"The trailblazers in human, academic, scientific, and religious freedom have always been nonconformists."

Something a little different for today...

Although this blog does like to reblog from US libertarian-minded think-tanks...

And here's another:
The Rutherford Institute :: About Us |

This is also not without controversy, as SourceWatch notes: 

The Rutherford Institute seems to be more interested in the Ten Commandments than the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, a.k.a. The Bill of Rights...

The motto "dedicated to defending civil liberties and human rights" does not appear to be an accurate reflection of the organization's agenda.

Rutherford Institute - SourceWatch

Nevertheless, here are a few extracts from the latest piece by the founder of the Institute - focussing on the non-conformist - and within a Christian context, perhaps appropriate for today: 

When Dissidents Become Enemies of the State: From Jesus Christ to Julian Assange

The trailblazers in human, academic, scientific, and religious freedom have always been nonconformists.

John W. Whitehead

Saturday, April 20, 2019

Image credits: Assange photo by New Media Days / Peter Erichsen [CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], others public domain

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” – George Orwell

When exposing a crime is treated as committing a crime, you are being ruled by criminals.

Enemy of The State

In the current governmental climate, where laws that run counter to the dictates of the Constitution are made in secret, passed without debate, and upheld by secret courts that operate behind closed doors, obeying one’s conscience and speaking truth to the power of the police state can render you an “enemy of the state.”

That list of so-called “enemies of the state” is growing.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is merely the latest victim of the police state’s assault on dissidents and whistleblowers.

On April 11, 2019, police arrested Assange for daring to access and disclose military documents that portray the U.S. government and its endless wars abroad as reckless, irresponsible, immoral and responsible for thousands of civilian deaths.

Included among the leaked materials was gunsight video footage from two U.S. AH-64 Apache helicopters engaged in a series of air-to-ground attackswhile American aircrew laughed at some of the casualties. Among the casualties were two Reuters correspondents who were gunned down after their cameras were mistaken for weapons and a driver who stopped to help one of the journalists. The driver’s two children, who happened to be in the van at the time it was fired upon by U.S. forces, suffered serious injuries.

There is nothing defensible about crimes such as these perpetrated by the government. 

...

Throughout history, individuals or groups of individuals have risen up to challenge the injustices of their age. Nazi Germany had its Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The gulags of the Soviet Union were challenged by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. America had its color-coded system of racial segregation and warmongering called out for what it was, blatant discrimination and profiteering, by Martin Luther King Jr.

Jesus Paid the Ultimate Price

And then there was Jesus Christ, an itinerant preacher and revolutionary activist, who not only died challenging the police state of his day—namely, the Roman Empire—but provided a blueprint for civil disobedience that would be followed by those, religious and otherwise, who came after him.

Indeed, it is fitting that we remember that Jesus Christ—the religious figure worshipped by Christians for his death on the cross and subsequent resurrection—paid the ultimate price for speaking out against the police state of his day.

...

Martin Luther King Jr.

As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, we must decide whether we will follow the path of least resistance—willing to turn a blind eye to what Martin Luther King Jr. referred to as the “evils of segregation and the crippling effects of discrimination, to the moral degeneracy of religious bigotry and the corroding effects of narrow sectarianism, to economic conditions that deprive men of work and food, and to the insanities of militarism and the self-defeating effects of physical violence”—or whether we will be transformed nonconformists “dedicated to justice, peace, and brotherhood.”

As King explained in a powerful sermon delivered in 1954, “This command not to conform comes … [from] Jesus Christ, the world’s most dedicated nonconformist, whose ethical nonconformity still challenges the conscience of mankind.”

We need to recapture the gospel glow of the early Christians, who were nonconformists in the truest sense of the word and refused to shape their witness according to the mundane patterns of the world. Willingly, they sacrificed fame, fortune, and life itself on behalf of a cause they knew to be right. Quantitatively small, they were qualitatively giants. Their powerful gospel put an end to such barbaric evils as infanticide and bloody gladiatorial contests.

...

In these days of worldwide confusion, there is a dire need for men and women who will courageously do battle for truth. We must make a choice. Will we continue to march to the drumbeat of conformity and respectability, or will we, listening to the beat of a more distant drum, move to its echoing sounds? Will we march only to the music of time, or will we, risking criticism and abuse, march to the soul-saving music of eternity?

The Rutherford Institute :: From Jesus Christ to Julian Assange: When Dissidents Become Enemies of the State | By John W. Whitehead |
When Dissidents Become Enemies of the State: From Jesus Christ to Julian Assange - Foundation for Economic Education
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Property acquired in Sidmouth by offshore companies

There's a lot of money sloshing around in tax havens:
Futures Forum: How the corrupt London property market has happened >>> Kleptocracy, a hobbled planning system and an obsession with house prices
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: of Paradise Papers and specialising in vulture funds
Futures Forum: "If Brexit was the creation, in part, of this new world of offshore money and political influence campaigns, Brexit may well ensure that it continues unrestricted."

Earlier in the month, Private Eye published the results of its research into the offshore haven:

Selling England (and Wales) by the pound

IN September 2015 Private Eye created an easily searchable online map (see below) of properties in England and Wales owned by offshore companies. It reveals for the first time the extent of the British property interests of companies based in tax havens from Panama to Luxembourg, and from Liechtenstein to the South Pacific island of Niue. Most are held in this way for tax avoidance and often to conceal dubious wealth.

