Feb72017

Green Party: Housing Minister’s plans a slap in the face for people who can't afford a home

Green Party
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7 February 2017

*Jonathan Bartley, co-leader: ‘We must end our narrow obsession with home ownership and meet people where they are – by investing in social housing and improving the private rented sector’

The Green Party has branded the Housing Minister’s new housing strategy [1] a “slap in the face” for people struggling to afford the cost of their homes.

Jonathan Bartley, Green Party co-leader, said the Government should instead focus on:

  • Setting up a Living Rent Commission to bring down rents
  • Introducing a Land Value Tax to reduce property speculation
  • Expand the use of community land trusts and co-operative home ownership
  • End tax breaks for buy-to-let investors and use the money for social housing

Bartley said:

“The Housing Minister’s plans are a slap in the face for the millions of people in this country desperate for bold plans to reduce rents and make their housing affordable.

“People are living in desperate insecurity and we need to end our narrow obsession with home ownership and meet people where they are – by investing in social housing and improving the private rented sector. Any plan to help renters which doesn’t have at its heart a clear intention to reduce the amount tenants are paying is doomed to failure.

“It is scandalous that many people are paying up to two-thirds of their income on rent, and often living in sub-standard accommodation. The Government should immediately set up a Living Rent Commission to work out what rent is truly affordable and take action to bring down costs for tenants.

 “With Britain suffering such an acute housing crisis – and with property developers earning such huge sums for simply holding onto land – it’s also clear that idea such as a Land Value Tax should be explored. Such a tax could reduce property speculation, revitalise inner city areas and raise revenue – there’s no excuse for failing to investigate it as an option.

 “We need to start talking seriously about expanding the use of community land trusts and co-operative home ownership. If the Government wants to take the heat out of the housing market it must end tax breaks for buy-to-let investors, and use the money to create a new generation of social housing.

“Housing should not be a speculative commodity and we must move beyond piecemeal tinkering with a broken market to ensure that everyone has a place they can call home.”

Notes:

  1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38884601

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Feb72017

Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest Plan will save lives – Vaughan Gething

Welsh Government
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The plan will be published this Spring and will ensure  that  more people have an increased chance of survival and recovery following an out of hospital cardiac arrest.

 The Health Secretary said:

“Around 8,000 people in Wales suffer a sudden cardiac arrest every year. We can save many more lives by raising awareness of resuscitation and ensuring cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and early defibrillation are undertaken more often.  

“We are also striving to improve the care patients receive from successful resuscitation to rehabilitation. Cardiac care and survival rates continue to improve and I want to thank NHS staff and other stakeholders who have contributed to these improvements.”

The Heart Conditions Delivery Plan, published in January 2017 seeks to deliver fully integrated primary, community, secondary and specialist pathways of care, designed around the needs of the patient. It also gives patients a shared responsibility in managing their condition, including making the right lifestyle choices.

The Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest Plan will include actions to improve early recognition of cardiac arrest, immediate and high quality CPR, early defibrillation and effective post resuscitation care. Plans include ensuring that cardiac rehabilitation teams have the right training and to provide consistency of care across Wales.

Cardiac care in Wales is steadily improving with fewer people dying from cardiovascular disease. The British Heart Foundation has described Wales as a world leader in cardiac rehabilitation, as the numbers receiving this following a heart attack have increased.

Feb72017

National Statistics: Final UK greenhouse gas emissions national statistics: 1990-2015

DEFRA
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Updated: Data updated

This publication provides the final estimates of UK greenhouse gas emissions going back to 1990. Estimates are presented by source in February of each year and are updated in March of each year to include estimates by end-user and fuel type.

When emissions are reported by source, emissions are attributed to the sector that emits them directly. When emissions are reported by end-user, emissions by source are reallocated in accordance with where the end-use activity occurred. This reallocation of emissions is based on a modelling process. For example, all the carbon dioxide produced by a power station is allocated to the power station when reporting on a source basis. However, when applying the end-user method, these emissions are reallocated to the users of this electricity, such as domestic homes or large industrial users. BEIS does not estimate embedded emissions however the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs publishes estimates annually. The alternative approaches to reporting UK greenhouse gas emissions report outlines the differences between them.

For the purposes of reporting, greenhouse gas emissions are allocated into a small number of broad, high level sectors as follows: energy supply, business, transport, public, residential, agriculture, industrial processes, land use land use change and forestry (LULUCF), and waste management.

These high level sectors are made up of a number of more detailed sectors, which follow the definitions set out by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and which are used in international reporting tables which are submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) every year. A list of corresponding Global Warming Potentials (GWPs) used and a record of base year emissions are published separately.

This is a National Statistics publication and complies with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. Data downloads in csv format are available from the UK Emissions Data Selector.

Please check our frequently asked questions or email Climatechange.Statistics@beis.gov.uk if you have any questions or comments about the information on this page.

Feb72017

Seabraes Bridge – lift

Fraser Macpherson
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Residents pointed out to me that there is still no signage at the Seabraes Bridge to let people know who to call if the bridge is out of order.

I contacted the engineer responsible for the bridge maintenance and he has updated me as follows :

“At present there is no signage on the bridge to advise users of the phone number to call in order to report a fault with the lift.  
I have been advised that the call out telephone number is likely to change at the end of February, therefore I will arrange for a temporary sign with the current number to be displayed at the bridge by the end of this week.
Once the new number is confirmed late February, I will arrange for a more permanent sign to be installed.”