“Actually, today is really good news for families up and down the country with a reduction in the energy price cap that’s going to reduce, on average, a typical family’s energy bill by about £150, easing the burden on the cost of living.” Rishi Sunak yesterday commented on Ofgen’s announcement of the October price cap.

But did he check the bottom line of the spreadsheet? – Owl

Energy bills to rise for many despite reduction in price cap, experts warn

Millions of households are expected to pay more for their energy this winter than they did a year earlier, even though Ofgem reduced the price cap on bills.

August Graham www.independent.co.uk (Extract)

Experts said the reduction of Government support and a small increase in the standing charge would hike bills for some.

Energy regulator Ofgem said the new cap on a unit of gas and electricity would reduce the average bill to £1,923 from October 1, from £2,074 per year.

The average customer with a prepayment meter will see their bills fall to £1,949 per year.

This average is based on an estimate that the typical household uses 2,900 units of electricity and 12,000 units of gas.

The energy regulator said it was cutting the price of gas from 8p per kilowatt hour (kWh) today to 6.89p from October 1. The price of electricity will fall from 30.1p per kWh to 27.35p.

The standing charge on energy bills also rose from 82p to 83p per day for gas and electricity. Households pay this amount – around £303 per year – no matter how much gas or electricity they use.

The price cap applies to England, Wales and Scotland.

While this looks, on the face of it, like good news for millions of struggling households, the lack of Government support this winter will actually mean higher bills for many.

Last winter the typical household would have paid £2,500 per year due to the Government’s Energy Price Guarantee, which in practice superseded the then much higher price cap.

On top of that, each household’s bill was reduced by between £66 and £67 per month between October and March due to a separate Government grant.

Meanwhile, the standing charge has risen from 74p last winter to 83p this year, adding a little under £3 per month to bills.

Jonny Marshall, an expert at the Resolution Foundation, estimated about one in three households in England, or 7.2 million in total, will face higher bills between October and March.

These households will be those who consume less gas and electricity than a typical household.

The Resolution Foundation’s analysis suggested that among the poorest tenth of English households, nearly half (47%) would face higher bills this winter.

“The end of the £400 universal payments and rising standing charges mean that over one-in-three families across England will face higher bills this winter than last,” Mr Marshall said.

“With almost three million households set to see their bills rise by over £100 – at a time when inflation is still sky high – the Government must up its game in providing longer-term support for hard-pressed families with a new social tariff for energy bills.”….

Citizens Advice head of energy policy Gillian Cooper said targeted support for households would be desperately needed.

A record number of people who are behind on their energy bills are already turning to the charity for help, she said.

“The next few months will push households like these over the edge. Our data suggests it will be as bad, if not worse, than last winter,” she said…..

Mike Thornton, chief executive at the Energy Saving Trust, said: “A key priority must be to support individuals to use less energy in their homes and buildings to start with.

“A wrap-around national retrofit programme for households, underpinned by financial incentives and personalised advice, would reduce our demand for gas and bring bills down in both the short and long term.”

Connor Schwartz, warm homes campaigner at Friends of the Earth said:  “With winter fast approaching, the best time to start rapidly rolling out street-by-street insulation was yesterday, the next best time is now.”…..

Labour’s shadow energy and net zero secretary Ed Miliband said: “Higher energy bills are unfortunately here to stay under the Conservatives – even with this fall, bills are significantly higher than they were only three years ago.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told the BBC: “Actually, today is really good news for families up and down the country with a reduction in the energy price cap that’s going to reduce, on average, a typical family’s energy bill by about £150, easing the burden on the cost of living.”

Looking after their own, good news at last for Simon Jupp! – Owl

MPs who lose their seat at the next general election will receive double the financial support following a ruling from parliament’s expenses watchdog.

Alexandra Rogers news.sky.com

MPs who suffer an election defeat have previously been entitled to two months of financial assistance to help close their office and manage the departure of staff.

But the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), which governs MPs’ pay and expenses, has ruled this should be increased to four months.

The so-called winding-down payments will now also be made available to those who choose to stand down at the next election.

However, payments will not be given to MPs who step aside outside the election period, such as former prime minister Boris Johnson, who stood down in June.

The rule change means the winding-up payment will be paid to all MPs who leave parliament at the next election – whether they lose their seat, stand unsuccessfully in a new or different seat or stand down.

As of April this year, MPs are paid an annual salary of £86,584.

IPSA’s ruling comes following the confirmation of 75 current MPs that they will not be standing at the next election – including 50 who were elected as Conservatives.

For Labour, 14 MPs are stepping down, while seven from the SNP will not seek re-election.

IPSA, which is an independent body, said it made the decision because the time to fully close down an MP’s parliamentary and financial affairs was longer than the time covered.

“Former MPs will continue to have access to their normal budgets [pro-rated] for that four-month period, and they will continue to employ staff as needed to assist them in winding up their affairs,” the ruling said.

As well as winding down payments, MPs who have served more than two years are also eligible for loss-of-office payments, with longer-serving MPs receiving larger amounts.

Bob Seely, the MP for the Isle of Wight, criticised the move.

“I don’t think people resigning should be getting a payout,” he told TalkTV.

“But this is an independent body, I’m afraid to say we don’t get to vote on it unless somebody tells us that we do, and frankly, I am more concerned about dealing with my constituency casework.

“So I’m not particularly happy about this either because it just shows us in a bad light and despite the fact it’s an independent body, everyone is going to blame us for it.

“It really winds me up, frankly.”

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, echoed his concerns, saying: “Doubling golden goodbyes for MPs is a kick in the teeth for taxpayers.”

He added: “Hard-pressed Brits are already funding generous salaries, perks and pensions for elected officials.

“IPSA should be mindful of that when recommending more taxpayers’ money for politicians.”

A report by parliament’s Commons Administration Committee in February found that Westminster’s payouts to MPs compared poorly with comparable international democracies.

The median loss-of-office payment for MPs who were defeated in the 2019 general election was £5,250 – equivalent to less than one month of their then £84,144 salary – with the amount paid depending on the length of service.

By comparison, an ousted MP in Germany who has served for 18 years qualifies for £162,360 compensation, while outgoing Australian MPs can expect to receive either £31,455 or £62,909, depending on length of service.

The payments, similar to redundancy packages, will be available to all eligible MPs who leave parliament at the next election.

Separately, severance payments for outgoing prime ministers have been criticised recently after Liz Truss received £18,660 despite serving in office for just 49 days.

Her chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, received £16,876 after he was forced to resign following his mini-budget, which caused turmoil in the financial markets.

A recently formed health trust in Devon has been told to make improvements following an inspection by regulators.

www.bbc.co.uk

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in May.

The trust was formed last year and inspectors gave it an overall rating of “requires improvement”.

Issues raised included the slow pace of managers in dealing with issues when they arise and improvements needed to improve culture and diversity.

The Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust and Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust merged to form the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in April 2022.

In November, inspectors found improvements were needed in medical care, surgical services and diagnostic services at North Devon District Hospital and the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital sites.

The latest inspection in May focused on how well-led the trust had been since the merger took place.

Problems identified

Following the inspection, the trust was rated as requires improvement overall and rated as good for being well-led and safe, effective and responsive.

Caring remains rated as outstanding and leaders were found to have the “skills, experience, and capacity to manage the trust”.

There were problems identified with a new electronic records system, and the handling of never events and serious incident investigations.

Cath Campbell, CQC deputy director of operations in the south, said: “As a newly integrated trust, culture and inclusivity was a key focus to support the organisations to merge successfully.

“The trust recognised there was work to be done to bring teams together and build a culture that is inclusive. Staff satisfaction was mixed, but the board had ensured a plan of improving the culture and staff satisfaction was seen as a priority.

“Following the inspections, we reported our findings to the trust. Its leaders know what they must do to improve services, and where there’s good practice on which they can build on.”

Inspectors also found most staff felt respected, supported, and valued and felt proud to work in the organisation.

MPs will force Rishi Sunak’s hand next month on whether to allow Parliament to oust Nadine Dorries after she refused to follow through on her promise to resign, i can reveal.

Richard Vaughan inews.co.uk 

The Prime Minister is facing growing calls to remove the former culture secretary by tabling a motion in the Commons that would give MPs the chance to vote in favour of her dismissal.

And in a drive to push Mr Sunak into making a decision, the Liberal Democrats will put forward a motion when Parliament returns from summer recess calling for Ms Dorries’s removal.

Deputy leader Daisy Cooper will table a motion on the first day that Parliament returns on Monday 4 September, demanding Ms Dorries returns to the Commons by Thursday 14 September or face a 10-day suspension, triggering a recall petition.

