The story of the 'Back the South West' campaign

Back in October 2016, the Western Morning News launched its 'Back the South West' campaign, just a few months after the Brexit process lumbered into inaction:
Futures Forum: Brexit: and Back The South West

It has regularly relaunched the campaign:
Futures Forum: Tech Nation >>> "'there's more to the South West than cream teas and cowpats'"

Today there was another relaunch - of something which talks about 'growth' and whose main photo is of a motorway heading into the sunny uplands: 

Forget Brexit - it's the day to #BackTheSouthWest

As Brexit turmoil continues to reign in the UK, we have seized to day to relaunch #BackTheSouthWest

By Hannah Finch
29 MAR 2019

The South West must #BackTheSouthWest

With indecision thwarting today’s Brexit deadline, we say there’s never been a better time for the South West to be crystal clear about its future. What should have been a momentous day for the UK has been scuppered by delay and division. Politics as we know it has been turned upside down and the country’s growth agenda is at a standstill.

While the Brexit debacle slides on, the Western Morning News - in partnership with Pennon Group and support from LiveWest and Womble Bond Dickinson - is set to seize the day to launch the second phase of the #BackTheSouthWest campaign.

Bill Martin, editor Western Morning News, said: “We could stand around waiting for someone, anyone, to tell us what’s going on with Brexit but the future prosperity of our region is too important for that. That’s why it’s so vital to press ahead with our ambitions for #BackTheSouthWest. Our priorities remain the same, we need a transport system, including a railway that is fit for the future. We need digital connectivity, quality housing, skilled jobs and the talented staff to fill them. Our aim is to ensure that the South West backs itself to show Westminster that we are more than ready for investment.”

The #BackTheSouthWest campaign was first launched in August 2016 in response to the Brexit referendum vote. At the inaugural Growth Summit launch event, Sajid Javid, the then secretary of state for communities and local government said there has to be a credible figurehead for economic growth for the Government to be prepared to hand over powers for investment, transport and infrastructure to the region. And he called for the region to have one voice on its plans for economic prosperity.

The campaign quickly gathered momentum, garnering support from some of the region’s biggest businesses, academics and political leaders.

We presented the South West Growth Charter to Downing Street, secured a debate at Westminster and formed a South West Leaders Forum with representatives from across all sectors of the business community.

A second Growth Summit held in 2017 harnessed widespread support for unity in a region that leads the way in the aerospace and creative industries.

Now it is a question of pulling together that enthusiasm and taking that message to the rest of the country and the world.

But despite our efforts, our economy has been held back by infrastructure underspend. Five years on from the Dawlish rail disaster, trains are still being cancelled during bad weather. The M5 remains our only major route into the region and the A303 upgrades have yet to begin. But we have seen progress in the shape of an £80million pledge for rail resilience works at Dawlish and £83million for improvements to the North Devon Link Road.

And crucially, we have seen regeneration throughout the region. From the enlarged Tate St Ives, new hotel plans in Torquay or further investment in Exeter’s city centre, we are seeing great changes that are designed to boost visitor numbers and the viability of our must populated areas.

The new Messenger statue in Plymouth is a bold statement of intent for the city about its creative heritage and vision for the future.

Change happens in stages and as a region, we need the backing to make those changes a future reality.

In February, Sarah Heald, Pennon’s Director of Corporate Affairs & Investor Relations joined South West MPs and Heart of the South West LEP chief Executive David Ralph to take our case to Government.

Under Sir Gary Streeter, MP for South West Devon, MPs from across the region, from Cheltenham to the Isles of Scilly, came together to call on the Government to invest in the Great South West. MPs called on the Government to fund transport improvements, including dualling of the A303 from Ilminster to Honiton, and works to improve capacity on the M5 from Taunton to Bristol.

In closing, Members highlighted the importance of South West MPs joining together to ensure the region receives its fair share of funding, and if we can just get the infrastructure right, the South West’s best is yet to come.

Minister for Local Growth, Jake Berry MP, said: “This is the year of regional growth, and the South West must be at the heart of it.”

As we get set to launch this latest phase of the #BackTheSouthWest campaign, the Western Morning News says: “We could not agree more.”

Forget Brexit - it's the day to #BackTheSouthWest - Devon Live
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An investigation into the rise of frontline hospital staff seeking mental health support

We are aware of the rising costs and stresses within the health system:
Futures Forum: "More resources need to be put into GPs, to help alleviate the pressure on hospitals."
Futures Forum: Hospital beds and social care: "The NHS will not be able to care properly for the growing population of frail older people unless the availability of social care increases in line with rising need."

What is becoming more apparent is the hidden cost to the mental health of frontline hospital staff - as reported by investigative journalist Fran McElhone for ITV Westcountry and the Western Morning News: 

The staggering number of Royal Cornwall Hospitals trust staff needing mental health support

The problem is a growing one and there is great concern about the impact on staff's wellbeing across the Duchy

Fran McElhone
17 DEC 2018

The number of hospital staff across the Westcountry – partarly in Cornwall – seeking mental health support has risen dramatically prompting a Royal College of Nursing director to warn that increased demands on front line staff are impacting on their wellbeing.

One nurse has described how there are increased pressures facing hospital staff in recent years, citing understaffed wards and bed blocking as chief stress-inducing factors, offering a possible insight into why more and more staff are seeking support.

Figures revealed via a series of Freedom of Information requests (FOIs) show that the number of hospital staff members across Cornwall and Devon accessing their hospital’s in-house staff support and counselling services is increasing.

The regional director for the Royal College of Nursing said that demands from both the government and society for nursing staff to do "more for less" is having a "devastating" impact on the mental wellbeing of nursing teams across the NHS, while the regional organiser for UNISON said that increased workloads are having a “severe impact” on front line hospital staff's work-life balance.

At the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust and the Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, the number of staff accessing the staff support and counselling service has risen by more than four times between 2015 and 2017.

Despite repeated requests for a comment, the media team at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, which also provides the service to the Foundation Trust, failed to respond. As part of the FOI, however, the Trust confirmed that the stark rise can be attributed to changes in the staff population, increased availability of the service and increased awareness of the service.

