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8 Jul 2019

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Accountability, Conflict of interest, Hugo Swire

Government ministers appeal ban on arms sales to Saudi Arabia

Swire will be happy! One of his jobs in the Foreign Office was to promote arms sales to Saudi Arabia and in his current post as Chairman of the Conservative Middle East Council he will want to keep his Middle East pals happy too!

“Ministers have asked the courts to set aside a landmark ruling that British arms sales to Saudi Arabia are unlawful, a legal manoeuvre that prompted Jeremy Corbyn to accuse the Conservatives of prioritising military exports over civilian lives.

The government has applied for a stay of last month’s judgment pending an appeal, according to Campaign Against Arms Trade, which is fighting the case, at a time when conflict between the Saudis and Houthi rebels in Yemen has intensified.

That appears to contradict assurances given to MPs by Liam Fox, the international trade secretary, that Saudi arms sales would be halted after the ruling pending a review. At the time, 57 export licences were under consideration.

Corbyn said: “This makes a mockery of their own commitment to halt all new sales while a review takes place into civilian casualties. Nothing could be clearer: the government’s priority is to sell arms, not to protect the rights and lives of Yemeni people.”

Thousands of civilians have been killed since the civil war in Yemen began in March 2015. Indiscriminate bombing by a Saudi-led coalition is blamed for about two-thirds of the 11,700 civilian deaths in direct attacks.

At the time of the ruling, Fox told MPs that while the government considered the implications, “we will not grant any new licences for export to Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners which might be used in the conflict in Yemen”.

Andrew Smith of Campaign Against Arms Trade said he believed a stay could be used to allow sales to continue. “The court found that the government acted irrationally and unlawfully in allowing these arms sales. If a stay is granted then it will result in more unlawful arms sales and more atrocities.”

The Department for International Trade said it was not going to grant any new export licences to Saudi Arabia which could be used in Yemen in the light of the court of appeal judgment, although existing export licences are unaffected. But a spokesman added it was seeking to overturn the ruling: “We disagree with the judgment and will be seeking permission to appeal.”

British arms that could be used in Yemen by the Saudis have to be signed off by the foreign secretary and the international trade secretary before a licence can be granted. Since the war began, the UK has sold at least £4.7bn-worth of arms to Riyadh.

Last month’s judgment by the court of appeal held that the foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, his predecessor and leadership rival Boris Johnson, and Fox had illegally signed off on Saudi arms exports because they failed to properly assess the risk to Yemeni civilians.

Three judges held that ministers had “made no concluded assessments of whether the Saudi-led coalition had committed violations of international humanitarian law in the past, during the Yemen conflict, and made no attempt to do so”.

Last month, it emerged that Johnson had recommended that the UK allow Saudi Arabia to buy bomb parts expected to be deployed in Yemen in 2016, days after an airstrike on a potato factory had killed 14 people.

Lawyers for the government have asked the court of appeal for leave to take the case to the supreme court and to set aside the existing judgment until the appeal process is exhausted.

On Friday, Corbyn and the Westminster leaders of four other parties – the SNP’s Ian Blackford, the Lib Dems’ Vince Cable, Liz Saville Roberts of Plaid Cymru and Caroline Lucas from the Greens – called on Hunt and Johnson to hold a parliamentary or public inquiry into how the arms sales have been allowed to continue.

There are signs that some involved in the Yemen conflict are eager to escape a conflict that has become a quagmire, described by the UN as causing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. In the past days, it emerged that a key Saudi ally, the UAE, has quietly begun pulling out its forces as western opposition grows.”

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jul/08/uk-ministers-challenge-court-ruling-on-saudi-arabia-arms-sales?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

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8 Jul 2019

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“Tory chiefs have NO idea if schools are firetraps as Grenfell triggers urgent cladding review”

“Tory education chiefs say they do not know whether thousands of schools are potential firetraps.

Despite warnings raised over combustible wood cladding, Schools Standards Minister Nick Gibb admits he hasn’t a clue how many schools have it.

And nor does he know if it poses any kind of fire risk.

Now Labour is calling for an urgent review of the kind of cladding used in schools and other public buildings.

It comes in the wake of London’s Grenfell Tower disaster.

Aluminium cladding containing a plastic filling was blamed for the quick spread of the 2017 fire, which left 72 dead.

The tower’s burned shell still stands – wrapped in white and topped by a green heart, which became the symbol of Grenfell.

Shadow Children’s Minister Steve Reed said: “What they didn’t do for Grenfell they must do for schools.”

He raised concerns with the Department for Education after parents approached him with worries about wood cladding at a school in his Croydon North constituency, in South London.