Ms Cooper said the decision has been taken because the Tory MP has “treated the people of Mid Bedfordshire with contempt and taken them for granted”.

“We need an end to this sorry saga, once and for all,” Ms Cooper said. “Nadine Dorries must resign, if not this Government must do the right thing and force her to.”

Such a device was last used to remove a member from the Commons in 1954, when MPs voted in favour of ousting Tory Peter Baker, who had been jailed for seven years for forgery.

The move presents a major headache for Mr Sunak who will now have to decide whether to give the motion the parliamentary time to be debated and voted upon in the Commons.

Ms Dorries has sparked a bitter backlash from all sides of the Commons after she announced in June – 77 days ago – that she would be resigning “with immediate effect” only to renege on the decision after it emerged she would not receive a peerage.

Tory MP Tom Hunt became the latest figure to call on the former Cabinet member to stand down, accusing her of showing “extraordinary” entitlement by refusing to step aside, having promised to do so.

Speaking to Times Radio, Mr Hunt said the situation was “dreadful”.

“The entitlement that seems to have driven the decision in the first place, ie she didn’t get a place in the House of Lords so she’s throwing the towel in, I think is pretty extraordinary.

“It will stick in the throat of the majority of her constituents, I imagine,” he said.

“I certainly don’t want to be associated with Nadine Dorries at all. I don’t know what she’s playing at,” Mr Hunt added.

Education minister Nick Gibb also questioned whether Ms Dorries is fulfilling her obligations to constituents.

Asked if he believes she is representing her constituents at the moment, he told the BBC: “Not if she’s not participating in the House of Commons events and speaking and so on. I just think people should do what they say they are going to do.”

Mr Sunak said at the beginning of the month that Ms Dorries’ constituents were not being properly represented, but although a number of Tory MPs have since spoken out against her, she retains the whip.

Two town councils in her constituency, Shefford and Flitwick, have called on her to go, as well as Labour and several Tory MPs.

Caroline Nokes, chairwoman of the Women and Equalities Committee, said earlier this week that Ms Dorries should not have the Tory whip if “she’s made it plain that she no longer wishes to be a Conservative MP”.

She was echoed by Tory MP Damian Green who accused Ms Dorries of “damaging Parliament” and said it would be “in everyone’s interest if she just went”.

Ms Dorries has been approached for comment, but she told the News Agents podcast earlier this week that “myself and my team of four caseworkers are working daily with constituents”.

Around 20 affordable homes are to be built on the outskirts of a village in East Devon as the district’s newest town continues to grow.

Up to 180 new homes will be built near Rockbeare as part of the wider Cranbrook development, writes local democracy reporter Ollie Heptinstall.

eastdevonnews.co.uk

East Devon councillors last month approved the outline plan, for land west of Gribble Lane and south of London Road, at a planning meeting.

Affordable housing will account for 15 per cent of the homes (classed as up to 80 per cent of market rates), and four per cent will be custom or self-build plots.

The development includes an adjoining piece of land to be used as natural green space, while all other matters will be considered as part of a detailed ‘reserved matters’ application at a later date.

Approval was given despite more than 100 public objections, as well as from Rockbeare and Whimple parish councils.

It was suggested the development contravenes the local plan and Rockbeare Neighbourhood Plan, that Cranbrook was originally planned with no building south of the former A30 (London Road), and it would have an adverse impact on wildlife.

Others suggested it would have a “detrimental impact on the rural character of the area,” cause greater pressure on local public services, go against efforts to reduce climate change, and lead to a loss of agricultural land.

However, subject to a number of conditions, planning officers recommended approval, deciding it would be an “attractive and legible development, which would integrate well with the natural environment within the site and beyond.”

Councillor Mike Howe (Independent, Clyst Valley) agreed, stating: “Our policies here and now dictate the Cranbrook Masterplan overrides the neighbourhood plan of Rockbeare. It’s the newer document and, as such, it has prominence.”

“When you add that to the fact we still don’t have a five-year housing land supply and, to be frank, this looks – I know it’s indicative and we’ve got reserved matters [to come]– like a lovely scheme. And this is the type of scheme we should be having.”

The planning committee, who met in July, voted to approve the plan by eight votes to three.

Measures taken during the Covid pandemic such as social distancing and wearing face masks “unequivocally” reduced the spread of infections, a report has found.

www.theguardian.com 

Experts looked at the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) – not drugs or vaccines – when applied in packages that combine a number of measures that complement one another.

The Royal Society report, called Covid-19: examining the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions, reviewed the evidence gathered during the pandemic for six groups of NPIs and their effectiveness in reducing transmission.

These included masks and face coverings, social distancing and lockdowns, test, trace and isolate, travel restrictions and controls across international borders, environmental controls, and communications.

When assessed individually, there was positive – if limited – evidence of transmission reduction from many of the NPIs used in the pandemic, the review found. However, evidence of a positive effect was clear when countries used combinations of NPIs.

Additionally, evidence showed NPIs were most effective when the intensity of transmission was low, supporting their use early in a pandemic and at first sign of resurgence.

During the early stages of responding to an emerging infectious disease, NPIs tend to be the only controls available before the development of drug treatments and vaccines.

However, as was seen during the pandemic, their use can have adverse personal, educational and economic consequences – making assessment of their effectiveness essential.

Prof Sir Mark Walport, the foreign secretary of the Royal Society and chair of the report’s expert working group, said: “There is sufficient evidence to conclude that early, stringent implementation of packages of complementary NPIs was unequivocally effective in limiting Sars-CoV-2 infections.

“That does not mean every NPI was effective in every setting, or at all times, but learning the lessons from the wealth of research generated in this pandemic will be key to equipping ourselves for the next one.”

The review found social distancing and lockdowns were the most effective category of NPIs. Stay-at-home orders, physical distancing and restrictions on gathering size were repeatedly found to be associated with significant reduction in Sars-CoV-2 transmission. The more stringent the measures were the greater the effect they had, the experts found.

In care homes, measures such as cohorting and visitor restrictions were associated with reduced transmission and reduced outbreaks.

Additionally, the report found that in school settings, closures and other distancing measures were associated with reduced Covid-19 cases, but the effectiveness varied depending on a range of factors, including adherence and pupils’ ages.

When looking at the use of face masks and mask mandates, studies consistently reported the measures were an effective approach to reduce infection. The evidence further indicates higher-quality respirator masks – such as N95 masks – were more effective than surgical-type masks.

Assessing test, trace and isolate measures, studies from several countries which implemented high levels of contact tracing, with isolation of infected individuals and their contacts, found reductions in Covid-19 deaths.

For the future, the report recommends establishing international protocols for conducting clinical trials and observational research on NPIs in advance of further pandemics.

Prof Christopher Dye, professor of epidemiology at the University of Oxford, said: “The next thing is Disease X as WHO (World Health Organization) has called it.

“We don’t know what it’s going to be, we don’t know where it’s going to appear. So we need a system which is generic enough in character to handle anything of that kind, and for me, the number one priority is to have a global system of surveillance response.”

Prof Christl Donnelly, head of department and professor of applied statistics at the University of Oxford and professor of statistical epidemiology at Imperial College London, said: “We can’t say for certain, and we wouldn’t try to, what might be implemented in future. But we can characterise the impacts of what happened with the coronavirus, and that will inform decision-making, but then of course, in a future pandemic, more data will need to be collected.”

The report draws together the findings of six expert-led evidence reviews, published in a special themed issue of the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A.

The reviews looked at thousands of published studies, and identified papers that were suitably robust for inclusion in each review category.

But they’re the same size as ones approved earlier

East Devon councillors have turned down a development scheme at Clyst Honiton because the homes are “too small” and it would encourage peope to drive.

Alison Stephenson, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk

Planners were not prepared to accept proposals 10 square metres below standards recommended in national planning guidelines despite approving  houses of the same size earlier this year.

The plans for four commercial units and nine two-bed homes by Eagle One MMIII Ltd for land next to Old Tithebarn, Clyst Honiton were also rejected by East Devon District Council’s planning committee on the grounds that the 53 car parking spaces – 35 for commercial parking – were excessive when the council is promoting sustainable transport.

The land falls within the wider Tithebarn Green development which includes more than 1,500 homes, a community centre, employment provision and allotments and open space which have all received planning permission.

Whilst officers said this new proposal is acceptable in principle, they recommended it for refusal and are not keen on the development’s layout and appearance which they say needs more soft landscaping. They also want the homes to face the cycle path for what they call ‘natural surveillance’ and crime prevention.

