On March 9, 2020, days after Prof Chris Witty told MPs that we can no longer contain Covid-19 and must move into the delay phase, Owl reported Claire Wright’s concerns over:  “More deep cuts loom as Devon’s NHS must save over £400m by 2024”.

Now we have:

Health bosses to offload Okehampton’s empty hospital ward (as well as Seaton)

It could save £215,000 a year.

[Owl questions the use of the word “Save” in this context – this is an internal transfer between two parts of the NHS in budget deficit.]

Devon’s health bosses want to hand back an empty ward at Okehampton hospital to its landlords after claiming it has cost the local NHS more than £1 million over six years.

Bradley Gerrard, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk 

A report by the Devon Integrated Care Board suggests the county’s NHS could save around £215,000 per year by returning the ward to NHS Property Services, which owns the health service’s properties and rents them back to local trusts.

With Devon’s NHS ending the most recent financial year with a £46 million deficit, the trust’s bosses are desperately searching for ways to save money.

The county’s health board is in special measures, meaning Devon gets intensive support from NHS England.

The NHS in Devon has a £212 million savings plan, but its December board papers show it is £32.5 million adrift from where it expected to be.

The plan to jettison the Okehampton ward comes shortly after it emerged that the NHS in Devon is also seeking to hand back a ward at Seaton Community Hospital.

However, local opposition there has been vocal, with Richard Foord MP (Lib Dem, Tiverton and Honiton) raising the issue at Prime Minister’s Questions in parliament.

Beds at the ward in Okehampton were removed in 2017 when the clinical commissioning group agreed to retain inpatient beds at Sidmouth, Exmouth and Tiverton community hospitals, but to close them in the West Devon town, as well as at Seaton, Whipton and Honiton.

Around the same time, ownership of the hospitals moved to NHS Property Services, which charges a market rent even on empty space.

Devon’s NHS said a consultation at the time about the changes to these hospitals, entitled Your Future Care, involved 70 events and public meetings attended by more than 2,000 people. It received more than 1,500 responses  to it survey, along with 650 letters, but didn’t indicate the balance of views expressed, meaning it is unclear whether people supported or opposed the plans.

The report said the NHS in Devon hadn’t received a viable scheme so beds could return to the Okehampton ward, and the cost of bringing it back into a usable condition would be significant.

“Faced with ongoing stark financial challenges, we have started the process of surrendering this space so we can save the money being wasted,” the report said.

“On 28 November, we took a decision which effectively means we are in the process of handing the former ward area – made up of the empty ward, associated link corridors and ancillary space – back to the owner of the building, NHS Property Services.

“Based on local discussions and our experience, we do not anticipate that local voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations would be able to take on the ward space.”

It added that it would still be talking to local organisations to confirm they were not able to take on the space, and would also be consulting them on how best to use the rest of the hospital that remains in use now.
 

Devon’s health leaders aren’t confident they can get out of special measures by the target date they have been set.

Bradley Gerrard www.midweekherald.co.uk

The county’s leading health professionals told the Devon Integrated Care Board (ICB) that it could “not provide assurance of meeting the target exit date by Q1 2024/25”.

At its December meeting, the ICB, chaired by doctor and former Totnes MP Sarah Wollaston, heard that Devon’s health and care sector is on target to meet just two of nine criteria it has to hit to exit the NHS Oversight Framework, or NOF.

Devon is under NOF4, the most serious level, also referred to as being in special measures.

Bill Shields, interim chief executive and chief financial officer of NHS Devon, told the meeting at County Hall in Exeter that the health system had a “significant amount of work that needs to be done”.

“If you look at the current financial performance, we are not where we need to be,” he said.

He noted that this year had been challenging for a variety of reasons, including industrial action by junior doctors, and that next year will be similarly challenging for the whole NHS.

A report by Mr Shields showed Devon’s health service reporting a year-to-date deficit of £75 million against a planned deficit of £39 million, up nearly three-quarters compared to the previous month.

Stubborn costs, industrial action, a shortfall in pay award funding, and a year-to-date overspend on drugs at some hospitals were listed as some of the reasons.

Devon NHS has made nearly £90 million in efficiency savings in the current financial year, but it is targeting a total of £212 million.

Mr Shields said NHS Devon is moving to a single central office at Exeter’s Pynes Hill this month, which will help reduce annual running costs by approximately £500,000.

He added that all non-clinical posts would “not be filled by default”, but that a detailed process could be conducted if a case is made for a post to be filled.

Allison Williams, system improvement director for NHS Devon, welcomed the ICB’s commitment to helping improve the situation.

“The seriousness with which the board needs to take this is well understood,” she said.

“As part of the reset, it is timely to remind ourselves of the reason why I’m here as part of mandated support.”

The ICB is made up of members from the NHS Devon executive as well as non-executive members, and members from other organisations, such as Devon County Council’s leader Donna Manson.

Its purpose is to ensure high quality heath services and robust financial management.

Devon has been hit with dozens of sewage pollution warnings today (Thursday, December 7). An interactive map published by environmental action group Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) claims 26 of Devon’s beaches could be contaminated with sewage.

What about the rivers?  – Owl

Molly Seaman www.devonlive.com

South West based SAS monitors the water quality across 47 beaches in Devon, meaning roughly 55 per cent could be polluted. According to SAS, a pollution alert means “storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours”.

The current warnings in place affect the south and east coast of Devon, with Torbay, Exmouth and Plymouth the worst affected. Around Woolacombe there is some pollution too, but the north coast seems to be faring better than the south.

The main contributing factor to polluted beaches is urban runoff, which sees fertilisers, pesticides, oil, and untreated human and animal waste all entering waterways, such as rivers. These harmful contaminants then eventually end up at our beaches. South West Water and other water companies are allowed to let their combined storm overflows (CSO), which combine household sewage with surface run-off, open into the sea when overwhelmed by heavy rain.

Swallowing water that could be contaminated with poo could lead to gastroenteritis, hepatitis, giardiasis, skin rashes, amoebic dysentery, nose, ear, and throat problems, pink eye, and other respiratory illnesses. Symptoms to look out for include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, cramps, inflamed stomach and intestines.

Devon beaches hit with sewage alerts:

• Seaton
• Beer
• Sidmouth Town
• Budleigh Salterton
• Sandy Bay
• Exmouth
• Dawlish Town
• Dawlish Coryton Cove
• Teignmouth Holcombe
• Shaldon
• Meadfoot
• Beacon Cove
• Torre Abbey
• Paignton Preston Sands
• Goodrington
• St Marys Bay
• Dartmouth Castle and Sugary Cove
• Mill Bay
• Salcombe South Sands
• Thurlestone South
• Mothercombe
• Wembury
• Firestone Bay
• Plymouth Hoe East
• Plymouth Hoe West
• Woolacombe Village

Labour will take on vested interests from water companies to housebuilders and farmers in an effort to restore the UK’s degraded natural environment, the party’s environment chief has said.