Data also showed that work related stresses, as the reason given for staff seeking support, had fallen. However Karen Williams, regional organiser for UNISON, said that although staff may be accessing their counselling support service for general anxiety or depression, or for coping with a family breakdown, which may be recorded as a non-work related matter, increased pressures in the workplace may have been the cause or play a part. She has praised efforts made by hospital trusts to encourage staff to seek support.

A spokesperson for the Partnership Trust said that the Trust “actively encourages” staff to speak out if they are facing mental health pressures and has seen a “positive rise” in staff accessing its Staff Support and Counselling Service. The spokesperson added that there has been a decline of staff accessing the service for work related stress.

But David Hope, a nurse at West Cornwall Hospital in Penzance who has been in the profession for 12 years, says he and his colleagues are facing a multitude of challenges and pressures as a result of austerity measures and strains on both the health and social care sectors in recent years.

“Most of my colleagues have accessed the staff mental health service, and many have been off with stress at some point, including myself,” says the 70-year-old. “We’re so understaffed, sometimes it feels like a survival test overnight. We’re seeing more and more occasions when there's only one nurse covering a night shift looking after a ward with 28 people on it.

“We’ve seen a big increase in dementia patients on the wards over the years and when you have a large number of patients with dementia, things can go wrong very quickly. Recently, we had a gentleman who had an episode of paranoia in the night and was taking swings at us with his walking stick, while in the next bay a lady got out of bed, knocked a dressing off and was bleeding profusely, and then another got out of bed and took all her clothes off. Sometimes dementia patients can be violent at times, and recently I was kicked in the face and cut by someone’s toenail.

“You can see your colleagues slowly deteriorating,” he added. “Many of them aren’t sure they can keep this up, and this is a real concern given the struggle to fill vacancies and because we are losing nurses because of Brexit.”



David Hope, a nurse at West Cornwall Hospital in Penzance who has been in the profession for 12 years (Image: Fran McElhone)

The NHS is struggling to fill thousands of nursing vacancies each month. The most recent data obtained from NHS Digital reveals that for March 2018, nationwide there were at least 11,483 nursing/midwifery advertised vacancies out of 28,998 and in the South West there were at least 568 nursing/midwifery vacancies out of 1,947. In Cornwall, there were 13 nursing/midwifery vacancies out of 82 vacancies, 44/149 in Plymouth, 46/155 at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital and 10/69 in North Devon.

Officials have also warned that the government’s decision to remove the £9,000 bursary for nurses and midwives in 2017 – in the hope that this would allow more nurses to be trained – has made the situation worse, with applications falling.

Bed blocking, or delayed transfer of care (DTOC), is another worsening issue impacting on the morale of staff and patients. DTOC refers to the number of patients who are well enough to be discharged but who can’t be moved on due to various factors such as the difficulty in finding beds in community hospitals or in residential or nursing homes, or arranging home care packages.

According to the latest figures released by NHS England, in September, at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust there were 1,322 delayed days and at the Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, there were 1,643 delayed days. In Devon, at the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust there were 1,504 delayed days, while in Plymouth there were 957, in Torbay 436, and in North Devon 220 delayed days. The wait for non-acute NHS care, nursing or residential home placements or home care packages were the greatest reasons for the delay.

“We’re seeing delays in assessment, fewer carers in the community and patients getting stuck in hospital,” David continued. “When there is a delay in patients leaving, they start relapsing and become ill again. And we know that the longer someone is in hospital the less likely it will be that they will have a successful discharge. We’re seeing an increased amount of patients dying in hospital.

“We've had patients in for many months, this leads to low morale all round, particularly when we can see people getting better. We’re having to entertain those patients who are medically fit to leave while caring for those alongside them who are very unwell.”

According to the Royal College of Nursing, since 2010, as a result of below-inflation increases for seven years, wages have decreased by 14 per cent. The government introduced a one per cent pay increase in April but with inflation at 2.3 per cent, in real terms this amounts to a pay decrease.

Another nurse, who wanted her identity to be protected, said: “We work 12.5 hour shifts and due to increased workloads it’s hard to find time to take a break. It’s always been the case that nurses struggle to take breaks because of their sense of duty of care towards patients. It's this which is keeping the NHS going.

“And there's definitely less respect for nurses among the general public. This could be the blame culture that’s prevalent now. It seems expectations have gone up and there is an attitude that the NHS is there to serve them.”

Elsewhere across the region, at the Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust which is responsible for the North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple, the number has doubled.

At Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital staff accessing the hospital’s occupational health and wellbeing service has risen by 30 per cent in three years. A spokesperson for the Trust confirmed that its Occupational Health and Wellbeing Department offers a “comprehensive” counselling and mental health service to all staff which includes a duty counsellor, counselling sessions, a drop-in counselling service and assessments and training for line managers to support their staff.

There has only been a small increase at the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust which looks after the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, which extended its Staff Support and Counselling Service to community hospitals at the end of 2016.

Numbers appear to have remained relatively constant at Torbay Hospital, which was only able to provide data from August 2016 when the service was contracted out to private occupational health provider, Optima Health.

Susan Masters, Regional Director for the Royal College of Nursing, said: “Increased acuity of patients, reduced staffing levels, increased demand on services and low morale are having a devastating impact on individuals working in health care, not least the nursing staff.

“In our recent survey 63 per cent of members said they were too busy to provide the level of care to patients that they wanted to. This has a profound effect on individuals whose whole career is about caring for others. Add to this the fact that they have much higher caseloads of much sicker patients, with vacancies unfilled and it is no wonder the pressure is showing.”

UNISON’s Karen Williams said following austerity measures brought in by the coalition government, the union has witnessed workloads increasing and members experiencing increasing demands put upon them. “Workloads have become higher as the workforce becomes lower, and our members have been working harder for less,” she said. “We’ve witnessed a more punitive approach to sickness management, so often our members, even those with specific health conditions or who need surgery, are still finding themselves subject to a sickness management process – effectively condemnation for taking time off for being ill.