They said cycling is a “real focal point of development in this area” as the cycle route stretches to Exeter, Exeter Airport, the science park and Skypark.

Development manager Wendy Ormsby said whilst there is no size standard for housing in the council’s local plan, the government is giving more weight to national planning policy guidelines of 79 square metres for two-bed properties, but the proposals are for 69 and 72 square meters.

Cllr Ian Barlow (Ind, Sidmouth) said it seemed a little unfair that this scheme should be refused when the houses are exactly the same size as those passed in January.

“This is in fact an improvement on what we passed this year as the houses have solar panels,” he said. “There is a good separation between the homes and the commerce side of the development.

“I think we are being unreasonable to people who are trying to build houses that we desperately need. We should be working more with these people to get it right.”

Cllr Brian Bailey (Con, Exmouth) said: “It seems grossly unfair that one month you can build these houses and the next you can’t. If this came to appeal I can’t see it standing up.”

But Cllr Simon Smith (Ind, Axminster) said the major difference between then and now was a new administration: “As a planning authority, we are mostly made up of new faces and I think we can be proud that we set the bar today of holding on to this standard as a precedent for future applications.

“We can say hey we are going to protect the welfare of people who want to buy or rent in this area and that is a good way to start this administration.”

Cllr David Wilson (Lab, Exmouth Halsdon) agreed: “I do not see why we have to make the same decisions as those that were made in the past. As a relatively new committee, if we show we are happy to have no consideration to how small a property is that could affect future proposals that come to us which could be smaller and smaller.”

Speaking for the applicant, Paul Withers said the level of car parking was critical to the scheme’s viability. He said the proposal had the same amount of parking as a commercial scheme granted planning permission earlier this year which is just 20 metres away from the site.

He said that at no time through the application process had officers raised the issue of house sizes and the plans did not conflict with planning policies.

The applicants would have been amenable to revising the hard and soft landscaping scheme, he added.

Apparently our Prime Minister, who pledged that “this government will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level”, is “confused” about the rules on declaring financial interests.

He seems to have confused the concept of registration with the concept of declaration, a concept most of our councillors seem to understand and apply. – Owl

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak failed to correctly declare his wife’s financial interest in a childminding agency, the MPs watchdog has ruled.

By Damian Grammaticas and Kate Whannel www.bbc.co.uk

Daniel Greenberg, parliamentary commissioner for standards, said this arose out of “confusion” about the rules and was “inadvertent”.

In a letter to Mr Greenberg, Mr Sunak said he accepted the ruling and apologised.

The inquiry is now closed and the PM will not face further action.

A complaint was submitted to Mr Greenberg following Mr Sunak’s appearance before MPs on the Commons Liaison Committee in March.

During the session, the prime minister was questioned about his policy to provide payments to encourage people who became childminders. The cash would be doubled for those who signed up through six private childcare firms listed on the UK government’s website, with the money being used to cover the firms’ fees.

Mr Sunak’s wife Akshata Murty was a shareholder in one of those private firms, Koru Kids but when asked if he had any declarations to make Mr Sunak said “no, all my disclosures are declared in the normal way”.

Following an investigation, Mr Greenberg said he had concluded that Ms Murty’s shareholding was a relevant interest that should have been declared to MPs.

The commissioner said that, even if Mr Sunak had not been aware of the shareholding at the time of his appearance before the committee, he was aware of it when he later wrote a letter to the Committee chairman Sir Bernard Jenkin to clarify things and should, at that stage, have declared it.

Mr Sunak had recorded the shareholding under arrangements for ministers to declare their interests. That record is not publicly declared but held by civil servants.

Some of these interests are made public on the list of ministers’ interests. The independent adviser on ministers’ interests advises on which interests need to be included in this publicly-available list.

Mr Sunak said three different independent advisers had told him his wife’s shareholdings did not need to be added.

Mr Greenberg said he accepted Mr Sunak believed that, by registering the interest, he had complied with his obligations, and so did not declare it in his letter to Sir Bernard Jenkin.

He added that Mr Sunak “had confused the concept of registration with the concept of declaration” and so the “the failure to declare arose out of this confusion and was accordingly inadvertent on the part of Mr Sunak”.

Mr Greenberg said he was concluding his inquiry using what is called the “rectification procedure” – a process used to correct minor failures to declare interests.

It means the commissioner stops short of submitting a full report to MPs on the Commons Committee on Standards and Privileges for them to consider any possible further action.

Replying to Mr Greenberg, Mr Sunak said that during the Liaison Committee hearing he had “no idea” of the connection between Koru Kids and his government’s childcare policy.

“It was was only after the hearing that I became aware of the link, as set out in my subsequent letter to Sir Bernard, the Chair of the Liaison Committee.

“I now understand that my letter to Sir Bernard was not sufficiently expansive regarding declaration (as distinct from registration)… On reflection, I accept your opinion that I should have used the letter to declare the interest explicitly… I apologise for these inadvertent errors and confirm acceptance of your proposal for rectification.”

“Here in Devon, the rise of Airbnb and short-term lets has priced people out of their communities. LibDems have warned of the effect this is having on the rental market, now is the time for Ministers to act to stop our communities being hollowed out.” – Richard Foord comments on Devon Housing Commission.

Prompting this reply from Jack Earnshaw: “No chance! Half the lets owned by ministers or their friends. Little oiks like us can go to hell.”

Nothing on the subject from Simon Jupp, probably still perambulating around Cullompton handing out leaflets explaining Tory plans for Honiton and Sidmouth.

Britain’s policymakers have been put on recession alert after a closely watched measure of economic health showed the UK gripped by a Europe-wide slump in private sector activity.

Larry Elliott www.theguardian.com

In a sign that higher interest rates are now leading to a rapid slowdown in growth as well as choking off inflation, the latest monthly business health checks showed weakness in the UK services and manufacturing sectors and the poorest performance since the lockdown in early 2021.

Problems in Britain were mirrored in the eurozone, where activity has dropped to its lowest level since November 2020. Germany, the single currency’s biggest economy, is being particularly hard hit by the slump in demand for its manufactured goods.

The warnings of problems ahead were flagged up by surveys of purchasing managers, seen as a good guide to future trends in the economy. The surveys use 50 as the cutoff point between growth and contraction.

The UK’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) conducted by S&P and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply fell from 50.8 in July to 47.9 in August. Service sector activity fell from 51.5 to 48.7, while the manufacturing PMI fell from 45.3 to 42.5.

Chris Williamson, the chief business economist at S&P global market intelligence, said: “The early PMI survey for August suggests that inflation should moderate further in the months ahead but also indicates that the fight against inflation is carrying a heavy cost in terms of heightened recession risks.

“A renewed contraction of the economy already looks inevitable, as an increasingly severe manufacturing downturn is accompanied by a further faltering of the service sector’s spring revival. The survey is indicative of GDP declining by 0.2% over the third quarter so far.”

Williamson said companies were feeling the impact of Britain’s cost of living crisis, lower export demand, higher interest rates and fears about the economic outlook. Firms were seeing their ability to raise prices curbed and inflation was on course to drop to 4% in the months ahead.

“A further pullback in hiring in August, meanwhile, indicates that the labour market is losing steam, which should feed through to lower wage pressures. While a further hike in interest rates in September looks to be on the cards, the August PMI data will add to speculation that rates could soon peak.”

The PMI for the eurozone, conducted by Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCB), showed overall business activity slipping from 48.6 in July to 47.0 in August. The services PMI fell from 50.9 to 48.3, while the manufacturing PMI rose slightly from 42.7 to 43.7.

Cyrus de la Rubia, the chief economist at HCB, said: “The service sector of the eurozone is unfortunately showing signs of turning down to match the poor performance of manufacturing.

“Indeed, service companies reported shrinking activity for the first time since the end of last year, while output in manufacturing dropped again. Considering the PMI figures in our GDP nowcast leads us to the conclusion that the eurozone will shrink by 0.2% in the third quarter.”

Supported housing planned for the site of the former Crossways shopping centre in Paignton will never see the light of day.

It’s what happens when the Tories regain power.

Developers know best! – Owl

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

Instead a new developer will be sought to come up with fresh ideas for the town centre location, which is likely to include affordable housing and possibly flats for key workers.

The derelict shopping centre had been earmarked for extra care and sheltered housing accommodation under the former Liberal Democrat/Independent coalition running Torbay Council. The council had planned to build the new development and then put it in the hands of someone else.

But the new Conservative administration – in place since the elections in May – has no plans to undertake construction itself and will instead seek a developer.