But Mr Gibb told him: “The department has made no specific assessment of the fire safety risk posed by timber cladding on school buildings.

“And it does not hold figures on the number of schools in England that have timber cladding.”

Mr Reed hit back: “There’s no inclination to even find out whether children are in danger. We need a full review.

“We might be sending ­children to schools day after day which are a serious risk. Yet we cannot get any information as to whether children are safe.”

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/tory-chiefs-no-idea-schools-17482455

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7 Jul 2019

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Accountability, Carter family, Clinton Devon Estates, Coastal erosion, Developers/ Development, EDDC, NPPF, South West Coast Path

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A poignant planning application on the 75th anniversary of D-Day (and enthusiastically supported by Clinton Devon Estates)

Brandy Head is a promontory about 1½ miles SSE of Otterton.

In 1940 the RAF opened a gunnery research range here for ground attack fighters. An observation post was built on Brandy Head with blast walls at the rear and a viewing balcony looking seaward. Targets were floated offshore and aircraft such as Typhoons, Hurricanes and Spitfires from 10 Group RAF would fly from Exeter to test turret mounted guns, wing-mounted cannons and later rockets by flying over the observation post to attack the targets anchored at sea.

The utilitarian observation post still stands as a shell, having lost its roof, alongside the Coastal Path only yards from the cliff edge. It is often used by walkers as a place for a coffee break.

The new tenant farmer at Stantyways Farm has recently submitted a planning application 19/0883 to convert the observation post to holiday accommodation.

This raises an interesting debate: is this an example of imaginative re-purposing of a derelict land mark which will ensure its future; should the observation post be left alone to stand as a simple epitaph; or is it the start of a new camping site to rival Ladram Bay and Devon Cliffs on either side?

Owl has noted this passage from the Design and Access Statement supporting the application:

“Clinton Devon Estates have offered Mr and Mrs Walker their support and have stated:

“Clinton Devon Estates recently let Stantyway Farm to Mr and Mrs Walker, we are encouraged by their plans to farm organically and sustainably. Their tender included a wish to convert the lookout into visitor accommodation to make the most of the South West Coast path tourism and we support this diversification and use of the redundant building.

It is essential that the eco-sustainability side is expressed and access is by foot.”

Owl personally just wouldn’t perch overnight that close to the cliff edge!

Perhaps it also needs Listed Building or Heritage Building status?

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7 Jul 2019

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Accountability, Carter family, Economy, Post-Brexit Adjustments

Blast from the past … Carter fishing quotas

Reminded of this today – wonder what the current situation is?

https://eastdevonwatch.org/2018/10/17/uk-fish-quotas-and-the-carters-of-greendale-anyone-remember-this/

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7 Jul 2019

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Affordable and Social Housing, Developers/ Development, Housing (local), Planning System

“Planning fees set to increase says Brokenshire”

“The prospect of local authorities being able to increase their fees for managing planning applications has been raised by housing and communities secretary James Brokenshire, as part of a long-awaited Accelerated Planning Green Paper.

With many departments relying on temporary staff from overseas and university courses closing through lack of demand, the shortage of local authority planners and under-resourcing of departments has been an acute problem for some time.

Planning Delivery Grant was introduced in 2003, linked to a 13-week target for decisions. For the next five years, £110m a year was allocated in grants. In the same period, £4.8m was spent on student bursaries to increase the number of qualified planners. Fee increases of 25% and 23% were introduced in 2005 and 2008.

But the problem, which was highlighted by the Public Accounts Committee in 2008 continued, hampering the Government’s ability to deliver changes to the National Planning Policy Framework, designed to boost housing supply.

Mr Brokenshire’s announcement has been widely welcomed. Some stakeholders, including the Royal Town Planning Institute, have been calling for English local authorities to be allowed to raise fees to cover the entire administrative cost of the planning application function.

The construction sector would be less than happy with such an approach, particularly small builders who have complained that the increased planning fees already imposed don’t seem to have speeded things up.

Richard Blyth, RTPI Head of Policy and Research, commented: “We are delighted to see that Mr Brokenshire has taken note of our proposals. We have been talking to our members and will be contributing to the forthcoming Accelerated Planning Green Paper. We look forward to working with the Government on its proposals.”

Martin Tett, Local Government Association’s Housing spokesman, said that council tax payers were currently subsidising planning application administration to the tune of £200m a year.

He commented: “It is good that the Government recognises our call for council planning departments to be given greater resources if they are to ensure applications are processed as efficiently and effectively as possible. Councils need to be able to set their own planning fees.”

Announcing the proposals at the CIEH’s annual housing conference in Manchester, Mr Brokenshire said: “The planning system is not a barrier to housebuilding – with councils approving nine in 10 applications, and the majority processed quickly while hundreds of thousands of homes have been given planning permission but are yet to be built.”

