In the last year, average price levels in East Devon have increased by nearly 8 per cent, according to UK House Price Index statistics.

Ryan Collins www.exmouthjournal.co.uk 

In March 2022, the average price for all property types in the county was £344,699, with this figure today sitting at £372,043. In comparison, the average house price in the South West region is at £326,423, with an increase of 5.5 per cent in the last year.

The housing market has been volatile over the last two years, with last year’s mini-budget and difficulties posed by the pandemic resulting in direct impacts on house prices.

In the South West, Cornwall sits lowest for average house price increase in the past year at 4.9 per cent, followed by Dorset and North Somerset – both at around 6 per cent.

Talking to the Journal in April, Kim Kinnaird, mortgages director at Halifax, said: “When we delve deeper into the cost of Britain’s seaside homes, it’s clear that there is a broad spectrum in house prices.

“Second home ownership undoubtedly plays a role in driving up prices in the most desirable locations. While house prices in any location are driven by factors such as supply and demand and interest rates, there are also socio-economic factors at play.”

To see the full house prices report, visit https://landregistry.data.gov.uk/

A major expansion of Cranbrook for up to 870 homes and other facilities has been agreed in principle.

“A total of 15 per cent of the properties – around 131 – are planned to be ‘affordable’, while four per cent of the plots will be set aside for custom and self-builders.” – Watch this space! Owl

Ollie Heptinstall, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk

East Devon District Council’s planning committee approved the outline application for much of the Bluehayes site, on the west of the town, at a meeting on Tuesday.

The town’s expansion also include space for a primary school, sport and recreational facilities, community uses, green infrastructure, as well as a mixed-use area of shops, food and drink and professional services.

Changes to the highway network include a new roundabout on London Road, a new secondary route from Station Road, as well new access to Burrough Fields and Cranbrook railway station.

The Bluehayes site, which lies between the existing Cranbrook development and Broadclyst station, is one of four proposed expansion areas.

As a result, council officers recommended approval, concluding it would “support the growth of Cranbrook” and “make a significant contribution to local housing demands including affordable housing in a sustainable location.”

But some concerns were raised by public speakers, including on certain access points, the position of some facilities, and the development’s impact on the privacy of existing homes.

One local resident, speaking on behalf of Bluehayes Lane, wants mitigations against any “substantial loss of amenity” caused by the development, which she said could “remove the ability of our children to freely play and explore the lane.”

Broadclyst Parish Council also objected, with concerns including the development putting pressure on a nearby railway bridge and the potential impact on Station Road.

But an agent on behalf of the applicant, Taylor Wimpey UK, said there would be “wide benefits,” including “biodiversity net gain, active travel, healthy communities, affordable housing and custom self-build plots.”

A total of 15 per cent of the properties – around 131 – are planned to be ‘affordable’, while four per cent of the plots will be set aside for custom and self-builders.

“I believe that, working as groups of stakeholders together, the proposals will result in a community that residents and the council can rightly be proud,” the agent concluded.

Councillors approved the application by a margin of eight votes to one, subject to a number of conditions and a section 106 developer contribution towards local amenities being signed.

But one of those in favour, Steve Gazzard, added: “I do hope that concerns will be taken on board by the developer when we come to the full application.”

The final, detailed reserved matters application will be considered by the committee at a later date.

Everyone the Tories are blaming for Britain’s mortgage crisis — except themselves

Andrew Bailey? Vladimir Putin? A bat in Wuhan? You decide!

Andrew McDonald  www.politico.eu

LONDON — The “Tory mortgage penalty,” a high-profile banker or Vladimir Putin — take your pick of who is to blame for Britain’s mounting economic crisis.

The U.K.’s ruling Conservative Party is growing jittery in the face of stubbornly high inflation, which Thursday pushed the Bank of England to raise interest rates for the 13th consecutive time — a move which will hit U.K. mortgage-holders hard.

Hiking rates to 5 percent — a level not seen in 15 years — will result in an immediate sharp rise in monthly payments for some mortgage-holders, and the prospect of higher payments in the near future for others. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank, some 1.4 million mortgage holders will see their disposable incomes fall by more than 20 percent.

“People are very concerned about what is being described as the mortgage bomb about to go off,” the senior Tory MP Jake Berry told Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in the Commons Tuesday. A former Tory Cabinet minister told POLITICO that it was now “clear we’re going to lose the next election.”

Labour is keen to brand the crisis the “Tory mortgage penalty” — pointing to both the governing party’s long period in office, and the rapid economic meltdown triggered by Liz Truss’ short spell in Downing Street.

Conservatives, unsurprisingly, are equally keen to point the finger elsewhere.

POLITICO has a run-through of the Conservative blame game as panic starts to set in.

Andrew Bailey

No one is taking more heat from the Tories than Andrew Bailey — the Bank of England governor.

Bailey has been under fire for a while from backbench MPs. But after days of Conservative ministers also not-so-subtly hinting that the independent central bank is at fault for the current crisis, Transport Secretary Mark Harper went further Wednesday night.

“Some people make that criticism, yes, and there was a decision to make at the beginning about whether inflation was transitory or not,” Harper told Sky News, when asked if the Bank had been too slow to raise interest rates.

A government aide insisted this was an observation on how far ahead of the curve Sunak was in realizing the threat of inflation, rather than a comment on the bank. Harper added that the government retains full confidence in Bailey. That coded criticism is significant, and rare, due to the Bank’s independent status.

The criticism — which has also come from some of the chancellor’s economic advisers — centers around the bank’s failure to accurately judge the extent of inflation and prepare accordingly. As recently as March this year Bailey said there would be a “sharp fall” in inflation this year. That is yet to bear out.

“It is true that the BoE and much of the world did not have a model that forecast the peak or persistence of inflation,” Giles Wilkes, a former No. 10 special adviser on economic policy, said. “But for the government to blame the Bank is to assert that they somehow wanted much higher and tighter policy, and would have gone for it, had they only had a good Bank there.

“It is like a teenager, suffering from a hangover after raiding the parental cellar, blaming the parents for not making the door stronger,” he added.

Gordon Brown

The Bank of England has been independent since 1997 — when Labour’s then-chancellor Gordon Brown took the decision to set the bank free of government interference as one of his first acts on entering the Treasury.

Treasury Minister Andrew Griffith pointedly reminded MPs of that decision in parliament Tuesday, as Tories questioned the timing and level of Bank interest rate rises.

“The Bank of England sets the base rate, which can have an effect on mortgage pricing, and the Bank has been independent since the decision of the then-Labour Government in 1997,” Griffith said. That assertion — and the not-so-subtle hint that Brown, rather than the current government, should be blamed for any of the Bank’s decisions — was greeted with some minor tittering in the Commons.

Ex-Prime Minister Liz Truss toyed with the idea of reviewing the Bank’s independence. But Sunak and his government have never indicated that they would reverse Brown’s decision to make the Bank independent.

Brown has also been the subject of criticism for his decision to scrap tax relief on mortgage interest payments, a decision he made in 2000. The right-leaning Daily Telegraph newspaper wrote this week that the move “added £270 a year to your mortgage payments.”

Liam Byrne

Also on the Tory hit list is that last Labour government in general. When asked, by Labour’s Pat McFadden, to apologize to homeowners, Griffith instead referenced the record of a government that *checks notes* left office more than 13 years ago.

“I ask him whether he has learned the lesson from what we saw with the last Labour government, who spent their way through the nation’s finances and whose most lasting contribution to the economy was a note that we inherited from the then chief secretary to the treasury saying there was no money left,” Griffith said, referencing the Conservatives’ favorite election prop — a handwritten note from Liam Byrne as Labour left government joking that “there is no money” left in the Treasury.

Having played a starring role in the Conservatives’ successful 2015 election campaign, the letter has reappeared of late — largely thanks to the enthusiastic new Tory Chairman Greg Hands, who has tweeted out the letter 42 times and counting.

“Joking” is the key word however. Byrne was following an old tradition of Treasury ministers leaving light-hearted letters to their successors.

Vladimir Putin … and a bat in Wuhan

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine sent the global economy tumbling — at a time it was still struggling to rebound following the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are all dealing with the consequences of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and the aftermath of the pandemic,” Hunt argued in the Commons Tuesday.

The war in Ukraine contributed to a huge increase in energy prices as well as causing general supply chain and economic damage, while multibillion-pound COVID support schemes drawn up by Sunak fueled inflation.

But despite the global circumstances, it remains the case that the U.K. economy has the highest inflation and second slowest growth in the G7, according to the OECD.

The general public

One of Jeremy Hunt’s economic advisers also turned their fire on, erm, the rest of you.

Speaking on the BBC’s Today program Wednesday, Karen Ward — a JP Morgan strategist and member of Hunt’s economic council — suggested the Bank of England had failed to discourage workers from asking for pay rises.

“[The Bank of England] have to create uncertainty and frailty, because it’s only when companies feel nervous about the future that they will think ‘well, maybe I won’t put through that price rise,’ or workers, when they’re a little bit less confident about their job, think ‘oh, I won’t push my boss for that higher pay,” Ward said.

Ward added that the Bank should trigger a recession, in order to discourage Brits from — in her eyes — further inflationary spending and pay rise requests. Given U.K. wages have not grown at the same rate as inflation, that may not prove a popular call.

“It’s sort of quite understandable that workers would be asking for pay rises and wanting to maintain their living standards,” Institute for Fiscal Studies research economist Tom Wernham said. “But it is generally the fact that efforts to reduce inflation are going to be economically painful.”

… and the things they definitely aren’t blaming

Prominent former chancellors: Britain’s mortgage woes have arguably been further exacerbated by government support packages brought in over the past decade to support an already-overheated housing market, such as ex-Chancellor George Osborne’s notorious Help-to-Buy scheme and Sunak’s own COVID-era stamp duty holiday, which critics say lured people into buying property with an illusion of affordability.

Liz Truss: The short-lived former U.K. PM did more than many to tank the Conservatives’ reputation for economic competency. Miatta Fahnbulleh, a Labour candidate and left-wing economist, summed up the opposition’s argument when she claimed Truss’ mini-budget put an “incompetency premium” into the mortgage market.

Austerity: The merits of deep government cuts under former Prime Minister David Cameron in the 2010s, following the global financial crash, are still much debated. Defenders argue it got the U.K. economy back on track and ready to weather subsequent global crises, while detractors argue it strangled economic growth through a lack of investment. “You underinvest in things and eventually they get worse,” said Wilkes, who advised Cameron’s successor, Theresa May.

