Category Archives: Austerity cuts

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5 Mar 2019

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Local Government Finance

” ‘Totally unfair’ and ‘no way to run public services’: Two councils slam government as £40m total cuts approved”

Owl says: but Conservative policy is to shrink or eliminate the “state” (i.e. public services) and use private companies to make profits out of services, so actually it IS their way of doing things and IS extremely successful!

“Two councils have approved over £20m worth of cuts as both authorities slam an “ever-increasing tough financial climate” due to austerity and a “totally unfair” year of drastic government cuts.

Doncaster Council and Nottingham City Council yesterday both approved budget proposals to make £21m and £23m of savings respectively, with substantial council tax hikes and job losses amongst the plans.

Nottingham council said its central government funding had fallen from £127m in 2013 to just £25m for next year, leading to difficult decisions such as the initial reduction of 27 jobs “with more likely.”

Other cuts at the authority include reducing Link Bus services, a range of changes to adult social care, reducing contributions to its youth centre, and a 2.99% council tax rise.

The council said independent analysis shows that places like Nottingham with higher deprivation have been hit harder by government funding cuts compared to areas such as Surrey, leaving the authority “with no other option” to enforce cuts and raise council tax.

Nottingham City Council leader Jon Collins went further, stating that the tenth budget in a row with funding cuts was made worse by the “totally unfair blatant favouring by government of Conservative-led councils in affluent southern areas.”

“It means setting this budget has been extremely difficult and we don’t take any pleasure in making decisions which detrimentally affect local service users.”

Doncaster Council has had to use some of its one-off reserves to meet its budget gap for 2019-20 and still forecasts a further deficit of £13m for the following year.

It has proposed a 5% council tax increase using the social care ‘precept’ to generate over £5m towards plugging the budget gap, but stresses that £323m will be given to capital funding for projects to stimulate growth over the next four years.

Mayor Ros Jones also slammed the government over a lack of certainty around local government funding.

He stated: “The government continues to cut our funding with no plans for the future.

“Doncaster has been hard hit and it is beyond belief that there is no firm plan for the sustainability of local government finances post 2020.

“It’s all well and good having individual funding streams and one-off pots of money that we can bid for but it’s no way to run public services.”

http://www.publicsectorexecutive.com/Public-Sector-News/totally-unfair-and-no-way-to-run-public-services-two-councils-slam-government-as-40m-total-cuts-approved-

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5 Mar 2019

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Local Government Finance

“Great British sell-off: how desperate councils sold £9.1bn of public assets”

” … Far-reaching research by the Bureau for Investigative Journalism and the Huffington Post UK has found that nine years of swingeing central government cuts to local council budgets have resulted in a vast and irreversible sell-off of public assets. Of England’s 354 local authorities, 301 replied to the primary Freedom of Information (FOI) request, which revealed that between 2014 and July 2018, more than 12,000 publicly owned assets have been offloaded by local councils. In total more than £9.1bn was generated.

Some of the assets sold off are grand historic buildings; some are small scraps of land. All are now gone forever, in a one-off fire sale of public assets accumulated over many decades, intended to serve the public good, and now generating profit for their new private owners.

Replies to the Bureau’s second set of FOI requests were even more comprehensive (342 out of 354) – and alarming. These concerned the use of “flexible capital receipts”, and showed that in many cases local councils have begun offloading their assets – playing fields, community centres, libraries, youth clubs, swimming pools – to fund redundancies made necessary by central government cuts.

Until new legislation was introduced in April 2016, councils had to to use any proceeds raised from selling land and buildings they own to buy new assets. David Cameron’s government changed all that by allowing them to invest the proceeds of any assets sold by April 2019 to fund frontline services.

FOI data shows that in the first two years following the change in the law, at least 64 councils – one-fifth of those who responded – used these capital receipts to plug gaping holes in their budgets. Often, this has included redundancy payments.

