Category Archives: Accountability

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

8 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Austerity cuts, Developers/ Development, Economy, Growth Strategy, Local Enterprise Partnership, Privatisation

“A Chief Executive to Lead the Heart of the South West LEP Towards Prosperity for All” ***

*** Prosperity for all LEP Board Members perhaps? !!!

“The Heart of the South West (HotSW) Local Enterprise Partnership is looking for a new chief executive to start in the summer following the retirement of Chris Garcia, who has led one of England’s most successful LEPs for five years.

The role demands a high calibre candidate for this increasingly pivotal role in the HotSW economy, which covers Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay.

Chair of the Heart of the South West LEP, Steve Hindley CBE DL [Chairman if the Midas construction empire], said: “We’re a strong business-led partnership between the private sector, social enterprises, local authorities, universities and colleges throughout Devon and Somerset and the unitary areas of Plymouth and Torbay, making us one of the largest LEPs in the country, so we’re looking for strong leadership and talent.

“Across the HotSW area, there’s a mix of urban and rural economies, stunning natural capital, rich heritage and a tremendously exciting range of business opportunities.

“We’ve established an impressive track record with a £750m investment programme to support our mission to see better productivity and better jobs; and we’re poised to launch a new delivery plan for a step change in productivity.

“The role of LEPs is increasing as we become firmly aligned with the delivery of the government’s Industrial Strategy, our funding is secured for at least another two years, and we’ll now have regular meetings with the Prime Minister.

“I look forward to meeting some exceptional applicants for this exciting role as HotSW LEP enters the next phase in its journey towards prosperity for all.”

Applications are open until 16 February and a candidate briefing pack is available at: http://www.heartofswlep.co.uk/news”

http://heartofswlep.co.uk/news/chief-executive-lead-heart-south-west-lep-towards-prosperity/

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

8 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Austerity cuts, Economy, EDDC, Scrutiny, Sustainability, Transparency

“Councils used as ‘human shields’ for cuts, says John McDonnell”

“John McDonnell has accused the government of using cash-strapped local councils as “human shields” to absorb deep spending cuts by the Treasury.

The shadow chancellor seized on reports that Surrey – where the Runneymede and Weybridge constituency of the chancellor, Philip Hammond, is located – was facing a £100m cash crisis.

Analysis by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism identified Surrey as the council facing the largest gap between expected revenues and expenditures in the coming financial year. The average deficit at the 150 councils the bureau examined was £14.7m.

Meanwhile, a survey of senior council officials by the Local Government Information Unit thinktank found that almost 80% had no confidence in the future sustainability of council finances.

McDonnell said: “If you ever wanted to see the utter failure of this government, look no further than your local council. Many are struggling to maintain many basic services because they are being forced to pass on Tory cuts.

“There needs to be an urgent change of direction in local government funding in this country. We need to see an end to a situation whereby Tory governments are using local councils like human shields as they continue to drive ahead with their failed austerity agenda.”

McDonnell appeared at a conference in Preston alongside the shadow communities secretary, Andrew Gwynne.

Many of the councils under greatest financial pressure are in Tory-held areas, and Conservative MPs have put pressure on the government to relieve the squeeze in particular areas.

Sajid Javid, the communities secretary, announced an extra £150m this week specifically to be spent on social care in areas of greatest need, amid a growing backlash from backbenchers.

But council leaders said it would not be enough to meet rapidly increasing needs.

The LGIU’s survey of councils’ finances suggested that 94% are planning to raise council tax in the coming year to make ends meet, and 65% will be dipping into their financial reserves.

In his speech, McDonnell highlighted alternative approaches to delivering local services.

Labour believes the threat to council services, such as social care and support for children, are the latest stark illustration of the ongoing impact of austerity.

The government has promised to put social care funding on a sustainable footing; but a green paper on the issue is not due to be published until next summer.”

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/feb/08/john-mcdonnell-councils-used-human-shields-funding-cuts

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

8 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, East Devon Tories, Hugo Swire, Inequality, Lobbying, Sleaze

Comments

1 Comment

Tories auction off access to PM and ministers at their annual ball

Readers may recall the tasteless joke made by Hugo Swire about the unemployed at the £10|15,000 per table Tory fundraising ball attended by porn barons, sex shop owners, former jailbirds and assorted other rich riff-raff in 2015:

“Joke of the night
Auctioneer Hugo Swire, a Tory MP, inviting bids for the flight, said: ‘For an extra £1,000 we will throw in a case of wine. For an extra £5,000, we will throw in Greece as well.”