Brexit: The rupture of Britain’s exit from the European Union was the third major shock to the U.K. economy in as many years, alongside the pandemic and war in Ukraine. Most economists believe Brexit has had a significant and largely negative impact on the U.K. economy, while the government’s economic watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, has stuck by its March 2020 prediction that Brexit would ultimately reduce productivity and U.K. GDP by 4 percent. It was in this context that Nigel Farage, the architect of Brexit, told the BBC that “Brexit has failed.” Tory MPs are mostly keeping mum.

Rishi Sunak: “I’m here to tell you that I am totally, 100% on it. And it is going to be OK and we are going to get through this and that is the most important thing I wanted to let you know today.” 

Foreign secretary James Cleverly mocked by BBC as he struggles to explain PM’s prices plan

Adam Forrest www.independent.co.uk

Floundering foreign secretary James Cleverly was left red faced in a bruising BBC interview when he was put on the spot over the inflation crisis.

Challenged six times to say how Rishi Sunak planned to cut price rises, Mr Cleverly stumbled in his replies – and was at one point greeted with laughter by BBC Radio 4 interviewer Amol Rajan.

Eventually Mr Rajan ended the interview abruptly, silencing Mr Cleverly and saying: “We’re going to the weather.”

Their painful exchange in full

Amol Rajan: ‘What is the PM’s plan to halve inflation?’

James Cleverly: ‘By making sure the economy is more productive economy, through, er, training, through um, er, er, you know, apprenticeships…’

AR: ‘That won’t bring inflation down. What is the PM planning to do about it?’

JC: ‘You have to deal with things in the short, medium and long term.’

AR: ‘Yes, so what is the PM’s plan?’

JC: ‘As I, er, say, er, the, er, point is, with things like, erm, driving down the implications of, er, you know, fuel and food.’

AR: ‘Sorry … what is the PM’s short-term plan?’

JC: ‘Well, one of the things we, er, one of the main vehicles for short term, er, addressing inflation is interest rates…’

AR: ‘The PM doesn’t control that so what is his plan, what is he going to do?’

JC: ‘Not all the levers of control are in the government’s hands…’

AR heard laughing in the background

JC: ‘… the choice was made to have an independent Bank of England.’

AR (sarcastically): ‘I really appreciate the economics lesson about the decision to make the Bank of England independent in the 1990s … What is the PM doing to get inflation down?’

JC: ‘One of the reasons we have been thoughtful and cautious on public sector pay awards is that we knew it’s one of those things that brings inflationary pressures … that is in stark comparison to the Labour party.’

At this point a clearly exasperated AR tries to end the the interview.

JC: ‘We have over many, many decades got used to large-scale, relatively low-skilled inflation [sic] – that has had a drag effect on productivity…’

AR: ‘We have to go to the weather.’

The UK had one of the worst increases in death rates of major European economies during the Covid pandemic, BBC analysis has found.

By Robert Cuffe & Libby Rogers www.bbc.co.uk 

Death rates in the UK were more than 5% higher on average each year of the pandemic than in the years just before it, largely driven by a huge death toll in the first year.

That was above the increase seen in France, Spain or Germany, but below Italy and significantly lower than the US.

Comparing death rates across countries

Back in April and May 2020, the UK was seeing one of the worst waves of Covid deaths in the world.

But Prof Sir Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, warned against international comparisons of Covid deaths too early in the pandemic.

Instead, he recommended looking at deaths for any reason, since they do not depend on what a country calls a Covid death.

And he said analyses should take account of the age profile of each country, which can explain a lot of differences in death rates.

We have built a database of those figures, collecting data for the last eight years from a range of European countries, as well as the US and New Zealand.

Now the UK’s long-awaited Covid inquiry is under way and Sir Chris is about to give evidence for the first time.

And as the World Health Organization has declared an end to the global health emergency, we have looked back at three years of pandemic deaths, starting in March 2020.

We compared countries by measuring how much their death rates rose from those seen in the five years before the pandemic.

Over the three years to February 2023, the UK’s death rates went up by more than 5%, which is more than France, Germany and Spain (all up between 3% and 4.5%), but by less than Italy’s (up more than 6%).

The US and Eastern European countries like Poland were even harder hit, with death rates more than 10% above their pre-pandemic levels over the three years to February 2023.

In contrast, death rates fell in countries like Sweden and Norway and also New Zealand, who contained the virus successfully before its vaccination programme took off.

The year-by-year figures tell different stories for each country.

For the UK, they point to early losses followed by significant success in 2022.

How do the UK’s deaths compare each year?

The UK was one of the worst-hit countries in the first year of the pandemic, with death rates running 15% above those before it started.

The combination of a terrible first wave and the rapid spread of the alpha (or Kent) variant just as the vaccine rollout was getting going contributed to a huge death toll.

Many eastern European countries like Poland avoided the spring 2020 wave but overtook the UK in numbers of deaths in the winter of 2020-21.

The US continued to have steadily increasing death rates during the summer of 2020 and by the end of the year, it passed the UK’s total.

Death rates fell in many European nations in the second year of the pandemic as vaccine programmes got under way.

The UK’s vaccine rollout is regarded as a “global exemplar”, says Prof Devi Sridhar of University of Edinburgh.

That is not just number of doses, it was also getting them to the people most at risk.

And the UK looked better than any major European economy bar Spain in that second year – with death rates below historical averages.

In the third year, death rates rose in many countries as they opened up again.

Some of the largest rebounds we found were in countries like Germany, New Zealand and Norway, who had fared better in the first two years of the pandemic (and well overall).

Norway had far fewer deaths than Sweden in the first year of the pandemic but over the three years the two countries look more similar.

It is hard to read straight across from Scandinavian countries to the UK, cautions Prof Sridhar, arguing “we’d never look like either Sweden or Norway”, and describing them as “healthier, wealthier and more equal” countries that are very different to the UK.

Lessons for the UK

It would take many inquiries to tease apart the effect of all the possible reasons behind every nation’s pandemic outcomes: preparedness, population health, lockdown timing and severity, social support, vaccine rollout and health care provision and others.

But some argue that there are lessons for the UK that need to be learned even before we think about future pandemics.

The UK’s heavy pandemic death toll “built on a decade of lacklustre performance on life expectancy” says Veena Raleigh, of the King’s Fund, a health think tank. She argues that government action to improve population health and turn that around has “never been more urgent”.

Methods

We collected data on deaths in five-year age groups and population estimates/projections from Eurostat, the Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, the Northern Ireland Statistics Research Agency, the Centre for Disease Control, United States Census Bureau and Stats NZ.

We calculated the death rate in each age group and combined them to form an age-adjusted death rate using the 2013 European Standard Population.

Some nations did not have the full set of age bands. For example, US figures used 10-year age bands between five and 24 and above 55. Broader age bands can exaggerate excess mortality figures like the ones we calculated, in the order of a percentage point.

Additional journalism by Callum Thomson, Isabella Worth, Jana Tauschinski, Liana Bravo and Wesley Stephenson

“He respects the view of the House that was taken on Monday and it’s right that members (of Parliament), whoever they are and whatever position they have held, are held to account for their actions.” – PM Press Secretary.

Gnomic! – Owl

Kate Devlin www.independent.co.uk 

Rishi Sunak has finally given his verdict on Boris Johnson’s Partygate lies, saying it is right the disgraced former prime minister has been held to account.

In a final humiliation on Monday MPs backed a damning report which found Mr Johnson had lied to Parliament over and over again – stripping him of his Westminster pass.

But Mr Sunak missed the vote citing a prior engagement.

He faced accusations he was “too weak” to stand up to his predecessor and his “sycophants” within their fractious party.

Since them No 10 has refused to be drawn on the prime minister’s personal view or how he would have voted.

After he was asked about Mr Johnson at PMQs, the Prime Minister’s press secretary said: “He respects the view of the House that was taken on Monday and it’s right that members (of Parliament), whoever they are and whatever position they have held, are held to account for their actions.”

She would not set out whether or not he agreed with the committee’s report, however, saying he “respects” the view of the House.

Mr Johnson dodged the recommended 90-day suspension by quitting his Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat.

In the end 354 MPs backed the Partygate report, while just seven voted against it – a majority of 347.

Tory MPs who supported Mr Johnson included Sir Bill Cash, Nick Fletcher, Adam Holloway, Karl McCartney, Joy Morrissey and Heather Wheeler.

Mr Sunak was accused of “running scared” of the showdown in parliament on Mr Johnson, with No 10 claiming he had been too busy hosting the Swedish prime minister to attend.

The PM said at the weekend that he did not want to “influence anyone” when pressed on how he would vote on the report, which found Mr Johnson lied to parliament and undermined the committee’s work with personal attacks.

One former prime minister, Theresa May, did turn up to condemn Mr Johnson – arguing that her successor had been “found wanting” and urging all Tory MPs to back the report to help “restore faith in our parliamentary democracy.”

Height is an extremely sensitive indicator of general living conditions, with factors including illness and infection, stress, poverty and sleep quality alongside the quality and quantity of diets.

“Wider data on the height of 19-year-olds suggested that growing up in the 2010s which happens to coincide with the period of austerity . . . tells me that austerity has clobbered the height of children in the UK”: [Professor Tim Cole, an expert in child growth rates at the Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London.]

The indelible mark of austerity – owl

Kat Lay www.thetimes.co.uk

Five-year-olds in Britain are on average up to seven centimetres shorter than their peers in other wealthy nations, in a trend described as “pretty startling”.

A poor national diet has been highlighted as a major culprit in Britain’s fall down international rankings of child height.

The average five-year-old boy in the UK is 112.5cm tall, against 119.6cm in the Netherlands — the comparable country with the tallest children. The average girl is 111.7cm tall, while her Dutch counterpart would be 118.4cm tall.

The data is taken from national measurement programmes, collated by the Non-Communicable Diseases Risk Factor Collaboration, a global network of health scientists.

In 1985 British boys and girls ranked 69 out of 200 countries for average height aged five. At the time they were on average 111.4 and 111 cm tall respectively. British boys are now 102nd, and girls 96th.

“They’ve fallen by 30 places, which is pretty startling,” said Professor Tim Cole, an expert in child growth rates at the Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London. “The question is why?”

The professor, who was not involved in the most recent study, said wider data on the height of 19-year-olds suggested that growing up in the 2010s “which happens to coincide with the period of austerity . . . tells me that austerity has clobbered the height of children in the UK”.

Cole said height was an extremely sensitive indicator of general living conditions, with factors including illness and infection, stress, poverty and sleep quality all “piled up in there” alongside the quality and quantity of diets.

“It’s quite clear we are falling behind, relative to Europe,” he added. “But it’s telling that at age five, we are looking further behind than we are at age 19, which suggests to me that the last 14 years from age five to 19 has been particularly rough for UK children.”