Deputy council leader Chris Lewis (Con, Preston) said: “The council is here to provide services, not to build houses and factories.

“We’re here to help other people do that.”

Torbay Council made a compulsory purchase of the crumbling sixties’ shopping centre in 2021, and planning permission has been given for 90 housing units as well as commercial space on the ground floor.

Bulldozers moved in earlier this year and the centre has been largely razed to the ground.

TorVista Homes, a company the council owns, had been expected to become the owner of the completed properties, which would have been affordable housing for local people.

But Cllr Lewis said: “The project that went through the planning committee cannot be delivered.

The finances to build it simply don’t stack up.”

He said it would cost the council £10 million to proceed with the approved scheme; money it does not have.

“We can’t go ahead with a shortfall like that,” he added. “We are talking to developers about coming up with a new scheme, but it’s early days.

“It takes time to get an investor, an end user and the support of the council.”

Social media commentators have been speculating that Crossways could end up bulldozed but left as an empty site for years to come.

But Cllr Lewis said he was hopeful that would not happen.

“We will do everything possible to deliver something on that site,” he said. “It’s a good site.

“The previous plans did not stack up, but there will be plans that do stack up.

“People are all talking doom and gloom, but we have only just taken on the job.

“Judge us after four years, not four months.”

Eel experts say they are shocked to find no evidence of eels in the Somerset Levels, which once teemed with the critically endangered fish.

Helena Horton www.theguardian.com

DNA sampling by the Sustainable Eel Group and Somerset Eel Recovery Project found no traces of eel DNA.

The Levels are a unique flat landscape that extend throughout the north and centre of Somerset, comprising 69,000 hectares (170,000 acres) of wetland and coastal plain land. While once it was marshland wilderness, it has been drained and farmed by humans since ancient times – drainage of the Levels has been detected before the Domesday Book was written.

They were also once a hotspot for eels, and anglers fishing for bream and roach gave small eels the nickname “bootlaces” as they tangled around their lines, knotting them. They were even once used as currency in Somerset; in the 12th century, tenants of Glastonbury Abbey were expected to pay the monks 14,000 eels a year in rent.

Experts believe barriers in the wetlands, built to keep water back from farmland and homes, are the reason there are no eels in the drains of the Levels.

Using the DNA sampling company NatureMetrics, the eel campaigners took water samples that were filtered and tested for fragments of eel DNA.

Andrew Kerr, chair of the Sustainable Eel Group, said: “We were very, very surprised to see no evidence of European eel in the Somerset Levels. Off the River Axe, there is an incredible network of drains built by man to drain the Somerset Levels. And we thought we would find eels throughout the whole area.

“Something like 100 million eels a year come up the Bristol Channel, going into the Parrett and the Somerset Levels and then on up the Severn, all the way up to Wales. And just as there are 1.3m barriers to fish migration in the rivers of Europe, the Somerset Levels are full of barriers, but we thought all these drains that surround the area of Wedmore, one of the great Somerset Levels, would be full of eels.”

While they found eels in varying quantities in the rivers feeding the Levels, there were none in the complex drainage systems of the wetland areas.

“In the drainage ditches, we found no eel DNA. The river simply isn’t feeding the eels into the levels, because they cannot cross the barriers,” said Kerr.

He also blamed an electric pumping station for killing the eels: “The drainage system is separate from the river system and is separated by barriers and walls and a great big pumping station.

“That electric pumping station has been there for 50 years. But obviously there were eels behind those walls before it went in, and eels have a lifecycle of 10 to 20 years, it takes some time for the pumps to kill them all. And that’s obviously what happened. We were very shocked to find no eel in that latticework of drains, its ideal habitat.”

Kerr is not calling for all the barriers to be removed and the farmland flooded, but for the water network to be made more eel-friendly with solutions to the barriers. “Nobody would expect you to turn it into a wilderness because you’d lose all that productive farmland. But what we have to do is find solutions to the blocked migration pathways.”

Ali Morse, water policy manager for The Wildlife Trusts, told the Guardian: “The Somerset Levels have been a stronghold for eels for thousands of years, but illegal fishing and the loss of wetland habitat have contributed to catastrophic declines. It is estimated that populations have decreased by as much as 90% since the 1980s. Somerset Wildlife Trust and partners are working hard to give eels a future in the Levels, including through release programmes and targeted reedbed management. It is critical we create and restore wetlands to give eels and other wildlife that depend on this vital habitat a future.”

Next week, the Sustainable Eel group will work with local people from Somerset to weave traditional ropes, which can be slung over the barriers. The idea is for the eels to slither up the ropes, over the barriers, and migrate.

Kerr said: “We are building a great deal of local interest in eel. And that’s what’s triggering all this because the locals want their eels back. We’ve managed to connect them to their history and their tradition. And they’ve obviously are aware of it and frustrated that so little has been done, given the scale of the problem.”

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Natural England, have been contacted for comment.

Planners have thrown out a proposal to store energy batteries in a field in East Devon for a second time over safety fears.

Alison Stephenson www.midweekherald.co.uk 

Members of East Devon District Council’s planning committee are not convinced that enough measures have been put in place to prevent a “catastrophe” should an explosion, fire or pollution incident occur.

The fire service, despite having no objections, commented on the lack of detail and councillors say they have “grave concerns” about enough water being available to fight a fire as no fire hydrants are nearby.

Neither is there sufficient holding capacity to prevent contaminated water from lithium batteries entering local rivers and an ‘aquifer’ which sits below the site and stores groundwater for domestic purposes.

A previous application for a battery energy storge system (BESS) on land at Hawkchurch to the north east of Axminster National Grid Sub Station by Enso Energy was turned down in February due to it not being low carbon, as well as insufficient information on safety and its impact on the landscape. This is now the subject of a planning appeal which will be heard in two weeks’ time.

Councillors criticised the new “almost identical” new plan and turned it down by eight votes (with two abstentions) saying they would let a planning appeal decide its fate.

An expert for EDDC will argue the case at the appeal that, contrary to new government guidance that battery energy storage systems are low carbon, the site will trade power from the grid which uses fossil fuels, so it would be detrimental to the environment.

Ward member Cllr Duncan Mackinder (Lib Dem, Yarty) said local residents bared all the risks for no gain.

“If a fire occurs there are two choices – let it burn or fight it with water,” he said.

“If they let it burn, the next large amount of rainfall will force contamination into the water courses and aquifer but there will also be untold damage to the water supply by the amount of water that would be needed if they fight it.

“At an incident at a site like this in Liverpool, the fire service was able to be on scene within eight minutes and used water from local hydrants, it still ran out of water and the fire burned for over 48 hours.

“We are not in that position, we would arrive much later and the situation would be much worse by the time the fire crews arrive.

”Some 1.3 billion litres of water would needed if the entire site was affected.”

He said the site was at risk of thermal runway – a fire that generates its own oxygen if charging or temperature control fails and vapour cloud as well as explosion.

He added: “We already have phosphates in the Exe Valley rivers.

”Think what would happen if lithium laced fire water got in there too. It would be catastrophic for the area.”

Cllr Alastair Bruce (Con, Feniton) has concerns about the whole enterprise. He said he had experience of an aquifer which had to be taken out of service when it became contaminated by the sea.

“Water had to be pumped to local residents from 43 miles away. With climate change on the rampage these kind of resources are even more precious us to.

“The risk to the aquifer is far too great to approve this application.”

Hawkchurch Action Group employed a planning consultant who was among several people to speak against the application.

Opponents, which include the parish council, say it is wrong that BESS sites are now determined by local authorities without the necessary expertise as the technology is relatively new and there are regular incidents involving them.

However, an officers’ report says that while there are objections on safety grounds, many of the concerns are either regulated by other bodies or can be addressed by imposing conditions to planning permission.

They recommended approval of the latest plan saying comments from the Devon and Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service and the additional information provided by the applicant satisfied them that health and safety matters are satisfactory.

A safety management plan will be put in place before the proposal can go ahead and Enso Energy said it will meet all legal safety requirements, and details can be addressed by planning stipulations.

Fire experts said whilst individual schemes should be assessed on their own merits, a second site access was recommended, a perimeter road around the site and a distanceof 1.4 metres between battery cells.

The correspondent who drew this article to Owl’s attention pointed out that the same situation, regarding accountability, applies to council CEO’s. (Especially those who double or triple-hat their roles by adding “Head of Paid Staff” and even “Director of Planning” to their portfolio, giving themselves tremendous power).

Hospital managers should be regulated in a similar way to doctors and nurses, the senior doctor who first raised concerns about Lucy Letby has said.

