• Campaigners warn Britons  missing out on vital care as NHS is ‘erecting barriers’

Shaun Wooller www.dailymail.co.uk (Extract)

The NHS is discriminating against elderly patients with one in six GP practices now taking bookings online only, a study suggests.

Campaigners warn Britons are missing out on vital care as the NHS is ‘erecting barriers’ that limit opportunities to see a family doctor face-to-face.

This is forcing people into private healthcare or overcrowded A&E departments and hits those without internet access hardest, over-60s group Silver Voices said.

Its poll of 1,200 members reveals 76 per cent have experienced difficulties in obtaining a face-to-face GP appointment.

Eighty per cent have been forced to accept a telephone consultation and 71 per cent begrudgingly saw another member of practice staff…..

Sir Keir Starmer is on course for a landslide general election victory bigger than 1997, despite party tensions over the Israel–Hamas conflict.

Archie Mitchell www.independent.co.uk

The Labour leader would become prime minister with a 212-seat majority if an election were held tomorrow, according to a Survation poll on behalf of the UK Spirits Alliance.

The survey, based on new constituency boundaries taking effect at the next election, is the first of its kind since Hamas launched a wave of terror attacks on Israel on 7 October.

In the month since, Sir Keir’s party has been plagued by infighting over whether to call for a ceasefire as the civilian death toll grows in Gaza.

The Labour leader has defied pressure to call for an end to Israel’s assault, warning that to do so would solely benefit Hamas.

He has instead called for “humanitarian pauses” to allow aid into the besieged Strip, in line with the UK and US governments.

But several frontbenchers have rejected the principle of “collective responsibility”, breaking the party line and backing a ceasefire. Last week Imran Hussain, the MP for Bradford East, announced he was quitting his role as shadow minister for the new deal for working people, to be able to “strongly advocate” for a ceasefire.

Almost 50 Labour councillors have quit and hundreds of local representatives oppose the leadership’s stance.

Despite the weeks of infighting dominating media coverage of Labour, the new poll suggests the party could secure 431 seats, compared to the Conservatives on 156.

In his 1997 victory, Sir Tony Blair won 418 seats, compared with Sir John Major’s Tories on 165, securing a 179-seat majority.

The Survation poll, reported by The Sunday Times, suggests nine cabinet ministers would lose their seats, including former leadership contender Penny Mordaunt, seen by many as a major contender to replace Rishi Sunak.

Other major scalps that are expected include defence secretary Grant Shapps, transport secretary Mark Harper, work and pensions secretary Mel Stride and justice secretary Alex Chalk.

A separate Opinium poll this weekend revealed Labour’s lead over the Conservatives has increased to 17 points, up from 15 a fortnight ago.

Labour now has 43 per cent of the vote share, while the Conservatives are on 26 per cent.

Opinium said Labour and Sir Keir have taken some “big hits” in terms of public perception over the conflict in Gaza, but the Conservatives have “let them off the hook”.

James Crouch, Opinium’s head of policy and public affairs, said: “The government seems to have let Labour off the hook on what could have been a very difficult week for the opposition.

“Labour’s response to the conflict in the Middle East has made the party look less united, and Starmer look much weaker than before. However, by the end of the week the news had moved on to Conservative divisions and indecision, leaving the door open to a 17-point Labour lead in the polls.”

“Unfortunately, the government has been sending mixed messages to industry about the net zero transition – which could mean we lose out on the cheaper [energy] bills and good jobs that will come from building the industries of the future here in Britain.” Sam Richards, a former climate and energy adviser in No 10.

Toby Helm www.theguardian.com 

The government has received no new applications for onshore wind farms in England since cabinet ministers eased planning rules earlier this year – in a further sign that Rishi Sunak’s anti-green policy shift is driving investment abroad.

So far this year, only one new project, with a single turbine, has become fully operational in England, with many more being built in the EU – and in Scotland and Wales, where planning rules are less burdensome. This is despite renewables being seen as the cleanest and safest form of power, and having wide public support.

Since early September, when the communities secretary, Michael Gove, and energy secretary, Claire Coutinho, introduced changes to planning rules, claiming these would boost onshore wind investment, there have been no applications to local authorities, according to the industry’s representative body, RenewableUK, which has studied data held by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

The fall-off in onshore wind projects in England contrasts with rapid increases in investment in Germany, France and Sweden.

The collapse will add to growing unease in Whitehall after no one bid for licences in the latest auction for offshore wind projects because the price companies could charge for the energy was set at too low a rate.

The Observer understands that, with panic setting in behind the scenes, ministers will announce a new framework of pricing within days to try to attract more investment into the sector before it is too late. There is also dismay among civil servants and government advisers, past and present, over the effect that recent government pronouncements on the green agenda have had on companies’ investment thinking.

In last week’s king’s speech, the government announced an energy bill with plans for a new annual system of oil and gas licences, despite the UK’s commitment to net zero targets, prompting outrage from the green lobby. Coutinho said more oil and gas “wouldn’t necessarily bring bills down”.

Sam Richards, a former climate and energy adviser in No 10, who now runs Britain Remade, a campaign group promoting economic growth, said recent anti-green rhetoric from the government risked lasting damage to the UK’s bid to be in the vanguard of a green industrial revolution.

“Unfortunately, the government has been sending mixed messages to industry about the net zero transition – which could mean we lose out on the cheaper [energy] bills and good jobs that will come from building the industries of the future here in Britain,” he said.

James Robottom, head of policy at RenewableUK, the body representing about 500 companies in the sector, said other countries were doing far more to maximise opportunities. “Unprecedented financial incentives are being offered to renewable energy developers by the US and the EU,” he said. “International competition to secure private investment in clean energy projects is intense as other countries seek to lure developers away from the UK to work elsewhere”.

He added: “The government’s very slight changes to the planning system aren’t going to bring about a significant increase in the number of new onshore wind farms in England. There are still restrictions to onshore wind that aren’t faced by any other infrastructure – despite widespread cross-party support to end the de facto ban – which is dampening the confidence of investors who would otherwise be interested. Local communities that support onshore wind are being denied the chance to benefit from cheap clean power.”

In 2015, before the government changed planning rules to make it easier for local people to block onshore wind farms in their areas, there were 158 new onshore projects in England, involving the construction of 228 new turbines. By last year, only two projects, involving four new turbines, were built in England.

Ed Miliband, Labour spokesperson for energy security and net zero, said: “The British people are paying the price of this government’s dogmatic, ideological and self-defeating opposition to home-grown clean power – in higher bills, energy insecurity and failure on climate.

