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4 Nov 2018

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Budleigh Salterton, Clinton Devon Estates, EDDC, Environment (local)

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East Budleigh – rare bats or bulldozers? Special council meeting 7 November 2018

Clinton Devon Estates – which frequently touts its so-called environmental credentials – now has a difficult choice to make in East Budleigh – as does East Devon District Council.

A short notice special meeting of East Budleigh Parish Council has been called for 7pm on Tuesday 6 November to discuss the findings below which will bring into sharp relief a pressing question: which is most important: environmental sustainability and bio-diversity or cold, hard profit?

The East Budleigh Parish Wildlife Protection and Conservation Group was formed earlier this year to try to save what were thought to be 11 species of bat from having their habitat destroyed as a result of 18/1464/FUL — Demolition of existing barn and construction of a single dwelling behind the Pound. As a result of their observations they have recorded as many as 14 of the 18 known species in the UK.

This not only confirms but extends the survey conducted by Richard Green Ecology between 2012 and 2017 for Clinton Devon Estates (CDE). This survey found: the rare Greater Horseshoe (roosting); Lesser Horseshoe (roosting); the very rare Grey Long Earned (roosting); Natterer (roosting); Soprano and Pipistrelle (roosting). These findings make this site one of the most species rich in the County.

Of these, the finding of Grey Long Eared, Greater and Lesser Horseshoe bats are, perhaps, the most exciting as they are some of the rarest bat species in the UK.

EDDC, in order no doubt to inform the DMC, has just published an independent review of the CDE commissioned Richard Green ecology report. We the ratepayers have paid for this review and Owl wonders whether it represents value for money in these hard pressed times. All it appears to be, as is clear from the Terms of Reference, is a review of the 2012/2017 work done by Richard Green to see whether it was reasonable and in line with best practice, given the ecological constraints identified. Not surprisingly, since it was conducted by a reputable ecological survey firm, another equally reputable firm concludes it was fine.

This ratepayer funded review presents no new data to support or reject the more recent local finding of 14 bat species, indeed it couldn’t really do this because it was conducted too late in the year when bats are less active as they begin to hibernate and the surveyors didn’t venture onto private ground.

The original surveys were undertaken on 31 August and 10 September 2012 including a dusk bat emergence survey and placement of an automated bat detector in the barn between 11 and 17 September 2012, allowing recorded bat calls to be analysed. Further bat emergence surveys were undertaken on 25 May and 22 June 2016, and 31 July 2017. The East Budleigh Group have spent many evenings conducting observation using computer aided bat detectors this year, 2018.

One question not satisfactorily answered is whether the barn is being used as a maternity roost. This is particularly important as some species like the Grey Long Eared bat are so rare that research advice from the University of Bristol states that maternity roosts should not be destroyed under any circumstances as this would compromise the favourable conservation status of the species, particularly as research has shown maternity roosts of this species do not respond to mitigation measures.

In the UK, Grey Long-Eared bats tend to live in close proximity to human settlements and roost almost exclusively in man-made roosts making the barn in East Budleigh an important roost. The overall estimated population size is around 1000 making it one of the rarest of UK mammals. Its extinction risk is high due to its habitat specialisation of foraging close to or within the vegetation, its small foraging ranges and limited long distance dispersal ability is a result of its flight profile. There are only eight known maternity colonies left in the UK and females have only one pup a year. So there has to be one near the Pound.

Another question is whether the demolition and rebuild will destroy too much habitat so the bats will never return, despite “mitigation”. (When CDE developed the Budleigh Salterton allotment site their slow worm “mitigation” was a disaster, they were simply bulldozed away by mistake).

Surely we ought to be celebrating the discovery that East Budleigh has one of the most species diverse bat colonies in Devon rather than sending in the bulldozers – again.

Everyone involved would do well to read this recent article:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/03/stop-biodiversity-loss-or-we-could-face-our-own-extinction-warns-un

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4 Nov 2018

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Accountability, Austerity cuts, Health and Social Care (local), Inequality, NHS (local), Post-Brexit Adjustments

Essential medications after Brexit – a worrying silence

Guardian letters:

“Regarding Patrick Cosgrove’s letter (I don’t want to go blind due to Brexit, 29 October), I would like to make a similar case about type 1 diabetes.