He said that the green paper would look at creating “greater capacity and capability within local planning authorities, stronger plan-making, better performance management and procedural improvements, including in the process of granting planning permissions.”

Currently, he said, only half of the annual £1bn spent on local authority planning functions was covered by fee income. The green paper would launch pilots of new approaches to meeting the costs of planning.

Councils would be expected “to demonstrate measurable improvements within their performance – not just in terms of speed, but very firmly also in terms of quality”.

Other Brokenshire announcements:

Government may appoint a new homes ombudsman to deal with shoddy standards in new-build

Consultation on redress for purchasers of new build homes

Ground rents on new leases reduced to zero, preventing leaseholders being charged exorbitant fees, and the sale of leasehold houses will be banned

Nineteen new garden villages delivering 73,000 new homes. They will include a facility for people with dementia at St George’s Barracks in Rutland

Proposals to make it easier for renters to transfer deposits between landlords when moving

Rogue landlord database could be accessed by tenants

Half of the £2bn of long term funding to 2028-29 for housing associations will go to London

Planning process for families wishing to extend their properties to be improved.”

https://environment-analyst.com/dis/79500

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6 Jul 2019

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Health and Safety, Local Government Finance, Transport (local)

“There Are 8 Million Potholes On UK Roads Because Of Austerity, Says New Report”

“… Routine road maintenance budgets have fallen from £1.1 billion in 2009/10 to around £701 million in 2017/18, the LGA said.

This budget is used to fund expenses such as minor road repairs, cleaning drains and fixing street lighting.

The LGA estimated that the reduction could have covered the cost of repairing 7.8 million potholes. …”

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/potholes-uk-roads_uk_5d2038b3e4b0f312568414d2?guccounter=1

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6 Jul 2019

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“‘If you try to be everyone’s cup of tea you might as well be a mug’ “

A different kind of local politician, now an MEP, Magid Magid, Green forner mayor of Sheffield, has a refreshing view on not being controlled by council officers! If only other councillors could follow his lead!

“… Magid studied aquatic zoology, ran a digital marketing business and worked for the homelessness charity Shelter before getting involved in politics, motivated by the rise of Ukip in the 2014 European elections.

Within four years, he was being sworn in as lord mayor of Sheffield to the tune of the Imperial March from Star Wars and the Superman theme tune, as the Sheffield Star reported. He later made headlines by stating he would ban “wasteman” Donald Trump from the city – a measure not within his powers.

His one-year tenure was not uncontroversial and he chafed at what he describes as the local council’s attempts to control his diary and messaging. “They wanted to control every aspect of everything especially when they realised the amount of engagement and traction I was getting.”

The new MEP does not resile from “unapologetically being myself”, saying: “if you are trying to be everyone’s cup of tea you might as well be a mug”.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/06/magid-magid-if-you-try-to-be-everyones-cup-of-tea-you-might-as-well-be-a-mug?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

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6 Jul 2019

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Accountability, Hugo Swire, Sleaze

“Theresa May is planning a scaled-back resignation honours list after backlash over David Cameron’s cronies*” * [included Swire]

“Theresa May wants to do things ‘properly’ and will limit the roster to a few names who have put in genuine public service.

The Prime Minister is planning a scaled-back resignation honours list which will reward a small group of people for public service and stand in contrast to her predecessor’s controversial gongs for cronies.

David Cameron was criticised for handing out 46 knighthoods and honours, as well as 13 peerages, to his aides, donors and political allies when he stood down three years ago. …”

Theresa May is planning a scaled-back resignation honours list after backlash over David Cameron’s cronies

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5 Jul 2019

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Misc

Local Enterprise Partnerships: Unaccountable money pits wiith “secretive cultures, misuse of funds and cronyism”


“Ministers ‘fail to measure impact’ of regional funds and local enterprise partnerships:

The government has made “no effort” to measure the impact made by organisations given £12 billion of public money to encourage regional growth, MPs have said.

England’s 38 local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) are run by boards “not representative of their local areas” that lack “scrutiny and accountability” for spending decisions, the public accounts committee said.

LEPs are voluntary partnerships between business leaders, academics and the public sector designed to give more power to regional decision makers to drive growth in their areas. They are supposed to tackle skills shortages, provide small business support and improve infrastructure and transport policy.

However, the spending watchdog said that the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which is supposed to oversee the partnerships, had not properly tracked the use of the funds the organisations were given. This is because the department does not evaluate the performance of the Local Growth Fund, the funding pot that the partnerships rely on.