“The Conservatives presented an energy bill that won’t bring bills down. Their supposed lifting of the onshore wind ban doesn’t do anything of the kind and it is costing families £180 every year on their bills.”

The government said that across the whole of the UK – not just England – substantial progress was being made. “The last Contracts for Difference round saw a record number of successful projects across renewables, including onshore wind projects.

“The streamlined National Planning Policy Framework aims to make it easier and quicker for onshore wind projects to come forward where there is local support.”

Bang goes the Lib Dem’s best recruiting officer! – Owl

Suella Braverman has been sacked as home secretary, after she defied No 10 over an article accusing the Met Police of bias in the policing of protests.

By Sam Francis www.bbc.co.uk

Mrs Braverman was accused of stoking tension in the article ahead of pro-Palestinian protests in London over the weekend.

Her replacement has not been announced.

The sacking kickstarts what is expected to be a major Cabinet reshuffle by Mr Sunak as he reshapes his top team ahead of next week’s Autumn Statement.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly was seen entering Downing Street on Monday morning and there was speculation he would replace Mrs Braverman as home secretary.

Another arrival at Number 10 was former prime minister David Cameron, prompting suggestions he would be returning to government as foreign secretary.

Mr Cameron, who has been out of Parliament since he stood down as a prime minister in 2016, could be given a seat in the House of Lords to take up his new position.

Mrs Braverman was sacked following days of a political firestorm sparked when she wrote an article for The Times newspaper, in which she accused the police of bias.

The article was not cleared by No10 and it later emerged Mrs Braverman had defied a Downing Street request to tone the article down.

Mrs Braverman was accused of stoking tensions surrounding a pro-Palestinian march on Armistice Day.

The “bottom line for the NHS” this winter is “the financial bottom line”. 

Rishi Sunak’s pledge to slash NHS waiting lists has effectively been downgraded, the Observer has been told, amid an increase in the number of patients in England waiting longer than 18 months for treatment.

Michael Savage www.theguardian.com 

Hospital leaders are warning that morale is low, staff absences are high, and funds for new equipment and repairs are having to be raided ahead of winter. They have now been told to prioritise controlling costs in favour of some of the extra work being done towards the prime minister’s pledge to bring down waits.

The news comes as the latest data reveals that one key waiting time target is heading in the wrong direction. The number of people waiting more than 18 months for treatment climbed back above 10,000 in September – a similar level to that recorded in March, and up from 8,998 in August.

With trusts already frustrated that they will not be fully compensated for costs created by NHS strikes, hospital leaders and analysts said that a memo sent last week effectively signalled the downgrading of No 10’s battle against waiting lists.

The memo said that to show “how you will deliver financial balance”, trusts needed a treatment plan “identifying the insourcing/outsourcing and waiting list initiatives you still consider necessary within a balanced financial plan”. One NHS finance chief said they believed it was the first time in a decade that they had been told the “bottom line for the NHS” this winter was “the financial bottom line”.

Sally Gainsbury, senior policy analyst at the Nuffield Trust, said the NHS was in a “precarious” position going into winter. “The NHS has now been asked to scale back the additional efforts and expenditure it was incurring in order to work through the record-high elective backlog – waiting lists – and focus instead on emergency and urgent cases,” she said. “The message is that further expenditure to reduce the waiting list – such as extra weekend clinics and theatres – just isn’t affordable within the budget constraints, so it is serious, especially for patients who may already have been on a list for months.

“Twelve-hour trolley waits are at the point they were this time last year. Staff sickness absence rate is extremely high ahead of winter. And then there is the issue of ongoing strikes. The small amount of extra cash from the Treasury this week isn’t going to solve the financial problems.” She said that the budget for buildings and equipment was “being raided” to cope.

Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, said the government had effectively abandoned its ambitions. “This is the government waving the white flag on Sunak’s pledge to cut waiting lists,” he said. “The PM would rather blame NHS staff than take responsibility and fix the problem himself. No wonder waiting lists have trebled since 2010. The longer we give the Conservatives, the longer patients wait.”

Tim Gardner, assistant director of policy at the Health Foundation, said that if the government was saving extra NHS funding for the forthcoming autumn statement, it would be “far too late to shift the dial on what’s likely to be a challenging winter for emergency departments”.

“There does seem to have been a distinct shift in priorities,” he said. “Financial control seems to be coming through more strongly, along with an increased focus on urgent and emergency care and patient safety, possibly in anticipation of what could be a difficult winter. As a consequence, progress on elective waiting lists appears to be a lower priority than it was.”

With the service struggling, NHS bosses are desperate for further strike action to be avoided. Junior doctors and consultants continue to demand the reopening of the pay deal offered by the government. Radiographers also walked out last month.

The CEO of NHS Providers, Sir Julian Hartley, urged ministers to resolve the disputes once and for all. “We haven’t even hit the worst of winter yet the pressure is being felt right across hospitals and mental health and community services, as demand for care continues to outstrip capacity,” he said. “This hiatus in strike action while talks continue between the government and doctors’ unions couldn’t have come soon enough. The last thing the NHS needs as we head into another challenging winter is more industrial action.”

Dr Adrian Boyle, the president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said he anticipated that the months ahead would be “as difficult as last winter”. “There’s nearly 150,000 people in one month who spent more than 12 hours in emergency departments,” he said. “That’s a bad indicator of us going into a difficult winter, so we’re worried.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Cutting waiting lists is one of our top five priorities, and despite disruption from strikes, 18-month waits are down more than 90% from their peak in September 2021. We’re backing the NHS with billions of investment to improve performance, with an additional £800m allocated this winter to support emergency care and tackle the longest waits.”

So let’s demolish the Seaton Hospital Wing! – Owl

The UK faces an ageing crisis and healthcare must step in, England’s chief medical officer, Prof Sir Chris Whitty, warns in his annual report.

By Michelle Roberts www.bbc.co.uk

People are living longer but some spend many of their later years in bad health – and that has to change, he said.

Based on projections, the elderly boom will be in rural, largely coastal, areas and these places are often poor cousins when it comes to provision.

In deprived regions, age-related issues emerge 10 years earlier, on average.

While young people flock to wealthy cities, areas such as Scarborough, North Norfolk or the south coast of England are going to age “rapidly and predictably”, says the report – Sir Chris’s fourth in the role.

He told me: “We’ve really got to get serious about the areas of the country where ageing is happening very fast, and we’ve got to do it now.

“It’s possible to compress the period of time that people spend in ill health…because otherwise we will end up with large numbers of people leading much more dependent lives.”