Using Land Registry data released under Freedom of Information laws, and then linking around 100,000 land title register entries to specific addresses, the Eye has mapped all leasehold and freehold interests acquired by offshore companies between 2005 and 2014.

Using this data the Eye published a series of exposes of the companies, arms dealers, oligarchs, money launderers and others who use offshore companies. Now Private Eye, using the same data, is also publishing a database of all properties acquired by offshore companies from 1999 to 2014, showing the address, the offshore corporate owners (some have more than one) and, where available, the price paid.

To download the 1999-2014 database, click here » (Excel file, 8.2MB)

Download the FREE Tax Haven Special Report here » (PDF)

Want to know which tax haven companies own property in your town? | East Devon Watch

A close-up of Private Eye's map here in Sidmouth shows a seafront hotel, acquired about five years ago and now with a new name - where work is currently underway to build new housing right on the main road - the application having been contested by the Town Council at the time:

Private Eye Magazine | Official Site - the UK's number one best-selling news and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop

At the same time, the Global Witness group has been campaigning for greater transparency: 

CLEANING UP BRITAIN'S PROPERTY SECTOR

18th March 2019

We found that 87,000 properties in England and Wales were owned by anonymous companies registered in tax havens – an almost identical number to when we last measured in 2017. The total value of these properties, which are mostly clustered in the priciest parts of central London, is at least £56 billion according to Land Registry data – but it could be as much as double that once inflation and missing price data are taken into account.

Brexit chaos should not distract from cleaning up Britain's property sector | Global Witness

And the Herald is showing interest: 

There are 100 properties in East Devon owned by tax haven companies

PUBLISHED: 12:00 30 March 2019

Harriet Clugston

There are 100 properties in East Devon owned by companies registered in offshore tax havens, which campaigners warn could be being exploited by criminals.

Analysis of the Land Registry for England and Wales has revealed more than 87,000 properties worth an estimated £100billion are owned by anonymous overseas companies.

Campaign group Global Witness, which carried out the research, says the figures demonstrate the ‘alarming scale of the UK’s secret property scandal’, which criminals could be using to launder money.

In East Devon, there are 103 properties owned by companies registered outside of the UK. Of these, 100 are owned by companies based in so-called secrecy jurisdictions, or tax havens – countries whose laws allow them to keep their financial activities private or to pay a low amount of tax.

Companies registered in Guernsey own the largest share in East Devon, with 34 properties. This is followed by Jersey, on 33 properties, and the Isle of Man, with 28.

Information about the sale price has been provided for 28 per cent of the tax haven-owned properties, which had a combined cost of £14million.

Global Witness used the average price of property in East Devon to estimate the value of the remaining properties, which suggests the true value could be £49million after inflation is taken into account. This could be a conservative estimate, as property prices in England and Wales generally rise above the rate of inflation, it added.

The group said the government had pledged to introduce a new register of UK property owners, but that progress had been slow.

Ava Lee, senior anti-corruption campaigner at Global Witness, said: “It’s increasingly clear that UK property is one of the favourite tools of the criminal and corrupt for stashing and laundering stolen cash.

“There’s some good news. Parliament is reviewing a draft law that could force these secret owners out of the shadows. We’re calling on the Government to table this legislation as quickly as possible, so we can find out who really owns so much of the UK.”

The new legislation would mean companies buying property in the UK would have to reveal the identity of their owners.

Across the South West, there are 5,360 properties owned by overseas companies, 89 per cent of which are registered in secret jurisdictions – 4,795 in total. The properties owned by companies registered in tax havens are worth an estimated £3billion.

HMRC said there is ‘absolutely no place for illicit finance in the UK’.

A spokesman said: “We take our response to money laundering very seriously through our supervision of high risk sectors. Increasingly we are seeking to use our supervisory, enforcement and tax powers in concert, enabling us to increase our focus on the enablers of tax crime and money laundering.”

He added that estate agents were legally obliged to register with HMRC for anti-money laundering supervision, and faced action if they failed to do so.

There are 100 properties in East Devon owned by tax haven companies | Latest Sidmouth and Ottery News - Sidmouth Herald
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District Council and plastic pollution >>> Sending plastic to the correct reprocessor: a follow-up FOI request >>> "Information not held"

Back in the summer, a Freedom of Information request was made to the District Council, specifically about their plastic waste:
Futures Forum: District Council and plastic pollution >>> What percentage is recycled, what percentage is incinerated and what percentage goes to landfill? Some answers received...

As it was not clear exactly what went where:

Futures Forum: Plastic waste > East Devon's "high quality recycling now being transported to processing plants across the UK and Europe" > but where exactly does my recycling go?