Henry Dimbleby, the former government food adviser, highlighted height discrepancies between Britain and other countries in his National Food Strategy, published in 2021 and again in his new book, Ravenous.

He said: “In modern Britain, the way we eat is one of the clearest markers of inequality. You can actually see it with the naked eye. A diet of cheap junk food has the peculiar quality that it can make you simultaneously overweight and undernourished.

“Children in the poorest areas of England are both fatter and significantly shorter than those in the richest areas at age ten to eleven. This is a big enough problem to have an impact at an international level. The average five-year-old in the UK is shorter than their peers in nearly all other high-income countries.”

In France the average five year old boy is 114.7cm tall and the average girl 113.6cm. In Germany they are 114.8 and 113.3 respectively. Danish boys are on average 117.4cm tall, and Danish girls 118.1cm.

Dimbleby said that GPs in poorer areas have reported an “extraordinary” resurgence of Victorian diseases such as rickets and scurvy, “largely caused by nutritional deficiencies”.

NHS data shows that about 700 children a year are admitted to hospital with malnutrition, rickets or scurvy in England.

Separate annual surveys of diet and nutrition show that children from the poorest fifth of families consume about a third less fruit and vegetables, 75 per cent less oily fish, and a fifth less fibre than children from the most well off families.

The Food Foundation, a nutrition charity, said the disparities “raise questions about the nutritional quality of food that children are able to access”, and that height was “likely [to be] representative of broader development of the child”.

Anna Taylor, the charity’s executive director, said figures from the 2021-22 national child measurement programme showed that white British children living in the most deprived areas in England continued to be shorter than those living in the least — 0.6cm for girls and 1.3cm for boys by age ten to eleven.

She added: “There are several factors that contribute to a child’s height including genetics, ethnicity, smoking and diet. However, academic studies indicate that infancy is most influenced by external factors rather than genetics.”

Dietary inequalities also appeared to drive higher rates of problems such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and dental decay in children from poorer backgrounds, Taylor said.

“It’s essential that healthy food is accessible and affordable for all, particularly during the cost of living crisis when budgets are stretched and food prices are increasing. We need strong, preventive policies that can improve access and affordability to nutritious food and shape healthy food environments.”

A government spokesman said: “There are a range of factors that can impact children’s growth, which are not just limited to diet, and we’re taking steps to support families by providing record financial support to families who need it most — a £94 billion cost of living support package worth around £3,300 per household.

“We are supporting the NHS to tackle some of the key root causes of poor nutrition, and our Healthy Food Schemes help more than three million children get the nutrition they need.

“We’re also promoting healthier lifestyles for children by investing over £600 million in school sport over the next two years, while our sugar reduction programme has seen dramatic reductions in the sugar content in foods eaten by children.”

Lord Moylan, Tory chairman of the Lords built environment committee, condemned the “total ban” on homebuilding yesterday, saying that “people do not have enough houses to live in”.

However, bosses at Natural England, the agency within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs responsible for protecting the environment, told peers that it must take all actions to protect damaged rivers.

The Home Builders Federation has called for water companies to be forced to pay to upgrade sewage treatment plants and for farmers’ handling of animal manure and fertiliser to be more tightly regulated.

Tom Witherow www.thetimes.co.uk 

The green quango accused of blocking 120,000 homes with rules to keep rivers clean has admitted the pollution from new developments is “very small”.

Last year Natural England extended guidance to 74 councils that led planners to block new homes unless developers could prove they would not pollute water courses. Homebuilders claimed they had been unfairly targeted, given that 96 per cent of pollutants come from existing homes and farmers.

Lord Moylan, Tory chairman of the Lords built environment committee, condemned the “total ban” on homebuilding yesterday, saying that “people do not have enough houses to live in”.

However, bosses at Natural England, the agency within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs responsible for protecting the environment, told peers that it must take all actions to protect damaged rivers.

Housebuilding will be a dividing line at the next election after Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, promised to build on the green belt just as Rishi Sunak ditched his government’s target of 300,000 homes per year.

Alan Law, deputy chief executive of Natural England, admitted: “The proportion of pollution arising from new housing stock is very small but the question being asked from us is, ‘Is it OK to take an already polluted system, and make it worse?’ It’s not, ‘Is the new development more polluting than existing homes or the existing agriculture?’ and the legal framework is clear.” The Environment Agency was largely responsible for regulating farming, he said, leaving Natural England with limited powers to change farmers’ behaviour.

The Home Builders Federation has called for water companies to be forced to pay to upgrade sewage treatment plants and for farmers’ handling of animal manure and fertiliser to be more tightly regulated.

The “nutrient neutrality” guidelines originated from a 2018 European Court of Justice ruling in the Netherlands, and effectively halted housebuilding in large areas of the country, including the Wye Valley, Somerset Levels and the Tees Valley.

Natural England has helped to set up credit schemes, allowing housebuilders to pay to mitigate the impact of new homes, which have unlocked thousands of homes in the Solent and Tees Valley. A larger credits scheme, backed by £30 million of government funding, is being developed. Law said “the approach for nutrient neutrality is by necessity a temporary one . . . the solution is better agricultural standards and better water treatment services.”

Moylan said: “We seem to have this screeching of the brakes in terms of development while [someone] works out what the 20-year solution is.”

The leakage rate from Thames Water pipes is the highest for five years and the company will not meet its target to plug them this year, according to information released under freedom of information laws.

Sandra Laville www.theguardian.com 

The company, which serves 15 million customers across London and Thames Valley, has to have regular meetings with the environment secretary because it is considered to be lagging in its performance.

Details of letters released under freedom of information laws between the CEO, Sarah Bentley, and Rebecca Pow, the environment secretary, reveal that Thames is not fixing its leaks as it has promised.

Bentley told Pow: “Right now, we have the highest leakage rate since 2018. Consequently, we have already signalled to Ofwat that we are behind on our 2022/23 leakage performance and our target this year will now be very challenging to achieve.

“As annual leakage targets are based on a three-year rolling average, the impact of this year will be felt, not just this year but for the next two years’ performance.”

Thames is proposing controversial measures to tackle drought in the future, including a “recycling” scheme in which up to 100m litres of treated sewage from the Mogden sewage works will be pumped into the River Thames at Teddington, south-west London. This will replace 100m litres abstracted from the Thames to tackle water shortages.

The project raises environmental concerns including increased water temperatures and a change in the salinity of the river, which will affect fish and biodiversity.

It also involves digging three to four 10.5-metre shafts within a protected nature reserve, Ham Lands, a site of importance for nature conservation (SINC), according to Thames documents.

The company is also proposing to transport 155m litres of water a day from Wales, in another sensitive policy to try to tackle water shortages in London and the south-east.

But its failure to fix its own leaks – which are estimated to be 630m litres a day – is likely to make it more difficult for Thames to get approval for these proposals in its draft water resources management plan.

Bentley blamed the hot, dry weather last summer, followed by a wet winter, for exacerbating leaks from the network and from customers’ homes.

“The hot and dry summer created an unprecedented ‘soil moisture deficit’, with ground drying out and causing leaks in our pipes and customers’ pipes,” she said. “It also led to large increases in demand from our customers [in some areas and at sometimes up to 50% more during the summer]. This drove up ‘unmeasured consumption’ and the need for us to pump more water through our pipes at higher pressure to satisfy demand that in turn also led to more leaks from our pipes.

“The re-wetting of the ground later in the autumn then caused further movement and more leaks in our pipes and customers’ pipes. More recently, the freezing temperatures before Christmas, followed by a speedy thaw, has resulted in a new surge of leaks – both on our water supply network and on our customer’s pipes.”

Thames, like other water companies, has a target to cut its leaks by 50% by 2050. But the Environment Agency has called for the company to increase this target. The EA says the company needs to do more to tackle leaks before suggesting schemes including the Teddington water recycling plan and the transport of water from Wales.

It has said the security of water supply to the south-east and London will be at risk if the company does not tackle its leaks and reduce customer demand for water.

Bentley told Pow in her letter dated January this year that Thames was running a £1m communications campaign to highlight the challenges “we all face” and educate customers on what they can do to help make sure there is enough water for everyone.

The government has set a target of reducing individual daily water use from about 144 litres a day to 110 litres a day by 2050.

On its website, Thames Water admits it is not acceptable that so much water is being lost. It said it is doing all that is reasonably practical to reduce leakage but it will miss its 22/23 target, and that will affect future years. However, the company is working to improve its “leakage transformation plan”.

A Defra spokesperson said: “We have been very clear to water companies that we expect them to deliver on their commitments – including targets to reduce leakage by 30% by 2032.

“The government is taking a number of actions to improve water supply through our Plan for Water, as well as taking action to clean up our water through more investment, stronger regulation and tougher enforcement.”

Newsflash: UK inflation was unchanged last month, bringing little relief to struggling households.

UK inflation shock: rate sticks at 8.7% in May as cost of living squeeze continues – business live

Graeme Wearden www.theguardian.com 

The Consumer Prices Index shows prices rose by 8.7% in the year to May, matching the 8.7% recorded in April, the Office for National Statistics has reported.

That is higher than the 8.4% inflation rate forecast by City economists, and adds more pressure onto the Bank of England to keep raising interest rates.

Since peaking at 11.1% in October, inflation has dropped a little – but remains over four times above the BoE’s 25 target.The data comes as the government is under growing pressure to intervene to help millions of households facing a “ticking timebomb” of higher mortgage payments ahead of the next election.

There’s been much speculation recently about what might happen to the structures of councils in Devon, and hopefully I can try to offer a little context here.

But before that, please may I take you back to the days before district councils even existed when the unknown Abba won the Eurovision song contest with Waterloo?

Until 1st April 1974, the area we now know as East Devon was the borough of Honiton, the urban districts of Budleigh Salterton, Exmouth, Ottery St Mary, Seaton and Sidmouth, Axminster Rural District, Honiton Rural District and a small part of the St Thomas area of Exeter.

Many of you will have heard folklore about who did well and who did badly out of this. The classic line, because the new 1974 district council was based in Sidmouth, was that Sidmouth prospered greatly while Seaton, for example, was neglected. Heaven knows where the truth lies. I was three years from doing O’ Levels back in 1974 so I have no idea.

However, like many East Devonians, I love both towns and visit often, so I was a little surprised to hear it being said the other day that Sidmouth was now the poor relation as far as the district is concerned! Hmm.

In fact, Sidmouth has a leisure centre with a pool, a theatre, a park café, the glorious Kennaway House, and the soon to be regenerated Ham area to the east of the town where a new Rockfish will soon open. All of these are gladly either owned or underwritten at the expense of EDDC.

