A new financial year looms. The government is reportedly in the mood for pre-election tax cuts; the opposition talks of iron fiscal discipline. And all around us, a familiar disaster grinds on: constant increases in demand on our most crucial public services, which the financially blitzed councils charged with providing them simply cannot meet. 

John Harris www.theguardian.com

The result is a story that speaks volumes about Westminster’s state of contorted denial: increasing numbers of our cities, towns and counties now face municipal bankruptcy, but no one in any position of national power and influence seems to want to talk about it.

The dire predicament of councils all over England now invites an obvious question: at what point might we collectively realise that hundreds of local crises now add up to a national catastrophe? Our political culture is too Westminster-focused to follow the stories and join the dots; the dreaded term “local government” still causes eyes to glaze over. But all over the country, the picture is now the same, and things are rapidly nearing the point of complete breakdown.

Up until last year, the handful of councils that had issued section 114 notices – a reference to the part of the Local Government Finance Act of 1988 that covers insolvent local authorities – were mostly mired in stories of financial mismanagement. Then came the fall of Birmingham city council, tipped into bankruptcy late last year by its mishandling of an equal-pay claim and a £100m IT project. By that point, a longstanding fear was becoming inescapable: that whatever the faults and flaws of particular council leaderships, a systemic crisis was about to break. The proof arrived when Nottingham city council hit the skids amid talk of a grimly familiar gap between local revenues and the sheer cost of constantly trying to patch up our fraying social fabric.

Nearly one in five council leaders in England now say they are likely to declare bankruptcy in the next 15 months. The latest places to sound warnings about financial collapse include Stoke-on-Trent, Middlesbrough, Somerset, Bradford and Cheshire East. The recently announced 6.5% increase in funds the government gives to councils will barely touch the sides. In both deprived and affluent parts of the country, the millions being cut from local services echo the fiscal savagery of George Osborne’s austerity. This time, however, there is a crucial difference. After long years of endless savings, cuts now automatically entail no end of cruelties, which is why the new Labour leader of Stoke city council has been talking about “unpalatable decisions that will hurt our sense of what is right and wrong”.

How we got here is hardly a mystery. The money councils receive from central government underwent a real-terms cut of 40% between 2010 and 2020. Inflation has put even more holes in their finances, and the pandemic caused a sudden halt to the cashflows received from car parks and leisure centres. Meanwhile, councils have to endlessly deal with the kind of social wreckage that decisions taken in Westminster and Whitehall leave in their wake. If poverty increases, so does the load placed on local social workers, not least those who deal with children’s care. When the mainstream education system pushes kids with special needs out, council budgets take another hit. A great deal of what councils are faced with is defined by one of the deepest stupidities of austerity: the fact that the hollowing out of early intervention schemes – Sure Start is probably the best example – means that people’s problems only get picked up when they reach crisis point, and therefore dealing with them is even more expensive.

As of 2013, councils have been allowed to keep more of the money they receive from local business rates – which was good news for more affluent places, but another burden placed on the kind of areas where such revenues are paltry at best. This unfairness has festered, but even comparatively wealthy areas are now feeling the pinch. Hampshire, for example, now faces a financial gap of £132m. There are plans for the withdrawal of all funding for homelessness services. Street lights are going to be switched off between midnight and 5am. There will be cuts to buses, and school crossing patrols. An estimated 4,000 people are going to be asked to contribute more to the costs of their social care.

Perhaps the most vivid element of our councils’ shared calamity centres on libraries, museums, leisure facilities, parks and what little remains of youth services. As these things are hacked back to prevent the collapse of social care, people will be pushed even further into a dystopia of rusty swings, shut-down swimming pools and the eternal complaint that there is nothing for kids to do – the everyday social reality that has all but defined the last 14 years, and now looks set to get even worse. This is why the neglect of councils’ predicament by both the media and Westminster politicians leaves a huge part of our national condition unreported: if you want to understand why so many voters feel exhausted and jaded, this is a significant reason.

Which brings us to the immediate political future. If – when? – the Labour party wins the forthcoming election, it will not make much progress if it leaves this wreckage to carry on piling up. Its own councillors, moreover, will be among the loudest voices immediately calling for help – but so far, there have been precious few signs that any will be forthcoming. Keir Starmer recently visited Leicester, where he was asked about the Labour-run city council’s fears of bankruptcy and the prospect of deep local cuts, and what he might do in response. His reply reflected that deep-seated belief that voters associate Labour with reckless profligacy, and so any calls to spend money had to be loudly resisted. “We’ll have to live within the constraints of an economy that’s been badly damaged in the last 14 years,” he said. “So I’m not going to make promises I can’t keep.”

The reason he sticks to that line might be understandable, but that does not mean it will survive contact with reality. One Labour council leader I spoke to last week talked about an inevitable shift in his party’s position. “They’re going to be faced with more section 114 notices, and more councils really struggling, so they’re going to have to find some money from somewhere,” he said. “They’ll have to do something.”

That day, I noticed, shadow ministers were hyping up a supposed watershed battle about whether children should be subject to compulsory teeth-cleaning. There, perhaps, is yet another example of the howling gap between the small horizons of our politics and a national crisis that is about to explode.

To put the £60m in context: since 2020, Devon’s total running overspend on the SEND service – effectively debt – has risen to around £127 million, a figure projected to increase to £153 million by March 2024. The amount is more than the county has in reserves. Source.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council featured in this article is not an isolated example, there is one much closer. -Owl

Chaminda Jayanetti www.theguardian.com 

A council has warned that it could in effect become insolvent this year because of the huge financial deficits it has racked up on special education needs, in the latest development in the local government funding crisis.

Most councils in England have overspent their budgets on special education needs and disabilities (Send) since 2015, when the government extended the age range of young people who qualify for Send support without providing councils with the necessary funding. These deficits have fed into councils’ overall education budgets – known as the dedicated schools grant (DSG).

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) council has accumulated a combined deficit of around £60m on its DSG budget in recent years and says it cannot eradicate it without making unacceptable cuts to Send services and mainstream school budgets. Moreover, a recent BCP council report warned that its financial solvency is at imminent risk because of government accountancy rules.

Normally, education deficits impact on councils’ overall financial health. However, because so many councils have been overspending their education budgets, since 2020 the government has put in place a “statutory override” under which these deficits are excluded from assessments of councils’ financial health – in effect placing them “off the books”.

This override, which has already been extended once, is set to run out at the end of March 2026 – just inside the 2025-26 financial year.

“When the statutory override falls away, the accumulated DSG deficit will be greater than the council’s total reserves and the council will technically be insolvent,” the BCP council report says. “If the deadline is not extended, then it is expected that the council’s director of finance would need to issue a section 114 notice in December 2024 as it would not be possible to set a balanced budget for 2025-26.”

Since 2018, eight councils in England have issued section 114 notices, signalling they do not have the resources to balance their budget – effectively declaring themselves bankrupt.

So far none of these have been due to the crisis in Send education, but BCP council’s report shows how the end of the statutory override could trigger more council insolvencies – potentially before the override actually runs out.

The Local Government Association, which represents councils across England, said: “We continue to call for the government to write off all high-needs deficits as a matter of urgency to provide certainty and ensure that councils are not faced with having to cut other services to balance budgets through no fault of their own or their residents.”

Adam Sofianos, who lives in the BCP area, told the Observer that while it was a “comparatively smooth” process to get an education, health and care plan (EHCP) – which details the legally required provision for Send children – for his neurodivergent son in 2021, the system is now disintegrating. “Because there’s no funding for extra staff, the experience now is much worse. The school has only one full-time Send team member to support 600 children. It’s a similar story in most schools across the country: the work has increased, but the workforce hasn’t,” he said. “We’re currently seeking referrals to identify additional needs, but this is a much longer process now.” He also rejected recent claims that Send demand was rising because middle-class parents see EHCPs as a “golden ticket”.

“An EHCP is not a golden ticket or a free pass. It’s a lifeline. It’s a safety net that protects a Send child in their school journey.”

