He added: “As chief executive, my focus was on the safety of the baby unit and the well-being of patients and staff. I was open and inclusive as I responded to information and guidance.”

“Just look at it, this is the middle of the summer holidays,” says Phillip Garnsey, the exasperated co-owner of the Oggy Oggy pasty company, as he surveys an empty high street in Torquay.

Joe Middleton www.theguardian.com 

Just a few hundred metres up the road in the Devon town, the juxtaposition could not be more stark as families relax on the beach, enjoying one of the first sunny days of August, and paddleboarders make their way through the crisp blue ocean. Squeals can be heard from the nearby funfair as children play on the rides and later beg their parents for ice-creams or candy floss, while young couples browse inviting street food at the market.

However, away from the levity of the seafront, shopkeepers in Torquay told the Guardian about a lack of footfall, decline in the town centre and struggles caused by the cost of living crisis.

Michael Jamieson, the owner of Café Crème, says: “It’s been the worst summer in 14 years. Look how quiet it is for August, usually the town’s packed. June, July, August and May, they’ve all been quiet, super quiet. It’s not just me, it’s everybody, cafes, the clothes shops, souvenir stores, you name it, we are all down, we’re all struggling to pay our bills.”

He adds: “When we’re in season, from April until the end of September, I start serving breakfast at 8am. Now, I’m opening at 9am and hardly anybody is coming. You look outside and it looks deserted, the town.

“Believe me, wait until this winter, it will be a lot [worse], I guarantee you, come March, April, there will be a lot more empty shops, because people are struggling.”

The town centre is already pockmarked with empty shops and the streets are quiet. Ryan Hanlon, the manager of the Cider Rooms, says demand at the sports bar was good but did not compare with the previous year, when the high street was packed “with a sea of people”.

This is the heart of the problem. Last summer, trade was exceptional for seaside towns as people embarked on domestic breaks after the pandemic lockdown, due to restrictions on travelling abroad. But this summer, travel providers and airlines have reported strong demand for foreign trips, with a spike in last-minute bookings due to the wettest July on record in some part of England and Northern Ireland.

Tony Galinos, 74, a professional musician, has owned and operated The Guitar Man music equipment shop in the town centre for the last four years and has seen the area’s decline. “Our turnovers have dropped, conservatively, from 50% to 80%, we’ve got 50 vacant shops on the Torquay high street … Without support from the government, I would say within the next 12 months at least another third of the remaining businesses will close.”

He says these economic difficulties are being faced by seaside towns up and down the country. “It’s everywhere, if you go to Southend-on-Sea, even places like Brighton are suffering.” He adds that trade is “not even close” to what they experienced in the town last year and “80% down”.

Galinos says part of the reason is more people flying to Europe this summer, but that the poor weather in July and early August has also put people off heading to the seaside.

Garnsey says the summer has been terrible for visitor numbers, “at least half down on last year”. But the 58-year-old argues that is not the only problem: “I don’t think there is anything to do down here. If you go to Cornwall there is a bit more … there is nothing much on down here, I don’t think, and the town is very grubby-looking. We have had a lot of holidaymakers say that they wouldn’t come back.”

The most recent data supports the idea that the domestic holiday trend is fading post-Covid. Analysis from the recruitment firm Reed, published by Bloomberg, says that job vacancies in 25 of the major seaside towns have declined significantly since last year.

James Reed, the chair of Reed, said: “Given how heavily reliant many of these coastal towns are on strong summer trading, it is certainly concerning that the usual summer boost in job postings hasn’t materialised. The staycation boom has come to an end.

“Even those in a stronger financial position may opt for a less costly foreign holiday package over a domestic staycation where UK businesses, hit particularly hard by rising costs, have had to hike up prices for consumers. Just by comparing the costs of travelling by road and rail in the UK with the costs of flights abroad, it’s clear why the staycation boom has failed to re-emerge.”

Just over 270 miles away from south Devon, in the popular Welsh coastal resort of Abersoch, Tom Leslie, the owner of the Potted Lobster, says the restaurant is still busy but businesses in the area think its quieter than last year. “People are still coming out and spending, but the spend is more limited. They’ll buy one bottle of wine instead of two.”

Leslie also part-owns a hotel, the Whittling House in Alnmouth, Northumberland, and said occupancy rates were 98% in the domestic holiday boom after the pandemic, but this summer they had dropped to 70%.