Providing services and environments suitable for older adults in these areas is an absolute priority, the report says.

Much of the NHS’s work is already caring for an ageing population, and that is set to increase.

The fact that people are living longer compared to a century ago is “a triumph of medicine and public health”.

But the emphasis needs to be on quality, not quantity, says the report.

It says major action in two areas could help turn things around:

• Policies to reduce disease and disability and help people to exercise, eat well and stay fit
• Making housing, transport and other parts of the environment more elderly friendly, so people can live out their lives as independently as possible

Sir Chris explained: “Houses are built for young families…and if you project forward to the middle of the century, a quarter of the population will be over 65, yet we still have a housing stock not designed for that age group.”

He said people should adopt “old-fashioned” methods to stay healthy.

“Having lots of exercise, having mental stimulation and a social network, eating a reasonably balanced diet… these are things which are old-fashioned, but they still work.”

People should also make choices about what care they do and don’t want, and doctors should refrain from over-treating.

Improving quality of life in older age sometimes means less medicine, not more, says the report.

Sir Chris said: “That might be, ‘I want to go to hospital but I don’t want to go to intensive care’. It might be, ‘I want to have treatment but I don’t want to have an operation’. Or it might be ‘I don’t want any more treatment at all’. The conversation needs to be had.”

Prof Dame Carol Black, from the Centre for Ageing Better, said: “Many people are facing enormous challenges and hardship in their later years, as this report makes clear.  

“We don’t all have an equal opportunity to age well. Wealth, work, housing, discrimination; all play a significant role in the huge gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest areas of the country.”

Paul Farmer, chief executive at Age UK, called for a cross-government ageing strategy, and a minister for older people to help drive forward change.

“We can already see how the failure to invest in delivering the right services and support is leading to worse outcomes for older people and entirely avoidable problems,” he said.

“Older people are isolated at home if the design of our communities means they can’t safely go out. People end up falling, and in the back of an ambulance if our built environment is full of trip hazards.

“Our hospitals are over capacity at least in part, due to the failure to provide adequate social care and community services to enable people to stay safe and well at home. None of this is inevitable. Getting it right would have immeasurable benefits.”

Shoppers will be able to stop-off in East Devon car parks all day for £2 in a bid to boost the district’s high streets.

East Devon Reporter eastdevonnews.co.uk

The winter deal, which began on Wednesday, November 1 and runs until the end of march 2024, wants to encourage people to buy locally and support businesses.

Tickets purchased will be valid until midnight.

East Devon District Council (EDDC) says that, with Christmas around the corner, residents and visitors can enjoy a full day out without having to rush back to their cars.

It is hoped that reduced will help to boost trade throughout the festive season and especially in the quieter months of January and February.

Councillor Paul Hayward, portfolio holder for finance and assets, said: “We recognise that our local high streets are always keen to see shoppers stay that little bit longer to keep their tills ringing, and so I am delighted to bring back our winter parking offer – £2 all day, in any car park across the district.”

A list of EDDC car parks can be found here.

Sideshore Car Park in Exmouth, Otter Estuary Nature Reserve in Budleigh Salterton, and Lyme Street in Axminster, are not included in the offer as they are managed by EDDC but are privately-owned.

Motorists can use the RingGo app to pay when they park and enter the dedicated ‘winter offer’ location code ‘42973’.

Alternatively, drivers can buy a paper ticket from one of EDDC’s machines using cash or card.

The council says that, although printed tickets may not display an expiry time of midnight, they will still be valid for the whole day.

Seaton top of TV news as Scrutiny backs us

Jack Rowland and I addressed a crowded Devon Health Scrutiny Committee meeting yesterday and were very well received. The Committee asked for a full report at their January meeting, and agreed to request the ICB and NHSPS to pause disposal and to negotiate seriously with us in the meanwhile. We got really great TV coverage, with Seaton leading the regional news on both channels for the first time I can remember!

Leafleting, Petition and Day of Action. 10,000 leaflets will be available from Seaton Print this Monday or Tuesday – please contact us to help deliver in your area, if you have not already done so. We will be leafleting and petitioning on Saturday 18th as planned, meeting outside the Tramway in Seaton and the Mariners in Beer.

Petition. Please sign and share online (https://www.change.org/p/save-seaton-hospital) but we also need to collect physical signatures wherever possible people, including where leafleting. The first sheets are already being returned.

• Please help get the petition forms into local shops, etc.
• Please note that completed forms should now be delivered to the League of Friends shops in Fore Street in envelopes addressed to Kirstine House.

OTHER NEWS. 

The Steering Committee will meet at the Hospital on Thursday 16th. 

Sarah Wollaston. Supporters have received emails saying that their letters will be ‘sent to the appropriate department’ – please insist that they are sent to her personally and copied to other members of the Board. 

Emails to some addresses have bounced back. Please check with friends who were at the meeting to see if they’re getting these emails, and if not ask them to contact me to make sure their correct addresses are on the list.

Report reveals growing crisis for renters in Devon and Cornwall 

A major new report by the University of Plymouth and local Citizens Advice services has shone a spotlight on the damaging effects of the government’s three-year freeze on Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates for local private sector renters.

The report, Sometimes I Sit on the Sofa and Cry, tells the stories of local people struggling to keep up with soaring rents and eviction notices.

It also contains suggestions to help ease the crisis, including an increase in LHA, an emergency cap on rents and provision of more affordable homes.

The research (which focused on the South Hams, Plymouth and SE Cornwall) found that average rents in the area have been outstripping the level of LHA support since 2015 but the gap has now grown to 12%.

The increase in people facing eviction has also led to big increases in bills for temporary accommodation for local authorities.

In Cornwall, the figure has risen from £9.5 million in 2020/21 to £18.4million in 2022/23 while for South Hams District Council, the figure has risen from £115k to £476k in the same period.

The report is the result of a collaboration between local Citizens Advice charities in the South Hams, Plymouth and Cornwall and the Plymouth Business School.

It was funded following a successful bid to the University’s Get Involved Awards 2023 programme.

Hospitals will reduce the number of operations they perform over the next few months after ministers rejected an NHS plea for £1bn to cover the cost of strikes by staff.

Denis Campbell www.theguardian.com 

The move makes it even more unlikely that Rishi Sunak will be able to deliver his promise to cut NHS waiting lists, one of the five key pledges he said voters should judge him by.