A government spokesperson said: “We are working with councils who are affected by deficits from the dedicated schools grant to ensure they can move to a more sustainable position in the future.

“Councils are ultimately responsible for their own finances, but we remain ready to talk to any concerned about its financial position.

“We recognise councils are facing challenges and that is why we have announced a £64bn funding package to ensure they can continue making a difference, alongside our combined efforts to level up.”

Simon Jupp’s background has always been a bit of a mystery. In this media interview he reveals a bit more.

In particular he declares he is  “a One Nation Conservative who focuses on support that people need and also caring, compassionate conservatism”. He also adds; “I’m also, to a point, a libertarian as well…..” 

He confirms that he has been campaigning in the new Honiton and Sidmouth constituency since last March. (Owl has seen many reports that this has been a lonely experience). Tough luck Exmothians!

He also lists his “record” which looks a lot like “jumping on bandwagons” to Owl who is not impressed, having commented on most of them on the “Watch”.

East Devon MP Simon Jupp urges voters to look at his track record

Will Goddard www.sidmouthherald.co.uk 

The Conservative candidate for the newly created Honiton and Sidmouth seat, Simon Jupp, says he will be “fighting for every single vote” at the next general election, writes Will Goddard. 

The 38-year-old, who is currently MP for East Devon, will face Lib Dem Tiverton and Honiton MP Richard Foord for the new constituency, which will contain parts of both of their existing seats.  

Both have small majorities. Richard Foord won a by-election by 6,144 votes  after the resignation of disgraced Tory Neil Parish in 2022, and Simon Jupp won East Devon by 6,708 votes at the 2019 general election.  

Hot on Mr Jupp’s heels with over 40 per cent of the vote in 2019 was independent Claire Wright, who is endorsing Mr Foord’s campaign. 

East Devon has always been Conservative-held, as had Tiverton and Honiton before the 2022 by-election. 

Mr Jupp, who lives in Sidmouth, said: “I’m currently the only candidate who lives in the constituency.  

“I think that in order to represent an area, you need to live there and on polling day be able to vote for yourself. 

“I’ve been out campaigning since last March and I’m out every single week because I live here, I care about this area, and I really want to continue to serve the people to the best of my ability. 

“Talk is cheap, action is more important. Look at my track record of what I’ve done for the current East Devon constituency. 

“I hope people can make up their own mind that I take action where it’s needed, I stand up for our area because I live here and regardless of anyone’s political persuasion, I will help them.  

“That’s what being a good MP is about. There’s nothing more rewarding in this job than when you can actually make a difference and help people, or you’re successful in a campaign.” 

Mr Jupp, a former broadcast journalist and a political special adviser, describes himself as “proudly a One Nation Conservative”. 

He continued: “I believe in personal responsibility, and I want to give people the opportunity to get ahead in life without having to rely on the state, but given the right tools to succeed.  

“I have a different background to an awful lot of my colleagues in that I never went to university.  

“I left college, I worked in a supermarket, worked in a department store and I come at it from a view that I think Conservative policies help people on their way without interfering too much in their lives.  

“But if you need help it should be there for you, and that’s why I hold weekly surgeries in the constituency to make sure that people know what support is out there. 

“I’ve always been a One Nation Conservative who focuses on support that people need and also caring, compassionate conservatism.  

“I’m also, to a point, a libertarian as well because during covid I disagreed with the government on a number of policies relating to vaccine passports and things like mandatory vaccination, because fundamentally the government shouldn’t control what you put in your body.” 

If elected, Mr Jupp says he with focus on local healthcare, housing for local people, sewage spills and more.  “I’ve got a six-point plan,” he said.

“[Firstly] it’s about protecting and improving local healthcare.  

“We’ve seen for example, Ottery Hospital transformed from being half-empty to almost completely full of services, some of which have moved from the RD&E into the community, and I want to see more of that.  

“That includes safeguarding Seaton Hospital. The wing that’s currently empty there needs to be put to good use. Demolishing it would cost two years’ worth of rent. It doesn’t make any sense. 

“Seaton Hospital needs to be held in the same regard as other community hospitals and protected for future generations who pay for it.  

“We know we’ve got, and have done since covid, an increase in second homes and holiday lets.  

“These bring people to the constituency, which is fantastic for tourism, but there isn’t a balance at the moment with the need for local housing for local people.  

“That’s why I talk about quite a lot the idea of when you reach a certain quota of holiday lets or second homes you should be able to then instruct new developments to be as a percentage, say 25 per cent, for local people only in perpetuity.  

“Otherwise, we don’t have people to work in the towns in which we live, and we end up having ghost towns and I don’t want that. I want sustainable communities for the future.  

“And then there’s the environment. We’ve seen a historic lack of investment from South West Water.  

“That tide is changing with £30 million announced for Sidmouth, Tipton St John and Axminster to improve various different schemes in those towns.  

“We pay the highest sewerage bills in the country… and we’ve not had our fair return. South West Water need to up their game and clean up their act. 

“Securing investment, be it private or government investment, is key to growth. We cannot afford to lag behind or be forgotten in our part of Devon. 

“Getting the funding over the line to replace Tipton St John Primary, making sure that Exeter Airport had the support it needed during the pandemic, getting the levelling up funding for Exmouth… have been really big key asks of mine. 

“Another thing that I hear a lot on the doorstep is about local policing. They want visible policing.  

“We know that crime isn’t particularly high in our areas, let’s keep it that way by making sure that police are visible by increasing the number of police enquiry desks. 

“They should have never been closed in the first place and it’s really, really key that we get more of those open, especially in tourism areas like Sidmouth. We’ve got Honiton’s police enquiry desk reopening very soon. 

“People enjoy this area because it’s kept so beautifully. An awful lot of that is down to our farmers who do an amazing job of being the custodians of our countryside.  

“And they want to produce food, not fill out just endless forms all the time.  

“I hold regular farmers’ forums and stand up for our farmers in Parliament, I have held debates and pushed the DEFRA department in the right direction, focusing on our food resilience, our national food security. 

“Covid showed us that buy local, support local was the way forward. I want that to continue.” 

A general election must be called by the prime minister at some point this year. 

Indigenous west country people are stereotyped as “Thick” in this report about advertising. – Shocking! Owl

[Probably why you don’t hear many Devonians speaking “broad”]

Channel 4 has recently commissioned a report on how Class and Social Grade are portrayed in the advertising industry entitled: Mirror on Class. 

It found:

“Our audit also highlighted that accent and manner of speech are often used as stereotypical signifiers of class in ads. This is a technique commonly acknowledged by media professionals, highlighting how the class issue we have in the ad industry is infiltrating our creatives and reinforcing negative biases – something we’ll go into more later in the chapter.”

“What we do is we borrow from lazy stereotypes. When you’re writing an ad for example, there’s some lazy stereotyping around accents – always put a Scottish voice on a bank ad because [the stereotype says] they’re really tight. If you want somebody to be a little bit thick, West Country accents. If you want to signify dirty-handed working class, stick a Brummie in it.”

A DORSET councillor has been admonished for his behaviour towards a senior, female, officer.

Tory councillor Bill Pipe, who represents Lytchett Matravers and Upton, has been told to send a letter of apology and to undertake diversity and inclusion training.

Trevor Bevins www.bournemouthecho.co.uk

He will also be offered a mentor to provide ongoing guidance and support.

Cllr Pipe admits mimicking the accent of the officer and said he was astonished that she had been offended and intimidated by what he saw as “merely jovial banter.”

He denied telling a homophobic joke, making a comment about a visible panty line and saying he wanted to know where the officer parked so he could ‘nick the parking space. The investigating officer agreed that these allegations could not be substantiated.

A panel of three decided that Cllr Pipe had breached the council’s Code of Conduct and protocols for dealing with officers, bringing the council into disrepute.

Chair Cllr Susan Cocking said the panel had been appalled at the lack of respect shown,  which she said, amounted to harassment and bullying.

