Desperate residents in north Cornwall have described themselves as an “endangered species” and are calling for compulsory purchases of unoccupied second homes amid a deepening crisis in affordable housing.

Jonny Weeks www.theguardian.com 

The coastal village of St Agnes – located on what one estate agent has labelled the “platinum edge” of the UK – has witnessed a mass protest and hostile graffiti in recent weeks, as outrage has turned into activism.

Cath Navin (left) and Camilla Dixon, who run the protest group First Not Second Homes. Photograph: Jonny Weeks/The Guardian

Cath Navin, co-founder of protest group First Not Second Homes, said: “Last month, there were 111 Airbnbs in and around St Agnes, 96 of which were whole houses. If you looked for long-term rentals, the closest place was Portreath (seven miles away). There’s nothing locally for people to live in.”

The group has organised peaceful rallies around the county in recent months – the next is at nearby Porthtowan this Sunday. They are campaigning for the introduction of licences for second homes, new planning laws, and an end to “no-fault” evictions, which allow landlords to rapidly expel tenants without good reason.

“Ideally, I’d also like to see some retrospective action with compulsory purchases in places where communities are being eroded,” she said. “That’s quite radical, but those things have been introduced internationally so why not here?”

Co-founder Camilla Dixon adds: “Ultimately I want to see no second homes until everybody has a decent first home.”

Cornwall has 12,776 second homes and more than 11,000 holiday lets, while 21,817 people were on its housing register this week. Last year, the council installed emergency one-bed shelters for vulnerable people in Truro and Penzance. It has also placed people into bed and breakfast accommodation and static caravans.

Truro resident Samantha Quinn and her teenage daughter have been forced out of several rental homes in recent years because the properties have been sold. They have waited unsuccessfully on the housing register, lived in temporary holiday accommodation and moved into a friend’s house when there was no alternative.

“To say to your child, ‘I actually don’t have a home for you’, felt really rubbish – I felt like I had failed at life,” she said. “As a professional who works full-time in the charity sector and doesn’t have any credit history issues, it’s really weird to think that I was in that position.

“The council’s advice last time was, ‘you don’t have to leave your home until you’re evicted by a court’, but I worried that would affect our future prospects. I feel so relieved and lucky to have found a home again.”

Lifelong St Agnes resident Nicola Bunt lives in a one-bed wooden cabin in her landlady’s garden. Bunt runs a local cleaning business but refuses to clean holiday lets, even as she tries to save a deposit for a mortgage.

“My friends are here, my job is here and this will always be my home, so I really want to stay in St Agnes, but there’s no opportunity for me to buy here, it feels really out of reach,” she said. “Everyone wants a piece of Cornwall and they’re actually ruining what Cornwall is all about.”

So outraged was one local pensioner by the construction of another mansion in St Agnes that she defaced an unoccupied seafront property with the words “No more investment properties” and “Second homes owners give something back: rent or sell your empty houses to local people at a fair price”.

Speaking anonymously, she said: “When my husband and I bought our place here in 1998 it cost £80,000. We had really ordinary jobs and we could afford to buy here.

“Now, half of the properties nearby are holiday lets or second homes and young local people are competing for housing with millionaires. It makes me furious. We’re like an endangered species. This is not the platinum edge of the UK, this is people’s homes and communities.”

Graffiti painted on to the walls of a seafront property in Cornwall. Photograph: Jonny Weeks/The Guardian

Cllr Andrew George, formerly MP for St Ives, believes tax loopholes for property investors must be closed immediately.

“For years, the public purse has been used to subsidise second homes,” he said. “Thousands of second home owners avoid paying council tax (by qualifying as business premises) and then claim small business rates relief. That loophole cost Cornwall £17m per year before Covid.”

The national government also paid almost £170m in Covid grants to Cornish “holiday let business premises” during the pandemic, more than half of which went to owners who live outside the county.

“Rather than rewarding second home owners with public money, they should be making them pay a great deal more,” George said. “It’s not the politics of envy, it’s the politics of social justice.”

Leading politicians from Labour and the Conservatives have criticised plans to move the Priory ward out of Exeter’s parliamentary seat.

Now why might Simon Jupp be opposed to that? – Owl

Ollie Heptinstall, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk

As part of the proposals for a shake-up of England’s map for general elections, which aims to give each MP roughly the same number of voters, a new ‘Exmouth’ constituency would be created including the Priory ward.

However, speaking at a public hearing on the draft new boundaries last week, calls were instead made for Pinhoe to join the new seat and to keep Priory – which includes the RD&E Hospital and the Exeter Crematorium – part of the city’s constituency.

Simon Jupp, Conservative MP for the current East Devon seat, told the Boundary Commision hearing that he strongly objected to the current plan.

“The Priory ward is categorically part of Exeter city, with residents identifying themselves as living in Exeter.

“Living in the ward means you’re within walking distance of Exeter Quay and the cathedral … and are much more culturally inclined towards the city than the proposed Exmouth constituency, which will also still contain vast swathes of East Devon.

“Furthermore, much of the ward is within a mile of the city centre of Exeter as entirely to the west of the A379, which has the capacity to create confusion amongst communities which instinctively feel part of the city.

“I believe the simplicity of the Old Rydon Lane as a natural barrier that demarcates the two proposed constituencies would be welcomed by residents.

“Lastly, Priory ward contains the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital, Wyvern Barracks Exeter Crematorium – all widely recognised as city landmarks and inherently part of Exeter.”

The Labour leader of Exeter City Council, Phil Bialyk, echoed Mr Jupp’s remarks. The council last year agreed to ask the Boundary Commission to include Pinhoe in the new Exmouth seat instead of Priory.

“If you look at the Priory ward compared to the Pinhoe ward just geographically, it fires right into the heart of the city and takes the heart of the city out. And it’s only about, I would say, 600, 700 yards from the city centre,” Cllr Bialyk said.

But he stressed: “Now that’s not to say that people in Pinhoe are any less value to us, and we’re pleased that they stay within the city boundaries and they’re very, very important. But Pinhoe itself has a village identity, a bit like Alphington and many of the others.”

Mr Jupp added: “I believe that the historic village of Pinhoe, having been subsumed into the city of Exeter, still retains much of the independence, character, style and connections of nearby wards in the East Devon district, including Broadclyst.”

He went on to say that many of the nearby villages which fall under the East Devon constituency and would be part of the new Exmouth seat, “orientate towards Pinhoe and share significant local services, including a doctor’s surgery which are more consistently dealt with by a single [MP].”

The current Exeter constituency has an electorate of just over 80,000, higher than between the 69,724 and 77,062 proposed under the new boundaries.

Replacing Pinhoe with Priory would barely make any difference to the numbers. Mr Jupp said Priory’s electorate was currently 6,637 compared to Pinhoe’s total of 6,661.