After the economy opened up following Covid-19, he said, there were “freakish” high levels of trade due to the specific circumstances around the pandemic, but this could now level out.

The post-lockdown visitor spike bucked a decades-long trend of economic decline in Britain’s coastal communities. A House of Lords report released in July titled The Future of Seaside Towns found such places had “significant potential” but faced a “persistent sense of disconnection” as well as complex social issues, a lack of jobs and deprivation.

Last month, the shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said she wanted to “supercharge seaside towns” to boost their economic prospects and create new jobs. If Labour won the next election she promised it would crack down on sewage dumping in rivers and the sea, scrap the current business rate scheme, let councils introduce a holiday lets licensing scheme, and help create new, high-quality jobs through an apprenticeship levy.

Analysis released by Labour at the same time found the economic output of seaside towns had increased by 12% between 2009 and 2019, far below the 20% overall increase in the UK gross added value, a measure of economic output.

Another key issue is poverty. A 2020 analysis of coastal towns published by the Office for National Statistics showed there was more likely to be higher levels of deprivation than in inland towns.

Alan Tilley runs Turning Heads, a community interest company in Torquay that runs a social supermarket offering food to struggling families at lower prices than traditional retailers.

He says demand has increased and every week someone new, who is almost always in paid employment, is asking to use the shop. “I’m astounded about the state of what’s going on,” he says.

Garnsey says not enough is being done to support seaside towns, and his pasty business is likely to close. “We’re finding it tough, but it’s not just because of the lack of visitors, it’s the cost of living going up.

“We’re not the only ones. If you look down the high street at the shops that are shut … It’s such a shame, we have a lovely shop and such fantastic customers, but it hasn’t worked.”

The UK competition watchdog has said it will probe land banking by the country’s biggest housebuilders as it identified a number of concerns regarding the sector.

City AM reporter www.cityam.com

The UK competition watchdog has said it will probe land banking by the country’s biggest housebuilders as it identified a number of concerns regarding the sector.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) formally started a probe into the housebuilding sector and the private rental market in February.

It said it was looking into the housebuilding industry amid worries that developers were not delivering homes at an adequate pace or scale.

“Having seen four previous housing market reviews in the last 25 years, we believe this one is very unlikely to lead to a different outcome or material changes for the sector,” analysts at Peel Hunt said in reaction the the news.

“This CMA review has been politically driven, as the conservative government has turned anti-housing under the current secretary of state, in light of the Chesham and Amersham by-election in June 2021,” a note from Peel Hunt read. 

“The lack of housing and poor current affordability has been driven by supply bottlenecks, in particular planning. The deficit looks set to grow further, although a new Labour government may provide the industry with a shot in the arm.”

The CMA outlined five main areas it is investigating in relation to UK housebuilding.

It said this will include estate management charges, where homeowners pay private companies to maintain things such as parks and roads.

The regulator will also look at issues regarding land banks, amid concerns over whether some large portfolios held by bigger firms are slowing competition or housing availability in some areas.

It is also looking into wider concerns regarding planning rules, competition between builders and barriers for new businesses wanting to build homes.

In relation to the rental market, the CMA said it was taking action to provide updated guidance for letting agents regarding the rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords.

The CMA also identified concerns related to zero deposit schemes, sham licences, onerous guarantee clauses, and possible unlawful discrimination.

It said it will investigate further and will take enforcement action if needed.

Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA, said: “The CMA alone can’t resolve the problems in the UK housing market.

“But we have a role to play and will do our part to help ensure the private rental and housebuilding markets work better for people and businesses.

“In housebuilding, we’ll press on with our investigation of the five areas that are the focus of our market study so that we can get to the bottom of any potential competition concerns.

“Once complete, we will consider what actions the CMA can take to tackle any concerns identified or whether there are more effective ways to deal with those concerns such as through recommendations to government for legislative change.”

By Henry Saker-Clark, PA Deputy Business Editor

“You have abandoned the fundamental principles of Conservatism. History will not judge you kindly.”

Nadine Dorries pulls no punches  in her resignation letter, to the Prime Minister, see the extract below. 

“Since you took office a year ago, the country is run by a zombie Parliament where nothing meaningful has happened. What exactly has been done or have you achieved? You hold the office of Prime Minister unelected, without a single vote, not even from your own MPs. You have no mandate from the people and the Government is adrift. You have squandered the goodwill of the nation, for what? 

