Category Archives: Accountability

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26 Mar 2017

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Accountability, Affordable and Social Housing, Voting

Another broken Tory manifesto promise: starter homes

“The Tories have quietly ditched their manifesto pledge to build 200,000 starter homes.

The party promised to build the homes five times in their 2015 manifesto.

The manifesto promised the Tories, if elected, would “build 200,000 new Starter Homes – 20% below the market price, for first time buyers under 40.”

Later it pledged they would: “Build more homes that people can afford, including 200,000 new Starter Homes exclusively for first-time buyers under 40.”

It went on to say that at the 200,000 figure was a “clear objective” and was at the “heart” of the party’s housing plan.”

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/tories-quietly-dropped-another-manifesto-10004409#ICID=sharebar_twitter

Now THAT’S how you do spin!

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25 Mar 2017

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Accountability, General Election, Hugo Swire, Voting

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Wonder what Swire and his Conservative Middle East Council think of this?

“Britain is now the second biggest arms dealer in the world, official government figures show – with most of the weapons fuelling deadly conflicts in the Middle East.

Since 2010 Britain has also sold arms to 39 of the 51 countries ranked “not free” on the Freedom House “Freedom in the world” report, and 22 of the 30 countries on the UK Government’s own human rights watch list.

A full two-thirds of UK weapons over this period were sold to Middle Eastern countries, where instability has fed into increased risk of terror threats to Britain and across the West. …

… Ministers, who must sign-off all arms export licences, say the current system is robust and that they have revoked permission to export defence equipment in the past – for example in Russia and Ukraine.

But the Government has also ignored calls to stop selling weapons to repressive regimes, including Saudi Arabia, which has been accused by UN bodies of potentially committing war crimes in its military operation in Yemen against Houthi rebels.

Both the European Parliament and the House of Commons International Development Committee have called for exports to the autocracy to stop, but the Government says it has not seen evidence of Saudi war crimes. …

… Andrew Smith of Campaign Against Arms Trade warned that the dependence of British exporters on unsavory regimes could make the UK less likely to intervene against human rights violators.

“These terrible figures expose the hypocrisy at the heart of UK foreign policy. The government is always telling us that it acts to promote human rights and democracy, but it is arming and supporting some of the most repressive regimes in the world. The impact of UK arms sales is clear in Yemen, where British fighter jets and bombs have been central to the Saudi-led destruction,” he told The Independent.

“These regimes aren’t just buying weapons, they’re also buying political support and legitimacy. How likely is the UK to act against human rights violations in these countries when it is also profiting from them?

“There is no such thing as arms control in a war zone and there is no way of knowing how these weapons will be used. The fact that so many weapons were sold to Russia and Libya is a reminder that the shelf-life of weapons is often longer than the governments and situations they were sold to.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/britain-is-now-the-second-biggest-arms-dealer-in-the-world-a7225351.html

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25 Mar 2017

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Accountability, Consultation, Economy, EDDC, Exmouth Creative Group, Philip Skinner, Regeneration

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EDDC Exmouth Visitor Survey- a flaw

The survey says that by far the largest proportion of visitors (31 per cent) were aged 65+ years:

15% – 15 years or under
6% – 16‐24 years
8% – 25‐34 years
10% – 35‐44 years
14% – 45‐54 years and
15% – 55‐64 years
31% – 65+

BUT:
16-64 year old are broken down into decades
Under 15’s span 15 years
Over 65’s span around 35 years

So obviously over 65’s are the largest group as they cover the largest number of years.

But, if you wished, you could say the largest group was 35-64 year olds (39%) as they also span 3 decades and are a higher percentage than the over 65’s!

Plus, it should be fairly obvious that people 65 – 74 are just about as fit and active as the 55-64 year olds. Lumping them in with centenarians is just a tad ageist!

AND it skews figures by comparing unequal groupings.

Messy.