A report published today concludes that the government “has made no effort to evaluate the value for money of nearly £12 billion in public funding, nor does it have robust plans to do so”. It receives quarterly performance data from LEPs, but value has not been measured.

LEPs are also blighted by overlapping geographical boundaries, which “dilutes accountability and responsibility”, while a lack of capacity within the organisations has caused them to underspend their funding allocations by more than £1 billion over the past three years. This called into question their ability to deliver complex projects, the committee said.

Concerns were also raised at a lack of expected private sector funding that was supposed to boost the impact of the partnerships.

Concerns were previously raised that a lack of oversight had given rise at some partnerships to secretive cultures, misuse of funds and cronyism.

The government asked the local partnerships to improve local scrutiny of investment decisions and the public accounts committee said that there had been improvements. However, it said there was “still a long way to go for all LEPs to reach the rigorous standards we expect”.

The government told the committee that enterprise partnerships “are not resourced sufficiently to respond to high levels of scrutiny and, as such, the department needs to prioritise what it asks LEPs to commit to”.

Meg Hillier, committee chairwoman, said: “LEPs are supposed to be an engine room of local economic growth but have been dogged by a lack of accountability and there is little evidence that they have levered in the promised private sector funds.”

A ministry spokesman said: “We continue to work with LEPs across England to further improve standards and ensure value for money.”

Source: The Times, pay wall

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5 Jul 2019

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Accountability, Developers/ Development, Persimmon, Sleaze

“Persimmon defends shutting Facebook group to ‘gag critics’ “”

“The chief executive of Persimmon has refused to deny that the housebuilder paid to take control of a Facebook group dedicated to complaints about the company before shutting it down,

The Times revealed last week that Persimmon had acquired the administration rights to the “Persimmon Homes Unhappy Customers” group, which had almost 14,000 members. It subsequently shut down the group, deleting years’ of customer posts sharing problems with their homes.

Outraged group members have speculated on other Facebook groups dedicated to complaints that the housebuilder “paid off” the administrator of the group, whose identity is not public.

Facebook does not allow the sale of administrative rights to groups created by users so a payment would have been a breach of the website’s rules.

Dave Jenkinson, chief executive of Persimmon, confirmed yesterday that it had acquired the administration rights to the group but would not say whether it had paid for them. “That’s a private agreement between us and the administrator and that’s not something I am prepared to discuss,” he said.

The FTSE 100-listed builder, which is based in York, has a market capitalisation of more than £6 billion. In February it became the first British housebuilder to report an annual profit of more than £1 billion. It sold 16,449 homes last year, about half of which went to first-time buyers using the Help to Buy scheme, which is designed to boost home ownership. Since Help to Buy was introduced Persimmon’s profit per house has almost tripled, from £22,114 in 2012 to £60,219 in 2018.

The move to shut down the Facebook group has produced claims from customers that it is trying to censor criticism of the company, which is working to improve its build quality and customer service after criticism by ministers.

James Allan, 23, a planning officer at East Lothian council who has complained about problems at his one-bedroom Persimmon flat in Edinburgh, said: “They are taking away the voices of people who have had issues. It’s good to see the experiences of others so you know that you are not alone.”

Mr Jenkinson, 51, said Persimmon had been monitoring the group for several months to address customer issues as they arose in posts. However, he said that in the past few weeks activity on the page had become “much more aggressive” and there were “signs of bullying behaviour” towards staff. He also said the company had found, when checking users against its customer database, that most complainants were not Persimmon customers; some were friends of customers, tradesmen or from other organisations. “We’ve done this for our customers, we’ve done this for the right reasons,” he said.

In a trading update, the builder said that revenue in the first half of the year had fallen as a result of selling fewer homes because it was focusing more on customer satisfaction. It sold 7,584 homes in the six months to the end of June, down from 8,072 in the same period last year. Revenue fell by 4.4 per cent to £1.75 billion. The average selling price rose to £216,950 from £215,813. The housebuilder said that it expected its operating margin for the full year to remain stable at a hefty 30.8 per cent.

Persimmon has announced measures to improve its customer satisfaction levels and build quality since The Times revealed in February that the government was reviewing its access to the Help to Buy scheme from 2021 as a result of allegations of poor standards. It is to allow buyers to retain 1.5 per cent of the value of their purchase until faults are fixed. Buyers of new-build homes who report snags within a week of receiving the keys to their property will be able to withhold a portion of the purchase price until any faults are resolved.

Its customer satisfaction rating has improved in recent months, it said. Mr Jenkinson said: “Persimmon is listening carefully to all stakeholders and making the changes needed to position the business for the future, while maintaining a robust trading performance.”

Last night the shares closed down 23½p, or 1.2 per cent, at £19.64.”