Fiona Harvey www.theguardian.com 

Steve Reed, the shadow environment secretary, said: “If the Tories want to have an election fight over that, bring it on, because the British people care about the countryside, they care about nature. They care about living in a beautiful country. They value their access to the countryside. The Conservatives are on the wrong side of all that, and to many, many voters that will tip their votes.”

Vested interests had provoked a sewage crisis in the UK’s waterways, he said. “The government has formed a coalition between the Conservative party and rogue water bosses.

“They are allowing these companies to illegally exploit our waterways by filling them up with record levels of sewage, illegal discharges of sewage, in order to boost their profits. Then the water bosses take huge levels of bonuses as a result of these boosted profits.”

The Tory approach to housebuilders also verged on corruption, he added. Labour exposed this when the government tried to weaken nutrient neutrality rules in August, in plans that would have given housebuilders carte blanche to build without considering the impact of sewage from new houses.

“[They have] a cosy relationship with developers, who became the biggest source of donations to the Conservative party. And then, frankly some decisions … where planning permission was granted for inappropriate developments when the developer was donating to the Conservative party.”

Labour would take a firm line with all vested interests, he said. “We’re not only going to stop that from happening in future but we will go back and get some of that money [for instance from Covid contracts], as much of that money back as we can so that we can invest it. Public money should be spent for the public good, not private gain.”

Protecting nature is not just essential, it is a vote winner, Reed believes.

“The Conservatives have increasingly been positioning themselves against nature. They have not just tolerated but encouraged the degradation of nature,” he told the Guardian in his first high-profile interview since his appointment by Keir Starmer in September.

“They are on the wrong side of the public, as well as the wrong side of history. When it comes to nature, we are the conservers, not the Conservatives.”

Reed is acutely aware that Labour must make huge gains in rural and semi-rural constituencies if it is to win a majority at the general election, expected next year.

Tony Blair won a landslide in 1997 by taking a majority for the first time for Labour in rural, semi-rural and coastal seats, and again in 2001, but since then the party’s support in such areas has waned.

The Liberal Democrats have made big byelection gains, overturning huge Tory majorities largely through a strong focus on green issues such as the pollution of waterways.

Labour has been viewed by many political observers as quieter on nature issues, and conservation groups have been pushing the party for more action.

Reed said nature protection was the “opposite side of the same coin” as the climate crisis and net zero. Viewed in parliament as an attacking politician, his instincts are to bring the fight to the Tories. He was said to be instrumental in controversial ads attacking Rishi Sunak this year, and his appointment was widely seen as a sign that Starmer was attempting not to cede the initiative to the Lib Dems on green issues such as sewage, nature and housebuilding.

“Keir wants us to make a bigger offer on nature and coastal issues,” he said. “Labour’s path to victory runs through rural communities. We need them to win, then govern effectively. But this is not just a political case, it’s a moral one.”

He takes it personally, he makes clear. “We shouldn’t be totally dispassionate in politics, I think you’ve got a right to be angry,” he said. “You’ve got to channel it into making a better offer for how our country can meet the aspirations that the British people have for it, that these Conservatives have totally abandoned.”

Rural people face some of the worst poverty and deprivation in the country, he noted, but it is rarely considered. Rural areas frequently lack transport, broadband, access to healthcare and other basic amenities that cities take for granted, and a lack of jobs, investment and affordable housing has held people back, Reed argues.

“We must expose the horror that the Conservatives have inflicted on our rural communities. They have left working families who live in the countryside facing low pay and rising poverty, inadequate public transport and the destruction of good local jobs,” he said.

Some of Reed’s positions are likely to bring him into conflict with farmers. British rivers are dying not just because water companies fill them with sewage, but also because of pollution by farmers, who the Guardian has revealed are barely inspected owing to savage budget cuts at the Environment Agency.

Conservationists are also likely to object to Labour plans to build on the green belt, though Natural England chief Tony Juniper told the Guardian last month that it was possible to build on green belt land and improve conditions for wildlife and nature.

While Labour has announced plans to deny bonuses to water bosses over sewage, promised support for farmers and set out plans for a new Clean Air Act, important policy areas are still blank or lacking in detail. Pledges such as improving the UK’s flood defences and planting trees will need to be backed up with new cash.

Reed has also little to say yet on rewilding and species reintroduction, and has not yet taken a view on whether to restrict or ban wood-burning stoves, which are now responsible for about a third of the UK’s air pollution despite being owned by only 8% of households.

The Conservative’s promise to match EU funding post-Brexit has been exposed as a ruse after Cornwall Council said it has been left with a “devastating” shortfall that will communities reeling.

Jack Peat www.thelondoneconomic.com 

The money the council receives from the government to replace EU grants lost following the split with Europe is set to run out in under a month’s time, it has been reported, leaving more than millions of pounds worth of fund applications by communities and businesses unmet.

In 2021, the government confirmed that “total funding through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) will at a minimum match the size of EU funds in each nation and in Cornwall each year” and it was estimated that “no worse off” equated to an average of £100 million a year for the Duchy until 2025, with an additional three years to complete the spend of the investment.

In reality, Cornwall has received around £43 million a year.

“Devastating”

Speaking to the BBC, Tim Dwelly, Cornwall Council’s shadow cabinet member for economy, described the expected shortfall as “devastating”.

“The applications from Cornish community groups and businesses were for almost three times the amount Cornwall got”, he added.

Independent councillor and former leader of Cornwall Council Julian German said: “It’s very sad that this isn’t happening as it will harm people’s prospects and the vitality of our communities.”

Conservative councillor Linda Taylor, leader of Cornwall Council, said she had written to the government to highlight the importance of an extension to the SPF programme beyond 2025.

A Cornwall Council spokesperson said: “We await confirmation from the government of how and when the next tranche of funding after 2025 will be delivered, and we will continue to push for a fair deal for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.”

Council finances

Councils at large have warned that the risk of financial failure has increased due to the Government’s lack of support in the autumn statement, while others said they may not be able to fulfil their legal duties.

With Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove due to give evidence to MPs on council finances on Wednesday, two surveys of senior local government figures suggest the sector is on the brink of escalating operational distress.

A survey by the Labour-led Local Government Association (LGA) found one in five council leaders and chief executives believe it is very or fairly likely that their chief finance officer will need to issue a section 114 notice this year or next, in an admission that the annual budget cannot be balanced as required by law.

