Category Archives: Austerity cuts

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9 Feb 2017

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

“Care in the Community not working”

… “Dr Bruce Hughes, chairman of the Devon Local Medical Committee (DLMC) which represents GPs, was speaking following a National Audit Office report today (Wednesday).

It says the Government’s £5.3billion Better Care Fund had ‘fallen far short’ of its goal of integrating health and social care.

Dr Hughes, a partner at Fremington Medical Centre, said it reaffirmed GPs’ serious concerns locally about transferring some hospital services and care into the community.

They are worried the national picture could be reflected in the sustainability and transformation plan (STP) review currently going on in Devon, which includes proposals to care for more patients in their own homes.

He said: “The report’s findings indicate that this approach doesn’t tangibly improve patient outcomes and experience, reduce emergency hospital admissions or save money – something we fear could be replicated locally as the same principle of community-based care underpins much STP.

“We urge our STP leaders to pause the transformation process in the local healthcare system and closely examine the report to ensure that the STP and its aspirations aren’t flawed.”

The DLMC wants to know how moving hospital services or treatment into the community will be paid for, as GPs and other services are already greatly stretched.

Dr Hughes added: “We look forward to working closely with STP leaders in the coming months, as general practice is the gateway to the wider healthcare system and has a crucial role to play in the successful delivery of local transformation, to ensure high quality patient care.”

The Health and Social Care Integration report claims the Better Care Fund ‘has not achieved the expected value for money, in terms of savings, outcomes for patients or hospital activity’.

It says the national initiative did not achieve the planned savings of £511 million, with an 87,000 increase in emergency admissions to hospitals between 2014-15 and 2015-16, against a planned reduction of 106,000.”

http://www.northdevongazette.co.uk/news/care_in_the_community_is_not_working_claim_devon_gps_1_4881988

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8 Feb 2017

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

National Audit Office slams health and care integration implementation

HOW CAN CUTS TO COMMUNITY HOSPITALS GO AHEAD AFTER THIS STINGING REPORT?

The National Audit Office report issued today
Summary

“Health and social care integration

The Better Care Fund has not achieved the expected value for money, in terms of savings, outcomes for patients or hospital activity.

National Audit Office

“Integrating the health and social care sectors is a significant challenge in normal times, let alone times when both sectors are under such severe pressure. So far, benefits have fallen far short of plans, despite much effort.

It will be important to learn from the over-optimism of such plans when implementing the much larger NHS sustainability and transformation plans.The Departments do not yet have the evidence to show that they can deliver their commitment to integrated services by 2020, at the same time as meeting existing pressures on the health and social care systems.”

The National Audit Office warns that progress with integration of health and social care has, to date, been slower and less successful than envisaged and has not delivered all of the expected benefits for patients, the NHS or local authorities. As a result, the government’s plan for integrated health and social care services across England by 2020 is at significant risk.

In the face of increased demand for care and constrained finances, while the Better Care Fund, the principal integration initiative, has improved joint working, it has not yet achieved its potential. The Fund has not achieved the expected value for money, in terms of savings, outcomes for patients or reduced hospital activity, from the £5.3 billion spent through the Fund in 2015-16.

Nationally, the Fund did not achieve its principal financial and service targets over 2015-16, its first year. Planned reductions in rates of emergency admissions were not achieved, nor did the Fund achieve the planned savings of £511 million. Compared with 2014-15, emergency admissions increased by 87,000 against a planned reduction of 106,000, costing £311 million more than planned. Furthermore, days lost to delayed transfers of care increased by 185,000, against a planned reduction of 293,000, costing £146 million more than planned.

The Fund has, however, been successful in incentivising local areas to work together; more than 90% of local areas agreed or strongly agreed that delivery of their plan had improved joint working. Local areas also achieved improvements at the national level in reducing permanent admissions of people aged 65 and over to residential and nursing care homes, and in increasing the proportion of older people still at home 91 days after discharge from hospital into reablement or rehabilitation services.

There is general agreement across the health and social care sectors that place-based planning is the right way to manage scarce resources at a system-wide level. However, local government was not involved in the design and development of the NHS-led sustainability and transformation planning programme. Local authorities’ engagement in the planning and decision making phase has been variable, although four sustainability and transformation planning areas are led by local authority officials.

