Category Archives: Inequality

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12 Jun 2018

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Austerity cuts, Economy, Inequality

“Pensioner households paying out nearly £9bn in income tax per year”

“Households with one or more people who are past state pension age are paying out nearly £9bn in income tax a year, analysis has found.

Of the 8.7m so called pensioner households in the UK, 1.4m of them contain a worker generating taxable income.

The research by pension and investment provider Aegon found that the number of people still working past state pension age had increased from 12 per cent in 1997/98 to 17 per cent today.

A growth in people working past pension age was accompanied by a rise in average earnings, as pensioner couples saw their weekly wages after inflation increase 30 per cent from £410 to £534 today.

Steven Cameron, pensions director at Aegon said:

“Gone are the days when reaching state pension age meant a total end to work. Many people are choosing to keep working and earning, perhaps by cutting back gradually on the amount of work they do, even once they’ve started taking their pension.

These people are contributing significant amounts to the nation’s finances through the tax they generate while also helping the broader economy through their work.”

Cameron also said that despite the current climate being favourable for pensioners, with many living on decent incomes, this “golden era for pensioners” could not last forever.

“Both final salary pensions and inflation busting increases to the state pension are unlikely to continue indefinitely so it’s important that society is changing with more people able to choose to work past traditional retirement ages,” he added.”

http://www.cityam.com/287427/pensioner-households-paying-out-nearly-gbp9bn-income-tax

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12 Jun 2018

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Accountability, Disability issues, Inequality

“Bank Closures Can Be Devastating For Disabled Customers – Where Is Their Support?”

Dr Lisa Cameron SNP MP for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow:

“… Whilst it is true that online banking has opened the doors for many, it has also shut the door to others. The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Disability, which I chair, has recently published research revealing the devastating impact bank closures have on disabled customers, for whom the alternate services are found to be both inaccessible and inadequate.

The banking industry must stop leaving disabled people behind as they move forward with their plans. This is a customer-led industry, and this industry is simply failing a sector of society. I’m inclined to point out that if this group of customers were perhaps, wealthy business owners, the service they offer would improve remarkably quicker.

90% of disabled people surveyed in the Disability APPG’s inquiry reported that their use of bank services had already suffered due to the branch closures. Some now have to travel for up to three hours to be able to do their banking at an accessible branch, and others reported being forced to be more reliant on family and friends, losing a sense of their independence. One even said: “My wife has to find time off work to take me [to the bank]”.

These problems are only going to increase as branch closures continue to roll out. While online banking may be presented as a solution for those with mobility disabilities, it is not a complete solution by itself. 93% of respondents to the APPG’s survey felt that online banking services are not a “sufficiently accessible and a satisfactory alternative”. For those with visual, cognitive, memory and learning disabilities, the complexity of online banking and the need to remember passwords and “memorable information” make it overwhelming and difficult to navigate. Many elderly disabled people also lack the necessary internet connection and technical skills. And, of course, doing something like paying in cash to your account still requires an actual branch anyway.

The overall image is that the move to online banking cannot be made in its entirety. Accordingly, some banks have also started to offer mobile bank replacement services – vans that travel around local areas providing a temporary replacement for areas without a permanent branch. According to the inquiry, however, only 12% of survey respondents who had experience with the mobile replacements found them to be an appropriate replacement.

Firstly, the vans used for this mobile service were frequently described as inaccessible, having large stairs that require individuals to climb into. Secondly, many respondees reported that the services offered by these mobile replacements are “extremely limited”, and that the vans did not stay long enough in each place.

All in all, the inquiry indicates that disabled people are significantly and disproportionately disadvantaged by the closure of physical bank branches. For some disabled people, anything other than face-to-face banking is an impracticable and stressful experience, and the only real solution is to retain access to physical bank branches or provide, well-located alternatives with the full range of services.

This failure to account for disabled people is not only a disservice to valuable customers, but may also breach the law. The Equality Act 2010 requires public bodies not to put disabled people at a “significant disadvantage” if they can avoid this by taking “reasonable” steps. The closures, for many respondents, cause extensive difficulties and have left them isolated and dependent, unable to access vital services that are important to everybody, and the alternatives provided are clearly insufficient.

Disability groups have done the job of the UK Government once again and proposed solutions to this problem; community banks. These accessible and well-located buildings can house a number of different banks under one roof, reducing the costs to the banks to keep branches open. Whilst banks in competition with one another might resist such plans, perhaps the needs of the customer for once could take precedent.”

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/bank-closures_uk_5b1ff1e9e4b09d7a3d7797b5

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8 Jun 2018

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Health and Social Care (local), Inequality

“Ageism widespread in UK, study finds”

“Ageism is rife in Britain, with millennials holding the most negative attitudes to ageing, according to a study.

A quarter of millennials believe it is normal for older people to be unhappy and depressed, while 40% believe there is no way to escape dementia as you get older, research from the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) shows.