By Malu Cursino www.bbc.co.uk

Dr Stephen Brearey was the lead consultant on the neonatal unit where serial killer Letby worked and raised the alarm in October 2015.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme there was “no apparent accountability” for what NHS managers do in trusts.

She murdered seven babies and attempted to murder six others in a neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital, in Cheshire.

The first five murders in all happened between June and October 2015 and – despite months of warnings – the final two were in June 2016.

In an interview, Dr Brearey claimed senior staff at the Countess of Chester Hospital were worried about reputational damage to the organisation.

He said that instead of acting on his warnings he and his colleagues lives were made very difficult – so much so that they felt under attack. “You go to senior colleagues with a problem, and you come away confused and anxious,” Dr Brearey explained.

And he claimed his experience was not uncommon in the NHS. Dr Brearey said he had been contacted by clinicians across the UK “in the last three days” who tell him “clinicians raised concerns with senior members of the hospital and their lives were made very difficult by doing that”.

“I can’t emphasise enough how difficult a position this puts the clinician in,” he went on to say. “Carrying out your clinical practice in that environment is very difficult.”

The consultant added: “Doctors and nurses all have the regulatory bodies that we have to answer to, and quite often we’ll see senior managers who have no apparent accountability for what they do in our trusts and then move to other trusts.”

He said he worries about senior managers’ future actions, adding that “there doesn’t seem to be any system to make them accountable, and for them to justify their actions in a systematic way”.

Dr Brearey also said he did not consider himself a whistleblower, but “I was simply trying to escalate concerns that all my colleagues shared, of a spike in mortality, an association with a member of staff, the unusual nature of these events, and the unusual timing of these events.

“We had reviewed all the cases on multiple occasions with an external expert and put all those concerns on paper and I felt really I was following a process rather than speaking out.”

In a statement, an NHS spokesperson said: “It is absolutely vital that everyone working in the NHS feels they can raise concerns and that these are acted on and we have reminded NHS leaders about the importance of this following the verdict last week.”

They added that every NHS trust is expected to adopt an updated Freedom To Speak Up policy, and ensure the information is easily accessible to staff.

Dr Naru Narayanan, president of the doctors’ union the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association, told Sky News there should “better protection for people who raise concerns”.

“But we see time and again that people who do so face retribution, revenge and retaliation, and they fear for their careers,” Dr Narayanan added.

This is not the first time there has been a call for the professional regulation of managers.

A series of reviews over the past decade or so have put forward proposals for greater oversight of managers in the health service, including the Francis Review into the Stafford Hospital scandal.

Doctors and nurses have to measure up to fitness to practice standards and must be registered with a regulatory body that aims to ensure they are safe to care for patients.

But NHS managers do not. A code of conduct was established in 2002, asking that managers act in the best interest of patients and listen to concerns when they are raised. However, there is no real national mechanism to ensure the code is applied.

In recent years the government has talked about beefing up regulation, but nothing concrete has happened that has radically changed the approach to NHS management.

Supporters of regulation believe it would also lead to the introduction of consistent training and standards for managers – but there are concerns about cost and introducing more regulation and red-tape. There is already an inspection regime covering all NHS services that is meant to ensure staff including managers are providing safe care and have proper procedures in place to address that when it is not.

On Friday, the government announced an independent inquiry into the events surrounding the Letby case.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has said the inquiry should consider whether NHS managers need to be regulated in the same way as doctors.

Dr Brearey has said that given the “magnitude of the events that occurred” and the impact Letby’s crimes have had on so many families, the inquiry should be judge led and have statutory powers – so witnesses can be forced to give evidence if needed. It is “clearly what the parents deserve,” he added.

Currently, the inquiry that has been announced is non-statutory, meaning it has lesser powers.

Asked whether the inquiry should be statutory, Ms Keegan said that option “is on the table” and “can be discussed”.

The inquiry aims to look into the wider circumstances surrounding what happened, including the handling of clinicians’ concerns.

Former chief executive of the hospital Tony Chambers and former medical director Ian Harvey, who were in charge at the time Letby was working at the hospital, have said they will co-operate fully with the inquiry.

Alison Kelly, who was the senior manager in charge of nursing at the time, is being investigated, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, or NMC, said on Tuesday.

She had previously been suspended from her current role as director of nursing for Rochdale Care Organisation, part of the Northern Care Alliance, “in light of information” that emerged during the trial.

NMC, the nursing regulator in the UK, said it will investigate Ms Kelly’s role as director of nursing at the Countess of Chester Hospital, a position she left in 2021.

Separately, calls are growing for the government to change the law to compel convicts to attend sentencing. Letby refused to turn up in the dock at Manchester Crown Court on Monday.

The judge proceeded without her and addressed her as if she were in the dock.

Letby was given multiple whole-life terms – one for each offence – becoming only the fourth woman in UK history to receive the sentence of whole life order. The trial lasted for more than 10 months and is believed to be the longest murder trial in the UK.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said it was “cowardly that people who commit such horrendous crimes do not face their victims”.

Clutching test tubes, notepads and wearing wellies, Alice and Olivia and their parents Helen and Erik are on a mission.

By Jonathan Morris www.bbc.co.uk

Their aim is to sample the water of a stream which meanders through the town of Modbury in south Devon, eventually entering the sea at Mothecombe.

The family, who are acting as citizen scientists, are part of a community group of about 120 people who are monitoring the River Erme and its tributaries for pollution.

Campaigners believe the work could lead to real change in the water quality of British rivers and beaches by raising awareness of problem pollution areas.

The Westcountry Rivers Trust (WRT) trains citizen scientists to take samples legally and safely.

‘Fix things’

The volunteers then record their results and upload them to a map on the WRT website.

Mother Helen said: “There’s quite a small, passionate group who have been measuring the local streams and rivers.

“We’ve all read about the pollution in our rivers and we can see it because I have an app on my phone and I’ll get a notification that it’s not safe to swim on the beach and the children go on the beach all the time.”

She believes citizen scientists can make a difference “if there are enough people who are passionate about it”.

“I think you’ve got to be part of trying to fix things for rivers and streams and hold to account the people and companies that are polluting the rivers and making it unsafe for our children to swim on the beaches,” she said.

“No-one’s going to make a difference by doing nothing, and you know, we’re doing it for them and they love being part of it, they love being involved.”

Also among the Holbeton Citizen Science group, also known as the Dippers, is Chris Grey, a retired lawyer who lives near the River Erme.

“We want to know what’s going on in our rivers and how we can improve them,” he said.

“To lobby we need hard science.”

The group is planning to test all the tributaries of the Erme, from Modbury to Ugborough, with the help of landlord John Mildmay-White who allows them access to his land.

Testing is also happening on the River Dart and is expected to start on the River Avon soon.

The rivers can be affected by combined sewer overflows, which are pipes that release untreated sewage into waterways when treatment works are overwhelmed by wet weather.

They can also be affected by run-off from farms, which can carry phosphates and lead to build-up of algae that can kill wildlife, according to the WRT.

Phosphates, chemicals found in fertiliser, sewage and farm slurry are among the pollutants being tested for.

Downstream from Modbury, Flete Estate landowner John Mildmay-White said the aim of the testing was to start building an understanding of “where do we need to investigate more, which particular stream or brook is changing when it rains and where can we isolate the source of pollution so we can do some more scientific testing”.

He added they wanted to improve the “ecological state of the river, but currently we have got issues with the salmon population, the trout population and biodiversity within the water and this all needs to improve”.

Pinpointing the problem areas is the work of WRT, which feeds information from citizen scientists into a map that is being used to put pressure on politicians, the Environment Agency and water companies.

Nicola Rogers, from WRT, said: “We don’t think at the moment that there’s enough testing happening to really tell us about the state of our rivers in the West Country, so citizen scientists can help us fill some of those data gaps.

“And it can do that because the numbers of people that can go out and test their rivers locally, gives us a really big data set which is really informative.

“With that density of data we can lobby their local politicians, their national politicians, anyone who can help them, to drive the change that they want to see to improve the quality of our regional waterways.”

South West Water (SWW) said it had “followed the rapid growth of citizen science in recent years with great interest” and it wanted to “expand their citizen science programmes among local communities”.

It added it was working with the trust on its own citizen science scheme.

“What became clear is that, for the citizen-collected data to realise its potential impact, there was an urgent need for greater volunteer training, more robust data collation and analysis, and clearly defined reporting mechanisms,” it said.

The Catchment Systems Thinking Cooperative, in which SWW and WRT are partners, was seeking to “create a radical step-change in the contribution of citizen science and community monitoring”.