A further request was sent to the County Council - but with similarly depressing results, namely that very little information was held:

Futures Forum: County Council and plastic pollution >>> "the Council will use its position and responsibility to raise awareness of the issues surrounding single-use plastics" >>> BUT the Council "does not hold information" on how its reprocessors deal with its plastic waste 

Since then, two follow-up requests have been made:
Futures Forum: District Council and plastic pollution >>> Sending plastic to the correct reprocessor: a follow-up FOI request

Answers were forthcoming from both councils this week - but again with only very little information provided, the answers to most questions as follows: 

East Devon District Council 21 January 2019

"Information not held"

Sending plastic to the correct reprocessor - to EDDC - December 2018 - a Freedom of Information request to East Devon District Council - WhatDoTheyKnow 

Devon County Council 18 January 2019

"Devon County Council does not hold this information."

Plastic waste handling | Access to Information
Sending plastic to the correct reprocessor - to DCC - December 2018 - a Freedom of Information request to Devon County Council - WhatDoTheyKnow
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District Council and plastic pollution >>> Sending plastic to the correct reprocessor: a follow-up FOI request

The District Council is quite pleased with its performance when it comes to dealing with waste:
Futures Forum: Simplifying councils' household recycling collections in the government's resources and waste strategy

Back in the summer, a Freedom of Information request was made to the District Council, specifically about their plastic waste:
Futures Forum: District Council and plastic pollution >>> What percentage is recycled, what percentage is incinerated and what percentage goes to landfill? Some answers received...

A further request has just been lodged:

Sending plastic to the correct reprocessor - to EDDC - December 2018

Dear East Devon District Council,

On 28th June I made a Freedom of Information request: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/sending_plastic_to_the_correct_r_2#outgoing-782080

Thank you for your reply of 9th July: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/sending_plastic_to_the_correct_r_2#incoming-1185704

In your reply, you stated: “if you feel dissatisfied with the way we have responded to your request, please contact our Monitoring Officer, Mr Henry Gordon Lennox, to request an internal review.”

Rather than taking that step, I would rather compose a new request for information and provide further clarification.

INTRODUCTION:

I would like to make my formal request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I am also making this request under the Environmental Impact Regulations 2004 which require disclosure on the part of Local Authorities.

The basis for my request is information made available to the public:

1) the text on the DCC website http://www.recycledevon.org/what-happens... states:
“Plastic: What happens: plastic is sorted into different grades and then sent to the correct reprocessor where it is turned into new plastic items such as bottles, fleeces and food containers.”

2) the text on the EDDC http://eastdevon.gov.uk/recycling-and-rubbish/reduce-reuse-recycle/recycle/where-does-my-recycling-go/ states:
“Household Plastics collected from the kerbside are taken by various companies to be recycled. The plastic is cleaned, shredded and used to remake other materials such as garden furniture, bins, insulation and fleece clothing. [Last updated 22 October 2018]”

In view of these texts and your earlier initial responses, I would be grateful if you could answer the following questions.

HOW PLASTIC WASTE IS HANDLED:

I had originally asked “What systems do you use to determine how the "plastic is sorted into different grades"?” and “How much of the plastic is sent on to "reprocessors" and how much is dealt with by other means, such as landfill waste, incineration or other methods of disposal, by yourself and by other bodies?”

You stated in your reply: “EDDC sell plastics collected as a mixed plastics grade. The mixed grade goes to a number of plastic recycling plants who then sort it into grades and they then sell it on to a number of processors. The missed plastic grade is sold to a number of plants who provide the best prices at the time. Our most recent loads have gone to Roydon Polythene in Manchester but this will change regularly.” And: “A small proportion of plastic sent to any processor will be rejected for quality and other reasons and alternative means of disposal is used for this fraction.”

If I might be more precise in my questions following your responses:

> Are all the plastics which EDDC collects of “mixed grade”?

> What happens to the plastics which are not collected and which are not sold?

> How do you determine which plastic recycling plants to send the mixed grade to? Is it simply a matter of “who provide the best prices at the time”, or are there other criteria?

> What are the “alternative means of disposal” used for the rejected plastic?

If I might also provide these related questions:

> What percentage of all plastics does not go into processing? [eg: black plastics]

> What percentage goes to incineration in Devon, in the UK and abroad? [eg: tonnage measurements available at incinerator]

> What percentage is sold on the open market?

> What residual is disposed of as landfill waste? And what steps are taken to ensure that none of this residual escapes to pollute the environment?

And if I might ask further questions with regard to your on-line text: “The plastic is cleaned, shredded and used to remake other materials such as garden furniture, bins, insulation and fleece clothing.”

> What percentage of the plastic is “used to remake other materials”?

> What is the lifespan of these new plastic items?

> Which of these new plastic items are themselves recyclable?

DETAILS OF PLANTS AND PROCESSORS:

> Could you provide me with more details about the plastic recycling plants you send the plastic to? And the processors to whom these plants sell the sorted and graded plastic?

> Could you give me their full postal addresses and website addresses?

> Have there been any changes to the original list of contactors since you first provided it?

CONTRACTUAL INFORMATION AND AUDITING PROCESSES:

I asked you several questions to which you replied that “EDDC do not hold this data” or “This question needs to be addressed to the processors”.

> I would nevertheless like to know: What systems do you use to keep track of the plastic to ensure that it is properly dealt with, from it leaving the sorting/ grading process to the final end-use?