NHS England had been in discussion with the Department of Health and Social Care and the Treasury for months over what it hoped would be a bailout of at least £1bn of genuinely new money. It has instead been forced to recycle what is mostly funding from within its existing budget in order to hand £800m to local NHS bodies to help lessen deficits, expected to hit £160m in the case of some services.

Leaders in NHS England were left disappointed and concerned after ministers decided to largely disregard their £1bn request and give them only £100m.

Responding to the government’s snub, NHS England announced that it would now relax its drive to tackle the backlog of people waiting for hospital care, which stands at 7.75 million, the largest number on record.

It initially committed this financial year to undertaking 107% of the number of planned operations it did in 2019-20, before the Covid-19 pandemic hit. It cut that to 105% in July and has now lowered that target to 103% to help save money.

It could mean that the NHS will struggle to realise its ambition to ensure that by next spring no one will have been waiting for hospital care for more than 65 weeks. It also raises serious questions about how realistic Sunak’s hope is that the waiting list will have stopped growing by next year, when the UK will hold a general election.

Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, said: “The white flag has been waved on Sunak’s pledge to cut waiting lists – 700,000 fewer patients will now be treated than planned [in 2023-24], thanks to the Conservatives’ mismanagement of the NHS.”

Saffron Cordery, the deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, said leaders of health service trusts were feeling “a deep sense of frustration over the lack of extra funding from the Treasury to help the NHS tackle the fallout from nearly a year of industrial action”.

NHS England will also cut back planned spending on technology and improvements to hospitals’ facilities, again to free up the £800m; its budget is due to be £16.7bn this year.

Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said the £800m was “clearly insufficient” to cover the deficit that the 42 regional “integrated care systems” of the NHS were on track to incur.

The health service needed the level of emergency funding to be at least £1bn, Taylor said, because that was what the strikes by doctors, nurses and other staff since last December had cost it.

Julian Kelly, NHS England’s finance chief and deputy chief executive, told its board meeting last month that the walkouts had cost the service £1.1bn by the end of July.

NHS leaders had hoped that the understanding of the service by the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, gleaned from his six years as the health secretary, would lead him to provide a substantial sum. His failure to do so, bar the £100m, is also a setback for Steve Barclay, the current health secretary, who had been lobbying him to find the £1bn the NHS said it needed.

Sally Gainsbury, a senior policy analyst at the Nuffield Trust thinktank, said the NHS had been “forced to scale back ambitions to bring down record waiting lists to help get patients seen quicker”. She said: “This will ultimately mean some people will wait longer for their operations and treatment than the NHS had hoped and planned.”

Sally Warren, the director of policy at the King’s Fund, warned that the £800m would prove to be too little if consultants and junior doctors continued with strikes. There is cautious optimism in the NHS that a deal to end walkouts by consultants may come soon, before winter adds to the already intense strain felt by the NHS.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We are backing the NHS and social care with record funding and have made up to £14.1bn available to tackle the backlog caused by the pandemic and cut waiting lists, which is one of the government’s five key priorities.

Last night BBC Spotlight reported that campaigners had been successful in convincing Devon County Council’s health Scrutiny Committee to ask for a reconsideration of plans to demolish a wing of Seaton Hospital. This has been left empty for six years at a “cost” of  £1.8m years [transfer of funds from Devon to central NHS coffers – Owl], but could have been used for providing health services. 

The Scrutiny Committe has asked that the Integrated Care Board and NHS Property Services discuss how to use it for health services and provide a report for their next meeting in January. Meanwhile they have asked for the plan to “dispose” of the wing to be paused.

Teignmouth campaigners also convinced the committee to appeal to the Health Secretary against closing their hospital.

A fuller account will follow.

NAO finds NHS Property Services charging framework not working.

Almost £700 million either written off or still unpaid as too many NHS organisations and GPs seem to regard paying for their premises as “optional”. [Tenants were not always fully charged for rent and services before the Service took on ownership and Property Services doesn’t have the same powers as a commercial landlord – see NAO full report] 

Investigation into NHS Property Services Limited 2019 www.nao.org.uk

The Department created the Service in 2011 to manage NHS property. To a large extent the Service has, albeit slowly, succeeded in improving the professional support required, collecting data, streamlining contracts and identifying market rental rates. However, more than eight years later, it still does not have the powers it needs to work effectively, as the Department originally intended, and the accuracy of bills is still disputed. In our view, too many NHS organisations and GPs seem to regard paying for their premises as optional, with almost £700 million either written off or still unpaid. The framework for charging for NHS property is not working effectively and the Department urgently needs to address the fundamental causes of this unsatisfactory situation.

“The system for charging for NHS property is not working effectively and the Department urgently needs to address the fundamental causes of this unsatisfactory situation.”

Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO 2019

Devon is set to see its special needs deficit surge beyond £160 million – a new record – as pressure mounts on the service.

Guy Henderson, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk 

A report to the council’s cabinet meeting today (8 November) shows the deficit relating to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is forecast to be £37 million this financial year, up more than half-a-million pounds in just two months.

This pushes the cumulative total to a predicted £163 million by next April.

The council agreed in September to cut spending in a bid to create a £10 million reserve that it could use to contribute towards the deficit.

Progress has been made, with £7 million in savings identified as achievable, and with plans ongoing to secure the remaining £3 million.

The report for councillors notes that “unlike in previous years”, the council’s finance team and its counterpart at the Devon Integrated Care Board are supporting the delivery of services “on budget within a particularly challenging environment”.

But it warns of continued hurdles.

“There are, however, emerging risks within Children and Young People’s Futures with increasing numbers of complex placements and continued pressure associated with excessive agency costs,” the report said.

“In response additional intensive work and the establishment of a cross-council placement taskforce is seeking to address this issue at pace.”

It added there had been “significant progress” in stabilising management tiers within the SEND system, with the level of interim managers reducing by 70 per cent since February.

Guidance from central government means that local authorities can hold their SEND deficits off their balance sheet, meaning any shortfall is essentially ring-fenced away from the main budget.

Devon’s Lib Dem leader, Councillor Julian Brazil (South Hams), said that many authorities are struggling with funding SEND services, but that the county is “an outlier in a bad way” in terms of its service.

“We’re surrounded by good and excellent authorities while Ofsted has rated us inadequate,” he said.

“We are failing vulnerable children, and these are the people we need to support.

“The issue hasn’t been given the time and effort it has needed.”

A spokesperson for Devon County Council acknowledged the predicted £162 million figure “could be the highest the SEND overspend has been at the end of the financial year,” adding that this had been accumulated over a number of years.

“Devon – like a number of other councils – is negotiating for extra funds with government, and we hope to have good news after Christmas,” the spokesperson said.