Like Theresa May, I have type 1 diabetes and am insulin-dependent. I emailed Matt Hancock as I am concerned about how supplies of insulin will be ensured once we leave the EU. Diabetes patients may be interested in the response I received from the Department of Health and Social Care (and in knowing that Keith Vaz has emailed to say he will be taking my concerns further). The reply said the contingency plans include “precautionary stockpiling by suppliers, to ensure that the supply of insulin to patients is not disrupted”. This is worrying as insulin needs to be refrigerated and my understanding is that very little insulin is produced in this country. Perhaps Mrs May could give us some answers?
Lisa Parker
Nailsworth, Gloucestershire

• Patrick Cosgrove is not alone in trying, and failing, to find out about the availability of drugs on which he is dependent in the event of a no-deal Brexit. I am in a similar position. Over three months ago, I wrote to my MP (Julian Sturdy) and asked for “an informed comment on certainty of supply of pharmaceuticals in the event of a hard or ‘no deal’ Brexit”. Over six weeks later he replied, asking for details, which I supplied. Another six weeks have passed, 29 March looms, and I still have no information. I am coming to the frightening conclusion that no one actually has a clue about what will happen.
Steven Burkeman
York

• Patrick Cosgrove raises the pressing issue of medication availability post-Brexit. My own four daily doses are made variously in Austria, Germany, Spain and Slovenia. Without them I’m in trouble. But what about my son and all the other transplant patients who must have their anti-rejection meds? And those with diabetes? I await my MP’s advice, not very hopefully.

Any hope out there, anyone?
David Moore
Somerton, Somerset

• Like Patrick Cosgrove, I have hereditary glaucoma and have been prescribed Ganfort for many years. Three months ago my prescription was changed to preservative-free Ganfort. It is currently proving very difficult to obtain this due to the complexities of the pharmaceutical industry. Thanks to a diligent pharmacist, I’ve not been let down yet; my medicine has arrived monthly, but since the change in prescription it has been very delayed. I now need to order it earlier to ensure I am not left without. Last month it came via a Spanish source.

I don’t want to go blind for this “cause” either. To the government: open your eyes and see (unless you have glaucoma).
Gill Sellen
Corfe Castle, Dorset”

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/nov/04/no-deal-fears-over-drug-supplies

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4 Nov 2018

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

“Terry is dying, and there’s no one to care for him: the real impacts of the NHS crisis”

“The doctors in my practice have well over 100 years of combined experience as GPs, so you’d think we’d seen pretty much everything. But last week we were confronted with a scenario we had never before encountered.

The patient concerned – a 42-year-old called Terry – has been battling a particularly nasty form of lymphoma for several years. He’s an unconventional person, and his life hasn’t featured much in the way of stable relationships, but he has an elderly aunt and uncle who have stuck by him as he’s sought alternative remedies for the disease that orthodox medicine has been unable to cure.

He’s now arrived at the end of the line. The lymphoma is overwhelming him, leaving him incapable of getting out of bed, let alone managing his daily needs for food, drink and hygiene. While he kept mainstream services at arm’s length during his exploration of complementary therapies, he’s now relying on us in what will be his final days.

What is required more than anything is help meeting his basic human needs. One of my partners spent quite some time on the phone, organising equipment at short notice, rapid hospice outreach support and an urgent social care assessment. The social worker came to an uncontentious conclusion: Terry needed care visits four times a day. But she was sorry, this wasn’t going to be possible. It wasn’t the funding – despite ongoing budget cuts, they still have money for cases like this. No, it was staff. There are not enough care workers. They simply have no one available to look after Terry.

This is unprecedented, and I actually couldn’t compute it when my colleague broke the news. A swift look at the figures, though, tells you everything you need to know. According to the training charity Skills for Care, there are now 110,000 vacancies in adult social care – that’s around 8 per cent of all positions unfilled. And this is an exponentially increasing trend – 22,000 of those posts have been added to the total over the past year. Job turnover in the sector is around 30 per cent.

The reasons for this crisis are multiple, and most can be laid squarely at the door of the current government. Years of austerity-driven spending cuts have piled stress and pressure on staff, many of whom have voted with their feet. Others have gone for different reasons: around one in six of our care workforce have traditionally come from EU countries; Brexit Britain has become a very unattractive proposition. Caps on non-EU, “low-skilled” immigrant numbers have choked off alternative sources. And as ever fewer staff struggle to cope with constantly increasing demand, stress and demoralisation mount further.

My partner spent another hour on the phone trying to find some way of getting Terry help. The service specifically set up to avoid “inappropriate” acute hospital admissions had no available cottage hospital or nursing home beds – the only solution they could offer was to throw in the towel and admit Terry to our local district general. As winter takes hold, and yet again you hear about patients who don’t need to be in hospital “blocking” beds, remember Terry’s story.