The Department of Health and the Department for Communities and Local Government have identified barriers to integration, such as misaligned financial incentives, workforce challenges and the reticence over information sharing, but are not systematically addressing them.

Research commissioned by the government in 2016 concluded that local areas are not on track to achieve the target of integrated health and social care by 2020.

Today’s report also found that NHS England’s ambition to save £900 million through introducing seven new care models may be optimistic. The new care models are as yet unproven and their impact is still being evaluated. According to the NAO, while the Departments and their partners have set up an array of initiatives examining different ways to transform care and create a financially sustainable care system, their governance and oversight of the initiatives is poor. The Integration Partnership Board only receives updates on progress of the Better Care Fund with no reporting from other integration programmes.

In addition, the NAO found no compelling evidence to show that integration in England leads to sustainable financial savings or reduced acute hospital activity. While there are some good examples of integration at a local level, evaluations have been inhibited by a lack of comparable cost data across different care settings, and difficulty tracking patients through different care settings. The NAO today reiterates its emphasis from its 2014 report on the Better Care Fund that there is a need for robust evidence on how best to improve care and save money through integration and for a co-ordinated approach.”

https://www.nao.org.uk/report/health-and-social-care-integration/

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6 Feb 2017

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Austerity cuts, Economy

Local authority staffing: expand or shrink?

Artificial intelligence and automation in the public sector could render almost 250,000 administrative roles obsolete, the Reform think-tank has concluded.

In a report published today, Reform examined how public sector productivity could be improved, while achieving better outcomes and saving money. …

… Current staffing arrangements are “bottom-heavy”, the report found. In primary care, there are 10 receptionists for every 14 clinicians, and almost one per GP. In government, 37% of civil servants fill roles defined as administrative. …

… Away from the technology sphere, improved management practices would also help to boost productivity. As such, leaders should be trained to learn from mistakes rather than focusing on attributing blame, the report advised. Moreover, to get the best out of their employees, managers should be allowed to motivate them as they see fit, “unencumbered by rigid pay and performance management structures and role definitions.” …

http://www.publicfinance.co.uk/news/2017/02/march-technology-could-make-250000-public-sector-jobs-obsolete

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5 Feb 2017

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Developers/ Development, EDDC, Knowle/Honiton/Exmouth relocation, Post-Brexit Adjustments

Some building costs up 35% – another (expensive) nail in the relocation project?

And to think, some careful maintenance of Knowle and some judicious spending when the sun was shining and councillors could have been enjoying up-to-date facilities for years!

“Bricks and timber have become the latest products to be hit by sterling’s slide after Britain’s decision to leave the European Union.

An investigation by The Mail on Sunday into the effects of the referendum has identified sweeping price rises of up to 35 per cent on some building materials.

The revelation comes in the week the Government unveils its Housing White Paper aimed at easing the country’s housing shortage with a massive boost to home-building.

The building industry is also under pressure from an acute skills shortage – which trade bodies warn may be made much worse if tradesmen from countries such as Poland find it more difficult to work in the UK.

The Mail on Sunday’s analysis of figures released last week shows prices on a wide variety of materials, including loft insulation, plasterboard and chipboard, rising at their fastest rate for 25 years.

The increases will hit not only those looking to buy new-build homes, but anyone thinking of extending their house or planning a loft conversion. …”

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-4191564/Building-costs-rocket-brick-timber-prices-soaring.html

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4 Feb 2017

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Scrutiny, Spin, Transparency

A council “Communications Officer” (press officer) tells the truth about his soul-destroying job

“I can’t face watching I, Daniel Blake because every day I feel complicit in a system that denigrates vulnerable people.

I knew leaving the voluntary sector to go and work for a local authority would require a culture shift, but I did not fully comprehend how difficult it would be to put a positive spin on cuts to local services after years spent promoting social justice campaigns.

I am part of a team which creates and distributes communications to the general public, through newsletters, the council website, on social media and through the local media. Working in communications often means putting aside your personal opinions and values for the good of the organisation paying your salary, and I have a lot of sympathy with local authorities now I’ve seen it from the inside.

I field calls for stretched council services – and soon my job may be cut too.