“The government has told all top tier councils to hold the overspend in a separate account off the main budget.

“As for the overall budget predictions, we’ve made substantial progress since the summer of 2022 when an overall overspend for 22/23 of over £40 million was predicted.

“After a cross-council exercise to reduce spending and increase income, we actually finished the year in the black.”

Devon’s children’s services were rated inadequate in 2020, and a letter from Ofsted in January this year said its visit to the county showed its leaders had “not ensured that all children who come into their care know early enough what the permanent and secure arrangements are for their lives”.

“There has not been enough progress for children in this area of practice since the full inspection three years ago,” it added.

However, it did acknowledge the “energy and strong commitment” of middle and frontline managers who were trying to maintain a level of continuity and implement an improvement plan.

NHS Property Services was established in 2011 as part of the “disastrous” Andrew Lansley reforms. Its purpose is to manage, maintain and improve NHS properties in England and facilities previously owned by strategic health authorities and primary care trusts. 

It is intended to drive efficiency by charging hospitals a “market rent” for the land and buildings they use. But this transfer of funds from one public sector pocket to another comes with considerable administrative costs including £57m in staff costs alone, and consequences. 

Richard Foord MP reports that the NHS Property Services, locally, is seeking to charge local charities and community groups a “market rate” that has been pitched at the upper-end clinical rate.

It raises the question of how applicable the adoption of commercial accounting is to public sector activity and what rental NHS Property Services might reasonably charge.

Valuable publicly owned sites, accessible to communities, are a strategic asset, not some commodity that can be sold off to the highest bidder..

Community schools aren’t treated in this way.

Just how NHS  Property Services sets their rates is a mystery and certainly challengeable. This has been demonstrated in a recent High Court case, supported by the BMA, when a group of GPs agreed an out of court settlement in which their rental was significantly reduced.

The crazy thing is that this asset, the Seaton hospital wing funded by the local community, could be lost because NHS Devon is forecasting another budget deficit of more than £40m and wants to ”save” £300,000 a year by not paying rent to NHS Property Services, though it is short of beds.

According to the NAO  NHS Property Services is also struggling to meet its financial and performance objectives. In fact it posted over £1bn “losses” between 2012/13 and 2018/19 (some of this attributable to “asset revaluations”}.  

What NHS Devon might gain, NHS Property Services Ltd (sole shareholder, Health Secretary, Steve Barclay) will lose.

So there does seem a very real possibility that the hospital wing could be demolished and sold as a building site to “balance” the books.

Receipts from NHS Property Services sales are reinvested at a National, rather than local, level.

Is this another example of levelling up? – Owl

Local Democracy Reporter eastdevonnews.co.uk

Hundreds of residents packed a community hall in an impassioned bid to save a wing of Seaton Hospital it is feared could be demolished.

They say the wing’s construction was funded entirely by the community and that they should therefore have the say about its future – rather than just the NHS, writes Local Democracy Reporter Bradley Gerrard.

Devon’s Integrated Care Board (ICB), which because of its financial deficit is in special measures, pays a market rate of rent on the wing to governemnt-owned NHS Property Services (NHSPS), is considering handing it back to its landlord to save money.

However, campaigners fear that if that happens, the wing could be demolished.

Martin Shaw, a former county councillor, organised the meeting at Colyford Memorial Hall on Friday, November 3, attended by an estimated 250 people.

Mr Shaw said campaigners were ‘looking at all possible solutions to save the hospital [wing]’ and to find a way to provide other services to complement the hospital’s existing offering.

“We are now in a position where the NHS [in Devon]is looking to hand the building back, and there is the potential for the wing to be sold or demolished, which is why we are all here today,” said Mr Shaw.

Dr Mark Welland, chair of the Seaton and District Hospital League of Friends, said a major issue in his discussions with the Devon ICB and NHSPS related to the costs of rent.

“There have been several meetings between the League of Friends and the NHS in terms of securing some of the void space in Seaton Hospital, but in each discussion it seems to always come up against one seemingly unmoveable problem, which is the amount that NHSPS demands for renting the space,” he added.

Dr Welland said the NHS charges the Devon ICB roughly £200,000 per year for the space that is currently empty and where campaigners want additional services to go.

“We have a real opportunity with this void space to do good things,” he added. “While the hospital continues to house NHS clinics, physiotherapy and community rehab and nursing services, there is an opportunity for the likes of the League of Friends and [community interest company]Re:store to put further services in.”

He added that it had only been when the League of Friends recently approached NHS Property Services to secure space in the void area for the Seaton hospice-at-home service that the NHS disclosed there was a plan to lose it.

The meeting heard that a previous plan in 2019 created by Seaton Area Health Matters to buy the hospital outright and then rent space out at concessionary rates to local groups, had progressed well until a stumbling block prevented campaigners from securing funding. Shortly after, the pandemic started and the plans were shelved.

Paul Arnott, leader of East Devon District Council, said he couldn’t make any promises on his own, but assured campaigners that the authority was keen to help.

“This issue has already been discussed and we have the capacity to take on Public Works Loans Board loans, so it may be that East Devon has a role to play,” he said.

He said any potential financial help from the council would need to be agreed by councillors, but that it could form part of a financial package with other donors to save the hospital.

“We are a way from that yet, but East Devon District Council, as the closest body democratically that is able to do something financially about this situation, does stand ready to help, but any details have to be subject to confirmation.”

Tiverton and Honiton MP Richard Foord, who raised the plight of Seaton Hospital at Prime Minister’s questions last month, said the strength of feeling in the community showed how important the hospital is.

“The local community fundraised to pay for this hospital, with small donations from people, including those in this hall, contributing to it, and people don’t feel they should be asked to pay twice to save it,” he said.

“As such, we’re calling on NHS Property Services to charge a concessionary rate to use this facility as a health hub for people in Seaton and the surrounding villages.”

He added that Seaton Hospital was handed to NHS Property Services in 2016, and that that organisation’s one shareholder – Secretary of State for Health Steve Barclay – could intervene.

“If the secretary of state wanted to, he could change [the rental rate]tomorrow and ensure Seaton Hospital is available for use by the local community,” Mr Foord added.

Many residents hailed the care at Seaton Hospital, with community organisations such as hospital transport services suggesting that significant round-trips for many outpatients to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital in Exeter could be avoided if services at Seaton’s expanded.

The meeting also heard that the average age in Seaton, and the prevalence of age-related diseases such as dementia, were higher than the national average, making the campaigners’ plans for a health hub that would house additional services even more important.