Across all age groups, almost a third of people surveyed agreed with the statement “being lonely is just something that happens when people get old”, while two thirds had no friends with an age gap of 30 years or more.

“Ageist attitudes abound in society and have a major impact on the public’s health, and yet they are rarely treated with the seriousness they deserve,” the RSPH chief executive, Shirley Cramer, said.

“Too often ageist behaviour and language is trivialised, overlooked, or even served up as the punchline to a joke – something we would rightly not tolerate with other forms of prejudice.” …

The RSPH also called for the Independent Press Standards Organisation to include age in the editors’ code of practice to prevent discrimination.

“[T]he common media portrayal of older people blocking beds could be framed instead as ‘older people trapped in hospital because they can’t afford the care they need when they go home’, states the report, About That Age Old Question, which surveyed 2,000 adults in the UK.

“[W]e need realistic portrayals of ageing that overall reflect both the challenges and opportunities in later life.”

The report recommends housing nurseries and care homes under the same roof.

“Intergenerational contact and care offer huge benefits for the groups involved, but also to the facilities operators,” it says, adding that it was an opportunity for local authorities and private providers to save costs “as well as offering genuine wellbeing benefits to ‘young’ and ‘old’ customers alike”.”

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jun/08/ageism-widespread-in-uk-study-finds

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8 Jun 2018

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Accountability, Accountable Care Organisation, Austerity cuts, DCC, Health and Social Care (local), Inequality, Integrated Care Systems, Martin Shaw (Seaton), NHS (local), Privatisation

Shock revelation suggests the NHS’s ‘new model of care’ is more about switching intermediate care from community hospitals to ‘block bookings’ in private nursing homes – saving costs and freeing up assets

Martin Shaw, East Devon Alliance councillor for Seaton and Colyton, Devon County Council:

Press release:

“There was a staggering revelation yesterday at Health Scrutiny from Liz Davenport, Chief Executive of South Devon and Torbay NHS Foundation Trust, that they had made ‘block bookings of intermediate care beds in nursing homes’ when they introduced the ‘new model of care’. South Devon has closed community hospitals in Ashburton, Bovey Tracey, Paignton and Dartmouth and is currently consulting on the closure of Teignmouth – where I spoke at a rally last Saturday.

The ‘new model of care’ is supposed to mean more patients treated in their own homes, and there does seem to have been an increase in the numbers of patients sent straight home from the main hospitals.

But the idea that all patients can be transferred directly from acute hospitals to home is untrue. There is still a need for the stepping-down ‘intermediate care’ traditionally provided by community hospitals – the only difference is that now it’s being provided in private nursing homes instead.

It’s likely to be cheaper to use private homes, because staff don’t get NHS conditions, and crucially it frees up space in the hospitals so that the CCGs can declare buildings ‘surplus to requirements’ and claim the Government’s ‘double your money’ bonus for asset sales. It seems NEW Devon CCG has also made extensive use of nursing home beds, but we don’t yet know if there were ‘block bookings’.

However the private nursing home solution may not last – DCC’s chief social care officer, Tim Golby, reported that nursing homes are finding it difficult to keep the registered nurses they need to operate, and some are considering reversion to residential care homes.

This may be where the South Devon trust’s long term solution comes in – it had already been reported that it is looking to partner with a private company in a potential £100m dealwhich will include creating community hubs that contain inpatient beds.

The new model of care is also about privatisation.”

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6 Jun 2018

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Accountability, Affordable and Social Housing, Developers/ Development, Inequality, Persimmon

“Persimmon pay panel chief unable to tell MPs firm’s average pay”

“Persimmon’s executive pay row was reignited on Wednesday after the head of the housebuilder’s remuneration committee said she did not know how much the average worker was paid by the firm.

MPs on the business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) committee were stunned by the admission from Marion Sears, who was giving evidence after Persimmon angered shareholders earlier in the year by handing its chief executive Jeff Fairburn a £75m bonus.

“The average … I don’t have that figure to my finger tips,” Sears told MPs, when asked by the committee chair, Rachel Reeves, what average pay was.

“You’re chair of the remuneration committee at Persimmon aren’t you? And you don’t know what average pay is, as chair of the remuneration committee?” asked an incredulous Reeves.

After the meeting had concluded, the Labour MP tweeted that Sears’ lack of knowledge was a disgrace.

She added in a statement: “Executive pay at Persimmon is a tale of corporate greed and incompetent pay management, financed on the back of a tax-payer funded housing scheme [help to buy].

“Persimmon paid out huge bonuses to the men at the top of the firm and yet this morning we have heard that Persimmon are unable to tell us how much average workers at the company are paid.”

A spokesman for the firm later confirmed the average salary at the firm is £35,600.

During the bruising session, Sears also appeared confused about the sum Fairburn received last year, at first answering “£675,000”. Prompted by Reeves to give the total pay figure, she said it was “about £45m”. The total figure shown in the 2017 annual report and accounts was £47.1m.