“This was offensive and not acceptable under any circumstances – no one should be subject to such treatment,” she said.

Cllr Pipe, who had his council pass withdrawn in the summer when the investigation started, and is only allowed in council buildings when accompanied, said after the hearing that he was genuinely remorseful and had not realised his actions would cause offence, having gone on for what he said was eight or nine years, without complaint.

He said he failed to understand why the officer had not raised it with him, the chief executive or her line manager, at the earliest opportunity if she was offended.

“Had I known my doing this would offend, or belittle her, I would have stopped immediately and apologised… had she come to me and said not to do it I wouldn’t have carried on,” said Cllr Pipe.

“I thought she was taking it in the spirit it was meant – a happy, jovial way. It’s pretty sad it’s got to this state.”

He revealed that he is now being treated for depression, but said after the hearing that it was unlikely the finding would alter his decision to stand for council again at the May elections.

The council has no powers to bar any councillor found to breach code of conduct rules from office, apart from for proven criminal activity.

Dorset Council said: “Cllr Pipe remains a councillor. He is entitled to attend council meetings and has access to do so.

“Standards committees have no ability to suspend or dis-bar councillors.”

The Environment Agency faces new allegations of neglect of the River Wye after a project by a conservation group found effluent and contaminated waters at free-range egg farms flowing directly into watercourses in the catchment.

Jon Ungoed-Thomas www.theguardian.com 

Out of 47 sites visited in England and Wales in the Wye catchment, 19 had drains running from the poultry units to a nearby watercourse. Many of the farms had drains excavated within a few metres of the sheds.

Charles Watson, chair of River Action, the charity that obtained details of the advisory visits to free-range egg farms under freedom of information laws, said: “These documents show a large number of intensive egg production farms have been allowing the excrement of hundreds of thousands of chickens to run off, without any proper mitigation, straight into the river system.

“This is in clear breach of the regulations, and the bodies protecting the environment have largely been in denial while this has been going on. There has been scandalous neglect over the years.”The River Wye has been blighted by poultry pollution, with hundreds of new production units approved in the last two decades to feed the nation’s huge demand for chicken meat and eggs. The condition of the River Wye was downgraded last May after campaigners warned its ecosystem has been devastated by intensive poultry production.

The advisory visits to the farms were conducted by the Wye and Usk Foundation, which works to improve the ecology of the River Wye. The visits were conducted in partnership with free-range egg farmers, including suppliers to Noble Foods, owner of the free-range egg brand the Happy Egg Company.

In an email to Environment Agency officials sent in February last year, the Wye and Usk Foundation said that drainage water from the farms was “a pollution risk and should not be directed to watercourses”. It added that the issue was “very common and one that we have found very difficult to address”.

The charity was seeking guidance on how the run-off should be treated. The Wye and Usk Foundation is working with farmers to better protect the River Wye catchment from effluent and agricultural run-off.

Simon Evans, chief executive of the Wye and Usk Foundation, said: “The Wye and Usk Foundation works with farmers and the wider supply chain to solve the problems afflicting our rivers. Many of the challenges we are trying to resolve are the legacy of historic poor planning decisions, such as when the planners have insisted the units be located too close to watercourses. In some cases, the solutions are not obvious and require careful consideration along with guidance from regulators. Noble has been actively engaged in helping to find and fund solutions on the farms that supply them, and their support is driving the progress that is being made to resolve the issues.”

River Action is taking a judicial review against the Environment Agency over allegations it had failed to protect the River Wye from agricultural pollution. It is claimed the agency has failed to prevent the spreading of excess organic manure or properly apply the rules.

Ricardo Gama, a solicitor at Leigh Day, which is representing River Action in the judicial review due to be heard next month at the high court in Cardiff, said: “River Action’s ultimate goal is that the agency takes a strong hand and actually starts enforcing these rules.”

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “We recognise the River Wye is under pressure, which is why we are already offering a wide range of support to farmers around the river to speed up their transition to more sustainable practices. We work closely with groups like the Wye and Usk Foundation, who provide advice to farmers.

“In the Wye catchment, we carried out 493 farm inspections and issued 285 improvement actions from 1 April to 31 December 2023. These inspections targeted high-priority catchments such as protected habitats, and those where intelligence indicated rule breaches and pollution.”

A spokesperson for Noble Foods said: “Over the last three years [we] have been working hard with our producer base in the Wye and Usk region. We are supplied by family-run farms in the region, which represent less than 5% of the total poultry flock in the area. We are encouraging our producers to embrace nature-based solutions, such as wetland pools, as part of our work with the Wye & Usk Foundation.”

Gary Ford, chief executive of British Egg Industry Council (BEIC), said: “BEIC is committed to complying with legal requirements and ensuring that egg production does not adversely impact the local environmental infrastructure.

“BEIC is funding a number of independent research projects in this subject area. The initial evidence suggests that the impact of free-range farming is likely to have a minimal, if any, direct effect on the increased phosphate levels in the Rivers Wye and Usk.”

Rhian Jardine, head of development planning at Natural Resources Wales, said: “[Welsh Water] has published data which indicates that rural land use is contributing to 72% of phosphorus loading of the upper Wye. We will use all the resources at our disposal to prevent pollution. We also recognise that we can’t reach lasting solutions alone. Everyone has a role to play.”

A plan is afoot for opposition parties to work together.

This will cause “a flutter in the dovecote” – Owl

Devon Live www.devonlive.com

With a General Election looking likely in 2024, political parties in South Devon are planning to work together to unseat Totnes MP Anthony Mangnall. The South Devon Primary group aims to choose one candidate between them at the next general election.

The group includes key members from the Liberal Democrats, Labour and Green Parties. They expect to stage sessions in town halls across the constituency for the public to ask questions of the three progressive candidates and vote for whomever they think is best placed to win the seat.

They will be asking voters to unite behind this single candidate when the general election is called and for the losing opposition parties to refrain from campaigning. They say it is the best way to unite any ‘anti-Conservative’ vote.

But it raises questions. In a leader column in our sister print title the Herald Express, the editor asks what would happen if a minority party candidate, such as a Green, were to be voted the people’s champion.

Read the full column below

A campaign group which seemingly has a dual purpose – one to unify opposition voters, the other to boot the Conservatives out of Totnes – is forging ahead in its quest by organising a series of town hall meetings across South Devon.

The group, South Devon Primary, says after these seven town halls, where members of the public will be able to quiz selected opposition candidates and then vote at each location on who they think fared best, a combined tally of all the votes cast will produce a ‘people’s champion’.

It then asks all opposition voters to unite behind this single candidate when the General Election is called and for the losing opposition parties to refrain from campaigning, although their candidates will remain on the ballot paper.

It says only by uniting the fragmented opposition vote can the Conservatives, who have held the new South Devon (formerly Totnes) seat for nearly a century, be ousted.

It says recent Lib Dem and Labour by-election victories were a result of this approach.

But it does raise questions.

What if a minority party candidate, a Green, is voted the people’s champion?

Would the Lib Dems or Labour be prepared to give up on South Devon, the former particularly could have a realistic chance of winning without any help, to support a fringe party candidate?

And would enough voters be willing to cross political tribal lines to support a candidate representing a party they might not have any faith in on the national stage?

This challenge to the political status quo asks a lot of voters – and political parties, too.

It is also worrying that only the Lib Dems, Labour and Green candidates will be invited to pitch to the public as South Devon Primary says it is ideologically opposed to the Reform Party’s principles.

That’s as may be but surely that’s a matter for voters to decide? After all, democracy is principally about unfettered choice, not stacking the decks.

Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see how well-subscribed the town hall meetings are as we monitor this experiment to engage voters and force political change.

Zoom meeting between South West Water and the residents of Exmouth reported nationally.

Alex Ross www.independent.co.uk

The chief executive of an embattled water company has apologised to customers after it transported millions of litres of raw sewage through a coastal town in tankers before disposing of it at an overflowing pumping station.