In some cases, desperation has driven local authorities to offload these public assets at knock-down prices. Northamptonshire – which relied on selling assets to plug huge gaps in its finances – got rid of land or buildings it owned for less than they were worth on 12 separate occasions, potentially missing out on income of £6.3m. Half of these under-value sales were to property developers. …”

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/mar/05/great-british-sell-off-how-desperate-councils-sold-91bn-of-public-assets

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5 Mar 2019

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Accountability, Asset sweating, Austerity cuts, Coastal communities, EDDC, Exmouth, Philip Skinner, Regeneration

Temporary Exmouth seafront attractions have already cost us £300,000

Owl says: imagine if other coastal towns in East Devon had this much spent on them …

“Under questioning from [Independent councillor Megan Armstrong at last week’s East Devon District Council meeting, Councillor Philip Skinner revealed that £285,305, was spent by the council for the first year of the new attractions in Queen’s Drive, Exmouth.

Cllr Skinner said that the costs included £155,000 on the new dinosaur-themed play park, as well as other costs on the beach bar seating area, the events stage and making the whole site safe.

He also said the council spent £22,850 putting on events such as free live screenings from the Royal Opera House.

Under questioning from councillor Megan Armstrong at last week’s East Devon District Council meeting, Councillor Philip Skinner revealed that £285,305, was spent by the council for the first year of the new attractions in Queen’s Drive, Exmouth.

Cllr Skinner said that the costs included £155,000 on the new dinosaur-themed play park, as well as other costs on the beach bar seating area, the events stage and making the whole site safe.

He also said the council spent £22,850 putting on events such as free live screenings from the Royal Opera House.

In response, Councillor Skinner said he didn’t expect to be facing criticism for investing money in Exmouth.

He said: “We are trying to get more people into the town, and to get them to spend more money there.

“It shouldn’t be a criticism that we are investing more in Exmouth and the town councillors should be chuffed to think we are investing in the town.

“We tried new things and people did like them.

“Some events didn’t go well, but others did.

“We made all of our revenue costs back and made a profit, and I expect to do so in future.

“We are continuing to invest in Exmouth’s seafront and have also been invited to a Stage 2 bid for Coastal Communities Fund that will further benefit the seafront.

“For 2019, our budget is £75,000, which includes staffing, event cost, equipment hire, maintenance, security and utility costs.

“We expect to secure income of between £30,000 and £40,000 this year, depending on sponsorship secured, and a further £12,000 for the big wheel.”

https://www.exmouthjournal.co.uk/news/seafront-attractions-cost-1-5917372

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4 Mar 2019

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Local Government Finance

“Councils using cash from property sales to fund redundancies”

“Councils in England have spent £115m of money raised from property sales on funding redundancies, analysis has revealed.

Since former chancellor George Osborne relaxed rules on councils spending receipts from public assets in 2016, 64 councils in England have spent £381m generated by property sales – a third of which (£115m) was used to make staff redundant, according to the research by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and Huffpost UK.

Previously, when a local authority sold off an asset, it could only use the money to fund the cost of replacing that asset. However, changes introduced by Osborne allowed councils to spend those receipts on cost-cutting measures.

Freedom of Information requests submitted by the Bureau revealed that councils that made the most of this law change had a redundancy rate 75% higher than councils that did not.

In Bristol, the number of council workers made redundant has jumped ten times since the change, from 39 in 2015-16 to 401 in 2016-17.

Simon Edwards, director of the County Councils Network, said: “In rural England, county authorities face a £3.2bn funding gap by 2020, largely due to costs outside of their control.

“It is therefore inevitable that councils have had to reduce highly-valued services to a minimum, with discretionary services disappearing and new charges introduced for services ranging from black sacks to parts of social care.

Urban councils also used asset receipts to fund redundancies, with five London boroughs doing so. Haringey spent £8m this way and job losses increased 70%, according to the data.

Northamptonshire County Council agreed the sale of its brand new council headquarters in April last year for a sum of £64m. This was the single most valuable asset sold since 2016, the research found.

Andrew Gwynne, Labour’s shadow communities and local government secretary, said: “Austerity has hollowed out the heart of our communities. This report reveals the shocking disposal of our community assets under the Tories.

