County Council update

David Fish drew this BBC news item to my attention.  Regular visitors will recall earlier posts regarding the generous loan from Leicestershire County Council when they got into financial difficulties.  Obviously, this would have been fine if the councillors had passed the hat round and dug into their own expenses to bail out their fellow Tories.  Unfortunately they didn't, and the money they lent was ours - the money that is supposed to be for social care and children and all those little services which our county council is unequivocally awful at.  Still, it's only a loan.  We'll get it back, right?

To coin a phrase, I wouldn't put money on it.  Northamptonshire County Council is bankrupt and long since voted for its own extinction.  I cannot figure out what exactly the body that operates in its place is called.  If I could, naturally, I would post it here to help out all the other bodies, businesses, and rate-payers who are owed many, many millions.  Anyway, the BBC has helpfully summarised the prospects for seeing anything of the Leicestershire Loan repaid.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-55279308

Just thought Leicestershire residents might want an update just in case we are allowed county elections next year.  Especially given the news that we'll all be paying more council tax to swell the Glenfield property portfolio.

By the way, nice offices the non-existent Northamptonshire CC built themselves, aren't they?  Bet they cost a pretty penny...

Planning gains fiasco at Glenfield!

Everybody's favourite council is back in the headlines for all the usual reasons. Fecklessness, incompetence, pointlessness...

Leicestershire County Council, the well-known low-interest unsecured loans business, has handed back £900,000 in planning gains to hard-pressed developers. Why? Because these 'gains' must be spent within a certain period of time. It's a long period because some big developments are complicated and take time to come to fruition. There's only one other condition - that the donations are necessary to offset the impact of the development, which is sensible and prudent, otherwise they would just look like backhanders.


So the need existed - was established and proven through the planning inquiry system - it was just that Leicestershire County Council, so busy doing nothing in so many other areas, just didn't get to doing anything about it. So now the need will go on being unmet, for the foreseeable future. Nice work, guys!

More on the Northamptonshire loan

Readers will recall me waxing lyrical last week on Leicestershire County Council's best-buddy loan of £5 million to poor old Northamptonshire County Council. Just seven days later comes the devastating Best Value Report into NCC and its works commissioned by Communities Minister Sayed Javid.


Those with strong stomachs can click here for all the gory details. For hardened horror fans I recommend the appendix case study about Olympus Care Services in which the Council manages to fall out with its own pretend business.

The report's conclusions are stark: "The problems faced by NCC are now so deep and ingrained that it is not possible to promote a recovery plan that could bring the council back to stability and safety in a reasonable timescale [4.16]." "To change the cultural and organisational ethos and to restore balance ... would take of the order of 5 years and require a substantial one-off cash injection. Effectively, it would be a reward for failure. ... A way forward with a clean sheet, leaving all the history behind, is required. [4.17]"


The report writers propose total abolition in 2020 and replacement with two unitary councils made up of the seven districts and boroughs. In the meantime, the Minister is urged to impose direct rule.


The 'history' is quite something. Scrutiny that is not allowed to scrutinise, audit that is not given full facts. A £21.1 million overspend already this financial year. Total financial incompetence. For example, consider the council's approach to financial management - "sloppy, lacking rigour and without challenge [3.66]."


It gets worse. When he heard about the Best Value inspection, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, Michael King, felt obliged to write to the inspectors - something that's almost unheard-of. What did he have to say? "...that NCC was one of the most difficult authorities the Ombudsman had engaged with both in the terms of time taken to respond in the course of investigations but also in the authority's approach to complaint handling, learning from mistakes and remedying injustice [3.87]."

That's right, they flatly refuse to listen to tribunals, their external auditors and their fellow councils. Any self-respecting elected member would resign forthwith on receiving this level of condemnation. We can take it for granted they won't. Indeed, they haven't. The Minister will have to abolish the council from under them and even then they will simply stand again for the new unitary authorities. For incompetence that goes above and beyond, for wilful and persistent negligence in ignoring the facts, there should be special punishments. Those responsible should be banned from public service for a period reflecting their level of responsibility.