Up to 250 journeys were made every day by tanks moving sewage through Exmouth (Escape)

South West Water (SWW) is facing the anger of residents of Exmouth, east Devon, who say the company’s “deplorable” actions led to the overspilling of more raw sewage into the sea just a short distance from the town’s popular sandy beach.

The situation in the seaside resort triggered an investigation by the Environment Agency, which also warned swimmers not to go into the sea until 8 January.

Geoff Crawford, the founder of End Sewage Convoys and Pollution Exmouth (Escape), said the water company had put its financial interests ahead of the environment, and had left the town “on edge” over sewage pollution.

He added: “People weren’t aware of the problem, but then the convoy of tankers moving raw sewage through the town really brought it home, then there was the notification of overspilling into the sea and the closure of the beach.

“There is a general anxiety across the town. It’s clear sewage was sent to an overflowing pumping station and dumped into the sea.”

Susan Davy, chief executive of the company, told a special meeting with councillors and other angry locals on Thursday evening: “It’s my job to ensure we walk in the shoes of our customers, and for the residents in and around Exmouth we haven’t done that, and I’m sorry.

“That’s not to say that my team and I don’t care – we do. But it’s right that I take responsibility and accountability for South West Water’s actions. For disturbing the community and having an impact on the environment I’m truly sorry.”

Mains Burst what happened?

A South West Water map of the local area and tanker routes (South West Water)

One resident claimed there had been an unprecedented number of reports of people and dogs falling ill since the spills.

Dan Wilson, a town and district councillor, said after years of failure by South West Water, if he had been in charge, he would resign.

Asked whether she would stand down, Ms Davy said she was confident the company had the right team in place, after managers outlined plans for £38m of investment in infrastructure over the coming years.

SWW has already faced criticism for pollution during a drive by the government to cut the number of illegal spills. It was fined £2.15 million last year for issues across Devon and Cornwall.

Last week, John Halsall, chief operating officer of the firm, issued a “heartfelt apology” to residents in a video posted on the company’s website, but denied the company had “caused environmental impact” by sending sewage to an overflowing pumping station.

The issue began when flooding on 30 December forced the transportation of waste in tankers from a Phear Park Pumping Station to Maer Road Pumping Station.

The lorries had previously been taking the waste to Maer Lane Sewage Treatment Works due to a burst in a pipe linking the sites.

But the flooding, plus a promise not to send tankers through a village, led to the decision to use Maer Road Pumping Station as the destination for up to 240 sewage-filled vehicle journeys a day.

Only after a “brief period of time”, according to Mr Halsall, said to be four days, did the company redirect the lorries back to the treatment works.

Mr Halsall said: “In the end we had to say, and apologise to local [village] residents and say we’ve got no choice, we just need to tanker through the village and that’s what happened.”

But for the campaigners in Exmouth, that decision came too late after, they say, more sewage was added to the overflow coming from Maer Road Pumping Station into the sea.

Mr Halsall told the meeting he offered a sincere apology for the disruption. “I know exactly what it feels like – I’ve seen the tankers and the mess.

“When the rising main burst, it was pouring with rain and we were up against it. I’m genuinely sorry for the tankering and the first burst.”

He said pollution from the first burst did affect beaches but it was less clear whether the second one caused material pollution, saying the company had chosen “the least worst” option.

Asked whether in hindsight the decision was wrong, he said he was not sure they would do anything differently.

There were no visible indicators the main was vulnerable to bursting or required replacement, he said.

At the start of January, the Environment Agency told the BBC that SWW informed it “that for operational reasons they were having to tanker waste to another pumping station that was already overflowing”.

In a statement to The Independent, a spokesperson said: “South West Water has now resolved the issue and their pumping station is back in operation. We take all pollution incidents extremely seriously and are currently investigating this case.”

Mr Crawford, who swims in the sea of Exmouth to help with anxiety, said data published online by SWW showed waste overflowed from Maer Road Pumping Station for several days during the tanker deliveries. The current reading shows the last overflow was for 10 minutes on 5 January.

He said: “We are trying to capitalise on this to push SWW to make the necessary improvements to its network to ensure this never happens again.”

In the video message, Mr Halsall said the use of tankers was to reduce the environmental impact caused by the burst pipe.

He added: “On no occasion have we created additional environmental impact as a result of the tankering.

“Now, in the spirit of transparency, have the bursts caused environmental impact? Unfortunately, yes they have… as soon as we started tanking the environmental impact stopped.”

An SWW spokesperson told The Independent that an installed temporary pipe meant tankers were no longer needed to move sewage across the town.

They added: “We would like to again thank local residents for their continued patience whilst the works are taking place and we are sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.”

Just under a year ago, in February 2023, Simon Jupp announced he was abandoning 78% of his current constituents as he jumped ship to become the Tory candidate for the new seat of Honiton and Sidmouth.

By June he was “on manoeuvres” on Richard Foord’s turf, trying to gain “face recognition”.  

As Claire Wright wrote on “X” : After months of claiming credit for @RichardFoordLD work, Simon Jupp lodges actual formal complaint against Richard for raising in Parliament, the tragic case of #Ottery victim of the #HorizonScandal . 

This prompted a number of comments including: “The absolute shameless politicising here is by @simonjamesjupp who has done sod all for Ottery or East Devon whilst openly campaigning in his new target seat. How many times did he raise Horizon before the TV programme made it an issue? #ToriesBrokeBritain”

Row after accused Devon subpostmaster’s death raised in Parliament

Lewis Clarke www.devonlive.com 

Two rival MPs clashed over the case of a former Ottery St Mary resident who died before being cleared of false accusations in the Horizon scandal.

The Horizon scandal refers to the faulty IT system used by the Post Office, which wrongly showed shortfalls in the accounts of thousands of subpostmasters, leading to some being prosecuted, sacked, or bankrupted.

Richard Foord, the Liberal Democrat MP for Tiverton & Honiton, who has announced he will be standing as the candidate for the newly formed Honiton & Sidmouth seat in the next general election, raised the issue during a question session to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Kevin Hollinrake.

Mr Foord said: “Russell Ward-Best from Ottery St Mary was accused of stealing £17,000. He avoided prosecution by resigning, and another sub-postmaster I represent paid the alleged shortfall to avoid prosecution. Russell Ward-Best was declared bankrupt and died before he was found innocent and cleared. Will the Minister comment on financial redress for all sub-postmasters and their families, including those who were not prosecuted?”

Mr Hollinrake expressed his sympathy for Mr Ward-Best and his family, and said they should be able to get compensation through the historic shortfall scheme, which is designed to reimburse subpostmasters who suffered losses due to the Horizon system.

He said: “That scheme is there to put Mr Ward-Best, if he were still with us, back to where he would have been had this detriment not occurred, and that can take into account things such as bankruptcy. That money would then be paid to his estate, which would then flow through to his family. The same compensation is available, despite Mr Ward-Best very sadly no longer being with us.”

However, the exchange sparked a furious reaction from Simon Jupp, the Conservative MP for East Devon, who is also vying for the Honiton & Sidmouth seat. He accused Mr Foord of politicising the death of Mr Ward-Best, and said he hoped he had informed the family beforehand to avoid further hurt.

He took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to write: “Earlier in Parliament, Richard Foord shamefully tried to politicise the death of a former Ottery resident in a question regarding the Horizon scandal. I hope he had the courtesy to inform the family beforehand to avoid further hurt. I’m making a formal complaint to the Speaker.

“Richard is not the MP for Ottery St Mary, but is launching his campaign there. I understand you may not know this, given you are quite far away, but nothing excuses this shameless politicising from a sitting MP from your party.”

This is not the first time the two sitting MPs have exchanged fiery words. In December, Mr Foord referred to Mr Jupp as ‘member for Exmouth ’ in a debate, to which Mr Jupp demanded an apology, saying: “He referred to me as the MP for Exmouth, but my constituency also includes Sidmouth and I should be referred to as the MP for East Devon. He has done this politically in local newspapers and leaflets.

“I seek an apology for my constituency being named incorrectly, and a promise from the hon. Gentleman that he will not do so again.”