“Cuts have forced many councils to sell off their parks, community centres and libraries; cut back on staff and the neighbourhood and care services that all of us rely on; and push up council tax – just to keep the lights on.”

https://www.publicfinance.co.uk/news/2019/03/councils-using-cash-property-sales-fund-redundancies

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4 Mar 2019

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Accountability, Asset sweating, Austerity cuts, EDDC, Public Open Space

The great public asset sell-off

Public open spaces
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/sold-from-under-you-explainer_uk_5c796bdee4b033abd14b61c8

Land and buildings:
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/revealed-councils-are-selling-off-buildings-to-fund-more-council-cuts_uk_5c7cdc1be4b0e1f776539948

No-one goes into public service to do this:
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/council-funding-austerity_uk_5c794d31e4b0de0c3fc03024

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3 Mar 2019

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

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“Social care ‘near collapse’ as 1 million denied vital help”

Theresa May has been warned that social care is “on the brink of collapse” with more than one million older people denied help with basic tasks.

Increasing numbers are being left without support to get out of bed, dress, wash or go to the lavatory, according to the letter to the Prime Minister signed by a coalition of leading NHS and health leaders, with millions more relying on unpaid care from relatives and friends.

The four-page letter, seen by The Sunday Times, is the first time such groups have united to raise concerns over social care and states that the “perilous state” of the sector had become a “national disgrace”.

The Government is being urged to act after promising a solution to the crisis, with a green paper setting out how to fund social care delayed several times.

Signatories include leaders of the Royal College of Physicians, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and the Royal College of General Practitioners.”

Source: Times page 2

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2 Mar 2019

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Economy, Sleaze, Transport (local)

Work for HS2 and enjoy parties and gym membership!

“HS2 Ltd has been accused of wasting “eye-watering” sums of taxpayers’ money as it emerged that the government-owned company spent almost £54,000 on gym memberships and £6,360 hiring party photo booths.

The spending by the company building the high-speed rail line was revealed in official financial returns. Analysis showed that £640,000 was spent on aerial promotional films and £96,712 went on an HS2 “pop-up shop” at Euston station.

The Times previously revealed that HS2’s total spending reached £5.5 billion even before full construction of the line has started. The equivalent of one-tenth of the project’s entire £55.7 billion budget has been spent in the last nine years as part of preparations for Europe’s biggest infrastructure project.

The latest figures prompted fresh accusations that spending on the scheme was out of control.

HS2 will eventually link London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, with the Y-shaped network due to open fully by 2033. The first phase of the line between London and Birmingham is expected be completed in 2026, with extensive work already under way.

An HS2 Ltd spokeswoman said: “HS2 is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform Britain’s economy and we are committed to delivering value for money for the taxpayer. We have a duty to inform and consult people and communities affected by a project of this size.”

Penny Gaines, chairwoman of the Stop HS2 group, said: “These figures show the eye -watering scale of expenditure. This spending is funded entirely from the taxpayer. If it hadn’t gone on HS2 it could have been used for other priorities, such as schools or the NHS.”

Source: Times (pay wall)

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1 Mar 2019

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Privatisation

When privatisation goes (so terribly) wrong, who suffers?

But no worries – a very few people have got very, very rich on the back of these failed projects!

“The Ministry of Justice’s “botched contracting” of probation services will cost the taxpayer £467m.

Reforms to probation services, which began in 2013, have failed to meet expectations, the National Audit Office has said in a report out today.

Although, contracts with probation providers were ended early, the ministry’s “rushed roll-out” will still be costly, the NAO concluded. …”

https://www.publicfinance.co.uk/news/2019/03/mojs-probation-services-contracting-botched-and-costly

AND

“Fresh shots have been fired at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) from both government and private sector for failures in procuring public contracts.

The department must share the blame with outsourcing giant Capita for “failing dismally” at meeting the Army’s recruitment targets, a service which the FTSE 250 firm was tasked with delivering in 2012, MPs said on Friday.

The influential Public Accounts Committee (PAC) group of MPs accused the Army of “naively” launching into the decade-long contract, and said Capita did not fully understand the complexity of it.

PAC chair Meg Hillier said the contract was “intended to meet the Army’s annual recruitment targets and save money in the process”.

“It has failed dismally at the former and has a mountain to climb in order to hit its target for the latter.”