When asked by Reeves whether or not Persimmon was a living wage employer, Sears said yes, but then went on to clarify that the FTSE 100 firm was not accredited by the living wage foundation. …”

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jun/06/persimmon-pay-panel-chief-unable-to-tell-mps-firms-average-pay

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6 Jun 2018

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Inequality, Rural communications, Rural communities

“Universal broadband speed plan ‘unambitious’, say Lords”

“The government has been told to “up its game” over plans to guarantee a minimum internet speed for all broadband users.

Peers said the current Universal Service Obligation (USO), which will entitle consumers to a minimum internet speed of 10Mbps, was “unambitious”.
But the government said the USO was a “safety net” and it had “much greater ambitions”.

“The USO has an important part to play in ensuring that no-one is left behind,” it added.

Labour spokesman Lord Stevenson of Balmacara opened the debate by sying the House had previously asked for the USO to specify a download speed of 30Mbps, but the general election halted work on the issue.
He said the current USO plans contradict other government initiatives.
“Surely the architecture of the USO has to be consistent with the government’s productivity plan, the industrial strategy and the national infrastructure plan.

“The argument is that without some ambition the USO itself may become a constraint on all these important challenges,” he said.

Liberal Democrat Lord Foster of Bath said the current plans would see a continuation of the “digital divide”.

A ‘smokescreen’

Conservative backbenchers also expressed frustration, with Earl Cathcart complaining about the “appalling” speeds he receives at his home in Norfolk.
He told of being unable to download a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs report.

He added: “So I have to ring up my agent in Norwich, get him to print it out and send it to me in the post.

“That’s hardly 21st Century communications, but at least the post is reliable.”

In the same debate, crossbencher the Earl of Lytton called for a ban on using the term “up to” in advertised internet speeds, labelling them “a smokescreen of the first order” that allowed providers “to conceal poor performance”.

Digital minister Lord Ashton of Hyde said: “The USO has an important part to play in ensuring that no-one is left behind,” and the present minimum specification was being kept under review.”

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44378234

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4 Jun 2018

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Austerity cuts, Economy, Education (local), Inequality

Young people stuck in low-paid, insecure jobs

And that’s why “great employment figures” are not to be trusted.

“… The number of 21- to 30-year-olds working in precarious, often low-paid work has exploded, according to the report. In that 20-year period, numbers of young people working in private social care has increased by 104%, while in hotels and restaurants the figure is 80%. The generational pay gap has increased in real terms from £3,140 in 1998 to £5,884 in 2017 for someone working a 40-hour week. …”

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jun/04/growing-gulf-between-pay-of-younger-and-older-people-says-tuc

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3 Jun 2018

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Accountability, Affordable and Social Housing, Developers/ Development, Housing (local), Inequality, Scrutiny, Sleaze, Spin

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Why the Grenfell Tower fire happened – by a survivor

““Every single link in this chain is going to be found to be rotten and cancerous,” Daffern [the survivor who had lived there for 16 years and predicted the tragedy in his blog] said.

“The government didn’t implement the inquest recommendations after the Lakanal House fire where six people died in 2009. Had they done that Grenfell wouldn’t have happened. RBKC failed to carry out scrutiny of the TMO.

“The way the TMO [Tenant Management Organisation] operated, the handling of the contracts, the construction, through to the building regs, the materials that were used, the consultation process.”

When asked what links these failures, he said: “Greed, lack of respect, lack of humanity. It is the opposite of everything it should be. This is housing as a commodity to be exploited. It is not only in RBKC [Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea], it is what housing has become.”

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jun/03/grenfell-survivor-blames-landlords-cancerous-decisions-for-disaster

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28 May 2018

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Accountability, Affordable and Social Housing, Housing (local), Inequality

“Government’s Help to Buy housing scheme increasingly benefiting higher earners”

“The government’s flagship, multibillion pound scheme for helping people to buy a home is increasingly giving taxpayer-funded loans to higher earners, The Independent can reveal.

The Help to Buy initiative was designed to help cash-strapped buyers, but analysis reveals the average salary of people receiving equity loans has shot up since it was introduced.

Official government data reveals the average household income of people benefiting from the £8.3bn scheme is continuing to rise, and now stands at just under £50,000.

London, the figure is even higher, with the average recipient of a Help to Buy loan having a household income of almost £72,000….

Almost one in five Help to Buy beneficiaries are already homeowners, and on average these recipients are wealthier than first-time buyers, with an income £8,500 higher.

The Independent has previously revealed how millions of pounds of public funds are being loaned to people with an income of more than £100,000.

The latest figures reveal that more than 6,200 households with an income of more than £100,000 have benefited from taxpayer-funded loans.

The Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government has been contacted for comment.”

