Ministers have been accused of writing a “blank cheque” for Boris Johnson’s legal bills, as it emerged taxpayer-funded support was being extended to help defend him against claims he misled parliament over Partygate.

Aubrey Allegretti www.theguardian.com 

With just days left until a contract expires with the law firm Peters and Peters, which Johnson and the government have relied on to disparage an investigation by the privileges committee, the Guardian has learned the Cabinet Office intends to renew it.

The extension could be for up to six months given the investigation’s slow progress and was likely to be signed off without a new tender process, sources said.

Peters and Peters was given the four-month contract, worth nearly £130,000, in August. David Pannick, an advocate and king’s counsel, was instructed on the firm’s behalf.

The life peer has since sought to discredit the investigation by claiming MPs on the cross-party committee had adopted a “fundamentally flawed approach” and that their interpretation of whether any misleading was deliberate would have a “chilling effect” on future statements by ministers.

Johnson himself has protested his innocence, and is said to believe it is unclear what the committee is investigating.

The Peters and Peters contract expires on 16 December, but sources confirmed it would be extended to help Johnson and the government while the privileges committee inquiry continued.

They said procurement rules meant that because the same service was being requested, the government would not need to re-tender the contract.

The Cabinet Office declined to say whether more money would be spent on the extended contract, or if the legal advice would continue to be provided within the existing budget.

Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, said Rishi Sunak had “serious questions to answer” about whether more taxpayer cash would be spent defending Johnson during a cost of living crisis.

“Families up and down the country who are struggling to make ends meet will rightly be outraged at this sickening waste of their money,” she told the Guardian.

Rayner said despite Sunak’s pledge to restore integrity and accountability to government, he was “already failing to stop the rot in Downing Street” and pointed out that the government had still not appointed an ethics adviser.

Oral evidence sessions, which were meant to begin by the end of November, were now not likely to begin until mid-January.

Johnson himself would be called to give evidence, and was said to have requested he be accompanied at the hearing by a legal team – something a source close to him denied.

Because the privileges committee is in control of the timetable for witness sessions, requests for follow-up evidence and the writing of its final report, the contract extension could be for up to six months.

While delays to the inquiry were caused by the death of the queen and wrangling over the addition of a new member to the committee, the government was also accused of delaying things by refusing to hand over, or heavily redacting, key documents.

Chris Bryant, a Labour MP and chair of the standards committee, suggested Johnson could afford to pay his own legal bills and highlighted the money the former prime minister has made since leaving office, including a speech for which he charged £276,130.

“The government seems to have issued a blank cheque to Boris Johnson at a time when public finances are meant to be tight,” Bryant said. “Frankly, Boris Johnson can afford his own legal representation.”

Ministers have previously said public money is being used to defend Johnson, even though he is no longer a member of the government, because the inquiry “has potential implications for all future statements by ministers of the crown in current and future administrations”.

Adam Afriyie says he will not quit as Conservative MP after bankruptcy order

“Not content with bankrupting the country, Tory MPs are now being declared bankrupt themselves.” (Labour spokesperson)

Jessica Elgot  www.theguardian.com 

The Conservative MP Adam Afriyie has said he will not quit as an MP after being made bankrupt by a court ruling, which found he owed about £1.7m.

Afriyie was pursued by creditors including HMRC for £1m in unpaid tax and Barclays Bank. He asked for more time to sell the family home in order to pay his debts. But the judge ruled Afriyie had had long enough to make arrangements and ordered bankruptcy.

Under parliamentary rules, sitting MPs who are declared bankrupt do not have to step aside unless a more severe bankruptcy restrictions order is made against them, which can be imposed if the bankrupt refuses to cooperate with the process or is suspected of hiding assets.

In a statement, the Windsor MP said he would stand down at the next election but not trigger a byelection. “This has been ongoing for many years following business failures some time ago. I am ultimately responsible for some of the bank borrowing through personal guarantee. I’ve been trying to sell our home and downsize for some time, but it’s a tough market,” he said.

“It is a stressful time and it’ll be tough for a while, but I’m far from the only person in a difficult position, and I will continue to do my best to support my constituents until the next general election when I’ll be standing down.”

The order was made against Afriyie at an online hearing in the insolvency and companies court on Tuesday by Judge Nicholas Briggs.

Labour sources said they were likely to make the case that it is untenable for a sitting MP to owe so much to HMRC.

A party spokesperson said: “Not content with bankrupting the country, Tory MPs are now being declared bankrupt themselves.”

The Liberal Democrat deputy leader, Daisy Cooper, said: “Adam Afriyie should do the decent thing and stand down. The drama about his tax affairs has been going on for too long and local people deserve a hardworking MP focussed on the job. In the middle of a health and cost of living crisis, this is no time for an absent MP.”

The judge was told Afriyie owed about £1m to HMRC and about £700,000 to Barclays and concluded he would not allow more time for Afriyie to sell the property.

“It seems to me there is no evidence of there being any reasonable prospects of paying debts in full,” he said.

Barrister Fiona Whiteside, who represented Barclays, said the bank had “lost patience”, and added: “We have seen no credible evidence that the property will be sold any time soon.”

Afriyie, who has said he will stand down at the next election, was previously a successful entrepreneur after setting up the IT firm Connect Support Services and then co-founding the political information provider DeHavilland. Shortly after he was first elected in 2005, that business, of which he owned 72%, was sold to the publishing giant Emap with his share worth £13m.

He paid £4m for a house in his Windsor constituency in 2008, according to Land Registry records. Connect Support Services went into insolvency in 2017 and it was reported at the time that it had racked up £1.7m of debts with HMRC, which is the lead creditor in Afriyie’s forthcoming bankruptcy case.

Afriyie announced his intention to stand down at the next election over the summer, during the Conservative leadership election. He said: “With Brexit concluded and the fourth leadership election under way, I feel that now it the right time for a new MP to represent our constituency and continue to protect and promote our beautiful area in the years ahead.

“There is no greater honour than to serve your country and your constituents, and I will diligently continue to perform my duties until the next election.”

The poll shows that the Conservative Party would be likely wiped out in much of the north of England, with the model suggesting that the party would not hold a single seat north of Lincolnshire, while also losing all of the seats in London, and conceding many seats in the South West to Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

Tories reduced to 69 seats, Jupp loses his! – Owl

[For explanation of MRP – see footnote.]

savanta.com

This latest MRP model reflects the position now, of two parties experiencing widely differing electoral fortunes.

• MRP Voting Intention: Labour 48% (+3); Conservative 28% (-5); Lib Dem 11% (+1); Reform UK 4% (+1); Green 3% (-1); change from Savanta MRP poll in September
• MRP seat forecast: Labour 482 (+280); Con 69 (-296); SNP 55 (+7); LD 21 (+10); Plaid Cymru 4 (=); Green 1 (=); Labour majority of 314; change from GE 2019 results
• Model suggests the Conservatives would lose all seats in the north of England, including Rishi Sunak’s Richmond constituency 

Labour would return to the House of Commons with a 314 seat majority if an election were tomorrow, according to the latest MRP nowcast from Savanta.

The poll, Savanta’s first MRP since Labour conference and conducted in conjunction with Electoral Calculus, gives Labour a 20pt voting intention lead which, when converted to seats would more than double the number of MPs they currently have in Westminster.

The poll shows that the Conservative Party would be likely wiped out in much of the north of England, with the model suggesting that the party would not hold a single seat north of Lincolnshire, while also losing all of the seats in London, and conceding many seats in the South West to Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

The SNP gain an extra seven seats according to the model, leaving them with all bar four of Scotland’s 59 Westminster constituencies, while the Liberal Democrats would increase their parliamentary representation to their highest level since 2010, including gaining Dominic Raab’s Esher and Walton seat.