A December report by the National Audit Office found as of July 2018, the Army was seven per cent below its required strength in terms of regular soldier numbers due to the lack of successful recruitment. …”

http://www.cityam.com/273964/your-country-needs-you-capita-and-mod-must-share-blame

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1 Mar 2019

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, East Devon Tories, EDDC, Local Government Finance

PROPERTY SPECULATION SAFEGUARDS REJECTED BY EDDC TORIES

Owl says: The safeguards proposed in the amendment below, which was rejected by the Conservative majority, appear to Owl to be entirely sensible, and a necessary check on an inherently risky strategy. Owl considers that the East Devon Tories is showing a reckless disregard for financial prudence, and for their stewardship of public money – OUR money.

Independent councillors at East Devon District Council tabled a Notice of Motion, to allow a full debate and vote, on EDDC`s highly controversial Commercial Investment Framework (CIF) at the council meeting on 27 February.

The CIF would allow EDDC to borrow £20 million to speculate in the property market. But the EDDC Chief Executive refused to allow the Notice of Motion to appear on the agenda paper for the full council meeting.

The Independents therefore had to resort to Plan B – and move an amendment to the Cabinet minutes.

At the council meeting on 27 February, Cllr Roger Giles (Ottery Town) moved an amendment to EDDC Cabinet minute 160 of 6 February. The amendment (BELOW) was to introduce safeguards to what he described as a high risk strategy; it was seconded by Ben Ingham (Woodbury).

The amendment was to add the following words:

“The Council recognises that property investment is a potentially high risk strategy, and therefore agrees that any such property acquisitions should only be undertaken after stringent financial assessment taking into account the following guidelines:

1. Any property purchases should be made within East Devon, to maximise local expertise in the property market, and to benefit the local economy;

2. A firm of Commercial Chartered Surveyors should be appointed to provide a full Valuation report and Schedule of Condition in respect of each property; a financial assessment should be provided by an appropriate Qualified Firm in respect of existing tenants; the said reports of any property purchase should be submitted to the full council for approval prior to purchase;

3. An annual report detailing purchase costs and all disbursements relating thereto shall be made to the full council”.

At the meeting, Independent Councillor Roger Giles said that the strategy:

* was not in accord with the council`s economic development strategy, because property could be purchased outside of East Devon;

* was high risk, and would massively increase the council`s indebtedness;

* would result in just 4 of the council`s 59 councillors being involved in major decisions;

* did not have public support – there was considerable public unease about the council strategy.

Other Independent councillors expressed concerns about the strategy, and spoke in support of the amendment.

At the conclusion of the debate, the Conservative majority on the council voted down the amendment, and decided to press on without the safeguards proposed.

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28 Feb 2019

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Austerity cuts, Inequality, Poverty, Universal Credit

“Universal Credit staff now visit hospitals to make patients ‘prove they are unwell’ “

“Universal Credit workers have been visiting sick patients in hospital to check they are actually unwell, a damning new review into the roll-out of the welfare system has revealed.

Department for Work and Pensions chiefs were found to be interviewing people awaiting NHS treatment to ensure they were on the right money and not abusing the system.

The practice has been condemned as ‘grotesque’ by a council scrutiny panel in London, where it has emerged hospitalised Universal Credit claimants have received shock visits from the welfare state police.

In one instance, DWP officers visited a person in hospital awaiting an operation because they had missed an appointment.

The behaviour was uncovered as part of a review by Islington’s Policy and Performance Scrutiny Committee, which has been tracking the full rollout of Universal Credit in Islington since June, reports the Islington Gazette. …”

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/universal-credit-nhs-hospital-visits-2593477

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28 Feb 2019

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Inequality, Poverty, Sleaze

“Tory councillors give themselves 300% pay hikes in homelessness hotspot”

“Tory councillors have awarded themselves pay rises of more than 300% in an area blighted by homelessness and food banks.

Matt Dormer, the Conservative leader of Redditch Borough Council agreed to a whopping 150% pay rise for himself.

And councillors with special responsibilities will get an extra £5,000 – a staggering 326% pay increase.

The Tories took control of the council last May and are in charge of their own pay for the first time in years.

Labour had previously frozen pay for a decade and its councillors voted against the new rises.

One said: “At the first opportunity these greedy ***** have taken money from council tax to put in their own, in some case already fat, wallets.”

Another councillor was so horrified she wheeled a trolley into the council chamber containing items destined for a food bank.