Exeter councillors last year called for the new Exmouth seat to instead be called ‘Exmouth and East Exeter’, a suggestion that was shared by Mr Jupp at the public hearing.

The boundary changes would leave Devon with 13 MPs – up one on the existing 12 – although one would be split across Devon and Somerset.

However, a previous suggestion of a “Devonwall” constituency which would straddle the border between Devon and Cornwall has been scrapped.

As well as the new Exmouth constituency covering parts of the existing East Devon and Exeter seats, it would mean the existing Tiverton and Honiton seat, currently held by Neil Parish, would be split into new Tiverton and Minehead and Honiton constituencies.

Torridge and West Devon would be renamed Torridge and Tavistock, while in Plymouth the proposal divides the Peverell ward between the Plymouth Sutton and Devonport and Plymouth Moor View constituencies.

The changes will keep the number of seats in the House of Commons at 650, but England’s number will increase from 533 to 543. It’s claimed this would make representation more equal and limit seats to populations of between 69,724 and 77,062.

A final four-week consultation will be held towards the end of the year, with the final report being submitted in June 2023.

After his ratings plunged in the wake of “partygate” and as his government faces demands to act over the cost of living, it may be a surprise to discover that Boris Johnson’s face can be found on leaflets for the forthcoming local elections. Unfortunately for the prime minister, it is not his own party’s literature that features his image.

Michael Savage www.theguardian.com 

The Observer has seen Conservative leaflets circulated in London, the Midlands and the north of England in recent weeks. None of them shows Johnson, once regarded as the Tory politician able to reach voters that no one else in his party could.

In the London borough of Sutton, however, the Liberal Democrat canvassing material has the PM in pride of place on the front. Next to him is Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, and both are accused of failing to take enough action on energy prices and the cost of living – while increasing taxes.

“The prime minister isn’t featuring on any of the leaflets,” said a Tory MP in a council area where the party had hoped to make gains before partygate unfolded. They said that at one point, local voters would have carried Johnson in victory down the high street, but he would now struggle to get polite handshakes: “A lot of candidates are now trying to make this about local services. It would be pretty odd on that basis to feature the prime minister.”

With Johnson seemingly not the electoral asset he once was, many Tory council candidates appear to be trying to run hyper-local campaigns. A leaflet in Surrey prioritises defending the green belt and repairing local roads and footpaths. Another in Richmond, London, includes a list of “good reasons to vote Conservative”. It features the plea: “We are local residents, not national politicians.”

The latest edition of the “Birmingham champion” leaflet produced to support Tory West Midlands mayor Andy Street does not feature the PM. In fact, with its green graphics and personal branding for the mayor, the Conservative logo is nowhere to be found. Another leaflet in Stockport vows to take on Labour’s Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, but does not show Johnson.

The Conservatives are braced for a difficult set of elections in London, where they have been losing ground even while Labour was well behind in the polls nationally. Some had feared losing the key London borough of Wandsworth, though senior Tories said last week that they believed the invasion of Ukraine may have helped partially restore the party’s fortunes, but only temporarily. One Tory MP said that there was frustration with Johnson. “Voters may be on a timeout with partygate, but this is coming back,” they said.

Some Tories in London are also trying to pin the blame for council tax increases on Sadiq Khan, which they say is starting to get through to voters. “It might save the Tories from a meltdown in some areas,” said one veteran campaigner. “It is just possible that the Tories will hold on to Wandsworth. It’s harder to win Westminster, but there might be some surprise results.”

In response to the Lib Dem leaflet in Sutton, a Tory source said: “If you want to compare the electoral successes of Boris Johnson and Ed Davey, I think we all know who the electoral asset is.”

A Conservative MP prompted mocking laughter from a Question Time audience by claiming that Boris Johnson “genuinely didn’t believe there was wrongdoing” in Downing Street over Partygate.

Andy Gregory www.independent.co.uk

Maria Caulfield battled through multiple outbursts of incredulous laughter and interjections from the audience in her defence of Mr Johnson on Thursday.

That prompted a fellow panel member to observe that, contrary to the claims of some Tory MPs, “the audience tonight tells us the heat hasn’t gone out of this”.

This week’s panel was asked whether the Metropolitan Police’s decision this week to issue 20 initial fixed penalty notices over Covid rule-breaking in Whitehall meant the prime minister had misled parliament and should resign.

Ms Caulfield, the Tory MP for Lewes responded: “I think misleading parliament, to be found guilty of that, it has to be a deliberate misleading, not inadvertently misleading.”

Pushing through an initial bout of laughter, she insisted that Mr Johnson “has been very clear that there were wrongdoings around the Partygate situation” and “has apologised for that” and “made changes already to No 10”.

Amid several shouts from the audience, Ms Caulfield said: “As someone who did work on the Covid wards during the pandemic, no one is more angry about events that took place in No 10, because while many of us were working on the wards, we weren’t having social gatherings after work. So I fully understand the anger, the frustration at what happened.”

Pressed by another audience member on the fact that the prime minister had “held his hands up now, but only because he was found out”, Ms Caulfield claimed: “He genuinely did not believe that there was wrongdoing.”

But her words prompted mocking laughter and looks of bemused disbelief from the crowd, with Thursday’s host, BBC journalist Victoria Derbyshire, saying: “When people laugh when you say he said he didn’t believe he was at a party, what does that make you think?

Ms Caulfield replied: “As I’ve said, I fully understand the anger and frustration”, but Ms Derbyshire interjected: “That was laughter, that was ridicule. They don’t believe him.”

Moments later, Labour MP Steve Reed said it was “really sad to see Tory MPs like Maria wheeled out to defend the indefensible on this”.

Accusing Boris Johnson of having “believed the laws are for the little people”, Mr Reed added: “He’s showed contempt to the British people, he lied to the British people, he lied to parliament … if he had any decency he would resign.”

Ms Caulfield claimed that it was “a bit rich of the Labour Party” to attack Mr Johnson over Partygate when Sir Keir Starmer “was also investigated for a party”, but was told by the host that “there was no investigation”.

Durham Police said in February it had reviewed footage of the Labour Party leader taken last April and did not “believe an offence has been established” and would “take no further action”.

Mr Reed said that “there was no comparison” between the actions of Sir Keir and Mr Johnson, while a member of the audience shouted, in an apparent riposte to Ms Caulfield: “Two wrongs don’t make a right”.

Interjecting shortly afterwards, Talk Radio host Julia Hartley Brewer said: “I’ve had so many Tory MPs on my radio show who tell me that the heat has gone out of this. I think the audience tonight tells us the heat hasn’t gone out of this.”

Describing the UK as having “an arrogant government, and an arrogant No 10, and an arrogant prime minister who think they’re above us”, she added: “I don’t think we should ever be ruled by people who think they’re better than us and know better than us.

“I’m afraid he has to go, because we should have principles in our government that if you lie to parliament, if you make laws that you then break, you have no business being in charge of this country.”