Half of respondents said they are not confident they will have enough funding to meet their legal duties after no further money was provided by the Chancellor.

This includes statutory services such as social care and support for the homeless.

The Seaton Hospital Steering Committee had a private meeting with NHS Devon yesterday

Martin Shaw seatonmatters.org /

Kirstine House, the CEO of the League of Friends, Cllr Paul Arnott, Leader of EDDC, Jack Rowland and I met with Dr Sarah Wollaston and her colleagues from the NHS Devon’s Integrated Care Board yesterday. 

• They are proceeding with the transfer of the wing to NHS Property Services on 31 December, but it may take up to 2 years for Property Services to come to a final decision, giving us time to work up our plans.
• Dr Wollaston accepted that they still have a “moral responsibility” for the future of the hospital and the threatened wing – I think all those letters you wrote had an effect.
• NHS Devon agreed an action plan with us in which, in addition to giving us the practical and financial information that we have asked for, they will work with us to facilitate our negotiations with Property Services. 

We presented our petitions to NHS Devon at their public Board meeting this morning:

We gathered an incredible 9,150 signatures in barely 3 weeks from a local population of under 15,000. I presented them to Dr Wollaston at County Hall today – Spotlight and ITV West Country News were there, so watch tonight! Thanks to all who signed and, especially, those who leafleted, collected signatures and gave their time to come to Exeter. Dr Wollaston acknowledged the huge community feeling which we have shown in recent weeks.

• I also asked questions and commented at their Board meeting: watch at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-NRi1_6f0M (first 4 minutes).
• Dr W publicly stated: “we will definitely be working with you as we work with NHS Property Services”.

Next steps: (1) Our Steering Committee will be meeting on Thursday 14th December to discuss how to develop our plan for the space in question. (2) Supporters are invited to a Christmas social evening at the Old Picture House, Harbour Road, at 6.30 on Wednesday 13th December – please email me if you are thinking of coming, so that we have an idea of the numbers. (3) The issue comes back to the Devon Health and Adult Care Scrutiny Committee on 24th January, which should receive reports from NHS Devon and Property Services.

On Monday Rishi Sunak suffered his first defeat in the commons with his attempts to delay compensation payments to victims of the haemophilia scandal who were given blood donated – or sold – by people infected with HIV and hepatitis C.

The Chair of the Haemophilia Society said the  government stance was “on the wrong side of history”; a ‘huge error’ and hailed the Commons defeat as ‘victory for democracy’.

Simon Jupp dutifully voted with the defeated government

(The Home Secretary has a succinct way of describing what he smelt)

A Conservative MP [Simon Jupp] from Devon has accused South West Water (SWW) of carrying out “potentially illegal sewage spills”.

Despite making this accusation, our brave MP failed to follow through. He did not support a LibDem amendment to the compensation bill for victims bill on Monday which would have allowed people who fall sick due to illegal sewage dumping to claim compensation.

It was blocked by 250 Conservative MPs, letting water companies off the hook once again. – Owl

Brodie Owen BBC News, South West

East Devon’s Simon Jupp said the firm released sewage into bathing waters at Sandy Bay in Exmouth and the River Sid in Sidmouth on Monday.

The Environment Agency (EA) confirmed there was a “non-compliant” sewage spill for 90 minutes following a power cut at a sewage plant near Exmouth, while an open inspection cover led to sewage being discharged into the River Sid.

SWW chief executive Susan Davy apologised for the impact on bathing waters.

Mr Jupp said the EA had informed him about “potentially illegal sewage spills in my constituency”.

“SWW have questions they need to answer urgently about these spills,” he said.

“The particular one of concern is into Sandy Bay … this is not good enough.

“We need to look into that and there needs to be a full investigation.”

‘Exceptionally wet’

In a letter to Mr Jupp seen by the BBC, Ms Davy said she was “deeply sorry” for the impact on bathing waters.

She said the incidents occurred during an “exceptionally wet few days” and they would be “thoroughly investigated”.

“The recent wet weather has put pressure on all infrastructure, including the electricity supply we receive,” she said.

“Whilst we have electricity generator back up, a power blip impacted the operational control system.

“The team immediately mobilised, and it took 90 minutes before we could rectify the system issue.”

The EA said a power cut at the Maer Lane Treatment Works, near Exmouth, prevented the normal operation of the plant and led to sewage discharge that “did not meet permitted conditions”.

It said a separate spill in the River Sid was caused by an inspection cover at Eastern Town being lifted in heavy rainfall.

The authority had warned swimmers against swimming in the two areas after the “non-compliant spills”.

“This advice has now been removed as two high-tide cycles have passed since SWW confirmed the sewage discharge has stopped,” it added.

“This is expected to provide sufficient dilution to reduce the potential increased risk.”

‘Difficult to comprehend’

Geoff Crawford, from End Sewage Convoys and Pollution Exmouth, highlighted that there had already been permitted discharges in the area outside of the two incidents.

Sewage companies are allowed to use overflow valves when systems become overwhelmed.

Mr Crawford said: “It means there was additional untreated sewage in the sea, but there is a much larger overflow taking place.

“To be permitted to [discharge] for well over 48 hours … is difficult to comprehend.”

Other comments on Simon’s twitter post include:

Latest on SEATON HOSPITAL protest at County Hall … campaigners dressed as nurses will join me when I present our 9,151-signature petition to Dr Sarah Wollaston, Chair of Devon NHS, on the steps of County Hall, Exeter at 9.30 THIS MORNING.

BELOW is the letter I shall give to her with the petitions

Martin Shaw

Secretary, Seaton Hospital Steering Committee

For years the British government from the prime minister down has lacked a coherent economic strategy, according to a thinktank’s health check of UK prospects.

Phillip Inman www.theguardian.com 

“We are not on course towards setting any such strategy – indeed, we are not serious about the task,” says the report, titled “Ending Stagnation – a new economic strategy for Britain”.

Funded by the independent Nuffield Foundation and pieced together from original research by the Resolution Foundation thinktank and the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, the report is forgiving of politicians who have faced a succession of global shocks, from Covid to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

However, the authors document a series of failures that have left the UK as a laggard among G7 economies and ill-prepared for the task of providing a decent standard of living for most people in the years ahead.

The economy

Rather than creating an economy where the number of high-skilled jobs is on the rise, the report says workers will be £470 worse off by the end of the decade. This loss comes after 15 years of flatlined wages, costing the average worker £10,700 a year in lost pay growth compared with the pre-financial crash trend.

A loss of international trade is one reason cited for the lack of growth, which the report partly blames on Brexit.