“However we are pleased to see a much more positive approach by employers towards encouraging people to look after their mental health and wellbeing as well as their physical wellbeing.”

A spokesperson for the Cornwall Partnership NHS Trust, said it expanded its Health and Wellbeing team in 2018, adding: “Working within the NHS is an incredibly rewarding career, although it can also be challenging at times. Recognising this, we strive to create an environment where our staff can take positive steps to access support when they feel concerned for their mental health.

“Our dedicated health and wellbeing team work closely with staff across the Trust to ensure that they are able to access the support available to them.”

The staggering number of Royal Cornwall Hospitals trust staff needing mental health support - Cornwall Live
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How to rescue local newspapers from the digital giants

The digital giants are doing very nicely:
Google and Facebook are still the best networks for ROI – report | Mobile Marketing Magazine
Largest Study Of Mobile Ad Networks Ranks Facebook, Google, Snap, Twitter, Unity … And New Players

But too well, according to a government report out today:
The Cairncross Review: a sustainable future for journalism - GOV.UK

The non-digital media have been quick to comment:
STEPHEN GLOVER: The press CAN thrive if we stand up to leviathans | Daily Mail Online
Facebook, Google 'should face crackdown from NEW watchdog' designed to fix 'uneven balance of power' - The Sun
Facebook and Google news should be regulated, Cairncross Review says - BBC News

Interestingly, though, the BBC is also singled out for its on-line dominance - and not just by the usual critics:
BBC, Facebook and Google face new curbs on their power over news to safeguard quality journalism - Telegraph
BBC must think more carefully about how its news provision is impacting the industry, report says | The Independent

And one aspect of the report which is receiving widespread comment is the vulnerability of local newspapers - with comment from the Secretary of State in the Telegraph:
Local newspapers are vital for democracy - Telegraph 

The Guardian covered the story on today's front page: 

Public funds should be used to rescue local journalism, says report

Cairncross review warns that closure of local newspapers threatens democracy

Jim Waterson Media editor
Tue 12 Feb 2019
Newspapers

Local news coverage could disappear unless the government provides direct financial support, according to an independent report on the future of the British media, which warns the industry’s collapse poses a threat to the “long-term sustainability of democracy”.

Dame Frances Cairncross was appointed by the government last year to investigate ways to secure the future of high-quality journalism in Britain.

Her report has concluded there should be a public investigation into the dominance of Facebook and Google in the advertising marketplace. She also recommends a new regulator to oversee the relationship between news outlets and technology giants, which have taken much of the advertising revenue that used to subsidise reporting.

But the Cairncross review also concluded that many local newspapers which are vital to a functioning democracy are owned by debt-laden publishers which have cut investment and sacked hundreds of journalists in an effort to maintain profit margins.

She drew parallels with once-dominant businesses which have failed to make the digital leap, such as Kodak or Blockbuster, and said the priority should be ensuring high-quality journalism continues to be produced in Britain rather than attempting to save the newspaper industry in its current form.

Key recommendations in the report include:

> Direct funding for public-interest news outlets, with public funds used to support the reporting of local democracy through a new institute of public interest news.

> An investigation by the competition regulator into the online advertising marketplace, which would consider whether Facebook and Google’s position is too dominant.

> A new code of conduct between publishers and large tech companies, overseen by a regulator which would ensure tech firms treat news publishers fairly.

> Tax relief for publishers which invest in public interest journalism, potentially by giving charitable status to some publishers.

> Removing the 20% VAT tax on digital news subscriptions, bringing online paywalls in line with printed newspapers.

Read more
Local newspapers need to be based on public service, not profit
Roy Greenslade

Cairncross said that job losses at local newspapers meant there was a crisis in the coverage of democracy. “The cost of investigative journalism is great and rarely seems to pay for itself … given the evidence of a market failure in the supply of public-interest news, public intervention may be the only remedy.”

She added that there was no clear way to provide profitable coverage of a local council meeting, since such stories tend to attract few clicks on the internet. “Ultimately, the biggest challenge facing the sustainability of high-quality journalism, and the press, may be the same as that which is affecting many areas of life: the digital revolution means that people have more claims on their attention than ever before.

“Moreover, the stories people want to read may not always be the ones that they ought to read in order to ensure that a democracy can hold its public servants properly to account.”

Sales of printed newspapers have collapsed during the last decade, with revenue from print advertising following the same downward trend. Although audiences have switched online, even national publishers have struggled to make similar sums of money from digital advertising given the scale and targeting offered by the likes of Facebook and Google.

Research commissioned for the Cairncross report found that the number of frontline journalists in the UK fell from an estimated 23,000 in 2007 to 17,000 today, with redundancies and closures of titles expected to continue.

Local newspapers have been particularly badly hit by the changes, especially in the classified market. Revenues from advertising placed by small businesses with the three biggest regional publishing companies fell from £2.8bn to £832m in the decade to 2016.

However, publishers did not escape criticism. Cairncross pointed out that many local newspaper groups have had to deal with large pension and debt liabilities, built up when they went on costly acquisition sprees before the market collapsed in the late 2000s.

Cairncross said this means the likes of Reach plc and JPI Media have had “less money available for investment in the substantial innovation that a successful digital future requires”, instead making cuts or restructuring their debt to the detriment of newsrooms.

Read more
‘Councils and crooks must feel relaxed’: why the loss of local papers matters

In an attempt to fix the problem she has proposed the establishment of an institute for public interest news, which could distribute funding from both the government and other sources, building on the success of the BBC local democracy reporter project and modest spending on journalism projects by Google and Facebook. She said an independent institution was necessary because if the state or large technology companies directly financed the production of news “the effect may be to undermine trust in the press still further”.

Cairncross concluded that the internet had been good for consumers, enabling them to read a wide variety of news sources for nothing. She also rejected proposals from publishers that Facebook and Google should be made to pay to include news content on their systems, warning that such a move could cause “significant harm to people who want to see news”. She suggested that the BBC needed to avoid stepping on the toes of for-profit local news sites.