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2948470/Porn-barons-Shady-financiers-Hedge-fund-kings-Welcome-secret-Tory-ball-ANDREW-PIERCE-reveals-went-closed-doors.html

as reported here:

https://eastdevonwatch.org/2015/02/11/hugo-swire-is-auctioneer-at-15000-per-head-tory-ball/

Readers will be pleased to know that this annual event continues to be a highlight of the posh-toff Tory donor calendar. The dinner was held, appropriately enough, in the Natural History Museum, home to many other dinosaurs, though perhaps not as rich as the living ones!

Reports include:

A Tory donors paying £55,000 in an auction to spend a day with Theresa May.

Other auction lots included a dinner at a restaurant hosted by Stanley Johnson and the Made in Chelsea star Georgia Toffolo – who appeared together on the ITV reality show I’m a Celebrity – which went for £15,000.

Another auction lot was a chance to “walk in the footsteps of Churchill” by having dinner with the defence secretary, Gavin Williamson, in the Churchill war rooms, which reportedly went for £30,000.

A bidder is understood to have paid £12,500 for a home-cooked dinner with the environment secretary, Michael Gove, and his wife, Sarah Vine, at their west London home.

Dinner in Edinburgh with Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Conservative leader, attracted bids of more than £15,000, while lunch with Liam Fox, the international trade secretary, proved somewhat less alluring, with bids around the £2,000 mark.

Departing guests were reportedly greeted by a flashmob of taxi drivers honking horns in protest at May’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month in which she said Uber had got things wrong but should not be shut down.

As reported in

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/feb/08/black-and-white-ball-dinner-with-defence-secretary-goes-for-30000-at-tory-fundraising-ball

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

8 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Austerity cuts, Developers/ Development, EDDC, Land Supply, Public Open Space

“Since Margaret Thatcher came to power, 10% of the area of Britain has left public ownership. No wonder there’s a housing crisis”

“… in all the proliferating discussion about the rights and wrongs of the history of privatisation in Britain – both from those determined to row back against the neoliberal tide and those convinced that renationalisation is the wrong answer – Britain’s biggest privatisation of all never merits a mention. This is partly because so few people are aware that it has even taken place, and partly because it has never been properly studied. What is this mega-privatisation? The privatisation of land.

Some activists have hinted at it. Last October, for instance, the New Economics Foundation (NEF), a progressive thinktank, called in this newspaper for the government to stop selling public land. But the NEF’s is solely a present-day story, picturing land privatisation as a new phenomenon. It gives no sense of the fact that this has been occurring on a massive scale for fully 39 years, since the day that Margaret Thatcher entered Downing Street. During that period, all types of public land have been targeted, held by local and central government alike. And while disposals have generally been heaviest under Tory and Tory-led administrations, they definitely did not abate under New Labour; indeed the NHS estate, in particular, was ravaged during the Blair years.

All told, around 2 million hectares of public land have been privatised during the past four decades. This amounts to an eye-watering 10% of the entire British land mass, and about half of all the land that was owned by public bodies when Thatcher assumed power. How much is the land that has been privatised in Britain worth? It is impossible to say for sure. But my conservative estimate, explained in my forthcoming book on this historic privatisation, called The New Enclosure, is somewhere in the region of £400bn in today’s prices. This dwarfs the value of all of Britain’s other, better known, and often bitterly contested, privatisations. …”

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/08/biggest-privatisation-land-margaret-thatcher-britain-housing-crisis

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

8 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Austerity cuts, Health and Social Care (local), Inequality, NHS (local)

“A third of carers quit each year”

“More than a third of care workers give up their job within a year because of low pay, lack of prestige and limited options to advance, a report says.

About half of care workers are paid £14,625 a year or less, equivalent to £7.50 an hour, and many have to work unsocial hours, travel long distances and lift or support people they care for.

The study, by the National Audit Office (NOA), found that about 6.6 per cent of posts among the 1.3 million jobs in the adult social care sector were vacant, and there were vacancy rates of 11.3 per cent for managers and 16 per cent for registered nurses. …”

Source: The Times (pay wall)

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

8 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Austerity cuts, Council tax

“Surrey, UK’s richest county, hit by £100m cash crisis”

“Britain’s richest county is facing a £100 million cash crisis as scores of councils struggle to close budget deficits, an investigation has found.

Surrey county council has one of the worst financial shortfalls in the country, according to research seen by The Times. The disclosure came as nearly every part of England warned of tax rises to make ends meet and half of local authorities prepared to cut services for children. Nine out of ten councils will be millions of pounds over budget by the end of the financial year.