Source:Independent

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27 May 2018

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Developers/ Development, Inequality, Tax avoidance

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Developers rip off students and remit untaxed profits to tax havens

“Tens of thousands of undergraduates are paying for accommodation at universities where developers are cashing in on the privatisation of student housing using offshore companies, a Guardian investigation has found.

More than 20,000 students are paying for rooms owned by companies based in places such as Jersey, Guernsey, the British Virgin Islands and Luxembourg but that figure is likely to be an underestimate given the surge in building in university towns in recent years.

The holding structure means that overseas investors are able to sell on the rooms without paying tax on their gains and it allows buildings to change hands without any stamp duty bill. Complex company arrangements also give companies the opportunity to minimise the tax they pay while charging students up to £14,000 a year in fees for high-end housing.

One company collected £2.2m in rental income in 2016 but contributed just £10,000 in income tax after it paid £2.1m in charges, mostly to a Luxembourg based holding company.

The structures are perfectly legal, but MPs and students criticised their use. …”

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/may/27/revealed-developers-cashing-in-privatisation-uk-student-housing

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26 May 2018

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Accountability, Democracy, Inequality, Post-Brexit Adjustments

“The government tried to bury news on the bloated House of Lords. Here’s the facts…”

“Theresa May backs bid to cut the size of House of Lords” began a headline in February. It seems that three months is a lifetime in politics…

Over the weekend, the PM attempted to bury news that she is appointing 13 new Lords – amid the clamour of the Royal Wedding. It was a cynical attempt to hide what both the PM and opposition know: new appointments to Parliament’s ‘private member’s club’ are unpopular and wrong.

New research we’ve published in the Daily Mirror today has shown what the new Lordships will mean in practice for the bloated second chamber.

The cost of cronyism

With more members comes more expenses claims. The total cost of the new Peers – based solely in terms of annual allowances and travel expenses – is expected to be at least £289,558 a year, according to ERS analysis. That’s based on the average claim of £22,273.69, for the circa 141 days the chamber sits each year.

But a response to a Parliamentary question last year suggests it could be much higher. The average cost of a peer – looking at the total cost of the House, minus works and building costs, is as much as £83,000 per year – meaning the new appointees may have just added £1,079,000 to the overall annual bill.

When you consider that Peers who failed to speak in the Lords for an entire year claimed nearly £1.3m in tax-free expenses last year, it shows that more members doesn’t even guarantee more scrutiny.

These costly cronies are rarely impartial experts: the new appointments mean the House is now packed with 187 ex-MPs, 26 ex-MEPs and 31 ex-members of devolved institutions – figures which rubbish claims the unelected House is full of independent experts.

Out of control

This latest batch of Lords appointments comes despite a report commissioned by the Lord Speaker, Lord Fowler, proposing a ‘two-out, one-in’ system to bring the total down to 600 by 2027, published at the end of last year.

During a debate on the size of the House in December, several peers expressed embarrassment or discomfort about the size of their chamber:

Lord Harries of Pentregarth said: “I believe that our present size … brings us into disrepute. I feel embarrassed when someone enquires about our size, even when I stress that the average daily attendance is only about 484.”

Lord Selkirk of Douglas added: “It cannot sit altogether comfortably that when legislatures around the world are listed by size, we come second only to the National People’s Congress of China.”

We’ve seen no action since that report, when Peers said they’d start work shrinking the second chamber. So these new appointments, therefore, represent both the inability of peers to regulate their own house – and the unwillingness of politicians to act on this issue.

Time for a clear-out

The House of Lords is already the second largest legislative chamber in the world, behind China’s National People’s Congress. There are more peers than could ever sit in the chamber at the same time and the bulk of the work of the House is done by a much smaller group of peers.

Make no mistake: these new additions are an insult to voters. Given that all parties claim to want to reduce the size of the second chamber, they should act on their word.

We’re calling for the House authorities to refuse to allocate time for the introduction ceremonies in line with that. It is now time for cross-party legislation to finally reform this archaic and super-sized second chamber. We’ve had years of stalling on this front – the main parties must now act.”

https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/the-government-tried-to-bury-news-on-the-bloated-house-of-lords-heres-the-facts/

Sign their petition here:
https://action.electoral-reform.org.uk/page/3342/petition/1

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25 May 2018

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Education (local), Inequality

OFSTED too poor to inspect failing schools adequately

“The schools watchdog has failed to hit targets while suffering “constants cuts” to its budget for more than a decade, the National Audit Office has said.

The full spend on inspecting the schools sector in 2017-18 has fallen in real terms by 52% compared to 1999-2000 – from £125m to £60m, the public spending watchdog highlighted in a report released yesterday.

Ofsted had failed to meet its statutory target to re-inspect schools graded ‘inadequate’ in 6% (78) of cases between 2012-13 and 2016-17.

It also did not meet its statutory target to re-inspect schools within five years in 43 cases between 2012-13 and 2016-17, mainly due to it categorising 32 schools as new when they were expanded or amalgamated, the NAO publication showed.