And what a difference it is now since 2019, when Boris Johnson won an eighty-seat majority and a greater percentage of the vote share than Tony Blair in the Labour landslide victory of ’97. We were a mere five points behind on the day he was removed from office. Since you became Prime Minister, his manifesto has been completely abandoned. We cannot simply disregard the democratic choice of the electorate, remove both the Prime Minister and the manifesto commitments they voted for and then expect to return to the people in the hope that they will continue to unquestioningly support us. They have agency, they will use it. 

Levelling up has been discarded and with it, those deprived communities it sought to serve. Social care, ready to be launched, abandoned along with the hope of all of those who care for the elderly and the vulnerable. The Online Safety Bill has been watered down. BBC funding reform, the clock run down. The Mental Health Act, timed out. Defence spending, reduced. Our commitment to net zero, animal welfare and the green issues so relevant to the planet and voters under 40, squandered. As Lord Goldsmith wrote in his own resignation letter, because you simply do not care about the environment or the natural world. What exactly is it you do stand for?

You have increased Corporation tax to 25 per cent, taking us to the level of the highest tax take since World War two at 75 per cent of GDP, and you have completely failed in reducing illegal immigration or delivering on the benefits of Brexit. The bonfire of EU legislation, swerved. The Windsor framework agreement, a dead duck, brought into existence by shady promises of future preferment with grubby rewards and potential gongs to MPs. Stormont is still not sitting. 

Disregarding your own chancellor, last week you took credit for reducing inflation, citing your ‘plan’. There has been no budget, no new fiscal measures, no debate, there is no plan. Such statements take the British public for fools.  The decline in the price of commodities such as oil and gas, the eased pressure on the supply of wheat and the increase in interest rates by the Bank of England are what has taken the heat out of the economy and reduced inflation. For you to personally claim credit for this was disingenuous at the very least.

It is a fact that there is no affection for Keir Starmer out on the doorstep. He does not have the winning X factor qualities of a Thatcher, a Blair, or a Boris Johnson, and sadly, Prime Minister, neither do you. Your actions have left some 200 or more of my MP colleagues to face an electoral tsunami and the loss of their livelihoods, because in your impatience to become Prime Minister you put your personal ambition above the stability of the country and our economy. Bewildered, we look in vain for the grand political vision for the people of this great country to hold on to, that would make all this disruption and subsequent inertia worthwhile, and we find absolutely nothing.

I shall take some comfort from explaining to people exactly how you and your allies achieved this undemocratic upheaval in my book. I am a proud working-class Conservative which is why the Levelling Up agenda was so important to me. I know personally how effective a strong and helping hand can be to lift someone out of poverty and how vision, hope and opportunity can change lives. You have abandoned the fundamental principles of Conservatism. History will not judge you kindly.” 

Spot of rain during the night, Environment Agency advises against bathing today, as do Surfers against Sewage! – Owl

“Actually, today is really good news for families up and down the country with a reduction in the energy price cap that’s going to reduce, on average, a typical family’s energy bill by about £150, easing the burden on the cost of living.” Rishi Sunak yesterday commented on Ofgen’s announcement of the October price cap.

But did he check the bottom line of the spreadsheet? – Owl

Energy bills to rise for many despite reduction in price cap, experts warn

Millions of households are expected to pay more for their energy this winter than they did a year earlier, even though Ofgem reduced the price cap on bills.

August Graham www.independent.co.uk (Extract)

Experts said the reduction of Government support and a small increase in the standing charge would hike bills for some.

Energy regulator Ofgem said the new cap on a unit of gas and electricity would reduce the average bill to £1,923 from October 1, from £2,074 per year.

The average customer with a prepayment meter will see their bills fall to £1,949 per year.

This average is based on an estimate that the typical household uses 2,900 units of electricity and 12,000 units of gas.

The energy regulator said it was cutting the price of gas from 8p per kilowatt hour (kWh) today to 6.89p from October 1. The price of electricity will fall from 30.1p per kWh to 27.35p.

The standing charge on energy bills also rose from 82p to 83p per day for gas and electricity. Households pay this amount – around £303 per year – no matter how much gas or electricity they use.

The price cap applies to England, Wales and Scotland.