And as for Leicestershire County Council... Everybody in local government must have known there was an investigation under way. Why didn't they wait for the outcome before dipping into our pockets? Northamptonshire is going to disappear in 2020 at the latest. Are their successor bodies going to be held responsible for their debts? No, why should they be? How could they be?


But, fear not, our £5 million has not been spent entirely in vain. There is a lesson here for our county councillors if they choose to read it. You know how LCC is always banging on about how little funding they get from the government? Well NCC tried that one too. The inspector's response?


"The whole point of a funding formula, however inadequate its basis, is to reflect different needs [3.8]."


Exactly.

Cash-strapped County Council enters the dodgy loans business

When Sandra told us last night that she'd heard Leicestershire County Council were loaning Northamptonshire £5 million at nominal interest, I couldn't believe it. But here's the proof - and it's even worse than it sounded.

They're closing children centres and abandoning libraries. They've long since been stripped of schools and flogged off care homes. But obviously they can still 'loan' £5 million to their Tory mates on a neighbouring County Council that is to all intents and purposes bankrupt as well as pointless.


The reason? If Northants actually went bankrupt the government would be the biggest loser. Sorry, that sounds like a win-win to me. It's not as if the people of Northamptonshire would lose out because they already pay through the nose for nothing.


The best bit? The money isn't coming from reserves, money that's sitting in the account doing nothing. It's coming from the revenue account - day to day income and expenditure. It's another £5 million in cuts with the vague possibility of repayment some day. Far better to have an each-way punt on the Grand National.


The best deal for everyone in the shires would be for county councils to be abolished forthwith and their powers given to larger, probably combined, unitary districts. That was our Labour policy at the County elections last year, but somehow Leicestershire still elected these people.

Well done, Amanda!

Tremendous victory for Amanda Hack in Braunstone Town. A ray of hope on a pretty grim night.

Commiserations to our candidates who were not so successful. We really must find a way of getting round the blanket pro-Tory coverage of our main media.

Your LABOUR candidate for Lutterworth Division

DAVID GAIR

I have lived in this Division – in Lutterworth and Claybrooke Magna – for 33 years. My children were educated locally and now both live and work locally. In 8 years as a Town Councillor I have tried to save the allotments and further the Eastern bypass. I opposed the removal of the grant to our Citizens Advice Bureau.

Taking a stand on major changes I am active on the major issues – Magna Park, Lutterworth East and the reorganisation of local health services. We all use Magna Park one way or another, but the massive developments proposed are too much. Even partial development requires infrastructure way beyond anything that exists or is proposed. Lutterworth Labour wants a strategic overview of the whole region so that development goes to appropriate areas with the proper levels of infrastructure,.

Lutterworth East We opposed the building of more housing between the town and Magna Park and supported the development of Lutterworth East. Only Lutterworth East will generate the correct level of social provision, such as primary schools, and secure the Eastern Bypass.

A stronger voice The County Council, which is supposed to take the strategic overview, does nothing under the Conservatives. We desperately need a stronger voice at County Hall if we are to secure the funding share we deserve to improve the quality of life in Lutterworth, Bitteswell, the Claybrookes and Ullesthorpe.

Your LABOUR Manifesto for Leicestershire

LABour – offering real change for a better Leicestershire

Savage Tory cuts have left councils struggling to maintain essential services. Labour’s REAL CHANGE plan is made up of four key promises designed to deliver smart, modern, local services, creating a better Leicestershire for everyone and giving you more say and control in your community.

PROMISE ONE

A SINGLE COUNCIL FOR EACH AREA

Replacing district and county councils. Removing 200+ councillors and giving local communities greater say in setting local service priorities.

Creating long-term Community Action Plans to secure desperately needed investment.

Improving health and social care provision across the County by joining up local NHS, Public Health and Social Services.