I asked you specifically: “What systems do you use to keep track of the plastic to ensure that it is properly dealt with, from it leaving the sorting/ grading process to the final end-use?” I appreciate that much of this is covered by waste management legislation, the duty of care owed by the parties who are transporting it and the regulation by the Environment Agency.

However, I also appreciate that the local authorities have clearly taken on a responsibility, having made a public commitment: DCC has declared that “plastic is sorted into different grades and then sent to the correct reprocessor where it is turned into new plastic items”; and EDDC have similarly declared that “Household Plastics collected from the kerbside are taken by various companies to be recycled. The plastic is cleaned, shredded and used to remake other materials such as garden furniture, bins, insulation and fleece clothing.”

> In order to ascertain the systems which the Council use to ensure that the “correct reprocessor” is taken on and that the “various companies” are chosen with due process to recycle the plastic; that the plastic is “sorted into different grades”; and that it is “turned into new plastic items” and “used to remake other materials” - I would like to ask you to provide me with the full, unredacted tendering and contractual documentation made between you and the plastic recycling plants you send the plastic to.

> I would also like you to provide me with any documentation relating to auditing of these contractual agreements. By auditing, I mean the mechanisms by which the plants and processors can be made fully accountable and the systems by which compliance is reported back to the Council.

CONCLUSION:

Finally, I appreciate the challenges which councils generally are facing:
https://www.local.gov.uk/about/news/china-waste-ban-impacting-council-recycling-services-and-costs
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/20/plastic-recycling-industrys-problems-costing-councils-up-to-500000-a-year
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/10/19/plastic-becoming-expensive-recycle-councils-say-giant-waste/

and I certainly do not wish to undermine the efforts of the Council:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/10/18/plastic-recycling-crisis-first-council-plans-tell-households/

or the confidence which people have in these efforts:
https://www.lgcplus.com/services/environment/lga-rejects-call-for-nationally-consistent-recycling-service/7026166.article?blocktitle=Latest-News&contentID=21622

However, in view of the clear determination of these efforts and considering the Council's public declarations, I would like to be given reassurances as to how plastic waste is managed.

Sending plastic to the correct reprocessor - to EDDC - December 2018 - a Freedom of Information request to East Devon District Council - WhatDoTheyKnow

A similar request has been made to the County Council:
Sending plastic to the correct reprocessor - to DCC - December 2018 - a Freedom of Information request to Devon County Council - WhatDoTheyKnow
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Of 'gagging orders' and the East Devon Business Forum

The District Council's leadership is pleased with its 'successes':
Futures Forum: District Council annual message: "East Devon's many achievements over the last year"

Although opposition councillors don't think the 'gagging clauses' count as one of the District Council's 'many achievements'.

As discussed at the last full Council meeting:

Motion - Processes for dealing with settlement agreements 

The following motion was proposed by Councillor Ben Ingham, seconded by Councillor Megan Armstrong and supported by Councillor Peter Faithfull, Councillor Val Ranger, Councillor Marianne Rixson, Councillor Cathy Gardner, Councillor Roger Giles and Councillor Matt Booth 

“In light of the publicity around settlement agreements entered into by this Council in recent years there are concerns that this Council is not taking decisions with openness, transparency and accountability. Will the Council agree that for settlement agreements there should be a robust process in place for dealing with them which should include Member oversight and, if so, will the Council agree to such a process being put in place as soon as possible?”

EAST DEVON DISTRICT COUNCIL Minutes of the Meeting of the Council held at Knowle, Sidmouth, on Wednesday, 12 December 2018 

And as covered in the press:
East Devon District Council spent £200,000 on gagging orders - Radio Exe

The District Council claims that “They are not gagging clauses and shouldn’t be called as such. The majority are used for duty of care for the employees:”
East Devon hit back at amount spent on "gagging" clauses - Radio Exe

And yet these figures had to be obtained by a Freedom of Information request, thanks to the Exmouth Journal:
‘Huge amount of taxpayers’ money’ used for gagging orders at East Devon council | Latest Exmouth News - Exmouth Journal
East Devon District Council explains gagging orders totalling £205,000 | Latest Exmouth News - Exmouth Journal

The most contentious 'gagging orders' were made in between 2014 and 2016, during the controversy over the disgraced Councillor Graham Brown and the disbanded East Devon Business Forum:
Futures Forum: Ex-Cllr Graham Brown, the East Devon Business Forum and the District Council's CEO's pre-emptive strike against the Business TAFF

After all, the administration at East Devon felt they had put the episode of the East Devon Business Forum and its former head, Cllr Graham Brown, behind them, wishing to 'move on':
Futures Forum: The 'in-depth report' on the East Devon Business Forum will not happen
Futures Forum: The East Devon Business Forum TAFF >>> "The original scope was no longer relevant and there was a need to move on." >>> Or: "Bringing the council into disrepute" 

Although whether this will be neatly forgotten:
Futures Forum: East Devon Business Forum: "Something to think about for the next council."

As the influence of the EDBF is still very much felt:
Futures Forum: A history of the East Devon Business Forum, part four....... "RESOLVED that the Chairman and Honorary Secretary be authorised to write to EDDC and express the Business Forum’s concern if it was found that the membership of the Task and Finish Forum contained members that they considered had preconceived ideas about the Business Forum and its operation."