While this looks, on the face of it, like good news for millions of struggling households, the lack of Government support this winter will actually mean higher bills for many.

Last winter the typical household would have paid £2,500 per year due to the Government’s Energy Price Guarantee, which in practice superseded the then much higher price cap.

On top of that, each household’s bill was reduced by between £66 and £67 per month between October and March due to a separate Government grant.

Meanwhile, the standing charge has risen from 74p last winter to 83p this year, adding a little under £3 per month to bills.

Jonny Marshall, an expert at the Resolution Foundation, estimated about one in three households in England, or 7.2 million in total, will face higher bills between October and March.

These households will be those who consume less gas and electricity than a typical household.

The Resolution Foundation’s analysis suggested that among the poorest tenth of English households, nearly half (47%) would face higher bills this winter.

“The end of the £400 universal payments and rising standing charges mean that over one-in-three families across England will face higher bills this winter than last,” Mr Marshall said.

“With almost three million households set to see their bills rise by over £100 – at a time when inflation is still sky high – the Government must up its game in providing longer-term support for hard-pressed families with a new social tariff for energy bills.”….

Citizens Advice head of energy policy Gillian Cooper said targeted support for households would be desperately needed.

A record number of people who are behind on their energy bills are already turning to the charity for help, she said.

“The next few months will push households like these over the edge. Our data suggests it will be as bad, if not worse, than last winter,” she said…..

Mike Thornton, chief executive at the Energy Saving Trust, said: “A key priority must be to support individuals to use less energy in their homes and buildings to start with.

“A wrap-around national retrofit programme for households, underpinned by financial incentives and personalised advice, would reduce our demand for gas and bring bills down in both the short and long term.”

Connor Schwartz, warm homes campaigner at Friends of the Earth said:  “With winter fast approaching, the best time to start rapidly rolling out street-by-street insulation was yesterday, the next best time is now.”…..

Labour’s shadow energy and net zero secretary Ed Miliband said: “Higher energy bills are unfortunately here to stay under the Conservatives – even with this fall, bills are significantly higher than they were only three years ago.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told the BBC: “Actually, today is really good news for families up and down the country with a reduction in the energy price cap that’s going to reduce, on average, a typical family’s energy bill by about £150, easing the burden on the cost of living.”

Looking after their own, good news at last for Simon Jupp! – Owl

MPs who lose their seat at the next general election will receive double the financial support following a ruling from parliament’s expenses watchdog.

Alexandra Rogers news.sky.com

MPs who suffer an election defeat have previously been entitled to two months of financial assistance to help close their office and manage the departure of staff.

But the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), which governs MPs’ pay and expenses, has ruled this should be increased to four months.

The so-called winding-down payments will now also be made available to those who choose to stand down at the next election.

However, payments will not be given to MPs who step aside outside the election period, such as former prime minister Boris Johnson, who stood down in June.

The rule change means the winding-up payment will be paid to all MPs who leave parliament at the next election – whether they lose their seat, stand unsuccessfully in a new or different seat or stand down.

As of April this year, MPs are paid an annual salary of £86,584.

IPSA’s ruling comes following the confirmation of 75 current MPs that they will not be standing at the next election – including 50 who were elected as Conservatives.

For Labour, 14 MPs are stepping down, while seven from the SNP will not seek re-election.

IPSA, which is an independent body, said it made the decision because the time to fully close down an MP’s parliamentary and financial affairs was longer than the time covered.

“Former MPs will continue to have access to their normal budgets [pro-rated] for that four-month period, and they will continue to employ staff as needed to assist them in winding up their affairs,” the ruling said.

As well as winding down payments, MPs who have served more than two years are also eligible for loss-of-office payments, with longer-serving MPs receiving larger amounts.

Bob Seely, the MP for the Isle of Wight, criticised the move.

“I don’t think people resigning should be getting a payout,” he told TalkTV.

“But this is an independent body, I’m afraid to say we don’t get to vote on it unless somebody tells us that we do, and frankly, I am more concerned about dealing with my constituency casework.

“So I’m not particularly happy about this either because it just shows us in a bad light and despite the fact it’s an independent body, everyone is going to blame us for it.

“It really winds me up, frankly.”

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, echoed his concerns, saying: “Doubling golden goodbyes for MPs is a kick in the teeth for taxpayers.”