Representatives from the Devon ICB and NHS Property Services were invited to the meeting, but did not attend.

Mr Shaw asked for attendees to vote on creating a steering committee comprising the meeting’s speakers, which included Mr Foord, Dr Welland, Cllr Arnott and other stakeholders, to pursue the matter.

This was supported, and Mr Shaw now hopes to lobby Devon County Council’s health scrutiny committee later this month to support the Seaton Hospital campaign. Mr Foord is set to discuss the issue again in parliament later in the month, too.

NHS Devon has previously said the site’s high rent and other charges – which it said amounted to £300,000 a year – were a ‘poor use of taxpayers’ money at a time when we are forecasting another budget deficit of more than £40 million this year’.

“In recent months, we have been talking to local health, care and community partners to see if they are interested and financially able to take on the space, but no viable schemes have been received and we started the process of handing the ward space back to NHS Property Services (NHSPS) so we can save the money that is currently being wasted on it,” a spokesperson said.

“We have always been very happy to talk to prospective occupants of the space if they have a financially viable scheme to take it on – and we remain so.”

MP Mr Foord said after the meeting: “The future of Seaton Community Hospital is one which concerns everyone living in and around the Axe Valley. Today’s packed public meeting, attended by hundreds of people, clearly demonstrates the strength of feeling locally.

“The hospital belongs to the community.  Members of the community and volunteer groups raised millions to help fund construction and equipment – including the very ward that is now threatened with demolition. We cannot allow it to be taken away from those who worked so hard to build it.

“NHS Property Services needs to review the way they rent out facilities such as this. Seeking to charge local charities and community groups a market rate that has been pitched at the upper-end clinical rate is short-sighted and wrong.

“I have met recently with NHS Devon, NHS Property Services, and the Seaton Hospital League of Friends charity. There are potential solutions, but we need the political will from those in Government who have the power to make these decisions.

“NHS Property Services is a Government-owned company with just one shareholder, the Health Secretary Steve Barclay. He has the power to resolve this situation and secure the long-term future of our hospital, and other small rural hospitals across the country.

“I will continue to raise the threat posed by these damaging proposals and fight to save the whole of this local hospital for the community. Local people have made plain to me this afternoon that they feel that the Hospital is theirs – and in their eyes – not available for NHS Property Services to sell.”

“It is like taming wild animals. Nothing in my past experience has prepared me for this madness. The PM and the people he chooses to surround himself with are basically feral.”

[Sedwell] “had sought the dismissal of Hancock as health secretary to “save lives and protect the NHS”

“Hancock so far up BJ’s [Boris Johnson’s] arse his ankles are brown.”

Sedwill apologised for suggesting in a meeting in March 2020 that people could hold “chickenpox parties” to spread the virus.

Is this government going to stagger on for another? – Owl

Peter Walker www.theguardian.com 

Mark Sedwill, the UK’s most senior civil servant at the start of Covid, viewed Boris Johnson’s government as “brutal and useless” and did not trust Matt Hancock, then health secretary, to be truthful, the inquiry into the pandemic has been told.

In testimony that shines yet more unforgiving light on Johnson’s Downing Street, Sedwill agreed that the PM had veered wildly in his opinions and seemed unable to manage a team, saying it was his job as cabinet secretary to help “force a decision”.

Sedwill also said he concurred with earlier testimony about Hancock not being routinely honest, saying he would regularly double-check things with others “to make sure he wasn’t over-promising”.

Sedwill, who was Johnson’s cabinet secretary until September 2020 and is now a crossbench peer, did not dispute an August 2020 diary entry by Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser, quoting Sedwill as saying “this administration is brutal and useless”.

“I can’t actually recall what might have prompted it but … I don’t doubt Sir Patrick’s memory,” Sedwill said.

He also did not dispute earlier evidence from Dominic Cummings, Johnson’s former chief adviser, and Lee Cain, his former communications chief, which described the prime minister as poorly suited for the Covid crisis, liable to oscillate between different views, and unable to manage a cohesive team.

Asked by Hugo Keith KC, the inquiry chair, if he agreed, Sedwill said: “I recognise them but I wouldn’t express them that way myself.”

Sedwill said while it was not his job to judge the suitability for office of a democratically elected leader, he had sought to put in place a system to help “force a decision”, one in which cabinet ministers had a voice. He added: “It’s exhausting for the people in his [Johnson’s] inner circle.”

The hearing was shown extracts of messages between Sedwill and his eventual successor as permanent secretary, Simon Case, in which Case, at the time the head civil servant at No 10, wrote: “It is like taming wild animals. Nothing in my past experience has prepared me for this madness. The PM and the people he chooses to surround himself with are basically feral.”

Sedwill said in reply: “I have the bite marks.”

In another message to Case, Sedwill said he had sought the dismissal of Hancock as health secretary to “save lives and protect the NHS”, a play on a Covid-era health slogan which Sedwill called “gallows humour”.

Around the same time, Sedwill said, he spoke to Johnson about Hancock’s role. While his role meant he would not have explicitly told the PM to sack his health secretary, Johnson “would have been under no illusions about what would have been best”, Sedwill added.

In a further message to Case shown to the hearing, Sedwill wrote: “Hancock so far up BJ’s [Boris Johnson’s] arse his ankles are brown.”

Johnson needed reminding to involve cabinet in Covid decisions, says civil service ex-chief – video

Earlier in his evidence, Sedwill apologised for suggesting in a meeting in March 2020 that people could hold “chickenpox parties” to spread the virus so children and others could catch Covid and help the country reach herd immunity.

Sedwill said this was suggested in the context of the plan at the time to try to mitigate the peak of Covid, and that his idea was for people less susceptible to Covid to catch it and acquire immunity while those more vulnerable could quarantine.

He added: “These were private exchanges and I certainly had not expected for this to become public. I understand how, in particular, the interpretation that has been put on it, it must have come across as someone in my role was both heartless and thoughtless about this, and I genuinely am neither. But I do understand the distress that must have caused and I apologise for that.”

Earlier evidence has heard that both Johnson and Cummings viewed Sedwill as being “off the pace” over Covid, and too slow to respond to the scale of the threat.

Asked by Keith if this was true, Sedwill argued it was in part because of his role: “It is possible. It is also possible I might have created that impression. I felt I had to provide leadership for a system that was on the edge of panic then. I did not have the luxury of saying, even in private, ‘We are doomed.’”

In August 2021 John Humphreys was sentenced to 21 years for the historic rape of two underage boys. Under current legislation he might expect to be considered for release after 14 years (⅔ of his time).  