A source said: “It was a way of pointing out the absurdity of giving themselves more cash when there are people literally starving.” …

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/tory-councillors-give-themselves-300-14065345

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28 Feb 2019

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Austerity cuts, Inequality, Poverty

“More than a million public sector workers on less than ‘real’ Living Wage”

“Nearly 1.2 million public sector workers are paid less than the “real” Living Wage, campaigners reveal today.

Some 638,000 local government and council workers, including 389,000 directly-employed staff and 249,000 with third-party outsourcing firms, earn less than £9 an hour or £10.55 in London, according to Smith Institute data for the Living Wage Foundation.

Another 335,000 health workers, including 204,000 directly-employed staff and 131,000 with outsourcing companies, pocket less than the minimum experts say is needed for a decent stand of living.

The tally also includes 98,000 university workers, 60,000 of whom are directly employed by institutions.

The 1.2 million army of low-paid workers perform vital roles such as cleaning, catering and security at public building across the country.

Other workers earning less than the Living Wage include teaching assistants, caretakers, maintenance workers, binmen, sports centre staff and nursery nurses. …”

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/more-million-public-sector-workers-14061351

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27 Feb 2019

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Austerity cuts, Inequality, Poverty, Universal Credit

“Rich getting richer while poor get poorer, official figures show – with ‘Brexit and benefits freeze to blame’ “

“The rich are getting richer while the poor get poorer, according to official statistics, dealing a heavy blow to Theresa May’s claim to be tackling “burning injustices”.

They showed the incomes of the richest fifth of households grew by 4.7 per cent last year – while the incomes of the poorest fifth of households fell by 1.6 per cent.

The respected Resolution Foundation thinktank blamed the controversial freeze on benefit levels, adding to problems caused by higher inflation following the Brexit referendum. …”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/inequality-benefits-freeze-ons-brexit-theresa-may-labour-austerity-a8797416.html

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24 Feb 2019

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Accountability, Affordable and Social Housing, Austerity cuts, Developers/ Development, Housing (local)

“Housing is creaking — and not just because of Brexit”

David Smith, economics editor The Sunday Times:

“… There are two other elephants in the room.

The first is affordability. Official figures show that the average house price in England and Wales is 7.8 times annual full-time average earnings. The ratio has continued to climb in recent years, even since the crisis.

Over the past 20 years, it has more than doubled in England — up 123% — and nearly done so in Wales — up 92%. Viewers in Scotland have their own figures, but it has also gone up substantially.

It is true, of course, that ultra-low interest rates affect the affordability calculation when it comes to monthly mortgage payments, making bigger mortgages more affordable, but high prices are still a mountain to climb when it comes to deposits.

Also, even though wage growth has picked up, at a little over 3%, it is not making much of a dent in the high house price/earnings ratio. Older readers will remember a time when you took out a mortgage you could barely afford, confident in the knowledge that salary rises would come to the rescue. Things are different now.

The other elephant is the Help to Buy scheme, beloved of my friends in the housebuilding industry, where it has been like manna from heaven. First-time buyers have been steered towards new housing by Help to Buy equity loans on up to 20% of a property’s value in most of the country and a hefty 40% in London.

This has had two effects. By tilting first-time buyers towards new-build homes, it has distorted patterns in the market for existing homes. Young people who used to buy older homes, including “doer-uppers”, now have a powerful incentive to buy new. Normal housing market chains are not having a chance to form.

The second effect has been to push up prices for new properties relative to existing homes. Again, this comes out clearly from the affordability data.

In the early 2010s, the house price/earnings ratios for new and existing homes were similar. Since then they have diverged significantly. The latest figures are that the ratio for new homes is 9.7 — the average new home costs nearly 10 times average earnings — compared with 7.6 for existing homes. First-time buyers are being pulled into higher-priced homes and, ultimately, more debt. …”

Source: Sunday Times (pay wall)

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22 Feb 2019

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Inequality, Poverty

“Elderly should do community work or lose pension, peer says”

Members of the House of Lords who are not paid a salary may claim a flat rate attendance allowance of £150 or £300 for each sitting day they attend the House. All they have to do is sign in and 5 minutes later they can leave and collect the money. Or, they could dine in their highly-subsidised restaurants first, of course.