Terry did not want to die in a busy, noisy hospital ward. He is currently being supported by a rag-tag assembly consisting of his remaining elderly relatives, a hospice night-sitter, and some capacity that my partner eventually managed to beg from the community rehabilitation team.

The government’s response to the care crisis is to be a “national recruitment campaign”, due to be launched any time now. I predict it will be as successful as that aimed at attracting an extra 5,000 GPs by 2020 (numbers continue to fall). At some point, surely, someone has to wake up and accept that sparkly adverts won’t recruit and retain staff when services are so chronically underfunded and overstretched. By then, though, it will be too late for Terry, and for many others like him nationwide. ”

Phil Whitaker
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/health/2018/10/terry-dying-and-there-s-no-one-care-him-real-impacts-nhs-crisis

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4 Nov 2018

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Developers/ Development, Inequality, Lobbying

NIMBY MPs get their way in Milton Keynes

“Plans for a major expansion of one of Britain’s best known “new towns” were dropped from the Budget at the eleventh hour after heated objections from a government whip and a defence minister, The Sunday Telegraph can disclose.

Iain Stewart and Mark Lancaster, the Tory MPs for Milton Keynes, opposed proposals for some 100,000 new homes on the outskirts of the town, over fears that an influx of residents could clog up its roads and overburden the local hospital. …”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/11/03/milton-keynes-major-expansion-dropped-budget-eleventh-hour/

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3 Nov 2018

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Austerity cuts, Economy, Inequality

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“One-third of UK workers got pay rise of 1% or less last year” [again]

“More than 10 million workers received a pay rise of 1% or less last year, according to official figures that highlight the growing concentration of workers at the bottom of the pay scale.

The Office for National Statistics said almost 32% of Britain’s workforce of 32.5 million people were given an increase that was less than one-third of the inflation rate, which reached 3.1% in November 2017.

Most workers lost out last year, the ONS said, after it found the median gross weekly earnings for full-time employees grew by 2.2%.

Fuelling the debate about low-paid workers, the figures showed employers barely reacted to the inflation spike last year, when they paid employees much the same as in 2016, when inflation was below 2%, and in 2015, when inflation fell to almost zero.

Wages have climbed this year, according to the Bank of England. It estimates the rate of increase has reached 3%, though this is only marginally more than the consumer price index (CPI) measure of inflation, which is 2.4%

The ONS said much of the 1% cap affected the 5.3 million workers in the public sector, many of whom are better educated and higher paid than the average across the workforce. But millions of private sector workers were also affected by wage rises of 1% or less, leading to a greater concentration of workers on the bottom rungs of the pay ladder.

Many were protected by the “national living wage”, which increased by 4.2% on 1 April 2017 from £7.20 to £7.50. Workers on wages above this level, however, were among those to receive either no rises or low ones, leading to clustering around the minimum wage, according to the ONS.

A regional survey found the UK’s worst-affected area was Northern Ireland, with 13.1% of employees earning close to the NLW, compared with 5.9% in London. …”

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/nov/02/millions-of-uk-workers-received-pay-rise-of-1-or-less-last-year

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3 Nov 2018

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Accountability, EDDC, Local Government Finance, Scrutiny

“CIPFA moots steps to quell commercial property ‘craze’ “

The majority party at our council is also mooting – a move into the commercial property market.

“Forthcoming CIPFA guidance on councils borrowing to invest in commercial property could clarify the definitions of “borrowing in advance of need” and “proportionality”, according to the man drawing it up.

Last month, CIPFA announced it would produce more guidance to address the failure of the government’s revised investment code to curb some instances of councils borrowing to invest in commercial property.

Speaking at the CIPFA Treasury Management and Capital Conference in London this week, Don Peebles, the institute’s head of UK policy & technical, gave more clues as to what the guidance could contain.

Speaking to delegates, he said: “It may well be that we actually specify and think about what exactly is ‘borrowing in advance of need’.

Proportionality parameters

“We may set parameters of what proportionality looks like. We may give guidance on what the appropriate ratios are for commercial income associated with net service expenditure.”

When the guidance was announced last month, Peebles told Room151 that it would be likely to formally incorporate text from the commentary which was released alongside the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s (MHCLG’s) revised investment code, which was adopted earlier this year.