PROMISE TWO

A STRONG COMMUNITY SUPPORT NETWORK

Establishing directly funded Community Support Hubs.

Introducing a bank share of skills and local websites to highlight gaps and opportunities in local provision.

Ensuring our schools play their part in providing community facilities for our young people.

Supporting our community libraries

Promise three

Healthier, safer communities

An Ethical Care Charter to guarantee safe, dignified care for everyone who needs it.

A Mental Health Champion in every community to ensure the quality of local support.

School Parking Community Champions and Road Safety Budgets for every councillor to resolve local traffic problems.

Promise four

Investing in making your life better --- today

An Affordable Homes Partnership building the homes we need at a price we can afford.

A single Leicestershire Growth Plan.

1000 new apprenticeships. A Small Business support scheme. A Careers Hub in every community.

Sure Start Centres for all children and new parents.

One thing we know as an absolute fact. Nothing is going to change so long as the current two-tier system remains in place. Nothing has changed since the Millennium – except that services have withered away, frontline staff have been sacked,  the general quality of life across the county has got gradually worse. And yet Council Tax has continued to rise. To pay for what, exactly?

The time has come for a little less conversation and a lot more action – vote labour THURSDAY MAY 4!

Peter Knight

Peter Knight, who died peacefully this week at the grand age of 88, was the face of the Labour Party in Lutterworth and South Leicestershire for fifty years. He served on the Town Council for nearly 40 years, the District Council, and was twice County Councillor. I was his agent for the County Election in 1989 when we lost by 6 or 8 votes. I still have nightmares about the count. Four years later we triumphed - an amazing, astounding victory. I have different dreams about that night.


Peter was chair of Lutterworth Branch on and off over the years. I tended to alternate with him for a decade or so. I could do the business well enough, and I had electoral successes of my own, but Pete was the one person everybody around here knew as LABOUR. And it wasn't just in Lutterworth. Pete was born in Leire and always maintained strong links with the rural community. He was big in Gilmorton. No offence to North Kilworth but PETE WAS BIG IN NORTH KILWORTH! You turned up with Pete in some of the villages and you didn't have to knock on doors. People came out to talk to you.


We fell out, quite badly, in the late nineties, but we made up eventually and I am proud that we did. It would be wrong to say that Pete taught me all I know about politics. In politics, as in most other things, I tend to be an autodidact. But Pete taught me everything I didn't know, and that was exactly what I needed.


The other thing we had in common was the magistracy. I don't know how long Pete served on the Bench but it must have been thirty years. I am now in my third decade as a magistrate. I probably wouldn't have put myself forward had it not been for long chats in hazy pubs with Pete Knight. Sitting in court is probably the only public service thing I do nowadays and I wouldn't miss it for the world. So that's something else I have to thank Pete for. Well... that and the housing research trip to Denmark, but let's not go into that...


I wish I had a photo to go with this post. I will find one.


Pete will be hugely missed, by his family of course, but by all those who knew and worked with him. And that's a hell of a lot of people.


Roger Wood

Broken bus market

Michael Dugher, Labour's Shadow Transport Secretary, commenting on the Campaign for Better Transport's report on local bus services, said today:

This is more evidence that like with the energy sector, the bus market is broken.  On David Cameron's watch bus fares have risen by 25% - an increase five times faster than wage growth - and big bus companies have been cutting crucial routes that people rely on to maximise their own profits.

The Competition Commission estimated the failure in competition within the bus market costs the taxpayer £305 million each year, but David Cameron has refused to stand up to the bus barons.

Labour is determined to see passenger power by regulating bus services in a better way.  We will act fast and legislate to give cities and county regions greater control over local bus services.  This will result in communities being able to determine routes, set fares and integrate and improve bus services.

Personally, I was with Michael all the way until that bit about counties.  Leicestershire County Council won't even fund rural libraries, so a fat lot they care about rural bus routes.  