Especially when it comes to how the Sidford business park was included in the Local Plan
Futures Forum: Sidford business park > "The Local Plan is a deeply flawed document."
Futures Forum: Sidford business park >>> and the East Devon Business Forum revisited

But, yes, Councillors and Officers were allowed to quietly slip away.

Including the Deputy Monitoring Officer:
Deputy Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer - a Freedom of Information request to East Devon District Council - WhatDoTheyKnow
Roles of Officers in Relocation and Knowle OPA - a Freedom of Information request to East Devon District Council - WhatDoTheyKnow

And the lead 'clerk' of the EDBF:

LEAD OFFICER OF STALLED BUSINESS TAFF TO QUIETLY DISAPPEAR

24 SEP 2014

Nigel Harrison, EDDC’s Economic Development Manager (EDM), is to step down in October this year. This must surely come as a complete surprise to Chief Executive Mark Williams who, just a few weeks ago, gave a public assurance that Mr Harrison would remain as Lead Officer for the Business TAFF. And was Cllr Frances Newth similarly in the dark? No hint was given about this unfortunate imminent resignation, while she gave fulsome praise to Mr Harrison for helping one small business in Sidmouth (sadly, it wasn’t the town’s signature shop, Trumps), when he made only his second brief appearance, at the recent Overview and Scrutiny Committee, since the embarrassment of March 2013.

In his role as the council’s EDM, Nigel Harrison was of course a close associate of the then Chair of the now defunct East Devon Business Forum (EDBF), ex-councillor Graham Brown, who has been in the news again this week http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/Concerns-raised-East-Devon-councillor-attempts/story-22966678-detail/story.html

Postscript:
The Business TAFF (‘Task and Finish Forum’) is the Scrutiny Committee set up to take “an in-depth look” at the relationship between East Devon District Council and the EDBF. Its purpose was not to scrutinise solely the EDBF Chair, Graham Brown.

Key Witnesses

1. A key witness in this relationship would be Nigel Harrison, but he has apparently so far been unavailable to talk to the Business TAFF Chair, Cllr Graham Troman. It is unfortunate that his resignation is timed for before the TAFF reconvenes (TAFF date continues to be deferred, seemingly on the recommendation of the Chief Executive).

2.By chance, another potentially key witness, former EDDC Monitoring Officer Denise Lyon, has similarly resigned.

One particular question the Business TAFF would like to ask, when it is finally allowed to do so, is why the East Devon Business Forum is no more.

3 thoughts on “Lead Officer of stalled Business TAFF to quietly disappear”

Sandra Semple says:
24 Sep 2014 at 1:19pm

Smell – nasty. Harrison has spent the 18 months since EDBF in total silence until last month when there were suddenly compliments galore for him – which it now seems were paving the way for his exit (was Councillor Newth aware of this one wonders? ). Will he have signed a gagging clause (did Lyon sign one too)?

If so, I wonder how much their silence cost us?

Lead Officer of stalled Business TAFF to quietly disappear | East Devon Watch

At the time, the East Devon Watch blog followed things:

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MANAGER SLIPS SEAMLESSLY AWAY

17 OCT 2014

Only a perfectly timed question from Cllr Claire Wright to Deputy CEO Richard Cohen, most appropriately at yesterday’s Overview and Scrutiny (O&S) Committee meeting, obliged Mr Cohen to mention that it happened to be Nigel Harrison’s last day at the office that very same day.

Mr Harrison was of course due to be the Lead Officer at a special O&S sub-committee, the so-called Business TAFF, although he had kept out of public view since the Telegraph’s Councillors for hire story broke (March 2013), and his expected resignation confirmed last month, came as no surprise to many. 

See http://eastdevonalliance.org/2014/09/24/lead-officer-of-stalled-business-taff-to-quietly-disappear/

So it seems that the fledgling Task and Finish Forum (TAFF) charged by the O&S Committee to carry out ‘an in-depth study’ on the relationship between EDDC and what was called the East Devon Business Forum (EDBF), has had its wings clipped yet again.The TAFF has been grounded for well over a year as the police investigation into key witness ex-councillor Graham Brown has dragged on. Now that another key player, the Economic Development Manager, has melted away, along with the Monitoring Officer in question, and of course the EDBF itself, will the Business TAFF ever get to fly?

More on the subject at http://eastdevonalliance.org/2014/08/04/eddc-ministry-of-magic/

Economic Development Manager slips seamlessly away | East Devon Watch

As related further at the time:

SO, FAREWELL NIGEL HARRISON, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

18 OCT 2014

… who slipped away quietly yesterday after having managed to avoid scrutiny of his role in the East Devon Business Forum for the past 18 months – but then EVERYTHING avoids scrutiny at EDDC now.

Will he pop up in South Somerset where the perfect job for him seems to have been recently created?

One thought on “So, farewell Nigel Harrison, Economic Development Manager”

Graham Sidmouth says:
18 Oct 2014 at 6:05pm

Reading this I am reminded of Nigel Harrison’s response to EDA colleague Tony Green and I when we attended a meeting at the Heathpark Business Centre. The Business Forum secretary annoyed by our observations stated “if we don’t like what they (EDBF) were doing then there was always the ballot box.” This caused a chuckle afterwards as I don’t recall the EDDC Economic Development Manager ever being elected by anyone. His comment raises serious questions about partisan officers but according to the Council leader Mr Harrison was only a mere “clerk.” It is of course the CEO Mark Williams and his line manager Cllr Diviani who were responsible for the clerk and instrumental in setting up the EDBF in the first place.