The culture secretary, Jeremy Wright, said the government would consider the report in full and report back this year.

Cairncross, a former rector of Exeter College, Oxford, previously worked as a journalist for various publications, including a decade spent at the Guardian during the 1970s and 80s.

Public funds should be used to rescue local journalism, says report | Media | The Guardian
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The decline of the local press: “Councillors and crooks must surely feel relaxed now that so few weeklies have sufficient space or journalists to cover councils and courts.”

Earlier this year, we had further closures of local papers - and comment from the Prime Minister:

We have just seen the demise of one of East Devon's local newspapers:
Futures Forum: View News East Devon to close

However, the group behind the Express & Echo and the Western Morning News has promised investment and commitment to local journalism:
Futures Forum: Trinity Mirror South West takes on new Devon reporters >>> "It is vitally important that local politics is scrutinised and reported on by an independent media."

And there are other people and organisations trying to open things up:
Futures Forum: Debunking fake news in East Devon with 'on-line open-source investigation'

Because we have a lot of work on our hands:
Futures Forum: A conversation on power without responsibility >>> British Media in the 21st Century >>>

Especially today:
Futures Forum: Big data and big lies...
Futures Forum: Fake news, the UK general election and local news
Futures Forum: Civil society under threat

The Prime Minister has been talking about these things:
Decline of local journalism threatens democracy, says May | Media | The Guardian

Futures Forum: "The decline of local journalism is a threat to democracy and is fuelling the rise in fake news."

Here's an update on things from the Observer:

‘Councils and crooks must feel relaxed’: why the loss of local papers matters

Vanessa Thorpe

Sun 25 Nov 2018 08.59

More than 300 titles, along with 6,000 jobs, have been lost in a decade. Photograph: Paul Swinney/Alamy

The collapse of regional press is a blow to democracy. But there may be hope

For decades the offices of the Hendon Times stood proud, if a bit dented and stained, on Church Road in London, NW4. There was even a clock grandly suspended outside, above the newspaper masthead. This was the headquarters of a weekly news empire that stretched north to Borehamwood and east to Edgware, with four local offices, each served by four or five reporters. And every weekday a steady trickle of residents stepped into reception with an advertisement to book, a story to tell, or a complaint to lodge. I know: I worked there.

This month, with the announcement that Johnston Press, the third-biggest group in the local news industry, had gone into administration, this building in Hendon, along with hundreds of other empty newspaper offices across the country, became a monument to the fragile and shrinking world of regional reporting. More than 300 titles and 6,000 journalists have been lost in a decade, creating what many see as a democratic deficit, never mind a future dearth of trained reporters.

The Times, part of the Newsquest group, still exists, but these days there is just one edition and much of the action happens online. Its webpage invites readers to send in their own news and photos, and the phone number for the news team is harder to find than the GRU’s in Moscow. When I do get through to a reporter, he is silent when I ask where he is. “Do you still have a base you can use in the borough of Barnet?” I persist, at which point he tells me to email his editor.

Newsquest, like Johnston Press, is at the centre of big changes in local journalism, not all of them bad, and it is more than anyone’s job is worth to speak off the cuff to the press. But as Barry Brennan, former group editor of the Hendon Times and my old boss, confirms, all coverage of the boroughs of Barnet and Hertsmere is now run from Watford.

“Councillors and crooks must surely feel relaxed,” Brennan says, “now that so few weeklies have sufficient space or journalists to cover councils and courts. It may sound trite, but we really are missing out on big chunks of knowledge, and that’s bad for a community.”

More cheeringly, Times reporters do still get to some Barnet Council meetings, although not many, according to Labour councillor Claire Farrier: “We don’t see them much any more; maybe when there is a big planning story. They do their best, but they often repeat the press releases we put out fairly closely – which we quite like, of course.”

If done properly, local news still has the power to shake the world. Last week a reporter on the Carlisle News and Star broke the story that an NHS psychiatrist from New Zealand, Zholia Alemi, had been working in Britain for 23 years on entirely faked credentials. Phil Coleman looked into her past after covering a court case in which Alemi faced charges for faking a will. In the coming week, as NHS employees across Britain are given proper background checks, there can be no better proof of the value of having a curious reporter on the spot.

Further fresh hope for local journalism also came last week from an unlikely source: Facebook announced a decision to invest £4.5m in a Community News Project. While sceptics have dismissed it as a short-term, face-saving exercise, the decision to train 80 “beat reporters” to work across Britain has been hailed by others as a major boost.

The journalists will join titles run by Johnston Press’s new owner, JPI Media, which has said it will keep alive all its papers, as well as titles owned by Newsquest and the other big players – Archant, Midland News Association and Reach. Their training will focus not just on the old ways, but on improving newsroom diversity and on digital journalism.

Like a kind of compensation for damage done to an old business model, Facebook’s scheme will sit alongside the cash already handed out by Google in its Digital News Initiative. Funding from the latter has gone towards Bureau Local, which describes itself as “a collaborative, investigative network revealing stories that matter to communities across the UK” and links regional news outlets with local bloggers and others to break stories.

Perhaps the biggest shot in the arm, however, has come from the BBC’s Local News Partnerships, which are funding new “local democracy reporters” nationwide. Newsquest are advertising three such jobs right now, for a salary of at least £22,000.

So is the impending democratic deficit already being addressed? And does it matter if local news is delivered online rather than in print? These issues are at the core of an inquiry into the sustainability of quality journalism being led by Dame Frances Cairncross and due to report in the new year.

For veteran local journalist Mark Davison of the Surrey Mirror, the value of meeting the people you write about is evident. As a junior reporter on the Kingston Borough Times he recalls meeting a lady who had come to buy a paper. In the 1920s, she told him, she had been taught by Enid Blyton at a large house in nearby Hook and she still had school reports written by the children’s author. These later appeared in the paper as one of a series of local history pieces that are appreciated by readers quite as much as coverage of council scandals.