Surrey’s woes will alarm Downing Street as it is a solidly Conservative council and the county is represented at Westminster by seven senior government ministers. … “”

Source: The Times (pay wall)

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

7 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Affordable and Social Housing, Developers/ Development, Redrow

Redrow posts record profits

“Housebuilder Redrow recorded record profits and revenues after completing it highest ever number of homes in the first half of its financial year.

The figures

Profits before tax rose by 26 per cent year-on-year in its first-half accounting period to hit £176m. Revenues rose by 20 per cent to £890m.

Legal completions from by 14 per cent to 2,811 during the period, while order books were up by five per cent year-on-year at £1.05bn….

Why it’s interesting

This time last year Redrow was chasing Bovis Homes for a merger. That fell through after Bovis rejected their advances, so the FTSE 250 firm has had to look for growth through other means.

The Flintshire-headquartered builder has since defied the slowdown in house prices to post a string of strong profits.

Economists are not confident about the state of the UK housing market, after an extended period of real wages being squeezed and uncertainties around the Brexit process.

What Redrow said

Steve Morgan, chairman of Redrow, said: “Reservations in the first five weeks of the second half have been in line with the strong comparable period last year. We entered the second half with a record order book, and customer traffic and sales remain robust.

“Given the strength of both our order book and land holdings, together with the robust sales market, our growth strategy remains on track. This gives me every confidence it will be another year of significant progress for Redrow.”

Why it’s interesting

This time last year Redrow was chasing Bovis Homes for a merger. That fell through after Bovis rejected their advances, so the FTSE 250 firm has had to look for growth through other means.

The Flintshire-headquartered builder has since defied the slowdown in house prices to post a string of strong profits.

Economists are not confident about the state of the UK housing market, after an extended period of real wages being squeezed and uncertainties around the Brexit process.

What Redrow said

Steve Morgan, chairman of Redrow, said: “Reservations in the first five weeks of the second half have been in line with the strong comparable period last year. We entered the second half with a record order book, and customer traffic and sales remain robust.

“Given the strength of both our order book and land holdings, together with the robust sales market, our growth strategy remains on track. This gives me every confidence it will be another year of significant progress for Redrow.”

Why it’s interesting

This time last year Redrow was chasing Bovis Homes for a merger. That fell through after Bovis rejected their advances, so the FTSE 250 firm has had to look for growth through other means.

The Flintshire-headquartered builder has since defied the slowdown in house prices to post a string of strong profits.

Economists are not confident about the state of the UK housing market, after an extended period of real wages being squeezed and uncertainties around the Brexit process.

What Redrow said

Steve Morgan, chairman of Redrow, said: “Reservations in the first five weeks of the second half have been in line with the strong comparable period last year. We entered the second half with a record order book, and customer traffic and sales remain robust.

“Given the strength of both our order book and land holdings, together with the robust sales market, our growth strategy remains on track. This gives me every confidence it will be another year of significant progress for Redrow.”

http://www.cityam.com/280180/housebuilder-redrows-revenues-and-profits-rise-record

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

7 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Accountable Care Organisation, Education (local), Privatisation

Privatisation: “Heads want pay code after £500,000 academy boss”

Wonder what chiefs of Accountable/Integrated Care Organisations will get? Half a million is probably chicken feed for them!

“Head teachers say the pay levels of all school staff in England, including academy bosses, should be in a fairer framework to stop “fat cat” pay gaps.
The chief executive of the Harris Federation was revealed last week to have become the first in the state sector to earn £500,000.

The National Association of Head Teachers wants more transparency over spending “public money”.

The Department for Education has written to 29 trusts about high pay.
But the academy trusts it has asked to explain their levels of pay, where bosses earn over £150,000, are only small, single-school trusts.
The much bigger multi-academy trusts, including Harris, have so far been exempt from this challenge over how much they pay their bosses and managers.

The most recent figures, from 2015-16, show more than 120 academy trusts paying someone more than £150,000 – the large majority of which will be in multi-academy trusts.

A spokeswoman for the Harris Federation says its chief executive Sir Dan Moynihan’s earnings of up to £500,000 reflected the high performance of the trust. …”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-42959627

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

6 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Austerity cuts, Privatisation

Comments

1 Comment

Carillion liquidators demand local authorities pay 20% and maybe up to 70% extra for company’s contracts

“Councils with Carillion contracts are being hit with steep new charges in the wake of the outsourcing giant’s collapse, HuffPost UK can reveal.

PWC, which is overseeing Carillion’s liquidation, is demanding local authorities stump up on average 20% extra for contracts such as library services and construction work as the Official Receiver attempts to claw back the firm’s losses, according to the Local Government Association (LGA).