With brutal funding cuts from central government and the growing pressure on services, many councils are trying to make the best of a bad situation and make budgets stretch, regardless of politics.

But when Ken Loach’s ‘I, Daniel Blake’ was released last year, all my friends went to watch it in the cinema. I could not face going with them, knowing I was complicit in the same system the film portrayed as destroying people’s lives.

I can see the red tape responsible for the denigration of vulnerable people around me every day, and to be responsible for dressing up the effects of needless bureaucracy in a pretty package for our local papers is soul-destroying. Our press releases go through rigorous rounds of sign off, through all sorts of departments, senior council officers and councillors, all of whom want to remove any material that could incur criticism, which results in bland, council-speak copy.

People probably wouldn’t expect a press officer to care about local reporters, especially as they are usually asking us for responses to critical stories about the council, but I have real sympathy with them. Most of them are inexperienced and clearly stretched for time and resources: their copy is riddled with factual errors that could easily have been double checked, resulting in fractious phone calls between our side and theirs.

The vulnerable people I became a councillor to help have no idea I’m here. The reality is most residents don’t have the time or inclination to attend committee meetings or read all the reports and documents produced by the council. They should know how funding cuts are going to affect their local services and communities. It’s all there in black and white if you know where to find it. It’s an easier time for us if contentious issues pass through committees easily, as there are fewer difficult questions from reporters for the week’s papers.

Social media has become another accountability function for councils, which creates a lot more noise for us to deal with. Most councils will have active citizen campaigners ready to jump on any communication the council puts out to rip it to shreds. These days, it’s actually these people, rather than journalists, who spot the things the council would prefer went unquestioned. It can be disheartening, particularly when you’ve worked hard to capture the nuance of a complicated situation, but when you agree with the critics over the council it’s hard to take it too personally.”

https://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2017/feb/04/media-press-officer-council-cuts-local-papers-daniel-blake

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4 Feb 2017

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Austerity cuts, Education (local)

More schools in East Devon to cut staff

“More schools in East Devon have revealed they are looking at reducing staff numbers because of cuts to education funding.

This week Clyst Vale Community College’s governing body told staff all their jobs were under consultation. The school in Broadclyst is facing a deficit and its student numbers are down by 300 compared with five years ago.

Two other East Devon secondary schools will also shortly be invoking their redundancy processes, but it has not been revealed which schools they are.

And now the headteacher of Exeter Road Community Primary School in Exmouth has admitted unless it makes cuts to its staffing costs it will unable to balance its budget.

Paul Gosling said: “Exeter Road has a higher percentage of children from disadvantaged backgrounds than the national average, but this school performs well because of the contribution that support staff make to the welfare and learning of vulnerable children.

“We are now preparing for the 2017/18 financial year and, based on the information that we currently have, unless we continue to make some cuts in our staffing costs we will not be able to balance our budget.

“Our good performance is put at risk by the savings we might be forced to make, as the number of support staff we employ is the only place left that we can cut.”

Schools in Devon will soon be seeing the impact of an estimated £3bn shortfall in the government’s education budget by 2020.

They are the first real terms cuts to education spending since the 1990s, with 98 per cent of schools set to lose funding at a time when costs are rising and pupil numbers on average are growing.

Devon is likely to lose an average of £401 per pupil – a total of over £35m for the region as a whole. It is feared class sizes in primary schools could rise and some GCSE and A Level subjects could be cut from the curriculum.

Russell Hobby, general secretary of school leaders’ union National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), said: “School budgets are being pushed beyond breaking point. The government’s £3b real terms cut to education funding must be reversed or we will see education and care suffer.

“Already heads are being forced to cut staff, cut the curriculum and cut specialist support. A new funding formula is the right thing to do, but it cannot be truly fair unless there is enough money to go round in the first place.”

The NAHT is holding a series of national events to raise awareness among school leaders, governors and parents.