Source Te Times, pay wall

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5 Jul 2019

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Millionaire slum landlords … Times (harrowing) special investigation … disgusting flats as small as parking spaces for £800+ per month

The Times today is doing a heart-rending expose of modern slums, slum landlords and the links between these landlirds and donations to the Tory party.

There is a heart-breaking story of one such young mother living with her sick and asthmatic 6 year-old young son in the most appalling conditions in a flat in Croydon – placed there by Waltham Forest council, which is 20 miles away. They pay £800 per month for her to exist there – one cannot say “live”. Conditions worthy of the very worst Victorian slums.

In a second article, the newspaper looks further into the types of properties and their landlords and the loopholes that allow them to benefit from these apalling places. They find:

“The developers have exploited a change in planning rules to convert offices into hundreds of flats without any minimum size requirements, prompting claims from experts that they are building “some of the worst homes in Britain” and the “slums of the future”.

Flats costing £800 a month are as small as 14 square meters (150 sq ft), barely bigger than the size of a typical parking space.

Families are living on industrial estates and alongside busy roads, with some residents claiming that mould, noise and anti-social behaviour inside the buildings are damaging their health.”

They then go on to turn the spotlight on three such landlords:

“ Caridon, a property group founded by Mario Carrozzo, receives at least £8 million in housing benefit payments to house hundreds of tenants in flats as small as one-third of the minimum size which would be required under the planning regime;

Joel Weider, the owner of a double glazing company, has converted office space in Leicester, Aylesbury and south London, including flats branded a “hell-hole” by an MP;

A third developer, Anwar Ansari, a former eye surgeon, rents small studio, one and two-bed flats to tenants, including a former office block which has been cited for fire safety breaches.

A change in permitted development rights introduced in 2013 means that developers do not have to adhere to normal planning standards when converting offices into residential housing.”

A further article goes on to look at how much money these “developers” are raking in:

“Caridon

Mario Carrozzo’s sprawling Surrey mansion was once owned by a Premier League footballer and boasts a tennis court, indoor swimming pool and cinema. The £6 million home has three sitting rooms, a gym, spa and games room with bar. It is a far cry from the tiny flats his property empire is built on.

Caridon Group flats are among the smallest in the country, with some measuring 14 square metres (150sq ft). Three of these flats would fit into Mr Carrozzo’s cinema room.

The conversions include Token House in Croydon, where the smallest flats are 15sq m (160sq ft). In one, a sofa and bed fill the flat. The rent is almost £800 a month. “I can open my fridge and make a cup of tea or answer the door while I’m still lying in my bed,” one tenant said. …

Joel Weider

Located in a south London industrial estate with lorries passing near by, a former office building has become home to dozens of people including families. Many of those living in Connect House’s 86 flats, some of which are only 14sq m (150sq ft), have belongings piled up in suitcases and boxes because of a lack of space. Residents have reported breathing problems and rashes which they claim have been caused by damp and mould. The smell of cannabis fills the corridors. A bag with traces of a white powder lies discarded.

The developer behind it is Joel Weider, the owner of a double glazing company who bought the property for £3.1 million in 2015. …

AA Homes

AA Homes and Housing is owned by a Labour donor, Anwar Ansari, 59, and has property holdings worth more than £170 million. Dr Ansari trained in London as an eye surgeon but is now a full-time developer.

AA Homes and Housing is behind at least five big office-to-residential conversions and rents mainly to private tenants. The flats are generally larger than those created by Caridon and Mr Weider but are often still below space guidelines set out by the government.

The company owns a five-storey former NatWest office building in Croydon. A previous owner had sought permission to convert it into 34 flats but Dr Ansari squeezed in an extra 20. In 2017, the fire service issued an enforcement notice over safety concerns including a locked fire escape, poor ventilation and defective fire doors. The company was also fined £20,000 for failing to secure a landlord licence for 36 of the building’s privately rented flats. It is contesting all of these findings.

Dr Ansari and his wife Hina live in a sprawling estate near Caterham, Surrey. …”

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4 Jul 2019

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Accountability, Hugo Swire, Lobbying, Neil Parish, Sleaze

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“PM ‘PIMPED OUT’ Tories sell £300k Prime Minister’s dinner with Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt BEFORE new party leader has been chosen”

Surprised The Sun is running this – it’s more of a Daily Mirror story!

“THE Conservative Party has already sold access to the next Prime Minister for £300,000 – before the leader has even been chosen.

Party officials raised the staggering six-figure sum by selling dinner with the new leader at an exclusive fundraiser on Wednesday.

The auction at the Tory summer party – revealed by the Daily Mail last night – has raised questions about cash for access to the new PM.

