Richard Foord has secured an Adjournment Debate early in the new parliament.
These last half an hour and provide an opportunity for an individual backbench MP to raise an issue and receive a response from the relevant Minister.
Monday, 13 November 2023: Upcoming business www.theyworkforyou.com
Commons: Main Chamber
“I’ve had to choose to prioritise and I can assure you, species reintroduction ain’t one of my top priorities and therefore we’ve stepped back away from that,” Thérèse Coffey told the committee on Tuesday. “Ultimately we have a broader range of activities and we have to choose where we can put our resources.” (Source BBC) [See: Are our beavers under threat from Therese Coffey?]
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee today publishes the Government’s response to its report on Species Reintroduction, in which MPs considered Defra’s approach to the ongoing and often contentious reintroduction of species such as beavers, eagles and bison. The Committee drew attention to the potential benefits that species reintroduction could offer but noted that reintroductions require careful long-term plans to identify and manage potential adverse effects on local communities and other land users.
In their report, published in July, the EFRA Committee cited that species reintroduction could help government to meet its biodiversity and species abundance goals and could benefit local communities, restore ecosystems and secure the future of organisms in the wild. The Committee made a series of detailed recommendations on the Government adopting a long-term strategic vision on species reintroduction. MPs called for the Government to produce a list of priority species for reintroduction.
It also noted, however, that species reintroduction can be controversial and can carry the risk of potential adverse effects on local communities, as in the case of beaver reintroduction. The EFRA Committee’s report recommended categorising species according to levels of risk to stakeholders, (low, medium or high) and emphasized the importance of a pre-reintroduction management plan for each species.
In its response to the report, DEFRA states that ‘the reintroduction of species is not a priority for the government’ and that the Government aims to reach its biodiversity targets through other methods including habitat restoration and biodiversity corridors. DEFRA says it will not be producing a strategy or a list of priority species for reintroduction and referred instead to the Government’s Code for Reintroductions. To the proposal of a three-tiered list of risk levels, DEFRA disagreed, responding that the level of risk from any species is dependent upon local circumstances.
EFRA’s report recommended that a Species Reintroduction Strategy by Government should include budgetary provision to support farmers and landowners in case of adverse effects of reintroduction. Responding to EFRA’s proposal, the Government stated that the primary mechanism for Government funding for farmers would be through ELMS (environment land management schemes).
Sir Robert Goodwill, Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee said:
“The Government has said that species reintroductions are not a priority and so it will not produce a strategy for managing them. This is despite the fact that reintroductions are currently taking place in the UK and raising concerns in farming and rural communities, particularly in relation to increased flooding risks arising from beaver reintroductions.
The Government have in the past played a role in supporting the reintroduction of lost native species, including the red kite and pool frog. However, given the important potential benefits of species reintroduction and considering the Government’s own targets on biodiversity, it is concerning that they do not have a plan on species reintroduction and disappointing that they have not responded positively to our report and taken more steps to manage the reintroductions taking place as we speak.”
Rishi Sunak will miss his key pledge to cut NHS waiting lists as a new analysis shows the backlog is set to hit a record 8 million by next summer – regardless of further strikes.
Rebecca Thomas www.independent.co.uk
The number of patients waiting for an operation or appointment will peak at an all-time high by August 2024 – up from 7.75 million this August, according to the Health Foundation think tank.
The analysis will come as a blow to the prime minister who has so far failed to meet promises he made in January 2023 to cut the backlog and get people treated more quickly by March 2024.
The latest figures show 500,000 more people are waiting to be seen since he made the pledge.
Wes Streeting, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, said the report “blows out of the water the Conservatives’ attempts to blame doctors and nurses for the crisis in the NHS”.
“Rishi Sunak’s failure to stop the strikes has only made a terrible situation worse, leaving even more patients waiting in pain and discomfort, unable to live their lives to the full,” he added.
The Health Foundation’s predictions, calculated by measuring new monthly surgery and appointment referrals against completed treatments, found the NHS waiting list has been steadily rising for the past decade. And efforts to tackle the backlog could be further hampered by a new wave of Covid or bad winter flu season or hospitals having to cut back care as a result of financial pressures, it added.
Charles Tallack, director of data analytics at the Health Foundation, said: “Ministers have been quick to blame industrial action for the lack of progress in reducing the waiting list but the roots of this crisis lie in a decade of underinvestment in the NHS, a failure to address chronic staff shortages and the longstanding neglect of social care. The pandemic heaped further significant pressure on an already stressed system but waiting lists were already growing long before Covid.”
