BRITONS are so outraged by Boris Johnson’s poor performance they cannot believe they are going to vote for him again in 2024.

The Daily Mash www.thedailymash.co.uk 29th January 2021

Angry voters say Johnson’s terrible mishandling of Covid, Brexit disruption and his obvious personal incompetence have left them with no choice but to vote him in for a second term.

Stunned voter Wayne Hayes said: “If there’s one thing we’ve learnt over the last year it’s that Johnson isn’t fit to lead. So it’s going to be a real shock when I inevitably give him my vote again.

“I’ll be standing there in the voting booth, pencil in hand, thinking of all the stupid things he’s said and all the terrible things he’s done. And then I’ll put a cross next to his name. It’s gobsmacking what an idiot I am when you think about it.”

Mary Fisher said: “We should boot him out like America did with Trump. We’ve even got a leader of the opposition who you could vote for without worrying about it too much. 

“My jaw’s going to hit the floor when Huw Edwards says Johnson’s won on election night. Even though I’ve voted for him I’ll still shout at my TV ‘Who the hell voted for him, apart from me?’

“Mind you he is funny, isn’t he? And immigrants.”

Owl has posted a number of comments relating to the problems of holding local elections in May. One of these is how difficult candidates will find it to canvas, especially those challenging the sitting incumbent. 

Owl has received this opinion piece from one challenger to be Police and Crime Commissioner, other challengers are welcome to submit pieces for Owl to consider publishing.

An opinion piece from Gareth Derrick, Labour Party candidate for Police and Crime Commissioner, entitled:

“Policing Coronavirus and Beyond”. 

Already 2021 has added so much to the challenges of policing that have emerged since Covid-19 began to tear through the UK. Across the country forces adapted to meet an increasing need for the “policing” of coronavirus guidance, the rules, and ultimately the law. But there is much more to be done.

In Devon and Cornwall, a drop-off in “traditional” crime reporting amounted to around 11% opening up scope for the police to deploy extra resources to the “front-line,” working to combat the spread of infection. They have performed admirably, but it’s no surprise working in close contact with the public that police officers and staff have become infected, leading to sickness rates of around 10% at present. This is not alarming yet, but it adds much weight to the argument that it’s a good investment to vaccinate all front-line staff from care workers to police officers and staff. If the next few months of vaccination effort do not go well, it might just be too late.

Commissioner Alison Hernandez made much about giving Special Constables a one-off payment if they commit to eight shifts above their normal voluntary commitment. They could earn £750 which by my reckoning is about £12 per hour. Sadly, with just a small number of “Specials” it will make limited impact and reflects badly on how commitments to front-line duty are valued. The annual “summer surge” should already have taught us that when resources are pared to the bone even in a national crisis, a properly established reserve capability is vital, where trained officer and civilian staff reservists are held at readiness and employed on a salaried basis to allow high levels of police demand to be met. My experience as the Commanding Officer for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Reserves, deploying people world-wide, tells me that this offers tremendous operational flexibility and a powerful connection between the individuals and the communities they serve which is worth its weight in gold.

The “clarity of the rules” for Covid has often been drawn into question, not helped by the disparities over “guidance”, “rules”, and what is actually a matter of law. There have been numerous examples of those in authority flouting the rules from the notorious Dominic Cummings’ eyesight check, driving across the country during lockdown, and perhaps even Boris Johnson’s seven-mile cycle-rides. The reality is that most people are very aware of the rules but many choose not to stick by them. We are not actually at war, nor fighting organised crime in respect of Covid, so in a public health crisis like this we should expect good old fashioned team spirit and public cooperation. I have strongly supported the Chief Constable’s approach to this focusing initially on “engage,” “explain,” and “encourage” before moving to enforcement. But, as we descend into new depths of this crisis in January 2021, I would expect that plans are in place to be ready for a rapid shift to new “Rules of Engagement” where little quarter is given to those that choose to break the law. Added to that, the police should be ensuring that they are exemplary in allowing non-frontline staff to work from home. If that means making investment in technology, so be it. A dispersed and secure workforce is often more resilient than a centralised one, and the challenges of Covid and its potential successors may be around for a long time.

So, standing for election to become Police and Crime Commissioner from May this year, my priorities in respect of the Covid response would be four-pronged. Making the case for early vaccination of front-line police personnel as soon as the highly vulnerable groups are safe. Taking immediate steps to establish a professional police reserve capability to provide operational “flex” in both the uniformed and the civilian staff. Prioritising investment in technology to create added resilience in the police workforce by minimising the need for office working. Being ready to upshift the police response at short notice, closer to “zero tolerance” but finding the delicate balance between handling the crisis firmly and public consent. Lives and livelihoods are in peril to an extent rarely seen outside war, so these investments are worth making. We will come out of this pandemic, and when we do they will have paid back many-fold. Just as in 1945, much of what we learn during this trauma will help to reset our society, allowing us to see with greater clarity how our future can be better shaped. 

    Gareth Derrick

       Labour Party candidate for Police and Crime Commissioner

    Devon and Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly

Eileen Wragg, district councillor for Exmouth, writes for the Journal

Eileen Wragg www.exmouthjournal.co.uk

The Democratic Alliance, consisting of the East Devon Alliance, Liberal Democrat’s, Greens and an Independent has been making huge strides forward since becoming the administration at East Devon District Council at the end of May last year.  

We have already begun the Local Plan Review, which plans building development for future years, and which went out for public consultation last week.  

Actions have been taken for local people and visitors to take control over what will happen on Exmouth seafront, long overdue.  

EDDC has pulled out of the Greater Exeter Strategic Plan (GESP) which would have imposed substantial numbers of residential development in East Devon. 

We are now delivering a town centre for the residents of Cranbrook after years of being deprived of one long promised, and a new officer will be recruited to tackle the high priority issue of climate change and the environment. 

Last week, the decision was made to appoint a Mental Health Officers for both Officers and Members, particularly in these difficult times, when we are also dealing with and trying to help our residents who are in need.  

Research carried out by the World Health Organisation and The Health Foundation has found that the impacts on mental health have been considerable, with increased domestic violence and abuse cases, and the effects of stress, anxiety and depression as well as employment problems.  

Good mental health is vital for physical well-being, and as Councillors, we are actively addressing and tackling the issues.  

We have engaged one of our Councillors as the Mental Health Champion for EDDC, Cllr. Tony Woodward, and he has sent around some useful information for anyone who may be suffering any of the conditions contained within this article.  

This can be accessed through the internet https://www.nhs.uk/one you/every-mind-matters/ and https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/mindfulness/ 

 I do hope that this will be a help for those who need support, and please stay safe, and help others do the same. 

Owl has posted views on either side of the argument for and against holding the Local elections in May.

Here is the view from Paul Arnott:

Extract from: A view from East Devon District Council leader Paul Arnott, Exmouth Journal       

In the first week of May, we are due to hold elections for county councillors, the police & crime commissioner, any casual vacancies for town and parish councils, and some local referenda on things like Neighbourhood Plans.