On proportionality, that commentary says that each council should set its own “limits that cannot be exceeded for gross debt compared to net service expenditure, and for commercial income as a percentage of net service expenditure”.

However, Peebles’ comments were a hint that the guidance could go further by providing indications on what the appropriate ratios are.

Also speaking at the event, Duncan Whitfield, director of finance and corporate services at London Borough of Southwark, said that any definition of proportionality must take into account the needs of local authorities to properly finance services.

He said: “I am looking at my budget now and seeing how much of it is ring-fenced for social care.

“So are we talking about a proportion of our ring-fenced money in our revenue account or is it the total budget? In different parts of the country that varies wildly…”

Financial freedoms

And Richard Paver, treasurer of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and chair of the CIPFA treasury and capital management panel, warned that the guidance should not reverse freedoms introduced under the prudential code introduced in 2004.

He said: “I can tell you it was a complete pain in the neck to run anything in the old days when you had annual limits on your capital spend, you could only spend a proportion of your capital receipts generated in any one year. You had to pool your capital receipts and pass them back. We need to remember where we are and protect that. The CIPFA guidance needs to give us the tools to do that.”

During a separate session of the conference, Peebles acknowledged the point, saying: “I am conscious that the guidance [should be] within the flexible framework we have all enjoyed and any steps to minimise that flexibility starts to take away from the 15 years of success of the prudential framework and operation of the prudential code.

“But in the current climate it seems additional guidance is certainly needed.”

Also speaking at the conference, Martin Easton, head of capital and treasury at Birmingham City Council, said that the term “borrowing in advance of need” was “unhelpful” and should be scrapped.

He said: “It originated years ago in the treasury management code in addressing treasury management investment activity which is about managing the cash flows of the authority. In that, there will be some times when the yield curve is such that you can borrow cheaply for a few years or in advance of your need for treasury purposes, and it was possible to reinvest it short term until it was needed for meeting the cash flow needs of the authority.”

He went on to say: “That expression doesn’t really work when you are investing in a community organisation, let’s say, to deliver social or service outcomes, or even when you are making an explicit decision to invest in commercial property.

Investment crazes

“I think you could drop the ‘in advance of need’ from that phrase – the key issue is: is it right or appropriate for your authority or ever for a local authority to borrow purely or mainly to make a financial gain? Is that really the role of local authorities?”

Easton also warned that the current increase in borrowing cheaply to invest in commercial property was another “craze” sweeping the sector, and compared it to investment in Icelandic banks, LOBOs and interest rate swaps.

He said: “What fundamentally might be a sound idea – like a limited proportion of your book could be in LOBOs because it manages risk in a different way and produces a good revenue result, or managing treasury risk through interest rate swaps – is good but doing it excessively is not.

“These things get overdone. They overtake the sector and then a wheel inevitably comes off at some local authority that has gone too far… And I fear that we are in the grip of another one of those crazes, which is called commercial property at the moment.”

Giving a private sector perspective, Howard Meaney, head of real estate UK at UBS Asset Management, said that the real estate market was “quite disparaging about some of the transactions [by local authorities] that have been undertaken recently.”

He said: “I think what the market is generally seeing is local authorities are almost, in some situations, a buyer of last resort.

“They are setting new market levels with some of the transactions and they are buying assets in what to a degree is a buy and hope – hope that tenant stays in your property and continues to pay your money and your rent so you can arbitrage that to increase your revenue and pay your coupon on your debt.”

Councils need to be prepared to invest in their commercial property assets in future in order to maintain rent levels, Meaney warned.

He asked: “Looking down the line, will local authorities have that money to invest into a property to continue to receive the revenue?”

http://www.room151.co.uk/treasury/cipfa-moots-steps-to-quell-commercial-property-craze/

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3 Nov 2018

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Developers/ Development, Persimmon, Redrow, Wainhomes

Wain Homes, Redrow, Persimmon – more local horror stories

One home selling for £50,000 less than bought for after 10 months to escape it (Wain Homes, South Molton); one family moved out for 3 weeks at their own expense as the house was unliveable in (Redrow, Exeter) and one home allegedly still has 120 problems 5 years after moving in (Persimmon, Exeter).

https://www.devonlive.com/news/new-build-horror-home-stories-2177182

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2 Nov 2018

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Developers/ Development, Exmouth, Fords of Sidmouth, Planning System, Sidford Business Park

Exmouth has too much employment land says retirement developer*

* How odd – Sidmouth doesn’t have enough employment land and Exmouth has too much – maybe Exmouth could take the companies that want to occupy the Sidford Business Park!