I'm afraid many councils have completely failed to use the few powers they still have to face up to service provider cartels.  Another mechanism for breaking up the monopolies urgently needs to be found.  But at least we know Labour will look for one.

 

 

The Results are in...

The results are in for yesterday's Leicestershire County Council election.  We did OK, but the plaudits have to go to the six Labour gains in the north of the county: Thurmaston, Loughborough South, Whitwick, Coalville, Ibstock and Measham.  Lots of people thought we could win a one or two of these, but nobody dreamt we could win all six.

In the Harborough part of South Leicestershire, otherwise known as us, the results were as follows:

Lutterworth
David Gair (L)      758
Rosita Page (C)   1525
Martin Sears (I)     518
    Spoilt ballots       11

Broughton
Bill Liquorish (C)          1544
Antony Moseley (LD)     183
Sandra Parkinson (L)      521
     SP                                12

Bruntingthorpe
Elaine Carter (L)             572
Graham Hart (C)           1555
Tim Johnson (UKIP)       723
Kevin Loydall (LD)        229
     SP                                  7

Jo Fox her seat in Braunstone, which is great, but you have to feel for Amanda Hack who missed out on a stellar win in Enderby Meridian by 39 votes.  Having been Pete Knight's agent in 1989 when we failed to take Lutterworth by 6 miserable votes, I have particular empathy.  The good news, Amanda, is that we took Lutterworth for Pete by several hundred four years later.

Back in '94, though, there were issues to be fought.  The County Council did things and spent money.  This year, the scandalously low turnout - for us, 31.7%, 26.5% and 32% respectively - says it all.  What is there to fight about with a council that does nothing, plans to do less, and spends very little except on itself?  Surely the turnout of 22% in a battleground seat like Enderby Meridian makes the argument for unitary councils?

Congratulations to the winners, well done to every single candidate.  Certainly in Lutterworth, Broughton and Bruntingthorpe it wasn't for want of effort.  The Lutterworth4Labour team worked as hard as ever.

The full gory details can be found on the County website.

County Council candidates

It was a special open GC meeting at Broughton on Tuesday night, devoted to the upcoming County elections.  Main speaker was Nick Brown, former County Councillor and current constituency campaigns organiser, who reminded us of the hard fact that we must be targeted and disciplined to win anything in South Leicestershire.  But it can be done and here, on the right in the picture (the only time the phrase 'on the right' can ever be applied to her) is Braunstone County Councillor Jo Fox.  Labour is standing in every seat in the constituency and these are our nine candidates.

It was a great meeting and what promises to be a successful campaign got off to a great start last Sunday with twenty-odd out on the streets of Enderby Meridian.

AGM

Last night was our Annual General Meeting and the start of our campaign to win back at least one seat in our area in the forthcoming County Council election.  Yes, another chance to watch the LibDems suffer!

The Chair's annual report has been posted as a separate page - see the Pages panel on the right.  And here, to celebrate, is a picture of our Chair and our Treasurer.

Another new photo has sprouted elsewhere on this page.  All the others Elaine sent me have been uploaded to our soon-to-be-launched photo site.

Electioneering

David Fish drew my attention to this fascinating article in The Economist about preparations for the next General Election.  Click on this sentence to visit the website. 

Too much for the forthcoming County elections?  I don't think so.  Just as nothing is more important than saving this country from the Tories and their seedy mates the Lib Dems, there is no point in continuing to have a county council in Leicestershire if this bunch of Tory do-nothings keep control.

You can tell it's election year.  Monday morning, in the freezing fog and frozen snow, the length of Walton Road was closed while a man with a County van filled in potholes one by one.

Creating new jobs

Follow this link to learn what the Labour City Council are doing about the scourge of youth unemployment.

What are Tory Harborough and the Tory County Council doing?  Pretending the problem doesn't exist and cutting services wherever possible.  Scandalous.