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25 Mar 2017

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Democracy, Health and Social Care (local), Honiton/ Gittisham, NHS (local), Seaton/ Colyford / Colyton

More “Red Line” round our hospitals info – Saturday 1 April

http://www.devonlive.com/devon-hospital-closures-red-line-protest-planned-across-the-county/story-30227709-detail/story.html

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25 Mar 2017

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Accountability, Claire Wright, Democracy, Independent Councillors, Voting

Douglas Carswell defects from UKIP to become “Independent” MP

Well, that’s his third political change – Tory to UKIP to Independent:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39393213

Down here we do it differently – Claire Wright has always been Independent – no shilly-shallying!

So, beware false “Independents” in the DCC election. You know the ones. They who ALWAYS coincidentally vote with just one party and are usually seen schmoozing with members of that party in and out of County Hall!

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25 Mar 2017

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Accountability, Democracy, EDDC, Voting

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Want to register online to vote in East Devon? Don’t bother, website unavailable

You could try here:

https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

but if it links to the EDDC website – tough.

Hope Mr Williams is at work today getting this fixed. We pay him extra to be our Electoral officer.

Perhaps someone might like to let the Electoral Commission know that things are going wrong – again – in East Devon.

Last time we lost 6,000 voters because Mr Williams decided he knew best and used telephone contact to trace missing voters instead of personal canvassers (though Owl is still puzzled how he got those telephone numbers). Though this was fixed later after he appeared at a Parliamentary Committee to explain himself.

And then there was that little matter of the postal vote forms with the wrong information on them …

Have a good day in the office, Mr Williams!

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25 Mar 2017

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Accountability, Democracy, General Election, Neil Parish

Neil Parish worries about Equitable Life, expanding Colyton Grammar School and grammar schools in general

Neil Parish (Tiverton and Honiton) (Con)

I thank my hon. Friend for bringing this issue to the House yet again because policyholders with Equitable Life have been very badly treated. The finances of this country are now much improved, and it is time that we looked yet again at the situation of these policyholders, because their policies were oversold and actuaries hyped up their value well beyond anything that could be delivered, even at the time. Many people have never been held to account, but the policyholders have had millions of pounds taken from them through their insurance policies and pensions.

Neil Parish

Colyton Grammar School in my constituency has a great headteacher, wonderful staff and pupils with huge levels of attainment. The school would very much like to expand. How can the Secretary of State help it to expand more than it can at the moment?

Neil Parish (Tiverton and Honiton) (Con)

15. What steps her Department is taking to support the expansion of grammar schools. [909334]

And nurseries, primary schools and secondary schools in our area being deprived of funding – what about those, Mr Parish?

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25 Mar 2017

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Accountability, Democracy, General Election, Hugo Swire, Voting

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Swire worried about laptop ban for our allies” in the Middle East, particularly Egypt and Sharm el Sheikh

“Following the announcement by the British Government of a flight ban on Laptops affecting six Middle Eastern countries the Conservative Middle East Council would like to urge the Government to ensure that all measures are taken to mitigate the diplomatic damage that the ban may cause.

CMEC is not in a position to make a judgement on the security basis of the ban and has every confidence that the relevant agencies have acted to prevent lives being put at risk. CMEC thinks it vital that real efforts are made – at ministerial level – to assuage the concerns and possible offence taken by our allies in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia and Turkey.

Our allies must be reassured that this measure is taken with the protection of all passengers – not just British Citizens – in mind. This is particularly the case in Egypt, where due to the fact that the ban on direct flights from the UK to Sharm El Sheikh is now in its 18th month there is a rising feeling among many Egyptians that it is in some way politically motivated.

All efforts must be made to reassure our allies that this is a not a political issue but one of security and that the laptop ban is an inconvenient but very necessary mutual security measure, implemented in the interest of travellers from all of the countries affected.”

[Signed]

The Rt Hon Sir Hugo Swire KCMG MP, Chairman, Conservative Middle East Council

Charlotte Leslie MP, Vice Chairman, Conservative Middle East Council

Remember, Owl reported that he asked a question in the House of Commons about when flights to the diving resort might restart, shortly after his visit to Egypt a few days ago:

https://eastdevonwatch.org/2017/03/23/swire-makes-commons-plea-to-resume-flight-to-sharm-el-sheikh/

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24 Mar 2017

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Accountability, Devolution, Hinkley C, Local Enterprise Partnership, Scrutiny, Transparency

Irregularities at French firm manufacturing Hinkley C components

“Inspectors find safety irregularities at Creusot nuclear forge in France.