By 2023, UK trade as a share of annual national income was down 2.2 percentage points on pre-pandemic levels. This compares with a rise of 0.5 points across the rest of the G7.

A loss of market share across EU and non-EU markets, including the US, Canada and Japan, is to blame, said the report. With a loss of trade comes a decline in high-skilled jobs, it adds.

“UK manufacturing will change rather than grow, as high-productivity sectors like chemicals and electronics shrink even as lower-productivity food manufacturing expands,” says the report.

“Wages in London, Wales and the north-east will be hardest hit by the resulting decline in productivity, which, across the country as a whole, means workers will be £470 worse off by the end of the decade.”

Cities

Only a handful of cities have successfully made the transition to a services economy. All England’s biggest cities bar London have productivity levels below the national average.

“A strategy to turn this around is what an industrial strategy in a service-dominated economy looks like,” says the report. “This is not a strategy for the few; the UK may be a ‘green and pleasant land’, but 69% of the UK population live in cities or their hinterlands, compared with 56% in France and just 40% in Italy.”

Easing the pressure from sky-high interest rates could come from raising the Bank of England’s inflation target to 3%. This would mean interest rates could begin to fall next year, easing pressure on mortgage holders and the Treasury, which has about a third of its loans with the central bank.

A wealth tax would also ease the pressure on the government’s finances and allow ministers to reward work rather than the hoarding of assets.

Council tax should be reformed and the burden increased on higher-value homes, allowing stamp duty on property sales to be permanently cut on low- to mid-priced homes.

Poverty

The share of the public citing poverty and inequality as one of the most important issues facing the country has risen sharply, from 7% in 2010 to 19% immediately before the Covid pandemic.

The report says a toxic combination of low growth and failure to shift the highest levels of inequality among any large European country has contributed to the lack of progress on living standards for lower-income households.

Cuts to benefits under the post-2010 austerity drive of Conservative-led governments have also fuelled poverty. The report says benefit levels have failed to keep pace with prices in 10 of the past 15 years. Along with wider cuts since 2010, this has reduced the incomes of poorest fifth by just under £3,000 a year.

If the policy measures recommended by the report were adopted, relative poverty would be cut by 1.3 million people rather than increase by 1.1 million, as currently projected.

Intergenerational

Young adults have seen generational pay progress grind to a halt, according to the report, highlighting how those born in the early 1980s were almost half as likely as their parents’ generation to own their own home by the age of 30.

After 15 years of average wages after inflation remaining almost stagnant, it says almost 9 million younger Britons have never worked in an economy that has sustained rising average wages.

Meanwhile, almost a third of young people in the UK are not receiving any education by the age of 18, compared with just one in five in France and Germany.

As a result, the report says, improvements in household disposable income from generation to generation – something that was taken for granted throughout the second half of the 20th century – have slowed or ground to a halt. The average income for those born in the early 1980s is almost £1,400 lower at 30 than those born 10 years earlier.

They’re “analogue capabilities that it makes sense to retain”.

On the essential commodity of food we have already had Thérèse Coffey’s emergency advice: “let them eat turnips”.

“People should stock up on battery-powered radios and torches, as well as candles and first aid kits in order to prepare for power cuts or digital communications going down, the deputy prime minister reportedly said.”

Don’t forget the turnips! – Owl

Jamie Grierson www.theguardian.com 

According to the Times, Oliver Dowden described the supplies as “analogue capabilities that it makes sense to retain” in a digital age during a visit to Porton Down, the UK’s military laboratory.

Dowden made the visit to coincide with his first annual risk and resilience statement, which he had promised to give last year when launching the government’s UK resilience framework.

As part of the statement, he announced the launch of a national “resilience academy” to help people and businesses prepare for future pandemics, natural disasters and cyber-attacks.

The deputy prime minister announced the plans in the House of Commons, claiming the academy would help the “whole of society” prepare for the risks.

Dowden listed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, cyber-attacks, pandemics, the misuse of artificial intelligence and extreme weather among some of the risks the UK faces.

He said businesses would be offered training to deal with the impact of such threats, while a new website will provide the public with “practical advice” on how to be better prepared for future risks.

He told the Commons: “The government has a role in bringing all actors together and to give them the skills they need. Today, I can announce we are developing a new UK resilience academy that will improve the skills of those groups.

“It will provide a range of learning and training opportunities for the whole of society. For professionals, there will be a curriculum to build skills, knowledge and networks, and a centre for excellence for exercising. For businesses, there will be greater guidance and particularly assistance on threats to critical national infrastructure and cyber.

“And for citizens, there will be a unified government resilience website, which will provide practical advice on how households can prepare as part of a campaign to raise awareness of the simple steps individuals can take to raise their resilience.”

Dowden also said the government would develop a volunteer hub aimed at helping authorities draw on a single pool of volunteers who want to help in future events similar to the Covid pandemic, which he said “demonstrated the overwhelming community spirit” of the UK.

The Labour frontbencher Pat McFadden welcomed the measures but asked what the government was doing to bolster resilience in energy supplies and the “public estate”, as well as in elections.

He said: “Why is it that the government’s new policy is to roll back on the transition mandated by its own legislation for net zero, and prolong a reliance on international fossil fuel markets? For these failures, the British public has paid a heavy price.

“And how will the government increase resilience in the public estate? Schools’ capital budgets cut back under this prime minister’s watch while he was chancellor. School roofs falling in, disrupting children’s education.”

He also pressed ministers to implement recommendations of parliament’s intelligence and security committee, aimed at preventing Russia and other states from interfering with upcoming elections.

McFadden said: “With an election coming some time in the next year, I am sure the secretary of state would agree that we need to do all we can to ensure it is conducted in a free and fair manner.”

The deputy prime minister reminded the Commons that an election could be held in January 2025 at the latest.

Dowden said: “Indeed it is not just in this nation, in many nations around the world next year – or indeed in this nation it could be the year after – elections will happen.

“That is why we have instructed the democracy taskforce to make sure we are fully resilient.”

Background. The 2013 Tory administration set East Devon an eighteen year target to build a minimum of 950 houses/year (17,100 in total by 2031). This forms the basis of the latest government imposed targets. 

Under government rules, EDDC also has to ensure a five year rolling plan to supply these houses. In 2020 Covid, unsurprisingly, resulted in a fall in housing completions and EDDC now has to play catch-up. _ Owl

Will Goddard www.sidmouthherald.co.uk 

A new town in East Devon with 8,000 homes is to be built near the Devon County Showground at Westpoint.

East Devon district councillors have decided it is the best place for the settlement, which comes around 12 years after spades went in the ground at Cranbrook, around six miles away.