Appearing in front of senior MPs on the Commons liaison committee on Wednesday, the prime minister repeatedly refused to be drawn on the Partygate scandal and whether he could resign, saying he wouldn’t “give a running commentary on an investigation that is underway”.

SNP MP Pete Wishart told the prime minister he was “pretty much toast” if handed a fine by the police.

Rishi Sunak’s top 5 tips to deal with the cost-of-living crisis

Arabin Patson newsthump.com 

Before jetting off to one of his California homes, the Chancellor has reacted to criticisms, that he has done little to help Britons struggling with soaring prices, by publishing a list of five money-saving tips to see families through leaner times.

It reads:

1. Make every penny count! Get your butler (or whoever does your purchasing) to look into loyalty cards and coupons. Only buy non-perishable goods, like Korean roasted purple bamboo salt or Black Bowmore 50-year-old single malt, when they are on sale.
2. Declutter and sell! We all have extraneous things taking up space that we haven’t used in years. So go through your old clothes, exercise machines, cryo-chambers, albino peacocks and domestic servants and put them for sale online. You’ll reap a tidy profit and maybe awaken the wheeler-dealer in you.
3. Fortune favours the bold! Whether it’s yachts belonging to Slavic gentlemen keen to make a sale or simply that ounce of cocaine you’re getting because Michael’s coming for dinner, it never hurts to ask for a discount.
4. Hypermiling keeps savers smiling! When going on holiday, tell the pilot of your jet to enter the slipstream of those ghastly commercial airliners. Doing that could save you £500 just over one trip to the St Barts.
5. Know your tax credits! The average family can drastically slash their tax bills simply by getting a lawyer in Panama City set up a financial services LLC in the Grand Caymans which then becomes the owner of a Jersey-based company that lists you as a non-executive director that gets paid consulting fees for work that can’t be disclosed because of commercial confidentiality clauses. It’s that easy!

Will it be only the junior staff who take the rap? – Owl

Rowena Mason www.theguardian.com 

Officials have begun to receive emails giving out £50 fines for attending Downing Street parties, according to sources.

After the Metropolitan police said on Monday that they were issuing 20 penalty notices, emails have gone out to some of those involved, who the police “have a reasonable belief” attended gatherings during lockdown.

Government sources said the Met appeared to have tackled the “low-hanging fruit first” by concentrating on parties where those involved had acknowledged their participation.

The Met suggested the fines were issued as part of a “first tranche”, indicating that more could be handed out in relation to more complicated events where those involved are denying having attended illegal gatherings.

One of the events where some of the people in attendance are believed to have got fines is a leaving party on 18 June, which was held for a departing No 10 aide.

There is little transparency over the issuing of fines, with civil servants not obliged to tell their bosses if they have received penalty notices. The Met is also not providing a breakdown of which out of 12 events being investigated have led to fines so far.

No 10 has said it will provide an update if Boris Johnson receives a fixed penalty notice. The prime minister is believed to have been present at several of the gatherings under investigation, including a birthday party and a gathering in the garden of No 10 organised by his principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds.

However, he has refused to accept that a fine would mean he has broken the law, and his allies suggest he would not resign if he is issued with a penalty.

In contrast, Kit Malthouse, the policing minister, appeared to back the view of two cabinet colleagues in stating that the issuing of partygate fines is evidence that police believe the law has been broken.

Malthouse, a Home Office minister, said it was fair to say a fixed-penalty notice (FPN) signalled police felt an unlawful act had been committed.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Malthouse said: “A fixed-penalty notice means police have a reasonable belief that you’ve broken the law – you still have a right to challenge it if you want.

“Having said that, the police practice is not routinely to release the names of those who receive fixed penalties, and I don’t see why that rule should be waived for those people who may or may not be in receipt of it in Downing Street.”

Malthouse, who attends cabinet, said he had not personally received a fine in relation to the Scotland Yard investigation, but he would declare it if he did.

It’s ‘Take Out the Trash Day’ – when the government rushes out a flurry of announcements 

Aletha Adu www.mirror.co.uk (Summary)

1. Civil servants offered an effective pay cut

Unions are threatening to take industrial action after the Government quietly slipped out a below-inflation pay offer for civil servants.

2. Under-fire firm axed from school tutoring scheme

The company running the Government’s national tutoring programme has lost the contract for next year.

3. Home Office rapped for exaggerating Windrush progress

The Home Office has been blasted for exaggerating the progress made to shift its internal culture in the wake of the Windrush scandal.

4. Surplus PPE to be auctioned off

Surplus personal protective equipment will be auctioned as the Government bids to stop paying out millions of pounds of taxpayers’ cash to store stock.

5. Sewage dumped into rivers 1,000 times a day

Raw sewage was dumped into English rivers and seas hundreds of thousands of times last year, official data shows.

6. Universal Credit cuts ‘will push 400,000 children back into poverty’

The latest annual poverty statistics show around 400,000 children had been pulled off the breadline by the temporary increase to Universal Credit.

The use of environmentally damaging and potentially carcinogenic pesticides to kill weeds on East Devon District Council (EDDC) property will be phased out by September.

Owl is waiting for the Tory “in touch” attack dogs (who know the price of everything but the value of nothing) to criticise anything to do with saving the environment as a waste of money, next edition perhaps?

Joe Ives, Local Democracy Reporter sidmouth.nub.news

‘Hot foam’ weed killer (BBC News). Inset: Cllr Denise Bickley (EDDC)

Streetscene, which cleans and maintains public spaces in East Devon including parks, public gardens and council-owned toilets, has been given the go-ahead to make the move following a vote by EDDC’s cabinet.

It means calling time on the use of glyphosate, the most commonly used pesticide in the district’s urban areas. Woody weed killers will also be banned. Right now these herbicides are used on paths and pavements, including in schools, parks, gardens, playgrounds and hospitals.

“These are all areas used on a daily basis by our residents and visitors – and often by those most vulnerable to the adverse effects of pesticides; elderly people, young children, pregnant women and those with underlying health conditions,” a council report warned.

The harmful chemicals will be replaced with a vinegar solution from the Royal Horticultural Society which has been trialled with “some success.” It will be combined with manual weeding and two ‘hot foam’ weed control machines, expected to cost £67,000.

Hot foam machines work by creating a ‘thermal blanket’ that keeps water at a high temperature when placed on weeds, killing or significantly damaging the plants.

Streetscene says it has ruled out using ‘flame guns’ to treat the problem due to their reliance on fossil fuels. The devices use an estimated 61kg of fossil fuel gas per hectare.

Speaking to EDDC’s cabinet, Tom Wood, deputy Streetscene manager said: “There needs to be an understanding that we will see a slightly higher prevalence of weeds across our towns and parishes.”

He concluded that although there is “no magic wand in replacing glyphosate as it is so effective” the positive impact on the environment will outweigh the downsides.

