Conservative NHS promise
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A different Tory view on the NHS – as safe as a hamster with a (hungry) python!
No money for the NHS?
Food banks: an interesting statistic
To which one can add this:
“Britain’s has more billionaires than ever, as the super-rich reap the benefits of a “Brexit boom”, according to this year’s Sunday Times Rich List.
There are now 134 billionaires based in the UK, 14 more than the previous highest total. Fifteen years ago, there were 21. …”
Young people – scare the hell out of people who run this country!
The NHS
“Red Lines” at community hospitals get coverage in View from papers
Honiton’s red line
Time to sort out your placards for Saturday’s hospital red lines!
Swire and Parish: do you have yours ready?
Cranbrook: no road signs, no yellow lines
“Government spending billions on free schools while existing schools crumble”
“Ministers are choosing to give billions of pounds to build new free schools while existing schools are crumbling into disrepair, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has found.
The National Audit Office has calculated that £6.7bn is needed to bring existing school buildings in England and Wales to a satisfactory standard.
The then education minister Michael Gove pledged two years ago to create 500 free schools by 2020. Auditors have concluded that the Department for Education is facing a £2.5bn bill to purchase land to build them.
In a report released on Wednesday, auditors have questioned whether the plans for so many new free schools will be value for money.
Responding to the report, Meg Hillier, the Labour chair of the public accounts committee, called for the money assigned to new free schools to be diverted to existing buildings. “This is taxpayers’ money that could be used to fund much-needed improvements in thousands of existing school buildings,” she said.
Auditors found that the education department has already spent £863m on land acquisitions for free schools over the last five years – in some cases paying premium prices because of a shortage of suitable sites.
While free schools were helping to meet the demand for additional school places in some areas, the NAO said that because local authorities did not control their numbers they were not necessarily “fully aligned” with their needs.
Some free schools were opening in areas where there were already plenty of places, creating “spare capacity” that could taffect the future financial sustainability of other schools in the area, it said. The education department has estimated that of the 113,500 new places being opened in mainstream free schools between 2015 and 2021, 57,000 would create spare capacity in other nearby schools, potentially affecting their future funding.
Official data indicated creation of spare places in 52 free schools which opened in 2015 alone would have a “moderate or high impact” on the funding of 282 other schools.
At the same time, the NAO warned the condition of existing schools was worsening, with around 40% of the schools estate built between 1945 and 1976 coming up for replacement or major refurbishment.
As a result, the cost of restoring all schools to a satisfactory condition was expected to double over the course of the five years to 2020-21. …”
But which 5?
*unt – the best NHS Minister ever?
Swire on a walkabout in his constituency
Owl’s 2016 Christmas card.
Local NHS – where our money goes – “leadership review” costs £41,000 per MONTH
THE NHS body responsible for closing community hospital beds in East Devon is spending £41,400 a month on “developing leadership capabilities,” it has been alleged this week.
A letter has been sent to the NHS Northern Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group by the East Devon Group of the Campaign to Protect Rural England.
The letter, dated December 1st, to Mrs Angela Pedder, the Lead Chief Executive of the CCG’s Success Regime, asked her to confirm that the CCG had instructed Carnall Farrar Ltd to undertake the work.
The letter, signed by the chairman and vice-chairman of the East Devon Group CPRE, Dr Margaret Hall, and Mr T.J.W. Hale, also questioned the impartiality of Dame Ruth Carnall, who is chairman of the Success Regime but also a director and shareholder of Carnall Farrar Ltd.
“This would appear to be a clear conflict of interest, affecting all parties, which alone could be sufficient to justify a judicial review of the outcome of this consultation,” said the letter.
The letter goes on to say that to overcome this difficulty it would be appropriate for Dame Ruth to resign as chairman and for Carnall Farrar Ltd’s contract to be terminated.
The Success Regime was set up as one of three areas in the UK where there were deep rooted financial problems in delivering health services.
It was introduced in Devon following a forecast of a £40 million deficit for 2014-15 increasing to £87 million in 2015-16 (see below).
The letter from the East Devon Group CPRE was also sent to East Devon MPs Neil Parish and Sir Hugo Swire.
Mr Parish commented: “It is vital the CCG gets the best value possible when spending taxpayers’ money.
“At a time when the CCG are consulting on closing community hospital beds across East Devon, they should be spending as little as possible on consultancy fees and ploughing as much money as possible into frontline care.”
Sir Hugo declined to comment until he had the opportunity to study the letter.
We have sought a response from the CCG but they failed to meet our deadline. We asked them to confirm the following:
- That the monthly consultancy fee is £41,400?
- How long has that monthly fee been paid?
- How long will the monthly fee be paid?
- Is there a conflict of interest with Dame Ruth Carnall chairing the Devon Success Regime when he is a shareholder and director of Carnall Farrar Ltd, the company which was awarded the contract?
We will be pleased to print the CCG’s responses to these questions in our next issue and on our website as soon as they are received.
NHS Crisis – the big national demo – 4 March 2017
Australian cattle truck tells it as it is
Exmouth’s Franksy in top form with Tyrannosaurus Exe!
Exmouth seafront demonstration – Saturday 12 November 2016
Sign of the times?
East Devon Watch 