He added: “Hard-pressed Brits are already funding generous salaries, perks and pensions for elected officials.

“IPSA should be mindful of that when recommending more taxpayers’ money for politicians.”

A report by parliament’s Commons Administration Committee in February found that Westminster’s payouts to MPs compared poorly with comparable international democracies.

The median loss-of-office payment for MPs who were defeated in the 2019 general election was £5,250 – equivalent to less than one month of their then £84,144 salary – with the amount paid depending on the length of service.

By comparison, an ousted MP in Germany who has served for 18 years qualifies for £162,360 compensation, while outgoing Australian MPs can expect to receive either £31,455 or £62,909, depending on length of service.

The payments, similar to redundancy packages, will be available to all eligible MPs who leave parliament at the next election.

Separately, severance payments for outgoing prime ministers have been criticised recently after Liz Truss received £18,660 despite serving in office for just 49 days.

Her chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, received £16,876 after he was forced to resign following his mini-budget, which caused turmoil in the financial markets.

A recently formed health trust in Devon has been told to make improvements following an inspection by regulators.

www.bbc.co.uk

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in May.

The trust was formed last year and inspectors gave it an overall rating of “requires improvement”.

Issues raised included the slow pace of managers in dealing with issues when they arise and improvements needed to improve culture and diversity.

The Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust and Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust merged to form the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in April 2022.

In November, inspectors found improvements were needed in medical care, surgical services and diagnostic services at North Devon District Hospital and the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital sites.

The latest inspection in May focused on how well-led the trust had been since the merger took place.

Problems identified

Following the inspection, the trust was rated as requires improvement overall and rated as good for being well-led and safe, effective and responsive.

Caring remains rated as outstanding and leaders were found to have the “skills, experience, and capacity to manage the trust”.

There were problems identified with a new electronic records system, and the handling of never events and serious incident investigations.

Cath Campbell, CQC deputy director of operations in the south, said: “As a newly integrated trust, culture and inclusivity was a key focus to support the organisations to merge successfully.

“The trust recognised there was work to be done to bring teams together and build a culture that is inclusive. Staff satisfaction was mixed, but the board had ensured a plan of improving the culture and staff satisfaction was seen as a priority.

“Following the inspections, we reported our findings to the trust. Its leaders know what they must do to improve services, and where there’s good practice on which they can build on.”

Inspectors also found most staff felt respected, supported, and valued and felt proud to work in the organisation.

MPs will force Rishi Sunak’s hand next month on whether to allow Parliament to oust Nadine Dorries after she refused to follow through on her promise to resign, i can reveal.

Richard Vaughan inews.co.uk 

The Prime Minister is facing growing calls to remove the former culture secretary by tabling a motion in the Commons that would give MPs the chance to vote in favour of her dismissal.

And in a drive to push Mr Sunak into making a decision, the Liberal Democrats will put forward a motion when Parliament returns from summer recess calling for Ms Dorries’s removal.

Deputy leader Daisy Cooper will table a motion on the first day that Parliament returns on Monday 4 September, demanding Ms Dorries returns to the Commons by Thursday 14 September or face a 10-day suspension, triggering a recall petition.

Ms Cooper said the decision has been taken because the Tory MP has “treated the people of Mid Bedfordshire with contempt and taken them for granted”.

“We need an end to this sorry saga, once and for all,” Ms Cooper said. “Nadine Dorries must resign, if not this Government must do the right thing and force her to.”

Such a device was last used to remove a member from the Commons in 1954, when MPs voted in favour of ousting Tory Peter Baker, who had been jailed for seven years for forgery.

The move presents a major headache for Mr Sunak who will now have to decide whether to give the motion the parliamentary time to be debated and voted upon in the Commons.

Ms Dorries has sparked a bitter backlash from all sides of the Commons after she announced in June – 77 days ago – that she would be resigning “with immediate effect” only to renege on the decision after it emerged she would not receive a peerage.

Tory MP Tom Hunt became the latest figure to call on the former Cabinet member to stand down, accusing her of showing “extraordinary” entitlement by refusing to step aside, having promised to do so.

Speaking to Times Radio, Mr Hunt said the situation was “dreadful”.

“The entitlement that seems to have driven the decision in the first place, ie she didn’t get a place in the House of Lords so she’s throwing the towel in, I think is pretty extraordinary.