Dinner for ten Tory supporters with either Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt was offered at the private members’ club bash in West London.

A party source told the paper: “The next prime minister is being pimped out before they’ve even got the job.”

Among the other lots sold off at the posh Hurlingham Club included a signed photo of Boris and David Cameron and tickets to the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix.

Deep-pocketed Tories were also offered a walk with Tory leadership wildcard Rory Stewart – who electrified the contest with his trips around the country.

A wine tour with Education Secretary Damian Hind was also offered for sale – while a donor paid £40,000 for a private champagne party at the London Cabaret Club.

Boris and Mr Hunt were both in attendance at the fundraising do – along with outgoing PM Theresa May and other senior cabinet figures.

OUTRAGE OVER DONATION

It’s not known who successfully bid for the £300k Tory leader’s dinner.

The sale comes after outrage over the wife of one of Vladimir Putin’s former ministers paying for a night out with Mrs May and six female cabinet ministers in May.

Lubov Chernukhin was entertained by the Prime Minister at the five-star Goring Hotel for £135,000.

The banker has donated more than £1million to the Tories in the last seven years alone.

Theresa May defended the donation as Mrs Chernukhin is now a British citizen.”

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9441101/tory-dinner-boris-johnson-jeremy-hunt/

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4 Jul 2019

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Education (local), Inequality

“Some English schools ‘can’t afford to teach five days a week’ “

“More than 200 schools in England are cutting short the school week, or are actively consulting on it, because they cannot afford to educate their pupils for a full five days, according to campaigners.

The figure was revealed on the eve of a demonstration in Westminster by parents and pupils protesting about a crisis in education funding, which means a growing number of children are being sent home at lunchtime every Friday so schools can save money.

Organised by Labour MP Jess Phillips, whose son’s Birmingham primary is among those affected, the march on Friday afternoon will be attended by protesters from Birmingham, Brighton, Hove, Hitchin, Wiltshire, Stockport, Hastings and Leicester.

To drive home the point, the Birmingham Yardley MP will deposit her 10-year-old son Danny and his best friend Morris on the front step of 10 Downing Street, where they will do their schoolwork, as a reminder of the government’s responsibility to care for and educate the nation’s children on a Friday afternoon.

“The whole thing is quite exciting for him,” said Phillips. “He wants to stick up for his school. It’s a brilliant school.”

According to Phillips, 26 schools in Birmingham including her son’s, Kings Heath primary, are either already on a four and a half-day week or are about to introduce it. Not only are pupils losing out on vital hours in school, parents are left scrambling to rearrange work or find childcare and school staff are losing jobs or pay.

“This is not just a Birmingham issue, which is what the government wants to paint it as,” she said. “It’s a problem in Stockport, Oxford, Cambridgeshire, Berkshire – there was one in Theresa May’s [Maidenhead] constituency – Bournemouth, London, Leicester, Sandwell.

“[The education system] is crumbling and nobody cares. The Department for Education just repeatedly wants to blame headteachers, as if the headteacher at my son’s school does not know how to manage money.”

Phillips said it was the responsibility of the government to make sure that every child is in school five days a week. “There are certain fundamentals in public sector services. Our children get free education five days a week. If you break your leg you can have a cast put on it. There are these fundamental principles that we expect from the state. Currently the state cannot deliver it.”

The campaign group Save our Schools (SOS) says children on four and a half-day weeks will lose 20 days of education over the course of a school year. They also point out the “hypocrisy” of government policies which leave schools with little choice but to close early, when parents face heavy fines for taking their child out of school for unauthorised absences.

“Every day, children are taught in crumbling buildings; subjects such as art and music are disappearing from the curriculum; pupils with special education needs are losing vital support and dedicated teaching staff are losing their jobs,” said SOS campaigner Kate Taylor.

“Now schools are being forced to reduce the length of the school week. Parents, teachers and pupils are living with the effects of a government that is not interested in investing in their education.

“If we were to remove our children for one Friday afternoon, let alone every Friday afternoon, we would be committing a criminal offence. It’s quite simple: we want our children to be in school receiving the education they deserve.”

Asked for comment on the protest, the DfE said flexibility over the length of the school week is not new and that schools have long had the choice to structure the school week as they choose. The department also pointed out that Birmingham’s funding was above average and should cover a full week of schooling for each child.

A spokesperson said: “The funding for an average primary class of 28 in Birmingham is £125,000 – above the national average of £115,000 for an equivalent-sized class. These amounts are to cover a full five-day week in term time.”