Commenting on the findings, Chris Hopkins, Political Research Director at Savanta, says,

“Last time we published an MRP model, I spoke of both the potential and precarious nature of the 56-seat majority and 12pt lead the poll gave the Labour Party during their conference. Even the most optimistic Labour supporter would not have foreseen what was to come, such was the subsequent Conservative collapse, and therefore this latest MRP model reflects the position now, of two parties experiencing widely differing electoral fortunes.”

“But we must still express caution. Many seats going to Labour in this model, including a few that could be deemed ‘Red Wall’, still indicate a 40% or higher chance of remaining Conservative, and while that would have little impact on the overall election result, it does show that if Rishi Sunak can keep narrowing that Labour lead, point-by-point, the actual results come 2024 could look very different to this nowcast model.”

Commenting on the findings, Martin Baxter, Founder and CEO of Electoral Calculus, says,

“This is an interesting poll, because it is the first MRP we have done since the Conservatives slid so far behind Labour, and therefore we have very little to compare it with. MRP results are different to applying uniform national swing (UNS) to the 2019 General Election baseline. The UNS prediction would give the Conservatives about 24 more seats than this model.”

“Previous elections suggests that MRP is usually more accurate than UNS predictions, but we are in uncharted electoral waters and uncertainty is higher than usual.”

Savanta interviewed 6,237 GB adults aged 18+ online from 2-5 December 2022. Data were compiled in a multi-regression and poststratification (MRP) model by Electoral Calculus. Savanta is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.

MRP stands for “multi-level regression and post-stratification”, it is a statistical technique. Usually, pollsters conduct research on a sample of people and try to ensure that their sample is representative of the whole population.

In MRP, you carry out a large nationwide poll, but it isn’t so important that the sample is representative of the whole population. You record lots of other data about the people who respond and use that to devise a mathematical model of how various groups of people are likely to vote.

Then you can make granular predictions by assuming that people in a certain demographic bracket in one area – university-educated single men in their 30s, say – have similar preferences to people in the same bracket in another area. The validity or otherwise of these assumptions is key. (Abridged from New Scientist www.newscientist.com) 

“There’s a huge need for more affordable housing across the district. The current waiting list has over 4700 individuals and families on it. To put that into context, EDDC only has around 4300 properties and this is decreasing year on year due to the Right to Buy (RTB). We have had 70 requests for RTB so far this year.”

[Councils are prohibited from keeping all of the money from Right to Buy (RTB) sales. The rules over retaining and spending receipts are complex and frequently revised.

In addition RTB homes have to be sold at a discount.This discount was increased substantially in 2012. Since this increase the Local Government Association (LGA) has calculated that in total £6bn has been given out in discounts.

The net effect is that local authorities have only been able to replace around a third of homes sold since 2012, which in turn means that they are struggling to provide housing for homeless and vulnerable families. – Owl. Source: www.localgov.co.uk ]

Unusually, the Exmouth Journal does not identify the author of the “opinion” article below.

Owl has discovered that it is Cllr. Dan Ledger: portfolio holder “Sustainable Homes and Communities”, chair of Housing Task and Finish Forum and of the Poverty Working Panel.

The ‘desperate’ need for more affordable homes in East Devon

www.exmouthjournal.co.uk 

So what are the plans for increasing affordable home numbers across the district? 

The vast majority of the district’s affordable homes come through planning obligations on developers. For East Devon, the local plan stipulates that 25% of all major application homes should be affordable. Most of these homes end up in the ownership of housing associations where the tenures are split depending on localised housing needs. This delivers between 150-350 new affordable homes each year. It’s great for areas seeing large growth but where little housing is planned there aren’t enough affordable homes coming through. 

One of my first major acts at EDDC, when I joined in 2019, was putting forward a motion to rescope our dormant housing company. A task and finish forum (a small working group of councillors) was set up, working alongside officers, on how we could ensure EDDC started developing social homes again. We met with other local authorities, found out what had worked, and what hadn’t, and looked at an array of delivery models. From the TAFF, we have created a new council service called the Housing Task Force. 

The aim is to deliver truly affordable, secure and sustainable homes for the residents of East Devon who need them most. As part of this year’s budget, £500k was allocated to staff and initially fund the set up of a housing task force for two years. The sites will be a mixture of open market acquisitions and the redevelopment of under-utilised areas of council-owned assets. I am glad to announce we have several sites that are currently going through viability testing to build a pipeline of new social homes.

The first site of 25 units will be delivered late next year in Honiton, subject to planning. These new homes will be fully developed by outside contractor ZEDPods. ZEDpods produce modular buildings that are zero carbon, come with air source heating and solar panels as standard and have 70-year warranties on a lot of the home’s components. The homes will not only be highly energy efficient and reduce fuel poverty for our residents, but they will also reduce overall maintenance costs over time. This will allow further money to be put into improving our housing stock or increasing the number of homes we have under Council ownership. 

If you wish to see what the new homes could look like ZEDPods will be installing a temporary unit in the car park at Blackdown House, our Honiton Council Offices, early in the new year. 

The added stock will allow for strategic decisions to be made with our existing housing stock. We can look to dispose of or redevelop some of our homes that would struggle with retrofitting measures to make them more energy efficient. The government has set a requirement of all homes being D or higher by 2025 or they will be unable to be relet, this is why I’m so glad the Task Force has come around when it has. 

It won’t happen overnight but we will introduce a comprehensive renewed asset maintenance plan which will lead to better homes for our residents. We will increase affordable housing numbers, improve our existing stock, reduce the Council’s ongoing maintenance costs, reduce residents’ utility costs and start to tackle the issue of residents who have grown up in the area not being able to continue to live here due to unaffordable housing costs. 

The plan is there, we just need to deliver it now. I’m looking forward to the journey ahead. “

East Devon District Council response to Housing Ombudsman report

An East Devon District Council (EDDC) spokesperson said:

“The total number of Housing Ombudsman complaints for the period 2021/22 was five and in four of those cases we let our tenants down – details of which can be openly found on EDDC’s website – having been reported to our Cabinet. We accept the Ombudsman’s findings and continue to take a learning approach to all outcomes. We recognise where the areas of improvement are for us, two key areas being improved communication with residents as well as improved record keeping. Both issues have been impacted by high levels of vacancies we have experienced in the housing team. We are reassured to note that the vast majority of housing complaints received (97%) during 2021/22 were resolved locally, indicating that our internal complaint procedure is working effectively in providing resolution and remedy for our residents at the earliest possible stage. That said, any finding of maladministration by the ombudsman is something that we need to learn from”.

eastdevon.gov.uk

Kwasi Kwarteng was warned that his disastrous mini-budget could trigger a backlash on the financial markets, Treasury officials have told MPs.

Sam Blewett www.independent.co.uk

Permanent secretary James Bowler insisted on Monday that the then-chancellor was told about the potential impact of his £45 billion package of unfunded tax cuts.

But Mr Kwarteng went ahead with the spending spree in September, triggering the pound’s plunge, the soaring cost of government borrowing and chaos in the mortgage market.

Mr Bowler took over as the top civil servant in the Treasury in October after predecessor Sir Tom Scholar was abruptly sacked by Mr Kwarteng.

Cat Little and Beth Russell stepped up to lead the department during the gap and now are joint second permanent secretaries.

On Monday, Ms Russell told the Commons Treasury Committee: “Cat and I are confident that we gave all the advice to ministers on the economic and fiscal backdrop, the impacts and the market position and particularly around the financing requirement, which was a big issue because of the cost of the measures.”

Asked if there was more they could have done, she said: “Ultimately the decisions here are for the ministers.

“It’s our job to make sure we give the best advice possible on the impacts and the consequences, and I think we both feel we did that on the situation in the markets.”