For Guardian journalist Jo Pugh, who started on the Crawley News in Sussex in the early 1980s, proximity was also the key: “Our office was on the high street, so if you wrote something people didn’t like, they would come in and you had to deal with it, face to face. Character-building. People knew who you were and where to find you.”

A year ago the one-time Hendon Times trainee and former foreign correspondent Alex Spillius broadcast an elegiac piece about his time as a local reporter on BBC Radio 4’s From Our Home Correspondent. Speaking this weekend, he argued that council coverage was vital to a sense of local involvement. “If you are going to say that local papers don’t matter, you are saying that community doesn’t matter that much either,” he said.

Council-run newsletters that celebrate “achievements” and justify the council tax were no replacement for impartial journalism, he added.

Brennan, our old boss, agrees. He remembers an award-winning local government reporter, the late Bill Montgomery, whose job was “to dig up news our council didn’t want known”.

Perhaps when the Cairncross report comes out next year it will propose something radical: something akin to a series of tax incentives launched in Canada last week. Over a decade, more than 250 Canadian news outlets have closed and since 2012 newspaper revenues are down by up to 40%. Now the federal government has stepped in, offering C$600m (£350m) in new tax credits to the media industry for the next five years.

Whatever Cairncross recommends, her committee must bear in mind that it will always be hard to show exactly how local reporting aids democracy. Because you can never find out exactly what people have got away with when no one was looking.

‘Councils and crooks must feel relaxed’: why the loss of local papers matters | Media | The Guardian
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Devon dominates list of Britain's priciest seaside towns > with Buddleigh Salterton in the top ten

It is clearly very expensive to live beside the seaside in Devon - as reported in the Western Morning News: 

Devon dominates list of Britain's priciest seaside towns

Salcombe, Dartmouth and Budleigh Salterton all feature in the top 10

William Telford
23 JUN 2018

Devon has some of the country’s most expensive seaside towns – and house prices are holding up pretty well.

Salcombe, Dartmouth and Budleigh Salterton all feature in the top 10 in Halifax's new annual seaside town review, which tracks house price movements in 193 seaside towns across Britain. Devon is the only county with three entrants in the rankings.

Salcombe is at number two in a list topped, as you might expect, by the ritzy millionaires’ row of Sandbanks in Poole, which has been crowned Britain's most expensive seaside town for the third year in a row.

Salcombe in Devon

And Cornwall features strongly in the top 10 too, with the Daphne du Maurier town of Fowey and top chef Rick Stein’s culinary centre Padstow also included.

The Jurassic Coast town of Lyme Regis, just up the coast in Dorset, is also a pricey destination.

Both Sandbanks and Salcombe saw average house prices dip in the past 12 months, but the rest of the list has maintained values at 2017 levels. In Sandbanks average house prices fell by nearly £37,500 in the past year, but house hunters in the fancy location would need an average of £626,553 if they want to join the elite. Salcombe also experienced a house price decline with the average property now costing £577,591, which is a mighty £52,702 less than in 2017.

The report suggests stamp duty costs – a price hike was introduced for second homes in 2016 – may have helped put the brakes on house price growth in some of these uber-desirable coastal areas. But Sandbanks and Salcombe are the ONLY seaside towns in the top 10 to have seen property values fall compared with a year earlier.

The Sandbanks Peninsula in Poole, Dorset

Aldeburgh, in Suffolk, sits in third place, with an average property price tag of £535,872. The remainder of the top 10 are all in southern England, with Hampshire’s Lymington and East Wittering, in Sussex, also making the list.

Cornwall’s most expensive town is, now surprise, fashionable Padstow, where the average house will set you back £435,833.

Russell Galley, Halifax managing director, said: "It's no surprise that the South coast continues to be home to the most expensive seaside towns in the country, including those with the greatest growth in house prices over the last 10 years.

"What we can see though is that the two most desirable locations have in fact seen prices drop over the last year. This fall is likely to have been impacted by the higher costs of stamp duty for these more expensive homes."

Here are the most expensive seaside towns in Britain, according to Halifax, with the average house price:

1. Sandbanks, Dorset, South West, £626,553

2. Salcombe, Devon, South West, £577,591

3. Aldeburgh, Suffolk, East Anglia, £535,872

4. Lymington, Hampshire, South East, £487,143

5. Padstow, Cornwall, South West, £435,833

6. Dartmouth, Devon, South West, £431,539

7. East Wittering, Sussex, South East, £414,005

8. Fowey, Cornwall, South West, £403,622

9. Lyme Regis, Dorset, South West, £397,584

10. Budleigh Salterton, Devon, South West, £396,034

Budleigh Salterton in Devon

Devon dominates list of Britain's priciest seaside towns - Devon Live
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"Small hospitals have a big role to play"

Four years ago, this was being said by the Chief Executive of the NHS: 

We know community hospitals work. And at last, so does the NHS

Helen Tucker

Health chief Simon Stevens is right. Family care is best delivered at a local level, along with GP surgeries and social services

Fri 30 May 2014

Comments 98

'When small hospitals are threatened with closure, this passion translates into protest.' Photograph: Rex Features

The message from the new NHS chief executive, Simon Stevens, that small hospitals have a big role to play, is important for local people who are passionate about theirs – and may be in the nick of time for some of them.

In practice, plans for the future of community hospitals vary considerably across the country, presenting a confusing picture for patients, staff and communities.

For instance, in Gloucestershire, there has been considerable investment in community hospital services and facilities, including the new hospital in Tewkesbury. In Oxfordshire, Bicester community hospital is opening this summer after two decades of public campaigning. By contrast, in Somerset, there are proposals for closing services in community hospitals, and just last week there was an announcement that Ashby hospital in Leicestershire will close.

Poltair hospital in Cornwall no longer has inpatient beds, while a "pause" on proposals to withdraw beds was successfully negotiated by the community in Swanage, Dorset and in Ashburton, Devon. Too many community hospitals have been losing their beds and services over the past few years.

Community hospitals have needed advice and a voice, and that's what the Community Hospitals Association (CHA) tries to provide. We know that local people are passionate about their local services, and see them as a vital community asset.