County Council Cuts

Great news for Labour in next year's election, bad news for anyone in need.  Our slash-and-burn Tory County Council (motto, Cutting because we can) is underspent by £13 million.  Underspent - in a county which has always been underfunded!  Other than staff and members' expenses, what do they spend anything on?  Still another thousand or so jobs to go but fortunately members' expenses are keeping pace with inflation.  Absolute scandal.  If we can't kick a few of the cutters into touch next May we're not doing it right.

I found the full story here.

July meeting and forthcoming events

 At the monthly Branch meeting in July, we heard about the excellent talk on Housing at the GC last month, and about new David Wilson homes to be built in Lutterworth.

We held a minutes silence for our comrade Enid Hardy, who died recently, and who was a great member of our Branch for many years. We also heard news form our previous Branch member, Sheila, who now lives in Wales, but has visited China recently, and sent us news of her visit.

Count Council elections
We discussed the forthcoming May 2013 County elections. Anyone wishing to stand, please contact David Fish, secretary, by 25th July, and selection will take place as part of Branch meeting, Tuesday, 4th September.

SUMMER EVENT:
"Tea in the garden" at Willy and Carolines, Yew Tree house, Walcote, Satruday, 28th July, 3-5pm. There will be tea and cakes; music; cake, book and plant stalls. Please come and support our fundraising and social Summer event.

Confusing service with profit

Late last week the County Council went public with news that it can't turn a profit from its parking enforcement service.  Worse, it forecasts a loss for the current year of £280,000. 

That's a very expensive unloved service of which we see precious little sign out here in the sticks. 

How did this catastrophe come about?  Well, it started with consultants who, to be fair, predicted the service would make a loss during the bedding-in period but assured elected members it would be turning a useful surplus by now.  The recession has obviously been a factor.  But how can parking enforcement in a county with as few car parks as we have, none of which charge a huge amount, possibly cost anything remotely like a quarter-of-a-million?

And why is the County looking to make a profit from the misbehaviour of a small number of residents and visitors?  Break-even should be the target, a small surplus an unlooked-for bonus.

It's all very well bringing the disciplines of private sector business to bear on the activities of public sector organisations.  But the 'business' of councils is service, not profit.  Confuse the two and you're not going to satisfy either your auditors or your electors.

Supporting independent shops

Last Friday Leicester's elected city mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, announced a new initiative to support independent shops, particularly those on major routes outside the city centre. Partnership funding is available for:

• making shop fronts more attactive
• better street signage
• making the general environment more welcoming to shoppers.

For more details, click on the post title.

What are the chances of our Tory councils in Harborough and Glenfield doing anything similar (or, indeed, anything at all) to help our struggling independents in Lutterworth and Broughton?

Residential care - lessons to be learnt

Southern Cross Healthcare, the largest private sector provider of care homes in the UK, is being put out of business by the people it sold its 700+ properties to in an equity release deal.

There are no Southern Cross homes in our immediate area - the nearest are in Rugby, Wigston and Hinckley - but of course people who live here have relatives who live in Southern Cross properties. Whilst the operating company is finished, it doesn't necessarily follow that all the homes will close and that all residents will have to go elsewhere. Some homes will be transferred to other operators and some may be sold, although it is hard to see how they can be marketed as going concerns.

Leicestershire County Council pays for the care of about 140 people currently resident in Southern Cross homes and should be able to minimise any adverse impact for such a comparatively small number. What they won't find so easy to deal with are people who are considering going into care and who will now panic, and the residents of any home that does close, who will all have to be rehomed in one go.

On the day on which David Cameron, with the toe-curling timing for which he has recently become notorious, vowed to end the state's monopoly on services (http://www.guardian.co.uk), it was instructive to note the Southern Cross chairman's comment on his company's failure.

Did he apologise to residents who may lose their homes or staff, many of whom will certainly lose their jobs? Not a bit of it. Chairman Fisher's sole regret was for "the loss of value which shareholders have experienced." (http://www.bbc.co.uk)

That, in my view, pretty much demonstrates why the state needs a monopoly in personal care services.