So, farewell Nigel Harrison, Economic Development Manager | East Devon Watch

Here is the FOI made by the Exmouth Journal:

Compromise or settlement agreements

Date submitted: 24 October 2018

Summary of request

Please could you disclose the number of staff exits which have included the use of gagging orders otherwise technically known as compromise or settlement agreements during the last five years.

Please could you provide a breakdown of the numbers and costs of such agreements per year.

If possible please could you indicate how many agreements in each year involved a member of staff exiting the organisation after a complaint of sexual harassment or sexual assault or had such a complaint made against them.

Summary of response

Please could you disclose the number of staff exits which have included the use of gagging orders otherwise technically known as compromise or settlement agreements during the last five years - Settlement Agreements: 10 between 2014 and 2018 (to 31 October 2018). We believe that disclosure of this information in separate financial years could identify individuals, and so this detail is exempt from disclosure under s40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act.

Please could you provide a breakdown of the numbers and costs of such agreements per year - Between 2014 and 2018 (to 31 October 2018) total cost of settlement agreements = £205,074. We believe that disclosure of this information in separate financial years could identify individuals, and so this detail is exempt from disclosure under s40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act.

If possible please could you indicate how many agreements in each year involved a member of staff exiting the organisation after a complaint of sexual harassment or sexual assault or had such a complaint made against them - None

Date responded: 7 November 2018

Freedom of Information published requests - East Devon
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Campaign for safer roads in Sidbury > "the official data demonstrates the vast volume of traffic that goes through Sidbury - and the fact that the vast majority of drivers actually break the limit" > public meeting Weds 21st Nov

In spring, concerns were being voiced about the amount of traffic going through Sidbury:
Futures Forum: Campaign for safer roads in Sidbury launch > ‘kill your speed not villagers’ > Wednesday 25th April

Much of this concern is connected to fears about further traffic from a possible industrial estate to the south:
Futures Forum: Sidford business park >>> County Council's Highways objection to the plan focuses on the distribution element - and could ‘play straight into the developers hands’
Futures Forum: Sidford business park >>> "More than 250 parking spaces on a Sidford AONB floodplain? .. No thanks!"
Futures Forum: Ford's @ Sidmouth & Sidford >>> of supermarkets and traffic congestion

And in the summer, the campaigners carried out a survey:
Futures Forum: Campaign for safer roads > Sidbury Traffic Action Group conducts speed surveys

The campaigners in Sidbury have now got the results of their traffic survey:

FOI reveals 88 per cent of drivers didn’t stick to 20mph limit at Sidbury

PUBLISHED: 12:00 07 November 2018

Beth Sharp

Traffic in Sidbury. Ref shs 43 18TI 3723. Picture: Terry Ife

Nearly 30,000 cars are passing through Sidbury every week, a Freedom on Information request has revealed.

Devon County Council (DCC) has released the results of speed and traffic survey carried out on Cotford Road during one week in April.

The data revealed an average of 3,907 vehicles used the road daily, meaning an average of around 27,335 used it across the week. The data showed the average speed of the 3,907 vehicles:

• Only 461 were travelling within the 20mph speed limit. 

• 2,776 travelled between 20mph and 30mph.

• 643 travelled between 30mph and 40mph. 

• 25 travelled between 40mph and 50mph, and 

• 1 was recorded at between 50mph to 55mph.

• 88 per cent did not stick to the speed limit.

• But the average mean speed for the week was 25.4mph.

According to emails, released as part of the request, a DCC traffic engineer said the data showed there had been a ‘moderate reduction’ in speeds in 2018 compared with survey results in 2011. He said the results showed there ‘did not seem to be a significant problem with speeding’, although he did acknowledge most drivers exceeded the 20mph speed limit.

A representative from the Sidbury Traffic Action said: “This survey was carried out in one week, not at a peak time and when there was no road works or diversions in place. Imagine what it is like in summer. People keep saying it is our perception. It is not - it is actuality. It is very clear, the official data demonstrates the vast volume of traffic that goes through Sidbury - and the fact that the vast majority of drivers actually break the limit.”

Councillor Stuart Hughes, who represents Highways, said: “The results of the most recent speed and traffic survey in Sidbury show no significant change to the speed and volume of traffic through the village over recent years. I recognise speeding remains a genuine concern for residents and many feel strongly about the speed and amount of traffic on streets near their homes.

“That’s why I am allocating part of my locality budget to fund a new Vehicle Activated Sign on the A375 at the entrance to the village. We are currently considering several locations.”

FOI reveals 88 per cent of drivers didn’t stick to 20mph limit at Sidbury | Latest Sidmouth and Ottery News - Sidmouth Herald

The group will be holding a meeting on 21st November:

Sidbury Traffic Action Group - Home | Facebook
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Plastic waste > East Devon's "high quality recycling now being transported to processing plants across the UK and Europe" > but where exactly does my recycling go?