They are often closely involved with their service, such as through volunteering and donations, in a way that they are less so with the bigger hospitals. The financial support through a hospital's League of Friends can be considerable, funding buildings and equipment.

Local people witness the benefit of the service through their own experience or those of family and friends, and often contrast the very personal care in a small hospital with the care in larger acute hospitals. When small hospitals are threatened with closure, this passion translates into protest marches of thousands of local people, as there were recently in Millom in Cumbria, and in packed public meetings, such as in Clevedon, North Somerset.

The local community in Rye, East Sussex decided that they would take this into their own hands. They felt so strongly about safeguarding their service that they bought the hospital and land, extended it and have been managing it successfully for over 15 years. Their view was that it really mattered to local people, and that they would look after the service. Other communities have followed suit, such as in Odiham, Hampshire and Wells, Norfolk.

What makes the difference is the strong tradition of care in local community hospitals over 150 years, and the access to health and care services they provide in more remote and rural areas. The whole community benefits from services such as clinic appointments, treatment for minor injuries, physiotherapy and x-ray. Inpatient beds are predominantly used to support older people who need rehabilitation and support before going home, which is organised by local teams of staff including GPs, social workers, nurses and therapists.

It is this sensitive and appropriate local service that is so appreciated by patients and families. Patients who need palliative and end-of-life care can also be offered a local service close to their home and family. A number of hospitals carry out operations, and others have maternity units and dementia care centres. New clinical and technological developments mean that services such as kidney dialysis, ultrasound and MRI scanning can be offered in small hospitals.

A number of hospitals incorporate GP surgeries, social services and complementary therapies. The variation and diversity of service is often a response to local need, showing how far they have developed from the original cottage hospital concept. This range of service is achieved by working in partnership with the larger, more specialist hospitals and many other providers of health and social care.

When making the case for small hospitals, patients and their families often talk about the access to services in rural areas, the continuity of care by local GPs and staff, and the familiarity of the service. It is less daunting to go to your local hospital than to travel to a large district general hospital, and more manageable in terms of transport and parking. These are important considerations for frail older people and young families alike.

The community hospital network has been gearing up, and Simon Stevens's announcement has given a real boost to those who work in small hospitals. They know from their patients that their service is appreciated and is effective.

We at the CHA know that communities are engaged and enlivened by community hospital care. We know the 300 community hospitals across the country provide a different kind of care to the highly centralised care in acute hospitals. We can feel the NHS shifting in our direction, and since the announcement I have had a number of unexpectedly positive calls from commissioners. Not enough account has been taken of the community hospital sector until now. I believe, and hope, that is now changing.

We know community hospitals work. And at last, so does the NHS | Helen Tucker | Opinion | The Guardian

However, the reality is very different, as reported in the East Devon Watch today: 

A SURGEON SPEAKS ON COMMUNITY HOSPITALS AND NHS PRIVATISATION

2 JUN 2018

“David Halpin FELLOW OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS knows what is needed – see his letter………

LETTER sent by DAVID HALPIN FRCS to the WESTERN MORNING NEWS

Dear Letters Editor, 25th April 2018

I reply to the letter from B Gelder (WMN April 23rd) entitled ‘Cottage Hospitals ease strain on the NHS.’ I have written before on this vital subject and listed their functions.

Recovery from serious illness or major operations requires loving and professional care, good nutrition and sound sleep. These were provided in good Community Hospitals. The last thing patients might get in the District General Hospital is a good night’s sleep. The noise, the moving of beds and the distress of disorientated patients do not allow sleep.

This retreat, supposedly for economy, from past high standards is part of what I call the ‘atomising’ of all that we hold dear. The dogmas of capitalism win out all the time. ‘Private good, public bad’. So with the privatisation of OUR railways under the Major government, the wheels were stupidly separated from the tracks to meet EU competition rules. There are about 3000 separate contractors working on the permanent way. There are probably more ‘contractors’ working in OUR NHS.

This is a sign of these shabby and confused times. Walking to Paddington Station past St Mary’s Hospital where I qualified as a doctor in 1964, I saw an ambulance – ‘NHS working in partnership with DHL.’

I understand that Teignmouth Community Hospital is likely to be closed completely. That catch phrase ‘not fit for purpose’ is being applied – ‘going forward’. The Philistines who order this will know that the original hospital was bombed by the Luftwaffe. Seven patients and three nurses were killed. They do not ‘remember them’. The first hospital to be built by the NHS, when the UK was on its uppers, was Teignmouth Hospital. Patients were treated for acute illness there by good GPs, nurses and physiotherapists, and others taken for further care from the big hospitals. It is being bombed again.

When this good hospital, with its views over Lyme Bay, becomes a 5 storey block of ‘luxury’ flats and second homes, the capital from the sale of the site will disappear in a puff of smoke. Taxpayers money is being burned in the NHS. The non-clinical staff in one Devon hospital now outnumber the clinical staff – nurses, physios, doctors etc. Watch BBC’s ‘Hospital’ from Nottingham as a quart fails to be squeezed into a pint pot. The proliferation of managerial personnel with unusual titles is excruciating and the distress of patients likewise.”

A surgeon speaks on community hospitals and NHS privatisation | East Devon Watch
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Pressure for development for second homes in Devon > “Developers were struggling to sell homes in less-desirable areas, even with the assistance of the government's Help to Buy scheme. They would be able to sell those houses like hot cakes to second home owners if they were able to build in beautiful areas and on the coast.”

The government is looking at its national planning policies - and there are fears in Devon that this will mean 'game over':
Futures Forum: National Planning Policy Framework review and consultation closes 10th May > "game over" for the AONB?

But the Campaign to Protect Rural England has been making such warnings for some time now:
Futures Forum: How reckless housing development threatens England’s AONBs

The East Devon Watch blog carries the front-page piece from this weekend's WMN: 

“BUILDING FREE-FOR-ALL [IN NEW PLANNING REGULATIONS] PUTS RURAL WEST AT RISK”

Western Morning News article, Saturday 21 April:

“Pristine protected areas of the South West could be at risk from housing developments plans, a conservation charity has warned. Even officially designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty would face developments due to “vague” proposed new planning guidance for local authorities the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) says.