Evidence of doctored paperwork found at Areva-owned forge, which has made parts for Hinkley Point.

An international team of inspectors has found evidence of doctored paperwork and other failings at a forge in France that makes parts for nuclear power stations around the world.

The UK nuclear regulator said the safety culture at the site, which has produced forgings for British plants including Sizewell B and the planned new reactors at Hinkley Point, fell short of expectations.

Last December regulators from the UK, US, China, Finland and Canada visited the Creusot forge run by the French state-owned nuclear builder Areva, to address their concerns after the country’s regulator ASN discovered quality-control problems and falsification of records in 2014.

A report of the inspection by the UK’s Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), obtained via a freedom of information request, concluded the improvement measures ordered by ASN were not yet effective.

The visit uncovered an example of an employee at the forge “amending a manufacturing record in an uncontrolled manner” as recently as September 2016, two years after similar problems were uncovered. The doctoring went undetected by Areva’s on-site quality control, Areva’s independent third-party body and inspectors from EDF.

The international inspectors also discovered the use of correctional fluid – like Tipp-Ex – at the forge’s operational control room. Correctional fluid is banned at the site, where a manager told the inspection team she regularly searched workstations for it.

Experts said the report was worrying and would damage Areva. Paul Dorfman of the Energy Institute at University College London, who obtained the document, said: “Given nuclear regulation is all about safety, this kind of language is extraordinarily damaging coming, as it does, from the UK nuclear regulator.”

Areva is already suffering serious financial problems. The company recently reported a €665m (£575m) net loss for 2016, though that is smaller than the €2bn net loss it posted in 2015.

The ONR said there was a greater quality control presence “on the shop floor” of the Creusot, and much of the top management had been replaced since ASN told it to improve. But it said the international team of inspectors “were not confident that the improvement programmes and associated remedial actions … were sufficiently resourced, prioritised and integrated in order to bring about sustained improvements in manufacturing performance and nuclear safety culture”.

The report said the UK regulator should reflect on whether EDF’s oversight of Areva was up to scratch, given it is a key supplier to the Hinkley Point C power station that EDF is building in Somerset.

The ONR told the Guardian that since the visit to Creusot it had put in place plans to ensure any forgings destined for UK reactors, including Hinkley, met UK standards.

A spokeswoman said: “Since this multinational inspection, ONR has developed its intervention plans to ensure that the licensee has in place and implements adequate management and assurance arrangements to clearly demonstrate that all components are manufactured to the required standards.

“These plans will include a series of targeted inspections and other assessments of both the licensee and the supply chain, specification of appropriate regulatory hold-points, and a targeted regulatory review at an appropriate time in the next year to assess the progress and performance of both the licensees oversight and assurance activities and the expected improvements within the supply chain.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/24/areva-creusot-nuclear-forge-france-hinkley-point

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24 Mar 2017

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Accountability, Affordable and Social Housing, Audit (EDDC), Austerity cuts, EDDC, Exmouth, Regeneration

“Auditors urge government to stop ‘undeliverable’ projects”

Maybe EDDC needs to read this – a housing company with high risks, relocation prohject overspend, regeneration turning into a pig’s ear – they just don’t have the expertise or officer numbers to see these projects through to a successful conclusion – and consultants serm to make things worse not better, but with hefty bills for over-simplistic or unachievable aims.

“The government needs to drop projects it does not think it can deliver, the National Audit Office has said.

In a report published today, the spending watchdog said the civil service is being asked to manage important reforms although it has reduced in size by 26% since 2006.

The whole-life costs of projects in the government’s major projects portfolio is £405bn but departments gave themselves an average score of 2.1 out of five for their current capability in workforce planning.

Amyas Morse, head of the NAO, said although the government has plans to address skills gaps in the civil service the “scale of the challenge ahead means greater urgency is needed”.

“Government has gaps in its capability and knows it must do more to develop the skills it needs,” he said.

“Without a short-term solution to its capability gaps government must get better at planning and prioritising its activities and be prepared to stop work on those it is not confident it has the capability to deliver.”