It will be meeting in Tiverton next Tuesday, February 7, to spread the word in the hope that local pressure will force the government to explain its rationale for cutting the education budget at a time when the school population is rising and costs are going up.”

http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/more-schools-to-cut-staff-in-east-devon/story-30111504-detail/story.html

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4 Feb 2017

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Devolution, EDDC, Golden Triangle LEP, Greater Exeter, Knowle/Honiton/Exmouth relocation, Local Enterprise Partnership

Single unitary councils would save most money say researchers

This post is from November 2016 but is reprinted here due to its topicality. Given LEP power-grabbing and “Greater Exeter” and “Golden Triangle” options, our district council’s plan to move to Honiton looks questionable to say the least.

Should any of the above options pan out, even the current bases at Sidmouth and Exmouth (plus changing Manstone depot to part-office) seems grandiose!

“Creating 27 unitary councils across the whole of England could save as much as £2.9bn, according to an independent analysis of local government reorganisation options undertaken for the County Councils Network.

The report by consultants EY examined six different single and two-tier governance scenarios for county and district authorities, using existing county boundaries. Based on the analysis of national data, EY found that creation of unitaries along county boundaries could save between £2.37bn and £2.86bn over five years, and average up to £106m per county. The single unitary option has the shortest payback period, generating savings within two years and two months, according to the review.

Among the other options examined was a move to create two unitary authorities per county, which would establish 54 councils.

Under this proposal, savings worth £1.17bn and £1.7bn would be made in a five-year timeframe, only around 59% of the saving of the proposal to create unitaries along current boundaries.

A third approach considered abolishing county and district authorities and creating three unitaries per county. However, the creation of 81 new councils countrywide could result in a net cost to the taxpayer of £33m over five years, although the range could also include a saving of £526m, dependent on how senior management and councillors are structured across the authorities. Whatever transpires, our council serms hell-bent on the most expensive option:

The review also considered reforming the current two-tier system through merging districts to reduce the average number in a county area from 7.4 to 3. Such a scenario could make savings of between £531m and £839m over five years.

A further scenario to create three unitary authorities and a combined authority, which would then deliver major services like adult social care, children’s social care and transport, was likely to cost between £36m and £366m over five years. Such an approach has been considered in areas such as Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, but EY highlighted the risks of this ‘untried and untested’ model of reorganisation. …”

http://www.publicfinance.co.uk/news/2016/11/local-government-reorganisation-switch-unitaries-could-save-ps29bn#disqus_thread

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2 Feb 2017

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, DCC, Dorset, EDDC, Golden Triangle LEP, Knowle/Honiton/Exmouth relocation, Local Enterprise Partnership, PegasusLife, Scrutiny, Sidmouth/ Sidford/ Sidbury, Somerset, Transparency

Relocation and local government reorganisation – a chance to save money!

What is currently more important in local government? Saving money, saving money by merger or being profligate? These seem to be the stark choices facing our district, with its reliance on the Local Enterprise Partnership for strategy, direction and funding.

Closer examination of the agenda for the next Cabinet meeting reveals that there are two references to local government reorganisation: at the bottom of page 111 and on page 115:

“Identify opportunities for rationalising/improving existing public sector governance arrangements and make recommendations to the constituent authorities/partners”

This appears to be a clear reference, as it not only refers to reform, but also says that the recommendations will go to ‘constituent authorities’. In other words we are not talking just about the LEP. The new Joint Committee clearly has mergers in mind. Add “Greater Exeter” into the mix and we come out with even more likelihood of massive changes. THEN add a mooted “Golden Triangle LEP” and we have a truly chaotic situation.

Owl wonders if these are circumstances in which to pursue a new HQ for EDDC at Honiton. Any proposal involving EDDC and avoiding building at Honiton can immediately claim to have made a minimum saving of £10 million plus interest payments, plus many associated costs – savings now being the mantra nowadays.

The relocation from Knowle could, in the above circumstances prove to be most expensive suicide note in the history of our district. And those EDDC members who waved through the move to Honiton, without the slightest idea of the cost, could in these circumstances be likened to turkeys voting for Christmas.

We have seen with the reorganisation in Dorset, that the reform and merger of local government authorities is very much in the air, and Dorset has been suggesting that the creation of two unitaries will lead to annual savings of many millions of pounds.

So it’s not surprising that things have gone very quiet with EDDC relocation. Firstly, there is local government reorganisation all around us and within our nearby city and the county. Secondly, the Pegasus deal for Knowle has seemingly gone very much on the back burner.