“It will stick in the throat of the majority of her constituents, I imagine,” he said.

“I certainly don’t want to be associated with Nadine Dorries at all. I don’t know what she’s playing at,” Mr Hunt added.

Education minister Nick Gibb also questioned whether Ms Dorries is fulfilling her obligations to constituents.

Asked if he believes she is representing her constituents at the moment, he told the BBC: “Not if she’s not participating in the House of Commons events and speaking and so on. I just think people should do what they say they are going to do.”

Mr Sunak said at the beginning of the month that Ms Dorries’ constituents were not being properly represented, but although a number of Tory MPs have since spoken out against her, she retains the whip.

Two town councils in her constituency, Shefford and Flitwick, have called on her to go, as well as Labour and several Tory MPs.

Caroline Nokes, chairwoman of the Women and Equalities Committee, said earlier this week that Ms Dorries should not have the Tory whip if “she’s made it plain that she no longer wishes to be a Conservative MP”.

She was echoed by Tory MP Damian Green who accused Ms Dorries of “damaging Parliament” and said it would be “in everyone’s interest if she just went”.

Ms Dorries has been approached for comment, but she told the News Agents podcast earlier this week that “myself and my team of four caseworkers are working daily with constituents”.

Around 20 affordable homes are to be built on the outskirts of a village in East Devon as the district’s newest town continues to grow.

Up to 180 new homes will be built near Rockbeare as part of the wider Cranbrook development, writes local democracy reporter Ollie Heptinstall.

eastdevonnews.co.uk

East Devon councillors last month approved the outline plan, for land west of Gribble Lane and south of London Road, at a planning meeting.

Affordable housing will account for 15 per cent of the homes (classed as up to 80 per cent of market rates), and four per cent will be custom or self-build plots.

The development includes an adjoining piece of land to be used as natural green space, while all other matters will be considered as part of a detailed ‘reserved matters’ application at a later date.

Approval was given despite more than 100 public objections, as well as from Rockbeare and Whimple parish councils.

It was suggested the development contravenes the local plan and Rockbeare Neighbourhood Plan, that Cranbrook was originally planned with no building south of the former A30 (London Road), and it would have an adverse impact on wildlife.

Others suggested it would have a “detrimental impact on the rural character of the area,” cause greater pressure on local public services, go against efforts to reduce climate change, and lead to a loss of agricultural land.

However, subject to a number of conditions, planning officers recommended approval, deciding it would be an “attractive and legible development, which would integrate well with the natural environment within the site and beyond.”

Councillor Mike Howe (Independent, Clyst Valley) agreed, stating: “Our policies here and now dictate the Cranbrook Masterplan overrides the neighbourhood plan of Rockbeare. It’s the newer document and, as such, it has prominence.”

“When you add that to the fact we still don’t have a five-year housing land supply and, to be frank, this looks – I know it’s indicative and we’ve got reserved matters [to come]– like a lovely scheme. And this is the type of scheme we should be having.”

The planning committee, who met in July, voted to approve the plan by eight votes to three.

Measures taken during the Covid pandemic such as social distancing and wearing face masks “unequivocally” reduced the spread of infections, a report has found.

www.theguardian.com 

Experts looked at the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) – not drugs or vaccines – when applied in packages that combine a number of measures that complement one another.

The Royal Society report, called Covid-19: examining the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions, reviewed the evidence gathered during the pandemic for six groups of NPIs and their effectiveness in reducing transmission.

These included masks and face coverings, social distancing and lockdowns, test, trace and isolate, travel restrictions and controls across international borders, environmental controls, and communications.

When assessed individually, there was positive – if limited – evidence of transmission reduction from many of the NPIs used in the pandemic, the review found. However, evidence of a positive effect was clear when countries used combinations of NPIs.

Additionally, evidence showed NPIs were most effective when the intensity of transmission was low, supporting their use early in a pandemic and at first sign of resurgence.

During the early stages of responding to an emerging infectious disease, NPIs tend to be the only controls available before the development of drug treatments and vaccines.

However, as was seen during the pandemic, their use can have adverse personal, educational and economic consequences – making assessment of their effectiveness essential.

Prof Sir Mark Walport, the foreign secretary of the Royal Society and chair of the report’s expert working group, said: “There is sufficient evidence to conclude that early, stringent implementation of packages of complementary NPIs was unequivocally effective in limiting Sars-CoV-2 infections.