It is understood town hall chiefs are now scrambling to take services back in-house amid fears that bills for ‘weekly charges’ and ‘contributions to overheads’ could climb by up to 70% in some cases, the LGA said. …

The LGA, meanwhile, has urged ministers to intervene, underlining that cash-strapped councils can ill afford the price hikes.

Bosses at London’s Ealing Council have told HuffPost UK the authority has already taken its £2m contract with Carillion for library services back in-house. The alternative was closing libraries, they said.

“We did receive a figure from PWC suggesting a weekly charge for running the library service, including a ‘contribution to overheads,’” said a council spokesman.

“We are waiting on their latest figures and clarification of how they have been calculated. In order to secure the most efficient, value for money and high-quality library services for residents and the future of the service, the decision was taken to bring the service under the direct control of the council.”

The council is withholding payment, saying PWC must spell out how the charges were calculated.

PWC said new charges reflected the cost of the work, but stressed that councils can contest them.

It is thought around 20 top tier councils had contracts with Carillion, for services from major civil engineering works, school meals and cleaning services to library management, ICT and road gritting. …

Carillion, which had public sector contracts worth £1.7bn and employed 20,000 British people, went into liquidation in January after a major profits warning last year.

The group’s portfolio included providing school dinners, cleaning and catering at NHS hospitals, building HS2 and maintaining 50,000 army base homes for the Ministry of Defence. It folded with a reported £5bn of liabilities and just £29m left in cash.

Its directors will face MPs on Wednesday to explain, among other things, why shareholders continued to be paid while there was a pension deficit of £587m and how the firm’s finances were allowed to deteriorate so rapidly.

A spokesman for the LGA urged councils facing new charges to make a “pacy transition to new arrangements” as ministers had confirmed the extra charges would be 20% and could climb higher.

“Some councils have raised concerns about being charged substantial increases in contract fees by the Official Receiver,” he said.

“We raised this issue with central government who have advised that all customers will be required to pay more than the contract price with Carillion to reflect the direct cost for ongoing provision of service including support functions. This additional cost is estimated to be around 20% although it is likely to increase as contracts are re-let or taken in house.

“We have advised councils that a pacy transition to new arrangements is likely to be the best way to minimise exposure to escalating costs.”

It comes as the Official Receiver announced a further 452 jobs will be lost – bringing the grim total to 829 – in the wake of the firm’s collapse in January. …

“It’s not just the fact so many are being made redundant – it’s the callous way PWC are going about it which is so outrageous.

“Some people received emails on Saturday simply telling them not to bother turning up for work on Monday.

“Others have been given less than a day’s notice.

“And the ones that still have a job are in limbo – like some horrific zero hours contract they turn up to work each day not knowing if they’ll still have a job at the end of the day.

“Both the Receiver and PWC must follow proper procedure and consult over redundancies.” The Official Receiver insisted it began consulting with employers as soon as the company went into liquidation.

A spokesman for the Official Receiver said: “In his role as liquidator of Carillion, the Official Receiver is independent of government. “He is required to ensure the costs of providing ongoing services for Carillion’s customers are covered during this interim period before contracts are sold or transferred to new providers.

“The amounts being charged for ongoing provision of services are being forecast on a regular basis. “Where customers can show that the uplift being charged is wholly unrepresentative of the current cost, the Special Manager will review those charges to ensure that an appropriate amount is charged. This is already occurring in some cases.”

A Government spokesman said: “Government is providing funding for the official receiver to minimise the impact on public services. “The collapse of the company does not threaten the viability of councils who held contracts with Carillion, and we are monitoring the situation closely to ensure this remains the case.”

Business Secretary Greg Clark has previously called for the Insolvency Service’s investigation into Carillion’s collapse to be fast-tracked. “

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/pwc-council-charges-carillion_uk_5a73292ae4b0bf6e6e225bb3

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

6 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Austerity cuts, Health and Social Care (local), NHS (local)

A retired East Devon staff nurse writes …

Save Our Hospital Services East Devon Facebook page:

“I worked as a staff nurse in the East Devon community hospitals. From 1986 -2005 gradually the number of beds were eroded and reduced, staff restructuring reapplying for their own jobs, management reorganisation after reorganisation, closure of elderly confused units at Seaton and Sidmouth areas, the gradual care in the community increased, far less respite care for stressed and fatigued careers often elderly themselves. The patients were on the whole admitted for medical surgical social and rehabilitation were thus releasing beds in the acute sector ie RD& E, Bristol and other areas in the Uk.