This is just as it should be. Sidmouth is a nationally important town with an active and engaged council. Indeed, for many years the town has shared with the district much of the operation of the public toilets. District Councils are not obliged in law to run any toilets – which is of course potty – and as we progress with our public toilets review, we will be seeking many more such alliances with parish and town councils.

Indeed, public-spirited groups in Seaton are now picking up on the decade old trend from Sidmouth and is in active discussions with EDDC regarding how they may step in to run a prominent toilet block, and I thank them for that sincerely. Yet Seaton too is well backed by East Devon district, even if I really get why locals might not always think so.

For example, next year it is hoped that the fantastic Seaton Tramway organisation will take over the running of the Seaton Jurassic Centre, an EDDC endeavour conceived long before my time, the plan for which was always unlikely to be commercially viable.

Then, just to the north, the astonishing Seaton Wetlands runs two miles inland to Colyford Common. EDDC’s Wildlife Team run that. Taken together, this time next year Seaton will have a dual visitor attraction which will fully merit tourists spending a busy weekend and then enjoying a walk along the seafront. Or the increasing water-sports and paddleboarding offer.

Indeed, my favourite walk in Devon is to go from the west end of Seaton Hole around the headland to Beer. Warning: You need to check the tide times to achieve this, which can only be done when the tide is low. A crab sandwich or a cream tea awaits at Beer beach.

I believe that despite understandable grumbles, East Devon as a district ain’t broke, and there is no need to fix it. Together, Devon’s district leaders are as one in opposing a vast Unitary Devon Authority, which some local Conservatives who have lost all the district councils are now feebly promoting.

Communities lost quite enough of their identities back in 1974. Let’s make the best of where we are.

www.midweekherald.co.uk

The spiralling cost of living, rising rents and increasing numbers of ‘no fault’ evictions by landlords are holding back Teignbridge Council’s efforts to prevent homelessness in the district, it’s been claimed.

Guy Henderson, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk

A report to the council’s overview and scrutiny committee reveals the difficulties the council is facing in its efforts to meet its own homelessness targets.

The committee will look at the progress the council is making on the so-called ‘Teignbridge Ten’ priorities for the local authority.

One of them is called ‘A Roof Over Our Heads’, and the report places an amber ‘caution’ label on its progress so far.

Its aim is to prevent homelessness wherever possible, but councillors will be told that current market conditions mean the target remains challenging.

The report reads: “We are below target as we have seen a sharp increase in the amount of people who have lost accommodation with friends or family members in the last quarterly period.

“We believe that this is largely as a result of concerns over the cost-of-living crisis.”

And, the report goes on: “It is increasingly more difficult to help people remain in their homes due to cost of living increases. Homes must be affordable in order to sustain them.

“We are seeing an increase of households being served Section 21 notices [of eviction] where they may or may not have rent arrears, but the rental costs have increased beyond the household’s affordability range.”

The notice allows private landlords to repossess properties without having to show their tenants have done anything wrong. The government has recently said it plans to ban Section 21 notices as part of an overhaul  of the private rental sector.

It could be 2025 before the ban becomes law.

The full list of the ‘Teignbridge Ten’ targets includes moves:

• to be a carbon neutral district
• to provide more, better, and affordable homes
• to keep the district clean
• to invest in town centres
• to provide well designed quality neighbourhoods
• to create jobs and wealth
• to improve travel options
• to provide opportunities for healthy active lifestyles
• to engage with, help and support communities
• to deliver quality, value for money and flexible services.

Apart from the housing strategy, two more have ‘caution’ flags – investing in town centres and creating jobs and wealth. The rest are on target.

The Teignbridge overview and scrutiny committee meets today.

Wrong sort of rain again on Tuesday: wet – Owl.

Nine Devon beaches have been marked as a “pollution risk” by Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) following heavy downpours this morning [Tuesday June 20]. This is out of a total of 46 areas in Devon that SAS monitors live.

Elliot Ball www.devonlive.com

Four of those sites are marked as “under maintenance”, meaning real-time alerts have been disabled. This means roughly 20% of Devon-monitored beaches are now a “pollution risk” as of today. [Sidmouth and Exmouth are under maintenance, so should also be regarded as polluted – Owl]

Urban runoff is the main reason beaches can become dramatically more polluted with fertilizers, pesticides, oil and untreated human and animal waste all entering waterways, such as rivers.

The contaminated water then reaches the sea with most of the water pollution remaining on the surface. This can make it dangerous to enter the water. According to Surf Today, some experts even suggest waiting 72 hours before entering the sea again after it rains.

Swallowing water that could be contaminated with fecal matter 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 marked as pollution risks

Seaton

Beer

Sidmouth

Budleigh Salterton

Teignmouth Holcombe

Meadfoot

Mill Bay

Plymouth Hoe East

Plymouth Hoe West

The “dumping” of hundreds of thousands of pieces of unused personal protective equipment near a nature reserve on the edge of the New Forest has mystified and angered local people.

Emine Sinmaz www.theguardian.com 

But the council has revealed the giant pile of boxes containing medical aprons in Calmore, Hampshire, will be recycled into plastic bags.

Councillors said they reacted with horror after the discovery was made public at a Hampshire county council (HCC) meeting last week. It is not yet known if the items are linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the council has asked the Environment Agency to investigate.

The large-scale discovery in Calmore, near Testwood Lakes Nature Reserve, came after an investigation by New Forest District Council (NFDC) into use of land at Little Testwood Farm Caravan Park.

A report from HCC’s regulatory committee said: “It became apparent that thousands of packs of medical aprons had been dumped on the land with no obvious signs that they were being protected or stored for some future use. The concern is that they have been dumped with no intention of removal to a proper facility.

“The Environment Agency have been contacted to see if they can determine where the PPE originated and whether it was discarded by a health trust as substandard during the Covid procurement.”

Councillor Peter Latham, the committee chair, said: “It was a surprise, to put it mildly – a reaction of horror – that something like that could have happened in Hampshire and nobody knew about it.”

Councillor Neville Penman said: “I’m totally amazed at how much has been dumped. I just can’t believe it because somebody must have seen it being put there, but I’ve never seen so much waste in all my life … To be honest with you, I’m distraught over it.”

A report last year revealed that protective clothing worth £4bn bought early in the pandemic was set to be burned because it was substandard.

The Commons public accounts committee’s report said the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) had so much unneeded PPE that it had appointed two commercial waste firms to help it dispose of 15,000 pallets a month “via a combination of recycling and burning to generate power”.

On Monday, thousands of boxes – some labelled “apron” and “made in China” – containing more than 100 units apiece remained piled on pallets near the caravan park.

People living near the site said they did not see the pallets being unloaded and did not know how long they had been there for. But one man who lives in the caravan park said he was shocked by the amount of waste.

The man, who did not want to be named, said: “It’s just a load of crap dumped there. Taxpayers’ money just dumped there. I’m shocked.”

A nurse who lives nearby added: “I am surprised because I work as a nurse and I know during the pandemic how we didn’t have enough PPE and how difficult it was to find it. It’s shocking to find out some has been dumped here.”

A NFDC spokesperson said the discovery was made after an inspection at the caravan park on 4 April. “This inspection revealed that a large quantity of PPE was being stored on the land in contravention of the caravan site licence conditions. The council, in its licensing capacity, has requested that the stored items be removed from the land,” they added.

“Subsequent inspections have been carried out by Hampshire county council and The Environment Agency. All the material is packaged and palletized and is due to be removed from the site for processing and recycling into plastic bags over the coming weeks. The Environment Agency will continue to carry out further enquires as to source of the material and how it came to be present on the land.”

An inspector from The Environment Agency was seen taking samples of the equipment on Monday. A spokesperson added: “While any investigation is ongoing, we are unable to comment further in order to not prejudice any investigations or subsequent enforcement decisions.”

HCC confirmed it was working with the agency to investigate.

“This government will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level.”

Moral courage is the courage to take action for moral reasons despite the risk of adverse consequences.

Courage is required to take action when one has doubts or fears about the consequences. Moral courage therefore involves deliberation or careful thought. Reflex action or dogmatic fanaticism do not involve moral courage because such impulsive actions are not based upon moral reasoning.

Moral courage has been seen as the exemplary modernist form of courage.

More than half a trillion pounds’ worth of underinvestment by government and business over recent decades has left Britain’s economy trapped in a growth “doom loop”, according to a thinktank.

Richard Partington www.theguardian.com 

Sounding the alarm as the economy struggles to gain momentum, the Institute for Public Policy Research said the UK risked falling further behind comparable wealthy nations without a sharp turnaround in approach.

Business investment is lower in the UK than in any other country in the G7, and 27th out of 30 OECD countries, ahead of only Poland, Luxembourg and Greece.

Highlighting a severe shortfall in public and private investment stretching back over several decades, the IPPR’s research showed that Britain had ranked below the G7 average since 2005 for spending on infrastructure, research and development, skills and training.

Had the UK maintained its position at the G7 average since that date, the private sector would have invested an extra £354bn in real terms. If public sector investment had also held that position, the UK government would have invested an additional £208bn between 2006 and 2021.

However, the UK has steadily slipped down the global investment league tables as successive governments have held back from boosting expenditure, alongside a faltering performance in the private sector – amounting to a shortfall versus the G7 average worth the equivalent of 30 Elizabeth line rail projects.

The centre-left thinktank said low investment put Britain at risk of being left behind in a global race to develop the green industries of the future, which are forecast to be worth $10.3tn (£8tn) to the global economy by 2050.

The findings come as Rishi Sunak’s government attempts to reboot economic growth with a focus on boosting business investment, including with a package of tax reliefs announced as part of the spring budget. Business leaders say political and economic instability, Brexit, high inflation and rising interest rates are deterring firms from investing in Britain.

The IPPR said increased public investment could “crowd-in” private sector investment and give confidence to companies to choose the UK as a place to build the green companies of the future – provided the government invested with a sense of longevity and certainty, as Joe Biden’s administration had done in the US.

George Dibb, an associate director for economy at IPPR, said: “If the economy is the engine of a country, investment is its fuel. But the UK’s tank is running on empty and it’s harming economic growth, driving inequality and slowing progress towards net zero and energy security.

“Currently, the UK is experiencing a debilitating case of investment-phobia, and the government’s aversion to investing to seize future opportunities is stopping us from getting out of the growth doom loop we find ourselves in.”

The government was approached for comment.

Richard Foord and Simon Jupp both voted “Aye”. No Devon MP voted “No”.

