The reality is that the crippling cuts have demoralised and damaged the capacity of child protection services to protect vulnerable children – Abbott

Diane Abbott, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, commenting on the Government’s announcement of measures to protect children and young people from sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking, said

“This Government’s hypocrisy is startling. Councils will face a £1.9 billion funding gap in children’s services by 2020 and whilst this £40 million injection is welcome, it barely scratches the surface.

“The reality is that the crippling cuts have demoralised and damaged the capacity of child protection services to protect vulnerable children.

“Coupled with the shambolic handling of the Inquiry into Historic Child Sex Abuse, the treatment of the victims of child sex abuse and vulnerable children is inadequate and irresponsible.

“We must ensure children are safe and it is unclear how the Government can prove they take this task seriously with their planned £1.9 billion funding gap.”

Labour will deliver a real living wage so that every worker earns enough to really live – Long-Bailey

Rebecca Long-Bailey, Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary, commenting on the release of the list of employers who have failed to pay the national minimum and living wage, said:

“It is frankly disgraceful that a record number of employers have failed to pay their workers the basic minimum wage and hopefully the repercussions of being publicly named and shamed will act as a deterrent for other unscrupulous employers.

“However, the fact remains that the current so-called National Living Wage is that in name only. The Chancellor even announced a cut in the rate at the Autumn Statement last year, leaving 2.7 million people over £1,300 worse off by 2020.

“Labour will deliver a real living wage so that every worker earns enough to really live.”

Children deserve more from this Tory Government – Rayner

Angela
Rayner, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, commenting on the letter from Core Cities UK to the
Education Secretary, said:

“Schools
are facing unprecedented cuts to their budgets and all the Tories have to offer
are warms words about how they will help them make the savings.

“When
headteachers are faced with the choice of keeping the lights on or letting go
of teachers, this is galling to say the very least.

“Children
deserve more from this Tory government who have created a school funding
crisis, chronic teacher shortages and super-sized classes.”

Press release: Seven guilty of illegally fishing in Lincolnshire

Fishing without a licence has landed seven Lincolnshire anglers with penalties totalling more than £4,000, the Environment Agency reports.

Lee Bakes of Munster Court in Grimsby, Wayne Muress of Weelsby Street in Grimsby, Gareth Browne of Wellington Street in Grimsby, Lyndsey Russell of Parker Street in Cleethorpes, Ashley Ardon of Steve Newton Avenue in Horncastle, Dean Pocklington of Small End in Boston, and David Freeman of Dennis Estate in Boston, were all guilty under Section 27(1)(a) of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975.

They were caught at Pigeon Pond in North Somercoates, Oasis Lakes in North Somercoates, River Bain in Horncastle, and Westwood Lakes in Wyberton.

They were spotted by Environment Agency bailiffs and PCSOs on regular patrols designed to catch unlicensed anglers in the act – and protect the sport for those who do follow the rules.

The seven offenders were tried on Monday 13 February at Boston Magistrates’ Court. Fines totalled £2,900 but with costs and victim surcharges included, the five paid out penalties totalling £4,086.29. A rod licence currently costs from just £27.

Adam Basham, Environment Agency enforcement team leader, said:

Monday was a good day for the near-million anglers that fish legally every year, respecting each other and the sport. There really is no excuse – if you don’t have a licence, pick one up from the Post Office or online before we pick you up.

It makes no sense to have the embarrassment of a court visit, a criminal conviction and a bill for potentially thousands of pounds when an annual licence is currently just £27. We think these cheats will think twice before picking up a rod illegally again and if they don’t, our officers are ready and waiting.

The money from rod licence sales supports fish, fisheries and fishing, and protects the future of the sport. A small number of anglers refuse to buy a licence, cheating the sport and their fellow anglers.

For the minority who flout the rules, the most common offence is fishing without a valid licence, which could land them with a fine of up to £2,500 and a criminal record.

In 2015/16, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire enforcement officers checked 3,710 licences and reported 73 for fishing illegally, bringing in fines and costs totalling £16,810.

Last year in England, the Environment Agency checked more than 62,000 rod licences and prosecuted more than 1,900 anglers for rod and line offences, resulting in fines and costs in excess of £500,000.

Any angler aged 12 or over, fishing on a river, canal or still water needs a licence. A full rod licence costs from just £27 (concessions available) and is available from the Post Office either online or in a local branch, or by phoning 0344 800 5386.

Money from rod licence sales is invested in England’s fisheries and is used to fund a wide range of projects to improve facilities for anglers including protecting stocks from illegal fishing, pollution and disease; restoring fish stocks through re-stocking; eradicating invasive species; and fish habitat improvements. Rod licence money is also used to fund the Angling Trust to provide information about fishing and to encourage participation in the sport.