Amyas Morse, head of the NAO, said: “The fact that Ofsted has been subject to constant cuts over more than a decade, and regular shifts in focus, speaks volumes.

“The department [for education] needs to be mindful that cheaper inspection is not necessarily better inspection. ”

He added: “To demonstrate its commitment, the department needs a clear vision for school inspection and to resource it accordingly.”

Cuts have occurred while Ofsted has been handed new responsibilities, including evaluating children’s social care, early years and childcare, the public spending watchdog noted.

The NAO highlighted a high level of turnover- 19% in 2017/18 – of HM Inspectors, who cited workload pressures as a key reason for leaving.

A lack of inspectors has meant that Ofsted has “found it difficult to meet inspection targets,” according to the NAO report.

Under current legislation, schools graded as ‘outstanding’ are exempt from routine re-inspection, meaning that at August 2017 1,620 schools had not been inspected for six years or more.

Of these, 296 schools had not been inspected for ten years or more.

The NAO estimated the cost of inspection per school in 2017-18 was £7,200.

Amanda Spielman, Her Majesty’s chief inspector, said: “Like much of the public sector, we are operating in a difficult financial climate.

“We have had to make tough decisions about how we prioritise resources. I am confident that Ofsted gets the balance right.”

She added: “The NAO’s conclusion that we cannot prove the value for money we represent is explicitly not the same as demonstrating that we do not provide value.”

In 2017-18, Ofsted spent £44m on inspecting state-funded schools. ”

https://www.publicfinance.co.uk/news/2018/05/schools-watchdog-under-funding-pressure-struggles-hit-targets

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16 May 2018

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Affordable and Social Housing, Developers/ Development, Inequality, National Planning Policy Framework, Planning System

Civic Voice submission on new planning rules

PRESS RELEASE

“Civic Voice – the authoritative voice of the civic movement – has submitted its final response to the draft National Planning Policy Framework consultation. The response is available here:

Click to access Civic_Voice_NPPF_response_FINAL.pdf

Ian Harvey, Executive Director said: “If the report in Planning Magazine over the weekend is true and the Government’s Chief Planner did confirm that the Government has received over 27,000 responses to the draft consultation, we believe that this shows the breadth of feeling across the country about the importance of our planning system.”

Responding to the draft NPPF, Civic Voice is calling for:

1. Given our membership and reach nationwide, we are concerned by the London and South East-centric nature of the NPPF; a greater level of ambition for economic development to is vital to address the viability challenges in some parts of the country.

2. The draft NPPF says much about the importance of design, however, it is our fear that as drafted, high quality design could be seen as a ‘nice to have’ but ‘easy to ignore’ rather than as an essential dimension of good planning.

3. Civic Voice supports the emphasis on early and meaningful engagement with communities within the draft NPPF and we would welcome working with MCHLG to develop the accompanying Planning Practice Guidance on this.

Harvey added: “We agree with the Government that finding a solution to the housing crisis is essential and we really hope that this was not a tokenistic consultation. We must ask, if the Government intends to publish the final document before the end of July, can it realistically be expected to review the thousands of responses comprehensively within a matter of weeks? We look forward to seeing the final document when it is released as it is important that the Government gets this right, because the consequences of getting it wrong will be felt for many years to come.”

Civic Voice President, Griff Rhys Jones finished by saying: “Whilst the Government wants to see the ‘right homes in the right places’, if it doesn’t get this right, it is very likely to end up with the ‘wrong homes in the wrong places. We hope they listen to the voices of communities across England.”

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15 May 2018

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Accountability, Accountable Care Organisation, Austerity cuts, Inequality, Integrated Care Systems, NHS (local)

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“NHS has lost 1,000 GPs since Jeremy Hunt set workforce target”

Pulse is the newsletter for GPs:

“The GP workforce in England is continuing to decline, as official statistics reveal that 316 full-time equivalent GPs have left the profession in the last three months.

The figures released by NHS Digital today also reveal that the number of FTE GPs in the workforce has decreased more than 1,000 since September 2015 – when health secretary Jeremy Hunt announced he would increase the number of FTE GPs in England by 5,000.

NHS England is recruiting from overseas in a bid to boost GP numbers, but Pulse revealed last month that they had only managed to recruit 85 by April – despite originally touting the figure of 600.

The latest statistics show that in the last three months, the workforce has fallen from 33,890 FTE GPs in December 2017 to 33,574 as of 31 March 2018.

Meanwhile, the workforce is 1,018 GPs worse off than it was in September 2015.

This is despite the success of NHS England’s induction and refresher scheme, which has tempted 546 GPs back into the workforce since its launch in 2015.

The news comes as a Pulse investigation, published earlier this month, showed a steep rise in the number of GPs claiming their pension early. Since 2013, almost 3,000 GPs have claimed their pension before the age of 60.