Or, to express this more directly, the people who are responsible for your public health policy, adult social care, roads, education, policing, allotments, town halls, and community responses to how you want the place where you live to be planned.

The problem is the pandemic. All of you who have voted will have noticed the many lovely people staffing polling stations, whose numbers are multiplied at the count, and at the daily opening and verification of incoming postal votes. That is before we even consider the eager candidates who  are meant to knock on doors, put leaflets through letterboxes and, of course, hold hustings or public meetings.

Campaigning would have to start in March, as the first postal votes go out in early April. Many people will not appreciate a shiny-faced candidate with a rosette coming up their garden path when it is highly likely that most of us still have not completed our vaccinations.

Some say that democracy delayed is democracy denied, which is often true. There is a slightly unappealing push from non-Tory national parties to insist we press on with these elections anyway; they sense blue blood and want to hit the Conservatives when they’re down.

To me, and forgive the pun, this is all trumped by public health and safety. These elections will be best held in the autumn. Our next local Kamala Harris moment will have to wait till then.

As previously reported, the Shandford Care Home, returned to auction in December and was sold.

Who bought it?

Owl has since received reports from reliable sources that it was purchased by Julie Rhodes of Agency Assistance. However, Owl has been unable to confirm these reports.

Agency Assistance is CQC registered to provide personal care.

From the CQC report (May 2019):

Agency Assistance provides care and support to people living in ‘supported living’ settings, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support. At the time of our inspection there were 46 people receiving personal care from the service in 20 locations in Exmouth, Exeter, Budleigh Salterton and Bridgewater. Some of these were in shared houses and some in individual homes. People’s ages ranged from 18 to 80 and they were living with a range of needs which included, learning disability, physical disability, mental health, autism, epilepsy and sensory impairment.

To recapitulate the history of Shandford:

Shandford started as a care home in 1958 for local people funded by the people of Budleigh Salterton. In 2012, the trustees ceded it to Abbeyfield.

The closure is based on Abbeyfield’s declared aim of “freeing up assets” as it changes its business model to concentrate on larger homes; and County Councillor Christine Channon’s handpicked adviser, Chris Davis, who claims that Shandford was no longer viable. Owl understands Chris Davis’ report has never been made public.

A local community effort to take back control, failed despite the intervention of newly elected Simon Jupp MP.

During this process Owl received plausible arguments that showed that there were grounds to challenge the case for non-viability.

So will it be used for assisted living rather than fall into the hands of developers?

A plan to build more than 20,000 homes in rural Oxfordshire, championed by secretary of state for housing Robert Jenrick, is facing a legal challenge from residents who say it is incompatible with the government’s legally binding commitments to tackle the climate emergency.

Claims that Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) “threatened to withhold promised infrastructure funding for several other projects unless the local plan was adopted” etc. This argument sound familiar? -Owl

Matthew Taylor www.theguardian.com

Campaigners have issued a legal claim against South Oxfordshire district council’s decision to go ahead with the local plan – which sets out proposals to build 24,000 new homes in the area by 2035.

Jenrick, is accused of “massive intervention” to push the scheme through after he ordered South Oxfordshire district council to go ahead with the development in March.

Sue Roberts, director of Bioabundance which is taking the legal case, said: “This is the first time a local plan has ever been challenged because of our climate and ecological crisis. This pioneering action by Bioabundance is our last chance to put our environment before housebuilder profit in South Oxfordshire.”

The legal challenge is the latest attempt to stop major infrastructure projects – from a new runway at Heathrow to Europe’s biggest gas fired power station – which campaigners argue fail to meet the government’s legally binding commitments to tackle the climate emergency. Both challenges have faced recent setbacks in the courts.

Campaigners are challenging the Oxfordshire plan on the grounds that Jenrick’s intervention was inappropriate and that the proposed number of houses breaches the government’s legally binding commitment to hit net zero by 2050.

Leigh Day solicitor Tom Short, who is representing Bioabundance, said the claimants were concerned about both “the manner in which the plan has been forced through under enormous pressure from the secretary of state, and the detrimental environmental impacts it will lead to.”

“It is important that decisions of local authorities that have significant ramifications for the environment for years to come be taken in a free and fair manner, not dictated by central government as appears to have happened here,” he said.

Many of the new houses would be built on the outskirts of Oxford, and there are also plans to develop an old airfield into a ‘new town’.

Ian Ashley, director of Bioabundance, said: “The plan would destroy the countryside and a large part of the green belt around Oxford.”

The proposals were originally developed by a Conservative led council that was replaced in May 2019 by a Lib Dem-Green coalition that had campaigned to end “over-development”.

However, over a period of 21 months, the applicants say the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) put “severe pressure” on South Oxfordshire district council and threatened to withhold promised infrastructure funding for several other projects unless the local plan was adopted.

Final approval was given at the South Oxfordshire district council in December. But some councillors who abstained said Jenrick’s “massive intervention” meant it was not a free vote.

Roberts, who is also a local councillor, said there was no demand for new housing in the area. She argued the new developments would simply provide second homes, or international investment opportunities for the already wealthy, as well as worsening the climate crisis and “hastening the collapse of the natural world.”

However, Caroline Newton, a Conservative member on South Oxfordshire district council said new homes were desperately needed.

“There is a directly assessed need for houses in this area … we have got incredibly expensive house prices, first-time buyers are getting older and older and young families are being forced out of the area.”

The MHCLG declined to comment. A spokesperson for South Oxfordshire district council said: “We can confirm we’ve received a challenge by Bioabundance to the council’s decision to adopt the Local Plan 2035. We will be responding accordingly but we can’t comment further at this stage as this is a legal matter.”

Families planning a post-lockdown Easter staycation in Devon face soaring prices as the cost of some holiday accommodation is three times higher than a fortnight earlier in the season – with companies saying it is down to “high demand”.

Colleen Smith www.devonlive.com

Price increases from firms including Haven, Butlin’s, Airbnb and Centre Parcs come amid concern that the national lockdown may still be in place in March.

Easter Sunday is on April 4 and the price of a standard three-bed caravan more than doubles at the Haven Devon Cliffs holiday park in East Devon.

It will cost £801 for seven days from Saturday April 3 – an increase of 152 per cent from a fortnight earlier, when the same holiday would cost £317 a week.

At the height of the holiday season, the same three-bed standard caravan for a family of six will be £1,564 during the summer – assuming Covid restrictions are lifted.

The park in Sandy Bay is one of the biggest in the region and employs 500 people. Last year it had to make redundancies due to the impact of Covid-19 on tourism.

Haven, which also operates Perran Sands and Riviere Sands holiday parks in Cornwall, said that it has seen a particularly high demand for holidays for May half term, July, August and next October half term, with the demand for visits to Devon and Cornwall higher than elsewhere in the UK.

It has sold 40,000 more holidays than it would normally expect to at this point in the year, with Devon and Cornwall proving a particularly popular for people seeking to get away at a time where it is hoped the coronavirus vaccines will bring the pandemic under control and a path back to normality.

On Airbnb, many properties are already almost fully booked but in North Devon one cottage on the coast at Buck’s Mill costs £684 for a week at the end of March, rising to £853 over Easter week.