“The planning inspectorate has now set a date of February 5, 2019, to hear arguments for and against a 59-apartment retirement community on land near Tesco, in Salterton Road originally refused by East Devon District Council as the land has been earmarked for commercial use.

In its appeal statement, developer YourLife Management Services – a joint venture between Somerset Care and McCarthy and Stone – argues that the employment allocation is ‘surplus to requirements’ and not a ‘viable’ proposition ‘now or in the near future’.

Ian Cann, vice chairman of the emerging neighbourhood plan – currently being assessed by independent examiners ahead of a public referendum – has urged the planning inspectorate to consider the need for employment land in Exmouth.

He said: “One of the focuses of the neighbourhood plan is for Exmouth to be ‘demographically balanced’ and at the moment it’s out of sync and we need to retain our younger people in the town.

“It’s all well and good giving them a house but they need to have job.

“If you want to retain this people in the town you need to create as many jobs as possible. To do that, we have to identify as much commercial land as possible.

“We have to defend against other uses of land identified for commercial use – we have to defend that to the hilt.”

If the planning inspector agrees with developers, the application, which includes self-contained flats for those over 70 years old, would be approved.

Exmouth Town Council’s planning committee has twice opposed the application, despite the developer putting its case forward.

All previous representations made about the proposal have been forwarded to the planning inspectorate and people have an opportunity to either change or add their comments by Monday, November 12.

Visit https://acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk or emailing west2@pins.gsi.gov.uk to comment on the plans.

http://www.exmouthjournal.co.uk/news/planning-appeal-date-set-for-rejected-exmouth-retirements-flats-plan-1-5762317

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Accountability, Developers/ Development, Persimmon

Persimmon: yet another horror story

(The photographs accompanying this article are truly shocking)

“A STRESSED-out dad is suing over his “shoddy” brand new home which has brick walls looking like a wavy patchwork quilt.

When Darren Harris collected the keys to his freshly constructed £210,000 four-bedroom house, he was shocked to find more than 80 defects.

The 53-year-old was also stunned to learn the bumpy brickwork on his house wall had become a laughing stock of the neighbourhood.

The civil engineer has shared pictures of the poor workmanship and plans to take legal action against Persimmon Homes, which built the house on the Martello Park estate in Pembroke, West Wales.

Harris said: “We got the keys to our house and I drove down to the property with my wife.

“The neighbours came over and asked me if I had seen the brickwork on the back of the house.

“They said to me ‘We have been having a bit of a laugh and a giggle’. It looks unstable, the brickwork is wavy and looks unsafe.”

He and his wife, an area manager for Greggs bakery, then decided to take a look inside their property, but struggled to open the door.

The engineer said: “We put the key in but the door wouldn’t budge. We couldn’t get in.

“I thought there must be a problem and went back to the site office. A Persimmon agent came back with me and in the end he had to shoulder-barge the door to get it open.”

They discovered later that the door frame was fitted incorrectly.

As time went on the list of problems expanded with Harris finding that “drain covers weren’t fitted properly, paving was laid on top of rubble, the guttering doesn’t reach the end of the house and water cascades down the sides when it rains.

“The doors inside all had to be rehung and I’ve done so much work myself just to get it liveable.

“Everything is appallingly built – the workmanship is just shoddy. The problems are unbelievable.”

Mr Harris bought the house before it was built, after seeing a show home on the site.

He said: “It looked like a nice spot, with views of Pembroke Castle. We put a deposit down in February and planned to rent it out.

“But ever since we got the keys, the reality has been far from perfect.

“It’s caused my wife and I no end of worry and stress. She has been in tears. If my marriage wasn’t so strong this could have finished us.”

Now Harris, from Sutton Coldfield in the Midlands, says he has no option but to take Persimmon Homes to court.

He said: “I have been on to head office. I have been brave enough to take them on and take them to the small claims court.

“The rectification work they attempted was not acceptable. I have given them the opportunity to put it right.

“I have had to put off getting my tenants in, which has resulted in losses of £1,600.

“We have been forced to get on with the retrospective work ourselves and it has cost us thousands. That’s the only way I could get the house finished and ready for our tenants.”

A spokesman for Persimmon Homes West Wales said: “We are aware of Mr Harris’s concerns and we are working to reach a satisfactory conclusion.

“We have many happy customers across South Wales and we take customer service seriously.”