To help crack down on unlicensed fishing, the Environment Agency urges people to report illegal activity by calling its incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Lee Bakes, who was proved guilty in absence, was fined £440 and ordered to pay costs of £127.47, as well as a victim surcharge of £44, making the total penalty £611.47. Mr Bakes was caught on 15 July 2016 at the Pigeon Pond, North Somercotes.
Wayne Muress, who was proved guilty in absence, was fined £440 and ordered to pay costs of £127.47, as well as a victim surcharge of £44, making the total penalty £611.47. Mr Muress was caught on 15 July 2016 at the Pigeon Pond, North Somercotes.
Gareth Browne, who was proved guilty in absence, was fined £440 and ordered to pay costs of £127.47, as well as a victim surcharge of £44, making the total penalty £611.47. Mr Browne was caught on 15 July 2016 at the Pigeon Pond, North Somercotes.
Lyndsey Russell, who was proved guilty in absence, was fined £440 and ordered to pay costs of £127.47, as well as a victim surcharge of £44, making the total penalty £611.47. Ms Russell was caught on 4 July at Oasis Lakes, North Somercoates.
Ashley Ardon, who was proved guilty in absence, was fined £440 and ordered to pay costs of £127.47, as well as a victim surcharge of £44, making the total penalty £611.47. Mr Ardon was caught on 6 July 2016 on the River Bain, Horncastle.
Dean Pocklington, who pleaded guilty, was fined £440 and ordered to pay costs of £127.47, as well as a victim surcharge of £44, making the total penalty £611.47. Mr Pocklington was caught on 6 July 2016 on the River Bain, Horncastle.
David Freeman, who pleased guilty, was fined £260 and ordered to pay costs of £127.47, as well as a victim surcharge of £30, making the total penalty, £611.47. Mr Freeman was caught on 13 February 2017 at Westwood Lakes, Wyberton.
All were found fishing for freshwater fish or eels with an unlicensed instrument in a place where fishing is regulated, contrary to Section 27(1)(a) of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975.

Leafscape: an exhibition

Botanical artist Jess Shepherd has spent the past few years immersed in the world of leaves, both from a visual and sonic point of view. In this special guest post, Jess writes about how field recording became an intrinsic part of her creative process.

As a botanical painter, I specialise in painting very large watercolours of plants and am always working to surprise the viewer. Between 16^th and 25^th February, I will be holding my first solo exhibition of over 30 new watercolour paintings in Bloomsbury, London. For this exhibition, I explore my vision of a botanical dystopia, challenging our own sense of scale, its value and how we measure it.

The story began when I picked up a leaf from a London pavement in July 2014. At the time I was moving house and felt that the condition of the leaf told my own story. It had been scuffed by the streets of the city and was no longer attached to the tree, but blowing across the floor in the wind. Like me, it was on the move.

After carefully painting this leaf larger than life size I was drawn to paint another and another. Eventually, after months of painting these leaf portraits, all from different moments in time and place, I have created a visual story. Some of these leaves measure over a meter in length.

Leaf 041120151210, Cercis siliquastrum, Watercolour on paper, 760 x 560mm

For the past two years I have also collected the environmental sounds from where each leaf was growing using an Olympus LS-14 recorder. These sounds document a journey from the East End of London, through the avenues of Hyde Park and streets of Chelsea into the deep rural countryside of Granada in Spain where I now have a second studio. I started collecting these sounds because I became interested in documenting the elements of our existence that I could not capture with paint. I also began to wonder how leaves would interpret their spaces if trees could hear. By recording the sounds from the precise locations of my source material, I feel I have been able to add a new dimension to botanical art; that I am able to communicate the importance of plants and our environment more poignantly. It is my way of catapulting botanical art into the 21st Century whilst also looking at topics close to my heart such as what is reality and what it means to exist.

Spain_birds and rain

Spain_goat bells

All of these environmental sounds have been skilfully arranged by musician Derek Thompson (Hoodlum Priest) who, through a process of both precise and random digital manipulation, has created a composition where place, time and space become intertwined. This multimedia journey is our vision of a botanical dystopia; the natural world in a state of decay through interaction with the encroaching urban environment.

Leafscape extract

The idea of recording sound introduces a completely new element to botanical art and I hope that this interpretation of both the natural and human worlds will encourage listeners to be as aware of the diversity and beauty of sound in the city as much as that of the countryside.

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Leafscape will be on show at Abbott and Holder from 16th-25th February 2017.

A copy of the accompanying book & soundtrack has been donated by the artist to the British Library and will soon be available in our Reading Rooms.

Audio clips and images courtesy of Jess Shepherd.