Back in 2015, the District Council were looking at how to upgrade their recycling systems:
Futures Forum: Trialing new rubbish and recycling services in East Devon >>> for Feniton and Exmouth >>> report to Scrutiny Cttee >>> 'the improved recycling service with reduced residual waste collection is viable'

Earlier this year, they announced one such new system:

East Devon invests £420,000 in new recycling machinery

4 May 2018

High quality recycling now being transported to processing plants across the UK and Europe

East Devon District Council has invested in a giant sorting and baling machine to separate more than 5,000 tonnes of recycling a year collected from residents across the district.

The council’s new machine at the Greendale Resources Recycling Centre has been built specifically to handle the high amounts of recycling that East Devon residents collect every day. Fifteen months ago the district was recycling 43% of its waste every week. Today, residents recycle an average 57% of their waste every week thanks to a new service introduced last year.

Using the latest technology, including a system of magnets and conveyors, the machine carefully sorts the recycling into individual types of materials and efficiently packs them in to bales. The bales are then sent direct from East Devon to processors across the UK and Europe to be turned in to new items.

Prior to the new plant being installed, mixed materials collected in the green sacks were transported loose and unsorted to Avonmouth, but only eight tonnes could fit in each lorry. Now that the materials are compacted and baled, up to 20 tonnes can be transported in a single load saving money and carbon emissions.
4 May 2018 - East Devon invests £420,000 in new recycling machinery - East Devon
East Devon invests in sorting and baling machine - letsrecycle.cm

And on 17th October this year, they updated their web pages, with the very pertinent question:

Where does my recycling go?

Plastics

Household Plastics collected from the kerbside are taken by various companies to be recycled. The plastic is cleaned, shredded and used to remake other materials such as garden furniture, bins, insulation and fleece clothing. Plastic is lightweight and bulky so it is better if the bottles are flattened for recycling.

Where does my recycling go? - East Devon

This is what happens at the new system:

Materials recycling facility

5. Plastics

An optical sorting unit separates out different types of plastics and plastic bottles then pass along a manual inspection line as a final quality check.

The plastics are then baled for transportation to a specialist recycling facility.
SUEZ UK | Materials recycling facility
East Devon Materials Recycling Facility, Unit 54, Greendale Business Park, Woodbury, Salterton, Devon, EX5 1EW, – Utility Locations

The trouble is that this is still very vague: where exactly are these bales destined for and how much gets made into other materials by the 'processors'?

Back in February this year, the head of Exeter City Council's facility questioned where we're at:

Matt Hulland, operational manager at the recycling centre, welcomes the new surge in public awareness, but says it's not enough. "There aren't enough mills that can process it. That's why it's exported, whether it be to Europe or the Far East. When you're looking at the circular economy package, rhetoric is great, plans are great, but the UK needs to put its money where its mouth is."

Brits roll up their sleeves to tackle plastic pollution | Environment| All topics from climate change to conservation | DW | 23.02.2018 

Futures Forum: Plastic waste > behind headline-grabbing gestures from government, citizens are taking the problem into their own hands

But why aren't we dealing with this ourselves?
Futures Forum: We should be following the "proximity principle" and dealing with our own recycling waste at home

See also:
Futures Forum: Plastic recycling and greenwashing
Futures Forum: SidEnergy visit to Exeter waste-to-energy plant >>> report: very positive and encouraging but still questions about recycling plastic waste... 

And:
Sending plastic to the correct reprocessor - to EDDC - a Freedom of Information request to East Devon District Council - WhatDoTheyKnow
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The plastics recycling industry is facing an investigation into suspected widespread abuse and fraud within the export system

There are still outstanding Freedom of Information requests to both the District and County Councils:
Futures Forum: District Council and plastic pollution >>> What percentage is recycled, what percentage is incinerated and what percentage goes to landfill? Some answers received...
Futures Forum: District Council and plastic pollution >>> What percentage is recycled, what percentage is incinerated and what percentage goes to landfill?
Futures Forum: County Council and plastic pollution >>> "the Council will use its position and responsibility to raise awareness of the issues surrounding single-use plastics" >>> BUT the Council "does not hold information" on how its reprocessors deal with its plastic waste

It's proving very difficult to get to the bottom of what exactly happens to our plastic rubbish:
Futures Forum: Plastic recycling and greenwashing

Today's Guardian dug deep: 

Plastics

UK recycling industry under investigation for fraud and corruption

Exclusive: Watchdog examining claims plastic waste is not being recycled but left to leak into rivers and oceans

Sandra Laville

Thu 18 Oct 2018 17.00 BST

 Household waste imported from Britain that was improperly labeled as recyclable plastic, in Santos, Brazil. Photograph: Mauricio Lima/AFP/Getty Images

The plastics recycling industry is facing an investigation into suspected widespread abuse and fraud within the export system amid warnings the world is about to close the door on UK packaging waste, the Guardian has learned.

The Environment Agency (EA) has set up a team of investigators, including three retired police officers, in an attempt to deal with complaints that organised criminals and firms are abusing the system.

Six UK exporters of plastic waste have had their licences suspended or cancelled in the last three months, according to EA data. One firm has had 57 containers of plastic waste stopped at UK ports in the last three years due to concerns over contamination of waste.