We have recently seen the formal separation – ‘decoupling’ – of the Exmouth Town Hall work from the Honiton proposal which seems to have had more to do with mothballing Honiton than it had to do with allowing Exmouth to proceed more quickly.

Work to refurbish Knowle is almost certainly millions of pounds cheaper than relocating. Plus, a new building in Honiton would immediately depreciate enormously on day one of occupation – 50% plus has been suggested.

Of course, PegasusLife could always put in a planning application for the Honiton site!

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30 Jan 2017

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Asset sweating, Austerity cuts, Budleigh Salterton, Democracy, EDDC

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“Budleigh fishermen’s fury at 350% shed rent hike”

If any of the fisherman voted Tory at district elections, they really should have expected this!

“Users of the sheds, used by many to store vital equipment and petrol for their boats, have been told they face having to pay more than four times their usual ground rent.

Landowner East Devon District Council (EDDC) has written to the fishermen to inform them that, when their current annual licence expires in April, renewal will cost £450 instead of £100.

Former town mayor Roger Pym, 72, has been fishing on the seafront for 50 years and still helps his son Sam, 43, with the business.

He said: “I’m furious – we’re being ripped off. It appears to me that they are trying to price all the fishing fraternity out for extra beach huts.
f
“You don’t need to have a beach hut. If you have one, it’s for pleasure. We need to have a shed as we have a 16ft boat with crab pots.”

Dave Perkins, 60, has been fishing full-time on Budleigh beach for 12 years.

He said: “I expected prices to go up, but to suddenly get a jump of that amount is silly.

“The thing is they’re trying to put it down as commercial ground rent to be in line with all commercial rents, but not all the huts are used by commercial fishermen.

“Nothing is supplied with the sheds – no water, no electricity, no amenities.

“With everything else, with trying to fish on the beach, to get this thrown at us is ridiculous.”

Current Budleigh town mayor Chris Kitson said: “I support the fishermen that have been there on our beach for years and this is not acceptable to have these hikes in rent imposed on them.”

An EDDC spokeswoman said: “As with all our commercial transactions, we prefer to deal directly with our tenants and we would therefore ask Mr Pym to write to our property services team or to telephone them to discuss the matter of his rent.”

http://www.exmouthjournal.co.uk/news/budleigh_fishermen_s_fury_at_350_shed_rent_hike_1_4864134

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30 Jan 2017

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

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“Councils staring into the abyss”

“… A spokesman said Devon County Council’s budget, which will be debated next month, calls for an extra £18.8million for adult health and social care – almost 10% up – to cope with the increasing demand and recognise that Devon has significantly more over- 65s and over-85s who need care and support.

The increase would take the total social care and health budget to £216.5 million.

In all, the target revenue budget for 2017/18 would be £459.5 million.

‘We must step up to the plate’

Council leader John Hart said: “Health and social care is under immense pressure both in Devon and nationally.

“We must step up to the plate. Devon has one of the highest proportions of people over 65 and people over 85 and they need and deserve our help and support.

“So despite the continuing austerity agenda from the Government, we have found extra money for these vital services.

“We have always said our priority is to protect the most vulnerable in our society and I believe this target budget will help to do that.

“That’s why we are also increasing the budget for children’s services again following on from big increases there previously.”

http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/councils-stare-into-a-budget-abyss-how-will-your-services-suffer/story-30092127-detail/story.html#u2tKeieLqt5tsT6O.99

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30 Jan 2017

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, EDDC, Exmouth, Freedom of Information Act, Honiton/ Gittisham, Knowle/Honiton/Exmouth relocation, Sidmouth/ Sidford/ Sidbury, Transparency

Knowle relocation costs: it’s up to us to check as councillors don’t get the information

And this is how we do it (whilst we have a Freedom of information Act):

“Dear East Devon District Council,

I would like to make a formal request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I am also making this Request under the Environmental Impact Regulations 2004 which require disclosure on the part of Local Authorities.

Please let me have the costs to date of the Knowle relocation project, to include all preliminary pre “moving decision” costs, and subsequent costs of all work associated with the intended reallocation, including those at The Knowle, Manstone, the intended Honiton site and Exmouth Town Hall

I should also like to know the current projected costs of the Exmouth Town Hall move, (including all associated costs such as moving, staff compensation and travel costs and fitting out costs), and for Honiton and costs associated with the “mothballing” of various parts of the Knowle contingent upon the intended relocation of 90 staff to Exmouth.”