When asked why pesticides couldn’t be phased out sooner Mr Wood said it will take until September this year to prepare staff and arrange equipment. Deputy leader of EDDC, councillor Paul Hayward (Independent East Devon Alliance and Democratic Alliance Group, Yarty) added: “It is a significant issue but we are addressing it – it just takes a little bit of time.”

A council report outlined the environmental problems with pesticides, saying their use “has a negative effect on urban wildlife, and has been identified as a contributory factor in the decline of butterflies, bees, insects, birds, mammals and aquatic species.

“Pesticides sprayed onto the hard surfaces in towns and cities can rapidly run off into drains and sewers and find their way into water supplies. The cost for removing pesticides from our water supplies runs into millions of pounds per annum.

“Pesticides do not only pollute waterways; they leach into soil and kill susceptible microorganisms and earthworms, which reduces soil fertility and structure, creating an unhealthy monoculture.”

Councillor Denise Bickley (Independent East Devon Alliance and Democratic Alliance Group, Sidmouth Town) assistant portfolio holder for climate action and emergency response, praised the move, describing glyphosate as a “hideous chemical.”

The local authorities are giving particular support to families in Devon whose relatives in Ukraine

Lewis Clarke www.devonlive.com

Devon’s local authorities are supporting local residents who want to provide sanctuary to the Ukrainian refugees who have been forced to flee their homes. A new website now hosts the latest guidance and information as it becomes available.

Team Devon, which includes Devon County Council, East Devon, Mid Devon, North Devon, South Hams, Teignbridge and Torridge District Councils, West Devon Borough Council and Exeter City Council, condemned Russia’s actions when it first invaded Ukraine.

The local authorities are giving particular support to families in Devon whose relatives in Ukraine are fleeing the conflict, as well as to households who volunteer to accommodate refugees.

The councils’ support of Ukraine follows their previous commitment, alongside health and voluntary sector partners and local communities, to help Syrian families and those fleeing conflict in Afghanistan.

The county council is receiving the latest information from the government on the sponsors who have registered, and DBS checks on the sponsor families are being carried out. Devon’s district authorities are using a common approach to assess each sponsor’s accommodation, which will help better assess any potential safeguarding risks.

Chair of the Devon District’s Forum Councillor Bob Deed said: “The fighting continues to have a devastating impact on civilians, and we have a moral duty to support families fleeing Ukraine to join their family members here in the UK.

“There has been a huge groundswell of goodwill with many Devon residents registering to help with more registering every day, and now we are focused with ensuring that the refugees can join their families as quickly and safely as possible.

“The safety and wellbeing of those we are welcoming is one of our main priorities we have already made good progress in that regard.

“As soon as we receive new information or guidance from Government, we will post it on https://www.devon.gov.uk/supporting-ukraine/.”

Hospital trusts fear the removal of mass free Covid testing is “premature” and likely to exacerbate health inequalities, a leading NHS chief has warned, as infection levels in England reach new highs for the pandemic.

Samuel Lovett www.independent.co.uk

Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents all trusts in England, said there was “nervousness” in the sector at the “speed and scale” in which free testing has been scaled back, adding that members “would have preferred” to keep the policy in place “until we were further through this”.

The move comes at a time of record-breaking infection levels: one in 13 people in England caught the virus last week, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This amounts to 4.1 million infected individuals.

Hospital admissions have also risen in recent weeks, showing that the NHS still faces “significant risk” from the virus, Mr Hopson told The Independent.

Under current guidance, free testing will continue to be provided for hospital patients and patient-facing staff, those who remain vulnerable to Covid-19 and are eligible for community drug treatments, care home residents and people working in some high-risk settings, including prisons.

Along with numerous campaign groups and scientists, NHS trusts are particularly concerned by the prospect of poorer communities bearing an even greater burden of disease due to the inability to afford regular testing.

“One of the issues is inequality, where we are now in a position in which people are potentially able to look after their health better if they’re able to afford tests, compared to those who can’t,” said Mr Hopson.

“That feels deeply uncomfortable given that the NHS is based on the fundamental principle of care being available for free at the point of use, based on clinical need, not ability to pay. This impact on health inequalities is the concern I hear most from our members.”

The most deprived parts of England have been hardest hit throughout the pandemic, while recent analysis from The Independent showed that at least 30 per cent more coronavirus deaths occurred in these areas in the first six weeks of the year.

Separate ONS data also shows that poorer regions in the country are a greater risk of re-infection, with the now-dominant Omicron sub-variant, known as BA.2, known to be capable of repeatedly infecting people over a matter of months.

Although Mr Hopson acknowledged the government has “difficult decisions” to make in managing the “trade-offs between costs and public health protection,” he warned that the details of the new testing regime for hospitals could have an adverse impact on operations.

Previously, patients penned in for surgery were required to carry out a PCR test in the days before their appointment. “We knew where people stood before they came to the hospital,” Mr Hopson.

Now, patients are required to return a negative result via a lateral flow test “in advance of admission,” NHS guidance states.

“There’s a nervousness that in switching to on-the-day LFT testing, as opposed to advanced PCR testing, where trusts have been providing results before patients travel in, we’ll see more people coming in and saying ‘I didn’t realise I was meant to have an LFT test’,” Mr Hopson said.

“That could mean greater levels of cancellations on the day, just at the point when we are trying to maximise elective operation throughput.

“Trust leaders are nervous about the impact of making what might seem to be small changes, when actually they could have quite a significant operational impact. We’ll need to work through the details of exactly what this new regime means.”

Fears are also mounting over the persistence of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) as BA.2 continues to spread throughout the UK. In the past 28 days, 23.7 per cent of people in hospital with Covid caught the virus after being admitted for a separate health issue, data show.

Although free testing will continue to be available for patients and their doctors and nurses, ancillary staff and visitors are not eligible. This risks repeatedly exposing already sick patients to the virus, said Mr Hopson.

“Another area of nervousness is protecting the much larger number of vulnerable and immunosuppressed patients we see in healthcare settings,” he said.

With BA.2 bringing the issue of HAIs back into focus, there is concern that the new testing policy regime could endanger trusts’ most vulnerable patients, Mr Hopson suggested. “Are we striking the right balance here between, again, the public cost of testing versus ensuring we’re doing everything we can to protect people?”

Added to the threat posed by on-ward infections, the number of people admitted to hospital, both with and for Covid-19, rose last month, while prevalence levels in the community are currently at record highs.

There were 15,632 people in hospital in England with Covid as of Wednesday, up 18 per cent week on week, and the highest figure since 19 January.

While roughly half of patients in hospital with Covid were receiving treatment for other health issues, numbers are also rising in primary Covid hospitalisations, while admissions in over-65s are now 15 per cent higher than their January 2022 peak.