Mr Foord did not respond to Mr Jupp’s request.

Jeremy Hunt was unable to tell Martin Lewis whether the public should save or spend money to help the economy.

Holly Patrick www.independent.co.uk

The chancellor was grilled by the MoneySavingExpert founder on his eponymous ITV show broadcast on Tuesday (9 January).

Mr Lewis pressed Mr Hunt on whether a “good citizen” should spend money to boost the economy or save to keep inflation down.

“I pride myself on always giving people direct answers to questions, but I’m not going to answer that one… that is very, very individual,” Mr Hunt responded.

Britain’s Taylor Wimpey (LON:) on Thursday said the housing market remained uncertain in the near term, reflecting a cautious stance ahead of the key spring selling season.

uk.investing.com 

Britain’s housing sector is hoping to see some relief as mortgage rates appear to have peaked with markets betting on Bank of England rate cuts later this year, but wider economic challenges have dented hopes of a robust recovery.

Taylor Wimpey joined mid-cap rival Persimmon (LON:) in underscoring challenging trading conditions in 2024 despite signs of the housing market slowdown easing and refrained from providing any forecast on 2024 profits and build targets.

“Looking ahead, it is encouraging to see a reduction in mortgage rates, however, in the short term, the market remains uncertain and the planning backdrop extremely challenging,” CEO Jennie Daly said in a trading statement.

Shares in the company fell 0.5% in morning trade.

The company reiterated its 2023 operating profit expectations for the year ending Dec. 31 2023.

Taylor-Wimpey said its year-end order book, a key measure in gauging short-term sales performance, excluding joint ventures stood at 1.77 billion pounds ($2.3 billion), compared with 1.94 billion pounds a year earlier.

Analysts at Hargreaves Lansdown (LON:) said in a note that the message from Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon was that the market remained tough: “Like so much else these days, an awful lot is hanging on the future path of interest rates”.

Taylor Wimpey, which also has a minor presence in Spain, said it built 10,438 homes in Britain, including joint ventures, in 2023, within its target range.

The group’s finance director Chris Carney told analysts on a call that the company expects the first-half average selling price to be similar to the 320,000 pounds average reported a year ago.

The company expects underlying build cost inflation of about 4% on completions in the first half of 2024.

On ITV’s ‘Peston’ the two clashed over the Government’s response to the Post Office scandal

Ian Hislop is one of life’s good guys. As the long-serving editor of Private Eye, he has been relentless in his commitment to uncovering the truth about the Post Office scandal. This deserves real recognition.

Jordan Tyldesley inews.co.uk 

The Post Office scandal shows that journalists like Hislop are vital in an environment where powerful people think they can ride roughshod over the Alan Bateses of this world – decent people thrust into the spotlight and forced to fight against a powerful establishment that will crush anything or anyone when necessary. Under his editorship, Private Eye pursued the biggest miscarriage of justice in modern British history for more than a decade.

Compare that, if you will, to Tory MP Sir Jake Berry who recently used his social media platform to ask the public an utterly inane question about the strategic timing of supermarkets stocking Easter eggs.

Last night on ITV’s Peston the two clashed over the Government’s response to the scandal. Hislop raised an important question: why did it take an ITV drama to spur politicians into action?

After Hislop made the argument that executives involved in the Post Office during its time of complete and utter failure should have to pay their bonuses back, Berry proudly asserted: “One thing we do control is their massive taxpayer-funded pensions. We do have control of that and we can pass an emergency piece of legislation – a parliamentary pardon – why can’t we do the same thing with their pensions?” Bish, bash, bosh.

Hislop exasperatedly replied: “Well, why couldn’t you do it so long ago? The fact that it takes an ITV drama and suddenly [the sub-postmasters and mistresses], having been told their entire campaigning lives, ‘this is very difficult … you’ll have to go in front of a judge… this is very, very expensive … oh, this morning it isn’t, tomorrow we’ll pass legislation and you’re all exonerated.’ I mean it is absolutely fatuous.”

It is frightening that good, honest, innocent citizens can be dragged to Hell and back by our institutions and yet elected representatives, on the whole, only spring into action when it becomes politically embarrassing. What, then, if ITV hadn’t made this drama? Must we all rely on Toby Jones for justice? The delayed response to this unfathomable wickedness is not just shameful but chilling.

Another crucial question from Hislop was: “Why did you give [Paula Vennells] a CBE in 2019?” It is bewildering how someone can oversee such cruelty on an industrial scale and then be bestowed our nation’s supposedly finest honour. We need more Hislop’s in the media and beyond. People who are willing to upset the status quo. A willingness to challenge authority and ask the questions that really matter.

Let the Post Office scandal be a watershed moment in Britain: we’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take this any more.

[Video clip below, you may need to unmute and rewind]

How many times have Alison Hernandez and Simon Jupp announced their personal involvement in securing a “new” police station for Exmouth?

No explanation was ever given as to why the plans were withdrawn last August (Now you see it, now you don’t). 

Despite the hype it’s now pretty clear that Exmouth will not have a new police station before the election. If the election is in the autumn, it might not even have planning permission.

Now Alison Hernandez is trying to change the narrative by blaming EDDC for following the law protecting bats for the latest delay.

[Owl does not take kindly to flippant remarks about bats, who are one of Owl’s favourite creatures, nor to suggestions that Police and Crime Commissioners might consider the law a nuisance.]

Philippa Davies www.exmouthjournal.co.uk 

The plans for Exmouth’s new £5million police station have suffered a setback because bats – a protected species – may be present at the site.

A planning application for the new building was submitted to East Devon District Council in December 2023 by the office of Devon and Cornwall’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Alison Hernandez.

But after evidence emerged that bats may be roosting in gaps in the cladding on the existing building, the council’s planning officers said a further survey is needed before they can officially register the application.

This survey would have to take place during the bats’ summer roosting season, which is May to  September.

On Monday (January 9) Ms Hernandez posted on X (formerly Twitter) to say:

“Bats stall my office’s planning application for the new #Exmouth Police Station. I have to wait until roosting season May-Sept to carry out a survey before East Devon District Council will even register the planning application. It’s driving me batty! Can’t blame the bats though.”

She later posted again to ‘bat’ off accusations that she was planning to break the rules on bat conservation in order to push the project forward, clarifying that she ‘was making a joke about being batty and didn’t want bat lovers to think I was against bats!’

In a media statement she said: “I am disappointed for the people of Exmouth, and Devon and Cornwall Police’s hard-working officers, staff and volunteers, who have to wait longer to get the police station and Police Enquiry Office which they deserve.

“Devon and Cornwall are full of wonderful nature and that is part of life here. We will, of course, ensure that all appropriate steps are taken to look after any bats and other wildlife found on the site, but Exmouth sees a huge rise in visitor numbers in the summer months and I look forward to a time when we and our force are focussed on our core business of supporting victims rather than surveying bats.”

It is “plain stupid” for the government to require more houses to be built in East Devon when the sewage system has “already failed”.

Will Goddard www.exmouthjournal.co.uk 

That’s the belief of councillor Geoff Jung after recent sewage pipe bursts in Exmouth, which have led to tankers being used to transport waste through the town and the Environment Agency advising against swimming in the sea.

Cllr Jung (Lib Dem, Woodbury and Lympstone) told the district council’s strategic planning committee this week that these incidents “clearly demonstrate systematic ongoing failures both from South West Water and the Environment Agency”.

He said: “In Exmouth since December 11, the water firm has been dealing with various major pipe bursts in the town, which has led to untreated sewage being taken from Phear Park by a convoy of trucks to Maer Road’s sewage pumping station and only in the last few days directly to Maer Lane sewage works.

“Failures have occurred predominantly between the pumping station in Phear Park and Maer Lane sewage works, where a temporary overground bypass has been hastily constructed but only yesterday operational.

“It is clear from what we see locally that despite assurances, the increasing sewage capacity together with the increased surface water from climate change events show that the present sewage infrastructure is failing.”