“That does not mean every NPI was effective in every setting, or at all times, but learning the lessons from the wealth of research generated in this pandemic will be key to equipping ourselves for the next one.”

The review found social distancing and lockdowns were the most effective category of NPIs. Stay-at-home orders, physical distancing and restrictions on gathering size were repeatedly found to be associated with significant reduction in Sars-CoV-2 transmission. The more stringent the measures were the greater the effect they had, the experts found.

In care homes, measures such as cohorting and visitor restrictions were associated with reduced transmission and reduced outbreaks.

Additionally, the report found that in school settings, closures and other distancing measures were associated with reduced Covid-19 cases, but the effectiveness varied depending on a range of factors, including adherence and pupils’ ages.

When looking at the use of face masks and mask mandates, studies consistently reported the measures were an effective approach to reduce infection. The evidence further indicates higher-quality respirator masks – such as N95 masks – were more effective than surgical-type masks.

Assessing test, trace and isolate measures, studies from several countries which implemented high levels of contact tracing, with isolation of infected individuals and their contacts, found reductions in Covid-19 deaths.

For the future, the report recommends establishing international protocols for conducting clinical trials and observational research on NPIs in advance of further pandemics.

Prof Christopher Dye, professor of epidemiology at the University of Oxford, said: “The next thing is Disease X as WHO (World Health Organization) has called it.

“We don’t know what it’s going to be, we don’t know where it’s going to appear. So we need a system which is generic enough in character to handle anything of that kind, and for me, the number one priority is to have a global system of surveillance response.”

Prof Christl Donnelly, head of department and professor of applied statistics at the University of Oxford and professor of statistical epidemiology at Imperial College London, said: “We can’t say for certain, and we wouldn’t try to, what might be implemented in future. But we can characterise the impacts of what happened with the coronavirus, and that will inform decision-making, but then of course, in a future pandemic, more data will need to be collected.”

The report draws together the findings of six expert-led evidence reviews, published in a special themed issue of the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A.

The reviews looked at thousands of published studies, and identified papers that were suitably robust for inclusion in each review category.

But they’re the same size as ones approved earlier

East Devon councillors have turned down a development scheme at Clyst Honiton because the homes are “too small” and it would encourage peope to drive.

Alison Stephenson, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk

Planners were not prepared to accept proposals 10 square metres below standards recommended in national planning guidelines despite approving  houses of the same size earlier this year.

The plans for four commercial units and nine two-bed homes by Eagle One MMIII Ltd for land next to Old Tithebarn, Clyst Honiton were also rejected by East Devon District Council’s planning committee on the grounds that the 53 car parking spaces – 35 for commercial parking – were excessive when the council is promoting sustainable transport.

The land falls within the wider Tithebarn Green development which includes more than 1,500 homes, a community centre, employment provision and allotments and open space which have all received planning permission.

Whilst officers said this new proposal is acceptable in principle, they recommended it for refusal and are not keen on the development’s layout and appearance which they say needs more soft landscaping. They also want the homes to face the cycle path for what they call ‘natural surveillance’ and crime prevention.

They said cycling is a “real focal point of development in this area” as the cycle route stretches to Exeter, Exeter Airport, the science park and Skypark.

Development manager Wendy Ormsby said whilst there is no size standard for housing in the council’s local plan, the government is giving more weight to national planning policy guidelines of 79 square metres for two-bed properties, but the proposals are for 69 and 72 square meters.

Cllr Ian Barlow (Ind, Sidmouth) said it seemed a little unfair that this scheme should be refused when the houses are exactly the same size as those passed in January.

“This is in fact an improvement on what we passed this year as the houses have solar panels,” he said. “There is a good separation between the homes and the commerce side of the development.

“I think we are being unreasonable to people who are trying to build houses that we desperately need. We should be working more with these people to get it right.”

Cllr Brian Bailey (Con, Exmouth) said: “It seems grossly unfair that one month you can build these houses and the next you can’t. If this came to appeal I can’t see it standing up.”

But Cllr Simon Smith (Ind, Axminster) said the major difference between then and now was a new administration: “As a planning authority, we are mostly made up of new faces and I think we can be proud that we set the bar today of holding on to this standard as a precedent for future applications.

“We can say hey we are going to protect the welfare of people who want to buy or rent in this area and that is a good way to start this administration.”

