Tag: Press Release

PRESS RELEASE : Leading the country’s way forward with Adult Social Care in Dorset [October 2022]

The press release issued by Dorset Council on 21 October 2022.

Examining how Dorset Council residents access adult social care could inform national changes to how care is provided, due to a unique partnership with the government.

The council was selected out of 15 local authorities which bid to work with the Department of Health and Social Care. The partnership with look at how residents currently get referred into the adult social care and how their experience could be improved.

What is discovered could be used to change the way people access social care in the future and create new ways of working for older people, people with a learning disability or mental health needs, across the country’s 151 local authorities. This could be in the form of better access via the internet to tweaking how assessments and reviews happen.

A team from the government department’s Digital Policy Unit will be working with the adult social care and digital teams until the New Year. The team will make recommendations at the end of the 12-week partnership.

As part of the fact-finding partnership, which includes asking questions of those who use the service, new models will be suggested and tested in a bid to find a solution for residents and the council.

The work is part of government charging reforms programme revealed in the People at the Heart of Care which, from October 2023, changes how much residents will pay towards their care and will introduce a cap on care charges.

As a result, how residents interact with local authorities will fundamentally change. All solutions are being considered which will allow each resident to track qualifying spend on care provision for adults aged over 18 years and hold this information in an individual care account.

Councillor Peter Wharf, cabinet member for Adult Social Care and Health, said innovative solutions were needed for residents now and in the future.

He said: “Dorset Council is leading the country’s response to the very difficult issue of adult social care.

“We are at the forefront of this early work around what, and how, changes can be made to the way people interact with council to get the best option for adult social care, for them.

“More solutions to adult social care are being found online independently by residents and families, and this could mean the resources at the council can be directed to residents who need it the most.

“This partnership is great for an ambitious council committed to embracing technology and smart ways of working which meet the aspirations for residents to be at the heart of their own care provision. We should be proud to be making this contribution for the benefit of residents and all local authorities.”

A Department of Health and Social Care team member, said: “After weeks of planning, we have launched our informal DHSC and Dorset Council adult social care partnership.

“Our aspiration is to go a bit beyond the limits of the traditional discovery. We would like to co-design a model that could be re-used across multiple local authorities. Perhaps, even applied to solve an important business problem.”

Dorset Council’s population has the highest percentage of over 65s and over 85s in the country, which creates huge challenges and pressure on resources. More than 40 per cent of the council’s total budget was spent on Adults Social Care in the 2022/23 financial year and is estimated to increase seven per cent each year.

October 22, 2022

PRESS RELEASE : Kent County Council to increase payments to those hosting Ukrainian guests [October 2022]

The press release issued by Kent County Council on 20 October 2022.

People hosting Ukrainians as part of the Kent County Council (KCC) Homes for Ukraine Scheme are set to receive more money every month as part of a county-wide increase.

The Government continues to set host payments at £350 per accommodation, but KCC has decided to increase this to recognise not only the generosity and kindness of Kent hosts, but also the challenges they currently face from increasing costs in energy, the price of food and rising inflation.

KCC has taken the decision to increase the payments after fears many people wouldn’t be able to afford to extend their current six-month agreements as winter approaches and the cost-of-living bites.

The increased payments will begin at the end of October and will continue until March 2023, when the current Government scheme ends. This applies to existing hosts who are already in receipt of thank you payments, and new hosts who complete all the checks satisfactorily going forward. There is also a separate hardship fund available to those who may need extra financial support in order to continue to provide accommodation for Ukrainian guests.

For those hosts who have supported their guests for more than 6 months, the council will also pay an additional £500 in March 2023 in recognition of their continued support during these difficult times.

So far 3871 people have been matched with 1642 hosts in Kent, which is more than any other county in the UK. 2927 Ukrainian guests have already arrived and a further 944 are still expected, with approximately 2-3 new arrivals every day.

Leader of Kent County Council, Roger Gough, said “The response from Kent residents to the plight of the Ukrainian people fleeing their homes has been incredible. I feel that increasing the monthly payment to hosts is only right and fair, given the huge part they have played in this humanitarian effort.

“I hope that this extra payment to people who have so generously opened their homes to Ukrainian guests will give some reassurance in these financially challenging times.

“I know that many of our hosts want to be able to continue to support their guests beyond the initial 6 months of the scheme but are finding it difficult to do so considering the cost-of-living pressures. I hope that this move will not only reassure current hosts, but also encourage more people in the county to sign up to the scheme. More Ukrainian guests are arriving every day, and more homes are desperately needed.

“Unfortunately, we do not have enough new hosts to cope with the ongoing demand. We are increasing payments to thank people, to recognise the increased cost of living, to encourage more hosts to come forward but also to incentivise people to return to hosting, if they stopped because of financial hardship or concerns about increased household costs in the months ahead.”