He continued: “By [the government] forcing us to build more housing we are actually increasing the number of connections, thus increasing capacity to an already failed system. That’s plain stupid.”

Cllr Brian Bailey (Conservative, Exmouth Littleham) went further, calling for an embargo on allowing new homes to be built in certain areas.

He said: “[South West Water] are strangers to the truth and what they say to us. I think that’s the politest way of putting it.

“I would like to propose that we have a building embargo, and we can do it. We’re the authority.

“No more building in and around Exmouth or Woodbury or Lympstone or Topsham because the sewage system is not up to it. Otherwise, we’re going to let more and more houses in and it’s going to get worse.”

A spokesperson for South West Water said: “We would like to thank local residents for their continued patience whilst essential repair works in Exmouth are carried out and we are sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.

“We have successfully finished installing the temporary pipe which will divert flows around the damaged section of sewer, so we can now turn our attention to making a full repair. This progress means we no longer need to use tankers.”

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “We take all pollution incidents extremely seriously and we are currently investigating the burst pipe that was initially reported to the Environment Agency on December 30, 2023. South West Water has now resolved the issue and their pumping station is back in operation.

“In response to the pollution, we issued advice against bathing via our Swimfo webpage and through social media and informed East Devon District Council. During the incident, we worked closely with the water company to minimise the impact on the environment.

“We are continuing to investigate and will consider taking appropriate enforcement action when we have all the information required. The Environment Agency is urging SWW to deliver on its promised investment in Exmouth to reduce sewage spills.”

From a Budleigh correspondent:

Dawn yesterday revealed a trawler (or scalloper) beached on the high tide line on Budleigh beach roughly under the West Down Beacon.

Unconfirmed reports indicate that it had been anchored in the bay and drifted ashore during the night. Sea conditions were calm with a gentle easterly swell. 

There are no reports of casualties amongst the crew of three, indeed it has been suggested that they went into town for breakfast.

During the day a tug arrived and a second one around 6.00pm.

The trawler was successfully pulled off the beach on the evening high tide and towed away.

(The photo also shows the remains of recent cliff falls. Sidmouth is not unique in experiencing these.)

A group of MPs from the South West have voiced their concerns about the lack of access to NHS dentistry in their constituencies, and urged the Government to take action.

[Including Ben Bradshaw and Richard Foord]

Lewis Clarke www.devonlive.com

The debate, which took place on Tuesday, January 9, was led by Wes Streeting, Labour MP for Ilford North, who said that NHS dentistry was in a “crisis” and that many people were resorting to “DIY dentistry” or attending A&E for urgent care.

He said: “This House recognises that NHS dentistry is in crisis. Eight in ten dentists in England not taking on new NHS patients and vast parts of the country considered so-called dental deserts, where no dentists are available; regrets that this has led to people resorting to DIY dentistry or attending A&E to access urgent care; is concerned that tooth decay is the most common reason children aged six to 10 are admitted to hospital; and therefore calls on the Government to provide an extra 700,000 urgent appointments a year, introduce an incentive scheme to recruit new dentists to the areas most in need and a targeted supervised toothbrushing scheme for three to five year-olds to promote good oral health and reform the dental contract to rebuild the service in the long-run.”

He added: “Tooth decay is now the number one reason why children aged six to 10 end up in hospital. We face the moral outrage of one in 10 Brits saying that they have been forced to attempt dentistry themselves because the NHS was not there for them when they needed it. This is Dickensian—DIY dentistry in 21st-century Britain. Is there any greater example of the decline that this country has been subjected to under the Conservatives?”

The debate was attended by MPs from different parties and regions, who shared their experiences and views on the state of NHS dentistry in their areas.

Ben Bradshaw, Labour MP for Exeter, said: “NHS dentists are performing only 75% of the procedures they are contracted to do? In Devon and Somerset, where the situation is the worst in the country, it is only 26.5% and 30%. Not only have this Government delivered an NHS desert in Devon and Somerset, but they are wasting masses of public money.”

Derek Thomas, Conservative MP for St Ives, said: “The Secretary of State’s predecessor said it was a priority to increase the number of dentists in specific parts of the country, and mentioned the south-west in particular. We are seeing some early green shoots appear. None the less, people in the south-west and Cornwall are struggling to get access to a dentist. I still receive weekly emails from constituents who are not getting the treatment that they need, or who are spending their time and money travelling to NHS practices in Manchester or London, or even abroad, to pay for private care. I have witnessed dental practices giving up NHS contracts, or vastly reducing NHS treatment, forcing some people to fully fund their own care and others, who cannot afford that, to go without treatment. I have raised this issue with the Health Secretary in the Chamber quite recently.”

He continued: “When I spoke to people in dental practices, they said they were as frustrated as I am. They have a contract with the NHS to provide thousands of units of dental activity, but the funding allocation is clawed back by the NHS if they cannot deliver those units. They cannot deliver the units, as we have heard already, because the value is too low to attract the staff that they need. Last year, a practice that I was working with paid more than £132,000 in clawbacks to our integrated care board. That is enough funding to treat 1,600 patients.”

Anthony Magnall, Conservative MP for Totnes, spoke about what was happening in Devon. He said: “We have 17,000 more UDAs, which is welcome. We have a dental care stabilisation system. We have 406 extra appointments per week, which can be found through contacting 111. We have one of the finest dental training schools in the form of the Peninsula Dental School, located just outside Plymouth. It is working to help address the need and to support the Government in helping areas across the country. It is looking to help ensure that its trainees remain within the area after their training, to make the NHS as flexible as possible to the needs of those who need to use it.”

He added: “We must have reform. Many of us on the Conservative Back Benches agree that we must have the reforms that have been promised before, because they are the hook that we can hang our hat on, and they will be the solution. If the Minister could look at the short-term solutions I have proposed and give a response, that would be welcome not just in my part of the country, but all across the country.”

Selaine Saxby, Conservative MP for North Devon, spoke of a constituent who was told they had to go to Exeter to get an appointment.

She said: “Exeter, which is the nearest city to my constituency, is over 50 miles away for most North Devon residents. Even private practices in North Devon are unable to take on the volume of patients in some parts of my constituency. I have parents writing weekly to ask what to do when their appointments are cancelled because dentists are handing back their NHS contracts. And because residents in North Devon are unable to get check-ups, by the time they are seen they have extensive dental needs costing hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds. Calling us a dental desert is no help at all. Given the structure of dentistry, dentists are not going to want to deal with the oral backlog each unseen mouth potentially holds.”

She continued: “I welcome the new dentistry Minister to her role, and thank her for her immediate engagement on this issue. I very much hope that her experience will ensure that the Government’s plan to further recover and reform NHS dentistry is expedited because, frankly, the good people of North Devon have waited long enough to see a dentist.”

Richard Foord, MP for Tiverton & Honiton, said: “A 75-year-old and his wife who live in Tiverton told me that they were contacted by their dentist, who said that they were not seeing NHS patients any more. They called a further 20 dental practices and were told by several receptionists that no NHS appointments were available in Devon at all.”

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Victoria Atkins, responded to the debate and said that she was determined to fix the issues and the disparities in NHS dentistry. She said: “We are reforming our NHS and social care system to make it faster, simpler and fairer. Dentistry is a vital part of our NHS and improving dentistry is one of my top priorities. The hon. Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting) represents a deeply urban seat, so I am pleased that he has presented me with an excuse to boast about the fact that I represent, and am very proud to represent, a rural and coastal constituency. That is why fairness is one of my three priorities for our NHS. I know the challenges that rural and coastal communities face when it comes to accessing an NHS dentist appointment, and the disparities in health that we see between rural and coastal communities and city centres. I will come to some statistics in a moment.”

She continued: “I am determined to fix these issues, and the other problems facing NHS dentistry, so that anyone who needs to can always see an NHS dentist, no matter where they live. Indeed, one of my very first acts as Secretary of State was to respond to the Health and Social Care Committee’s recommendations on dentistry. We agreed to the majority of those recommendations, and we stand firmly behind the ambition that NHS dentistry should be accessible and available to all who need it.”