“Older people should lose their pensions if they refuse to do community work to stop them being a “negative burden on society”, a former senior Whitehall official has suggested.

Lord Bichard, an ex-chief of the Benefits Agency, said the elderly should get rewards and fines to make sure they are taking a more active part in the world.
The crossbench peer, who also chaired an inquiry into the murder of two Soham school girls, suggested the same tough attitude towards benefit scroungers should be taken with older people.

“Older people who are not very old could be making a very useful contribution to civil society if they were given some incentive or recognition for doing so,” he told a committee of MPs.

“We’re prepared to say to people if you’re not looking for work, you don’t get a benefit. If you’re old and you’re not contributing in some way, maybe there should be some penalty attached to that. These debates never seem to take place.

“Are we using all the incentives at our disposal to encourage older people not just to be a negative burden on the state but actually be a positive part of society?”

His remarks were condemned by pensioner groups as “little more than National Service for the over-60s”.

Dot Gibson, general secretary of the National Pensioners Convention, said: “This is absolutely outrageous. Those who have paid their national insurance contributions for 30 or more years are entitled to receive their state pension and there should be no attempt to put further barriers in their way.
“We already have one of the lowest state pensions in Europe and one in five older people in Britain live below the poverty line.”

Dr Ros Altmann, director-general of Saga, said the idea was “very strange indeed”.

“Those who have retired have already made huge contributions to our society and are already the largest group of charity and community volunteers,” she said. “The Saga website has been buzzing all day with angry messages of incredulity.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9630862/Elderly-should-do-community-work-or-lose-pension-peer-says.html

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20 Feb 2019

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Democracy, Developers/ Development, EDDC, Independent Councillors, Roger Giles

“COUNCIL TO BORROW £200 MILLION FOR PROPERTY SPECULATION – CHIEF EXECUTIVE BARS COUNCILLORS FROM TALKING ABOUT IT

East Devon District Council is controversially set to borrow £200 million to purchase property. The Council Cabinet agreed its Commercial Investment Framework, which would allow it to do so, on 6 February.

However many EDDC councillors have great concerns about this strategy. As a result, a Notice of Motion (NoM) was tabled by Councillor Roger Giles (Independent – Ottery Town) to be debated at the EDDC full council meeting on 27 February. The NoM was submitted in time, and was supported by more than the required number of other councillors.

However the EDDC Chief Executive Mark Williams struck the NoM off the agenda, on the grounds that the matter had already been discussed at the Cabinet meeting on 6 February.

“The EDDC Cabinet consists of just 10 councillors, and is Conservative controlled” said Roger Giles.

“The investment strategy would massively increase the council`s indebtedness, and is inherently risky. I therefore considered it essential that the whole council should be able to have a full-scale debate, and vote on the strategy.”

“However the Chief Executive has intervened to ban my NoM from being included on the agenda paper. By doing so I believe he has damaged our democratic processes – an action which is deeply regrettable.”

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19 Feb 2019

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Accountability, Affordable and Social Housing, Air pollution, Austerity cuts, Climate crisis, Conflict of interest, EDDC, Knowle/Honiton/Exmouth relocation, Mark Williams CEO EDDC, Scrutiny, Spin, Sustainability, Transparency

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EDDC: “Relocation cost, No Deal Brexit, electric charging points and climate change motions rejected from being discussed”

Owl says: remember, the Chief executive, Mark Williams, is supposed to be a NEUTRAL civil servant and yet ALL of the refused motions are from ALL the minority groups ONLY……!

“Motions to support recycling, to call for a new property ombudsman to streamline complaints against shoddy builders, and for East Devon to get its fair share of the police precept rise will be discussed at next Wednesday’s full council meeting.

But motions over the full relocation costs of the move from Sidmouth to Honiton, to put electric charging points in all car parks, what to prioritise in a ‘No Deal’ Brexit and on climate change will not be discussed.

Various motions that councillors had put forward for debate at East Devon District Council’s full council meeting on Wednesday, February, were rejected by the council’s chief executive, as either the agenda already provides the opportunity for debate or the wording of the motions were inaccurate.