Meanwhile, a Woolacombe flat for four people is £1,462 a week at Easter.

In South Devon a bungalow at Salcombe costs £1,146 at Easter and in Okehampton town centre, a renovated cottage is £996 for Easter week.

In North Devon, at Clovelly a Grade II listed barn is £931.

Even the traditionally cheaper Butlin’s holiday has significantly risen in price for Easter 2021.

Some of the prices of Butlin’s stays across the UK have been tripled as people begin to look at booking domestic holidays in 2021.

Butlin’s has said its decision to raise prices is the result of “high demand”, but it would refund the difference on any booked holiday where the price drops after booking.

Holiday resorts and tourism businesses often raise prices during holidays and peak periods, and the continuing effects of the coronavirus pandemic has left many businesses financially damaged.

The prices at Butlin’s resorts across the country, including the site in Minehead in Somerset, have been raised in the same way this year, but in some cases they have been risen by more than would be expected in previous years.

On the resort chain’s website as of this morning (January 28), a three-day stay in a Standard Apartment at Butlin’s in Minehead for two adults and two children starts from £170 when the break begins on March 19, during the school term.

However, just two weeks later, the same package beginning on April 2 – the day after schools break up and covering the Easter weekend – the price starts from £581, more than three times the term-time price.

On the same dates, people can stay in a Gold Apartment in Minehead from £207 during term time, but on April 2 that price climbs to a minimum of £611.

A spokesperson for Haven confirmed the sudden bookings rush, saying: “We are seeing that Devon and Cornwall are outperforming other regions at the moment and it looks like at this stage it will continue to be a popular holiday destination in 2021 with many people still opting for staycations.”

A Centre Parcs spokesperson said: “We have seen a significant increase in bookings and interest in Center Parcs breaks recently.

“Our bookings for 2021, in particular from May onwards, are very strong and ahead of the same time last year. Whilst we expect demand for a UK break to remain high, it is clear that people want reassurance about the flexibility to cancel or change dates.

“Our Book with Confidence guarantee allows our guests to book their break now, safe in the knowledge that they will be able to change dates with no fee or receive a full no quibbles refund should they no longer be able to, or feel comfortable to, go ahead with their break when the time arrives.”

She added that Centre Parcs’ five UK villages were closed until at least February 18, but this was not a confirmed reopening date.

Cities such as Edinburgh, London and Manchester have seen rents plummet but south west seaside resorts of Exmouth, Falmouth and Torquay welcome influx of townies

By David Parsley inews.co.uk

City dwellers seeking to escape the claustrophobia of Covid-19 lockdowns in places like Edinburgh, London and Manchester have caused rents to rocket in Devon and Cornwall as they seek the space and fresh air of the South West of England.

According to property portal Rightmove, while asking rents in the UK’s biggest cities plummeted 12 per cent during 2020, rents in towns and villages of Devon and Cornwall have risen by as much as 7 per cent as tenants use working from home instructions as an opportunity to ride out the pandemic in one to the UK’s most popular tourist spots.

As rents in London slumped by 12.4 per cent last year, they rocketed by 7.3 per cent in the Cornish town of St Austell. Rents in Edinburgh and Manchester saw falls of 10 per cent and 5.3 per cent, but tenants had to pay almost 7 per cent more in Devon’s Torquay and Cornwall’s Falmouth.

Working from home by the sea

Other areas in the two counties experiencing strong rent rises include Exmouth, where tenants now have to pay 6.3 per cent more than a year ago to live by the sea, Plymouth (5.9 per cent), and Exeter (3 per cent more).

Caroline Hill, a partner-C&J Home Rentals in Exmouth, said: “The demand for rental properties in Exmouth is huge at present. Rental prices remain at the highest level I have seen in ten years of being in business with currently no signs of decreasing.

“It’s easy to see why so many people are moving out of the cities and choosing to move down to beautiful Exmouth, when it has so much to offer. We have a stunning coastline with our two-mile-long sandy beach, a new water sports centre, excellent sailing, and I am especially excited about the imminent opening of Michelin Star chef Michael Caines’ new venture Mickey’s Beach Bar, Restaurant and cafe. This will be a welcome addition to Michael’s fabulous restaurant at Lympstone Manor, just minutes away from Exmouth.”

Rightmove said the pandemic led to falling asking rents and a flood of properties coming into the market in a number of the UK’s biggest city centres, as some tenants rethink where they want to live.

More tenants seeking the seaside views and country walks has also led to a large jump in the number of properties available for rent in these city centres.

City rental stocks rises as tenant flock to the country

Tim Bannister, director of property data at Rightmove, said: “A number of areas of the South West saw a jump in demand in 2020 as people looked to move to areas with more green space and areas by the seaside, and this has helped to support and increase rents.

“In contrast to some of the big city centres where stock is much higher than before, a number of towns in Cornwall and Devon have seen available stock drop annually because of the increased demand from tenants and how quickly the places are getting snapped up.”

Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham and Reeves in London, added: “With Covid continuing to pose a problem on an ongoing basis, many tenants simply aren’t committing to the high cost of renting in central London. This has been largely driven by the fact that many can now work remotely but this isn’t the only reason. Living in central London is as much about the social aspect, as it is about the convenient commute, and at present, the vast majority of the capital remains closed for business.”

More than 150,000 vaccinations in Devon have been carried out, more than anywhere else in the South West.

Daniel Clark www.devonlive.com 

Latest NHS England figures, which provide the position as of January 24, shows that 157,181 vaccinations in the county had taken place, with 145,148 of them being the first dose.

The figures for Devon, which will have risen in the most recent days, are the highest number of vaccinations for any of the regions within the South West, and they show that 14.5 per cent of the population had received their first jab.

The statistics show that as of Sunday, of the 79,525 over 80s within Devon, 63,305 of them had received the first vaccine – a total of 79.6%, with 10,743 – 13.5% – having also had the second dose.

While the 79.6% figure is lower as a percentage of the total cohort than anywhere else in the South West other than Cornwall, Devon’s population of over 80s is significantly higher than every other region, more than double in some instances.

A total of 63,305 over 80s, and 81,835 under 80s, primarily those employed in health and social care settings, had received the first dose of the vaccination as of Sunday.

With the population of the Devon STP area being 999,049, the 145,148 who had received their first dose, means that as of Sunday, 14.5% of Devon’s residents had received at least one dose of the vaccine. Those numbers will have risen since.

And 95.4% of those in a care home have also had their first dose of the vaccine, with the only residents who haven’t being those in one of the 12 settings where an outbreak of Covid-19 currently exists.

Nick Ball, vice-chairman of the Devon CCG, told their board meeting on Thursday morning that ‘Devon was really strong in terms of the vaccination programme’.

He added: “I want to give thanks to all the staff across the CCG who have done a fantastic job in coping with the Covid crisis and standing up the massive task of the vaccine programme.”

Simon Tapley, Interim accountable officer for the CCG, added: “Even without the mass vaccination centres have been up and running, we recorded record numbers on Saturday.