“As we can see from current levels of hospitalisations, which have gone up over the last few weeks, we still face significant risk in terms of Covid being around and I think there’s nervousness about we simply don’t know what and how this virus is going to develop,” he said.

Given the current context, trust leaders “would have preferred to have had availability of free testing for a longer period until we were further through this and we were in more of an endemic state,” Mr Hopson added.

“People are nervous this is premature and what they’re particularly nervous about are the health inequality consequences and the impact on vulnerable patients.”

Professor Tim Spector from King’s College London, who runs the Zoe Covid tracking app, told Times Radio the timing for the end of free testing “couldn’t really be worse”.

The latest estimates from the ONS show that 4.9 million people in the UK were infected with Covid-19 between 20 and 26 March, up from 4.3 million in the previous week.

Kara Steel, senior statistician for the ONS Covid-19 infection survey, said: “Infection levels remain high, with the highest levels recorded in our survey seen in England and Wales and notable increases among older age groups.”

Latest Hospital data for the Devon ICS (includes all hospitals in the County)

In the absence of any evidence-based central resource allocation, Whitehall falls back on the easy option: create a competition.

Winners can be judged on the “weight” of the submission (literally) and the glossiness of the brochures. It favours those local authorities who already have spare capacity over those who are already resource constrained.

Favours style over substance. –  Owl (from experience)

www.room151.co.uk 

Speakers at Room151’s Local Authority Treasurers Investment Forum (LATIF) North have expressed concern about the funding processes established by central government as part of the levelling up agenda.

Professor Steven Broomhead, chief executive of Warrington Borough Council, criticised the “tyranny of competitive funding”. He said this reflected central government’s top-down approach, and  suggested that “SW1 in the next five years will still be making all the decisions”.

“With levelling up there are no additional resources except where you have to bid through a tyranny of competitive funding for money that is already in government programmes – town deals, skills accelerator, levelling up funds.”

He said that bidding processes were time-consuming and directed effort away from strategic policies that could make a difference to local people in their communities.

“It is dead easy to set up a competition for this, that and the other. I would like to see things funded properly through a policy-based, evidence-based approach and mainstream the funding rather than all these little pots of money, which keep the civil servants very busy.”

Lisa Harris, executive director of place at St Helens Council, said her plea to government would be to join up the different funding regimes and offer long-term revenue funding. “All too often we can be granted funding with one hand and then funding pulled elsewhere.”

“It is about joining up those funding regimes at government so that we have a continuation of funding, so that we have a much more balanced funding portfolio in order to make that long-lasting difference and change.”

Harris said that competitive bidding processes often required external assistance from consultants because there was no capacity left in local government. “The most frustrating thing for me is that that competition means we don’t have time to collaborate and we don’t have time to innovate.”

Ministerial mixed messages

Ian Knowles, chief executive of West Lindsey District Council, highlighted an issue with the government’s £2.6bn Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF). The SPF is due to replaces EU structural funds, with all areas of the UK receiving an allocation based on a formula rather than competitive bids.

In England, SPF funds will be devolved to the mayoral combined authorities or to the Greater London Authority and, in localities outside of these areas, to unitary or lower-tier authorities. But Knowles said this conflicted with previous messages from ministers emphasising the role of district councils in place shaping.

“I think there are mixed messages there in terms of how [SPF allocations] will operate within two-tier environments,” he told delegates.

“I would like to see government following through on the fair funding arrangements that they have been talking about for years. Business rates needs to get sorted – we have been waiting for that for far too long. If you can get a better funding base, then we can start to make those plans going forward – particularly if we can get a three- or four-year settlement.”

Jackie Weaver, chief officer of the Cheshire Association of Local Councils, highlighted the relationship between town and parish councils and county, district and unitary authorities.

“For town and parish councils, it is a blessing and a curse that we get no central government funding at all. But then we have the opportunity of getting funding from our principal authorities.”

However, Weaver said that grants from principal authorities were often tied to particular priorities “It would be nice if it started at grass-roots level, and you said ‘come to us with something innovative and we will consider it’ even if it doesn’t tick one of these boxes.”

A post suitable for April Fool’s day when lateral flow tests will no longer be provided free to everyone.

From ‘herd immunity’ to today, Covid minimisers are still sabotaging our pandemic progress 

Dr William Hanage is a professor of the evolution and epidemiology of infectious disease at Harvard and co-director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics www.theguardian.com 

So, is that it? After wave upon wave of infections, the combination of vaccination and Omicron’s comparatively mild (though still serious) properties has led the UK to declare the pandemic, essentially, over.

After two lockdowns, a huge burden on healthcare and at last an extremely prompt and effective vaccination campaign, the UK has still registered more than 160,000 lives lost to the pandemic, roughly half of them in the Alpha wave.

And in case you hadn’t noticed, “herd immunity”, much like Godot, has stubbornly failed to arrive and expel the virus from the population. Nobody should be under any illusions that it could have been much worse. Poor Peru was hit by dreadful waves of infection before vaccines could be deployed; it has lost roughly three times as many people as the UK, accounting for population.

It should be astonishing given these facts, but some stubborn voices have continued to argue that in the autumn of 2020 we should have rushed to remove restrictions on all except those most at risk – who would be somehow saved by untested, implausible means gathered together under the heading of “targeted protection”. At that point no vaccines were widely available, and the effective therapies we now have against Covid were pie in the sky. Shockingly, there are now attempts to rehabilitate these ideas in parts of the media.

Reaching back to relitigate such already-discredited approaches is nonsense. And worse, it makes reasonable discussions about pandemic management that much harder. Distraction has always been the goal of such revisionism. We saw this around targeted protection, we saw it in early arguments that Covid was “just the flu”, we saw it when many people were still arguing that PCR tests were overcounting cases in the UK in the fall of 2020, even as hospital beds and ventilator wards filled up and the death toll steadily mounted.

The point of all those fights was to play down the seriousness of the disease and ultimately to blunt our response to it. It started with saying the pandemic wasn’t a real threat, and, when that became undeniable, it became about declaring it over or past, again and again. As I wrote in April 2020, instead of a single peak, we got a mountain range. Ultimately, these arguments – despite being lost individually – seriously hampered the possibility of a real, sustainable strategy emerging to help us handle the grim pandemic terrain.

To want a sustainable strategy is not about being a “Covid hawk”. March 2022 is very different from October 2020. To suggest that restrictions might be relaxed once vaccination has been deployed is a reasonable discussion. Before that point it was guaranteed to lead to more preventable transmission, more serious illness, more hospitalisations and more deaths.

How our pandemic response should change is a question I get asked all the time. And my answer is always the same: what do we want to achieve? The minimum is to avoid healthcare being overwhelmed. But healthcare gets compromised when things like elective surgeries and screening are delayed – which will happen if huge numbers of staff and patients are sick. And this has indeed happened, over and again, as a result of uncontrolled transmission of the virus in the community.