The new development will be on land between Exeter Airport and Crealy Theme Park, and 2,500 homes are expected to be constructed by 2040. 

It is south of the A30 and north of the A3052, roughly west of Farringdon and east of Westpoint. 

Councillors had three options, all within a small area at the western part of East Devon, but this location is seen as the most viable.

The chosen option on land to the north of A3052. (Image: East Devon District Council) 

Cllr Geoff Jung (Lib Dem, Woodbury and Lympstone) thinks a new town is better than more development in existing communities. He said: “We are required by government to build 910 dwellings a year.  

“A self-contained new community would be able to provide all the required facilities and connecting infrastructure in one location at a more acceptable cost, without the need to upgrade our district infrastructure throughout. 

“Our already-failing infrastructure could not support our existing communities to grow substantially without the required increased education, health, utilities, sewage infrastructure, plus transport links that would be required spread throughout rural East Devon. 

“Two thirds of our district is in protected landscapes. Plus, we have a heavily protected world heritage coastline, numerous floodplains and estuaries, so we have little choice. 

“The only way to go is to complete Cranbrook new town and to build another community as well.” 

The new town of Cranbrook is located six miles away. (Image: Chris Mills/Still Imaging) (Image: Archant)

But Cllr Jess Bailey (Independent, West Hill and Aylesbeare) said: “This is our open countryside, and our villages, which has evolved over hundreds and thousands of years. And we’re about to radically change it.”

She continued: “We’re being presented with it as being a really positive option because we won’t have to have estates on the outside of our towns, but we’re already getting estates on the outside of our towns.” 

Councillors also had concerns about a potential impact on traffic in the Exeter area. 

Cllr Kevin Blakey (Independent, Cranbrook) said: “It is going to be a dormitory for the city of Exeter, so transport is going to be a big issue there.  

“One of the worries for me is that the only option for transport is the road. There are no railway lines that are near it or can get near it, ever will get near it, unlike Cranbrook.” 

Cllr Olly Davey (Green, Exmouth Town) spoke about how although many do not want more houses, some do.  

He said: “If you ask people in East Devon if they want to see further development, they’ll say no. Why would they? They’ve got a home. It’s only the people that are desperately still trying to find a home in East Devon who want to see further development.”  

Plans for the new town will now be developed further, and another public consultation is planned towards the end of next year. 

From: Professor Martin Shaw (secretary, Seaton Hospital Steering Committee)

The campaign to save Seaton Hospital’s threatened wing comes to the Devon NHS’s Integrated Care Board meeting in Exeter tomorrow morning.

• I will PRESENT PETITIONS, signed by over 75% of the adult population in the Seaton area, to Dr Sarah Wollaston, Chair of Devon NHS, on the steps of County Hall at 9.30.
• Other campaigners will be supporting me with placards.

We will then go into the ICB meeting at 10.30, where THE BOARD WILL ANSWER QUESTIONS which we have submitted, given below. Our questions will be answered early in the meeting, after which we will leave. 

Questions:

1. Were Finance Committee and Board members informed, before their meetings in September and October respectively, that Seaton Hospital was established on the initiative of and part-funded by the League of Friends, on the understanding that the building would be run as an NHS hospital, and that the building of the wing in question was paid for 100 per cent by public donations? Does the Board now accept that, in the light of these considerations, it should have consulted with Seaton stakeholders before making this decision? 

2. Does the Board now accept that it was mistaken to quote the 2016-17 consultation on the withdrawal of the beds in justification of its recent decision? First, the consultation did not concern the future use of ward space. Second, its results showed that Seaton residents were overwhelmingly opposed to the withdrawal, and the last-minute switch of Seaton’s beds to Sidmouth, without proper justification, discredited the outcome in the eyes of the local community?

3. Will the Board agree to the request of the Devon Health and Adult Care Scrutiny Committee that the proposed disposal is not implemented until they have explored and discussed the long-term future provision of NHS/health and wellbeing services for Seaton and Colyton residents, and reported on this to the Scrutiny Committee, as it has requested, in January 2024?

Rishi Sunak has suffered a parliamentary defeat as MPs voted to establish a compensatory body for victims of the infected blood scandal.

Christy Cooney www.theguardian.com

MPs voted 246 to 242 in favour of an amendment to the victims and prisoners bill that will require the government to set up a body to administer compensation within three months of the bill becoming law.

The amendment, which passed with the support of around 30 Tory MPs, marks the first parliamentary defeat of Sunak’s premiership.

The scandal, now the subject of an inquiry, unfolded in the late 1970s and early 1980s, after about 4,800 people with the blood-clotting disorder haemophilia given blood donated – or sold – by people infected with HIV and hepatitis C.

The government previously said there was a “moral case for the payment of compensation”, and that preparations for the payment of compensation were being made, but that it wanted to wait for the outcome of the inquiry.

The inquiry, chaired by Sir Brian Langstaff, was originally due to publish its final report last month, but is now expected to deliver its findings in March.

Of those affected by the scandal, around half have already died, and campaigners say time is of the essence.

Sir Robert Buckland, the former justice secretary, and Caroline Nokes, chair of the women and equalities select committee, were among the senior Conservatives to give the amendment their backing.

There was a cheer in the House of Commons as the result of the vote was announced.

Labour MP Dame Diana Johnson, who tabled the amendment, said it marked an “important step forward in what has been an extraordinarily long fight for justice”, though added that it was “not the end”.

“There is still much work to be done to … bring justice to those who do not have the luxury of waiting,” she said.

Speaking ahead of the vote, Edward Argar, the justice minister, said the scandal “should never have happened” and that the government had “great sympathy” with the intention of the amendment.

“My thoughts, and I believe all those in this House, remain with those impacted by this appalling tragedy,” he said.

Heavy rain lasting more than 24 hours has resulted in multiple flood warnings and alerts being issued for areas across East Devon.

East Devon Reporter eastdevonnews.co.uk

The Environment Agency (EA) said it expects river levels in many areas to remain high overnight, and into Tuesday (December 5).

Residents living near flooded areas are urged to be aware that water could be fast-flowing and deep.

The Environment Agency said: “Over the last 24 hours we have seen heavy rainfall in the East Devon area.

“This has meant that rivers in the area have risen and will remain high.”

Flood warnings are in place for the River Axe and River Clyst, plus alerts are in place for multiple areas across East Devon.