The BMA has previously warned the Government that continued sub-inflation uplifts to GP pay is going to further exacerbate GP workforce shortages, having asked the independent review body on doctor’s pay to recommend a 2% uplift for 2018/19.

Dr Richard Vautrey, chair of the BMA’s GP Committee, said the latest workforce statistics are ‘extremely concerning’.

He said: ‘It’s more than two and a half years since the health secretary promised to recruit 5,000 more GPs before 2020, and these figures are a damning progress report. With less than two years until this target date, the trend is clearly going the other way and it’s a sign that a step change in action needs to be taken.

‘As GPs struggle with rising demand, increasing workloads and burdensome admin, and are expected to do so with insufficient resources, it’s no surprise that talented doctors are leaving the profession and although the number of GP training places have increased, this is not enough to address the dire recruitment and retention crisis.’

RCGP chair Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard said: ‘These figures are yet another hammer blow for family doctors, for whom going the extra mile is now the norm, and for our patients. The stark truth is that we are losing GPs at an alarming rate at a time when we need thousands more to deliver the care our patients need, and keep our profession, and the wider NHS, sustainable.

‘It is clear that substantial efforts to increase the GP workforce in England are falling short – and we need urgent action to address this. We have made great strides over the past couple of years encouraging more medical students and foundation doctors to choose general practice, but these efforts will be futile, if more GPs are leaving the profession than entering it.’

She said this comes as ‘GP workload is escalating, both in volume and complexity, and the hardworking GPs we do have are burning out as we try to cope without the resources and support we need’.

‘Longer and longer days in clinic is what our members are telling us they face when they come to work in the morning, exacerbated by a mountain of bureaucracy and paperwork. This isn’t safe for GPs, our teams, or our patients, and if it isn’t tackled GPs will continue to leave the profession early, and new GPs will be put off from joining,’ she added.

Labour’s shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said the data marked ‘yet another broken promise on NHS staffing from ministers’.

‘It’s an embarrassing failure for the secretary of state that far from delivering the extra GPs primary care desperately need, there are now 1,000 fewer family doctors than in 2015.

‘The truth is that the Tories have failed to bring forward a sustainable long term plan for the NHS. The consequence is the biggest financial squeeze in its 70-year history and a failure to recruit the frontline doctors and nurses we need to care for patients.’

A department of health and social care spokesperson said: ‘We are committed to meeting our objective of recruiting an extra 5,000 GPs by 2020. This is an ambitious target and shows our commitment to growing a strong and sustainable general practice for the future.

‘More than 3,000 GPs have entered training this year, 1,500 new medical school places are being made available by 2019 and NHS England plans to recruit an extra 2,000 overseas doctors in the next three years.’

http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/gp-topics/employment/nhs-has-lost-1000-gps-since-hunt-set-workforce-target/20036703.article

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15 May 2018

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Accountability, Accountable Care Organisation, Austerity cuts, Claire Wright, Health and Social Care (local), Honiton/ Gittisham, Inequality, NHS (local), Seaton/ Colyford / Colyton

Claire Wright responds on threat to close Honiton and Seaton hospital day services

“Seaton and Honiton Hospitals may be at risk, local GP and chair of the NEW Devon CCG’s Eastern Locality, Dr Simon Kerr reportedly revealed at a meeting with health campaigners last month.

Dr Kerr was apparently speaking of the long-awaited Estates Strategy, which will list all the assets held by the local NHS and what it plans to do with them.

NEW Devon CCG is in considerable financial difficulty. Devon is one of three most financially challenged health trusts in the country.

The background is that 12 community hospitals across Eastern Devon were acquired by the private company (wholly owned by the Secretary of State for Health) NHS Property Services, last year.

As yet, we haven’t heard about the fate of the remaining 10 community hospitals now in the ownership of NHS Property Services. This of course, includes our beloved Ottery Hospital, as well as Exmouth, Sidmouth, Whipton, Okehampton and Crediton.

Many of these hospitals, including Seaton, Honiton, Ottery St Mary and Okehampton and Whipton, have sadly now been stripped of their beds in cost cutting measures. But they still are home to a range of services and clinics that are very much needed locally.

Up until now, NHS England has been picking up the tab for the extortionate rents charged by NHS PS, of well over £3m a year, across the area.

A stupid stupid system, set up to fail. All over the country health trusts are being forced to sell off estate because it can’t afford the ridiculous rents charged by NHS PS for a building that used to be in NHS ownership.

Honiton Hospital has a treatment centre and is home to East Devon’s out of hours GP service.

The idea that the building could be lost and with it the treatment centre and out of hours service is totally ludicrous and appalling. The RD&E’s A&E department is full to capacity much of the time and staff are struggling to manage the volume of patients.

It means someone unwell living in the far east of the area – Axminster, for example, would have to travel around an hour to Exeter, to be seen by a GP if they were unwell out of working hours. It is quite unacceptable.