Here’s a basic pandemic strategy fit for 2022: maintain awareness of the situation with cross-sectional testing of the population to determine how much virus is around, and combine it with wastewater surveillance to spot any rapid changes. Aggressively investigate any new variants because we can expect them, and they could still make a lot of people sick, fast. Make sure people who are in a vulnerable category get treatment early in infection, when it is most likely to help. Above all, emphasise being “up to date” with your vaccination status rather than “fully vaccinated” or “boosted” because we don’t know what might be needed in future.

And we should not forget other effective measures that we have known about for ages. A century and a half ago, we started to think seriously about cleaning the water we drank, after repeated cholera epidemics that killed Queen Victoria’s Prince Albert, alongside many others, mostly poor and without a gaudy memorial on the south side of Hyde Park. We could do the same for the air we breathe now with better ventilation. What about improved sick pay? It enables people who are infectious with Covid or anything else to not infect people in the workplace, by staying at home.

These interventions would blunt future pandemics of respiratory infections. And they would help in the autumn and winter of this year, when Covid and influenza will be tussling for pole position. Hell, you don’t need to talk about future pandemics to advocate for the benefits of such structural change, it’s clear right now.

After almost all interventions were removed, the UK has been predictably buffeted by a wave of BA.2 infections. For now, it appears that the disease is comfortingly similar to BA.1, by which I mean readily handled by the great majority of vaccinated folks. But to insist that future variants will be similar is a gamble, not a policy. Rather than maintaining its world-beating scientific effort to understand the properties of the variants as they emerge, the UK is scaling back funding. It doesn’t end because you want it to. Every time you’ve heard a voice state it’s time to “live with the virus” remember that doesn’t mean doing nothing about it.

But Jupp votes against and Parish absents himself.

Maya Oppenheim www.independent.co.uk

MPs have voted to make at-home early medical abortions permanent in England after a lengthy campaign by pregnancy termination services to keep the measures in place.

After the pandemic hit the UK in March 2020, ministers permitted abortion pills to be sent via post to be taken at home after a phone consultation, in a new system referred to as “telemedicine”.

While new abortion measures were due to run out on 25 March, the government recently declared a six-month extension for at-home early medical abortions after lengthy delays to ministers clarifying their position.

After the extension period, women who ordered abortion medication to take at home would have been breaking the law and could therefore have faced criminal penalties.

But MPs on Wednesday voted to make at home early medical abortions permanent – with 215 politicians voting for the measure and 188 against.

Having a medical abortion involves taking two tablets. Prior to the pandemic, getting the first tablet, mifepristone, required a visit to an abortion clinic.

The vote on telemedicine for abortion comes after Baroness Sugg, a Conservative peer, proposed a new amendment to the government’s Health and Care Bill, to ensure at-home early medical abortions become a permanent measure.

Baroness Sugg’s amendment passed in the House of Lords earlier in the month.

Louise McCudden, of MSI Reproductive Choices, a leading abortion provider, said they are “delighted” the system of telemedicine for abortion is no longer set to be revoked.

She said: “MPs have voted to keep the option of at-home abortion care. This was a vote for evidence over ideology, a vote for reproductive rights, and a vote for gender equality.

“Making this safe and popular service a permanent option will particularly benefit those who struggle to attend face-to-face appointments, including those in abusive relationships, those with caring responsibilities, and those without transport.”

Ms McCudden noted people decide to have an abortion for a range of reasons and in very different personal situations as she warned it is imperative to be able to provide a range of options.

“It is important that we can offer options that take into account personal circumstances – and that includes taking both pills at home,” she added. “Trusting people to make these choices for themselves is a vital part of how MSI delivers high quality, responsive care for anyone who needs us.”

The UK’s largest study into abortions previously found at-home early medical abortions pose no greater risk and allow women to have the procedure much earlier on in their pregnancy. Telemedicine for abortion has been permitted in Wales, France, America and New Zealand.

Some 150,000 women have had early medical abortions at home before they are 10 weeks pregnant since the provision was overhauled in the wake of the Covid crisis, MPs in the House of Commons heard.

Earlier in the week, The Independent reported women in the UK contemplated dangerous measures like scalding hot baths and hooks to terminate pregnancies before the government introduced telemedicine.

Clare Murphy, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, the UK’s largest abortion provider, said: “We are absolutely delighted that MPs followed the evidence and above all listened to women when they voted for the continuation of this service.

“Early abortion at home is safe, effective and an important option for women. We look forward to being able to provide this service into the future and are incredibly grateful to all the parliamentarians who championed it.”

Proposals aim to cut 70% sewage discharges into bathing waters, but not until 2035, and eliminate 40% of discharges into rivers by 2040 rising to 80% by 2050.

At this rate it’s a toss-up whether we reach net zero carbon first. – Owl

Raw sewage discharged into English rivers 375,000 times by water firms

Sandra Laville www.theguardian.com 

Water companies discharged raw sewage into English rivers 372,533 times last year, a slight reduction on the previous year.

The water companies covering England released untreated sewage for a combined total of more than 2.7m hours; compared with 3.1m hours in 2020, according to data released by the Environment Agency (EA) on Thursday.

The data was published as the government announced what it said was the largest overhaul of the sewer system since the 1990s to tackle the problem of discharges.

The government said the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan was a step change in how water companies tackled the number of discharges of untreated sewage, which the government and the public have made clear are unacceptable.

The plan aims to eliminate 40% of raw sewage overflows into rivers by 2040. Untreated sewage and rainwater should only be released into rivers and coastal waters via storm overflow pipes in extreme weather to relieve pressure in the sewerage system. However, evidence over the last three years has shown water companies are routinely using the overflows to discharge untreated sewage rather than treating it.

The environment secretary, George Eustice, said: “We are the first government to set out our expectation that that water companies must take steps to significantly reduce storm overflows. Today, we are setting specific targets to ensure that those storm overflows are used only in exceptional circumstances – delivering on our Environment Act and building on wider work on water quality.”

However, critics said the plan, which was launched for consultation on Thursday, lacked urgency. Mark Lloyd, the chief executive of the Rivers Trust, said: “I’m disappointed that this plan lacks the urgency we so desperately need. This plan is going to need strong input from civil society and NGOs like the Rivers Trust if it is going to outpace the twinned climate and nature crises we are currently facing. We want to have rivers where people and wildlife can thrive, but the target timelines in the plan are far too slow – I want to see this in my lifetime!”

Data released by the EA on Thursday showed that 10 water companies covering England were releasing raw sewage into waterways for hundreds of thousands of hours in 2021. The 372,533 spills were recorded only on those overflows where event duration monitors were in place: 12,608 of the 14,707 overflows, or 89%.

More than 60 discharges a year from an overflow are considered too high and should trigger an investigation. On average, 14% of discharges from the 10 water companies passed that limit.