Civil servants face increased pressures due to a rise in the number of infrastructure, capital and digital projects and the decision to leave the European Union, says Capability in the civil service.

Major projects such as nuclear plant Hinkley Point C, railway High Speed 2 and nuclear weapons deterrent Trident renewal often draw on the same pool of skills, the NAO points out.

“For example, in rail projects such as Crossrail and Thameslink, we have seen skilled civil servants performing a number of project roles or being moved to fill skills gaps for new priorities or projects,” the report says.

Departments have told the NAO they are looking for more senior leaders with specialist expertise to achieve their objectives.

They have reported a need for about 2,000 additional staff in digital roles within the next five years. Although, those responsible for the government’s digital skills believe this is an underestimate.

The report suggests the government must prioritise projects – stopping work on those it does not think it can deliver – and assess what will be needed in terms of capacity to deliver each one.

Departments need to assess the capability requirements of their ongoing operations, the spending watchdog states, and look at where they can plug capability gaps from the private sector.

The PCS union said the government’s cuts programme was behind the drop off in capability. General secretary Mar Serwotka said: “The cut first, plan later approach demanded by austerity has damaged services and left the civil service unable to cope with current workloads, let alone the major upheaval caused by the vote to leave the EU.

“While the civil service is trying to deal with Brexit, there is no let-up in the demand and need for quality public services in our communities, which is why we have said all job cuts plans must be halted immediately.”

http://www.publicfinance.co.uk/news/2017/03/auditors-urge-government-stop-undeliverable-projects

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24 Mar 2017

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Accountability, Environment (local), Greater Exeter

Core strategy partly rescinded due to effect on forest – watch out Greater Exeter!

LOTS of forests, national parks and SSSI’s around Greater Exeter!

“A judge has resolved a dispute between two district councils and the South Downs National Park Authority by quashing parts of a joint core strategy.
Jay J, in the High Court, quashed parts of the joint core strategy of Lewes District Council and the park authority because of their effect on neighbouring Wealden District Council.

His judgment explained that Wealden had brought the case because of the status of the Ashdown Forest Special Area of Conservation (SAC), a 2,729 hectares area within Wealden of lowland heath vulnerable to nitrogen dioxide pollution from motor vehicles.

The judge said: “The principal point raised by this application…is whether [Lewes] and [the park authority] acted unlawfully in concluding, on advice, that the joint core strategy would not likely have a significant effect on the SAC in combination with the Wealden Core Strategy.”

He added: “The essential contention made is that if relevant data and findings are properly amalgamated, as they should be, the effects of increased traffic flows near the SAC would not have been ignored at the first screening or scoping stage of the process.”

The judge ruled that Wealden was out-of-time to challenge Lewes’s adoption of the joint core strategy, but not the park authority’s adoption of it. He said development plan documents were flawed because of a Habitats Regulations Assessment that relied on “advice from Natural England that was plainly incorrect”.

Jay J ordered that the secretary of state for communities and local government – whose inspector had found the disputed core strategy sound – and the park authority should each pay 50% of Wealden’s costs, while Wealden should pay Lewes’ costs. All applications for permission to appeal were refused.

Wealden has since the judgment revised its planned housing numbers such that after taking into account of the latest nitrogen deposition monitoring in Ashdown Forest the total number of home to be built by the end of 2028 will be 11,456 instead of the 14,101 originally proposed.

Ann Newton, cabinet member for planning and development, said: “The majority of housing will be distributed away from Ashdown Forest to the south of the district. “

New housing in the north of Wealden would be sited away from main roads that skirt the SAC. Wealden said three years of monitoring showed the amount of nitrogen deposition from motor vehicles in the forest already exceeded levels that can cause ecological damage to the heathland.”

http://localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=30512%3Ajudge-partially-quashes-core-strategy-after-appeal-by-neighbouring-authority&catid=63&Itemid=31

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23 Mar 2017

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Accountability, Developers/ Development, Greater Exeter

“Fears Greater Exeter Plan is being ‘dumped on us’ raised at consultation event”

“Concern has been raised about whether a new strategic plan that will affect half a million people is being dumped on them against their wishes. Mid Devon, East Devon, Teignbridge and Exeter City Council, in partnership with Devon County Council, are teaming up to create a Greater Exeter Strategic Plan (GESP) which focuses on the creation of jobs and housing until 2040. …

… Peter Finch, chairman of Teignbridge Campaign to Protect Rural England, raised concerns that overdevelopment could diminish the area as a tourist attraction.