The Environment Agency said:

• Property flooding is expected at Chard Junction, and Axe Farm, Coaxdon and Weycroft cottages at Broom.
• Highway flooding is expected at Tytherleigh and Broom, the A358 crossing at Weycroft, the A35 at Yarty Bridge, the A3052 at Colyford, and Whitford to Musbury. There will be deep and fast flowing field flooding between Winsham and Axminster.
• Flood warning area: Riverside properties and roads between Axminster and Axmouth, including Musbury, Whitford Bridge, the A3052 at Colyford and the A35 at Yarty Bridge. Low lying properties and roads around Stoney Bridge and Castle Hill in Axminster.
• Flood warning area: Riverside locations and roads between Winsham and Axminster, including Chard Junction, Coaxden Cottages and Weycroft.
• Flooding to property and highways is expected at Ashclyst, Burrow, Broadclyst, Clyst Honiton, Southbrook and the A30 between Jack in the Green and Hand and Pen.
• Flood warning area: Riverside locations and roads between Broadclyst and Clyst St. Mary, including Broadclyst, Ashclyst, Clyston Mill, Sowton Barton, Newcourt Barton, the A3052 at Clyst Honiton, and the B3181 at Broadclyst.

Flood alerts issued by the Environment Agency:

• The main areas of concern are Seaton, Colyton, Axminster and Axmouth. Possible flooding to low lying land and roads close to rivers.
• Flood alert area: Rivers Axe, Coly, Yarty, Umborne Brook and coastal streams from Branscombe to Axmouth.
• The main areas of concern are Cullompton, Willand, Culmstock, Hemyock, Bradninch, Broadclyst and Clyst St Mary. Possible flooding to low lying land and roads close to rivers.
• Flood alert area: Hemyock, Cullompton, Stoke Canon, Broadclyst and Clyst St Mary areas.
• The main areas of concern are Lympstone, Exmouth, Budleigh Salterton, Honiton, Ottery St Mary, Sidbury, Sidford and Sidmouth. Possible flooding to low lying land and roads close to rivers.
• Flood alert area: Lympstone, Exmouth, Budleigh Salterton, Honiton, Ottery St Mary and Sidmouth areas.

Not appreciating the scale of the flooding event unfolding on Monday morning, Simon Jupp, presumably on his way to Whitehall, took to twitter (X) to complain, in a petulant tone, about the “dithering” and “pitiful” service he received as his train halted beyond Taunton, then reversed back so he could continue his journey via Bristol.

At Bristol, after a delay, his service “joined” another scheduled service etc. etc.

(Had he been wearing the “Ministerial Team Transport” Hi Viz coat, he might have been treated to “bowing and scraping, and tugging of forelocks”, rather than as an incognito member of the public). 

The PPS to the Transport Secretary, Mark Harper, says he wants to see a more resilient railway network in the South West and “won’t stop pushing for more investment from the back benches” (sic).

Welcome to Tory austerity Simon where tax cuts trump investment!

(See his twitter post and selected comments below, particularly from the self-styled “Sir Andrew Barnet” who claims to have been Knighted by Johnson for services to hairdressing).

Because his train was cancelled or delayed for more than an hour, Simon will be able to claim a full refund. Assuming he was travelling at public expense, will he be discounting his travel claim accordingly? – Owl

In fact he was very lucky to complete his journey, many didn’t!

Owl wonders whether he had been following the weather warnings of flooding for his constituents, Devon and, indeed Somerset?

[Monday: All trains in and out of Devon and Cornwall cancelled due to floodingGreat Western Railway are advising customers NOT TO TRAVEL between Bristol Temple Meads, Taunton and Westbury as journeys through the area cannot be guaranteed.]