Mr Bowler backed his colleagues, saying he is “absolutely confident Treasury officials set out the right advice to the chancellor”.

He conceded that they could not persuade Mr Kwarteng to take another route, saying “officials advise but ministers decide”.

Labour’s Dame Angela Eagle told him the mini-budget was a “self-inflicted catastrophe”.

“Your words,” Mr Bowler responded.

He said the financial chaos, as well as the coronavirus pandemic and the response to the war in Ukraine, has dented morale in the Treasury.

“It’s been a tough year for Treasury civil servants,” he said.

“There’s been a lot of crisis upon crisis, so Covid, Ukraine energy, so the mini-budget came on top of that.

“Political change, so four chancellors since the summer, and in some quarters negative commentary on Treasury civil servants, none of that has been helpful.

“In terms of morale I think that has had an impact but staff understand they’re working on really, really important areas.”

Mr Bowler started as permanent secretary on October 10 after Sir Tom was sacked on September 8, with his ousting being partly blamed for the financial crisis.

“I think Tom’s departure wasn’t normal,” Mr Bowler said.

A public consultation event is taking place to gather residents’ views on proposals for hundreds of new homes in Honiton. 

Philippa Davies www.midweekherald.co.uk 

The event this Friday, December 16 will focus on the three suggested development sites surrounding the Heathfield, Gittisham Vale and Hayne Lane areas, which are included in East Devon District Council (EDDC)’s emerging Local Plan. 

 It has been jointly organised by the Heathfield Community Action Group and local councillor Jake Bonetta. 

A spokesperson for the event said: “EDDC have a set number of houses that they are required by the Government to build, and failure to meet the target has consequences that could affect us all.  

“The number of houses required is determined by a ‘standard calculation’.  

“The land on which these houses are proposed to be built has been identified by landowners and developers. Due to constraints of building around Honiton, a substantial number of these proposed dwellings lie within the East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). 

“Recent polling of local residents by a campaign group has shown massive opposition to the proposed plans, defining areas for hundreds of new homes inside and bordering the East Devon AONB area. These proposed developments, expanding the built-up area boundary of Honiton, could see Honiton expand to within 400m of the historic village of Gittisham. 

“All residents in the area will have the opportunity to speak to other residents and submit their views on the emerging Local Plan for onward submission at the in-person event, taking place at The Heathfield Inn on Friday 16th December from 3pm until 7pm. Running as a community-based event and not council-endorsed, this event will provide extra opportunity over and above the consultation run by EDDC for residents to input into the process.” 

Responses to the East Devon District Council Local Plan consultation should be submitted to the council by Sunday January 15. The consultation can be viewed online here.  

All the responses received through the community-run consultation process on the three Honiton sites will be submitted to EDDC’s consultation by members of the group. 

From a Fairy Godmother!

A CHRISTMAS MESSSAGE FROM CLYST ST MARY

TO EAST DEVON DISTRICT COUNCIL PLANNERS!

It is usual for most of us to send good wishes at this time of year to celebrate the year gone by and to look forward to a happy new year in the future.

However, the residents of Clyst St Mary feel they have not got much to celebrate since East Devon Planners approved extensive Winslade Park development in their rural community; firstly by approving the Hybrid Application (20/1001/MOUT in July 2021) then subsequently in 2022 – the double whammy of both losing a protected green field space safeguarded (or so they thought!) in their Local and Neighbourhood Plans with the approval of 38 houses (21/2235/MRES in June 2022), then, close on the heels of that loss, came the approval on 1st December 2022 of 40 four-storey flats overlooking and encroaching on Clyst Valley Road homes and a protected woodland (21/2217/MRES)!

Overall that’s not much to celebrate in this small corner of East Devon!

We appreciate that it is in the psyche of Developers to get whatever they can for the best profit margins, by ignoring and crushing the social and environmental pillars of sustainability, in favour of ‘dangling the carrot’ of inducements of economic advantage – so we all looked to both East Devon’s planning professional and political personalities to make good judgements for our communities – but it would now appear that they rate Clyst St Mary as expendable and only worthy of registration on their ‘Naughty List’ this Christmas!

To all those who supported the protection of this small community from inappropriate development (you know who you are) – we hope you have a Wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year 2023 – but to those who made such bad planning judgements for this village, during the past two years, (you equally know who you are) – we suggest (for the protection of other communities), rather than you either re-locate professionally to another local authority or seek re-election in a district other than East Devon, that you re-train in an entirely different business, so that others, in future, do not feel the ‘bleak mid-winter chill’ that we have experienced from your substandard recommendations and decision-making.

It appears ‘the Grinch’ is not fictional at all – but is alive, administering and personified by far too many established characters at EDDC, who have ruined Christmas this year, through their misconceived recommendations and judgements under their leaky-umbrella -grasp of the planning processes and their misunderstanding of quality planning procedures!

Unfortunately, (unlike Dr.Seuss’ famous celebrity) – it will not all turn out to have ‘a Happy-Ever-After’ storyline – and sadly there is no Fairy Godmother who can wave her magic wand and improve a very worryingly, bad situation! This Christmas, it’s more a NO! NO! NO! State of Affairs for Clyst St Mary – rather than the more traditional HO! HO! HO! one!

A “decade of neglect” by successive Conservative administrations has weakened the NHS to the point that it will not be able to tackle the 7 million-strong backlog of care, a government-commissioned report has concluded.

Denis Campbell www.theguardian.com 

The paper by the King’s Fund health thinktank says years of denying funding to the health service and failing to address its growing workforce crisis have left it with too few staff, too little equipment and too many outdated buildings to perform the amount of surgery needed.

The UK’s poor public finances, health service staff suffering from exhaustion, and a wave of NHS strikes this winter will also lead to ministers being unable to deliver key pledges on eradicating routinely long waits, the thinktank says.

The findings are especially embarrassing for the Conservatives because the report was ordered by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) late last year. They are critical of the impact on the NHS of the austerity programme initiated by David Cameron in 2010 and continued by his successor, Theresa May.

The report draws an unfavourable contrast with the tactics used by Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s Labour governments in the 2000s to address the horrendously long waits for care they inherited in 1997.

“Though Covid certainly exacerbated the crisis in the NHS and social care, we are ultimately paying the price for a decade of neglect,” said the King’s Fund chief executive, Richard Murray.

“The sporadic injections of cash during the austerity years after 2010 were at best meant to cover [the service’s] day-to-day running costs. This dearth of long-term investment has led to a health and care system hamstrung by a lack of staff and equipment and crumbling buildings. These critical challenges have been obvious for years.

“The NHS in 2022 faces many of the same challenges it faced in 2000: unacceptably long waiting times and a service hobbled by staff shortages. To that is now added a cost of living crisis, industrial action by staff and a backdrop of a weak economy and weak public finances.”

The report is based on the first in-depth academic research undertaken in the UK into what measures ministers and NHS bosses can deploy to tackle situations such as those prevailing today, where massive numbers of patients are again facing long delays to access planned hospital care.

Its findings are based on a review of evidence around waiting times and, in particular, interviews with 14 experts, including many of the key figures in Labour’s successful eradication of long waits.

One of the experts, none of whom are named, said: “We have essentially had 10 years of managed decline. This is not a Covid problem. This is an austerity problem.”

The report pinpoints Cameron’s decision to reduce the NHS’s annual budget increases from Labour’s 3.6% to an average of just 1.5% as the key reason for the service’s loss of capacity. The service’s performance against a number of waiting time targets that Labour introduced began spiralling downwards in 2015 and has worsened every year since.

The report comes days after the latest official figures showed that the waiting list in England for non-urgent care in hospital had reached a new record high of 7.2 million people. Of those, 410,983 had been waiting for more than a year for treatment – such as a hip or knee replacement, cataract removal or hernia repair – that should take a maximum of 18 weeks.