Devon “no shows” include:

Kevin Foster (Conservative – Torbay); Anne Marie Morris (Conservative – Newton Abbot); Mel Stride (Conservative – Central Devon)

Division Number: 258
Division Date: 19 June 2023 – 21:26

Privilege Motion

Aye Count: 354
No Count: 7
Result: Question accordingly agreed.

Tellers

Ayes: Liz Twist (Labour – Blaydon) and Colleen Fletcher (Labour – Coventry North East)
Noes: Alan Campbell (Labour – Tynemouth) and Lilian Greenwood (Labour – Nottingham South)

Ayes

Diane Abbott (Independent – Hackney North and Stoke Newington) (Proxy vote cast by Bell Ribeiro-Addy)
Debbie Abrahams (Labour – Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Bim Afolami (Conservative – Hitchin and Harpenden)
Nickie Aiken (Conservative – Cities of London and Westminster)
Peter Aldous (Conservative – Waveney)
Rushanara Ali (Labour – Bethnal Green and Bow)
Tahir Ali (Labour – Birmingham, Hall Green)
Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour – Tooting)
Mike Amesbury (Labour – Weaver Vale)
Edward Argar (Conservative – Charnwood)
Jonathan Ashworth (Labour – Leicester South)
Duncan Baker (Conservative – North Norfolk)
Steve Baker (Conservative – Wycombe)
Harriett Baldwin (Conservative – West Worcestershire)
Paula Barker (Labour – Liverpool, Wavertree)
John Baron (Conservative – Basildon and Billericay)
Apsana Begum (Labour – Poplar and Limehouse)
Aaron Bell (Conservative – Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Hilary Benn (Labour – Leeds Central)
Clive Betts (Labour – Sheffield South East)
Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party – Ross, Skye and Lochaber)
Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party – Aberdeen North)
Olivia Blake (Labour – Sheffield, Hallam)
Paul Blomfield (Labour – Sheffield Central)
Crispin Blunt (Conservative – Reigate)
Steven Bonnar (Scottish National Party – Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Peter Bottomley (Conservative – Worthing West)
Andrew Bowie (Conservative – West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Karen Bradley (Conservative – Staffordshire Moorlands)
Ben Bradshaw (Labour – Exeter)
Graham Brady (Conservative – Altrincham and Sale West)
Kevin Brennan (Labour – Cardiff West)
Andrew Bridgen (The Reclaim Party – North West Leicestershire)
Steve Brine (Conservative – Winchester)
Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party – Edinburgh North and Leith)
Alan Brown (Scottish National Party – Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Nicholas Brown (Independent – Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Lyn Brown (Labour – West Ham)
Anthony Browne (Conservative – South Cambridgeshire)
Fiona Bruce (Conservative – Congleton)
Chris Bryant (Labour – Rhondda)
Felicity Buchan (Conservative – Kensington)
Karen Buck (Labour – Westminster North)
Robert Buckland (Conservative – South Swindon)
Richard Burgon (Labour – Leeds East)
Dawn Butler (Labour – Brent Central)
Ian Byrne (Labour – Liverpool, West Derby)
Liam Byrne (Labour – Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Ruth Cadbury (Labour – Brentford and Isleworth)
Amy Callaghan (Scottish National Party – East Dunbartonshire) (Proxy vote cast by Brendan O’Hara)
Dan Carden (Labour – Liverpool, Walton)
Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat – Orkney and Shetland)
Andy Carter (Conservative – Warrington South)
Alex Chalk (Conservative – Cheltenham)
Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat – North East Fife)
Sarah Champion (Labour – Rotherham)
Jo Churchill (Conservative – Bury St Edmunds)
Feryal Clark (Labour – Enfield North) (Proxy vote cast by Chris Elmore)
Greg Clark (Conservative – Tunbridge Wells)
Theo Clarke (Conservative – Stafford) (Proxy vote cast by Marcus Jones)
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Conservative – The Cotswolds)
Elliot Colburn (Conservative – Carshalton and Wallington)
Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat – St Albans)
Yvette Cooper (Labour – Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford)
Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party – Inverclyde)
Geoffrey Cox (Conservative – Torridge and West Devon)
Neil Coyle (Labour – Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Stephen Crabb (Conservative – Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Stella Creasy (Labour – Walthamstow)
Jon Cruddas (Labour – Dagenham and Rainham)
John Cryer (Labour – Leyton and Wanstead)
Janet Daby (Labour – Lewisham East)
Ashley Dalton (Labour – West Lancashire)
Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat – Kingston and Surbiton)
Wayne David (Labour – Caerphilly)
David T C Davies (Conservative – Monmouth)
Mims Davies (Conservative – Mid Sussex)
Alex Davies-Jones (Labour – Pontypridd)
David Davis (Conservative – Haltemprice and Howden)
Martyn Day (Scottish National Party – Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Marsha De Cordova (Labour – Battersea)
Thangam Debbonaire (Labour – Bristol West)
Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour – Slough)
Samantha Dixon (Labour – City of Chester)
Jonathan Djanogly (Conservative – Huntingdon)
Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party – West Dunbartonshire)
Anneliese Dodds (Labour – Oxford East)
Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party – Angus)
Allan Dorans (Scottish National Party – Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock) (Proxy vote cast by Brendan O’Hara)
Stephen Doughty (Labour – Cardiff South and Penarth)
Peter Dowd (Labour – Bootle)
Jackie Doyle-Price (Conservative – Thurrock)
Flick Drummond (Conservative – Meon Valley)
David Duguid (Conservative – Banff and Buchan)
Philip Dunne (Conservative – Ludlow)
Angela Eagle (Labour – Wallasey)
Maria Eagle (Labour – Garston and Halewood)
Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party – Foyle)
Jonathan Edwards (Independent – Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Ruth Edwards (Conservative – Rushcliffe)
Clive Efford (Labour – Eltham)
Julie Elliott (Labour – Sunderland Central)
Tobias Ellwood (Conservative – Bournemouth East)
Chris Elmore (Labour – Ogmore)
Florence Eshalomi (Labour – Vauxhall)
Bill Esterson (Labour – Sefton Central)
Chris Evans (Labour – Islwyn)
Luke Evans (Conservative – Bosworth)
Laura Farris (Conservative – Newbury)
Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat – Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Stephen Farry (Alliance – North Down)
Simon Fell (Conservative – Barrow and Furness)
Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party – Motherwell and Wishaw)
Mark Fletcher (Conservative – Bolsover)
Stephen Flynn (Scottish National Party – Aberdeen South)
Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat – Tiverton and Honiton)
Vicky Ford (Conservative – Chelmsford)
Yvonne Fovargue (Labour – Makerfield)
Vicky Foxcroft (Labour – Lewisham, Deptford)
Mary Kelly Foy (Labour – City of Durham)
George Freeman (Conservative – Mid Norfolk)
Richard Fuller (Conservative – North East Bedfordshire)
Gill Furniss (Labour – Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Barry Gardiner (Labour – Brent North)
Nick Gibb (Conservative – Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party – North Ayrshire and Arran)
Peter Gibson (Conservative – Darlington)
Jo Gideon (Conservative – Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Mary Glindon (Labour – North Tyneside)
Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party – Glasgow North)
Richard Graham (Conservative – Gloucester)
Peter Grant (Scottish National Party – Glenrothes)
Damian Green (Conservative – Ashford)
Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat – Chesham and Amersham)
Margaret Greenwood (Labour – Wirral West)
Nia Griffith (Labour – Llanelli)
Andrew Gwynne (Labour – Denton and Reddish)
Luke Hall (Conservative – Thornbury and Yate)
Fabian Hamilton (Labour – Leeds North East)
Paulette Hamilton (Labour – Birmingham, Erdington)
Stephen Hammond (Conservative – Wimbledon)
Matt Hancock (Independent – West Suffolk)
Neale Hanvey (Alba Party – Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Emma Hardy (Labour – Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Harriet Harman (Labour – Camberwell and Peckham)
Carolyn Harris (Labour – Swansea East)
Simon Hart (Conservative – Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire)
Helen Hayes (Labour – Dulwich and West Norwood)
John Healey (Labour – Wentworth and Dearne)
Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party – Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Meg Hillier (Labour – Hackney South and Shoreditch)
Damian Hinds (Conservative – East Hampshire)
Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat – Bath)
Margaret Hodge (Labour – Barking)
Sharon Hodgson (Labour – Washington and Sunderland West)
Kate Hollern (Labour – Blackburn)
Paul Holmes (Conservative – Eastleigh)
Rachel Hopkins (Labour – Luton South)
Stewart Hosie (Scottish National Party – Dundee East)
George Howarth (Labour – Knowsley)
Rupa Huq (Labour – Ealing Central and Acton)
Imran Hussain (Labour – Bradford East)
Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat – Edinburgh West)
Dan Jarvis (Labour – Barnsley Central)
Bernard Jenkin (Conservative – Harwich and North Essex)
Diana Johnson (Labour – Kingston upon Hull North)
Kim Johnson (Labour – Liverpool, Riverside)
