Choice and Dilemmas

I spoke at a recent seminar for local government - "Choice and Dilemmas: The Future of Local Adult Social Care" with Ivan Lewis, Minister for Care Services at the Department of Health.

A small invited group of officers and politicians from London boroughs, county councils, professional bodies and social care media joined myself, the Minister, and Annie Stevenson, Senior Policy Adviser with Help The Aged.

It seemed to me sensible to set out the pressures and issues affecting Social Service departments - the cost of the Government's choice and personalisation agenda; the need for better access to health and social care for all; and how a simple change in legislation would allow us to build much-needed capacity in the voluntary and community sector.

The Minister agreed that fundamental change was required - we needed to rethink the way we delivered health and care services if we were to cope with more demand, from more people, with less money. And although I had to contend with the odd jibe about Kent TV, it was refreshing to leave politics aside for a while to find that everyone in the room had common ground - better services in a changing society.

Mr Lewis will be seeking the views of us all in his Green Paper on financing adult social care later this year. I really hope he's still in listening mode.

Smokers of the world ignite

In a shrewd marketing move, Marlboro today announced its intention to trial the new "Intense" brand of 'bite size' cigarettes in Turkey.

At just 7.2cm long, the new Marlboro will last an average of seven puffs - just enough for a "quick puff" by harassed smokers forced outdoors in all weathers by the smoking ban in more than fifty countries.

However, it will apparently deliver the same strength at half the size - essentially being double strength. How long before smokers are clamouring for a full-size double strength version?

At the same time, a Liberal Democrat MEP in Brussels has laid down a motion calling for the abolition of low energy-efficient goods - top of the list of which are apparently pub patio heaters. The move, which will cost the British pub and catering trade an estimated quarter of a billion pounds a year in lost earnings, will cause even greater consternation - and presumably even shorter cigarettes - among smokers everywhere.

Perhaps a worldwide protest with the old slogan - "Smokers of the world ignite...?"

A Place for Everything

Just in case any of us were wondering, that helpful Hazel Blears has come to our aid yet again. The Department of Communities and Local Government - for that is the name of her department this week - is gearing up to send out a "Place Survey" to every household.

Of course, in case this questionnaire gets reviled and slated by residents as a complete waste of time and money, local councils are being asked to send the survey out on behalf of Government.

The survey, branded "Invasion of Your Privacy" by Kent on Sunday newspaper, will ask if you are happy with your accommodation (well I'd quite like a six bed detached please...) and whether your local area is "a place where people from different backgrounds get on well together." Just in case you don't know where your local area is, the Government helpfully defines it:

"...the 'local area' is defined as within 15-20 minutes walking distance, which is a distance of three-quarters of a mile to a mile at an average walking speed of 3mph."

It also asks whether you have "none, moderate or extreme pain or discomfort". Well I wouldn't have if I didn't keep getting daft surveys through my door...

Tender and tender again

Most of us will have spent frustrating times crawling along the A21 at Castle Hill, as the two lanes merge into one.

So it was welcome news when the Government advertised for a firm to 'dual' this stretch of road in August 2006. At around £145,000,000, it attracted interest from several big contractors - McAlpines, Laing O'Rourke, Skanska, Nuttalls and May Gurney all sent in their bids.

But now it has emerged that because of a "funding crisis" the Government hasn't yet chosen a preferred bidder. In fact, word is that if they don't choose someone by the end of this month, the whole process may have to start again.

And if the contractors incur costs in re-tendering, who do you think they'll pass that on to?

That's right. You and me - the taxpayers. Why can't Government just get its act together?

Another crossing, another ripoff?

I notice this week that the Leaders of Kent and Essex County Councils, Paul Carter and Paul Hanningfield were lobbying Government to provide a third Thames crossing. Hardly a week goes by without thousands of commuters suffering hours of nose to tail holdups because the Dartford Crossing just isn't sufficient to cope with today's traffic volumes.

But it did remind me that, when the Dartford Crossing was first approved by Government, Kent and Essex County Councils - being the strategic authorities at either end of the new crossing - were promised that, once the toll revenues had covered the cost of the construction, the ongoing anual revenue would be shared between the two councils for "traffic improvement and road schemes".

Opened in 1991, the costs were actually paid off by 2003. But once the Government saw the scale of the income, a strange 'short-term memory loss' kicked in and the 'cake' that was to be shared became a few crumbs - just a million pounds each per year out of what now amounts to over £50,000,000 income.





We should have counted ourselves lucky - because within a few years even that payout became £1m of 'borrowing approsal' - in other words the Government kindly allowed Essex and Kent to run up a million pounds of debt which they had to pay for from their own coffers. So the Government keeps the entire £50m a year windfall. Today, around 17,000 heavy goods vehicles use the crossing, and the Government are now looking to hike up the tolls yet again.





Another Government sponsored Thames Crossing? Or another Government cash cow?

Consistently hypocritical

You may have noticed recently in the local press that Tunbridge Wells Liberal Democrats have changed their Chairman.

Gone is Dr Alan Bullion, whose misinformed comments regularly graced the Courier letters page. A recent attack was against myself and County Councillor Roy Bullock, reviled by Dr Bullion for the ultimate sin - "Not Living In Our Electoral Patch". Shame on us.

We're told that Dr Bullion is standing down as Lib Dem Chairman to allow him to concentrate on his parliamentary campaign as candidate for Sevenoaks.

And where does Dr Bullion live? Just off Oak Road. In Sherwood.

Consistency is everything in politics, and at least Dr Bullion is consistently hypocritical...

St James' Ward

Went out today to St James' ward with Greg Clark and a team of Conservative friends. No campaigning, no asking for votes - we simply knocked on doors, said hello, put faces to names and gave our email and phone number contacts.

We were really well received - given plenty of issues which we'll go away and sort out. Issues like pavements, quality of road surfaces, speed of traffic at St James' school - all making a difference to the quality of life of local people.

These Saturday morning "Street Surgeries" work really well, and there are more planned across the Borough. Maybe we'll knock on your door next!