I doubt that the passage of time has seen a huge increase in Care in the Community just a huge reduction of service to save vital funding and line manager‘s pockets – let’s just think about the impact about the closure of the said beds and the amount of money raised by the League of Friends who paid for buildings, staff equipments and legacies from patients used to advance staff s professional development.

A really talented experienced Ward Sister/Manager tried to implement the setting up of a chemotherapy unit at Seaton hospital – it never happed but would have benefitted extremely ill patients, keeping them close to their communities and lessens the workload at RD&E.

It saddens me greatly that these very vital hospitals providing the core of what nursing stands for are no longer available to those greatest in need.

We have seen what privatisation has done to other Goverment departments – the simple solution is to raise tax by a relevant amount to accommodate the rapid advances in medicine, surgery and social care when those needs will never go away!

The cost of privately funded healthcare is hardly within the reach of the majority, these days it’s often a very last resort, people do prefer to stay in their own homes with the support and assistance they require, a huge expense to themselves.

I came across a lot of poverty amongst the elderly despite the fact of working hard, saving for their futures and being home owners, the Goverment is far too out of touch with the real world of the public sector.”

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

6 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Austerity cuts, Claire Wright, DCC, Hugo Swire

Claire Wright to Hugo Swire: please vote against more local government cuts tomorrow

From the blog of Claire Wright:

“I have just sent the email below to East Devon’s MP, Hugo Swire….

Dear Hugo

It has just come to my attention that tomorrow the House of Commons will be debating and voting on the settlement handed down by government to councils.

I am writing to you, as I have done every year for many years, to urge you to support your constituents by speaking and voting against the huge cuts that are proposed, in the latest round of austerity measures.

For Devon County Council, your government’s cuts means a cash reduction of around £20m. That’s more than a 76 per cent cumulative loss of income since austerity began in 2010.

Around 3000 staff posts have been made redundant during that time and so many services have gone there are almost too many to mention.

This year, the following is clear:

– 30 health visitor posts are set to be lost

– The council funded schools counselling service is set to be cut

– Devon residents are unhappy with some vital aspects of social care, according to a survey, including no longer feeling safe, see the following:

o How good is the social care related quality of life of service users? (bottom of the SW league table).
• Do service users feel safe? (Third from bottom of the SW league table)
• Do the services that people receive help them to feel safe? (bottom of the SW league table)
• Do carers have as much social contact as they would like? (third from bottom of the SW league table)
• What is the impact on their quality of life of the services that people receive? (bottom of the SW league table)

• Foster carers are set to suffer cuts to their income, at a time when they are desperately needed

• Local schools are being forced to cut teaching posts through not replacing staff, class sizes are growing and subjects are being cut at A-Level

Finally, and importantly, I should also take this opportunity to highlight just how much council tax has rocketed since austerity began and how this (along with other inflationary rises) is causing yet more hardship to many of your constituents.

Devon’s council tax (combined public services, not just DCC) has soared by almost 20 per cent in just seven years. That’s £250, for an average band D property.

So people are being taxed increasingly heavily for far fewer services, which is horribly unfair.

This year Devon County Council’s council tax element alone is set to rise by further 5.99 per cent.

No wonder people are finding it hard to make ends meet.

I urge you, once again, to speak up for the people of East Devon, against the latest set of services that are set to be lost, and support those who are struggling because of these service cuts. Please back the concerns of local people instead of towing your party’s line on the dreadful and miserable austerity that this country is in the grip of.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes
Claire Wright”

http://www.claire-wright.org/index.php/post/hugo_swire_please_speak_and_vote_against_the_cuts_to_council_budgets_tomorr

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

6 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Austerity cuts, Claire Wright, Councillor Cathy Gardner EDA, Health and Social Care (local), Martin Shaw (Seaton), NHS (local), Scrutiny

Our independent councillors: constantly standing up for our local NHS

ITV West Country News, with interviews with:

Claire Wright – DCC Independent Councillor (Ottery St Mary)
Martin Shaw – DCC independent East Devon Alliance Councillor (Seaton and Colyton)
Cathy Gardner – EDDC East Devon Alliance Councillor (Sidmouth)

continually fighting for our local NHS:

Not a single EDDC or East Devon DCC councillor attended the protest, nor did either of our MPs.

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

6 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Austerity cuts, Health and Social Care (local), Neil Parish, NHS (local), Spin

Comments

1 Comment

Parish questions community bed closure figures – too little and far too late

Owl says: how come WE knew all this and FOUGHT it whereas Parish, seeing votes lee h away from him, only sees it when it is FAR too late?