Water companies in England are under investigation by the regulator Ofwat and the EA after they admitted they may have illegally released untreated sewage into rivers and waterways. The investigation will involve more than 2,200 sewage treatment works, with any company found breaching their legal permits liable to enforcement action, including fines or prosecutions. Fines can be up to 10% of annual turnover for civil cases, or unlimited in criminal proceedings.

Hugo Tagholm, the chief executive of Surfers Against Sewage, said the government’s plan was not tackling the problem quickly enough.

“The level of public outrage on the sewage pollution scandal continues to grow by the day, yet we’re seeing a consultation today that provides us with targets and timeframes decades away,” he said.

“The water industry must surely be forced to act faster, with a greater urgency to tackle their woeful pollution record that is contributing to the destruction of our rivers and coastline. This industry has already had over 30 years to act; we need to make sure they don’t have the opportunity to put their profits before the planet for the next 30.”

Richard Benwell, the chief executive of the Wildlife and Countryside Link, said: “These figures show another year of our waterways being choked by sewage pollution. This must change, for our own health as well as that of plants and animals struggling to survive in our polluted waters.”

Benwell said if the government was serious about cleaning up rivers “we need a hard deadline set in law to improve the overall quality of our waters and strong enforcement measures. We must halt the most harmful pollution by 2030 and go further, faster to stem the flow of water pollution for people and wildlife.”

Recorded spills by water companies

United 81,588

Yorkshire 70,062

Severn Trent 59,684

South West 42,484

Northumbrian 36,483

Wessex 23,532

Anglian 21,351

Southern 19,077

Thames 14,713

Welsh Water (in England) 3,567

“Officers at East Devon District Council (EDDC) have now made a refreshed offer to businesses in The Strand who wish to trade on the land owned by the council this summer.”

Common sense seems to have prevailed, but VAT returns to the pre-covid level of 20%. – Owl

Anita Merritt www.devonlive.com 

Independent businesses on Exmouth Strand can now breathe a huge sigh of relief following a U-turn by East Devon District Council over ‘extortionate’ rent hikes for outdoor seating after a major backlash. Last year, bars and restaurants in the area were paying Devon County Council £100 to use the paved areas outside its premises and also the same amount to EDDC to also use its grassed areas to extend its seating area in good weather and the Covid pandemic.

However, this month traders were informed by EDDC that new charges were being brought in with increases being as much as 144 times more pro-rata. Traders also alleged they were told of they don’t pay the new rates, the grassed land will be offered to other businesses.

A collective protest against the new rents was made by five traders in The Strand. They unanimously agreed they should have to pay to have seating on the Strand, but they didn’t agree with how much the rents have been raised or that they were being charged different rates from each other. Support was received for their campaign from local councillors as well as East Devon MP Simon Jupp, and also local residents.

Earlier this week, the council said it had launched a ‘commercial negotiation’ with traders to see whether it is ‘appropriate’ for the council to ‘subsidise’ local businesses that adjoin the Strand in Exmouth, and that a similar consultation was successfully carried out at Queen’s Drive Space.

Yesterday, the council confirmed it has now ‘refreshed’ its rent charges, much to the delight of the Strand traders. George Nightingale, owner of Spoken, said he is happy to have ‘won’ their battle and has thanked all those who have helped them achieve a victory.

He said: “We have all reached mutually agreeable rents. We can now afford to be out here and can employ more staff and we can just ensure the vibrancy of the town. Let’s get back to business and doing what we should be doing and that’s providing good food and good drink.” He added: “Viva revolution and here’s to a better great Exmouth for the future.”

EDDC says it has reconsidered its position due to rents charged by DCC. A spokesperson for EDDC said: “Officers at East Devon District Council (EDDC) have now made a refreshed offer to businesses in The Strand who wish to trade on the land owned by the council this summer.

“The council has taken into consideration the views that have been expressed by traders over recent days and wants to find a positive way forward. EDDC has always wanted to enable the continued use of The Strand for hospitality businesses to place tables and chairs on council-owned land and to continue the café culture/ alfresco environment that has proven so popular.

Traders are uniting against rent hikes for outdoor space in The Strand (Image: The Strand traders)

“The council had been seeking a fair commercial rent and had hoped the traders in this space would have entered into constructive negotiation with our agents as they had been encouraged to do. However, in light of the unique circumstances of this space with pavement licences also issued by Devon County Council, a refreshed proposal has now been made to traders for the 2022 and 2023 seasons – April 1 to September 30 – each year).

“EDDC will be embarking this summer on a significant and exciting piece of work around place making in Exmouth with the recent appointment of a dedicated project manager. This work will include extensive consultation and engagement on a range of projects and opportunities across the town including The Strand and how we can further improve the offering. We hope that the traders will engage constructively in those discussions when they take place.”

Before the council’s change of heart, Cafe and bar Franklins were told they would have to pay £1,007 for six tables (equivalent rent pro rata of £4,080 PA), whereas The Grapevine will have to pay £4,500 – an increase it says amounts to 45 times.

Bayleaf Cafe and Bar said they were being charged almost 80 times more than what it pays DCC for its pavement licence. Bar and restaurant Spoken said it was required to pay £6,000 for ‘a few months in the summer’ (equivalent rent pro rata of £14,400 PA) and – 144 times more valuable than the paved area.

No this is not an April Fool

Led by donkeys

The day that domestic fuel cap rises by £700, the biggest increase in living memory, followed by National Insurance increases next week.

Meanwhile Tory MPs “party through the cost of living emergency” by attending a “champagne bash” on Tuesday night.

One rule for them, another rule for us. – Owl

Andy Gregory www.independent.co.uk 

Boris Johnson has been told he is “pretty much toast” if handed a Partygate fine, as the prime minister endured a grilling from senior MPs on the Commons liaison committee.

At PMQs hours earlier, SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford accused the Tories of “partying through the cost of living emergency” by attending a “champagne bash” on Tuesday night, days before an energy price hike hits millions of families.

The bereaved families of Covid victims chanted “shame on you” as Conservative MPs entered the dinner party at the Park Plaza hotel, which came as the Metropolitan Police confirmed an initial 20 Partygate fines, prompting renewed calls for Boris Johnson to resign.

Meanwhile, Michael Gove’s Homes for Ukraine scheme has faced scathing criticism. The Home Office has said just 2,700 visas have been granted to people hoping to come to the UK under the initiative – despite applications reaching 28,300.

Robina Qureshi, director of refugee homelessness charity Positive Action in Housing, said the “goodwill of British people is being poured down the drain.”

“We are disgusted and ashamed,” she said.

Interesting to read this in the light of Owl’s earlier post: “Local Tories sink into Nauseating Hypocrisy”. 

In their latest leaflet, endorsed by Simon Jupp, Tory attack dogs write: “Conservative councillors are…… questioning the use of tax payers money to subsidise one business over another.” (Obviously only applies where it suits!)