• T1, Lime tree : repollard tree to existing pollard points at approx 8-10m tall and 4ms spread, also remove all epicormic growth. 18 The Cricketers Axminster EX13 5RGRef. No: 23/2525/TRE | Validated: Fri 24 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Certificate of Lawfulness for existing use of the building (or part thereof) as a dwellinghouse Whistlers Hollow Land At Golden Lane Sheldon EX14 4QPRef. No: 23/2518/CPE | Validated: Thu 23 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Variation of conditions 2, 7, 8 & 10 of planning consent 23/0538/FUL (Construction of ground floor and first floor extensions to create an additional 10 additional HMO bedrooms, creation of new vehicular access onto Salterton Road and provision of parking to the front of the site) to facilitate an increase area on the ground floor rear east wing, and first floor west wing, and to retain existing access with new parking arrangements Chestnuts 65 Salterton Road Exmouth EX8 2EJRef. No: 23/2522/VAR | Validated: Thu 23 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• New agricultural track Land North Of Barley Way Ebford Lane Ebford Devon EX3 0QXRef. No: 23/2520/FUL | Validated: Thu 23 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1 and T2 – Oak trees – prune the branch tips which are growing out towards the property and roof, removing branch lengths of 1-2m, making natural target pruning cuts of up to 50mm in diameter, reducing the end weight and lever arm of all branches and removing any significant deadwood found within the crowns of both of these trees. Summerhill Higher Metcombe Devon EX11 1SJRef. No: 23/2517/TRE | Validated: Thu 23 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use of part of a building, comprising post office and shop (use class F.2 Local Community), at ground floor and dwelling at remainder of the ground floor and first floor, to form a single dwellinghouse. Raymonds Hill Post Office Charmouth Road Axminster EX13 5SZRef. No: 23/2508/COU | Validated: Wed 22 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1, Oak (English): Removal. T2, Oak (English): Removal. 51A Evergreen Close Exmouth EX8 4RRRef. No: 23/2515/TRE | Validated: Thu 23 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Discharge of condtions for 23/1819/VAR : Conditions 2 (windows and doors), 5 (foul and surface water drainage), 6 (rooflights), 7 (access drive surface), 8 (external and roofing materials) and 9 (fences, walls and hedges) Land At The Old Coach House WidworthyRef. No: 23/2503/DOC | Validated: Wed 22 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1: Japanese Red Cedar – dismantle to ground level and remove stump. 3 Watering Court Fore Street Otterton Devon EX9 7HBRef. No: 23/2514/TCA | Validated: Wed 22 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1 – Rowan: dismantle in sections to near ground level. T2 – Ash: dismantle to near ground level. T3 – Holly: reduce to fence height. Rose Hill Cotford Road Sidbury Devon EX10 0SQRef. No: 23/2510/TCA | Validated: Wed 22 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1: Chestnut – crown lift to remove the two lower limbs, the large lateral limb and limb above. T2: Chestnut – crown lift and target prune smaller branches back to an appropriate growth point to remove the lower limb/s encroaching into Foxley. T3: Cedar – radial crown lift to 3m height from ground level. T4: Yew – crown lift to 2m above ground level and overall crown reduction of up to 2m. Foxley 23 Marlpit Lane Seaton Devon EX12 2HHRef. No: 23/2507/TRE | Validated: Wed 22 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1, Mulberry: reduce south easterly limb by maximum 1.5m, maximum diameter of cuts approximately 75mm; current spread approximately 5-6m; reduce north westerly limb by 1m, maximum diameter of cuts 50mm; current spread approximately 5-6m. Mulberry House Pound Lane Woodbury Devon EX5 1JERef. No: 23/2500/TRE | Validated: Tue 21 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Japanese Red Cedar: fell and remove stump. Ridgeway House Ridgeway Ottery St Mary Devon EX11 1DTRef. No: 23/2497/TCA | Validated: Wed 22 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1, Cotoneaster: coppice just above ground level. T2, Holm Oak: coppice just above ground level. T3, Cypress: dismantle to ground level. T4, T5, T6, T7, T8. Old Sycamore pollard: coppice just above ground level. 5 Millford Avenue Sidmouth EX10 8DSRef. No: 23/2478/TCA | Validated: Mon 20 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposal to demolish existing bungalow and replace with 1no. dwelling with new access driveway. Woodlands Salcombe Regis Sidmouth EX10 0PDRef. No: 23/2488/FUL | Validated: Fri 24 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed roof alterations and rear terrace 10 Upper Church Street Exmouth Devon EX8 2TARef. No: 23/2483/FUL | Validated: Mon 20 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T2: Hazel – fell. Applelands Bickwell Valley Sidmouth Devon EX10 8RFRef. No: 23/2487/TCA | Validated: Tue 21 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Certificate of proposed lawful development for the removal of existing conservatory with new single storey ground floor rear extension and internal alterations3 Taylor Close Ottery St Mary EX11 1QPRef. No: 23/2477/CPL | Validated: Mon 20 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1, Holm Oak – crown lift to 4m above ground level above parking area, maximum diameter of cuts 40mm. Trim lower foliage back by approximately 1-1.5m. Montpellier Court Montpellier Road Exmouth EX8 1JPRef. No: 23/2484/TRE | Validated: Mon 20 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Replacement window front and door 24 New Street Honiton Devon EX14 1EXRef. No: 23/2481/FUL | Validated: Thu 23 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use of land for the storage of caravans, motorhomes and boats (use class B8) and associated works Kains Park Farm Kains Park Storage Awliscombe Devon EX14 3NNRef. No: 23/2455/FUL | Validated: Wed 22 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Formation of external decking including retaining walls, and widening of steps [partially retrospective] 21 Upper Churston Rise Seaton EX12 2HDRef. No: 23/2454/FUL | Validated: Tue 21 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use of redundant agricultural building to business units (use classes E(c), E(d), E(e), E(g) and B8) including raising of existing floor levels and roof Huxham Barns Huxham Devon EX5 4EJRef. No: 23/2453/FUL | Validated: Fri 24 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of two storey side extension and retention of raised decking area. Melberry House Moor Lane Poltimore Exeter EX4 0AQRef. No: 23/2445/FUL | Validated: Wed 22 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Single storey rear flat roof extension 3 Hillcrest Gardens Exmouth Devon EX8 4FERef. No: 23/2439/FUL | Validated: Mon 20 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed ground floor rear extension 10A Portland Avenue Exmouth Devon EX8 2BSRef. No: 23/2446/FUL | Validated: Mon 20 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Permission in principle for demolition of garage and development of 1no. new dwelling 30 Broadmead Exmouth EX8 4JURef. No: 23/2436/PIP | Validated: Wed 22 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Demolition of barn (following 22/2420/PDQ) and erection of dwelling, with associated landscaping. Land And Barns KerswellRef. No: 23/2329/FUL | Validated: Tue 21 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Replace 1no. illuminated projecting signage, retain existing brackets. Replace 1no. illuminated Fascia and 1no. illuminated Logo. Remove window message “Building Society” & replace with ”A good way to bank.” Replace statutory signage with new, and replace 1no. ATM surround and decals 10 Nationwide Rolle Street Exmouth Devon EX8 1EYRef. No: 23/2314/ADV | Validated: Wed 22 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use of agricultural land to public open space Village Hall Clyst St George Clyst St George Exeter EX3 0RERef. No: 23/2256/PDR | Validated: Fri 24 Nov 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision

Water companies can make sewage pollution disappear from the official figures, a BBC Panorama investigation has revealed.

By Joe Crowley www.bbc.co.uk

Leaked records suggest one firm, United Utilities, wrongly downgraded dozens of pollution events, including at a famed English lake in north-west England.

The Environment Agency signed off all the downgrades without attending any of the incidents.

United Utilities denies misreporting pollution.

Water companies in England are set environmental targets by the regulator, Ofwat. One of the key benchmarks is the number of pollution incidents per 10,000km of sewer. These are typically sewage discharges into rivers or the sea, caused by blockages or equipment failure.

The companies have to pay fines if they exceed a given number of pollution incidents, and are given financial rewards if they come in below.

According to the Environment Agency’s figures, United Utilities was the best performing company in England in 2022. It recorded just 126 pollution incidents, or 16/10,000km of sewer.

As a reward for this good performance, the company will be allowed to raise £5.1m by increasing bills for its seven million customers next year.

But whistleblowers at the Environment Agency claim the company has been wrongly downgrading pollution incidents and that the agency is failing to conduct independent checks.

One insider told Panorama that United Utilities was “controlling the evidence” on pollution.

When pollution incidents are reported to the Environment Agency, it assesses the potential impact and decides whether to attend.

From 2020 through to the end of 2022, there were 931 reported water company pollution incidents in north-west England, and the Environment Agency only attended six.

“If they [United Utilities] say attend – which is incredibly rare – we’ll attend,” said the whistleblower. “If they say don’t attend, we don’t attend. They’re effectively regulating themselves.”

Panorama has obtained 200 reports about pollution incidents at United Utilities’ sewage works in 2022.

In more than 60 of these cases, the company appears to have wrongly downgraded the incidents to the lowest level, category 4.

They were all signed off by the Environment Agency.

Category 4 incidents are not counted in published figures because they are supposed to have had no environmental impact. Only more serious categories 1-3 are counted.

The Environment Agency guidance says category 4 should only be used where either pollution doesn’t get into the water course, or where it is of such insignificance that it doesn’t have an impact, for example a “trickle into a large water course”.

The incidents identified by the programme were all more than a “trickle” and appear to have had an impact.

Two experienced water pollution officers, who can’t be identified because they work for the Environment Agency, independently reviewed the documents for Panorama. They agreed that none should have been classified as category 4.