In October, Persimmon’s boss Jeff Fairburn walked off in the middle of a BBC interview after he was grilled about his whopping £75million bonus.

When questioned over any regrets about last year’s payout – cut from £100million after a public outcry – Fairburn replied: “I’d rather not talk about that”.

The payout is believed to be the largest by a listed UK firm, the BBC said.”

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/7647536/brand-new-house-wales-wonky-brickwork-sinking-garden/

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2 Nov 2018

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Accountability, Lobbying, Post-Brexit Adjustments, Sleaze

MPs who accepted hospitality from the betting industry

A reduction from £100 per bet to £2 per bet, agreed by the government, has been postponed and the Minister for Sport has resigned saying vested interests were allowed to influence the decision. The current high rate is reckoned to lead to many suicides. It is thought the decision has been postponed to raise revenue for the government to assist with post-Brexit issues.

Sixteen MPs have declared hospitality received from the betting industry. Nine were Labour MPs, six Conservative and one SNP:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-46076119

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Democracy, East Devon Alliance, Independent Councillors

Call for independents spreads to Bournemouth

Where East Devon (Alliance) leads the “Alliance for Local Living” in Bournemouth follows!

“A NEW political party is planning to contest next year’s election to the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole combined authority.

However ALL, or the Alliance for Local Living, is being set up in contrast to the traditional party system, as its members will all be independents standing under one banner.

They will not be forced to follow the party line via the whip.

The organisers, a group of residents, have now put out a call for candidates.

“We want ordinary members of the public, passionate people who are doing valuable things in their community to think about possibly stepping up and bringing local politics back into that community,” said Felicity Rice (above), one of the founders. “We are happy to have anyone in our group, they can even be a member of an existing party, but they must make their own decisions based on their personal opinion.”

ALL, also known as Three Towns Together in its earlier stages, was inspired by the similarly organised Independents for Frome group, which took total control of the Somerset town’s council in 2015.

The reduction from 120 to 76 councillors covering the three boroughs in the new unitary has led to concern that it will be dominated by one political party. Independents and members of current opposition parties are known to have spoken with ALL as a way to unite a disparate opposition against the Conservative Party.

Current Poole People Party councillor Andy Hadley said he was liaising with the group on behalf of his party, and he thought them “well-matched”.

“We have been passing on advice on what we have had to go through to get elected as independents, the vision of getting 72 seats is is very extreme. But to get enough to make a significant impact on decision-making would be really good.

“I know quite a few people have expressed an interest, but it needs people to stand up and say ‘we want to be part of this’.”

ALL’s first selection day for candidates will be November 24. Visit voteforall.org.uk to get involved.”

https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/17187673.new-party-of-independents-all-wants-ordinary-people-to-stand-for-election/

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Affordable housing: with this government there is ALWAYS a catch!

“Government’s new council house building drive will come at expense of housing associations”

The Government’s council house building drive will come at the expense of fewer new units constructed by housing associations, The Independent has learned.

The revelation that housing associations will be partially crowded out casts doubt on the Government’s claims to be fully committed to a surge of new housing for people on low incomes.

In her Conservative conference speech in October Theresa May announced the borrowing cap on local councils would be lifted in order to allow authorities to start building houses for low-income families again in serious volumes for the first time in thirty years.

It was a reform that housing campaigners and many council bosses had long pressed for as a vital element of solving the shortage of social housing.

In the Budget on Monday, Philip Hammond followed up on the pledge, with official Treasury estimates suggesting the removal of the cap would lead to extra borrowing to build by councils of £4.6bn over the next six years.

The independent Office for Budget Responsibility said it expected new council house construction of 20,000 units over the period as a result of the lifting of the cap.

However, the OBR, also added that it expected this to crowd out private house building, with every two new council houses resulting in roughly one less new private house, meaning the net impact on new housing supply as result of lifting the cap would be only 9,000.

And The Independent has learned that the basis for this assumption is that councils, as well as funding new council building from borrowing, will also partly fund the new supply by tapping funds from the Affordable Housing Programme (AHP).

This is a pot of government grant money currently mainly drawn on by housing associations (charities and third sector organisations that provide housing at below-market rates) to fund their own construction of social housing

The upshot is that the OBR thinks housing associations’ available government grants will effectively be squeezed to accommodate councils. …”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/council-house-building-social-housing-associations-theresa-may-a8614281.html

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2 Nov 2018

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Accountability, Developers/ Development, Unitisation

More on that unitary council “sunset clause”

(See post below also)

Looks like, after March 2019 there will be no chance of a Devon unitary council as ALL councils to be subsumed will have to agree.