The leaders of Britain’s A&E doctors as well as NHS ambulance service bosses in England have voiced acute concern about the number of patients coming to harm, and even dying, as a direct result of waiting for an ambulance to arrive or to get into A&E or from there into a hospital bed.

The 81-page document is being published later this week. It says the NHS’s lack of resources, combined with the different political, financial and economic circumstances that apply today, mean that politically important promises made earlier this year in NHS England’s “elective recovery plan” are highly unlikely to be met.

They included pledges to end waits of two years, 18 months and one year by the summer, next spring and 2025 respectively.

The government has promised to put £8bn into tackling the backlog and NHS England has set up dozens of community diagnostic centres to help speed up patients’ tests and treatment.

In his response to the Guardian about the report, Blair criticised all six of the Tory administrations since Labour lost power in 2010, for deviating from the three strategies he used to eradicate delays: reform, investment and political focus. He said that change of approach damaged the NHS’s ability to deliver care within established waiting time targets.

“These key elements were, and I believe still are, essential in improving public services. Since Labour left office, each pillar of these principles has been weakened in regard to our health service,” Blair said. “As the report says, waiting lists are now at their highest level since the 18-week referral to treatment measure was introduced in 2004, as well as a collapse in urgent care.”

He also took aim at ministers’ repeated efforts to depict the massive waiting list for care – which already stood at 4.4 million when the pandemic hit in spring 2020 – as “the Covid backlog”. Blair said: “This isn’t a result of Covid, but chronic underinvestment and mismanagement exacerbated by Covid.”

He added: “The lessons of that [Labour government] period, which ended with satisfaction levels with the NHS at record highs, remain the same because they are lessons about governing: the government and prime minister make it a priority, devoting time and energy; a policy is put in place which is based on what works; and then there is a relentless effort across government to ensure delivery.”

Blair said the King’s Fund’s findings “must act as a political wake-up call to renew efforts to reform the NHS, give this reform the political focus and grip it needs and align this with the right strategic investment”.

The Department of Health and Social Care has been approached for comment.

How much more damage can the privatised water companies’ lack of investment do?

They pollute our rivers and bathing beaches and now cut off our gas! – Owl

A private water company responsible for maintaining a 50-year-old asbestos-cement pipe that burst and left thousands of people in Sheffield without gas should spend “much more” of its £242m annual profits upgrading its infrastructure, an MP has said.

Helen Pidd www.theguardian.com 

With snow on the ground and temperatures below zero, at least 200 households in the area of north-west Sheffield were still without gas on Monday, 11 days after Yorkshire Water’s mains pipe burst and flooded the gas network with more than 1.5m litres of water. About 2,000 homes were initially affected.

Olivia Blake, the Labour MP for Sheffield Hallam, said Yorkshire Water had “very deep pockets” and should properly compensate everyone affected in the Stannington and Malin Bridge area of Sheffield, as well as invest vastly more of its profits in replacing old pipes at the end of their lifespan.

“Not enough of their profits are going into upgrading their infrastructure, and we see the results not just in the current situation in Sheffield but also in the sewage they allow to flow into our rivers and waterways and the leaks popping up all over communities,” said Blake, who was previously the shadow water minister.

She added: “There have been a series of failures over many years, clearly driven by a want for profit. Yorkshire Water has very deep pockets and should be doing much more.”

Feargal Sharkey, the water campaigner and former frontman of the Undertones, said the Sheffield situation showed “it’s time to make water company directors personally and collectively liable”.

Experts say the 23,000 miles (37,000km) of asbestos-cement piping laid in Britain is coming to the end of its 50-70 year lifespan, with 6% of Yorkshire Water’s pipes yet to be replaced.

The Sheffield pipe had burst before, most recently in 2013, Yorkshire Water said. But the company added it had “no concerns” about drinking water in the Stannington and Hillsborough area after collecting samples since the incident began. About £500,000 had been spent on mains pipes in the affected areas over the past two years, a spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for Cadent, which runs the gas distribution network, said on Monday morning that “just over 200 homes” were still waiting to be reconnected after the incident on 2 December. Most of those are in Malin Bridge, which is at the bottom of a hill and so was particularly badly affected as the water in the pipes was pulled down by gravity.

“We are hopeful that all of these properties will be back on gas by the end of the day,” said the spokesperson. Eight of those are on the vulnerable priority register, she added.

According to its annual performance report, in 2021-22, Yorkshire Water made £242.3m operating profit on a turnover of £1.18bn. The company said it spent £434.1m “acquiring, maintaining, and enhancing assets and infrastructure”. It paid out £52.6m in dividends, which a spokesperson said were “payments to its holding company to cover operating costs and service costs for debt held at holding company level”.

The company was penalised £10.2m by the regulator for not meeting targets on internal sewer flooding and a further £2.48m for pollution incidents, and £7.42m for a total of 41 “significant water supply events” that left customers without water for at least 12 hours.

Yorkshire Water has so far agreed to an automatic £30 payment to all affected customers in Sheffield to go towards excess energy costs. It is also inviting households to claim for additional costs incurred as well as water damage via a form on its website.

Yorkshire Water said: “Our profits are invested directly in improvement to our clean and wastewater networks to develop innovative ways of working and delivering the best value for our customers. We have not paid dividends to investors for the last seven years and during that time have invested £2.5bn in maintaining, innovating, and growing the business and its assets to be fit for the future.”

People left without heating for days as temperatures plunge

Homes across Cranbrook have been left without heating for almost a week as freezing cold temperatures take hold. The town is supplied with communal district heating by energy provider E.on – but many homes have been left without heating for around five days.

Mary Stenson www.devonlive.com 

Residents say that E.on, which supplies the entire town with heating, with no alternative available for residents, have told them the issue is in the process of being resolved. But the company has reportedly not offered those affected with alternative methods of heating in the meantime.

MP for the area Simon Jupp has urged the energy giants to resolve the issue immediately. He wrote an open letter to E.on’s Chief Executive Michael Lewis, in which he slammed their response to the ongoing issue as “woefully inadequate”.

An E.ON spokesperson said that they were aware of a number of customers in Cranbrook reporting issues with their heating and hot water supplies. They said it was not an issue with the network itself, the priority was to return heat to customers, and they apologised for any inconvenience caused.

Affected residents have said that they have been forced to stay with friends and family as it has been too cold to stay in their homes. Some have been forced to use fan heaters to keep warm.

One resident, Faye Thompson, has said she has been taking her children out for the day and been staying with relatives and friends as it is too cold to sleep in the house. She explained that the family has had no heating for five days and, only today has had the heating fixed.

Faye said: “I live in Cranbrook and, along with several others, I’ve had no heating for five days now. I’ve phoned eon multiple times and been told they’re working on it. I’ve asked for electric heaters to be supplied but this is not forthcoming.

“Sunday was the third night I’ve had to take my children out for the day. Friends and relatives are putting us up overnight because I can no longer sleep at home. I’ve received absolutely no communication, despite being told text messages have been sent to customers.

“The situation is completely unacceptable. They told me on Thursday that it was a site issue. (We have communal district heating). I was then told it was an individual on Friday. I’m getting different information every time I speak to someone. I am so frustrated with the whole situation and this cannot continue.”

Faye said that on Monday her heating had been fixed. But she went on to say: “It was eight degrees in my property today and I should work from home. Thankfully they attended late in the morning and it’s now been fixed. I’m so frustrated that this could have been resolved last week.”

Another resident, Julian Bennellick, who has lived in Cranbrook with his wife and daughter for over six years and is having heating issues for the first time. The household’s heating has been off since Thursday and they are now using fan heaters.