RELOCATION

Cllr Cathy Gardner had proposed a motion calling for the council to commit to publish an annual ‘summary of accounts’ for the relocation project until break-even is reached as relocation from Sidmouth to Honiton was proposed and predicated on the basis that the project would breakeven within 20 years and deliver cost-savings to the council tax payers of East Devon.

Cllr Gardner said: “Whilst some of this information is already available we feel it is vital for the ongoing costs to be published to show confidence that this project will breakeven. A majority of Councillors voted for relocation on the basis that money would be saved on energy bills. We are left unsure of whether breakeven will ever be proven.”

But an EDDC spokesman said: “The rejected motion contained inaccuracies and omissions that had the potential to mislead councillors and it was also premature. It is however proposed to bring a report to the next meeting of the Cabinet that will summarise the position reached with regard to the sale of the Knowle and the relocation. Cllr Gardner can raise the matters she is concerned about as part of the debate into that report.”

The motion would have called for the accounts to include

energy costs for the Knowle for the past 20 years (for comparison);

energy costs for both Blackdown House and Exmouth Town Hall per year;
the capital receipt for the sale of the Knowle;

a Red Book valuation of Blackdown House as of 1 March 2019;

the full costs for the relocation project since its inception, including: project management; removal, furnishing and equipment;

staff retraining and travel expenses;

new-build costs for Blackdown House; refurbishment costs for Exmouth Town Hall; and any other associated costs.”

CLIMATE CHANGE

Cllr Matthew Booth’s motion had called for the council to recognise that Climate Change and Global Warming are the key issues of our time, to acknowledge the strong concerns of young people in particular the recent walk out of school children and for the council to commit to introducing a policy of carbon measurement and reduction within all aspects of its own activity.

He said: “I personally do not care how we begin to do this, or who does it, but that we act now not wait for some planned strategy in the future.”

An EDDC spokesman said that the issue of climate change emergency is acknowledged to be of critical importance but that it would be appropriate to wait to see what Devon County Council decides. They added: “Currently, however, the County Council is considering its position and will shortly debate the matter. As we are in a two tier area it is appropriate for the District Council to assess the position taken by the upper tier authority and then respond accordingly. The public would expect us to work in partnership with the County Council rather than unilaterally.”

ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING

Cllr Eleanor Rylance had submitted a motion calling for the council to plan for and implement over the next five years a full rolling renovation programme of its car parks estates to fit and bring into operation electrical charging points at every space for domestic cars, and cycle parks with charging points for all types of cycle and that there should be mandatory EV charging points for the parking spaces of every new-built house in East Devon.

She added: “This council should approach the future of electrically-powered domestic vehicles with enthusiasm and proactivity, play a positive role in helping develop the use of electrical and should make this infrastructure, that will be a necessity within the next ten years, available in advance of full electrification of domestic vehicles in 2042.

But an EDDC spokesman said: ““The agenda already provides an opportunity for this issue to be raised so this motion was inappropriate.”

BREXIT

Cllr Rylance had also submitted a motion that said in the event of a No Deal Brexit or a version of Brexit that causes significant disruption, the council should approach this event as a situation of emergency in respect of its most vulnerable residents, dedicating any available human, material and financial resources required to palliate any negative outcomes for these groups, but the motion was rejected.

Talking about all the motions, a council spokesman said: “The council agenda for February contains the most important annual decision, namely the setting of the budget and the approval of the Council Tax for the forthcoming year. The process leading to this meeting has included several meetings where members were encouraged to raise all items of future relevance so these could be assessed as part of our service planning process and for assessment as part of the budget.

“It is unfortunate that some members did not take these opportunities and have chosen instead to submit their proposed motions.

“It is also noted that the wording of the motions was not checked in advance with relevant officers who would have been able to give timely advice as to their wording.”

But motions on the police precept, protection for new home owners and supporting recycling will be discussed.

POLICING

Cllr Tom Wright’s motion says: “In view of the £24 per band D property increase in policing precept, this council urges the Chief Constable to recognise the needs of East Devon when deciding how to allocate extra resources. East Devon residents are the biggest contributors to the police budget in Devon, other than Plymouth. It is only fair that we should get a fair share of the larger cake.”