A pilot scheme between SWW, the WRT and the University of Exeter was being set up on the River Tamar and SWW was backing citizen scientists on the River Dart.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “The Erme estuary is one of south Devon’s most popular local sites for bathing, and holds both Site of Special Scientific Interest and Marine Conservation Zone status.

“We are taking significant action to ensure water quality in the area is maintained.

“Citizen Science initiatives provide invaluable data, which complements our own monitoring and assessment work and enables a greater level of engagement with partners.”

People can report suspected pollution to the agency’s free 24-hour incident hotline 0800 807060.

The Tories are facing electoral oblivion in the red wall as a shock poll reveals they will lose every single seat.

Archie Mitchell www.independent.co.uk

Polling from Electoral Calculus, shared with The Independent, reveals all 42 red wall seats held by the Conservatives are set to return to Labour at the next general election.

The scale of the rebellion against the government appears to in part be driven by the spiralling cost of living, with a separate analysis seen by The Independent showing the crisis is having a devastating impact on Tory-held seats in the red wall.

The data, compiled by analytics firm Outra, show 15 Conservative-held red wall seats, which were won at the last election but have historically supported the Labour Party, are among the 50 constituencies with the highest number of financially distressed voters in the country.

Such as Great Grimsby, Blackpool South and Walsall North are among those with the highest portion of voters deemed financially vulnerable.

In total, 15 of the top 50 seats in which voters are at risk of falling behind on their bills were won by the Conservatives in 2019.

It follows research by investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown that shows the northeast has been hit hard by the cost of living crisis – with the joint lowest level of savings in the country, and just a third of households reporting they have enough cash left at the end of the month.

The figures will set alarm bells ringing in Downing Street, with experts warning that voters facing financial distress will make their voices heard in the ballot box.

Pollster and political analyst Robert Hayward pointed to a defining phrase from Bill Clinton’s successful 1992 run to unseat George HW Bush as US president: “It’s the economy, stupid.”

He told The Independent that the economy is “always the most important issue” on polling day across all age groups, social groups and genders.

Lord Hayward said it was especially important for the Conservatives, having historically been considered better managers of the economy than Labour.

“The government has to restore that credibility,” he warned.

Lord Hayward added that Mr Sunak’s party may be doing so “slowly”, with inflation finally falling, but without further progress before an expected general election in October 2024, the Conservatives will lose.

Almost two-thirds of voters believe the economy to be one of the top three issues facing the country, putting it significantly ahead of health and immigration, YouGov polling shows.

The risk of a red wall wipeout will also raise fears in Conservative HQ, with Lord Hayward warning it will leave Mr Sunak facing “serious difficulty” securing an overall majority.

Addressing the collapse in support facing Tories in the red wall, Lord Hayward said that while the party has achieved majorities without the voting bloc in the past, “it delivered the size of that majority last time around”.

He added that the failure to win those seats next year “would leave the Conservatives in serious difficulty trying to find an overall majority”.

Electoral Calculus chief executive Martin Baxter pointed to former PM Mr Johnson’s acknowledgement that red wall voters had “lent him” their support in 2019.

“And it looks like they are taking it back,” he said. “The Conservative tide went up that beach in 2019, and it looks like the tide is going out again.”

The pollster is forecasting that the Tories will lose all 42 of their red wall seats.

And Mr Baxter said that while the economic figures “underline” the struggle in voters in those areas for the Conservatives, the prospect of the party holding on to power in the general election is already “not likely”.

Nationally, Electoral Calculus predicts a landslide Labour victory, winning around 460 seats, with the Conservatives reduced to just 90 seats.

Many red wall seats were turned blue in 2019 as voters repulsed by the Labour leader at the time, Jeremy Corbyn, backed Boris Johnson to “Get Brexit Done” and “level up” neglected towns and cities.

But Outra’s figures show that in many of those seats, voters are now feeling the pinch of the cost of living squeeze.

In Great Grimsby, which Mr Johnson loyalist Lia Nici won from Labour’s Melanie Onn in 2019, more than a quarter of constituents are at risk of financial distress.

Ms Onn, who is Labour’s candidate hoping to win back Great Grimsby next year, told The Independent the figures “laid bare the reality of life under the Conservatives”.

“Areas like ours that placed trust in the Tories have been hit the hardest,” she added.

Ms Onn said: “Their economic mismanagement has caused incomes to nosedive, revealing a disregard for ordinary working people.”

In Blackpool South, held by suspended Tory MP Scott Benton, just under a quarter risk not being able to meet payments. And in Walsall North, represented by Eddie Hughes, 23.1 per cent of voters are at risk of financial distress.

Other Tory MPs believed to be vulnerable to losing their seats include Jonathan Gullis, Johnny Mercer and Jack Brereton.

A housing commission has written to ministers calling for them to enforce new measures on holiday lets in Devon.

The Devon Housing Commission was only fully launched in July and has produced their report in commendable short order, though Owl has yet to find a copy in the public domain. 

Government is based in affluent London and the South East. This is the region where people seem to believe they have a “birthright” to a second home in the country. Despite our regional feelings, will Ministers drag their feet on this? – Owl

By Georgina Barnes www.bbc.co.uk

Companies such as Airbnb were responsible for properties switching from long-term to short-term lets, the Devon Housing Commission (DHC) said.

It called for new measures to control the growth of short-term lettings and curb a shortage of homes.

Airbnb said it welcomes regulation and supports the introduction of a host register.

The commission is a partnership between 11 local authorities in Devon to “address the broken housing market”.

Evidence from the University of Exeter suggested an increase of more than 10% in second homes across Devon since 2021, with one in 11 homes in South Hams being either second, holiday or empty homes.

The university also found some wards in Devon had more than 10% of housing as holiday homes – which was over 30% in Salcombe and Thurlestone.

The DHC said there was “widespread concern” that properties switching from long to short-term lettings were a “key reason for the fall of 50% in private lettings” across the county between 2019 and 2021.

Commissioners wrote to Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and Lucy Frazer, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, calling for them to enable councils to “limit growth of short-term lets” by private landlords or companies.

The DHC said the letter set out two proposals for legislative change, with the first requiring registration of short-term lettings “in order to establish the facts”, and to require change of use planning consent for any new short-term lettings to allow local authorities to determine how many holiday lets “should be created” in their patch.

The commission also said it recognised the power government had given to local authorities to increase council tax on second homes by up to 100%, but recommended councils “ring fence the extra revenue” for “meeting the housing shortages that second homes can exacerbate”.

The local authorities involved include Devon County Council, Exeter City Council, East Devon District Council, South Hams District Council, Plymouth City Council, North Devon District Council, Mid Devon District Council and Teignbridge District Council, West Devon Borough Council, Torridge District Council and Torbay Council.

An Airbnb spokesperson said: “Airbnb welcomes regulation and has long-led calls for the introduction of a Host register to give authorities the information they need.

“The typical UK host rents their space for just three nights a month, and we want to work with policymakers to support everyday Hosts and clampdown on speculators that drive local concerns.”