After explaining to an operator over the phone on Friday, December 9, that the radiators did not need bleeding and that he believed it was a problem with the heat exchanger, Julian was told an engineer would be sent out to his home today (Monday, December 12).

Julian said: “I’ve taken the day off work. We’ve been running a fan heater all weekend, just to keep one room warm which obviously impacts us because we’re paying for more electricity.

“It’s obviously impacting a lot of people. I think the main thing is that we’re tied into E.on so we can’t even get a third party plumber out. My wife’s a nurse for the NHS and she’s done a night shift and had to come back to a freezing cold home.”

There have been further comments made by others living in Cranbrook on social media, with some claiming that even those on the “priority list” have been told they may have to wait six to eight hours for an engineer. It is unknown if any of the homes affected by this particular issue have had their heating resolved.

Cranbrook is part of a ‘district heating scheme’, meaning they are all heated by an energy centre, rather than a boiler, located half a mile away which can only be run by one supplier, which is currently E.on. All 2,000 homes are signed up to E.on under an agreement which is in place until 2090.

East Devon MP Simon Jupp has also now called on E.on to resolve the issue promptly and offer compensation after he received multiple complaints from Cranbrook households over the course of the last week. The Conservative wrote an open letter to E.on’s Chief Executive Michael Lewis, in which he slammed the energy provider’s response to the ongoing issue as “woefully inadequate”.

In the letter, Mr Jupp asked: “I would like to request that you make every effort to sort this mess out as an urgent priority given cold temperatures are forecast to continue this week; and provide affected households with compensation.

“Your services and basic communication about this matter have fallen far short of what is acceptable. Cranbrook residents deserve so much better.”

My open letter to @EONEnergyUK after many residents in #Cranbrook continue to struggle without heating.

E.ON must step up, urgently reconnect customers & compensate everyone left without heating during this bitterly cold snap.

pic.twitter.com/YXDoA0sxc2

He Tweeted the letter, stating: “My open letter to @eonenergyuk after many residents in #Cranbrook continue to struggle without heating. E.ON must step up, urgently reconnect customers & compensate everyone left without heating during this bitterly cold snap.”

An E.ON spokesperson said: “We are aware of a number of customers in Cranbrook reporting issues with their heating and hot water supplies. This is not an issue with the network itself, the problem stems from an issue with valves in the heat interface units in some customer homes, and this disrupts the hot water flow from the network into individual properties.

“Our priority is to return heat to customers as quickly as possible and engineers have been working around the clock to visit customers and reset or replace valves that have failed. We are prioritising vulnerable customers and redeploying engineers from other E.ON sites in support.

“We apologise to customers and we’re making portable heaters available for their use while our engineers complete the works. All affected customers will be given compensation as part of our service guarantees.”

The social landlords in England with the worst records of maladministration have been named by the housing ombudsman, who said failures were “deeply concerning” and that poor performance was “still at unacceptably high levels”.

[Owl understands EDDC will be releasing a statement this morning]

Robert Booth www.theguardian.com 

Richard Blakeway, the regulator of England’s 4.4m social homes, concluded there was maladministration in 90% of the complaints cases brought to it by tenants of Golding Homes, which provides housing for more than 21,000 people across Kent, including in the case of a resident who complained for seven years about problems including damp and cold.

He said 86% of complaints considered about Lambeth and Southwark Housing Association in London were judged to amount to maladministration, and 89% of complaints about East Devon district council. The figures relate to the period from April 2021 to March 2022.

The physical condition of homes was the biggest reason for referrals to the watchdog over that period, and in more than half of cases it concluded there had been service failures by the landlord. The named landlords have been approached for comment.

Blakeway said: “We recognise that social landlords and residents are facing unprecedented challenges, with a cost of living crisis and ageing homes, but a positive complaints handling culture remains vital. Our review highlights the challenges with embedding this and also shows poor performance in some service areas still at unacceptably high levels.

“Too often landlords can focus on managing the reputational risk to their organisation when things go wrong, rather than learning and improvement.”

Steph Goad, the chief executive of Golding, said: “In 2021-22, we had two findings of maladministration from the housing ombudsman. We understand two cases is still too many and we fully accepted the ombudsman’s findings and have been working to put things right and learn from them.”

The handling of complaints was a major cause of problems, with shortcomings found in more than eight of 10 cases where a tenant had raised concerns about how their complaint to the landlord was handled. There was also a significant decline in the number of residents who think making a complaint would make a difference, compared with the previous year.

There has been growing concern about safety and standards in social housing after the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak as a result of chronic damp in a rented flat in Rochdale.

After a coroner’s verdict last month that prolonged exposure to mould was to blame for the boy’s fatal respiratory illness, the chief executive of the registered social landlord was fired and Michael Gove, the secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, directed all English councils to “make an urgent assessment of housing conditions … with particular focus on issues of damp and mould, and enforcement action being taken.”

Gove said: “I am putting housing providers on notice, I will take whatever action is required to improve standards across the country and ensure tenants’ voices are heard.”

The housing sector and campaigners have argued they need greater funding to build new homes and have warned that a recent decision by the government to cap rent rises at 7% in response to the cost of living crisis will hamper their progress.