NEW HOMES

Cllr Douglas Hull’s motion says: “The Government has stated that it would therefore be introducing as a priority a new property ombudsman to streamline complaints against shoddy builders. As a council that not only provides an excellent and highly regarded building control service but also has seen significant levels of new building in its district, we call on the government to fulfil its pledge to provide this much needed remedy for homeowners as a matter of the highest priority.”

RECYCLING

Cllr Peter Burrows’ motion says: “This Council continues to support the fine work done by the EDDC Recycling team in achieving the best results in Devon and to support and encourage local Organisations and voluntary groups who are involved in trying to reduce the amount of single use plastics used in their communities & beaches by making resources and expertise available, where appropriate. The order of priority should be – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. To actively help promote such activities through the Councils social media platforms.”

The full council meeting will be held at East Devon District Council’s new Honiton Heathpark HQ on February 27 at 6pm.”

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/relocation-cost-no-deal-brexit-2557565

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14 Feb 2019

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Austerity cuts, Inequality, Local Government Finance, Poverty

“Local Government on life support”

“Almost all councils in England plan to increase council tax from April and three-quarters intend to raise it above 2.75%, research reveals. Most councils have also warned they will still be reducing a range of services, from adult social care to libraries and recycling, while raising charges and fees.

The Local Government Information Unit thinktank says eight years of austerity have cost English councils 40% of their central funding. Last week Somerset and Northamptonshire county councils reversed winter gritting cuts amid outcry when untreated roads caused car accidents, while unrepaired potholes and cuts to libraries have grated with residents.

“Years of chronic underfunding has left local government on life support,” said the chief executive of the thinktank, Dr Jonathan Carr-West. The local government ministry says councils are to receive an extra £1bn in the coming year.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/14/thursday-briefing-up-goes-council-tax-as-austerity-grinds-on

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13 Feb 2019

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Transport (local)

California abandons high-speed rail link as too expensive

So similar to HS2!
Los Angeles to San Francisco 383 miles for around £60 billion
London-Manchester 330 miles for around £56 billion

At least the Californians had the sense to abandon theirs!

“The big picture: The project was years behind schedule with an estimated completion date of 2033.

It had been hamstrung by political backlash in the state, and polling showed that a majority of Californians disapproved of the plan as costs ballooned.
Similar proposals for high-speed trains on the East Coast, including along the heavily trafficked Northeast Corridor between Washington, D.C., and Boston, have also fallen apart due to opposition and massive cost estimates, per the New York Times. …”

https://www.axios.com/california-high-speed-rail-cancelled-gavin-newsom-abf6bc5e-a759-47ae-adcb-92b15cce139f.html

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11 Feb 2019

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Post-Brexit Adjustments

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Shipping company with no ships, no backer and the wrong kind of port for the ships they don’t have!

Owl can only assume, after May says she has confidence in “Failing Grayling” yet again today that he must have some Theresa May selfies in his possession …..

” … Grayling is under further pressure to explain how Seaborne was awarded the contract after weekend reports that Ramsgate authorities could not afford to run the port.

The contract was cancelled a day after Grayling contacted Thanet district council to ask it to postpone a budget that would have shut down parts of the port for use by freight shipping.

Questions remain about the viability of Ramsgate’s port for use post-Brexit. It can accommodate ships up to 180 metres long, but modern ships are typically 230-250 metres.

John Davis, a member of the Ramsgate Action Group, said: “You can’t run a double-decker bus service out of a single-storey garage on the side of a bungalow – that’s the problem.”

Questions remain about the procurement process after the DfT relied on an emergency exemption provided for by the Public Contract Regulations Act to award the contract. Eurotunnel has accused the government of “anti-competitive” and “distortionary” behaviour.

Meanwhile, Grayling’s decision to award contracts to three ferry companies, including Seaborne is being challenged at the high court. Eurotunnel, which operates the Channel Tunnel, says the contracts totalling £108m were awarded through a “secretive and flawed procurement process”. But the Department for Transport (DfT) argues that the “extreme urgency” of preparations for Britain’s departure from the EU on 29 March justified the process.

At a hearing in London on Monday, Eurotunnel’s barrister Daniel Beard QC said the procurement process for “additional capacity for transport of goods across the English Channel” had been “undertaken without any public notice being issued”.”