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/costs_to_date_of_knowle_bhonito?nocache=outgoing-618160#outgoing-618160

And if they say they can’t tell us how much it has cost so far …..

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26 Jan 2017

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

Coach from East Devon to NHS march in London 4 March 2017

Contact:

coach@eastdevonalliance.org.uk

Donations towards the cost appreciated

Details of the march here:

https://www.facebook.com/events/757032154449197/

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25 Jan 2017

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Austerity cuts

Should higher-rate tax pensioners be given winter fuel payments?

” … More than 12 million pensioners receive winter fuel payments each year, putting a £2.1billion dent in Treasury coffers.

About 43,000 are higher rate taxpayers, who currently have an annual income of more £43,001, receive the benefit of between £100 and £300 every year.

If each received the maximum £300 every year for five years, it will have cost the public a total of £64.5million.

… But just 518 [of all payees, whether paying higher rate tax not known] have refused to accept the payments since 2011, the Government admitted.”

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/wealthy-pensioners-paid-645million-winter-9693527

Some older councillors who claim multiple allowances from districts and/or county (and maybe councillor Board members of our LEP whose allowances or expenses we are not allowed to know) are almost certainly in the higher rate tax group – as is every MP.

Owl wonders if they donate their winter fuel payments to charity – or if any of them are in the 518 people who refused the money?

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24 Jan 2017

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Devolution, Hinkley C, Local Enterprise Partnership

“Brexir risks pushing up Hinkley cost, EDF warns

A correspondent has drawn attention to the latest article by Emily Gosden, Energy Editor, The Times on emerging nuclear projects. The elephant in the room exposed by this article is, contrary to the impression generated by our LEP that Hinkley provides the “Golden Opportuity” for local growth, these projects rely on a ready supply of European and International labour, expertise, goods and services.

In these circumstances, is it wise of our LEP to put all its ( glowing green?) eggs in one basket? No doubt those LEP board members with nuclear interests, training for the nuclear interests and developing housing around the site (at least half the board) will say yes.

But would that be in Devon’s best interests?

“BREXIT RISKS PUSHING UP HINKLEY COST, EDF WARNS
“EDF has raised the spectre of delays or cost overruns to its £18 billion Hinkley Point nuclear plant as a result of Brexit, warning that any restrictions to trade and movement of labour could hamper the delivery of energy projects.

The French state-controlled company said Britain would have to import goods and skilled labour from around the world in order to make the “very substantial investments in new infrastructure” needed to keep the lights on.
“There is a risk that restrictions on trade and movement of labour will increase the costs of essential new infrastructure developments and could delay their delivery,” it said in a submission to MPs on the business, energy and industrial strategy select committee.

Although EDF did not mention Hinkley Point, it said Britain’s import requirements would include “critical goods and services in the nuclear supply chain and specialist nuclear skills”. Hinkley Point is the only new nuclear power station to have been given the go-ahead in the UK.

The plant, which was once expected to start generating in 2017, was eventually signed off by the government last autumn, with a revised start-up date of 2025. Ministers hope that it will be the first in a series of new nuclear projects, with Hitachi’s Horizon venture developing plans for reactors at Wylfa on Anglesey, and the Toshiba-Engie joint venture NuGen working on a project at Moorside in Cumbria.

However, in its submission to the committee, the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) warned that potential changes as a result of Brexit could also jeopardise these projects.

It said investments may not be forthcoming unless there was stable energy policy, clarity on the market and in particular “confidence that there will be continuing access to skills, both specialist nuclear skills from European/International companies and construction labour and the easy supply of goods and services across EU borders”.

NuGen and Horizon are struggling to secure financing and are understood to be in talks with the government about potential direct investment in their projects. Toshiba is under particular pressure after making huge writedowns on its US nuclear business.

The government yesterday highlighted the nuclear industry as a key part of its industrial strategy, appointing NIA chairman Lord Hutton of Furness to “oversee work to improve UK competitiveness and skills in nuclear”.”