• Proposed new stock building for cows close to calving.Broadhembury Barton Broadhembury Honiton EX14 3LPRef. No: 22/2672/FUL | Validated: Fri 02 Dec 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Lawful development for demolition of conservatory and construction of replacement garden room; construction of new single storey store and carport; alterations to fenestration on the rear elevationNgara Exton Lane Exton Devon EX3 0PNRef. No: 22/2663/CPL | Validated: Thu 01 Dec 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Installation of photovoltaic array. The Old Nursery 6 Charles Court Lympstone Exmouth EX8 5ELRef. No: 22/2661/FUL | Validated: Wed 30 Nov 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Single-storey side extension 8 Claredale Road Exmouth EX8 2EERef. No: 22/2659/FUL | Validated: Wed 30 Nov 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed rear extension Flat 2 Rear Of 44 Victoria Road Exmouth Devon EX8 1DWRef. No: 22/2658/FUL | Validated: Wed 30 Nov 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Replacement storage shed with new outbuilding for use as a Domestic Garage/Workshop/Studio Bovetts Farm Sidbury Sidmouth EX10 0QNRef. No: 22/2657/FUL | Validated: Wed 30 Nov 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Variation of Condition No. 2 (Approved plans) of planning permission 21/0039/FUL (Replacement of existing dwelling and garage/workshop with new dwelling and garage with storage space) to allow revisions to internal layout. Sunningdale Buckerell Honiton EX14 3ERRef. No: 22/2653/VAR | Validated: Wed 30 Nov 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Conversion of existing integral garage/car port to provide additional habitable accommodation Berkeley Cottage Exeter Road Newton Poppleford Devon EX10 0BJRef. No: 22/2650/FUL | Validated: Tue 29 Nov 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Demolition of existing single storey garage and replacement with new single storey outbuilding containing double garage and home office Conifers Crewkerne Road Axminster EX13 5SXRef. No: 22/2647/FUL | Validated: Thu 01 Dec 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Conversion of existing integral garage/car port to provide additional habitable accommodation Berkeley Cottage Exeter Road Newton Poppleford Devon EX10 0BJRef. No: 22/2651/LBC | Validated: Tue 29 Nov 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Part conversion of existing barn to form Holiday Let unit. Middlecott Farm Blackborough Cullompton EX15 2HERef. No: 22/2649/FUL | Validated: Tue 29 Nov 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed rear extension, loft conversion and porch to front. 8 Taleford Villas Taleford Ottery St Mary EX11 1NBRef. No: 22/2648/FUL | Validated: Tue 29 Nov 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Certificate of Lawfulness for Residential use of single dwellinghouse and garden area.Site Of Penny Park Kersbrook Lane KersbrookRef. No: 22/2646/CPL | Validated: Tue 29 Nov 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of an agricultural building for use in connection with the applicant’s land holding Hunthay Farm Axminster Devon EX13 5RJRef. No: 22/2645/AGR | Validated: Tue 29 Nov 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Oak x2 (T1 & T2): remove epicormic growth to crown break at approximately 7 metres; average pruning cuts not exceeding 2-3 cms in diameter. 6 Hayne Close Tipton St John EX10 0BARef. No: 22/2628/TRE | Validated: Mon 28 Nov 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• The redevelopment of the driveway to the dwelling to include a level parking and turning space 20 Willow Avenue Exmouth Devon EX8 4QSRef. No: 22/2634/FUL | Validated: Fri 02 Dec 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Yew x3: remove more than the annual growth (total height to be approximately 6 metres, crown radius to be maintained at the current size). Flat 12 Knowle Grange Knowle Drive Sidmouth EX10 8HNRef. No: 22/2640/TRE | Validated: Mon 28 Nov 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of a greenhouse to front. 22 Copp Hill Lane Budleigh Salterton Devon EX9 6DZRef. No: 22/2638/FUL | Validated: Mon 28 Nov 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of 1 no. dwelling, means of access and associated works Clarkham Cottages Swan Hill Road Colyford Devon EX24 6QGRef. No: 22/2632/FUL | Validated: Mon 28 Nov 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Beech x6 (T1): reduce the canopy on roadside boundary by approximately 15%, pruning cuts not exceeding 50mm in diameter. T2 To remove 1 Laylandii to ground level on Western boundary. Reason for works, Proximity to two dwellings, to allow Prunus Lusitanica to reestablish in border. T3 To reduce Prunus Lusitanica by approximately 25%. Reason for works, to achieve a robust structure to help prevent further limb failure and promote regrowth at a lower level. Appletreewick Sidmouth EX10 8RHRef. No: 22/2630/TCA | Validated: Mon 28 Nov 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• The erection of 2 no. industrial units Land Rear Of 5 Flightway Business Park Dunkeswell EX14 4RDRef. No: 22/2631/FUL | Validated: Mon 28 Nov 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Removal of rear chimney, single storey rear extension, replacement windows, dormer refurbishment, new landscape finishes Lyndhurst Manor Road Seaton EX12 2AQRef. No: 22/2637/FUL | Validated: Wed 30 Nov 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of two storey side extension and porch (Revision to 22/0096/FUL) 70 Slade Close Ottery St Mary EX11 1SYRef. No: 22/2642/FUL | Validated: Wed 30 Nov 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Retrospective permission sought for erection of timber boundary fence. 3 Charles Court Lympstone Exmouth Devon EX8 5ELRef. No: 22/2619/FUL | Validated: Wed 30 Nov 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Hip to gable roof extension and rear dormer 44 East Budleigh Road Budleigh Salterton Devon EX9 6EJRef. No: 22/2612/FUL | Validated: Tue 29 Nov 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Erection of a covered manure store and livestock building Sweetlands Farm Upottery Devon EX14 9PBRef. No: 22/2614/FUL | Validated: Thu 01 Dec 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Subdivision of an existing dwelling to form two dwellings, including extensions to the ground floor of west elevation and the enhancement of an existing track. Bluehayes House Bluehayes Broadclyst Exeter EX5 3BARef. No: 22/2565/FUL | Validated: Tue 29 Nov 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Single storey extension and first floor extension for the conversion of existing office to annexe The Bothy Dulford Cullompton EX15 2DXRef. No: 22/2570/FUL | Validated: Mon 28 Nov 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Outline application for the erection of 23no. dwellings with all matters reserved save for formation of vehicular and pedestrian access Land North Of Oak Road West Hill EX11 1SJRef. No: 22/2533/MOUT | Validated: Mon 28 Nov 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of a steel framed agricultural storage building with an apex roof. Land At Northcote Hill HonitonRef. No: 22/2522/AGR | Validated: Thu 01 Dec 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Replacement of existing brick building with a timber building including change of use to annexe/small holiday let Holiday Let Clyst William Cross Farmhouse Plymtree Cullompton EX15 2LQRef. No: 22/2516/FUL | Validated: Fri 02 Dec 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Oak: Crown lifting. Removal of branches where ribbons tied. Conifer P1: removal of branches at X and Y which have sagged out from the profile of the tree. Conifer P3: fell. Conifer P4: To lop top two feet of lead growth stem. Cherry Tree House Church Hill Musbury Axminster EX13 8BARef. No: 22/2517/TCA | Validated: Fri 02 Dec 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1, Monterey Cypress : remove deadwood greater than 20mm in diameter on the South East side. Reduce primary and secondary branches in the mid to lower canopy by approximately 1-2m to previous pruning points to give 3m clearance from the property. Tumbling Weir Court Tumbling Weir Way Ottery St Mary Devon EX11 1GPRef. No: 22/2387/TCA | Validated: Thu 01 Dec 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Outline application with some matters reserved (access, appearance, layout and scale) for the demolition of existing building and erection of mixed-use building comprising of a convenience store (class E) and 9 residential units (class C3) with associated access and parking, including the provision of public car parking Lawsons And Car Park Lyme Street Axminster EX13 5ATRef. No: 22/2322/OUT | Validated: Thu 01 Dec 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Reduction of part of front wall to create a parking space utilising dropped kerb outside of house Hillsbrook High Street Newton Poppleford EX10 0DWRef. No: 22/2276/FUL | Validated: Fri 02 Dec 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision

(Between 5pm and 7pm)

UK power prices hit record high amid cold snap and lack of wind power

The anticipated surge in power demand on Monday evening will coincide with a planned use of the National Grid’s demand flexibility service between 5pm and 7pm.

Alex Lawson www.theguardian.com 

UK power prices have hit record levels as an icy cold snap and a fall in supplies of electricity generated by wind power have combined to push up wholesale costs.

The day-ahead price for power for delivery on Monday reached a record £675 a megawatt-hour on the Epex Spot SE exchange. The price for power at 5-6pm, typically around the time of peak power demand each day, passed an all-time high of £2,586 a megawatt-hour.

Prices are surging as the weather forces Britons to increase their heating use, pushing up demand for energy, despite high bills.

Snow and ice have caused disruption as the cold weather looks set to continue into this week, with snow forecast for parts of east and south-east England, as well as Scotland.

The cold snap, which is expected to last for at least a week, comes as wind speeds reduced sharply, hitting power suppliers.

Live data from the National Grid’s Electricity System Operator showed that wind power was providing just 3% of Great Britain’s electricity generation on Sunday. Gas-fired power stations provided 59%, while nuclear power and electricity imports both accounted for about 15%.

The increase in power prices come amid jitters over energy supplies this winter. National Grid warned in October that a combination of factors such as a cold spell and a shortage of gas in Europe related to the war in Ukraine could lead to power cuts in the UK.

The anticipated surge in power demand on Monday evening will coincide with a planned use of the National Grid’s demand flexibility service between 5pm and 7pm. The scheme pays businesses and households to cut their consumption at peak times to reduce the strain on the grid.

The scheme has been used several times as part of a series of tests but is yet to be used as a result of electricity supply shortages. National Grid flirted with using it under these circumstances last month but did not do so.

Dr Agostinho Moreira de Sousa, a consultant in public health medicine at UK Health Security Agency, encouraged those with health conditions to heat their homes to a comfortable temperature. “In rooms you mostly use such as the living room or bedroom, try to heat them to at least 18C if you can. Keep your bedroom windows closed at night. Wearing several layers of clothing will keep you warmer than one thicker layer,” he said.