The Government argues that the new rules, part of a move to open up land to solve the housing shortage, would still protect the environment.

However Justin Hague of the South Hams CPRE, said “this would be game over” for conservationists. Some of the south West’s pristine and most beautiful landscapes could have houses built on them under Government plans conservationists have warned.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England says even officially designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty would face major development due to the “vague” new planning guidance for local authorities.

The proposals - which are being consulted on until May 10 – would end the fight to preserve the precious areas, said the chairman of the group in one of the most under-pressure parts of the regain.

“Not to sound too dramatic, but for countryside campaigners it would be game over” said Justin Hague, chairman of the South Hams branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England. (CPRE) Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) would be handed “on a plate to the developers” He is urging people to write to their MPs to build opposition to the proposed changes.

The controversy is over sections of the National Policy Planning Framework (NPPF) which sets out the Government`s Policies on proposed developments and how they are expected to be applied.

Changes are being but forward partly to help solve the housing crisis.

The aim is to “bring forward more land in the right places” for development, the Government says “Protecting and enhancing the natural environment “ is one of the three key objectives , the document states.

However conservationists are concerned by what they say is watering down of the NPPF policies protecting special areas of the countryside and coast which were put in place in 2012. Their attention focuses on one section of the proposals, Conserving and Enhancing the Natural Environment.

In the existing document, reference is made to protected areas such as National Parks and AONBs as having the “highest status of protection in relation to landscape and scenic beauty.

The wording disappears under the new proposals.

Mr Hague said absolute tests that helped reinforce protection of the special areas would also go if new guidelines were agreed.

“The proposals say major developments will only be allowed in exceptional circumstances. But what is “major”? Is that 100 homes? In the South Hams in the AONB 10homes could have a huge impact. It massively opens the door for development in AONBs” he said. “My concern is these proposed changes are buried in a huge document that few people have the time or interest to read.

Mr Hague said he had an “unprecedented” response since he expressed his concerns in newsletter to fellow CPRE members in the South Hams.

“Usually I get three or four responses” he said “This time I had 70!”
Mr Hague said the South Hams faced particular pressure for development because of the desire for second homes.“Developers were struggling to sell homes in less-desirable areas, even with the assistance of the Governments Help to Buy Scheme. They would be able to sell those houses like hot cakes to second home owners if they were able to build in beautiful areas and on the coast” he said.”

Devon Live - Latest local news, sport & business from Devon
“Building free-for-all [in new planning regulations] puts rural West at risk” | East Devon Watch
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Knowle relocation project: "decision to sell HQ for £7.5m worst deal ever"

Who exactly is PegasusLife?
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: of Paradise Papers and specialising in vulture funds

They are clearly in the business of doing business - and the contract to buy the Knowle site was clearly very good business:

Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: full Pegasus contract published 

Decision process which led to the award of the conditional contract with Pegasus re Knowle - a Freedom of Information request to East Devon District Council 

It is very difficult to guess how much the project will earn the company 

- but some estimates put it at £15m:

Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: PegasusLife pleading poverty: "specialists in development viability have confirmed that the development cannot afford to meet the council’s policy requirements for affordable housing"

Now the actual value of the site is the subject of a Freedom of Information request - and of comment from the East Devon Alliance - as reported in today's Western Morning News:

"Council decision to sell HQ for £7.5M is worst deal ever," activists

12 MARCH 2018

BY FRAN MCELHONE

Activists have branded a council decision to sell its HQ “the worst deal ever” for taxpayers.

East Devon District Council is selling its offices at Knowle in Sidmouth to Pegasus Life Ltd, one of Britain’s largest retirement housing developers, for £7.5 million.

The developable value of the site – divulged in a response to a Freedom of Information request in January – has been set at £50 million, with Pegasus Life Ltd set to make a £10 million profit.

Pegasus is owned by an American firm listed in the so-called Paradise Papers, 13.4 million confidential electronic documents relating to offshore investments that were leaked to German reporters last year. Offshore investments enable companies and individuals to shelter their wealth and avoid tax. They are legal.

Paul Arnott, chairman of the East Devon Alliance campaign group, said: “Why were councillors never told that our last great piece of family silver the Knowle – would be worth a massive £50 million after development?

“If any individual person in East Devon was told their prime location property could be developed and sold on for £50 million they’d never accept £7 million.”

In December 2016, the council’s planning committee rejected Pegasus Life’s planning application for 113 extra care units, but following a four-day inquiry into the developer’s appeal in November, a planning inspector gave the firm approval for the scheme which includes a café and swimming pool. Sidmouth has been allocated only 50 extra care homes in the council’s Local Plan.

The Alliance said it was an “exceptionally bad” deal, because, in accordance with the old land buyer’s rule of thumb, the landowner of a site should expect around a third of its developable value – in this case £16.5 million.

A council spokesperson said the deal was based on the site’s land value – in its current state. The site includes the buildings, terraces and top car parks.

Moving council operations to Honiton, with a satellite office at Exmouth Town Hall, has a budget of £10 million and is being funded out of the council’s coffers and a Public Works Loan Board loan.

The council spokesperson said that “from day one”, council running costs would reduce significantly when it leaves the Knowle and during its first full year of operations at Honiton it will save £135,000, with savings increasing year-on-year.

The Alliance pointed out that because the proposed complex is considered to be a residential/care home development, as opposed to a general residential development, the developer is not required to pay Section 106 money towards providing community services. The developer is only contributing £12,000 to improve access/footpaths to the site from adjacent parkland.

However, the developer could have to comply with what is known as an overage clause: If more than a 20% profit is made from the development, the council will be entitled to 50% of any profit made over and above the 20%, to a maximum of £3.5 million.

A council spokesperson, said: “We have carried out due diligence on Pegasus Life Ltd and are satisfied that they are an established and successful company suitably financed, capable of delivering the promised development and able satisfy their contract with the council.