Cllr David Wilson (Lab, Exmouth Halsdon) agreed: “I do not see why we have to make the same decisions as those that were made in the past. As a relatively new committee, if we show we are happy to have no consideration to how small a property is that could affect future proposals that come to us which could be smaller and smaller.”

Speaking for the applicant, Paul Withers said the level of car parking was critical to the scheme’s viability. He said the proposal had the same amount of parking as a commercial scheme granted planning permission earlier this year which is just 20 metres away from the site.

He said that at no time through the application process had officers raised the issue of house sizes and the plans did not conflict with planning policies.

The applicants would have been amenable to revising the hard and soft landscaping scheme, he added.

Apparently our Prime Minister, who pledged that “this government will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level”, is “confused” about the rules on declaring financial interests.

He seems to have confused the concept of registration with the concept of declaration, a concept most of our councillors seem to understand and apply. – Owl

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak failed to correctly declare his wife’s financial interest in a childminding agency, the MPs watchdog has ruled.

By Damian Grammaticas and Kate Whannel www.bbc.co.uk

Daniel Greenberg, parliamentary commissioner for standards, said this arose out of “confusion” about the rules and was “inadvertent”.

In a letter to Mr Greenberg, Mr Sunak said he accepted the ruling and apologised.

The inquiry is now closed and the PM will not face further action.

A complaint was submitted to Mr Greenberg following Mr Sunak’s appearance before MPs on the Commons Liaison Committee in March.

During the session, the prime minister was questioned about his policy to provide payments to encourage people who became childminders. The cash would be doubled for those who signed up through six private childcare firms listed on the UK government’s website, with the money being used to cover the firms’ fees.

Mr Sunak’s wife Akshata Murty was a shareholder in one of those private firms, Koru Kids but when asked if he had any declarations to make Mr Sunak said “no, all my disclosures are declared in the normal way”.

Following an investigation, Mr Greenberg said he had concluded that Ms Murty’s shareholding was a relevant interest that should have been declared to MPs.

The commissioner said that, even if Mr Sunak had not been aware of the shareholding at the time of his appearance before the committee, he was aware of it when he later wrote a letter to the Committee chairman Sir Bernard Jenkin to clarify things and should, at that stage, have declared it.

Mr Sunak had recorded the shareholding under arrangements for ministers to declare their interests. That record is not publicly declared but held by civil servants.

Some of these interests are made public on the list of ministers’ interests. The independent adviser on ministers’ interests advises on which interests need to be included in this publicly-available list.

Mr Sunak said three different independent advisers had told him his wife’s shareholdings did not need to be added.

Mr Greenberg said he accepted Mr Sunak believed that, by registering the interest, he had complied with his obligations, and so did not declare it in his letter to Sir Bernard Jenkin.

He added that Mr Sunak “had confused the concept of registration with the concept of declaration” and so the “the failure to declare arose out of this confusion and was accordingly inadvertent on the part of Mr Sunak”.

Mr Greenberg said he was concluding his inquiry using what is called the “rectification procedure” – a process used to correct minor failures to declare interests.

It means the commissioner stops short of submitting a full report to MPs on the Commons Committee on Standards and Privileges for them to consider any possible further action.

Replying to Mr Greenberg, Mr Sunak said that during the Liaison Committee hearing he had “no idea” of the connection between Koru Kids and his government’s childcare policy.

“It was was only after the hearing that I became aware of the link, as set out in my subsequent letter to Sir Bernard, the Chair of the Liaison Committee.

“I now understand that my letter to Sir Bernard was not sufficiently expansive regarding declaration (as distinct from registration)… On reflection, I accept your opinion that I should have used the letter to declare the interest explicitly… I apologise for these inadvertent errors and confirm acceptance of your proposal for rectification.”

“Here in Devon, the rise of Airbnb and short-term lets has priced people out of their communities. LibDems have warned of the effect this is having on the rental market, now is the time for Ministers to act to stop our communities being hollowed out.” – Richard Foord comments on Devon Housing Commission.

Prompting this reply from Jack Earnshaw: “No chance! Half the lets owned by ministers or their friends. Little oiks like us can go to hell.”

Nothing on the subject from Simon Jupp, probably still perambulating around Cullompton handing out leaflets explaining Tory plans for Honiton and Sidmouth.