German day-ahead power prices rose 33% to €434 (£373) a megawatt-hour, the highest since 13 September, while the French contract rose 40% to €465 a megawatt-hour, Bloomberg reported.

From a Budleigh correspondent:

Observation suggests that trenching is occurring between the Otter Head combined sewer outfall pipe, across the fields, to link up with the Ladram Bay treatment plant (covering the Ladram Bay holiday park).

I cannot find any report of the work being carried out on the SWW site In Your Area – supply interruptions and outages (southwestwater.co.uk)

It seems from the official SWW web site NO work is being carried out at Budleigh Salterton or Ladram Bay! People in Granary Lane, B.S. may not agree. (See https://eastdevonwatch.org/2022/12/09/why-are-budleigh-residents-getting-hammered-daily/)

Does this mean that the Ladram Bay pollution problems will, in future, be diverted to Budleigh Salterton by creating a super combined sewer outlet at the Otter Head?

Campers, please don’t all flush at once!

How can this be when we all know that sewage discharge into the sea and rivers continues at record levels? – Owl

Environment Agency www.gov.uk and see www.southwestwater.co.uk 

Most beaches met the highest international standards for water quality cleanliness where we bathe. Our beaches and coast helps define the fabulous South West.

Bruce Newport, Devon and Cornwall Area Environment Manager said:

“Our beaches are 100% compliant, so now the challenge is to work collaboratively with everyone to keep our healthy waters in an excellent state for people to enjoy. Our coastline is an incredible natural feature.

We have had relatively few reports of pollution on our beaches this summer which is a credit to everyone maintaining and improving our bathing waters. We would like to say thank you to those groups, communities and businesses which have gone above and beyond to keep pollution out of our water ways.

Bathers and surfers are using our online Swimfo app to make decisions on where to go for the best places to bathe in the summer. Just by looking at Swimfo on your mobile you can get up to date information on the water quality of many of our bathing beaches.”

This year 9 beaches in Devon and Cornwall have improved their bathing water classification, while 4 beaches have deteriorated – Teignmouth Town in Devon,  and Cornwall’s  Readymoney Cove, Porthminster and Swanpool.

Those improving from Good to Excellent are Ladram Bay, Croyde and Plymouth Hoe East in Devon, and Gorran Haven, Pendower, Porthwrinkle and Porthcurnick in Cornwall. Improving from Sufficient to Good are Par Sands in Cornwall and Combe Martin in North Devon.

The improvement this year from Sufficient to Good at Combe Martin is the result of a strong collaborative effort by the Environment Agency, local groups and businesses.

Where foul water is wrongly connected to drains leading to our beaches, poor quality normally follows – this year wrong connections have been identified, fixed and we continue to work with South West Water with this important work.

In North Devon, Croyde has improved from Good to Excellent.  Our scientists have used analytical tests to home in on pollution sources resulting in us working with farmers in the catchment to resolve potential pollution issues. We are committed to doing more in 2023.

In Cornwall, Par Sands has improved from Sufficient to Good, the result again of a collaborative effect by the Environment Agency with local people. We have carried out extensive monitoring in the catchment, investigated potential sources of pollution and ensured problems causing pollution have stopped.

At Teignmouth we continue to work with Teignbridge Council to improve water quality at Teignmouth Town.  We are carrying out investigations into the cause of elevated bacteria numbers in samples taken at Teignmouth in August.

The 9 beaches in Devon and Cornwall which have improved their bathing water classification are:

Devon: Ladram Bay, Croyde, Combe Martin, Plymouth Hoe East

Cornwall: Porthcurnick, Pendower, Gorran Haven Little Perhaver, Portwrinkle, Par Sands

Published 30 November 2022

Did Rishi Sunak with his “passive and prolonged” furlough scheme miss a trick? 

“With the Conservatives we’ve seen our economy grow, with rising wages and unemployment at a historic low.” www.conservatives.com Eh? – Owl

David Smith www.thetimes.co.uk (Extract)

…Brexit is one reason why the UK is an outlier when it comes to employment performance since Covid. But there may also be a contribution from other factors, including the policies designed to fight the pandemic.

The furlough scheme, a first for the UK, achieved its main aim of preventing what could have been a huge rise in unemployment. But there are growing suspicions that it may have contributed to the rise in economic inactivity.

This may have been by giving older workers, those most responsible for the rise in inactivity, a rehearsal for retirement. But also, as Tony Wilson, director of the IES, says, the furlough scheme was “passive and prolonged”.

Other countries, notably France, combined their pandemic job support with “active” measures to encourage workers to train or re-train, rather than just sit at home. Some tried to anticipate the changes in job demand. Most had previous experience with furlough-type schemes. For the UK, it was novel. As Wilson notes, people were “parked in furlough”, with few obligations on them or their employers.

Re-establishing the flow of EU migrants is not an option, at least in the short term. Getting the newly inactive (and some of those inactive longer term) into work, notably those not suffering from long-term ill health, must be a priority. Governments used to do this in response to high unemployment. Now they need to do it in response to rising inactivity, its 2022 equivalent. Both Wilson and Saunders emphasise that there is no shortage of potential “active” labour market measures, as recommended by international bodies.

The labour market needs some help, a necessary element of supply-side policy to boost long-run economic growth. Doing nothing is not an option……

A couple of articles over the weekend consider the background, whether the government’s stance is sustainable and the “affordability” of reducing it. – Owl

The rising pay gap

David Smith www.thetimes.co.uk (Extract)

…What can be done about our dysfunctional labour market? Starting with strikes, the root cause is similar. For public sector workers, and for those where the government stands behind employers, such as the railways, the biggest falls in real wages are happening.

A situation in which private sector pay is rising by nearly 7 per cent a year, against public sector pay growth of 2 per cent, would not be sustainable in any circumstances, let alone when inflation is in double figures.

A government that, admittedly under a different prime minister, was willing to announce big unfunded tax cuts will have to find more money for public sector pay settlements. A 19 per cent pay increase, demanded by England’s nurses, is impossible to justify. A 7.5 per cent increase, which the Scottish government has offered to its nurses — avoiding strike action — is not.

There is little danger that higher public sector pay settlements would trigger a wage-price spiral. Rather, it would be public sector pay catching up. The government wants to limit strike action by essential workers by legislating for minimum levels of service, but that is a long way down the track and of little relevance to the current disputes. The Treasury, of course, gets back some of the cost of higher public sector pay awards in tax and national insurance. Bigger public sector pay increases would flow directly into the economy in these recessionary times….

How much would a public sector pay rise really cost the UK government?

Rishi Sunak called out

Phillip Inman www.theguardian.com 

Rishi Sunak was called out last week for saying it would cost £28bn to prevent inflation eating into public sector wages. According to No 10, a 10% pay rise would cost Britain’s 28m households £1,000 a year in higher taxes.

Not according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, which says the Treasury’s sums don’t add up. So how much would it cost to give public sector workers a pay rise?

A pay rise of 10%

Ben Zaranko, an economist for the thinktank, says that even using Sunak’s methodology, the figures are wrong. The total public sector pay bill in 2021/22 was £233bn. Using the 10.1% average figure for the consumer price index forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility, “the cost would be £23.5bn”.

The government has already agreed to finance a 3% rise, so the extra cost is only £18bn, he says. It could be as low as £13bn if the government’s fresh concessions for teachers and other groups are factored in as “already paid for”.

Ministers should also expect to get back about 30% of the extra spending from higher income tax and VAT receipts, reducing the bill to £8.5bn.

A pay rise of 7%

The RMT has called for a minimum of 7%, while some healthcare unions have suggested they would accept a similar amount. If all public sector workers were offered 7% rather than 10%, the total extra bill would come down from £18bn to nearer £12bn – about £9bn with extra concessions stripped out. About £4bn would flow back to the Treasury in higher tax receipts, leaving an extra £5bn bill.