Where was he last Saturday when hundreds of people protested bed cuts and underfunding?

THE PHRASES THAT HAVE COME FAR TOO LATE AND ARE FAR TOO LATE:

“situation reasonably good”
‘big concerns”
“figures not necessarily correct”
“overstretched”
“strong representation”
“being looked at”
“necessary resources”
“not convinced”
“a little bit worried”
“watching very carefully”

WHAT HE SAID:

“Devon MP has raised fears over the closure of beds in community hospitals across the county.

Speaking to Mid Devon District Council, Tiverton & Honiton MP Neil Parish said that although the situation in Tiverton was reasonably good, he had a “big concern” over the closure of beds in both Honiton and Seaton.

“I’m not happy with it because I don’t necessarily think they’ve got the correct figures,” he said.

“I also think that the acute hospital in Exeter the RD&E is also overstretched. The community hospitals have enough ability to be able to take that strain, and so I have been making very strong representations.”

Mr Parish said that decisions had been made by the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), but that strong representation had been made.

He added: “Of course, the social care services and health are being looked at by the Government at the moment to be combined more than ever to be able to look after people longer in their own homes. I think it’s a really good idea, but you do need the necessary resources to be able to do it, and certainly, that’s what’s been happening in many areas.

“So far from what I’ve heard in Seaton, Axminster and Honiton areas are that it’s worked reasonably well and I think we need to keep a watching brief on that. I think whenever possible people want to stay in their own homes, but of course, there will be those who need hospital treatment and care. That’s where community hospitals come into the equation.”

The MP considered that care packages in his constituency were currently providing services well and he had been assured that there would be an improvement. He asked that incidents of care packages not being put in place satisfactorily in his constituency be reported to him so that he could make specific enquiries. He added that although he considered being cared for at home was the right thing for some patients; he was not convinced it would save money and that enough people were needed to undertake the work. With an ageing population it was essential to ensure that the resource was in place.

“My representations I’ve had in Honiton, Axminster and Seaton where hospital beds have gone so far seem to be getting those care packages in place reasonably quickly. What I’m a little bit worried about is that they’ve put a lot of resource in now to get it right and they don’t take it away later. Therefore I’m watching that very carefully.”

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/questions-asked-over-figures-led-1175794

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

6 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Democracy, Midweek Herald, Scrutiny, Spin, Transparency

“Decline of local journalism threatens democracy, says May”

In East Devon we had two local newspaper publishers: “View from … ” titles – a campaigning newspaper which recently closed and Archant (Midweek Herald and Journal titles) which basically mostly prints press releases from EDDC and elsewhere almost verbatim and pads them with anodyne articles, often linked to advertisers.

It is left now to bloggers such as Owl and campaigning Facebook groups (such as Save our Sidmouth and Save Exmouth Seafront) to use local sources to root out the stories Archant chooses not to print. Local campaigning newspaper journalism in East Devon is therefore pretty much on its last legs.

“The decline of local journalism is a threat to democracy and is fuelling the rise in fake news, Theresa May said while launching a review into whether state intervention was needed to preserve national and local newspapers.

The investigation is set to examine the rise of low-quality “clickbait” news and whether more could be done by either the industry or government to undermine commercial incentives to produce such content.

Speaking in Manchester to mark 100 years since the Representation of the People Act, which extended the vote to all men over 21 and some women over the age of 30, May said advances in modern technology were having “a profound impact on one of the cornerstones of our public debate – our free press”.

The review will examine the supply chain for digital advertisers and whether content creators, rather than platforms, are getting enough of the revenue. May said the review would examine “whether industry or government-led solutions” were needed to help tackle the issue.

The prime minister, wearing a purple jacket and suffragette pin, called journalism “a huge force for good” but said its existence was under threat. “Good quality journalism provides us with the information and analysis we need to inform our viewpoints and conduct a genuine discussion,” she said. “But in recent years, especially in local journalism, we have seen falling circulations, a hollowing-out of local newsrooms and fears for the future sustainability of high-quality journalism.”

How technology disrupted the truth | Katharine Viner
May said that more than 200 local papers had closed since 2005, naming several in Greater Manchester including the Salford Advertiser, Trafford Advertiser and Wilmslow Express. About two-thirds of local authority areas do not have a daily local newspaper.

“This is dangerous for our democracy. When trusted and credible news sources decline, we can become vulnerable to news which is untrustworthy,” she said. “So to address this challenge to our public debate we will launch a review to examine the sustainability of our national and local press. It will look at the different business models for high-quality journalism.”