This week’s King’s speech, with its emphasis on crime and law and order (how ironic, Owl) puts this in doubt.

“Last year’s Police, Crime and Courts Act ended automatic early release for all sexual offences that carry a maximum life sentence, including rape and sexual assault of a child aged under 13.

It meant that those given a sentence of four years or more are now required to serve at least two-thirds of it before being considered for release.

But a Government source confirmed that ministers are now considering going further and ending any early release for the most serious sexual criminals.”

Source: Daily Mail

See also this explanatory paper:

King’s Speech 2023: Crime and justice – House of Lords Library 

“On 16 October 2023, Mr Chalk [Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice] announced that legislation would be introduced to ensure convicted rapists and other serious sexual offenders would spend their entire sentence in prison.[32] This would see offenders remaining in prison until the last day of their custodial term. The MoJ has not yet published further details about this proposal.”

Reverse Ventriloquism!

Somerset Council declares financial emergency as it votes through ‘urgent’ measures to close £100m budget gap amid fears it will go bust like Birmingham

Sukhmani Sethi www.dailymail.co.uk 

• The council cited soaring costs of services for the crisis in a meeting on Tuesday

Somerset Council have declared a financial emergency as it voted through ‘urgent’ measures to close a £100m budget gap amid fears that it could go bust like Birmingham. 

The local authority was forced to make the alarming declaration on Tuesday after pointing towards the soaring costs of services, particularly adult social care, which it said was rising faster than the council’s income.

This significant gap in its budget threatens the local authority going bust, with fears that it could mirror the financial disaster faced by Birmingham City Council, which declared it could not afford equal pay claims worth up to £760m. 

Councillor Liz Leyshon, lead member for resources, said that Somerset Council would ideally look to avoid filing a Section 114 notice – the equivalent of bankruptcy for a council –  because it would have to to fork out ‘£1,200 a day each plus expenses’ for government commissioners. 

Ms Leyshon told the meeting the ‘situation is now too serious for us to avoid the word emergency’.

The local authority was forced to make the alarming declaration on Tuesday after pointing towards the soaring costs of services, particularly adult social care (Pictured: Somerset County Hall)

She added: ‘The last thing we want to do is be paying people from outside the county to make decisions for Somerset’.

Following the meeting, which took place in Yeovil, Council leader Bill Revans stated he will  be writing to Michael Gove to make the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities aware of the crisis. 

Councillors agreed to form a financial focus group in order to figure how the local authority can cut costs and avoid a Birmingham-style catastrophe.

The rising cost of adult and children’s social services is at the forefront of the financial challenges that the local authority is looking to tackle with the aid of external consultants. 

Other possibilities that will be considered, with their costs scrutinised, will include a recruitment freeze, selling off the council’s commercial investment properties and pausing many building projects, such as the refurbishment of the Octagon Theatre – a venue used by the Salvation Army for the annual Christmas Carol services.

Councillor Liz Leyshon, lead member for resources, said that Somerset Council would ideally look to avoid filing a Section 114 notice – the equivalent of bankruptcy for a council

On Somerset council’s website, it informs residents: ‘In addition to inflation, which increases the costs of the goods and services the council buys, the council has seen an unprecedented rise in demand for care services for Somerset’s most vulnerable residents. 

‘We are seeing an increase in the number of residents, both adults and children, who need support from the council and with the support needed becoming increasingly complex.

 ‘Funding for these two services has had to increase by £28 million and £19 million respectively, just to support existing demand’. 

For the 2023/24 financial year, the total amount of the Somerset Council charge has increased by an overall five per cent from last year – three percent for general expenditure and two percent for adult social care, 

Further details are expected at the next executive meeting in December, revealing which services face cuts, which council buildings could be sold off and how much more local people can expect to pay in council tax from April. 