“We are on schedule to hit the trajectory for the first four cohorts by the mid-February target and we are ahead of trajectory, so we are fairly confident we will hit that.”

While data only exists at a STP level at present, Dr Phil Norrey, Devon County Council’s chief executive, said that they had been promised that it would eventually be delivered down to a district level, and hopefully even the MSOA level as well.

Figures for each individual district have not been released, but at the Devon CCG board meeting, numbers for some of the vaccination centres were revealed, as well as progress in moving through the at risk groups.

Dr Simon Kerr, chair of the East Devon Locality, said that he was part of the team who had done several thousand vaccinations at the Exmouth Tennis Centre, and that they were through most of the over 80s and now onto those who are housebound, vulnerable and the over 75s.

He added that at the GP hub in St Thomas, they had done 4,100 jabs in the last 10 days, while in the Culm Valley area, they had issued around 5,000 vaccinations.

Dr David Greenwell, Clinical representative (southern), added that in his region, the vaccination programme going well, with them also into the over 75s with the Riviera International Conference Centre in Torquay doing around 1,100 vaccines a day.

Devon’s Director of Public Health, Steve Brown, had welcomed the success of the rollout of the vaccination, but has reminded people that they still need to follow the public health measures.

Mr Brown said: “I’ve heard various heart-warming stories of gratitude from people in the first priority groups who have recently had their initial coronavirus vaccination – descriptions of the relief they feel, and the promise of getting back to a normal life.

“It is indeed excellent news, but we need to remember that the vaccination is just part of the solution, rather than the cure itself.

“The vaccination protects those who have had it from becoming seriously ill with coronavirus. However, there is no evidence yet to suggest that the vaccination stops a person from actually catching the virus, nor therefore prevents them from transmitting the virus to others.

“Even when you have had the vaccination, you still need to follow the public health measures and continue to take steps to minimise the risk of spreading the virus.

“That means, keep up with social distancing, wearing of face coverings when in public spaces, and washing your hands properly and regularly.

“Please continue to stay at home and avoid unnecessary journeys out of the house.

“Remember if you are identified as a close contact of a person who has tested positive you will still need to self-isolate for 10 days, even if you have had the vaccine.

“If you’ve been vaccinated because you work in health or social care, you still need to be tested regularly to ensure that you’re not infectious, even if you show no symptoms.”

There are now five methods by which the vaccine is being rolled out across Devon.

All four of the county’s main hospitals – in Plymouth, Exeter, Torquay and Barnstaple – are giving the vaccination to priority groups in line with national guidance, while GP practices are working together in groups to set up local vaccination centres, and across the county, 20 centres are now in operation, serving all of Devon practices.

GP-led facilities are delivering the vaccine to residents and staff in care homes, while pharmacies have started to deliver the vaccine, with Westward Ho! being the first to come online.

And on Tuesday, the mass vaccination sites at Home Park in Plymouth, and Westpoint Arena just outside Exeter became operational with thousands of vaccines a day to be delivered.

Neil Parish opines, Owl comments.

Vaccinations have been organised by the REAL NHS and have been a great success. Maybe the only success we have had so far in the handling of this pandemic.  

For example: Test and Trace was marketed as “NHS Test and Trace” but is a disastrous privatised mess with no connection whatsoever to the NHS.

100,000 dead and one of the worst economic hits needs some explanation doesn’t it?

Or is this another example of the Dick Barton gambit: “With one bound he was free……”?

Neil Parish www.devonlive.com

NEIL PARISH IS THE CONSERVATIVE MP FOR TIVERTON AND HONITON

Earlier in the month, I had the opportunity to meet with local members of the Royal College of Nurses. They outlined the unprecedented demand our hospitals, care homes and GP surgeries have experienced in recent months.

Indeed, transmission rates remain high across the county and sadly so do the number of hospitalisations. Their testimonies were a poignant reminder of the challenges our health service faces, and everyone’s individual responsibility to remain watchful to the dangers of Covid-19.

Despite these immense challenges, the rollout of the largest vaccination programme in British history continues at pace. Over six and a half million vaccinations have been carried out across the UK so far, with hundreds of thousands more being administered each day. Here in the West County the latest data shows over four hundred and fifty thousand doses have been delivered.

Rightly, our care givers, clinically vulnerable and elderly, have been prioritised. This is a monumental achievement and testament to the tireless efforts of our local NHS staff, care workers and volunteers.

As we drive to immunise the country, we can be grateful for foresight of the government, last year, to buy multiple potential vaccines and secure their supply. You only have to look across the Channel to see how different things might be.

The Moderna vaccine, for example, has been approved and is due for delivery in the Spring. This will reinforce our vaccine arsenal and help put jabs in arms for the remainder of the population.

Additionally, a further 2,500 vaccine hubs are set to be commissioned across the country, including several mass vaccinations sites. I greatly welcome the opening of one such site at West Point Arena this week, run by the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. This facility will ensure thousands more people are vaccinated in Devon each week.

The vaccination programme presents a pathway out of lockdown. Jab by jab, our resilience against this terrible disease is bolstered- creating greater opportunity to ease restrictions.

The Prime Minister has set out his ambition for every adult in the UK to receive the vaccine by the autumn- and he has my full support. In the meantime, we must continue to play our part to help reduce transmission of the disease.

I will continue to work alongside my parliamentary colleagues, NHS Devon CCG and Health ministers to ensure our local health services have the resources them need to carry out this vital task. It has been a long, hard January, but hope springs eternal.

[Owl is sufficiently “ancient” to have experienced the cheerful and helpful work these volunteers are doing, especially as January and February are the most inclement of months.]

Becca Gliddon eastdevonnews.co.uk 

An appeal has been launched to recruit hundreds of volunteers to help at newly-opened Covid-19 vaccination centres in Devon.

Help in its hundreds is needed, with volunteers sought to cover four-hour shifts at the centres, which are open 12 hours daily, seven days a week.

It is hoped individuals, organisations and community groups will step up and join forces to help with internal and external stewardship.

Days and shift allocation will be arranged to suit volunteers once their applications are processed.

Shifts are likely to be 8am-noon, noon-4pm and 4pm-8pm.

Hundreds of volunteers are needed.

A spokesperson for the volunteer drive said: “Individuals are asked to come forward and volunteer their time, as are community groups and organisations.

“Employers and workplaces are also being asked to consider allowing staff to volunteer where appropriate.”

External stewards are likely to be involved in:

• Directing people to the appropriate site entrance and directing traffic if necessary, ensuring people respect social distancing guidelines and have all the documentation and paperwork prepared for checking.
• Checking paperwork to ensure people are in the right place at the right time and identifying those who may require additional support and direct them as appropriate.

Internal stewards will:

• Ensure efficient flow to and from the vaccination station and effectively communicate with the exit area representatives to avoid congestion.
• Provide enhanced support to those requiring it – such as those who cannot stand to queue – and ensure that people waiting respect social distancing guidelines.

Those willing to help must fill in an application form hosted on the regional Our Plymouth volunteering website.