The amazing maternity unit which has been ‘temporarily’ closed for the best part of a year, was also based at Honiton Hospital.

There are so many cuts to the health service now it is difficult to keep up with them, let alone fight them.

Cllr Shaw has written to the CCG chair, Dr Tim Burke demanding assurances that the buildings remain open.

I have asked for an urgent item on the next Health and Adult Scrutiny Committee agenda, which is held on Thursday 7 June.

I will keep you posted.

Here’s Cllr Shaw’s blog – https://seatonmatters.org/2018/05/14/ccg-chair-says-seaton-and-honiton-hospitals-at-risk-of-closure-in-local-estates-strategy/

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

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15 May 2018

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Accountability, Accountable Care Organisation, Austerity cuts, Honiton/ Gittisham, Inequality, Integrated Care Systems, NHS (local)

“Suspension of birth services at Honiton Hospital extended”

“The suspension of birth services at Honiton maternity unit has been extended.

The Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust (RDE) has today delayed its reintroduction until mid-September 2018.

The Trust took the decision last year to temporarily suspend births and subsequent in-patient stays at Honiton Hospital.

It said the step was taken to maintain patient safety due to a combination of factors affecting the stability of the services at this site and the other units it operates in Tiverton and Exeter.

Zita Martinez, head of midwifery at the RDE, said: “We are sorry for this continued suspension in services. Although we have successfully recruited to a number of our midwifery vacancies, we are still managing a high level of staff absence, including maternity leave.

At the same time, the positively received implementation of national policy in the Better Births and Saving Babies’ Lives guidance has meant that the complexity and acuity of women and babies we are caring for has significantly increased.

“This means that our main maternity unit in Exeter is experiencing greater levels of demand on the specialist care that we provide.

“In the context of increasing complexity, re-opening Honiton maternity unit for births and in-patient stays would result in the Trust stretching our workforce too far and potentially compromising safety in our other delivery units.”

The Trust has agreed with NEW Devon Clinical Commissioning Group to extend the suspension of births and subsequent in-patient stays at both Honiton and Okehampton until mid-September 2018 in order to ensure the safety of services across a wider geographical footprint and therefore, for more women and babies.

All antenatal and post-natal appointments, support clinics and home births will continue as normal in both communities.”

http://www.midweekherald.co.uk/news/suspension-of-birth-services-at-honiton-hospital-extended-1-5517432

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14 May 2018

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

“Patients trapped by care closures: Elderly face being STRANDED in hospital wards” [or just stranded if there are no hospital wards]

“In the past financial year, 148 care home businesses entered insolvency – an 83 per cent rise on the 81 failing in 2016-17.

The figures sparked a call for urgent action from the Government to tackle a growing crisis in social care which could impact badly on the NHS.

And experts warn of a “care home crash” as closures cause a shortage. Although the Government announced a £2billion package for social care over three years last year, local authorities are spending £6billion less than in 2010. …

Mike Padgham, chairman of the Independent Care Group which advises care providers in north Yorkshire, said: “We have been warning for years that the £6billion cut from social care would eventually mean more and more care homes closing.

“For every home closure there are older and vulnerable people either forced to find somewhere else to live or unable to have a place.

“About 1.2 million people are now going without the care they need and unless action is taken this will very soon be us. We now face a further £2.3billion funding shortfall and that is going to mean more and more people not getting care. …

Local authorities in England and Wales had planned to make savings of £824million in their social care budgets in 2017-18 according to the Associate Directors of Adult Social Services, despite demand increasing as the population ages.

A Competition and Markets Authority report highlighted a £1billion shortfall in public sector funding of care homes in 2017 and the Local Government Association says that the sector faces a £2.3billion gap by 2020.

Accountancy firm Moore Stephens, which released the insolvency figures, found the cost of providing a high standard of care has increased over the years. The National Living Wage rose again last month to £7.83.

It stood at £6.70 just three years ago. The annual rise places increased strain on care home margins. The average home now spends 52 per cent of its turnover on wages. …

A report by the Public Accounts Committee in September said that an “intolerable” number of older patients were waiting too long to be discharged from hospital, costing the NHS £170million a year.

The MPs said that every day, 3,500 older people remain in hospital in England after being declared fi t to leave because arrangements had not been made for them to move. In 2011, operator Southern Cross shut down and as many as 31,000 elderly and vulnerable residents had to find somewhere else to live. …”

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/959234/care-home-crisis-uk-government-elderly-care-bankruptcy

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13 May 2018

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Council tax, Inequality

The super-rich turn out to be mean – imagine that!

“Just 350 of the 15,600 wealthiest households in Westminster, one of the country’s richest boroughs, have answered the local authority’s call to voluntarily pay extra council tax to help tackle the homelessness crisis in the heart of London.

In February, the Westminster council leader, Nickie Aiken, wrote to all residents in the most expensive band H properties to ask them to consider paying an extra £833-a-year “community contribution” to help fund youth clubs, homelessness services and visits to lonely people.