Mr Finch said: “I don’t see any evidence of the need for this amount of development in the Greater Exeter area. I think it is undermining the work that people have done in their communities in getting together their local plans.

“We need to protect the rural environment from overdevelopment, as that is what attracts people to come here. If we lose that rural environment then there is less of a reason for tourists to visit.

“There is also nothing about affordable housing here. There is a need for housing around Exeter but there are sites that could be developed already rather than building in the countryside around Exeter.”

Elaine Cawthaw, from the Bishopsteignton Residents Association, said: “Lots of people are concerned that there is already lots of development but the infrastructure is not in place, and I am concerned that this could be repeated with future development.” …

… However the plans have raised fears that councils are “sleepwalking” into becoming unitary authorities. Liberal Councillor Jenny Roach who represents Silverton said: “We’re looking like we could be ceding power to this planning partnership, and I know people will shake their heads and say no, but there are several points which worry me.

“Exeter needs land and you can imagine where I sit in my ward, Exeter City Council could be looking at developing the swathe of land that is between Silverton and Exeter and similarly between Thorverton and Newton St Cyres.. It worries me that it’s being done by degree and almost by stealth. When we went to the public to talk about the sort of governance the district wanted, they didn’t like the cabinet, but unfortunately we didn’t get the 3000 signatures we needed in that period of time.

“There are a tremendous amount of people who were not happy with the governance of this authority as it is now, they don’t like the cabinet system, and it is the cabinet system that is sleepwalking us into a unitary authority.” …

http://www.devonlive.com/greater-exeter-plan-is-being-dumped-on-residents/story-30224694-detail/story.html

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23 Mar 2017

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Accountability, EDDC

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EDDC bigwigs treat 53 people to a £50 per head 4 course meal

Might it have been tactful to keep costs down while the “just about managing” are struggling – perhaps tea and cakes and donate money to local food banks?

“EDDC chairman Councillor Stuart Hughes with vice chairman Cllr Helen Parr
EDDC chairman Councillor Stuart Hughes with vice chairman Cllr Helen Parr
District council bosses have come under fire for splashing nearly £3,000 on a black-tie civic dinner, when many taxpayers – who footed the bill – are ‘struggling’.

East Devon District Council (EDDC) chairman Councillor Stuart Hughes hosted the four-course ‘feast’ at Rockbeare Manor for 53 invitation-only guests last week.

East Devon Alliance (EDA) leader Cllr Cathy Gardner took issue with the biennial event, but the council said it was an opportunity to promote the best of East Devon.

Cllr Gardner, who represents Sidmouth along with Cllr Hughes, said: “Council budgets are under strain and they are unable to continue to provide some services, despite increasing our council tax this year.

“However, Cllr Hughes held an invitation-only civic dinner at Rockbeare Manor last week. The four-course feast with aperitif was free of charge to those that attended.

“The total bill was £2,867.90 for 54 people – all at local council taxpayers’ expense. This means the meal cost over £53 per head.

“That is a very expensive night out for most people.”

With many people ‘struggling’, she said the EDA had donated £120 to the Sid Valley Food Bank on behalf of its two attending members and called on the Conservatives to do likewise.

Sidmouth Town Council chairman Cllr Jeff Turner and Ottery St Mary’s mayor Glyn Dobson were among leaders from across Devon who donned their civic regalia for the event, and each could take a plus-one. The EDA’s Cllr Paul Hayward and another member – who the group would not name due to ‘confidentiality’ – also attended.

Diners were treated to canapés, baked cheddar and leek tart, roast rump of lamb and an afternoon tea cake stand.

An EDDC spokeswoman said the bill was settled from the £11,000 civic fund budget that is approved by the council every year for use by the chairman – a non-political role. There is currently £4,600 remaining in the fund.

The spokeswoman added: “The meal is a good opportunity to promote what is good about the district and to show the quality that the district has to offer.