See https://ourplymouth.co.uk/volunteer-opportunity/covid-19-vaccination-program-volunteers-needed/ for more details and the application form.

[Link corrected in response to comment below]

Owl thinks this needs to be read in conjunction with the earlier post indicating that half of the cases in Exeter ICU beds come from “out of area”.

There are concerns over the number of positive Covid cases in care homes and businesses in Devon, as the county experiences its highest death rates of the pandemic.

Daniel Clark www.devonlive.com

Devon’s Director of Public Health has praised the efforts of residents in adhering to the lockdown restrictions as the infection rate in the county falls to its lowest in a month.

But despite a fall in the number of positive cases, across all age groups, Steve Brown has said there are still concerns about the numbers of people currently testing positive for coronavirus in care homes, and in some business settings.

And despite the fall in cases, this has yet to filter through into hospitals and deaths, which the county currently experiencing its highest death rates of the pandemic, although this will hopefully fall in line with the reduction in cases once the lag filters through.

Infection rates in Devon, as of January 26, are currently at 130.4 per 100,000 population, a fall of nearly half compared to the peak on January 8 of 223 per 100,000, and of all upper tier authority areas, is the third lowest in England. Not since December 28 have infected rates been as low as they are now.

Devon coronavirus cases by infection rates

Of the eight districts within Devon, all of them are in the bottom 21 of the 315 regions in Devon for infection rates, with Torridge the lowest, North Devon 2 ^nd , East Devon 5 ^th , South Hams 6 ^th , Exeter 10 ^th , Mid Devon 11 ^th , Teignbridge 13 ^th and West Devon 21 ^st . Torridge’s rate is now below 50 per 100,000.

But the age range in Devon where the highest infection rates are remain the over 90s (332 per 100,000 but falling), and councillors earlier this week heard that there were 12 care homes where they have not completed the vaccination programme because they were in the midst of significant outbreaks.

Those age 20-34 also have infection rates over the 200 per 100,000 mark, while the age range with the lowest infection rates are the 70-74 year-olds.

Devon coronavirus cases by age range

Mr Brown, Director of Public Health Devon, said: “The current restrictions are helping to bring down the number of positive cases in Devon. Devon residents are doing really well in adhering to the current lockdown restrictions, and we’re seeing evidence that their efforts are working. However, we must keep it up.

“We do have concerns about the numbers of people currently testing positive for coronavirus in care homes, and in some business settings.

“And there is continuing pressure on our hospitals, where we are seeing higher numbers of coronavirus-related deaths.”

All of Devon’s over 80s will have been invited to receive their vaccine by the end of the week, and every care home resident but those were outbreaks are occurring have received their vaccination, and Mr Brown added: “The roll out of the NHS vaccination programme is going well. More venues are opening up to provide greater capacity to vaccinate even greater numbers of people, and providing more choice for people about where they can receive their vaccination.

“We are also starting to pilot a system to provide rapid lateral flow tests to critical workers who are asymptomatic, in order prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Devon coronavirus cases by specimen dates

“But while the vaccination is great news, it’s important that we do not think that once we’ve had it, we can go about like normal. The vaccination helps minimises the symptoms, but there’s no evidence yet that it stops a person catching and spreading the virus.

“Therefore it’s essential that everyone, even including those who have received their first jab, continues to adhere to the lockdown rules to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Continue to social isolate, wear face coverings when in public spaces, and wash your hands properly and regularly.

“Please remember, you must isolate if you are instructed to do so by NHS Test and Trace.”

Our Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Heart of the South West (HotSW) has always regarded Hinkley Point C as a “golden opportunity”, so is this good news? Has this Goose laid another “Golden Egg”? Does it mean another £500m will be pouring into Somerset? Somehow Owl doesn’t think the economics of large infrastructure projects works like this.

Apparently “none of this extra cost is carried by British consumers”

Jillian Ambrose www.theguardian.com 

The Covid-19 pandemic could delay construction of the Hinkley Point C nuclear reactor by six months and raise its costs by £500m, according to its developer.

The fresh delays are expected to take the cost of the UK’s first new nuclear power plant in a generation to £23bn, EDF Energy said, and put back its launch to the summer of 2026.

Before the coronavirus outbreak, Hinkley Point was expected to start up by the end of 2025, at a cost of between £21.5bn and £22.5bn. However, EDF Energy, which is owned by the French state, said the pandemic had caused delays of three months last year and was expected to lead to similar delays in 2021.

“Ten months after it began, we are still facing the full force of the pandemic,” Stuart Crooks, the managing director of Hinkley Point C, said in a video message to employees.

He said that despite increasing the number of workers on the 160-hectare (400-acre) site in Somerset from below 2,000 to more than 5,000, physical-distancing requirements “still limit the number of people we can safely have on site at any one time”.

The Covid-19 delays have led to the second major cost increase for Hinkley in under two years after EDF Energy said in 2019 that construction costs had climbed by up to £2.9bn because of delays.

Hinkley Point’s costs have risen by £5bn in the last five years. It will cost almost double the amount to build as first thought in 2008, and will begin generating electricity almost a decade later than the original start date of Christmas 2017.

Crooks said: “None of this extra cost is carried by British consumers.”

The rising cost of the project will be shouldered by EDF Energy, which agreed a guaranteed price of £92.50 for every megawatt-hour of electricity produced by Hinkley. That price remains unchanged by the delays.

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EDF Energy is still estimated to make a return of between 7.1% and 7.2% on its investment, which will be paid back through energy bills. The nuclear plant is expected to add between £10 and £15 a year to the average energy bill for 35 years, making it one of the most expensive energy projects undertaken.

The government is in talks with EDF Energy to build a second nuclear reactor project with its junior partner, China’s CGN, at Sizewell in Suffolk to consolidate what it has learned from the construction of Hinkley Point.

However, ministers are unwilling to repeat a similar financing deal for Sizewell after fierce criticism from MPs, consumer groups and green activists, and hope to find a new funding framework to support the plans.

Half the patients in Intensive Therapy Unit beds at the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital are ‘out-of-area’ patients, hospital trust board members have been told.

Daniel Clark www.devonlive.com

The documents presented to Wednesday’s morning’s meeting confirm that the Trust has been taking in patients from elsewhere in the country to help relieve pressures within their hospitals where they have been struggling with extreme demand for critical care beds due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the latest count on January 19, 6 of the 12 COVID patients in ITU were out-of-area patients, the documents state.

The meeting heard that while the hospital had suffered a ‘tough December’, it is in a better position that forecast in January and ‘are in a good position to give mutual aid to others across Devon and the surrounding counties’.

The report of Suzanne Tracey, Chief Executive of the RD&E, said: “The current clinical capacity at Nightingale Exeter has been able to support mutual aid requests from outside Devon and Cornwall.

“These requests have been coordinated by the System Medical and CEO group to assess the appropriate system priorities and management of the COVID response, and have been implemented by clinical and managerial leaders from across the system.”

At the meeting, she added: “We had a tough December, but based on our forecasted number for January, we have fared better in the number of patients we had, and given we are in a better position in terms of numbers and staffing, we are in a good position to give mutual aid to others across Devon and the surrounding counties.