Will a pay rise push up inflation?

A below-inflation public sector pay rise will not increase inflation, especially if lower-paid staff are the biggest beneficiaries of a deal. The public sector does not increase its charges to reflect higher staff pay, as private-sector firms might. The extra spending power given to public-sector workers pay is also likely to be spent on energy bills and food, which are costs dictated by global markets.

Would that include “East Devon Watch”? – (Owl imagines Simon Jupp is an avid reader).

FORMER Cabinet media minister and Nub News reader Sir John Whittingdale has called on the government to ensure it supports local online news platforms and uses their effectiveness as a way of informing communities.

honiton.nub.news 

Sir John, who represents Maldon in Essex, is regularly featured on the pages of his local Nub News site and is a keen advocate of ensuring the government recognises the value of online media.

The growing success of Nub News – which this week launched its latest platform serving Stoke – has seen the company grow since launching with just a few sites in 2018 to now publishing to more than 50 local communities across the UK, including our own Honiton Nub News.

Sir John says he has watched the company’s success with great interest and has spoken many times with company founder Karl Hancock and he is hoping to persuade the government to make more use of the Nub News sites and other locally founded and sourced news online news platforms.

In the House of Commons today (Thursday, 8 December) Sir John challenged fellow Essex MP and junior minister Alex Burghart about his view of locally-based publishers and asked: “What recent assessment have you made of the effectiveness of Government information campaigns in local media?”

Mr Burghart, MP for Brentwood and Ongar and the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office with responsibility for supporting the cabinet regarding the government’s communications service, responded by saying: “The government monitors the effectiveness of its communications campaigns and we recognise the enormous trust the public has in local media.

“And therefore the important role it plays in spreading our messages.

“As just one example, the recent press partnership on access to NHS services used local media to inform the public of where to seek medical advice. 67 per cent of readers said they trusted the articles – highlighting local print’s importance to the community.”

That prompted an immediate challenge from Sir John, who wanted an assurance that online media will get fair treatment.

He said: “My friend is absolutely right about the power of local media in getting across vital health messages.

“But will he look at ensuring that local online only publishers like Nub News are included in future campaigns as well as local print media?”

Mr Burghart responded: “I thank my honourable friend for his question, I know he knows a great deal about this subject. And I completely agree with him that, all in, all together in harness, the power of media was particularly effective at reaching specific audiences to spread vital information.

“Obviously as he will appreciate, sometimes we want a more targeted approach so that we get better, cost effectiveness but I should also say to him that we use OmniGov and should any local outlets online or otherwise wish to be part of that list they can do so by contacting OmniGov directly.”

OmniGov, which is owned by US agency giant Omnicom, has handled the government’s media services account since 2018 and in December last year retained the account for a second four-year term. The contract is one of the most valuable accounts in British advertising, with an annual spend of more than £200m.

However, not everyone is a fan of the agency, including Sir John who told Nub News that he has been expressing his concern about its effectiveness in reaching local communities and supporting smaller publishers for almost two years.

He said: “I have repeatedly pressed them to include online publications and was deeply frustrated that they were unwilling to do so.

“This is a significant issue and my questions today were just a part of it. Now I have raised it with Alex Burghart in the House, I will be following up with him to press this matter and seek change to support organisations like Nub News.”

Nub News founder Karl Hancock, welcomed Sir John’s support today and thanked him for raising the matter, which Mr Hancock has also previously raised direct when appearing before the government’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee alongside other leading media industry figures earlier this year.

He said: “I am grateful for the support and advice of Sir John. It is refreshing to see his passion to see a fairer and more level playing field in the media publishing world where the pressure from a few big players make market fairness and opportunity disproportionate.

“As I have said before, the current business model is broken. Something drastic has to happen. I’m not asking the Government for money, I’m asking for a level playing field.

“I look forward to seeing the outcome of Sir John’s challenge and questions today.”

Meanwhile the growth of Nub News which is committed to putting local news back at the top of the news agenda in towns across the UK continues apace.

The latest addition – and a new flagship site for the growing Crewe-based media company – is Stoke Nub News.

Edited by Stoke-born journalist Sarah Garner, Nub News’ latest site exemplifies the ethos of Nub News and our headline agenda of putting local news and community support first, while supporting and promoting local businesses, traders and entrepreneurs.

Mr Hancock added: “The group continues to seek to consolidate in its existing towns and grow them exponentially towards neighbouring towns and communities and there are more new town launches planned.

“As well as providing a regularly updated, easy-to-read news platform free from clickbait, pop-ups, and intrusive surveys we harness the power of social media, with easy-to-follow channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and You Tube. Millions of readers each month are visiting Nub News in all its formats.

“We hope that’s the message the government will be taking on board after today’s debate in the Commons.”

“Frustrated” pharmacists reporting a shortage of antibiotics have urged the government to act now – but health officials continue to insist there are no supply chain issues.

So who do you believe> – Owl

www.itv.com 

The conflicting messages have caused confusion at a time when the health service is tackling a Strep A outbreak, leading to the deaths of 16 children, during its most stretched time of year.

Pharmacists across the UK say they are struggling to get hold of some of the most commonly prescribed antibiotics, such as penicillin and amoxicillin, which are used to treat Strep A.

The Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIMP), which represents around 4,000 pharmacies across the country, told ITV News that in some cases, patients have been forced to travel over 20 miles to get their prescribed medication.

But Health Secretary Steve Barclay earlier said checks within the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have not revealed an issue with supply of the medicines, after the National Pharmacy Association earlier there were “blips” in the supply chain of liquid penicillin, which is often given to children.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society earlier said pharmacists are “under enormous pressure” and “struggling to get supplies” amid the outbreak.

AIMP Chief Executive Leyla Hannbeck said pharmacists have for some time seen a steady rise in the number of prescriptions for antibiotics, but since the beginning of this week it’s become “incredibly difficult” to get hold of them – urging the government to act now.

“We are concerned that the government are saying that there are no supply challenges when in fact there is and patients are coming in and we are unable to fulfil the prescriptions,” Dr Hannbeck told ITV News.

“Where is this supply that they’re talking about? Because it certainly isn’t finding its way to pharmacies,” she added.

“And this issue is across the country, it’s not just one area, everywhere is the same.

“Pharmacists simply get a message from suppliers saying that there is no stock availability. Sometimes some lines become available for a short period… but as soon as they come on, they go off again.”

She said this has led to antibiotic prices to “jump up” by several pounds per packet.

“We feel frustrated and as healthcare professionals. We don’t want to turn our patients away. Our teams are exhausted on the frontline,” added Dr Hannbeck.

But she urged the public not to panic and said protocols will be put in place if the government does not act within the coming days. In the meantime, she suggested patients keep trying alternative pharmacies.

Dr Hannbeck said pharmacists may also have to liaise with doctors to consider prescribing alternative antibiotics.

She says the DHSC should have planned better.

“We are constantly, as pharmacists, finding ourselves in this situation – as soon as there’s a little bit more demand, then supply falls flat,” she said.

She urged the department to meet with all groups in the antibiotics supply chain from manufacturers, to wholesalers, to pharmacists: “to identify what the issues are so we can all move forward, and offer solutions so that we don’t fall into this again.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said on Thursday: “There is no supplier shortage of antibiotics available to treat Strep A. As the Secretary of State said this morning, we sometimes have surges for products and increased demand means some pharmacies are having difficulties obtaining certain antibiotics.

“We are working urgently with manufactures and wholesalers to explore what can be done to expedite deliveries and bring forward stock they have to help ensure it gets to where it’s needed, to meet demand as quickly as possible and support access to these vital medicines.”