May said the review would consider whether “the creators of content are getting their fair share of the advertisement revenue” from the articles they produced. “Digital advertising is now one of the essential sources of revenue for newspapers, the review will analyse how that supply chain operates,” she said. “A free press is one of the foundations on which our democracy is built and it must be preserved.”

The culture minister, Matt Hancock, said the review would investigate the overall health of the news media, the range of news available and how the press was adapting to the new digital market, including the role of platforms like Facebook and Google.

In a statement after May’s speech, Hancock said the industry was facing “an uncertain future” and the review would ensure the UK did not lose a vibrant, independent and plural free press. Hancock said it would examine “clickbait” news to consider if action needed to be taken to reduce its commercial incentive.

The review would also examine how data created or owned by news publications was collected and distributed by online platforms.

David Dinsmore, chair of the News Media Association, said he welcomed the plans: “This review acknowledges the importance of journalism in a democratic society, the vital role that the press takes in holding the powerful to account and producing verified news which informs the public. Viable business models must be found that ensure a wide variety of media are able to have a long and healthy future.”

A panel of experts will be appointed to lead the review in the coming months, with a final report expected early 2019.”

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/feb/06/decline-of-local-journalism-threatens-democracy-says-may

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

5 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Privatisation, Virgin Healthcare

Privatisation: Virgin gaming the rail system – lising money, paying dividends

Virgin: leading the pack in health service privatisation.

“… The East Coast franchise was to be terminated three years early in 2020 under a controversial rail strategy announced by Grayling in November, potentially letting Virgin-Stagecoach off the hook for more than £1bn in promised payments to government. The announcement on Monday brought forward the termination of the current contract.

Virgin Trains East Coast admitted overbidding after it pledged to pay £3.3bn to run the service until 2023, with passenger numbers failing to rise in line with expectations. Cancelled infrastructure upgrades by Network Rail meant that a significant number of additional seats on new trains expected after 2020 would not be operating, making the government partially responsible.

However, Grayling risked stoking further anger on Monday by announcing that Virgin would be granted a further direct award, or contract without competition, to run the lucrative InterCity West Coast service, potentially until 2020. The Department for Transport had announced in 2016 that it was expecting to extend Virgin’s contract from this April for a further 12 months, until April 2019, before a new “West Coast Partnership” franchise was awarded, to include the introduction of HS2 high-speed trains from 2026.

Virgin has now retained the contract without competition since the proposed award of the franchise to rival First Group collapsed under a legal challenge in 2012. The west coast has consistently returned large dividends to Sir Richard Branson, who owns 51% of the joint venture, and to Stagecoach, which own 49%, topping £100m in the last two years alone.

Grayling’s announcement prompted fierce denunciation from Labour. Shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald said it was an insult to taxpayers: “What makes me want to weep is he’s giving more gifts to Richard Branson and [Stagecoach founder] Brian Souter. Let’s not forget that these are companies who extracted hundreds of millions of pounds in rigged compensation payments from taxpayers during the upgrade of the West Coast mainline … Similar tactics are now being deployed. Virgin games the system. It’s done it before and it’s doing it again.” …

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/feb/05/east-coast-could-return-to-public-sector-chris-grayling-admits

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

5 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Austerity cuts, EDDC, Knowle/Honiton/Exmouth relocation

Oh no! EDDC pledges to become “more commercial” – HELP!

“East Devon District Council say they are taking a ‘more commercial approach to generate income’ as they tackle a predicted budget deficit of £735,000.

A Council Tax increase of £5 a year, giving a Band D council tax of £136.78 a year for 2018/19, is recommended for approval by the council’s cabinet committee when they meet on Wednesday night.

But Cllr Ian Thomas, the council’s portfolio holder for finance, said that as only 25 per cent of income is generated through council tax, they need to find alternative ways of raising money.

Cllr Paul Diviani, Leader of East Devon District Council, said: “The council is developing a more commercial approach to generate income for key council services but as we take our various ideas forward, consultation will be key – for example, consultations about various car parks and public toilets and consultations about other initiatives including how we can make our assets more commercial and income generating.” …

… Future reductions combined with other budgetary pressures mean that the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) is currently predicting a budget deficit of £0.735m in 2018/19, rising to £3m by 2020/21 and potentially to £5.4m by 2027/28. …”

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/east-devon-become-more-commercial-1170128

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

5 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, AONB, Blackhill Quarry, Clinton Devon Estates, Developers/ Development, Woodbury

Clinton Devon Estates: a very chequered development history

Comment added as post:

““Responsible stewardship and sustainable development are at the heart of everything we do.” So says Clinton Devon Estates web site. If only!