“That is reassuring given the position across the country and we are playing our role to provide aid to other parts of the country harder pressed.

“The position remains tight as alongside those supporting from Covid, but have pressures from non-covid emergencies as well, but we are managing to do that ok, but it is a constantly moving position that requires constant oversight.”

With the support of the other local acute trusts and recent deployment of 25 medical assistants and 20 general duties military personnel, the Exeter Nightingale has activated plans to increase its capacity to 70 of its 116 beds, her report added, saying: “The current clinical capacity at Nightingale Exeter has been able to support mutual aid requests from outside Devon and Cornwall.”

The Nightingale Exeter is also working alongside the RDE to substantively recruit Healthcare Assistants, with approximately 26 expected into place over the next 2-3 weeks and further recruitment continuing.

“This will help facilitate a further increase in bed capacity to 94 beds which are likely to be available if required in the first week in February,” the documents says, adding that the oversight of the capacity increase has been system-led and ‘capacity has been utilised Plymouth, Torbay, Exeter and North Devon’.

She added: “We have been lucky to be allocated a deployment of military personnel so we can increased the number of beds across that to staff it. That has allowed us to take a further increase of bed capacity at the Nightingale to around 70 to 80 beds, with the ultimate capacity of around 116 and we are managing demand and capacity carefully on a daily basis.”

An NHS England spokesman said: “The NHS has tried and tested plans in place to manage significant pressure and this has always included mutual aid practices whereby hospitals work together to provide the very best care for patients. Devon has played its part, where capacity allows and at UHP we are caring for a very small number of patients from other areas.”

And Dr Adrian Harris, medical director at Royal Devon and Exeter Foundation Trust told the board that the situation inside the hospital was ‘enormously encouraging’ and that they were in an extremely strong position in terms of hospital acquired infections.

He said: “We haven’t seen a definite case for at least ten days, so we are in a good position compared to other trusts. The situation at the RD&E is enormously encouraging at the moment but is not a cause for complacency.”

The information follows on from what Devon County Council’s Health and Wellbeing Board had last Thursday heard.

The meeting heard that while there were more patients in hospital in the county than during the first peak, they do have the capacity to manage the demand and it is not impacting on urgent non-Covid healthcare.

And the board heard that while there was pressure in the system, Devon hospitals were in a position where they have been able to take patients in from elsewhere in the South West and the South East to help healthcare colleagues in those areas.

Dr Paul Johnson, clinical chair of the Devon Clinical Commissioning Group, said that if their modelling is correct, then the next week should see the peak of admissions and occupancy in hospital before plateauing and dropping, and if so, then Devon will have the capacity to care for those who need it.

Speaking at the meeting, Dr Johnson, when asked how hospitals were managing, said: “In general we are seeing more people in hospital than the previous peaks and around 10 per cent are needing intensive care, around the same as first peak, and we are using the Nightingale to utilise extra bed capacity.

“It does mean that as things stand, we have the capacity to manage the number of cases we are getting, and if the modelling is right, then over next couple of weeks we should see the peak and then plateau and drop, then we should have the capacity to care for those in hospital

“One impact of that though is that all hospitals are operating at ‘green surge’, so things that can be deferred safely like routine operations are so that staff and spaces can be used to provide some more critical care and general medical beds during this time. But it is not impacting on those urgent non-Covid things we need to be doing.

“We are in a better place than our neighbours, both north and south of us, and we are looking at how we can mutually support them, and we are looking to care for some of the patients from outside of Devon. We have taken some from elsewhere in the South West and some from the South East to support healthcare colleagues across the county.”

And as a percentage of total acute beds available, 2% of beds in North Devon are occupied with Covid patients, 5% in Torbay, 12% in Plymouth, and 16% in Exeter, with only Derriford having seen a rise in the past week.

North Devon and Torbay have the lowest percentage occupancy rates anywhere in England, while at a partnership level, Devon is the lowest with Cornwall second lowest.

Where in the UK is most prone to flooding

Following Storm Christoph last week and with flood warnings in place in many parts of the country, MoneySuperMarket reveals the UK’s flooding hotspots, with Hull the worst impacted city for the fourth year running.

Neil Shaw www.hulldailymail.co.uk

The price comparison website analysed a year’s worth of home insurance quotes to see how many homes have experienced flooding.

The research finds that homeowners in Hull are most impacted, with 5.9% of quotes declaring previous experience of flooding. This is well above the national average of 0.7 per cent – but down slightly on last year’s figure of 6.8%. The port city in East Yorkshire is particularly at risk to flooding because 90% of it sits beneath the high tide line.

Carlisle (3.1%) and Lancaster (2.6%) are the next most flood-prone cities, followed by Llandudno (1.9%) and Exeter (1.8%). The Devon city is one of two cities making its first appearance in the top ten – the other is Hereford which has a flooding rate of 1.4%.

Hereford has risen significantly in the table from 38 ^th position in 2018, to 25 ^th position in 2019, to 10 ^th in 2020 – a jump which is likely explained by last year’s Storm Dennis which badly impacted the city and the surrounding area.

Crewe (0.2%) and Luton (0.1%) are the areas in the UK that are least likely to experience flooding.

The UK’s 10 Flooding Hotspots

The research also sheds light on the impact that flooding can have on home insurance premiums, with a flooding claim adding £72 on average to premiums, while quotes are £120 higher on average when the applicant declares that flooding has previously occurred to the property.

Emma Garland, data expert at MoneySuperMarket, said: “Storm Christoph was an unwanted reminder that flooding affects tens of thousands of Britons every year, with people in Hull bearing the brunt more than any others.

“If you live in a flood risk area, be proactive and protect your possessions by taking preventative measures like installing flood resistant doors and windows.

“Of course, you’ll want to make sure that you’ve got the right home and contents insurance policy. Use the MoneySuperMarket home insurance comparison tool and browse a list of policies. People that live in flood risk areas can result end up paying higher home and contents insurance premiums but it’s possible to keep these costs down. If you shop around it’s possible to save up to £108 on your policy.

“And you should also look into Flood Re – a joint initiative between the Government and insurers which aims to make flood cover more affordable for homeowners living in areas that are flood risks.”

“We are where we are and the summer will be difficult…..” (Cllr. Chris Wright)

Daniel Clark, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk

A former Exmouth seafront car park is to be grassed over and turned into an outdoor fitness area as an attraction for 2021 – whilst £200,000 is being set aside to employ two people for two years to drive forward projects in Exmouth – if plans get final council approval.

The temporary car park was built in 2019 for about 50 new car parking spaces was provided on land off Queen’s Drive previously partially used for the Railway Carriage Café.

East Devon councillors had previously said it should return to leisure use after planning permission ran out last year. Now they have backed plans for low-key fitness uses there.

The Exmouth Queen’s Drive delivery group also agreed that food and beverage traders that are part of the Queen’s Drive Space – the replacement for the former fun park – should be given the opportunity to return this year because they were affected by last year’s covid restrictions.