But only 2% of the households have stepped forward to help their poorer neighbours, the Guardian can reveal. Those asked to consider making an extra contribution include the residents of the Candy brothers’ luxurious One Hyde Park apartment complex in Knightsbridge and those living in hundreds of multimillion-pound mansions in Mayfair, Belgravia and Maida Vale.

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Residents in Westminster pay the lowest council tax in the country, with band H payments of £832 a year plus another £588 to the Greater London Authority. In Poole, Dorset, the band H charge is £3,358.

While very few of Westminster’s wealthiest residents have answered the council’s plea for help in maintaining essential services, they are paying tens of thousands of pounds a year in service charges to maintain their luxury buildings. The service charge on a £6m one-bedroom apartment in One Hyde Park comes in at more than £22,000 a year. The most expensive flat in the development was sold to the Ukrainian billionaire Rinat Akhmetov for £135m in 2011.

Aiken said she introduced the voluntary contribution scheme following “a growing number of requests from some residents who live in the highest valued homes that they wanted to voluntarily contribute more than their existing council tax”.

The council said that in a pilot consultation more than 400 people responded positively to the survey saying they would support the scheme. But it appears that many may have failed to follow through on their initial enthusiasm. “The outcome of our consultation reflects the kind and generous spirit of Westminster residents,” Aiken said in February. “It also confirmed what I had heard from people I had met on the doorstep that those in the more expensive homes are willing to contribute more to community projects. The scheme is most popular among residents of the most expensive homes.”

However, four months down the line, Aiken said just 350 households had contributed a total of £342,000. The biggest single donation was £2,500. “This scheme had its cynics, but the number of contributions we have had are proof that an innovative idea like this one can make a difference,” she said. …”

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/may/13/westminster-wealthiest-households-failing-pay-extra-tax-community-contribution

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12 May 2018

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Accountability, Democracy, East Devon Alliance, Inequality, Voting

Still time to register for the free East Devon Alliance conference in Honiton next week

“All across East Devon people are worried about their HEALTH, their HOMES and their JOBS. Never has it been more important to involve yourself with local democracy in your district..

YOU CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE

The EAST DEVON ALLIANCE is trying to help with all of this, an umbrella group of Independent people, who since 2015 have won 7 district council seats and 1 county seat. The EDA is free from the negative influence of national parties who – at East Devon District Council – have acquired the arrogant habits of a Conservative one-party state.

This conference is for YOU. Speakers will include County Councillors CLAIRE WRIGHT and MARTIN SHAW, and PAM BARRETT, Chair of the Independent Buckfastleigh Town Council and regional expert on transforming democracy from the bottom up.

In two sessions you will be able to hear our experience and then CONTRIBUTE your own personal views:

a) how did the democratic deficit in East Devon happen? Or – the problem.
b) what can we do about it through democracy in our parishes, towns and district. Or – the solution.

Please come. We are all volunteers but if we band together now to fight for hospitals, homes and jobs we have a chance to change how our local area is run.

Parking: nearest is Lace Walk. 2 minute walk. If full, New Street, 5 mins”

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/east-devons-time-for-a-change-peoples-conference-tickets-45482525458?utm-medium=discovery&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&aff=esfb&utm-source=fb&utm-term=listing

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12 May 2018

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Accountability, Accountable Care Organisation, Austerity cuts, Health and Social Care (local), Inequality, Integrated Care Systems, NHS (local)

The cost of austerity and underfunding – 20,000 extra deaths last winter

We cost the NHS and Social Services nothing when we are dead.

“Researchers have called for an urgent investigation to find an explanation for more than 20,000 ‘additional deaths’ so far this year, amid severe pressure on the NHS.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that in the first sixteen weeks of the year, there were 20,215 more deaths in England and Wales compared to the previous five years.

In March, academics raised concerns that Britain was facing a rise in mortality and argued that “health chiefs are failing to investigate a clear pattern of worsening health outcomes”, in an editorial for the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

The piece centred on the finding that there were 10,000 ‘additional deaths’ in the first seven weeks of the year and concluded “that neither ‘flu, nor cold weather appeared to be the main cause.”

Now the authors have now updated their findings to account for fresh statistics covering the first sixteen weeks of the year.

Their response, published on the BMJ website this week, argues that the latest statistics “sadly provide little reassurance of this being a ‘blip’ as some have suggested.”

There were 198,943 deaths in the first sixteen weeks of 2018, compared to an average of 178,778 deaths in the same period over the previous five years. The rise represents an 11.3 per cent increase on the five year average.

The weekly average for the same period was 12,434 deaths, ahead of the five year average of 11,174. The 20,215 figure is equivalent to an ‘additional death’ every eight minutes throughout the first sixteen weeks of the year. …”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/05/11/calls-urgent-investigation-explain-20000-additional-deaths/