• Proposed two single storey extensions and replacement garage 2 Trinfield Avenue Exmouth Devon EX8 3JURef. No: 23/1764/FUL | Validated: Fri 11 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of a detached annexe, ancillary to the enjoyment of the existing bungalow. 9 Apple Close Exmouth EX8 4QNRef. No: 23/1760/FUL | Validated: Fri 11 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Certificate of proposed lawful development for side extension to form new entrance, existing hips to gables to the main roof and existing dormer size increased.9 Apple Close Exmouth Devon EX8 4QNRef. No: 23/1759/CPL | Validated: Fri 11 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T3: Norway Maple – approximately reduce to upper previous pollard points at 3m above ground level, leaving multiple points to encourage a balanced crown formation and allow continued vascular connection. T6: Pittosporum – reduce to growth point approximately 1.5 metres above ground level. T8: Sycamore – remove southern stem and reduce northern stem by approximately 40%. T9: Plum – fell to near ground level. T12: Holm Oak- crown reduce by approximately 2m or further if permitted. Maximum diameter of cuts 50mm. T13: Cypress – dismantle to near ground level. T14: Goat Willow – pollard at existing pollard points, approximately 1.5 metres above ground level. 12 Louisa Place Exmouth Devon EX8 2ALRef. No: 23/1753/TCA | Validated: Fri 11 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1, Magnolia : crown raise to 2.5m, clean up poor previous pruning cuts and remove epicormic regrowth on trunk. Mead Fortescue Road Sidmouth EX10 9QGRef. No: 23/1750/TRE | Validated: Fri 11 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Ash: sectionally remove to the ground. 7 Wren Close Honiton EX14 2GWRef. No: 23/1741/TRE | Validated: Wed 09 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• G5 – Poplars (group): dismantle or fell approximately 11 poplars within the woodlands. T7 – Eucalyptus: dismantle in sections to near ground level. Hollerfields Higher Metcombe Devon EX11 1SRRef. No: 23/1747/TRE | Validated: Thu 10 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Certificate of Lawful Development for an area of land at Wheelgates used as a residential garden for a continuous period of more than 10 years. Wheelgates Cotleigh EX14 9HGRef. No: 23/1744/CPE | Validated: Wed 09 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed loft conversion Sunbeams Rhode Lane Uplyme DT7 3TXRef. No: 23/1737/FUL | Validated: Tue 08 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Lawful Development Certificate for construction of single storey rear extension.51 Millers Way Honiton EX14 1JBRef. No: 23/1734/CPL | Validated: Tue 08 Aug 2023 | Status: Withdrawn
• Covered farmyard manure store Wadhayes Farm Awliscombe EX14 3PRRef. No: 23/1733/FUL | Validated: Tue 08 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Variation of condition no. 2 (approved plans) and 8 (inverter station and CCTV details) of application 20/2551/VAR (Variation of conditions 2 (Approved Plans) and 8 (Inverter station and CCTV details) of application 19/1056/VAR (Installation of ground mounted photovoltaic solar arrays with transformer stations; internal access track; biodiversity enhancement; landscaping; fencing; security measures; access gate and ancillary infrastructure (without complying with Condition 16 of planning permission 17/1378/VAR, to extend the operational lifespan of solar farm to 40 years) to reflect changes to layout, fencing, infrastructure specification and appearance, and to allow siting of an additional storage container.) to extend the operation lifespan of solar farm to 40 years. Axe View Solar Farm Wadbrook EX13 7ASRef. No: 23/0009/EIA | Validated: Tue 08 Aug 2023 | Status: Decided
• Lawful Development Certificate for a single storey rear extension1 Rosedale Terrace Colyford Road Seaton Devon EX12 2SPRef. No: 23/1730/CPL | Validated: Mon 07 Aug 2023 | Status: Approved
• Construction of a replacement dwelling in pursuant to planning approval 22/2834/FUL (conversion of workshop to residential dwelling and creation of a new access) Hand And Pen Garage London Road Whimple Devon EX5 2FXRef. No: 23/1729/FUL | Validated: Mon 07 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Outline application with all matters reserved for a permanent rural occupational dwelling to serve an established equestrian centre Upton Pyne Equestrian Centre Seychelles Farm Upton Pyne Exeter EX5 5HYRef. No: 23/1731/OUT | Validated: Mon 07 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• The erection of a single storey rear extension with a flat roof, which would extend beyond the rear wall of the original house by 3.3m, for which the maximum height would be 3.7m and the height of the eaves would be 3m. 2 Redside Terrace Cowley Exeter EX5 5ESRef. No: 23/1728/GPD | Validated: Mon 07 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Extension to cattle shed and creation of approach ramps Larkbeare Court Holly Ball Lane Whimple EX5 2QXRef. No: 23/1732/FUL | Validated: Fri 11 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed single storey extension in place of existing timber structure The White House Rosemary Lane Musbury Devon EX13 8ATRef. No: 23/1722/FUL | Validated: Mon 07 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1, Oak: Remove approximately 30% of the foliage area of the tree by via thinning. This pruning should be achieved by: – reduce lowest limb growing towards house by 4m, back to the two side branches making a 175mm diameter pruning cut; – prune back branch over topping lowest branch growing towards house to prevent shading of lower branch; – prune remainder of crown by reduction via thinning, seeking to removing 25-35% of overall foliage area; – pruning to target most heavily extended and laterally growing branches by removing 3-6m branch sections making pruning cuts of around 100mm in diameter. Maybury Bendarroch Road West Hill Devon EX11 1UWRef. No: 23/1721/TRE | Validated: Mon 07 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed new dwelling to the rear 37 Alexandria Road Sidmouth EX10 9HGRef. No: 23/1713/FUL | Validated: Wed 09 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Retrospective siting of a shipping container (for use as food and drink preparation area) and construction of adjacent seating/dining area, and proposed enlargement and alterations to entrance to main building. Country West Trading Estate Tytherleigh EX13 7BERef. No: 23/1708/FUL | Validated: Wed 09 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use from F2( Community Use) to a mixed use F2 (Community Use) and use Class E(F) (Day Nursery). Aylesbeare Village Hall Village Way Aylesbeare Exeter EX5 2FFRef. No: 23/1709/FUL | Validated: Fri 11 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Use of a building as 2no. dwelling houses (Use Class C3). Abbeywood Cottage Dunkeswell EX14 4SDRef. No: 23/1710/CPE | Validated: Thu 10 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Variation of condition no. 2 of planning permission 21/3350/FUL (Creation of 8 flats and staff accommodation for ground floor shop on first and second floors together with bin and cycle storage) to re-position the existing services and requirements under Building Regulations requiring internal layout changes) to amended drawings. 4 – 6 Rolle Street Exmouth EX8 1HERef. No: 23/1717/VAR | Validated: Fri 11 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Agricultural livestock building. Chelsea Farm Feniton EX14 3BERef. No: 23/1720/FUL | Validated: Wed 09 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T13, Ash : reduction of a southerly growing branch by approximately 3m, cut back to approx 1m from the trunk to remove from over the footpath Lindens Mill Lane Uplyme Devon DT7 3TZRef. No: 23/1718/TRE | Validated: Mon 07 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Two storey rear extension with associated alterations to the existing cottage. Lilac Cottage Whitford Road Musbury Devon EX13 7APRef. No: 23/1716/FUL | Validated: Thu 10 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1, Lime: (1) crown reduction by 2/3m to reduce canopy level; (2) Growth since last application; (3) General thinning due to light loss in upstairs lounge window; (4) To remove and lop branches close to building to reduce likelyhood of damage to slate roof/guttering etc. 1 Old Heazille Mews Rewe Exeter EX5 4HBRef. No: 23/1698/TRE | Validated: Mon 07 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Demolition of existing rear single storey extensions & conservatory and erection of two storey rear extension Bulstone Mead Branscombe EX12 3BLRef. No: 23/1699/FUL | Validated: Wed 09 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Enlargement of existing window to south elevation of existing dwelling 9D Portland Avenue Exmouth Devon EX8 2BSRef. No: 23/1695/FUL | Validated: Fri 11 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Installation of a main entrance sign to the access of a new cats adoption centre (previously approved under application 19/2365/MFUL). Axhayes Cattery Clyst Honiton Devon EX5 2HSRef. No: 23/1685/ADV | Validated: Mon 07 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Conversion of garage and store room to create extension. Clarence House The Butts Colyton Devon EX24 6NURef. No: 23/1688/FUL | Validated: Mon 07 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use of part ground floor to living accommodation including change in fenestration. Sidmouth Garage Connaught Road Sidmouth Devon EX10 8TTRef. No: 23/1690/FUL | Validated: Mon 07 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Rear dormers and alterations to the front apex Durlston Barline Beer Devon EX12 3LWRef. No: 23/1696/FUL | Validated: Thu 10 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Variation of condition no. 1 of planning permission (20/5054/VAR Change of use of redundant barn to holiday cottage) to allow for the removal of condition no. 1 in relation to planning permission to enable the holiday home to be used for residential purposes. Orchard Cottage Apple Barrel Barn Dunkeswell Abbey EX14 4RPRef. No: 23/1669/VAR | Validated: Tue 08 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed two storey side extension and 2 bed house with parking. Coxes Farm Sidmouth Road Clyst St Mary Devon EX5 1DNRef. No: 23/1670/FUL | Validated: Wed 09 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Roofing over Slurry store. Shelf Farm Road From Luppitt Common To Dolish Farmhouse Luppitt Devon EX14 4SLRef. No: 23/1672/FUL | Validated: Wed 09 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Conversion of hall to restaurant and bar (Use class E and sui generis, previously A3/A4), demolition of rear elevation and public toilet block and replacement with restaurant/ bar extension and a new public toilet block, external terrace to form seating area and addition of new flue. Sidmouth Drill Hall The Esplanade Sidmouth EX10 8BERef. No: 23/1657/FUL | Validated: Mon 07 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Works to rear east elevation to include: replace roof and install rooflight on (primary lean-to); remove existing (secondary lean-to) and construct new extension; replace render on (primary lean-to); replace 1no. window on (primary lean-to) south elevation; elevation and replace guttering and downpipe on main house on south and east elevation and internal alterations to ground floor layout Charnwood Payhembury EX14 3HRRef. No: 23/1640/LBC | Validated: Fri 11 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T2, T3 Silver Birches : reduce the height of trees by 4m, to previous pruning points, mazimum diameter cuts of less than 200mm. 10 Sherwood Drive Exmouth EX8 4PXRef. No: 23/1646/TRE | Validated: Thu 10 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Development of 17no commercial units Coastguard Road Ltd Devonshire Road Heathpark Industrial Estate Honiton EX14 1SDRef. No: 23/1631/MFUL | Validated: Mon 07 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Erection of a detached two storey dwelling, detached garage and wildlife lake with associated landscaping Land North Of Higher Griggs Farm Fortescue Road SidmouthRef. No: 23/1619/FUL | Validated: Mon 07 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Demolition of existing garage, new two storey side extension and Juliette balcony, new porch and decking to rear Graves End House Village Road Woodbury Salterton EX5 1PGRef. No: 23/1605/FUL | Validated: Wed 09 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Removal of internal boiler & flue [fed through the archway wall], new structure erected in garden to surround new boiler and oil tank [retrospective] 1 The Stables Shute Devon EX13 7NYRef. No: 23/1583/FUL | Validated: Mon 07 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• General purpose forestry buildingLand At Woodhouse Lyme Road UplymeRef. No: 23/1489/AGR | Validated: Mon 07 Aug 2023 | Status: Refused
• Proposed side extension to garage, formation of covered bin store, replacement external stairs, formation of two dormer windows on the front elevation and flat roof dormer on the rear elevation to facilitate the formation of an en-suite bathroom in the garage loft space. Perky Pool Cottage Talaton Road Whimple Exeter EX5 2QZRef. No: 23/1333/FUL | Validated: Wed 09 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Replacement of 4no. ground floor windows on front elevation The Forge Shute Axminster EX13 7PURef. No: 23/1255/LBC | Validated: Thu 10 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Demolition of internal wall, removal of roof to existing extension, construction of new extension with parapet and roof lanterns The Lodge Gittisham Honiton EX14 3ADRef. No: 23/1206/FUL | Validated: Fri 11 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Demolition of internal wall, removal of roof to existing extension, construction of new extension with parapet and roof lanterns The Lodge Gittisham Honiton EX14 3ADRef. No: 23/1207/LBC | Validated: Fri 11 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use from a hotel (use class C1) to a dwellinghouse (use class C3(a)). The Belfry Country Hotel Yarcombe Honiton EX14 9BDRef. No: 23/0782/FUL | Validated: Fri 11 Aug 2023 | Status: Awaiting decision