The existing attractions, including the dinosaur-themed play park, will also stay this summer. Councillors also backed a proposal to enable organisations to deliver events rather than the council manage them.

Tim Child, service lead for place, assets and commercialisation, said: “In terms of temporary uses for the car park land, for next season or two, the favoured uses related to low key fitness type uses. The rationale for this being that it would fit well with the council’s health and wellbeing agenda and is consistent with themes in the council plan.

“It supports covid recovery for small businesses and would provide much needed wellbeing opportunities for the community, would not compete with businesses in the vicinity, contributes to the tourism agenda and Exmouth as a destination in providing additional activities, would provide a range of activities across the age bands, and we know through the Events Team that there’s ample demand.”

He said that while the costs of laying to grass and any fencing were ‘not insignificant’, around £30,000 to £40,000, the costs will be less compared to those that would be incurred for many other types of surfaces and uses.

Cllr Joe Whibley said that progressing with the proposal would be a statement of intent of returning it to what it was meant to be in community lands. He said: “People might have the perception that we are not thinking big and may have the opportunity to do more, but given the initial use, it is turning the paved area green as we are investing in green space. It is a real statement of intent of what the space was originally meant to be, community land.”

Independent Cllr Chris Wright, whose family ran the fun park for decades, added: “It is a difficult situation for anyone in the leisure businesses to know what will happen, and if we grass it, in becomes an informal open space, even if we don’t manage it. The area to the rear is aimed more at the community and when people get to the site for an event. The piece at the front aimed at passers-by. We are where we are and the summer will be difficult, but now is the time to get on with it.”

While phase 1 of the overall Queen’s Drive project – the realignment of the road and the car park – has been completed, and phase 2 – the new watersports centre – is on the verge of completion and should be fully open soon, the long-term use of final phase of the regeneration remains unclear.

Planning permission for the redevelopment of a 3.6-hectare swathe of Queen’s Drive has been granted, and has been implemented, the council say, with the realignment of the road, but the attractions currently on the Queen’s Drive space – the replacement for the former Fun Park – only have planning permission to stay on the site until March 2022, with no further extension allowed under planning law likely.

The group also recommended to cabinet that up to £200,000 be made available from the Business Rates Pilot Reserve for a development surveyor and an engagement / project officer for two years, dedicated to moving projects forward.

Further discussions around the long term use for the Queen’s Drive Space will be debated by the group later this year.

www.theguardian.com

Few involved in running elections believe that those scheduled for May can be held safely. No guidance has been received from the government on any way in which they could be (Make May elections in England more Covid-safe, Labour urges, 17 January).

As an election agent, I see no way at present in which I could ensure the safety of canvassers, or of myself. Even delivering leaflets – there is no Freepost in local elections – will be virtually impossible; just delivering nomination papers to the returning officer will be accompanied by some risk. Even if it could all be done electronically, we know that not all voters can register for a postal vote or could exercise it via their computers – because they don’t all have computers or smartphones, or any desire to acquire them.

The government’s dithering on this issue may be typical of Boris Johnson’s haphazard approach to decision-making in general, but it is unacceptable to those charged with making the system work.

The government should decide now that the elections should be postponed to the autumn or, if necessary, even later.

Robert Jones

(Labour constituency party secretary), Ventnor, Isle of Wight

The Conservative Party acted illegally by collecting ethnicity data on millions of people, the Information Commissioner has told MPs.  

www.independent.co.uk 

Elizabeth Denham said the information was deleted after her office intervened.  

But she told members of the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee: “They did not have the legal basis to collect it … it was illegal to collect.”  

Before the 2019 general election the party purchased data that estimated a person’s county of origin, ethnic origin and religion based on their first and last name.  

This was applied to the records of 10 million voters.  

Ms Denham said that after the release of her office’s findings last November the data was deleted.  

If it had not been, her office would have ordered it to be destroyed, she added.  

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Pressed on the issue by SNP MP John Nicolson, Ms Denham said: “Religion and ethnicity are both – like health information – special category data that requires a higher standard for a legal basis to collect.

’So again, ethnicity is not an acceptable collection of data, there isn’t a legal basis that allows for the collection of that data.”

Mr Nicolson later said: “The ethnic and religious profiling of voters by the Tories was always morally and ethically abhorrent. We now know from the Information Commissioner that it was illegal.”

Jim Killock, executive director of campaigning organisation Open Rights Group, said: “The Conservative Party’s racial profiling of voters was illegal. 

’Elizabeth Denham finally confirmed the unlawful nature of this profiling by the Conservative Party under pressure from MPs on the DCMS committee.

“Yet the ICO still has not explained what parties can and cannot do. Mass profiling of voters continues, even if this data has been removed. The ICO needs to act stop unlawful profiling practices. That’s their job.”  

Mr Nicolson also said he planned to raise a point of order in the Commons, complaining that culture minister John Whittingdale had specifically told him the party had not broken the law.

During her appearance before the committee, Ms Denham also revealed she does not use Facebook or WhatsApp and said she understood concerns about the trustworthiness of both platforms.

Ms Denham said she did use Signal, one of the apps that has seen a surge in popularity following a recent privacy announcement by WhatsApp, for “personal communications”.

“What’s really interesting about the WhatsApp announcement in ongoing sharing with Facebook is how many users voted with their virtual feet and left the platform to take up membership with Telegram or Signal which are end-to-end encrypted,” she said.

“I think it’s a bigger issue of trust. Users expect companies to maintain their trust and not to suddenly change the contract that they have with the users and I think it’s an example of users being concerned about the trustworthiness and the sustainability of the promises that are made to users,” she added.  

A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “The Conservative Party complies with all prevailing electoral, data protection and electronic marketing legislation.

 “The party has assisted the Information Commissioner in its review of political parties’ practices, and have taken on board the constructive feedback from the review.”

You know things are bad when Boris Johnson says the word ‘alas’. You know they’re truly awful when he doesn’t. And as the prime minister used his No.10 press briefing to mark the passing of 100,000 deaths from Covid, there was no disguising the magnitude of the moment or the scale of the loss.

Paul Waugh www.huffingtonpost.co.uk 

You know things are bad when Boris Johnson says the word ‘alas’. You know they’re truly awful when he doesn’t. And as the prime minister used his No.10 press briefing to mark the passing of 100,000 deaths from Covid, there was no disguising the magnitude of the moment or the scale of the loss.

The tone was suitably sombre as he (finally) pledged some form of national remembrance of those who had died, as well as recognition of all the acts of kindness, large and small, that have characterised the past year.

Yet even though Johnson began his address with the words “I’m sorry to have to tell you…”, it felt like he was a traffic policeman imparting bad news to a family, rather than the man at the wheel when the car crashed. Tellingly, the word “responsibility” wasn’t in the script.

He did remember to utter the R-word in answer a question from the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, and even tried to expand on his apology. “I think on this day I should just really repeat that I am deeply sorry for every life that has been lost,” he said, “and of course as I was prime minister, I take full responsibility for everything that the government has done.”