If the 60 cases identified by Panorama were wrongly downgraded, then United Utilities should not have been awarded its £5m bonus for reducing pollution incidents last year.

One of the apparent cover-ups was in a World Heritage Site in the Lake District. In June 2022, a fault led to raw sewage being pumped into the middle of Windermere. The incident went on for more than three hours.

The leaked documents show it was initially thought to be a serious category 2 incident, but the Environment Agency didn’t attend and United Utilities downgraded it to category 

The Environment Agency insider said it was a serious incident, and that a huge volume of polluted material had been pumped into a water body: “The water company don’t want us to attend and then an incident like this gets downgraded to a low level or, effectively, gets kept off the books.”

United Utilities initially denied that sewage had been pumped into the middle of the lake and said that tests conducted on the shoreline showed the pollution had no impact.

But company documents obtained by Panorama prove the sewage was discharged into the middle of Windermere.

Mark Garth, the company’s director of wastewater treatment, told the programme: “I do accept that on this occasion sewage ended up in the lake as a result of that failure.”

Another potential cover-up identified by Panorama was at the Wallasey pumping station on the River Mersey in Liverpool last November.

Once again, the leaked documents show it was initially thought to be a serious category 2 incident, but the Environment Agency didn’t attend and United Utilities downgraded it to category 4.

United Utilities says it is false to suggest it misreports pollution incidents and that the final categorisations are decided by the EA.

“We work extremely hard to get on top of pollution and we’re extremely proud of our performance,” said Mr Garth.

“We continue to do that and covering it up or misguiding the Environment Agency in any way is absolutely no part of that performance.”

The company said the Wallasey incident was a category 4, because the pollution was diluted by the large volume of water in the Mersey and then the Irish Sea.

The Environment Agency declined to be interviewed for the programme, but said in a statement that some monitoring of water companies could be done remotely.

“We take our responsibility to protect the environment very seriously,” it said. “We respond to every incident and always attend those where there is a significant risk.”

The agency said regulations were being strengthened and that it would soon have new powers to deliver civil penalties that are quicker and easier to enforce.

It is currently conducting its largest ever criminal investigation into potential widespread non-compliance by the water companies, including United Utilities.

The broadcaster Chris Packham has filed a High Court legal challenge to the government against a decision to weaken key climate policies.

Lydia Patrick www.independent.co.uk 

Packham, a veteran environmental campaigner, has applied for a judicial review of the government’s decision to ditch the timetable for phasing out petrol and diesel powered cars and vans and a delay to the phase-out of new gas boilers.

A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said it rejects Packham’s claims and will “robustly” defend the challenge.

The measures and their schedule had been set out in the government’s Carbon Budget Delivery Plan, which was put before parliament in March.

In September, Rishi Sunak announced he would delay the ban on selling new diesel and petrol cars from 2030 to 2035 and that 20 per cent of households will be exempt from a new gas boiler ban, arguing that he does not want to burden ordinary people with the costs.

Following the announcement, Packham wrote to the prime minister, the energy secretary and the transport secretary to challenge the decision, arguing that Mr Sunak does not have the legal right to change the timeline of carbon budget pledges at will, since the actioning of the Carbon Budget Delivery Plan is governed by statute.

Packham said he did not receive a satisfactory response to his letter and, therefore, filed the judicial review application at the High Court.

He added that the government’s response to his letter made clear that the decision was made without any public consultation, without informing the Climate Change Committee, without informing parliament and without providing any reasons for the delays to the policies.

The legal challenge cites the requirement to have plans in place to meet the budgets if the proposals and policies within them are altered.

Packham argues that the secretaries of state have breached this obligation by not confirming or outlining how they still intend to meet the latest budget.

The legal challenge also alleges that there was a failure to consult on the changes, particularly a failure to take into account ongoing consultations about off-grid heating and minimum energy efficiency in rental properties.

It also claims that the decisions were based on misinformation, such as the government’s argument that the UK’s “over delivery” on previous greenhouse gas reduction targets meant that some measures were no longer needed, that carbon budgets “impose unacceptable costs on hard-pressed British families … that no-one was ever told about” and that the latest budget was “voted through with barely any consideration given the hard choices needed to fulfil it”.

Packham argues that this messaging is wrong, because under section 10 of the Climate Change Act, the financing and social impact of the policies were taken into account when setting the sixth carbon budget.

The legal challenge also alleges that there was a breach of the duty to inform the public of the reasons for the decisions to change the policies.

Packham said: “We are in a crisis which threatens the whole world, everything living is in danger, including all of us.

“We have the potential to reduce that threat, we have the solutions and we have plans and targets. We must not divert from these.

“To do so on a whim for short-term political gain is reckless and betrays a disregard for the future security of the planet.”

Packham argued that the emissions reductions from the vehicle and gas boiler policies were “intrinsically important to the UK’s ability to reach somewhere near its net zero commitments”.

Rowan Smith, a solicitor at Leigh Day, said: “If the government’s lawyers are correct, then the secretary of state would have carte blanche to rip up climate change policy at the drop of the hat, without any repercussions whatsoever.

“That’s why this legal challenge is so important: if successful, it will mean that the secretary of state has to keep to their promises to have in place policies that will enable carbon budgets to be met.”

It comes after a successful legal challenge by Friends of the Earth that the 2021 sixth carbon budget did not include sufficient detail in order to demonstrate how the UK would reach net zero by 2050 as the Climate Change Act 2008 says it must.

A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: “We strongly reject these claims and will be robustly defending this challenge.

“We have overdelivered on every carbon budget to date and these changes keep us on track to meet our legal net zero commitments. We routinely publish future emissions projections across all sectors and will continue to do so.

“Households will now have more time to make the transition saving some families thousands of pounds at a time when cost of living is high.”

An East Devon village can now have more of a say over future housing and other development in its back yard. 

Will Goddard, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk

West Hill Parish Council had applied for its whole patch to be designated a ‘neighbourhood area’ for planning purposes.  

It will now be able to produce its own plan setting out how the community would like to see it develop, after East Devon District Council’s cabinet gave it the go-ahead last week. 

West Hill was previously part of a joint neighbourhood with Ottery St Mary. 

The West Hill and Ottery St Mary parishes will now be split into two such areas, with Ottery St Mary also able to create its own separate neighbourhood plan if it wishes. 

EDDC carried out a public consultation for six weeks and received no objections from the public or Ottery St Mary Town Council. 

The existing joint Ottery St Mary and West Hill neighbourhood plan, created in 2018, will stay in place across both parishes until it is replaced. 

New neighbourhood plans would see wide consultation with the community and be voted on by people in the relevant areas.