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/jul/04/figures-reveal-english-schools-cant-afford-to-teach-five-days-a-week?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

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4 Jul 2019

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Accountability, Audit (EDDC), EDDC, Grant Thornton

“Council accounts audit to be delayed by ‘issues’ at external auditors Grant Thornton”

Grant Thornton are EDDC’s external auditors. They were EDDC’s auditors who found nothing untoward for EDDC after the disgraced ex-Tory councillor Graham Brown affair:

https://eastdevonwatch.org/2016/03/06/external-auditors-watchdogs-or-bloodhounds/

“Grant Thornton’s issues have meant that Teignbridge District Council’s accounts will not be audited on time.

The council’s statement of accounts and financial records for the 2018/19 financial year were due to be audited by the external auditors Grant Thornton during June and July.

However, Cllr Alan Connett, portfolio holder for corporate resources, told Monday’s executive committee that the no date for when the audit would take place was yet known.

He said: “We anticipated that the audit would be taking place in July but we have been told by them that they are unable to do so because of pressures at their end. We are organising when the audit will be done but Grant Thornton will be providing a letter of exoneration to us to make it clear it is down to their internal issues and so no-one thinks that the council is to blame.”

Cllr Stephen Purser questioned whether the council would be penalised in any way or would be censured by the government if the accounts were not audited by the July 31 deadline.

In response, Cllr Connett said: “I was concerned about this but I am assured there is no penalty for us. Grant Thornton will provide a ‘letter of comfort’ that sets out their issues and what caused the issues and that the council are not at fault. We are where we are. They are the appointed auditors for us, but we will express our concern about this and hope the letter comes to us soon.”

Grant Thornton have recently faced heavy criticism of their audit practises bakery chain Patisserie Valerie last year admitted to a significant accounting fraud that its external auditors failed to spot, with Grant Thornton remaining under investigation by the UK accounting watchdog over its work for Patisserie Valerie.

The firm also received its largest fine of £3m from the accounting watchdog last August, and was ordered in January to pay a landmark £21m negligence claim in relation to its audit of Assetco, a business that once leased London its fire engines. Its audit of FTSE 250 government contractor Interserve is under scrutiny by the accounting regulator.

The firm at the start of June appointed a new head of audit – Fiona Baldwin – the second time in 12 months an appointment to that role had been made.

An independent review into its accounting operations to improve standards has since been announced by the firm. …”

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/council-accounts-audit-delayed-issues-3045592

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4 Jul 2019

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Accountability, Affordable and Social Housing, Developers/ Development, Help to Buy, Persimmon

“Persimmon claims ‘around half’ its first-time buyers used Help to Buy as sales slip at the house builder amid quality and service revamp”

£77,000 profit per house, adding £30,000-plus to the cost of a new home, poor quality builds, CEO laughing all the way to the bank with his multi-million bonuses – what could possibly go wrong? Answer: nothing goes wrongfor Persimmon, because this government doesn’t just turn a blind eye, it actively encourages this behaviour by putting developers in the planning driving seat (in chauffeur-driven cars)!

“Over half of properties sold by housebuilder Persimmon in the first six months of this year went to first-time buyers, the group’s trading update reveals.

The group sold 3,082 homes to first-time buyers, representing 52 per cent of all private sales for the period.

Speaking to This is Money, a spokesman for Persimmon said ‘around 50 per cent’ of these first-time buyers used Help to Buy schemes to complete their purchase.

While the proportion of purchases being made via Help to Buy adds weight to criticisms that housebuilders are being propped up by the Government schemes, they appear to have done little to help to Persimmon’s overall performance in the first half of the year….

… Persimmon scored the worst figures of all the major house builders in a recent Home Builders Federation new homes survey.

The firm launched a review of its house quality and customer care functions in April. …”

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/markets/article-7212547/Persimmon-claims-half-time-buyers-used-Help-Buy-snap-home.html?ito=1490

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4 Jul 2019

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Health and Social Care (local)

Let’s hear it for (some) stressed local authority workers

Adrian Chiles in Guardian:

“I was sitting on a tram in Birmingham when a guy tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if I was me. “I just had to ask,” he said, “or I’d never have forgiven myself. I would always have wondered.” I felt most unworthy of this level of interest, and told him so.

As we walked down Corporation Street together I asked him what he did for a living. It turned out he was on his way home from work at a local authority, where it was his job to decide whether or not people had the means to pay for their residential care.

As I understand it, if you’ve got nothing, then the council pays. If you’ve got savings, then you pay. Which is obviously fair enough on one hand, but not so fair on the other if you, unlike your neighbour, have saved diligently all your life.

Why should they get the benefit? Where’s the incentive to save at a time when everyone is being told to save more? I shared these incredibly wise thoughts with my new friend. And do you know, his expression suggested that all the above might have been suggested to him before.