Haul up the ladder, your pay rise would be inflationary – Owl

Fat cat bosses enjoy £500m pay rise as CEO salaries soar

Bosses at Britain’s biggest companies saw their pay surge by 16 per cent last year despite ordinary workers’ wages being outstripped by inflation, research has found.

Adam Forrest www.independent.co.uk

Chief executives for firms on the FTSE 100 enjoyed a pay bump amounting to around £500,000 in 2022, according to the High Pay Centre.

Unions said it showed that Britain had become “a land of grotesque extremes”, with well-off company chiefs benefiting from pay rises while hard-pressed families struggle during the cost of living crisis.

The gap between average top bosses and average workers widened further over the year – with the median CEO paid 118 times the median UK full-time worker in 2022, up from 108 times in 2021.

Median pay for a FTSE 100 CEO increased from £3.38m in 2021 to £3.91m 2022, the High Pay Centre said. It represents an upward trend after it dropped to £2.46m in 2020 after companies were hit by the Covid pandemic.

Pascal Soriot, boss of pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, was the highest-earning FTSE 100 chief after receiving pay of £15.3m for the year.

Other particularly highly paid bosses in 2022 – the year in which the energy crisis saw gas and electricity bills soar – included Bernard Looney of BP and Ben van Beurden of Shell.

The High Pay Centre has called for new requirements for companies to include a minimum of two elected workforce representatives on the remuneration committees that set executive pay.

Luke Hildyard, director of the High Pay Centre, said: “At a time when so many households are struggling with living costs, an economic model that prioritises a half-a-million-pound pay rise for executives who are already multi-millionaires is surely going wrong somewhere.

“How major employers distribute the wealth that their workforce creates has a big impact on people’s living standards,” said the campaigner.

Mr Hildyard added: “We need to give workers more voice on company boards, strengthen trade union rights and enable low and middle-income earners to get a fairer share in relation to those at the top.”

It comes a week after official figures showed that average wages are continuing to grow behind rises in the cost of living, despite progress in tackling price rises.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said regular pay growth, which excludes bonuses, reached 7.8 per cent over the three months to June compared to a year earlier, but actually dropped by 0.6 per cent once inflation was taken into account.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “While millions of families have seen their budgets shredded by the cost of living crisis, city directors have enjoyed bumper pay rises.”

The union boss added: “This is why workers must be given seats on company boards to inject some much-needed common sense and restraint. We need an economy that delivers better living standards for all – not just those at the top. But under the Tories, Britain has become a land of grotesque extremes.”

Meanwhile, Labour said the economy is “stuck in a low-growth trap” under the Tories, as its analysis of the latest economic forecasts suggests that UK growth will be the slowest in the G7 in 2024.

The Bank of England’s August Monetary Policy Report suggests that economic growth is expected to be weaker next year than previously expected, downgraded from 0.75 per cent to 0.5 per cent.

Labour said this meant the UK would experience the slowest growth among the G7 group of countries, with shadow Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq warning low growth was now a “hallmark” of Rishi Sunak’s premiership.

A Tory party spokesperson responded: “The biggest threat to growing our economy is a Labour government, with the same old plans that would push up debt, inflation and interest rates.

They added: “Since 2010, the UK has grown faster than France, Japan and Italy, and we are determined to meet the prime minister’s pledge to grow the economy further whilst halving inflation – something Labour have no plan to do.”

Local leaders have lamented the closure of a popular pub in Devon and pinned the blame on the Government for not stepping in to curb the crippling impact of the cost of living crisis. The Swan closed recently after 16 years in the town of Bampton in Mid Devon.

[Simon Jupp nowhere to be seen, well Bampton isn’t in his constituency but that doesn’t seem to have deterred him recently. Photos of him supporting the hospitality sector, pint in one hand, used to be one of Simon’s things! Though his widely publicised campaigns have proved ineffectual. – Owl]

Lewis Clarke www.devonlive.com

The Swan, which had four AA Gold Stars and two Rosettes for culinary excellence, reached number 25 in the 2022 ‘Estrella Damm’ Top 50 Gastropub Awards. Alongside its sister restaurant, Spelt, it was also featured in the 2021 Michelin Guide and was named by the AA as the nation’s ‘Inn of the Year’ in 2019.

Announcing the news, owners Paul and Donna Berry said: “The strain we have been under for the last couple of years has been immense.

“We are extremely proud to have had The Swan over the last decade. We’ve had amazing customers and staff in that time. Thankfully most of the time has been positive. Clearly Covid was tough and today’s climate is very challenging.”

Councillor Chris Adcock, Liberal Democrat for Clare and Shuttern said: “This is a real blow to Bampton residents and the local economy. The Swan’s reputation brought people in to Bampton from across Devon, the UK and abroad. We would like to thank Donna, Paul and their team for all their hard work and wish them well with “Spelt”, their other restaurant on Brook Street.”

Councillor Rachel Gilmour, Liberal Democrat for Clare and Shuttern added: “This is a sign of the economic times. With the cost of living crisis, higher energy bills, enormously inflated mortgages and wages which don’t keep up with inflation, only the Conservatives are to blame for this and other pub closures. They have trashed our economy, leaving a trail of lost jobs and shattered dreams.”

Following the news, tributes and sadness at the closure of the pub poured in.

One said: “So sorry to hear this Paul as I know how much time and effort both you and Donna have invested in The Swan. You should both be very proud of yourselves for what you have given Bampton. Give yourselves a big pat on the back for all your achievements over the years and well done to all at Team Swan. Xx”

Another added: “Nooooooooo!!! Absolutely devastated for you. You’ve put your all in to it , what a challenge it’s been. Thank you for all our fabulous evenings with you. We will miss you all at the Swan soooo much Xx”

A third said: “Very sad news, quite understandable considering the financial climate. Glad you’ve still got Spelt to continue to deliver exceptional food and hospitality.”