Allegations that the agency is understood to be investigating include:

• Exporters are falsely claiming for tens of thousands of tonnes of plastic waste which might not exist
• UK plastic waste is not being recycled and is being left to leak into rivers and oceans
• Illegal shipments of plastic waste are being routed to the Far East via the Netherlands
• UK firms with serial offences of shipping contaminated waste are being allowed to continue exporting.

UK households and businesses used 11m tonnes of packaging last year, according to government figures. Two-thirds of our plastic packaging waste is exported by an export industry which was worth more than £50m last year.

The exporters make millions by charging retailers and manufacturers a fluctuating tonnage rate for plastic waste recovery notes – currently £60 a tonne. Retailers buy these plastic export recovery notes – Perns – to satisfy the government they are contributing something to recycling plastic packaging waste.

But the system – which was heavily criticised as open to fraud and abuse by the National Audit Office this summer – relies on companies making self declarations about how much packaging they are exporting.

The Guardian understands information has been passed to the EA – the regulators – which shows huge discrepancies between the amount of packaging exports recorded by HM customs, compared to the amount UK exporters claim to have shipped.

The data, analysed by the Guardian, reveals British export firms claim to have shipped abroad 35,135 tonnes more plastic than HM Customs has recorded leaving the country.

One source with knowledge of the inquiry said: “In the last few months the customs figures on waste plastic are lower than the figures given to the Environment Agency by the exporters – suggesting more people are shipping stuff they claim is waste plastic in order to get the Pern price.

“Perns are running at around £60-70 a tonne, so that encourages all sorts of people to pursue the export market, and the question is whether the enforcement is strong enough to detect whether this is actually plastic waste being shipped out.”

At least 100 containers of plastic waste a day are shipped out from ports including Felixstowe and Southampton to Europe and the Far East. Insiders said EA staff have never visited any of the countries or sites where British waste plastic is exported for recycling.

Jacob Hayler, executive director of the Environmental Services Association (ESA), is one of many individuals who has raised the issue of the discrepancy in figures with the EA.

“We have flagged this and they are aware of it,” he said. ‘The agency and others are looking at how to improve enforcement … there is organised crime, and criminal gangs exploit the system, that does go on.”

The ongoing investigation into corruption in the plastics industry comes as the UK seeks new international markets for its plastic waste.

In January, China stopped accepting British plastic waste and exports shifted to Malaysia, Vietnam and Poland. But Malaysia and Vietnam have imposed temporary bans on imports and Poland is considering restrictions, a sign that countries are growing more wary amid evidence of high contamination rates.

Figures seen by the Guardian show UK exports to Turkey and the Netherlands soaring as a result. Several insiders told the Guardian the export market – which the UK relies on as it struggles to meet a target to reprocess more than half its plastic waste by 2020 – could dry up within weeks.

Phil Conran, director 360 Environmental and chair of the government’s advisory committee on packaging, said: “All these markets are effectively closing the door to the poor quality material and they are increasingly limited in what they will accept of the better quality material.

“At the moment material is still being collected and still going somewhere ... but all the sense is that we have reached a tipping point and we simply are struggling to find markets for material that is being collected.”

The new markets have brought more fears of abuse within the system. According to packaging declarations made by companies, the UK exported 27,034 tonnes of waste plastic to Turkey in the first three months of this year compared to 12,022 tonnes in the first three months of 2017. Netherlands exports have risen by nearly 10,000 tonnes in the first six months of this year, compared to the same period in 2016; 38,207 tonnes in 2018 compared to 28,784 in 2016.

Turkey’s plastic waste imports from the UK are booming – but at what cost?

 

Read more

The EA has been passed allegations that export firms are using the Netherlands to effectively launder plastic waste – exploiting looser controls over shipments to Europe – before illegally moving it out to other countries in the Far East, where they might struggle to get approval under the UK licence system.

Addie van der Spapen, of Netherlands recycling firm Kunststof Recycling, said the country certainly did not have the capacity to reprocess increased amounts of plastic waste from the UK. “It won’t all get recycled. Europe is getting overflowed with the material from England, they are flooding Europe with their plastic,” he said.

The growing market in Turkey is also raising fears that more UK plastic waste will leak into the oceans.

One source said: “The concern about Turkey is more whether material is being stored to be recycled later, or not recycled at all and being burnt.”

An inquiry by the National Audit Office [pdf] earlier this year criticised the lack of rigour by the EA and the Government.

“The financial incentive for companies to fraudulently claim they have recycled plastic packaging is higher than for any other material,” they said.

“There is therefore a risk that some of it is not recycled under equivalent standards to the UK and is instead sent to landfill or contributes to pollution.”

Marie Fallon, of the Environment Agency, has confirmed to MPs an intelligence led central investigations team has been set up to tackle corruption and fraud within the export system.

Fallon accepted the agency could have done better over the years in tackling abuses. In 2016-17 staff carried out fewer than 40 pc of 346 spot checks on companies it had planned. This year five export firms flagged as red rated for risk are still operating and 33 considered to be of medium risk are also still accredited to export waste.

UK recycling industry under investigation for fraud and corruption | Environment | The Guardian
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