“In the case of Rockbeare Manor, the new owners are bringing many hundreds, if not thousands, of visitors to the district and have invested in one of our most important historic buildings.

“The council considers that this was an opportunity to promote what’s great about the district and to ensure that East Devon is promoted as a quality destination.”h

There was also a collection at the meal that raised £360 for Sidmouth Town Band, Cllr Hughes’ chosen charity for the year.”

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23 Mar 2017

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Accountability, Democracy, Hugo Swire, Voting

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Swire makes Commons plea to resume flight to Sharm el Sheikh

Aviation Security (22 Mar 2017)

https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2017-03-22a.864.5&s=speaker%3A11265#g867.0

Hugo Swire: I have just returned from a Conservative Middle East Council trip to Egypt, where we were able to see the devastating effect to the local economy in Sharm el-Sheikh of the continuing ban on flights to that region. We also met the President and heard first-hand from the Egyptians their concerns that they are being singled out in some way; that may be the reaction of other allies who are being…

Aviation Security (22 Mar 2017)

https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2017-03-22a.864.5&s=%22east+devon%22#g871.6

Richard Benyon: Further to the point raised by my right hon. Friend the Member for *East Devon* (Sir Hugo Swire), about 100,000 people are employed in the tourist industry in Sharm el-Sheikh and they could lose their jobs if the flight ban continues. Does my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State consult other people I see sitting on the Treasury Bench to ensure that the impact that degree of unemployment…

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23 Mar 2017

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Transport (local)

Fix old roads or overspend on new roads?

“Decisive action is needed after plans to upgrade England’s roadways went £841m over budget, a National Audit Office study found.

The National Audit Office (NAO) report, out yesterday, claims the speed at which Highways England’s Road Investment Strategy was put together has created risks to deliverability, affordability and value for money.

The £11.4bn programme already has 16 projects which could be scrapped because they do not provide value for taxpayers.

The Progress with the Road Investment Strategy report shows the road improvement scheme, which covers the period between April 2015 and March 2020, exceeded available funding for forecast capital costs by £841m.

The RIS was drawn up in the 17 months before the May General Election in 2015 and included plans which had not been tested for cost effectiveness.

Amyas Morse, head of the NAO, said: “The Department and Highways England need to agree a more realistic and affordable plan if they are to provide optimal value from the Road Investment Strategy.

“Highways England has been working to address the risks to deliverability, affordability and value for money that were present in 2015, but we are now nearly two years into the 5-year road investment period.

“Decisive action needs to be taken before the updated delivery plan is published in the summer if shortcomings in the current strategy are not to be carried over into future road investment periods.”

So far Highways England has completed six projects on or ahead of schedule and has started construction on a further 19, with 16 planned to be on or ahead of schedule.

According to Highways England these projects will be delivered 5% over budget.

Bridget Fox, sustainable transport campaigner at Campaign for Better Transport, said: “This report shows that the current emphasis on big road projects could waste a lot of public money and that some projects might not happen at all.

“Instead, we’d like to see the government focus on fixing the roads we have before spending billions on considering big new projects.”

She added: “The government should also look at the major road network as part of an overall transport policy rather than go after big road schemes in isolation.”

This report follows another out earlier this week from the Campaign to Protect Rural England, which claimed the government’s road investment strategy will provide little benefit to local communities.”

http://www.publicfinance.co.uk/news/2017/03/road-investment-strategy-goes-millions-pounds-over-budget

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23 Mar 2017

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Accountability, Democracy, Devolution, Lib Dem (local), Local Enterprise Partnership, Somerset, Voting

Former Lib Dem MP to challenge Somerset Tory Leader (and LEP fan) John Osman at county elections

Owl would like to know her views on our local LEP. Mr Osman’s Somerset County Council provides much administrative and political support to the LEP.

“Former Liberal Democrat Wells MP Tessa Munt is to stand against Somerset County Council leader John Osman in the forthcoming local elections in May.

The Lib Dems have released the full list of the candidates they will be fielding in a bid to win seats across the Wells constituency during the county council elections.