Andrew Jones (Conservative – Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Darren Jones (Labour – Bristol North West)
Fay Jones (Conservative – Brecon and Radnorshire)
Gerald Jones (Labour – Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
Kevan Jones (Labour – North Durham)
Sarah Jones (Labour – Croydon Central)
Simon Jupp (Conservative – East Devon)
Mike Kane (Labour – Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative – Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Alicia Kearns (Conservative – Rutland and Melton)
Gillian Keegan (Conservative – Chichester)
Barbara Keeley (Labour – Worsley and Eccles South)
Liz Kendall (Labour – Leicester West)
Stephen Kinnock (Labour – Aberavon)
Kate Kniveton (Conservative – Burton)
Peter Kyle (Labour – Hove)
Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru – Ceredigion)
David Lammy (Labour – Tottenham)
John Lamont (Conservative – Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Robert Largan (Conservative – High Peak)
Ian Lavery (Labour – Wansbeck)
Kim Leadbeater (Labour – Batley and Spen)
Andrea Leadsom (Conservative – South Northamptonshire)
Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour – South Shields)
Andrew Lewer (Conservative – Northampton South)
Clive Lewis (Labour – Norwich South)
Julian Lewis (Conservative – New Forest East)
Simon Lightwood (Labour – Wakefield)
David Linden (Scottish National Party – Glasgow East)
Tony Lloyd (Labour – Rochdale) (Proxy vote cast by Chris Elmore)
Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour – Salford and Eccles)
Tim Loughton (Conservative – East Worthing and Shoreham)
Caroline Lucas (Green Party – Brighton, Pavilion)
Holly Lynch (Labour – Halifax)
Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party – East Lothian)
Justin Madders (Labour – Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Khalid Mahmood (Labour – Birmingham, Perry Barr)
Shabana Mahmood (Labour – Birmingham, Ladywood)
Seema Malhotra (Labour – Feltham and Heston)
Anthony Mangnall (Conservative – Totnes)
Julie Marson (Conservative – Hertford and Stortford)
Rachael Maskell (Labour – York Central)
Theresa May (Conservative – Maidenhead)
Jerome Mayhew (Conservative – Broadland)
Steve McCabe (Labour – Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Kerry McCarthy (Labour – Bristol East)
Siobhain McDonagh (Labour – Mitcham and Morden)
Andy McDonald (Labour – Middlesbrough)
Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party – Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
John McDonnell (Labour – Hayes and Harlington)
Pat McFadden (Labour – Wolverhampton South East)
Alison McGovern (Labour – Wirral South)
Catherine McKinnell (Labour – Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party – Glasgow North East) (Proxy vote cast by Brendan O’Hara)
Jim McMahon (Labour – Oldham West and Royton)
Anna McMorrin (Labour – Cardiff North)
John McNally (Scottish National Party – Falkirk)
Ian Mearns (Labour – Gateshead)
Edward Miliband (Labour – Doncaster North)
Maria Miller (Conservative – Basingstoke)
Nigel Mills (Conservative – Amber Valley)
Navendu Mishra (Labour – Stockport)
Andrew Mitchell (Conservative – Sutton Coldfield)
Carol Monaghan (Scottish National Party – Glasgow North West)
Robbie Moore (Conservative – Keighley)
Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat – Oxford West and Abingdon)
Penny Mordaunt (Conservative – Portsmouth North)
Jessica Morden (Labour – Newport East)
Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat – North Shropshire)
Stephen Morgan (Labour – Portsmouth South)
Grahame Morris (Labour – Easington)
Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative – Scunthorpe)
David Mundell (Conservative – Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Ian Murray (Labour – Edinburgh South)
James Murray (Labour – Ealing North)
Andrew Murrison (Conservative – South West Wiltshire)
Lisa Nandy (Labour – Wigan)
Robert Neill (Conservative – Bromley and Chislehurst)
Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party – Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Charlotte Nichols (Labour – Warrington North)
John Nicolson (Scottish National Party – Ochil and South Perthshire) (Proxy vote cast by Brendan O’Hara)
Caroline Nokes (Conservative – Romsey and Southampton North)
Jesse Norman (Conservative – Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Alex Norris (Labour – Nottingham North)
Brendan O’Hara (Scottish National Party – Argyll and Bute)
Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat – Richmond Park)
Chi Onwurah (Labour – Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Guy Opperman (Conservative – Hexham)
Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour – Erith and Thamesmead)
Kate Osborne (Labour – Jarrow)
Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party – East Renfrewshire)
Taiwo Owatemi (Labour – Coventry North West)
Sarah Owen (Labour – Luton North)
Stephanie Peacock (Labour – Barnsley East)
Matthew Pennycook (Labour – Greenwich and Woolwich)
John Penrose (Conservative – Weston-super-Mare)
Toby Perkins (Labour – Chesterfield)
Jess Phillips (Labour – Birmingham, Yardley)
Bridget Phillipson (Labour – Houghton and Sunderland South)
Chris Philp (Conservative – Croydon South)
Luke Pollard (Labour – Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Dan Poulter (Conservative – Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Rebecca Pow (Conservative – Taunton Deane)
Lucy Powell (Labour – Manchester Central)
Victoria Prentis (Conservative – Banbury)
Anum Qaisar (Scottish National Party – Airdrie and Shotts)
Angela Rayner (Labour – Ashton-under-Lyne)
Steve Reed (Labour – Croydon North)
Ellie Reeves (Labour – Lewisham West and Penge)
Rachel Reeves (Labour – Leeds West)
Jonathan Reynolds (Labour – Stalybridge and Hyde)
Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour – Streatham)
Nicola Richards (Conservative – West Bromwich East)
Angela Richardson (Conservative – Guildford)
Marie Rimmer (Labour – St Helens South and Whiston)
Rob Roberts (Independent – Delyn)
Laurence Robertson (Conservative – Tewkesbury)
Matt Rodda (Labour – Reading East)
Douglas Ross (Conservative – Moray)
Lee Rowley (Conservative – North East Derbyshire)
Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour – Brighton, Kemptown)
David Rutley (Conservative – Macclesfield)
Gary Sambrook (Conservative – Birmingham, Northfield)
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru – Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Selaine Saxby (Conservative – North Devon)
Paul Scully (Conservative – Sutton and Cheam)
Bob Seely (Conservative – Isle of Wight)
Andrew Selous (Conservative – South West Bedfordshire)
Virendra Sharma (Labour – Ealing, Southall)
Barry Sheerman (Labour – Huddersfield)
Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative – Elmet and Rothwell)
Tulip Siddiq (Labour – Hampstead and Kilburn)
Chris Skidmore (Conservative – Kingswood)
Andy Slaughter (Labour – Hammersmith)
Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party – Stirling)
Cat Smith (Labour – Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Chloe Smith (Conservative – Norwich North)
Jeff Smith (Labour – Manchester, Withington)
Julian Smith (Conservative – Skipton and Ripon)
Nick Smith (Labour – Blaenau Gwent)
Karin Smyth (Labour – Bristol South)
Alex Sobel (Labour – Leeds North West)
John Spellar (Labour – Warley)
Ben Spencer (Conservative – Runnymede and Weybridge)
Keir Starmer (Labour – Holborn and St Pancras)
Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party – Glasgow South West)
Jo Stevens (Labour – Cardiff Central)
John Stevenson (Conservative – Carlisle)
Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat – Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Gary Streeter (Conservative – South West Devon)
Graham Stringer (Labour – Blackley and Broughton)
Julian Sturdy (Conservative – York Outer)
Zarah Sultana (Labour – Coventry South)
James Sunderland (Conservative – Bracknell)
Robert Syms (Conservative – Poole)
Mark Tami (Labour – Alyn and Deeside)
Sam Tarry (Labour – Ilford South)
Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour – Torfaen)
Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party – Gordon)
Emily Thornberry (Labour – Islington South and Finsbury)
Maggie Throup (Conservative – Erewash)
Stephen Timms (Labour – East Ham)
Jon Trickett (Labour – Hemsworth)
Tom Tugendhat (Conservative – Tonbridge and Malling)
Karl Turner (Labour – Kingston upon Hull East)
Derek Twigg (Labour – Halton)
Valerie Vaz (Labour – Walsall South)
Martin Vickers (Conservative – Cleethorpes)
Christian Wakeford (Labour – Bury South)
Robin Walker (Conservative – Worcester)
Charles Walker (Conservative – Broxbourne)
Claudia Webbe (Independent – Leicester East)
Catherine West (Labour – Hornsey and Wood Green)
Andrew Western (Labour – Stretford and Urmston)
Matt Western (Labour – Warwick and Leamington)
Alan Whitehead (Labour – Southampton, Test)
Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party – Central Ayrshire)
Nadia Whittome (Labour – Nottingham East)
Craig Williams (Conservative – Montgomeryshire)
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru – Arfon)
Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat – Twickenham)
Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party – Perth and North Perthshire)
William Wragg (Conservative – Hazel Grove)
Mohammad Yasin (Labour – Bedford)
Daniel Zeichner (Labour – Cambridge)