“Selling the Knowle and moving offices is key to continuing to serve our communities. Services to our communities are what matter, not the vanity of paying to stay in an outdated and expensive building.

Pegasus Life Ltd bosses did not comment when asked whether any of the profit of its Sidmouth development could end up in tax havens. However, Howard Phillips, its chief executive, said: “We pride ourselves on the quality of our developments and the sensitivity of our designs to ensure they fit in with the area’s achitectural vernacular.

“The UK is in the middle of housing crisis and local authorities need to make cohesive eve plans that meet the needs their local towns. This includes provision for people over 60.”
Western Morning News (@WMNNews) | Twitter
Devon Live - Latest local news, sport & business from Devon
EDDC “Council decision to sell HQ for £7.5M is worst deal ever, activists” | East Devon Watch

And later in the day, a fresh Freedom of Information request was submitted:

Who knew that The Knowle had a reported developable value of £50 million pounds?

12 MARCH 2018

Today's Western Morning News (12th March 2018) contains a report that EDDC have stated, via a FOI response (to a person whose identity is not given), that the 'developable value' of the site was £50 million. The report also states that The Knowle site was sold for £7.5 million to Pegasus Life. On the face of it this is a matter of great concern.

Under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act, and the Environmental Regulations , I wish to ask what information you hold about this valuation and also as to the persons who were made aware of this valuation of the property.

Will you also kindly provide me with details/copies (digital preferred) of any and all reports that contain any reference to this £50 million figure together with details of any and all councillors, officers and consultants and the like who were made aware. Please include details of when such individuals were so advised and by what means. Copies where available please.

Finally, please provide details of the party who produced the £50 million valuation together with a copy of his or her valuation .

There is no need to give any information about 'developable values' in general or how they may relate to this sale . At this stage I simply wish to know who knew and by what means and when they were told.

Who knew that The Knowle had a reported developable value of £50 million pounds? - a Freedom of Information request to East Devon District Council - WhatDoTheyKnow

Because there are no references to FOI requests available:
East Devon District Council - view and make Freedom of Information requests - WhatDoTheyKnow
Freedom of Information published requests - East Devon
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"The decline of local journalism is a threat to democracy and is fuelling the rise in fake news."

We have just seen the demise of one of East Devon's local newspapers:
Futures Forum: View News East Devon to close

However, the group behind the Express & Echo and the Western Morning News has promised investment and commitment to local journalism:
Futures Forum: Trinity Mirror South West takes on new Devon reporters >>> "It is vitally important that local politics is scrutinised and reported on by an independent media."

And there are other people and organisations trying to open things up:
Futures Forum: Debunking fake news in East Devon with 'on-line open-source investigation'

Because we have a lot of work on our hands:
Futures Forum: A conversation on power without responsibility >>> British Media in the 21st Century >>>

Especially today:
Futures Forum: Big data and big lies...
Futures Forum: Fake news, the UK general election and local news
Futures Forum: Civil society under threat

The Prime Minister has been talking about these things:

Decline of local journalism threatens democracy, says May

Government review will assess whether state intervention is needed to preserve the press

Jessica Elgot Political correspondent

@jessicaelgot

Tue 6 Feb 2018 16.38 GMTLast modified on Tue 6 Feb 2018 22.01 GMT

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The decline of local journalism is a threat to democracy and is fuelling the rise in fake news, Theresa May said while launching a review into whether state intervention was needed to preserve national and local newspapers.

The investigation is set to examine the rise of low-quality “clickbait” news and whether more could be done by either the industry or government to undermine commercial incentives to produce such content.

Speaking in Manchester to mark 100 years since the Representation of the People Act, which extended the vote to all men over 21 and some women over the age of 30, May said advances in modern technology were having “a profound impact on one of the cornerstones of our public debate – our free press”.

The review will examine the supply chain for digital advertisers and whether content creators, rather than platforms, are getting enough of the revenue. May said the review would examine “whether industry or government-led solutions” were needed to help tackle the issue.

The prime minister, wearing a purple jacket and suffragette pin, called journalism “a huge force for good” but said its existence was under threat. “Good quality journalism provides us with the information and analysis we need to inform our viewpoints and conduct a genuine discussion,” she said. “But in recent years, especially in local journalism, we have seen falling circulations, a hollowing-out of local newsrooms and fears for the future sustainability of high-quality journalism.”

How technology disrupted the truth

 

Read more

May said that more than 200 local papers had closed since 2005, naming several in Greater Manchester including the Salford Advertiser, Trafford Advertiser and Wilmslow Express. About two-thirds of local authority areas do not have a daily local newspaper.

“This is dangerous for our democracy. When trusted and credible news sources decline, we can become vulnerable to news which is untrustworthy,” she said. “So to address this challenge to our public debate we will launch a review to examine the sustainability of our national and local press. It will look at the different business models for high-quality journalism.”

May said the review would consider whether “the creators of content are getting their fair share of the advertisement revenue” from the articles they produced. “Digital advertising is now one of the essential sources of revenue for newspapers, the review will analyse how that supply chain operates,” she said. “A free press is one of the foundations on which our democracy is built and it must be preserved.”

The culture minister, Matt Hancock, said the review would investigate the overall health of the news media, the range of news available and how the press was adapting to the new digital market, including the role of platforms like Facebook and Google.

In a statement after May’s speech, Hancock said the industry was facing “an uncertain future” and the review would ensure the UK did not lose a vibrant, independent and plural free press. Hancock said it would examine “clickbait” news to consider if action needed to be taken to reduce its commercial incentive.

The review would also examine how data created or owned by news publications was collected and distributed by online platforms.

David Dinsmore, chair of the News Media Association, said he welcomed the plans: “This review acknowledges the importance of journalism in a democratic society, the vital role that the press takes in holding the powerful to account and producing verified news which informs the public. Viable business models must be found that ensure a wide variety of media are able to have a long and healthy future.”

A panel of experts will be appointed to lead the review in the coming months, with a final report expected early 2019.

Decline of local journalism threatens democracy, says May | Media | The Guardian
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