Ms Munt is the most eye-catching candidate. She was the Member of Parliament for Wells from 2010 – 2015 and had previously served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Vince Cable.”

http://www.somersetlive.co.uk/former-wells-mp-tessa-munt-to-stand-against-somerset-county-council-leader-john-osman-in-may/story-30219530-detail/story.html

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23 Mar 2017

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Accountability, Democracy, East Devon Alliance, EDBF, EDDC, Mark Williams CEO EDDC, Scrutiny, Spin, Transparency

East Devon Alliance provides evidence on poor scrutiny at EDDC to Parliamentary Inquiry; EDDC provides woeful response ignoring major problems

Owl says: EDA submission – explosive and incisive; EDDC submission – spin and fluff.

Executive Summary of longer submission:

“Executive Summary

East Devon Alliance understands that encouraging economic development is a crucial task in local government. However, we are concerned that the increasing influence of unaccountable business interests on council decisions damages the health of local democracy, and can threaten the wider interests of local communities. The climate of unhealthy cynicism about politics, and a failure to engage in the democratic process, is reinforced whenever there is an apparent failure of scrutiny to make councils transparent and accountable.

Overview and Scrutiny (O&S) can too easily be rendered ineffectual by a dominant majority party in a cabinet-led-executive.

Government advice that members of a majority party should not chair O&S dcommittees must be made mandatory.

Chief Executives must not be able to have inappropriate influence on O&S committees.

Scrutiny Officers need to be independent of influence and interference from senior officers or members of cabinet.

The scrutiny role needs to be strengthened to be able to call witnesses. It should be a legal requirement for officers and members of Council and associated bodies to cooperate.

With increasing privatisation, commercial confidentiality must not be used to shield public expenditure from scrutiny.

Scrutiny should “reflect the voice and concerns of the public” by giving local people more say in what issues are chosen for scrutiny.

There is no scrutiny mechanism of the new tier of local government created by the unelected and self-selecting Local Enterprise Partnerships who now control over £2 billion a year in England. Proposals made in 2013 by the Centre for Public Scrutiny could form the basis for scrutiny of such devolved bodies.”

EDDC’s full submission to the Inquiry, by contrast, seems woefully inadequate, when all you can find to boast about is your Tree Task and Finish Forum:

“Written evidence submitted by the Scrutiny Committee of East Devon District Council [OSG 035]

The committee considered the terms of reference set down by the CLG inquiry and responded as follows:

The committee discussed the terms of reference for submission:
Whether scrutiny committees in local authorities in England are effective in holding decision makers to account:

o Meetings are publicised and open to public, with responses to Cabinet as needed. Some question as to whether these comments are heeded, not just ‘noted’; if only noted, there are no reasons fed back to the Scrutiny committee to further work on or refine recommendations.

The extent to which scrutiny committees operate with political impartiality and independence from executives
o The committee were comfortable that they are independent and impartial.
Whether scrutiny officers are independent of and separate from those being scrutinised

o Democratic Services have high integrity
How chairs and members are selected

o Independent Chairman. Politically balanced committee but little attention paid
to individual skills, knowledge and aptitude. Consideration could be given to further training to hone scrutiny skills.

Whether powers to summon witnesses are adequate

o Inadequate for external organisations, with a recent example of the repeated request to NHS Property Services to attend but still failed to appear to answer questions. Some reluctance by members and officers to attend.

The potential for local authority scrutiny to act as a voice for local service users
o This was already being undertaken by the committee, with recent examples
covering superfast broadband delivery, NHS revision of service delivery, and the Police 101 service.

How topics for scrutiny are selected
o Committee Members (and other councillors) invited to be involved. There
may be work that the Cabinet require more detailed analysis of and a request made to the Scrutiny committee to carry out that examination – to date this has not occurred. There was often a frustration in not being able to investigate topics because of limitations of the constitution or on issues where so much time had passed that it was not deemed viable to look into.

The support given to the scrutiny function by political leaders and senior officers, including the resources allocated (for example whether there is a designated officer team)
o Shared service of an officer within Democratic Services, no dedicated officer. No dedicated budget for scrutiny work, no designated lead officer. Officers are called to committee as best fits the topics for discussion.
What use is made of specialist external advisers
o To date mostly witnesses not advisers invited to attend. A suggestion was
made to approach the Local Government Association for a scrutiny advisor. Unclear where such specialist external advisors could be sourced from or what cost that would entail, particularly as the committee has no budget.