To many vested interests (particularly in the area of planning!) even if there were financial savings to be had. Developers trump savings!

http://localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=37206%3Acommunities-secretary-warns-councils-ahead-of-change-to-process-on-reorganisations&catid=59&Itemid=27

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2 Nov 2018

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Another county goes unitary – despite local district council opposition

Owl says: the “sunset clause” (see below) is a new one to me!

“John Fuller, chair of the District Councils’ Network umbrella group, said: “This unwelcome decision has not secured the local consent amongst the elected local councils that was called for in March.”

He blamed the decision on “ill-conceived legislation” – the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act. This act contains a sunset clause, which expires next March, permitting the secretary of state to fast track structural and boundary changes with the consent of only one local authority.

Brokenshire said that “the great majority” of local public sector partners backed the plans including the police, ambulance service, clinical commissioning group and NHS trusts.

He also said it would improve local government and establish a “credible geography”, thus meeting the criteria needed for structural change.

Brokenshire did acknowledge there were concerns that a single unitary might weaken democratic engagement at the most local level.

“To help reassure any who might be concerned on this, I intend to speak with five councils to determine whether I should modify the proposal before implementing it,” he said.

Martin Tett, leader of Buckinghamshire County Council, hailed the decision as “historic” and called for unity among local leaders.

“The announcement paves the way for a brand new council, fit for the future, created by combining the best of both county and district councils,” he said.

“This new council will be simpler, better value and more local to our residents. It will also have more clout to face head-on the great strategic challenges facing the county over the coming decades.”

Brokenshire said he would also consult on whether to delay local elections due to take place in May 2019, to avoid councillors being elected for only one year.”

https://www.publicfinance.co.uk/news/2018/11/buckinghamshire-set-single-unitary-status

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Hernandez says police have no social responsibilities – NHS and councils should take them off police forces

Owl says: this would mean the NHS and local authorities would need to create a full 24-hour, 7 day a week totally responsive crisis service!

“Police officers are not social workers or mental health workers, yet spend far too much of their time dealing with issues that would be better handled by the NHS or local authorities. I don’t think policing should be the main point of contact for people having mental health crises, and our officers shouldn’t be the lead negotiators for suicidal people. It was refreshing to hear similar sentiments aired by a senior and well-regarded police officer.”

Alison Hernandez
Devon and Cornwall Police Commissioner

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-england-devon-45972475

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1 Nov 2018

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Accountability, Post-Brexit Adjustments

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As if councils didn’t have enough to deal with!

“Councils are being warned to prepare for three months of disruption in a no deal Brexit , a leaked briefing has revealed.

Town hall chiefs have been told to plan for “reasonable worst case scenarios” including runs on food, petrol and the banks.

They should prepare to report to central government every eight hours – and could have to cancel leave over Easter, it says.

The shock briefing, circulated to council chiefs and leaked to the Municipal Journal, is made up of minutes from a recent Local Resilience Forum meeting.

Dozens of LRFs, which bring together councils, emergency services and the NHS, are aiding Whitehall’s No Deal plan Operation Yellowhammer – which is led by the same officials who would deal with a flu pandemic.

The minutes say councils should prepare for “reasonable, worst case scenarios” but “without setting panic”.

Public bodies should base their plans on “a 12 week disruption period” lasting until the end of May 2019, they add.

And some supplies of medicine may be increased by six weeks on top of the existing four to six weeks’ stock, the minutes suggest.

Local ‘Tactical Co-ordinating Groups’ would have to update Whitehall at “8 hourly intervals” and “a decision on leave arrangements may be needed” over Easter, the minutes add.

The UK is leaving the EU on 29 March 2019 and Easter is on 21 April.

A local government source said: “Councils are doing what they can with the limited information they are being given. We’re feeling really nervous and really impatient.”

Shadow Local Government Secretary Andrew Gwynne claimed the instructions were “too little too late”.

He added: “It’s frankly shocking that the local government sector has been starved of resilience support that they now so desperately need.”

A spokesman for the Local Government Association, which represents councils, added: “We are working with Government and engaging with the expertise of local government to ensure we get these crucial negotiations right for local communities.”

A government spokeswoman said: “We remain confident that we will secure an agreement with the EU that works for the whole of the UK.

“Rightly, we are working with Local Resilience Forums across the country to ensure they are fully prepared.