“I know,” he said. “Privately, I know. I get all that. But what can I do? It’s my job.”

“It must be so stressful,” I replied.

“It is very stressful,” he agreed.

I rub shoulders and share studios all the time with politicians whose job it is to make difficult decisions as to who gets what. Must be tough, but not half as tough as being one of the many public sector workers who have to make the big calls on the ground, while breathing the same air as those they sit in judgment on.

We shook hands and I asked him what he was up to that evening. “Just telly, I suppose,” he said with a shrug. “It’s a school night.”

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jul/04/what-stress-is-like-ask-friend-from-local-authority?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

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4 Jul 2019

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Accountability, Developers/ Development, Health and Safety, Housing (local), Linden Homes

Linden Homes [Galliford Try]: “some roof tiles secured with duct tape”

“A homeowner plagued with issues in his new-build house said his family was left unsafe when the developer withheld a report condemning the roof.

Joe Tompkinson also said Linden Homes “reneged” on a promise to pay expenses if they moved out during repair work.

He said more than 400 different faults had been identified since his family moved into the house in Abbey Farm in Swindon in December 2017.

Linden has pledged to “attend to any issues” at the property.

Mr Tompkinson claimed he and his family had suffered a catalogue of “extremely poor and negligent” workmanship and botched repairs – including unbolted banisters, sinking bathroom floors, micro-cracks, subsidence and missing brickwork.

Shortly after they moved in, the couple were alerted to problems with the roof when a tile fell off, causing £3,000 of damage to Mrs Tompkinson’s car, and tiles were found to be secured with duct tape.

Mr Tompkinson said in December an independent survey condemned the “unsafe” roof because the majority of tiles were incorrectly secured and soffits built too low.

The father of three said he only discovered this information through a subject access request.

He claimed the “dishonest and obstructive” firm would not release the report or provide a copy to the National House Building Council (NHBC). …

It [Linden Homes] admitted there was “an unusually high number of reported issues” on the development, which has seen more than 40 other homeowners detail problems.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-48856650

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4 Jul 2019

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Accountability, Affordable and Social Housing, Austerity cuts, EDDC, Housing (local), Inequality, Poverty

“More than 100 [East Devon] families faced homelessness in just three months”

“Following the introduction of the Homelessness Reduction Act in 2017, councils in England must provide support to eligible homeless households, as well as those at risk of becoming homeless within 56 days.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government data shows there were 109 households which needed support after applying for help from East Devon District Council between October and December, including 30 families with children.

Of these, 85 were at risk of homelessness, meaning the council had to work with them to prevent them losing their home.

The remaining 24 were already homeless and the council was tasked with helping them to secure accommodation for a period of at least six months.

The households owed support by EDDC included:

– 79 contained a person with at least one high need – 25 people had an illness or physical disability, 39 had a mental health condition, two a learning disability and two were elderly.

– 23 were headed by a single mother and three by a single father.

– 12 were at risk of homelessness because of so-called no-fault evictions, after their landlord issued them with a soon-to-be banned Section 21 notice.

– 12 lost their last home because of domestic abuse.

– One was sleeping rough at the time they applied for help from the council.

– 31 were headed by a person aged 35 to 44 – the most common age group.

Housing charity Shelter has warned that councils are struggling to cope with the volume of people needing support amid a national ‘housing emergency’.

One in five homeless or at risk households in East Devon lost their last secure home because their assured shorthold tenancy – the most common type of private rental contract – ended.

There were also six households made homeless because their social tenancy came to an end while one came from supported housing, which could include refugees or housing for elderly or disabled people.

Of the social tenants, five lost their homes because they were behind on their rent.

An East Devon District Council spokesman said: “East Devon have seen a rise in homelessness, including numbers of rough sleepers and households requiring temporary accommodation, in line with the national picture.

“This increase has been intensified by the lack of availability of suitable accommodation options available to people due to factors including reductions in funding of supported accommodation projects, austerity measures and rises in the rent levels in the private sector leading to affordability issues. These factors all contribute towards added pressure on social housing which is already in short supply whilst facing high levels of demand.

“In order to meet this rise in demand, and to address the additional responsibilities brought in through the Homelessness Reduction Act, changes have been made to the service with the responsibility of assisting people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness. …”

https://www.midweekherald.co.uk/news/more-than-100-east-devon-families-faced-homelessness-during-the-three-months-before-christmas-2018-1-6140982

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3 Jul 2019

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Accountability, Hugo Swire

Swire said something about the NHS in East Devon today ….

… but if you want to know what it was, search for it, because it was so blatantly hot air nonsense that Owl isn’t giving it the extra oxygen of publicity.