She acknowledged that the pandemic had placed a heavy burden on NHS dentistry and said: “The whole House understands that the pandemic placed a long-lasting and heavy burden on NHS dentistry.”

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Dame Andrea Leadsom, said that the Government was working on both short-term and long-term solutions for the recovery and reform of NHS dentistry. She said: “I want to set out some of the recovery that is already under way—not enough by any means, but good progress, and not the failure that Labour wants to portray it as. It is a good recovery from a disastrous situation during coronavirus >covid. In 2022-23, 6.1 million more courses of treatment have been delivered than in 2021-22, and seven out of 10 patients have had a good overall experience of dental services, according to surveys. More than 18 million adults were seen by an NHS dentist in the 24 months to June 2023, which was an increase of 10% on the previous year. Some 6.4 million children were seen by an NHS dentist in the 12 months up to 30 June, which was an increase of 800,000 compared with the previous year. Nearly 1,400 more NHS dentists were available in 2022-23 than in 2010-11.”

She added: “Of course, in our long-term workforce plan we announced a 40% increase to dentistry training places—that is incredibly important. I pay tribute to all our NHS staff, who continue to work tirelessly to deliver vital dental care to those who need it the most. Dental staff deserve our support, which is why we are working flat out on both short and long-term solutions for the recovery and reform of NHS dentistry.”

She said that money alone would not solve the backlog and the access issues and said: “we are investing £3 billion a year in dentistry, and we need to ensure that every penny is spent properly and delivers the best results. However, the honest truth is that to recover from covid, during which hardly anyone saw a dentist, whether private or NHS, money will not be the silver bullet—a quick funding fix cannot solve all of the backlog and deliver on our ambition that everyone who needs an NHS dentist should be able to access one. As such, we are working on both short-term recovery and long-term system reform, supported by the profession. We will be fixing some of the fundamental flaws in patient access and health inequalities that have been highlighted and exacerbated by the pandemic, many of which have been raised in the Chamber today. We have made good progress on dentistry, particularly through the 2022 reforms, and can be proud of the improvements achieved to date. Again, I sincerely thank all dental staff for their hard work and commitment to recovery.”

She said that she was eager to reveal more about the dentistry recovery plan and said: “Finally, having been on the receiving end of ‘in due course’ for many years myself, colleagues will realise that I am chomping at the bit to reveal more about our dentistry recovery plan. I need to ask them all to be patient just a little while longer, but I will change the line about when to expect it from ‘shortly’ to ‘very shortly’.”

[This vote was pulled because of the emergency debate on the Post Office Horizon scandal. It is likely to be rescheduled in a couple of weeks time]

This week, Parliament is voting on the Conservative Government’s new push to expand oil and gas extraction from the North Sea.

Richard Foord, MP for Tiverton & Honiton www.midweekherald.co.uk

This is a retrograde step, which has been attacked by experts, but also by several of the more sensible Tory MPs. We have already seen former COP26 President Alok Sharma come out against the move, and environmental heavyweight Chris Skidmore has triggered a by-election in protest at the plans.

It is incompatible to talk about tackling climate change, while also moving to issue new oil and gas licences every year. It would do nothing at all to reduce energy prices here in the UK, because 80 per cent of the oil and gas extracted would be sold overseas.

It would do nothing at all to increase the UK’s energy security, because we would not import any less oil and gas from overseas. All it would mean is that super-rich oil and gas giants get to drill for more polluting fossil fuels and sell them around the world. For example, Russian energy giant Gazprom made £39m from extracting gas in the North Sea last year – including in UK waters – and returned some of the profits to fund Russia’s barbaric war in Ukraine.

This is the exact opposite of what we need to be doing. Climate change presents a threat, but also an opportunity – an opportunity to pioneer the economy of the future. Investing in renewables not only produces more homegrown, cleaner, cheaper energy. It also creates a new wave of well-paid jobs that will last for decades and will support British innovation. You need look no further than renewable energy research at the University of Exeter to see that great British ideas exist – if only the Government would get behind them.

Back in 1911, the young Winston Churchill became First Lord of the Admiralty in a Liberal Government. Churchill took the fateful decision to shift the Royal Navy away from coal-powered ships. He embraced new oil-powered vessels, despite coal being plentiful here at home, whilst oil had to be imported. But Churchill didn’t see this as negative; he embraced innovation and new technology, rather than clinging on to the old. The equivalent today is seeking to lead the race to renewables, rather than clinging on in fear to the fuel of the last century.

I will be voting against this reckless Bill. Conservative Party managers need to stop seeking to appeal to the climate change sceptics on their benches and take the serious, long-term decisions that will prepare the UK to embrace the future – just as this great country has done in the past. I hope MPs from all parties will do the right thing for our planet, our children and our grandchildren.

Still featuring in the National News. – Owl

Swimmers say they feel “frustrated” and “anxious” after being warned to avoid their local beach following an incident that saw up to 240 tankers of sewage per day being dumped at an overflowing pumping station nearby.

Lucie Heath, David Parsley inews.co.uk

One swimming group said there had been a notable decline in the number of people attending its weekly sessions, as locals fear that millions of litres of raw sewage may have been pumped into the water at the popular Devon beach resort.

Water companies are permitted to spill sewage into beaches, lakes and rivers during times of exceptional rainfall to prevent their pipe networks from becoming overwhelmed and sewage backing up into peoples homes.

But locals in Exmouth say that they are being forced to contend with this issue more than most, as South West Water regularly transports sewage from other parts of Devon to the town.

The issue has come to a head over the past few weeks after two major pipe bursts resulted in even more sewage being dumped in the seaside town.

On Friday i revealed that up to 240 tankers per day of sewage had been transported to a pumping station in town, with some of the waste overflowing into the sea.

South West Water publishes real-time data showing when sewage is spilling from one of its pumping stations. The data show waste has overflowed from its infrastructure in Exmouth for several days at a time since New Year.

On Saturday, the Environment Agency warned bathers against going into the sea at Exmouth due to sewage pollution. The warning remained in place until Monday.

Sewage has overflowed from hundreds of points in Britain’s network over the past week as Storm Henk brought heavy rainfall, but locals fear the situation in Exmouth has worsened due to the amount of waste being transported to the town.

Nicola Birtchnell, who started a weekly women’s swim group during the pandemic, said many of the group’s members have been avoiding the sea since the New Year.

“We’ve definitely had a reduced turnout of members coming to swim. So when we may have had maybe 40 at this time of year, we’ve only had 10,” she said.

Ms Birtchnell said there have not been reports of anyone getting sick after going into the water, but said many of the women are still “more apprehensive understandably”.

“It’s a big shame, especially, as it’s something that a lot of women look forward to every Sunday,” she said.

“It’s really sad. It should be something really lovely to do. It’s a great beach and people aren’t experiencing the health benefits which they could be doing,” she said.

One member of the swimming group, Mary Culhane, told i she has avoided swimming for the past two weeks because of the sewage spills.

She started swimming during the pandemic for “mental health” reasons, but said the “anxiety” of getting ill while in the water “negates the effect of doing it”.

“I feel really frustrated. I’m thinking I’m paying South West Water to keep my water clean and to treat the effluent properly,” she said.

While some swimmers have avoided the water, campaigners have raised concerns that not enough is being done to make locals aware of the sewage pollution.

South West Water publishes real-time information on its website that shows when beaches are impacted by sewage spills and the Environment Agency also published its warning on its website and on social media.

But locals say signs should be put up at the beach to warn locals of the risk.

“When the Environment Agency were notified, what did they do about telling people?” said local campaigner Andy Tyerman.

“I went down to the beach yesterday and talked to a few dog walkers and people who were on the beach. Very few were aware of it, if any, and most didn’t realise the water was unsafe.”

The Surfers Against Sewage website, which tracks sewage discharge and pollution risks, is also recommending that people don’t swim at Exmouth and Budleigh Salterton beaches in east Devon.