• Removal of a wooden storage shed and replacing with a new similar garden shed Little Myrtle Millford Road Sidmouth EX10 8DPRef. No: 23/2290/FUL | Validated: Fri 27 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• The use of Oakside View (Barn C) as an unencumbered dwelling in breach of a holiday let condition (condition 3) of application number 99/P1851 Oakside View Appledore Farm Farway Colyton EX24 6EHRef. No: 23/2281/CPE | Validated: Thu 26 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Hawthorn (x2) : reduce the weight at the top of both trees, to remove dead branches and to create a more stable and balanced shaped canopy. The overall reduction in height will be approx 0.5m. Garden House Doatshayne Lane Musbury Devon EX13 8BDRef. No: 23/2284/TRE | Validated: Thu 26 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1, Holm Oak : crown reduce to existing pollards points approximately 3.5-4m above ground level. Reduce all aspects of tree to leave a balanced shape to allow a new crown formation. Maximum diameter of cuts 50mm. Flat 1 24 West Hill Budleigh Salterton Devon EX9 6BSRef. No: 23/2283/TCA | Validated: Thu 26 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Loft conversion and construction of rear dormer 67 Bicton Street Exmouth EX8 2RURef. No: 23/2278/FUL | Validated: Wed 25 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Certificate of proposed lawful development for works including alterations to existing fenestration, reduction in size of the porch and internal alterations including the conversion of the existing garage to accommodationKingston Hill Ebford Lane Ebford Devon EX3 0QURef. No: 23/2268/CPL | Validated: Wed 25 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1, Horse Chestnut : fell. 102 Clyst Valley Road Clyst St Mary Devon EX5 1DERef. No: 23/2275/TRE | Validated: Wed 25 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Ash: minimum of four tree branches to be cut back by approximately 4m, to rear property boundary. 40 Old Show Field Way Honiton EX14 1EPRef. No: 23/2276/TRE | Validated: Thu 26 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1- Scots Pine: removal of 1 x heavily weighted, primary limb connected onto main tree stem. Churchside Clyst St George EX3 0RERef. No: 23/2274/TCA | Validated: Thu 26 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1-Pear – Fell tree. West Hayes Convent Road Sidmouth EX10 8RLRef. No: 23/2267/TCA | Validated: Wed 25 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Conversion of an existing agricultural building to a C3 dwelling. Halls Farm Metcombe Ottery St Mary EX11 1SSRef. No: 23/2265/PDQ | Validated: Tue 24 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Single storey extension and part demolition of existing garage. 5A Thorne Cottages Cadhay Lane Ottery St Mary Devon EX11 1QZRef. No: 23/2264/FUL | Validated: Tue 24 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Lime; removal of epicormic growth around trunk base. Drakes Gardens Drakes Avenue Exmouth EX8 4ADRef. No: 23/2249/TRE | Validated: Mon 23 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Second floor extension to the rear of the existing property. 6 Henrietta Place Exmouth EX8 1LDRef. No: 23/2253/FUL | Validated: Sun 29 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1, T2 & T3 Oaks – cyclical re-pollard, removing new growth to historic pollard points / knuckles. Pruning cuts up to a maximum of 60mm diameter. 5 Mathews Close Honiton EX14 2WDRef. No: 23/2251/TRE | Validated: Mon 23 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• x1 Pittosporum : Trim all round hard back to previous pruning points & shape. Escollonia Hedge (adjacent to garages) : Trim hard back to previous pruning points & shape. x1Elder : Prune hard back to previous pruning points & shape. x1 Katsura Tree : Pune back hard to previous pruning points & shape. x1 Bay Tree : Prune back to previous pruning points & shape to achieve an adequate clearance from BT wires. Trefusis House 6 Trefusis Terrace Exmouth EX8 2AXRef. No: 23/2260/TCA | Validated: Mon 23 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed single storey link from main house to conservatory Havencliffe House Axmouth Road Seaton Devon EX12 4ABRef. No: 23/2257/FUL | Validated: Wed 25 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Discharge of conditions for 23/1553/FUL – Condition 2 – amended elevation submitted. Condition 4 – Cladding and render colour. Roselea Dalwood Axminster EX13 7DZRef. No: 23/2261/DOC | Validated: Mon 23 Oct 2023 | Status: Unknown
• T1, Beech: reduce height by no more than 3m, to reduce the canopy spread to the north, south and west by no more than 2m. To reduce canopy spread to the east by no more than 3m. Leaving a tree height of 19m with a crown spread of no less than 6m, 6m, 5.5m and 6m to the north, east, south and west respectively. Maximum cut diameter of 50mm. Whilst the tree has a high amenity value, it has begun to impact the property both physically and in terms of shade cast. This work is applied for in the interest of managing the tree in relation to the space available, giving suitable clearance to the property and also improve light levels to both the property and the outside space, whilst retaining good form and sufficient foliar area.Grasmere West Hill Road West Hill EX11 1UZRef. No: 23/2250/TRE | Validated: Mon 23 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of garden room. 7 Greenway Seaton EX12 2SERef. No: 23/2237/FUL | Validated: Wed 25 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposal to construct one single dwelling beside No 8. 8 Collins Park East Budleigh Budleigh Salterton EX9 7EGRef. No: 23/2238/PIP | Validated: Thu 26 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use and conversion of agricultural buildings to form two dwellings and associated development including demolition of modern farm buildings, construction of bat roost and formation of parking, garden areas and landscaping. Bearfields Farm Rawridge Devon EX14 9PRRef. No: 23/2231/FUL | Validated: Thu 26 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Remove existing and replace with new side extension Penrith House Church Street Uplyme DT7 3TSRef. No: 23/2223/FUL | Validated: Mon 23 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed new dwelling and alteration to previously approved access Land At Rear Of Chestnut House Bunts Lane Seaton EX12 2HURef. No: 23/2222/FUL | Validated: Thu 26 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Extension to existing covered cattle feeding area (Retrospective) Crabhayes Farm Broadclyst Exeter EX5 3BNRef. No: 23/2221/FUL | Validated: Mon 23 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed single storey link from main house to conservatory, create doorway from existing house to conservatory, re-render conservatory external walls, replace single door on north/east elevation, replace 1no. bay window with double doors on south/east elevation. Havencliffe House Axmouth Road Seaton Devon EX12 4ABRef. No: 23/2202/LBC | Validated: Wed 25 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of replacement Coach House outbuilding with decking to front and side. (Resubmission of 21/2475/FUL). Birchwood Brampford Speke Exeter EX5 5HNRef. No: 23/2195/FUL | Validated: Mon 23 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use from office to dwelling, with associated works and landscaping Workforce Development Redwoods Devon And Somerset Fire And Rescue Servce Hq Clyst St George Exeter EX3 0NNRef. No: 23/2200/FUL | Validated: Tue 24 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Certificate of Lawfulness for the continued use of the building as a C3 dwelling. Cutton Barton BroadclystRef. No: 23/2194/CPE | Validated: Mon 23 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Revised proposals for the construction of a two storey dwelling with associated car parking and amenity space [Previously submitted under 22/1516/FUL] 1A Jarvis Close Exmouth Devon EX8 2PXRef. No: 23/2209/FUL | Validated: Thu 26 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed new Agricultural Building (cattle shed) Rosamondford Farm Perkins Village Exeter EX5 2JGRef. No: 23/2186/FUL | Validated: Mon 23 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Variation of Condition 2 (approved plans) of application 23/0260/FUL (proposed extension to the rear and side of semi-detached dwelling) to incorporate changes to extension roof and fenestration 51 Little Meadow Exmouth EX8 4LURef. No: 23/2191/VAR | Validated: Fri 27 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of new garage and first floor annexe Shiles Farm Axminster Devon EX13 5SERef. No: 23/2136/FUL | Validated: Fri 27 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of 1 no. dwelling and associated works 10 Woolbrook Mead Sidmouth EX10 9XFRef. No: 23/2134/FUL | Validated: Mon 23 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Erection of steps to give access from the Esplanade to the path surrounding the cricket field Wall Adjacent To The Arches Cafe The Esplanade Sidmouth EX10 8NSRef. No: 23/2119/FUL | Validated: Thu 26 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Conversion of roof space to habitable use with dormer extension on rear north/west elevation and two roof lights on front south/east elevation, new window at first floor level on front south/east elevation. 1 Lower Woodhayne Whitford Devon, EX13 7NPRef. No: 23/2074/FUL | Validated: Fri 27 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use of agricultural building to self-build dwelling Land Adjacent To Oaklands Toby Lane Woodbury SaltertonRef. No: 23/2051/FUL | Validated: Thu 26 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Loft extension to include creation and alteration of side-facing dormers and small ground floor rear extension Seacot 20 Havenview Road Seaton Devon EX12 2PFRef. No: 23/1912/FUL | Validated: Fri 27 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed ground floor extension. 4 Bouchers Cottages Poltimore EX4 0AZRef. No: 23/1586/FUL | Validated: Thu 26 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Re-thatch whole roof replacing wheat reed with water reed. Lavender Cottage Longmeadow Road Lympstone EX8 5LERef. No: 23/0659/LBC | Validated: Thu 26 Oct 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision

As seen by Martin Rowson