Times Newspapers (paywall)

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20 Jan 2017

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Devolution, EDDC, Health and Social Care (local), Local Enterprise Partnership, NHS (local)

And, yes, our LEP does have a hand in health cuts – and not in a good way

“The Prospectus promises that if local partners have greater freedom to act, by 2030 they will … Support the changes to our health and care system by galvanising and aligning resources across the whole system.”

(Last sentence of the document)

Click to access Issue11HeartoftheSouthWestStakeholderBriefing__545057.pdf

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20 Jan 2017

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, EDDC, Public Open Space

Parks and public open spaces at risk – how we can help protect them

“Thousands of people are expected to take part in a crowdsourced investigation to find out how many of England’s parks and green spaces are at risk.

The campaign group 38 degrees is asking its members to contact local council leaders to ask about their plans for parks, and will help them send follow-up questions in freedom of information requests.

The group said there was growing concern that councils, faced with swingeing budget cuts, are selling off parks and green spaces to try to make ends meet.

“Year after year park budgets are being cut, but too often the people who actually use them know little about the plans,” said Lorna Greenwood, the campaigns manager at 38 Degrees. “From fewer park rangers to deals with big companies that mean local people have to pay to use their parks, parks around the country are at risk. This investigation is about people across the country coming together to expose the truth so they can make their voices heard.”

More than 180,000 people submitted evidence to the communities and local government committee’s parliamentary consultation, which closes on Friday, calling on the government to make it a statutory duty for councils to protect and maintain the country’s 27,000 public parks. Separately, 322,000 people signed a petition calling for legal protection and 115,000 completed a survey, both of which were organised by 38 Degrees.

A report from the Heritage Lottery Fund this month said the UK’s parks risked falling into disrepair and neglect as a result of budget cuts. While 90% of families with children aged under five had used their local park at least once in the past month, the study said, 92% of park managers had had their budgets cut and 95% were facing further reductions.

Campaigners say the public needs more information as there is no central record of how much money is being spent on looking after local parks – or how many are at risk from corporate deals.

38 Degrees said the investigation would reveal which parks were most at risk and would allow people to put pressure on their local councils and MPs to protect parks in their area.

Greenwood said: “Parks aren’t just a nice to have. Thousands of people from wheelchair users to young families say they are absolutely essential for health and wellbeing. They’re part of our heritage.”

She warned that if people did not take action now, many parks could be lost for future generations. “The government now needs to listen to the 364,884 members of the public who have come together to protect our parks and give them the legal protections necessary to protect them,” she said.”

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19 Jan 2017

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Economy, EDBF, EDDC, Greater Exeter, Mark Williams CEO EDDC, Paul Diviani, Richard Cohen

EDDC recreates the “Economic Development Manager” post

Last occupied by Nigel Harrison, who was controversially closely involved (with EDDC’s money and many, many blessings) with the equally controversial East Devon Business Forum, run by disgraced ex-councillor Graham Brown. Mr Harrison slipped quietly away during the ensuing fall-out.

So why do we need a new one?

“To ensure that the district has sufficient dedicated economy staffing resource in its team to promote local economic growth and productivity, increase the development of employment land and business premises (including EDDC owned and operated units), respond to local business support requests, improve the District’s investment profile and enable East Devon to maximise its return on the shared investment opportunities that Greater Exeter, Innovation Exeter, Growth Deal and the future Enterprise Zone offer.”

Click to access 180117-joint-overview-scrutiny-agenda-combined.pdf

“The King is dead, long live the king” as they say!

Perhaps CEO Williams, Deputy CEO Cohen and Leader Diviani will have learned some lessons … then again, perhaps not.

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19 Jan 2017

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Hugo Swire

Swire’s expenses

“The amount claimed in expenses by East Devon MP [Sir]* Hugo Swire during the last financial year has been revealed.

The data, published by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), shows the amount claimed between April 2015 and March 2016.

The figures show that [Sir] Hugo claimed £164,381.75 – the fifth highest amount claimed out of the nine MPs who were sitting in Devon for the whole of the period in question.

This was made up of £140,905.27 spent on staffing, £8,506.29 spent on accommodation, £8,013.09 spent on travel, and £6,957.10 spent on office costs.