Noes

William Cash (Conservative – Stone)
Nick Fletcher (Conservative – Don Valley)
Adam Holloway (Conservative – Gravesham)
Karl McCartney (Conservative – Lincoln)
Joy Morrissey (Conservative – Beaconsfield)
Heather Wheeler (Conservative – South Derbyshire)

No Vote Recorded

Adam Afriyie (Conservative – Windsor)
Lucy Allan (Conservative – Telford)
Fleur Anderson (Labour – Putney)
Lee Anderson (Conservative – Ashfield)
Stuart Anderson (Conservative – Wolverhampton South West)
Stuart Andrew (Conservative – Pudsey)
Caroline Ansell (Conservative – Eastbourne)
Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour – Gower)
Sarah Atherton (Conservative – Wrexham)
Victoria Atkins (Conservative – Louth and Horncastle)
Gareth Bacon (Conservative – Orpington)
Richard Bacon (Conservative – South Norfolk)
Kemi Badenoch (Conservative – Saffron Walden)
Shaun Bailey (Conservative – West Bromwich West)
Siobhan Baillie (Conservative – Stroud)
Steve Barclay (Conservative – North East Cambridgeshire)
Hannah Bardell (Scottish National Party – Livingston)
Simon Baynes (Conservative – Clwyd South)
Margaret Beckett (Labour – Derby South)
Órfhlaith Begley (Sinn Féin – West Tyrone)
Scott Benton (Independent – Blackpool South)
Paul Beresford (Conservative – Mole Valley)
Jake Berry (Conservative – Rossendale and Darwen)
Saqib Bhatti (Conservative – Meriden)
Mhairi Black (Scottish National Party – Paisley and Renfrewshire South)
Bob Blackman (Conservative – Harrow East)
Peter Bone (Conservative – Wellingborough)
Ben Bradley (Conservative – Mansfield)
Mickey Brady (Sinn Féin – Newry and Armagh)
Suella Braverman (Conservative – Fareham)
Jack Brereton (Conservative – Stoke-on-Trent South)
Paul Bristow (Conservative – Peterborough)
Sara Britcliffe (Conservative – Hyndburn)
Alex Burghart (Conservative – Brentwood and Ongar)
Conor Burns (Conservative – Bournemouth West)
Rob Butler (Conservative – Aylesbury)
Alun Cairns (Conservative – Vale of Glamorgan)
Lisa Cameron (Scottish National Party – East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party – East Londonderry)
James Cartlidge (Conservative – South Suffolk)
Miriam Cates (Conservative – Penistone and Stocksbridge)
Maria Caulfield (Conservative – Lewes)
Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party – Dunfermline and West Fife)
Bambos Charalambous (Independent – Enfield, Southgate)
Joanna Cherry (Scottish National Party – Edinburgh South West)
Rehman Chishti (Conservative – Gillingham and Rainham)
Christopher Chope (Conservative – Christchurch)
Simon Clarke (Conservative – Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland)
Brendan Clarke-Smith (Conservative – Bassetlaw)
Chris Clarkson (Conservative – Heywood and Middleton)
James Cleverly (Conservative – Braintree)
Thérèse Coffey (Conservative – Suffolk Coastal)
Damian Collins (Conservative – Folkestone and Hythe)
Jeremy Corbyn (Independent – Islington North)
Alberto Costa (Conservative – South Leicestershire)
Robert Courts (Conservative – Witney)
Claire Coutinho (Conservative – East Surrey)
Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party – Lanark and Hamilton East)
Virginia Crosbie (Conservative – Ynys Môn)
Tracey Crouch (Conservative – Chatham and Aylesford)
Judith Cummins (Labour – Bradford South)
Alex Cunningham (Labour – Stockton North)
James Daly (Conservative – Bury North)
James Davies (Conservative – Vale of Clwyd)
Gareth Davies (Conservative – Grantham and Stamford)
Geraint Davies (Independent – Swansea West)
Philip Davies (Conservative – Shipley)
Dehenna Davison (Conservative – Bishop Auckland)
Caroline Dinenage (Conservative – Gosport)
Sarah Dines (Conservative – Derbyshire Dales)
Leo Docherty (Conservative – Aldershot)
Jeffrey M Donaldson (Democratic Unionist Party – Lagan Valley)
Michelle Donelan (Conservative – Chippenham)
Nadine Dorries (Conservative – Mid Bedfordshire)
Steve Double (Conservative – St Austell and Newquay)
Oliver Dowden (Conservative – Hertsmere)
Richard Drax (Conservative – South Dorset)
James Duddridge (Conservative – Rochford and Southend East)
Rosie Duffield (Labour – Canterbury)
Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative – Chingford and Woodford Green)
Mark Eastwood (Conservative – Dewsbury)
Michael Ellis (Conservative – Northampton North)
Natalie Elphicke (Conservative – Dover)
George Eustice (Conservative – Camborne and Redruth)
Nigel Evans (Deputy Speaker – Ribble Valley)
David Evennett (Conservative – Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Ben Everitt (Conservative – Milton Keynes North)
Michael Fabricant (Conservative – Lichfield)
Margaret Ferrier (Independent – Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
John Finucane (Sinn Féin – Belfast North)
Anna Firth (Conservative – Southend West)
Katherine Fletcher (Conservative – South Ribble)
Kevin Foster (Conservative – Torbay)
Liam Fox (Conservative – North Somerset)
Mark Francois (Conservative – Rayleigh and Wickford)
Lucy Frazer (Conservative – South East Cambridgeshire)
Mike Freer (Conservative – Finchley and Golders Green)
Louie French (Conservative – Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Marcus Fysh (Conservative – Yeovil)
Roger Gale (Deputy Speaker – North Thanet)
Mark Garnier (Conservative – Wyre Forest)
Nusrat Ghani (Conservative – Wealden)
Michelle Gildernew (Sinn Féin – Fermanagh and South Tyrone)
Preet Kaur Gill (Labour – Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party – South Antrim)
John Glen (Conservative – Salisbury)
Robert Goodwill (Conservative – Scarborough and Whitby)
Michael Gove (Conservative – Surrey Heath)
Helen Grant (Conservative – Maidstone and The Weald)
James Gray (Conservative – North Wiltshire)
Chris Grayling (Conservative – Epsom and Ewell)
Chris Green (Conservative – Bolton West)
Andrew Griffith (Conservative – Arundel and South Downs)
James Grundy (Conservative – Leigh)
Jonathan Gullis (Conservative – Stoke-on-Trent North)
Louise Haigh (Labour – Sheffield, Heeley)
Robert Halfon (Conservative – Harlow)
Greg Hands (Conservative – Chelsea and Fulham)
Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party – Belfast South)
Mark Harper (Conservative – Forest of Dean)
Rebecca Harris (Conservative – Castle Point)
Trudy Harrison (Conservative – Copeland)
Sally-Ann Hart (Conservative – Hastings and Rye)
John Hayes (Conservative – South Holland and The Deepings)
Chris Hazzard (Sinn Féin – South Down)
Oliver Heald (Conservative – North East Hertfordshire)
James Heappey (Conservative – Wells)
Chris Heaton-Harris (Conservative – Daventry)
Gordon Henderson (Conservative – Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Mark Hendrick (Labour – Preston)
Darren Henry (Conservative – Broxtowe)
Antony Higginbotham (Conservative – Burnley)
Simon Hoare (Conservative – North Dorset)
Richard Holden (Conservative – North West Durham)
Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative – Thirsk and Malton)
Philip Hollobone (Conservative – Kettering)
John Howell (Conservative – Henley)
Paul Howell (Conservative – Sedgefield)
Lindsay Hoyle (Speaker – Chorley)
Nigel Huddleston (Conservative – Mid Worcestershire)
Neil Hudson (Conservative – Penrith and The Border)
Eddie Hughes (Conservative – Walsall North)
Jane Hunt (Conservative – Loughborough)
Jeremy Hunt (Conservative – South West Surrey)
Tom Hunt (Conservative – Ipswich)
Alister Jack (Conservative – Dumfries and Galloway)
Sajid Javid (Conservative – Bromsgrove)
Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative – North East Hampshire)
Mark Jenkinson (Conservative – Workington)
Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative – Morley and Outwood)
Robert Jenrick (Conservative – Newark)
Caroline Johnson (Conservative – Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Gareth Johnson (Conservative – Dartford)
David Johnston (Conservative – Wantage)
David Jones (Conservative – Clwyd West)
Marcus Jones (Conservative – Nuneaton)
Ruth Jones (Labour – Newport West)
Afzal Khan (Labour – Manchester, Gorton)
Julian Knight (Independent – Solihull)
Greg Knight (Conservative – East Yorkshire)
Danny Kruger (Conservative – Devizes)
Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative – Spelthorne)
Eleanor Laing (Deputy Speaker – Epping Forest)
Pauline Latham (Conservative – Mid Derbyshire)
Chris Law (Scottish National Party – Dundee West)
Edward Leigh (Conservative – Gainsborough)
Ian Levy (Conservative – Blyth Valley)
Brandon Lewis (Conservative – Great Yarmouth)
Ian Liddell-Grainger (Conservative – Bridgwater and West Somerset)
Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party – Upper Bann)
Chris Loder (Conservative – West Dorset)
Mark Logan (Conservative – Bolton North East)
Marco Longhi (Conservative – Dudley North)
Julia Lopez (Conservative – Hornchurch and Upminster)
Jack Lopresti (Conservative – Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Jonathan Lord (Conservative – Woking)
Craig Mackinlay (Conservative – South Thanet)
Cherilyn Mackrory (Conservative – Truro and Falmouth)
Rachel Maclean (Conservative – Redditch)
Angus Brendan MacNeil (Scottish National Party – Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Alan Mak (Conservative – Havant)
Kit Malthouse (Conservative – North West Hampshire)
Scott Mann (Conservative – North Cornwall)
Paul Maskey (Sinn Féin – Belfast West)
Paul Maynard (Conservative – Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Jason McCartney (Conservative – Colne Valley)
Stewart Malcolm McDonald (Scottish National Party – Glasgow South)
Conor McGinn (Independent – St Helens North)
Stephen McPartland (Conservative – Stevenage)
Esther McVey (Conservative – Tatton)
Mark Menzies (Conservative – Fylde)
Johnny Mercer (Conservative – Plymouth, Moor View)
Huw Merriman (Conservative – Bexhill and Battle)
Stephen Metcalfe (Conservative – South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Robin Millar (Conservative – Aberconwy)
Amanda Milling (Conservative – Cannock Chase)
Gagan Mohindra (Conservative – South West Hertfordshire)
Francie Molloy (Sinn Féin – Mid Ulster)
Damien Moore (Conservative – Southport)
Anne Marie Morris (Conservative – Newton Abbot)
David Morris (Conservative – Morecambe and Lunesdale)
James Morris (Conservative – Halesowen and Rowley Regis)
Jill Mortimer (Conservative – Hartlepool)
Wendy Morton (Conservative – Aldridge-Brownhills)
Kieran Mullan (Conservative – Crewe and Nantwich)
Sheryll Murray (Conservative – South East Cornwall)
Lia Nici (Conservative – Great Grimsby)
Neil O’Brien (Conservative – Harborough)
Matthew Offord (Conservative – Hendon)
Kate Osamor (Labour – Edmonton)
Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party – North Antrim)
Priti Patel (Conservative – Witham)
Mark Pawsey (Conservative – Rugby)
Mike Penning (Conservative – Hemel Hempstead)
Andrew Percy (Conservative – Brigg and Goole)
Christopher Pincher (Independent – Tamworth)
Mark Pritchard (Conservative – The Wrekin)
Tom Pursglove (Conservative – Corby)
Jeremy Quin (Conservative – Horsham)
Will Quince (Conservative – Colchester)
Yasmin Qureshi (Labour – Bolton South East)
Dominic Raab (Conservative – Esher and Walton)
Tom Randall (Conservative – Gedling)
John Redwood (Conservative – Wokingham)
Christina Rees (Independent – Neath)
Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative – North East Somerset)
Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party – Belfast East)
Mary Robinson (Conservative – Cheadle)
Andrew Rosindell (Conservative – Romford)
Dean Russell (Conservative – Watford)
Naz Shah (Labour – Bradford West)
Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party – Strangford)
Grant Shapps (Conservative – Welwyn Hatfield)
Alok Sharma (Conservative – Reading West)
Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party – Edinburgh East)
David Simmonds (Conservative – Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Greg Smith (Conservative – Buckingham)
Henry Smith (Conservative – Crawley)
Royston Smith (Conservative – Southampton, Itchen)
Amanda Solloway (Conservative – Derby North)
Mark Spencer (Conservative – Sherwood)
Alexander Stafford (Conservative – Rother Valley)
Andrew Stephenson (Conservative – Pendle)
Jane Stevenson (Conservative – Wolverhampton North East)
Bob Stewart (Conservative – Beckenham)
Iain Stewart (Conservative – Milton Keynes South)
Wes Streeting (Labour – Ilford North)
Mel Stride (Conservative – Central Devon)
Graham Stuart (Conservative – Beverley and Holderness)
Rishi Sunak (Conservative – Richmond (Yorks))
Desmond Swayne (Conservative – New Forest West)
Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party – Glasgow Central)
Derek Thomas (Conservative – St Ives)
Gareth Thomas (Labour – Harrow West)
Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party – Midlothian)
Edward Timpson (Conservative – Eddisbury)
Kelly Tolhurst (Conservative – Rochester and Strood)
Justin Tomlinson (Conservative – North Swindon)
Michael Tomlinson (Conservative – Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Craig Tracey (Conservative – North Warwickshire)
Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Conservative – Berwick-upon-Tweed)
Laura Trott (Conservative – Sevenoaks)
Elizabeth Truss (Conservative – South West Norfolk)
Shailesh Vara (Conservative – North West Cambridgeshire)
Matt Vickers (Conservative – Stockton South)
Theresa Villiers (Conservative – Chipping Barnet)
Ben Wallace (Conservative – Wyre and Preston North)
Jamie Wallis (Conservative – Bridgend)
David Warburton (Independent – Somerton and Frome)
Matt Warman (Conservative – Boston and Skegness)
Giles Watling (Conservative – Clacton)
Suzanne Webb (Conservative – Stourbridge)
Helen Whately (Conservative – Faversham and Mid Kent)
Mick Whitley (Labour – Birkenhead)
Craig Whittaker (Conservative – Calder Valley)
John Whittingdale (Conservative – Maldon)
Bill Wiggin (Conservative – North Herefordshire)
James Wild (Conservative – North West Norfolk)
Gavin Williamson (Conservative – South Staffordshire)
Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party – East Antrim)
Beth Winter (Labour – Cynon Valley)
Rosie Winterton (Deputy Speaker – Doncaster Central)
Mike Wood (Conservative – Dudley South)
Jeremy Wright (Conservative – Kenilworth and Southam)
Jacob Young (Conservative – Redcar)
Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative – Stratford-on-Avon)