It is also interesting to note that Simon Jupp fails to mention that from Friday the VAT on the hospitality sector will rise from 12.5% to 20%.

East Devon deserves better, Simon. – Owl

Will Goddard exmouth.nub.news 

An example of outdoor seating on a grassed area of the Strand in 2021 (The Grapevine Brewhouse)

Several Exmouth businesses have objected to rises in rental costs for using grassed areas on the Strand in Exmouth.

The charge paid to East Devon District Council for using the areas for outdoor seating was £100 last year, the businesses said. Now, it’s into the thousands.

For example, Franklins Cafe and Bar said it would now have to pay £1,700 (£4,080 pro rata), and Spoken £6,000 (£14,400 pro rata) for the grassed areas.

These charges are unrelated to the outdoor seating on the paved areas of the Strand, which cost £100 per year from Devon County Council.

Oliver Bainbridge, owner of The Grapevine Brewhouse near the Strand, said: “Our rent last year was £100. This year, it’s going to be £4,500, which is obviously a massive hike of 45 times the previous year.

“We are very aware this is public land and we need to pay for this. We don’t want this for free, what we want is a sensible and measured approach.”

‘East Devon deserves better’ – Simon Jupp MP

The businesses are being supported by East Devon MP Simon Jupp.

He said: “Charging businesses in the Strand several thousand pounds to put out a few tables and chairs is unacceptable.

“The government relaxed the rules around alfresco dining to help cafes, bars and restaurants after a difficult two years.

“I have called on East Devon District Council to rethink their rip-off rent increases which won’t help struggling businesses.

“After doubling the price of parking and announcing plans to close public toilets, local businesses need all the help they can get. East Devon deserves better.”

Response from district council

East Devon District Council has said that the issue is about whether or not it’s appropriate for the council ‘to subsidise local businesses that adjoin the Strand in Exmouth’.

Using an outside agency, the council has also said that negotiations with traders for the Queen’s Drive Space on Exmouth seafront have been ‘very successful’ – and it can see ‘no reason’ why it can’t be the same for traders on the Strand.

A spokesperson for East Devon District Council said: “This matter is the subject of a commercial negotiation that began last week.

“At its core is the issue of whether it is appropriate for the council to subsidise local businesses that adjoin the Strand in Exmouth.

“This happened during the COVID lockdown period when stringent social distancing arrangements were in place but as we know we are all now learning to live with COVID.

“Our request is that the traders interested in a space now engage with the council’s agents and we look forward to saying more in the very near future.

“We recently completed very successful negotiations through the same agency for pitches at Queen’s Drive Space on Exmouth seafront and can see no reason why the Strand traders would not wish to engage in the same process.”

East Devon Tories, with personal endorsements from Neil Parish and Simon Jupp, have really sunk to new depths in their latest newsletter. (Owl received a copy from an outraged correspondent).

Amongst the tendentious attacks on the performance of EDDC’s Democratic Alliance Coalition, is this  mendacious little gem paraded as Example No4.

Does this stand a moment’s scrutiny?- The facts checked

Leisure East Devon Ltd was established as a not-for-profit Industrial & Provident Society (IPS) on 1 January 2006 with the specific purpose of managing the EDDC leisure activities previously operated through the Council’s Leisure & Lifestyles Team on a 30 year lease at a peppercorn rent, with EDDC paying an annual service charge. In other words Leisure East Devon was set up by EDDC’s Conservative councillors as an outsourcing operation.

[The name was changed in 2014 to “LED” when all IPSs were converted into regulated Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies. (Before that, unlike charities, IPSs were unregulated). This change also reflected the fact that LED had also taken over management of South Somerset District Council leisure facilities.]

The original ambition appears to have been to generate £1.6m working capital (on annual turnover of approx £5m) and gradually reduce EDDC support. This has never been achieved and EDDC has had to provide LED with annual grants, as required to balance the books. In 2012, for example, this grant amounted to £1.1m and in 2017 EDDC budgeted for £893,720. Over the years EDDC has also paid one-off sums for refurbishment. In other words Conservative controlled EDDC has always subsidised LED and it can hardly be described as “freestanding”.

In June 2015, The Tory EDDC engineered a take-over of the lease of Exmouth seafront “Ocean” facility by LED. Conservative Councillor Andrew Moulding, chairman of Exmouth Regeneration Programme, said: “This is fantastic news for everyone who lives in Exmouth or who comes to the resort for holidays or leisure” Some disagreed when they looked at the generous guarantor terms provided for LED (tenant) and Harlequins (landlord) by EDDC. In other words EDDC Conservatives were quite content to subsidise one business over another and intervene heavily in the local leisure market.

In March 2020, although the Conservatives lost control in 2019, EDDC, under the Ben Ingham regime, completed the acquisition of the Ocean Blue leisure complex on Exmouth seafront for £2.7m using the council’s Commercial Investment Fund. (Ben Ingham, despite claiming to be “Independent”, continued with Conservative policies). The East Devon Watch post: “The sad planning saga of Exmouth’s Albatross, the Ocean Bowling Alley.” chronicles the events from 1993 to 2020. This purchase is the inevitable result of the Conservative led strategic interventions in the “regeneration” of Exmouth Seafront over this period which has turned out to be a commercial failure. In other words it is Conservative intervention in the local leisure market over more than two decades that has been a signal failure.

In June 2020 Democratic Alliance Coalition inherited this mess

In October 2020 LED estimated a loss of £1.3m in the current year as a result of COVID-19 restrictions over the leisure centres it operates in the East Devon area. It asked for funds ranging between £616,000 and £1.276m from EDDC. As a charitable trust it is unable to claim 75 per cent of lost income under a central government scheme whereas leisure facilities operated directly by Local Authorities can do so. Note that this is a Conservative imposed double whammy.

Yet in March 2022 Conservatives have the cheek to proclaim:

“EDDC owned leisure facilities have taken a huge financial hit during the Covid pandemic with the Council subsidising the activities of LED, a standalone company. Conservative councillors are concerned about these costs and are questioning the use of tax payers money to subsidise one business over another. This money could have been spent on keeping our public toilets open and prevent car parking increases.”

 Owl’s question to Conservatives:

When did you first have qualms about using taxpayers money to subsidise the “standalone” LED you created, especially in its relationship with the Harlequins “Ocean Blue” centre in Exmouth? 

Have you sanctioned Councillor Andrew Moulding for his playing off one business against another in 2015?

Why did Conservative councillors intervene so heavily in the local leisure market, with little or no consultation, for over two decades?

And has Simon Jupp MP fought really hard to get the 75% covid rebate paid to LED? East Devon deserves better  (to coin one of his very own phrases). 

Owls’ advice: Take anything said by a Conservative with a great big pinch of salt. Like Boris Johnson, it won’t stand much scrutiny.

In Touch or Out of Touch?