[Sir] Hugo declined to comment on the figures.”

*[Owl] refuses to recognise crony titles.

All this money spent for US – well, when he’s not so very busy chairing the Conservative Middle East Council and swanning around the middle east with our arms salesmen (more expenses) or relaxing in his mid-Devon second home.

But good to know his staff (including his wife) are being well remunerated.

And, post-Brexit, East Devon can surely look forward to many special trade deals with Saudi Arabia (though they are probably unlikely to be Fairtrade deals!).

Perhaps he could help us buy some cheap sand for our coastal defences.

And maybe Sidmouth could twin with Jeddah (though the ladies of Sidmouth might have to stop driving and have male guardians).

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18 Jan 2017

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Devolution, Local Enterprise Partnership, Scrutiny, Somerset County Council, Transparency

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Somerset County Council (lead authority for LEP scrutiny) has its own problems!

“Somerset Liberal Democrats’ Press Release, 26 September 2016:

Tories sit by whilst County Council faces Bankruptcy.

“The County Council’s finances are in a dire situation.”

Today, 26th September, the Conservative Cabinet running Somerset County Council have been discussing the possibility of declaring the Authority bankrupt. In the Revenue Outturn report the County Finance Director has informed the Cabinet that he may have to invoke Section 114 – which will mean that they have to bring in immediate savings to rectify the dire financial situation. The Government would also be advised that the County Council may not be able to pay all its bills! …

…“They have made Somerset County Council into a commissioning council, which has outsourced over £1 billion of contracts, with no real political control over the costs or the outcomes. The Tories have tied us into contracts for services we longer need. Indeed, far too many contracts, which gives the Council no flexibility on finance at all.”

“The Conservative Cabinet have had no long term thinking nor have they acted strategically, but have introduced damaging cuts in a salami slicing way, that have badly damaged valuable and useful services, causing the death of the Council by a thousand cuts. …

… “The Section 151 Officer [see also post below] has raised the spectre of Section 114 and the need for the Cabinet to now make further drastic cuts. And they are doing nothing to increase income generation within the Council, nor are they developing our good services into winning services across the South West.”

http://adamboyden.mycouncillor.org.uk/2016/09/28/somerset-county-councils-22m-overspend/

And this is the council watching over our LEP!

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18 Jan 2017

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Democracy, Devolution, Local Enterprise Partnership, Spin, Transparency

This is what happens when you get an elected Mayor

“TORBAY mayor Gordon Oliver has pledged to continue funding a £40,000-a-year ‘American office’ despite the fact it has failed to attract any investment to the Bay.

As other vital budgets are being cut, councillors branded the £120,000 already spent as ‘a waste of money’.

Mayor Oliver said he wanted to re-establish the American office in the light of Donald Trump’s recent election victory.

The aim of the ‘our man in America’ initiative, launched by Torbay Council and Torbay Development Agency was to encourage ‘Silicon Valley’-style businesses in the US to consider Torbay both for trade connections and as an ideal location for a foothold in the European market. But at the recent Torbay Council policy group meeting — where scrutiny members made recommendations on the mayor’s proposed budget — there were calls not to repeat the £40,000-a-year funding.

And it was revealed the American office has so far failed to attract any funding.

The contract for the USA lead generation has now expired and members said it should not be renewed. Cllr Chris Lewis, scrutiny board chairman, said while they did not want the budget for the ‘vital’ work done by Torbay Development Agency on economic regeneration reduced, it should still look to make savings.

But at the Torbay Business Forum business breakfast, mayor Oliver said he hoped to re-establish an office in the United States, particularly in the light of Donald Trump’s election as president.

“I am hoping the TDA and the council will support it though some of my colleagues are not very supportive. “But I had a letter from the Prime Minister saying she supports my bid to have a link with the United States as it is so important for the future of the national economy and for here as well.”

A council spokesman said: “Torbay Council does not have and has never been in possession of an American office. A contract was procured by the TDA on behalf of Torbay Council with the England Development Agency to generate leads for new direct investment from North American businesses.

“However, this contract expired in July this year and hasn’t been extended or re-procured.”

http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/council-will-keep-funding-40-000-a-year-man-in-america-despite-zero-investment-in-four-years/story-30067568-detail/story.html