“While it is the duty of responsible planners to consider the worst case scenarios, this is not a prediction of what is going to happen.”

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/councils-warned-no-deal-brexit-13513238

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Devon and Cornwall police force “on cliff edge”

“The Devon and Cornwall Police Federation has written to all MPs in the two counties saying the force is on “a cliff edge”.

Chair Andrew Berry said the problem was twofold.

He said: “The policing budget for our force has reduced by £15m in cash terms since 2010/11 and, during that time, we have lost 975 personnel, including 510 police officers – that is 15% less police officers.” ..”

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-england-devon-45972471

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Those “little extras” in the education budget …

“Parents Are Contributing Money, Pens, Even Loo Roll To Their Kids’ Hard Up Schools:

Parents are coughing up an average of £11 a month to their children’s schools to help meet education funding shortfalls, a survey has shown, and many are being asked to provide items as basic as stationery and loo roll.

The parents and education charity Parentkind commissioned a survey of 1,500 parents and found that two in five are asked to contribute to a general school fund, to be used in whatever way the school needs.

The average monthly voluntary donation by parents has increased by more than a quarter in a year, rising from a reported £8.90 in 2017 to £11.35 in 2018.

Jo Murricane, 39, from Leeds, who has a four and seven-year-old, told HuffPost UK that her child’s school often asks parents to make monetary contributions. “Basically, the contributions cover all the things the school can’t afford, but that will really benefit the pupils and their learning,” she says, citing bakes sales and school trips. “I don’t really mind, but it’s hard to see the school struggle to make ends meet in this way, due to underfunding.”

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/parents-contributing-money-pens-loo-roll-to-schools_uk_5bd9c890e4b0da7bfc160c02

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“How the actual magic money tree works”

“Shock data shows that most MPs do not know how money is created. Responding to a survey commissioned by Positive Money just before the June election, 85% were unaware that new money was created every time a commercial bank extended a loan, while 70% thought that only the government had the power to create new money.

The results are only a shock if you didn’t see the last poll of MPs on exactly this topic, in 2014, revealing broadly the same level of ignorance. Indeed, the real shock is that MPs still, without embarrassment, answer surveys.

Yet almost all our hot-button political issues, from social security to housing, relate back to the meaning and creation of money; so if the people making those choices don’t have a clue, that isn’t without consequence.

How is money created?

Some is created by the state, but usually in a financial emergency. For instance, the crash gave rise to quantitative easing – money pumped directly into the economy by the government. The vast majority of money (97%) comes into being when a commercial bank extends a loan. Meanwhile, 27% of bank lending goes to other financial corporations; 50% to mortgages (mainly on existing residential property); 8% to high-cost credit (including overdrafts and credit cards); and just 15% to non-financial corporates, that is, the productive economy.

What’s wrong with that?

On the corporate financial side, bank-lending inflates asset prices, which concentrates wealth in the hands of the wealthy. On the mortgage side, house prices rise to meet the amount the lender is prepared to lend, rather than being moored to wages. The lender benefits enormously from larger mortgages and longer periods of indebtedness; the homeowner benefits slightly from a bigger asset, but obviously spends longer in debt servitude; the renter loses out completely.

Is there a magic money tree?

All money comes from a magic tree, in the sense that money is spirited from thin air. There is no gold standard. Banks do not work to a money-multiplier model, where they extend loans as a multiple of the deposits they already hold. Money is created on faith alone, whether that is faith in ever-increasing housing prices or any other given investment. This does not mean that creation is risk-free: any government could create too much and spawn hyper-inflation.

Any commercial bank could create too much and generate over-indebtedness in the private economy, which is what has happened. But it does mean that money has no innate value, it is simply a marker of trust between a lender and a borrower. So it is the ultimate democratic resource. The argument marshalled against social investment such as education, welfare and public services, that it is unaffordable because there is no magic money tree, is nonsensical. It all comes from the tree; the real question is, who is in charge of the tree?

What could we do instead?

We could do QE for the people, overt monetary financing in which a government creates money for social benefit, such as green infrastructure or education. Or helicopter money, a central bank distributing it to everyone, either in a one-off citizen’s dividend or a regular citizen’s basic income. The nature of centrally created money should itself be opened up for debate, whose starting point is: if we agree that commercially created money is skewing the economy, can we then agree that it should be created by a public authority, even if we don’t yet know what that authority would look like.”

https://www.theguardian.com/global/shortcuts/2017/oct/29/how-the-actual-magic-money-tree-works