Some will have seen that as authentic and statesmanlike. Others may think condolences without contrition, real contrition, are empty words. Talk of taking responsibility can be cheap, but genuine remorse means changing your behaviour and, if you run a nation, changing your policy to prevent further harm.

In his opening speech, he said “we will make sure that we learn the lessons and reflect and prepare”. The problem is that sadly we’ve been here before. Last July, when he was talking stock of his first full year in office as 45,000 deaths were recorded, Johnson said “there will be plenty of opportunities to learn the lessons of what happened”.

By November, there were 50,000 deaths. And just 79 days later we now have another 50,000. The bereaved may be forgiven for thinking he’d learned nothing when he failed to heed scientists’ warnings to lockdown last September, and again just before Christmas. Many believe his decision to come out of the November lockdown was a huge error, compounded by a delay until January to reimpose it.

In July, Johnson said “what people really want to focus on now is what are we doing to prepare for the next phase” and in the same breath hailed test and trace. While testing capacity was indeed grown to cope with the ‘next phase’, the return of schools took the system by surprise and contact tracing and testing turnaround targets were repeatedly missed.

Back in the summer, the PM even promised an independent inquiry, but has since given no clue to what form it will take. And again on Wednesday, it was telling that he linked “lessons learned” with some vague point in the future, suggesting they would come once the country was vaccinated and “on a path to recovery”.

What most jarred with talk of taking responsibility came when Johnson said in the press conference “we did everything we could to minimise suffering and minimise the loss of life”. That had echoes of his claims during the first wave of deaths that he had taken the “right decisions at the right time”. It was almost as if we were back to square one and there were no lessons to learn at all.

Prof Neil Ferguson has at least admitted he and other advisers should have recommended earlier lockdown at the start, and that even a week’s difference would have saved possibly 20,000 lives. He has now told Radio 4 “we did just let the autumn wave get to far, far too high infection levels..a lot of the deaths we’ve seen in the last four or five months could have been avoided”.

The fact is that for Ferguson, chief scientist Patrick Vallance and chief medical officer Chris Whitty, learning lessons comes as second nature. Responding to test outcomes and changing ideas as you go along is part of their DNA. They don’t need to wait for a public inquiry, they admit errors and adapt in real time. If only more politicians could do the same.‌

Whitty said “we have learned, are learning and will learn about this”, referring to mask wearing, asymptomatic transmission and new treatments. Asked about the Sage September advice on a circuit breaker he said “it’s extremely clear what the evidence on that is”, while adding that the new Kent variant changed the path of the pandemic significantly.

When NHS chief Simon Stevens was asked whether there was too much household mixing in December (a reference to the PM failure to lockdown before Christmas), he was admirably frank: “The facts as we see it in the health service are that on Christmas Day we had 18,000 coronavirus positive patients, and now we’ve got just under 33,000.”‌

It was notable to see the contrast between Stevens, who brutally distanced the NHS from ‘NHS Test and Trace’ in evidence to MPs earlier, and Johnson, who hailed Dido Harding’s service as a “colossal” operation doing “amazing work” in contacting Covid cases. Indeed, some may argue that the stunning success of the vaccination programme (6.9m jabs so far) underlines what happens when you put the NHS in charge of a delivery project, rather than outsourcing it.

Johnson’s strangest comment came at the end of the briefing when he said “our readiness for a future pandemic is really colossal by comparison” with last spring. How can he say that when he wasn’t even ready for the third wave of the current pandemic last month? “He’ll never change,” was how one senior Tory put it to me last year, decrying the PM’s inveterate habit of leaving problems to fester until the last minute and then panicking his response.

There was even a hint of the columnist-as-premier when Johnson said it would “exhaust the thesaurus of misery” to describe the 100,000 death toll that the UK has suffered. That reminded me of when he was once grilled as foreign secretary for his racist remarks about Barack Obama, saying there was such “a rich thesaurus now of things that I have said” that had been misunderstood that it would need “a global itinerary of apology to all concerned”.

The ‘sorry, not sorry’ apology on Tuesday was in that sense typical. But Johnson may ultimately be judged not by his thesaurus, but by his actions. And unlike our PM, that 100,000 figure does not lie. Last April, he claimed “there will be many people looking now at our apparent success”. This January, there are many people looking at our actual failure.

Civic Voice – the national charity for the civic movement with 75,000 members – has submitted a consultation response urging the Government to think harder about the plans it has to allow developers to change buildings on our high streets without requiring full planning permission. 

Ian Harvey, Executive Director of Civic Voice, said:

“Civic Voice strongly objects to the proposal in principle because of the harm that it could do to our high streets, town and city centres; the creation of poor-quality homes; and the loss of historic character of our conservation areas. We accept that our high streets, town and city centres are currently facing acute challenges and they will need to adjust and, in some cases, contract in response to changes in shopping and leisure habits. However, Civic Voice believes this needs to be done in a planned and curated way by local communities through their local planning policies, not by allowing the market to decide in a random and potentially counterproductive manner”.

The proposals introduced in the consultation ‘Planning Reform – Supporting housing delivery and public services infrastructure’ would allow the change of use from any use to residential use with the need for a full planning application.

Harvey finished by saying: “The danger with deregulation is that it can often lead to unscrupulous developers/ landowners exploiting loopholes, as we have seen with previous widening of PDR, which the Government’s own commissioned report concluded that permitted development rights create “worse-quality residential environments. We are also extremely concerned that unlike some of the recent changes to permitted development, this consultation proposes that the new right would apply in conservation areas. We cannot support this policy and believe the ‘protected status’ that is being offered to conservation areas in the Planning White Paper is meaningless, if the suggestions in this consultation goes ahead”.

Civic Voice key concerns – see here for the full consultation response.

New permitted development right to change use from Commercial, Business and Service (Class E) to residential (C3)

 Civic Voice and its members are acutely aware of the challenges facing the high street, but we question claims that these proposals will breathe new life into our high streets, town, and city centres. We fear further deregulation of planning through permitted development will prevent the proactive and positive management that our centres desperately need and simply enable change of use to more profitable uses, often residential, rather than enabling a greater range of uses to diversify and support our high streets and centres. In particular, we are concerned that the proposals to widen permitted development could:

 • Be harmful to to the diversity of our high streets, town, and city centres.

• Enable the creation of poor quality homes and living environments.

• Lead to the loss of historic character within our conservation areas through inappropriate development and unsympathetic alterations.

For these reasons Civic Voice cannot support this policy and we have encouraged all Civic Societies to respond to this consultation.

New public service application process

 We also strongly object to the proposed reduction in the statutory public consultation period for major public service infrastructure development to 14 days. Whilst an efficient and effective process is important to deliver critical infrastructure, we do not believe reducing the consultation period to 2 weeks is the right way to achieve this.

We understand the thinking behind the proposal and welcome greater emphasis on pre-application engagement in the consultation. However, this is guidance and Civic Voice’s experience is that effective pre-application engagement with communities is not happening in practice. We cannot support the change to the statutory consultation period unless there are standards for effective, genuine, and meaningful engagement with the local community on major developments.