The effectiveness and importance of local authority scrutiny of external organisations o Mostly a lobbying role passed to MPs and others. Perhaps more relevant for scrutiny at a county level, but the committee does the best it can to communicate to external organisations.

The role of scrutiny in devolution deals and the scrutiny models used in combined authorities
o Need to have scrutiny involvement throughout the process, not after the deal has been completed

Examples where scrutiny has worked well and not so well
Effective internally on aspects such as the Tree Task and Finish Forum, which produced a number of recommendations taken on board to protect trees and support the business case for an additional staff member; and changes to how press releases are handled by staff; less effective on having an impact on proposed increases in beach hut charges. With limited powers, difficult to have an impact on other outside bodies.”

http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/communities-and-local-government-committee/overview-and-scrutiny-in-local-government/written/48581.html

Click to access 48556.pdf

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22 Mar 2017

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Democracy, Health and Social Care (local), Honiton/ Gittisham, NHS (local)

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Honiton Hospital allegedly being measured up for closing off – nurses not informed

This report comes from Honiton and is on the “Save Our Hospital Services” Facebook page:

“Last night the steering group for Honiton met for our weekly catch up in the Star in Honiton and invited the nurses from the hospital to join us after for a drink and chat to find out how they were and what news that they had.

“After a few tears, they proceeded to tell us that last week, someone from the CCG along with other people turned up and started to measure the areas in the ward that they want to have boarded up when the ward closes. They did this in full view of the nurses and staff as well as the patients (the ward is full at present with mostly medical cases, not bed blockers).

“They also told us that so far not one nurse has been spoken to regarding retraining, change of job, what happens when they close the ward etc.

“There has been no mention of the maternity unit that depends on the ward nurses during the night.

“THIS IS DISGRACEFUL BEHAVIOUR.

“We feel that after 1st April it will do no good to have street parties, red lines or whatever. We have to continually and totally bombard our MP’s, Councillors (sorry for those already on this list) the well being and scrutiny committee and anyone else that will listen who might have some say.”

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22 Mar 2017

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Accountability, Clinton Devon Estates, Developers/ Development, Spin, Sustainability

Clinton Devon Estates offers to “fix broken housing market”

Owl says: the winning formula: promises, promises, promises, pseudo-eco words, pseudo-eco words, pseudo-eco-words spin, spin, spin, build, build, build. And when a “consultation” gives you the wrong answer – ignore it. Well, it does seem to be working so far

Even if you have to take half a “hospital hub” garden (the excuse there? Because it is “no longer being used for its original purpose”! Proof that hubs aren’t hospitals when it comes to land grabbing!

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22 Mar 2017

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Rural communities

Elderly and vulnerable rural people to travel further for prescriptions

“Nearly 300,000 people, many of whom are elderly and live in rural areas, will have to travel five miles more to collect their medicines because of a Government subsidy cut.

The study by the House of Commons library laid bare how much further the ill and sick will have to travel for medicines if pharmacies close because of a cut in a vital subsidy.

The news comes as campaigners will today [tues] start a four day challenge in the High Court against the cuts.

Last Autumn ministers announced that the subsidy for pharmacies in rural and deprived areas will be cut by £208million in the 2017/18 financial year.
Campaigners said that up to 3,000 pharmacies in England are threatened with closure by the cuts.

The Commons library said that overall 1.3million people – one in 43 of the population of England – will have to travel further to get their medicines.
And it said that an extra 70,000 will have to travel more than five miles to get to their nearest pharmacy.

The worst place affected is an extra nine mile journey for people trying to get medicines in Appleby-in-Westmoreland in Cumbria.

It said that 920,419 people will have to walk between one and 2.5 miles farther to a pharmacy if their local outlet shut.” …”

http://newscdn.newsrep.net/h5/nrshare.html?r=3&lan=en_GB&pid=14&id=GLa66740fhm_uk&app_lan=&mcc=234&declared_lan=en_GB&pubaccount=ocms_0&referrer=200620&showall=1&mcc=234