John F. Travis in his book “The Rise of the Devon Seaside Resorts” writes:

“The case of Exmouth serves to show that genteel landowners did not always ensure that resort development was of a superior quality. At Exmouth almost all the land was concentrated in the hands of the Rolle family,… but they tended to grant leases without exercising proper control over the subsequent development. In 1850 the Board of Health inspector castigated the Rolle family for not having concerned themselves with the “class or disposition of the houses erected” on their estate, with the result that properties were “chiefly of the second and third class . . . built without much attention to regularity and uniformity of design”….. In 1895 the Exmouth Urban District Council found it was powerless to prevent the spread of houses across Wythycombe Marsh, despite the fact that this low-lying area was frequently flooded and was contaminated by sewage.

Exmouth is an example of a resort where the landed proprietor failed to exercise proper control over development. Small developers were allowed to pursue their own interests without regard to the overall quality of the resort they were creating. The quality of development was generally inferior to that at Torquay, partly because there was less upper-class demand for housing at Exmouth, but chiefly because Exmouth lacked the large landowner’s personal involvement in the planning process which so characterized the development of Torquay. By 1907 one travel writer was grieving over Exmouth’s sprawling mass of mediocre housing, which he felt had clothed the resort “with a sad shabbiness”.”

Profit before responsible stewardship, is history repeating itself?”

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

5 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Claire Wright, Democracy, East Devon Tories, Independent Councillors

Comments

1 Comment

Claire Wright wins debate at Exeter University – majority of students voting on her side!

From Claire Wright’s blog:

“Exeter University students attending a debate on Friday (2 Feb) voted overwhelmingly that they had no confidence in the government.

I was arguing the case for, with law student, Kyle Spencer, a member of the Conservative Party, who has become disillusioned with the government over Brexit and Theresa May’s leadership.

Arguing that people SHOULD have confidence in the government were former Exeter Conservative candidate in last year’s general election, barrister, James Taghdissian with his debating partner, Matthew Broughton, also a member of the Conservative Party.

Matthew reminded me more than a little of a young Jacob Rees Mogg….

There was a considerable amount of eloquent posturing between the two students, but fortunately, no reports of any scuffles in the bar afterwards …. !

My second political debate at the university, it was great fun, I really enjoyed it … and it was even better that we won so decisively (not that I am in the least bit competitive of course).”

http://www.claire-wright.org/index.php/post/exeter_university_students_vote_overwhelmingly_for_no_confidence_in_the_gov

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

5 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, AONB, Blackhill Quarry, Clinton Devon Estates, East Devon Growth Point, Environment (local), Woodbury

Comments

2 Comments

Clinton Devon Estates desperately tries to justify quarry industrial units

Owl says:

Surely, with EDDC having industrial areas aplenty at the East Devon Growth Point (where businesses enjoy a business rate holiday as a perk) there is no excuse for encouraging a heavy industry engineering company to remain at Blackhill Quarry to interfere with previously agreed remediation (already put back once) and a return to a wildlife habitat?

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/quarry-expansion-plans-provide-space-1166356

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

5 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Art and Culture, Austerity cuts, Exmouth, Honiton/ Gittisham, Thelma Hulbert Gallery

Given its large subsidy to Thelma Hulbert Gallery, should EDDC now save Exmouth museum?

“Exmouth’s museum faces a race against time to raise £200,000 if it is to secure the town’s heritage.

If the six-figure sum cannot be raised, the museum’s Sheppards Row home could be sold on the open market and the town may lose some of its historic artefacts, such as the original mechanism from the seafront clock tower.

Landowner South West Water (SWW) is looking to sell the Victorian building after the museum’s lease expired at the end of 2017.

The Museum Society of Exmouth has been told it needs to raise at least £130,000 to buy the building, but has set its sights on £200,000 to allow them to undertake ‘much needed’ renovation works.

Brian Leader, steward organiser at the museum, has warned that if the money isn’t found, the artefacts could either be transported to other museums out of town or may even have to be ‘dumped’.

He said: “The museum contains a unique collection of artefacts and documents dating back hundreds of years to the present day – to lose this would be unthinkable.

“If we were not able to raise the funds, we would probably have to distribute the artefacts to other museums.

“The town would definitely lose them and they could be dumped because we haven’t got anywhere to store them.

“We’re pushing for £200,000 because we need to do a lot of work to it. …”

http://www.exmouthjournal.co.uk/news/exmouth-museum-to-launch-200k-fundraising-bid-1-5378010