Several local dog owners have reported their pets getting seriously ill since the incident.

South West Water said it was the responsibility of beach managers to put up signage.

A spokesperson for the firm said they are no longer using tankers to transport waste from the burst sewer.

They said: “We would like to again thank local residents for their continued patience whilst the works are taking place and we are sorry for an inconvenience this has caused.”

If Pennon can find the millions to buy one of the most heavily indebted water companies then surely they don’t need to turn to SWW consumers to foot the catch-up costs of bringing our local sewage infrastructure up to date. – Owl  

[The Guardian reports this story under the headline: Owner of firm fined for sewage dumping buys Sutton and East Surrey Water]

Sutton and East Surrey Water, the privatised supplier to some of the wealthiest addresses in England, has been bailed out by Pennon, the owner of South West Water.

Robert Lea www.thetimes.co.uk

One of the most financially distressed water companies in the country, Sutton and East Surrey Water (SES) has been on an “at-risk” regulatory watchlist and has in recent months been forced to tap its Japanese owners for a cash injection.

Pennon, a FTSE 250 company, is raising £180 million from investors to help fund the takeover, valuing SES at £380 million. Sumitomo Corporation and Osaka Gas, SES’s owners, are to receive £89 million for their shares and the rest of Pennon’s money will go to reducing SES’s spiralling debts.

SES is one of the most heavily indebted of all England’s water companies, leveraged at more than 80 per cent of its asset base with net borrowings of £291 million on a regulatory capital value of £351 million. Ofwat, the regulator, says that water companies should not be leveraged at more than 65 per cent of their net assets.

The company is a peculiar hangover from water privatisation, in which it only supplies water to its stockbroker belt customers of 750,000 homes and businesses, from Sutton in the north to Gatwick in the south and from Cobham in the west along the M25 through Dorking and Reigate to Caterham and as far as Edenbridge in Kent. Households in the region have their sewage and wastewater looked after mainly by Thames Water.

Last year the company lost £31 million and announced it was going through a “strategic review” and attempting to find a buyer.

Despite demands from Ofwat that financially strapped water companies stop paying dividends, SES paid out more than £8 million last year. In the regulator’s latest report on the finances of the country’s water companies, SES was bracketed with the neighbouring troubled water giants Thames Water and Southern Water as among the least financially resilient.

Ofwat said of SES: “High inflation and operational issues have continued to put pressure on its reported financial metrics, with the company recognising further funding will be required to support its capital programme … and to strengthen financial resilience.”

S&P, the rating agency, recently gave SES a lowly credit rating of BBB (negative outlook), saying its “credit metrics were substantially below our expectations, largely owing to accretion on the company’s inflation-linked debt and a deterioration of operating margins”.

Sumitomo and Osaka Gas committed themselves last year to injecting £22 million into SES before the end of this financial year in March. It is understood that £14 million of that had already been pumped in and that is included within Pennon’s £89 million consideration.

The deal represents a poor return for the Japanese owners, who paid £164 million for the company in 2013, though they would have already recovered some of that money through past dividends.

SES has been led since 2020 by Iain Cain, the chief executive who is a former managing director of retail water and customer services at Thames Water. Cain was paid £544,000 last year, including bonuses of £235,000. That is marginally more than Susan Davy, the chief executive of Pennon, who forewent a £450,000 bonus.

Though on a much smaller scale, water industry sources confirmed the rescue of SES should be seen in the context of the financial crises at Thames and Southern. The shareholders of Thames have committed to pumping in £3.75 billion by 2030 to turn around its finances while Southern was saved from administration through a £1.65 billion deal with the Australian finance house Macquarie.

Multiple dog owners have reported their pets becoming seriously ill after playing in the sea at a popular Devon beach, days after South West Water confirmed it had sent hundreds of tankers of sewage to an overflowing pumping station nearby.

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On Friday i revealed that the water firm had been transporting up to 240 tankers full of sewage per day to a pumping station in Exmouth for several days around New Year’s Day.

According to locals, much of the waste that was being transported to the pumping station has ended up directly in the sea as they say the site does not have capacity to deal with the additional sewage.

During times of exceptional rainfall, water companies are allowed to discharge untreated sewage into bodies of water through points known as combined sewer overflows (CSOs) to prevent the system from becoming overwhelmed and sewage backing up in peoples’ homes.

Real-time data provided by South West Water showed that the Exmouth pumping station was already overflowing into the sea when the additional sewage was being transported to it.

Now several dog owners who spent time on the beach in the days leading up to January 1 say their pets have fallen ill after playing in the water, with some having to fork out more than £1,000 in vet bills.

South West Water said there are many reasons why people or animals can become sick by swimming in the sea, including agricultural run-off, animal faeces or simply swallowing too much seawater.

While the bathing water quality in Exmouth has been rated as “Excellent” by the Environment Agency, the water is not tested all year round. On Saturday, the agency warned swimmers not to enter the water due to pollution.

Edward Thomas, who walks his dog Rusty on the beach at Exmouth most days, told i his pet started “vomiting bile” on the night of 30 December.

“I’ve had loads of ill dogs throughout my life. This wasn’t an ordinary dog illness,” he said.

Mr Thomas was advised by his vet to take Rusty to the veterinary hospital in Exeter where he received an emergency injection of probiotics. The visit cost Mr Thomas £255.

“It’s without a shadow of a doubt from the beach. We didn’t take him anywhere else between Christmas and New Year. There is nowhere else he could have picked it up from,” he said.

Mr Thomas said his vet told him they had seen “a lot” of these incidents over the past week and that it was most likely the beach where Rusty had picked up his illness.

“It’s an absolute disgrace. Quite frankly it should be illegal for any water company to discharge untreated sewage into the sea,” he said.

Keith Hilton, who moved to Exmouth at the start of last month, also noticed his dog falling ill after spending time on the beach on December 31.

“On New Year’s Eve I took Alaska, who was until now a healthy six year old German Shepherd, for a walk on the beach near the Lifeboat Station,” he told i.

Mr Hilton said Alaska started showing signs of being ill a few days later and by Friday last week had “stopped eating and was having diarrhoea”.

He took Alaska to the vet and she was given an injection, which helped her over the weekend.

But she has fallen ill again this week and is currently being kept in by the vet as they run tests. He has spent £1,850 on vet bills to date.

Mr Hilton said he is “very concerned” about his dog and will never walk her on the beach again.

Several other locals have reported their dogs becoming ill after swimming in the sea over the festive period on a local Facebook group.

South West Water regularly transports sewage from other parts of Devon to a treatment centre in Exmouth.

However, on 30 December, the firm began temporarily dumping waste at a pumping station in the town, which does not treat the sewage, after a sewer burst in Exmouth.

The water company said flooding prevented it from taking the waste from the burst sewer to the treatment centre. But i has seen video evidence filmed at the same time the sewage was being transported that suggests the roads were clear.

South West Water is no longer transporting waste to the pumping station, but locals are still concerned about the amount of sewage being brought to the town’s treatment plant.

When the local sewage network is over capacity, sewage can end up being spillt directly into the sea. Data provided by South West Water shows sewage overflowed from one pumping station in the town for four days between 4 and 8 January this year.

On Saturday the Environment Agency issued a pollution alert warning bathers not to enter the sea at Exmouth due to sewage. The warning remained in place until Monday.

Mr Thomas said South West Water should have done more to make locals aware of the incident.

“There should be some way of them saying: ‘we’ve had to do it and these are the reasons why we’ve done it’. At least the public wouldn’t feel lied to and betrayed. It would then give the public the opportunity to avoid the beach or not let their dog swim in the water,” he said.

South West Water said it was the responsibility of beach managers to put up signage.

In an update on Tuesday, a spokesperson said the firm is no longer using tankers to transport waste from the burst sewer.

He said: “We understand that this is an important and sensitive matter for residents in and around Exmouth. As part of our ongoing programme of work under WaterFit, we are investing £38m in Exmouth up to 2030 to help make the improvements we all want to see.”