“Eliminating the backlog for elective care and returning waiting times to 18 weeks is entirely possible – it was done in the early 2000s and it can be done again. However, it will be very challenging and will require sustained focus, policy action and investment.”
The report warned that ongoing junior doctors’ strikes could cause the waiting list to increase after August 2024 by 180,000. It also said they would have indirect impacts on services such as “squeezing NHS finances and diverting management attention away from productivity improvement”.
So far, strike action by junior doctors, which started in March, and action by consultants which started in July, has increased the waiting list by 210,000 people – 3 per cent – according to the analysis.
Responding to the report, Tim Mitchell, president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said waiting lists had “ballooned” in the past decade due to “underinvestment and workforce shortages” – pressures which were compounded by the pandemic.
“While industrial action has contributed to delays, the roots of this crisis precede the strikes,” he said.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents health services across England said: “With the elective waiting list increasing by around 100,000 a month, NHS finances already hit to the tune of £1.4bn and nearly 1.2 million people experiencing a cancelled operation as a result of industrial action, it’s in everyone’s interest to bring the strikes to an end. If not, we are facing a waiting list of over 8 million next year.”
“As the Health Foundation report rightly says, the root cause of the delays to treatment that patients are now experiencing is a decade of under-investment in the NHS.”
Representatives from the British Medical Association and the government met last week after months of stalemate over the strikes.
BMA chair, Prof Phil Banfield, said: “For months we have been hearing ministers blame strikes for the length of the elective waiting lists, which are now nearing 8 million. While there is no doubt that industrial action has had an effect on the ability to reduce waiting lists – something that could have been avoided entirely if the government had come to the table willing to listen to doctors in the first place – it pales in comparison with a decade of failure of policy on the NHS from the top
“This should be a ‘carpe diem’ moment for the PM and chancellor. They must seize the moment to demonstrate they are planning and investing for the long-term future of the UK. I appeal directly to them to unblock the obstacles that stop us getting on with treating patients. It is up to them.”
The Department of Health and Social Care has been approached for comment.
Two of Torbay’s Conservative councilors have resigned from the ruling Tory group.
The two rebel councillors are also calling on the Tory administration to focus on supporting local High Streets and tackling the problems of homelessness and housing.
“There’s a lot of good stuff going on in Torbay with devolution and big capital projects lining up, but if history has taught us anything it’s that the devil is in the detail, and we would encourage the administration to be focused on that too.
“We want to be free to challenge projects while they’re still being formulated so we can avoid the fiascos of the past.”
Guy Henderson, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk
Katya Maddison (Shiphay) and Patrick Joyce (Wellswood) were elected as Conservatives in the local council polls in May, but have now decided to form a new group called Prosper Torbay.
They claim they will be better able to serve the interests of Torbay residents by being outside the Conservative group.
The change shifts the balance of power on Torbay Council significantly. Up until today there were 19 Conservative councillors, 15 Liberal Democrats and two Independents, giving the Tories an overall majority of two.
However, with 17 Conservatives, 15 Liberal Democrats, two Independents and two Prosper Torbay councillors, the overall majority is gone.
The two rebel councillors are also calling on the Tory administration to focus on supporting local High Streets and tackling the problems of homelessness and housing.
In a statement they said: “There’s a lot of good stuff going on in Torbay with devolution and big capital projects lining up, but if history has taught us anything it’s that the devil is in the detail, and we would encourage the administration to be focused on that too.
“We want to be free to challenge projects while they’re still being formulated so we can avoid the fiascos of the past.”
The two councillors say there are old issues which aren’t going to be solved by building projects.
Their statement goes on: “To get the best result from all this investment a response to anti-social behaviour must be baked into the programme.
“Our high street businesses are fragile. We’ve worked hard to understand some of their challenges and would like to see effective measures being taken by a council listening and adapting and supporting our communities.
“Particularly at this time of economic challenge we could be developing new thinking to help them respond to the pressures they are facing.”
Cllr Maddison says she believes better information flows and transparency are things the council could improve to the benefit of residents and businesses, while Cllr Joyce says he believes new ideas are needed if the issues of homelessness and housing are to be addressed.
“We will continue to strive for a council focused on improvement,” the statement goes on.
“What lies ahead of us is so exciting, but we must link investment with the other crucial changes that will make the difference, and that doesn’t happen unless there are people actively pushing for them.
“Our purpose is working for all residents of Torbay who are at the heart of everything we look to do and achieve, and we continue as ward councillors to serve our communities in very difficult and uncertain times.”
East Devon Watch 