• Retrospective application for planning and listed building consent for the extension of a dwelling to incorporate a redundant store/workshop The Barn Higher Watchcombe Farm Shute Axminster EX13 7QNRef. No: 23/1239/FUL | Validated: Fri 09 Jun 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Retrospective application for planning and listed building consent for the extension of a dwelling to incorporate a redundant store/workshop The Barn Higher Watchcombe Farm Shute Axminster EX13 7QNRef. No: 23/1240/LBC | Validated: Fri 09 Jun 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1, Golden Lawson cypress : reduce by 3m and lift lower branches to approximately 3m. T2, Golden Thuja : reduce by 3 – 4m and shorten lower branches. T3-8, Group of six Thuja : fell to as near ground level as possible. Woodrising Bickwell Valley Sidmouth Devon EX10 8RFRef. No: 23/1232/TCA | Validated: Thu 08 Jun 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Modification of S106 Agreement dated 8 May 1992 between East Devon District Council and Devon and Cornwall Housing Association 1-3 Hazel Grove & 19 Birch End Rockbeare Exeter EX5 2HHRef. No: 23/1234/V106 | Validated: Thu 08 Jun 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Roofing over silage clamp 1 Shermans Farm Gittisham EX14 3AURef. No: 23/1221/FUL | Validated: Wed 07 Jun 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T5: Walnut (twin-stemmed) – fell diseased trunk and crown, leaving the healthy trunk and crown. The Round House Stoke Hill Stoke Canon EX5 4EERef. No: 23/1216/TRE | Validated: Wed 07 Jun 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed roofing over silage clamp 2. Shermans Farm Gittisham Honiton EX14 3AURef. No: 23/1222/FUL | Validated: Wed 07 Jun 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• TP1 Oak – reduce crown via thinning and trim away from overhead BT lines , reducing branch lengths up to 3m, making cuts no bigger than 80mm TP2 Oak – remove deadwood over council footpath and communal parking area and garden. 18 Westbourne Terrace Budleigh Salterton EX9 6BRRef. No: 23/1189/TRE | Validated: Mon 05 Jun 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of extensions, internal alterations. carport and rear store. Red Gable Sid Road Sidmouth EX10 9ALRef. No: 23/1188/FUL | Validated: Mon 05 Jun 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed horticultural store Millers Farm Shop Gammons Hill Kilmington EX13 7RARef. No: 23/1203/FUL | Validated: Thu 08 Jun 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed agricultural store Millers Farm Shop Gammons Hill Kilmington Devon EX13 7RARef. No: 23/1193/FUL | Validated: Thu 08 Jun 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed part conversion of front garden into hardstanding vehicle driveway 53 Moormead Budleigh Salterton EX9 6PXRef. No: 23/1186/FUL | Validated: Tue 06 Jun 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed new showroom for JRC Carpets 5 Clyst Works Clyst Road Topsham Devon EX3 0DBRef. No: 23/1182/FUL | Validated: Thu 08 Jun 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed agricultural storage building (retrospective) Sunnylands Dalwood Devon EX13 7EARef. No: 23/1173/FUL | Validated: Mon 05 Jun 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Installation of a demountable building to be used as a changing room facility Devon And Somerset Fire And Rescue Service Headquarters Clyst St George Devon EX3 0NWRef. No: 23/1170/FUL | Validated: Wed 07 Jun 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• To erect an Agricultural building. Land At Salcombe RegisRef. No: 23/1161/FUL | Validated: Wed 07 Jun 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use from disused assembly building to one residential unit Kingdom Hall Russell Street Sidmouth EX10 8DDRef. No: 23/1158/FUL | Validated: Wed 07 Jun 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• 5m x 4m single storey ‘infill’ extension to North elevation in between the existing kitchen and garage. 30 Livonia Road Sidmouth Devon EX10 9JBRef. No: 23/1152/FUL | Validated: Mon 05 Jun 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Alterations to ground floor window and door arrangements. Construction of first floor extension, and second floor loft conversion. 39 West Clyst Exeter Devon EX1 3TLRef. No: 23/1150/FUL | Validated: Tue 06 Jun 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Conversion of existing building from barn into dwelling Land North Of Railway WhimpleRef. No: 23/1147/FUL | Validated: Thu 08 Jun 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed two storey side extension, to include the removal of existing garage and kitchen. 1 Kersbrook House Kersbrook Budleigh Salterton EX9 7ABRef. No: 23/1135/FUL | Validated: Fri 09 Jun 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Siting of temporary stables South Field Bicton Arena Bicton Park Bicton East BudleighRef. No: 23/1127/FUL | Validated: Fri 09 Jun 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed detached workshop and installation of boundary fencing 9 Chestnut Crescent Stoke Canon Devon EX5 4AARef. No: 23/1057/FUL | Validated: Thu 08 Jun 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Two storey rear extension. 1 The Villas Seaton Junction Axminster EX13 7PRRef. No: 23/0969/FUL | Validated: Wed 07 Jun 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision

Will they, won’t they vote today?

After threats of deselection for Conservative MPs voting to accept and approve the Privilege Committee findings on Boris Johnson, the man himself asked his followers not to vote against the report. Some say that was because it might show how small in number his supporters were, though his reasoning could be more devious.

There has then been further speculation that the report would be “nodded through” without division so we would never know whether our MP voted for or against.

Rishi Sunak’s position still seems uncertain, even over whether he will attend the debate.

Unless and until  Rishi Sunak condemns Boris Johnson, the issue of the Tory Party partying while we sheltered will continue to haunt all Conservatives.

Michael Gove has said he disagrees with the parliamentary investigation that found Boris Johnson deliberately misled MPs over the Partygate scandal, and will abstain from voting on it in the Commons.

“I’ll vote against the privileges committee’s Boris report – for the sake of Parliament.” Sir Bill Cash MP

It now looks as though Sir Bill Cash might help to force a vote, as he often does.

Although the decsion to divide is at the discretion of the speaker. If the “yes” voices are much louder and more numerous than the “no” ones, he may just declare the motion carried “nodded through”, and move on to the next business.

Issue of malnutrition raised by Paul Arnott now reaches  the National News.

“We’re ignored when complaints are raised and so have resorted to weighing some of the families to evidence the weight loss and push for changes to be made.”

Cranbrook Education Campus near Exeter, now feeding 47 asylum-seeking children attending the school because they were coming to school hungry.

Diane Taylor www.theguardian.com 

Health professionals have raised concerns about the increasing number of children in asylum seeker hotel accommodation being diagnosed with malnutrition, the Guardian has learned.

Cases of malnutrition among both children and adults have been confirmed in various different areas of England, including hotels in London and in the south-west.

In some areas health professionals have started weighing children at the hotels who have become dangerously thin and in need of frequent monitoring.

Those working with families in hotels reported that some parents have been found rummaging through bins to find food for their children and adults were losing as much as 10-15kg (22-33lbs) of weight.

Rupert Blomfield, manager of Refugee Support Devon, which is providing support to asylum seekers in hotels across the county, said: “Some children are simply not eating. We have had cases of malnutrition confirmed. Some children have been losing weight to quite a dangerous degree.”

One health and social care professional who is also involved with weighing asylum seekers in the Devon area said: “The situation for families is dire and no matter how many times issues are raised with the contractor or the Home Office, nothing changes. The children are losing weight rapidly, going to school and saying they’re starving, eating two portions of lunch. They are saying that they don’t want to return to the hotel which they describe as ‘prison’.

“We’re ignored when complaints are raised and so have resorted to weighing some of the families to evidence the weight loss and push for changes to be made.”

Stephen Farmer, headteacher at Cranbrook Education Campus near Exeter, which is part of the Ted Wragg Trust, confirmed that the school was feeding 47 asylum-seeking children attending the school because they were coming to school hungry.

“We do have concerns and we have raised these concerns with MPs, local authorities and various other agencies. There are a lot of meetings going on,” he said. “Our job as school leaders is to ensure that children are safe and healthy. We are providing more food for these pupils because we have noticed they are hungry.”

One family who spent nine months in a hotel in another part of the country after fleeing persecution and death threats by security services in their home country have lost significant amounts of weight. The father said he had lost 9kg (20lbs), his wife 5kg and their 11-year-old son 4kg. Their seven-year-old daughter has also lost a significant amount of weight since the family arrived in the UK in May of last year.

“My son is allergic to certain foods as he has a disorder of his red blood cells. I asked the chef in the hotel to tell me the ingredients in the food so I could make sure there was nothing my son is not allowed to eat in it. He refused to give me that information. When I asked him if he would give this food to his children he replied ‘no way’. I am so concerned about my children’s health. We took a photo of my son when we arrived here and he was a healthy weight. In a recent photo we took all his bones are sticking out.”

A Syrian mother who is accommodated in a London hotel with her family and has been in the UK for 14 months said: “Seeing my children lose weight in the hotel is breaking my heart. Children are supposed to gain weight as they grow not lose it.”

“My three-year-old daughter has lost a lot of weight since we arrived. She only weighs 13 kilos now. When we ask for milk for the children they don’t always give it to us and the milk we do get looks like it’s mixed with water. We’re given rice swimming in water and stinky chicken.”

Steve Smith, CEO of refugee charity Care4Calais said: “A system that allows private contractors to profit while human beings, including children, are losing weight from being denied access to nutritious food, is a system that is broken. This is a public health issue and one that the government must urgently get on top of.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The welfare of those in our care is absolutely paramount. Asylum seekers in receipt of catered accommodation are provided with three meals a day, along with fresh fruit and snacks. The food provided in asylum hotels meets NHS Eatwell standards and responds to all cultural and dietary requirements. Where concerns are raised about any aspect of the service delivered in a hotel, we work with the provider to ensure these concerns are swiftly addressed.”