Many of Kent’s hosts are providing homes for more than one person, to support these households KCC is proposing to increase payments for everyone hosting but the amount people will receive will increase based on the number of guests they are hosting.

KCC’s Homes for Ukraine scheme already takes into consideration increases based on household size. This means if you host more people, you get more money.

The below table shows the new increase in the monthly ‘thank you’ payment amounts based on the number of guests accommodated.

Household size	New monthly thank you payment
1 person	£50 extra per month
2 people	£150 extra per month
3 people	£250 extra per month
4 people	£350 extra per month
5 people	£450 extra per month
6 people	£550 extra per month
7 + people	£650 extra per month

KCC’s Homes for Ukraine support workers will continue to carry out visits throughout the winter months to ensure that all is well between hosts and their guests. We are constantly in touch with all hosts and are encouraging them to flag up any concerns that they have or additional support that they might need during this time.

October 22, 2022

PRESS RELEASE : Reports that social care charging reforms will be delayed – CCN response [October 2022]

The press release issued by the County Councils Network on 19 October 2022.

This morning, the County Councils Network (CCN) has responded to reports in the Times that the government is considering delaying charging reforms to adult social care in England, including the introduction of a £86,000 cap on care and a more generous means-test.
Two weeks ago, CCN called for a 12 month delay to flagship social care reforms, which were due to be implemented in October 2023, warning services face a ‘perfect storm’ of financial and workforce pressures over the next 18 months.

Whilst county leaders welcome reports that the government is considering a delay, they warn that the funding committed next year must be retained by councils and reprioritised, not used as a saving as part of the government Medium-Term Fiscal Plan. This would help tackle the £3.7bn additional inflationary and demand costs already hitting services this year and next.

Cllr Martin Tett, County Councils Network Spokesperson for Adult Social Care said:

“The County Councils Network has led calls for the proposed reforms in adult social care to be delayed by a year and we welcome reports that the government is actively considering this.

“With local authorities facing severe workforce and inflation-fuelled financial pressures, they would be impossible to implement in the timescales without making services worse and leading to longer waits for a care package for people on day one of their introduction.

“But while the implementation of the reforms should be delayed, the funding committed next year must be retained by councils and reprioritised, not used as a saving as part of the government Medium-Term Fiscal Plan. This would help tackle the £3.7bn additional inflationary and demand costs which are impacting services this year and next. A delay to implementation will do little for care services if the government does not reprioritise earmarked funding for existing services while also delivering their promise to rebalance funding between health and care. Failure to do so will mean we will be back to square one in 12 months’ time.”

“We understand that today’s reports may come as a disappointment to those who have urged for reform to social care for years, but we cannot run the risk of them falling at the first hurdle. Councils need time to plan and prepare, expand our workforce, and ensure that the new financial burdens facing care services are properly costed.”

CCN’s calls for a delay to the reforms were featured across the national media including coverage on BBC News, the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme’s bulletins, in The Daily Mail, and in The Independent.

October 22, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Councils call for wholescale review of planning reforms, alongside new powers in transport and net zero [October 2022]
The press release issued by the County Councils Network on 19 October 2022.

A wholescale review of the planning reforms is needed if the government is to achieve its targets in housebuilding and economic growth, England’s largest councils say.

The County Councils Network (CCN) argues that strategic planning should be a major part of future proposals, likely to be put forward in a forthcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill. This mechanism could be vital in delivering more homes, better infrastructure, and investment zones, county leaders argue.

The call is made in a CCN’s latest chapter of its Five Point Plan for County and Unitary Councils, which is released today.

Alongside advocacy on housing and infrastructure, the report calls for counties to be empowered through bespoke budgets in transport. The report also calls on government to move away from an overly city-focused approach on net zero, and provide county areas with an equitable share of climate change funding and policy focus.

Text of Report (in .pdf format)

CCN says that the current planning system is too fragmented, and for years infrastructure has not kept pace with development, leading to overcrowding on roads and public services in some parts of the country.

If the government wants to deliver on its twin aims of housebuilding and growth, then strategic planning is a ‘win-win’. It would ensure that county councils, which are responsible for transport, infrastructure, and the delivery of investment zones work more collaboratively with district councils in their areas, which are responsible for housing and planning.

By better joining up the system and empowering county councils by giving them a statutory role in the planning system could help local authorities ‘zoom out’ and pinpoint the best location for new homes across England’s counties, as well as ensuring that new major new development is backed by the right infrastructure – such as new roads, schools, and health centres.

Strategic planning could also help pave the way for investment zones by ensuring that they are well connected and supported by the right infrastructure, meaning they are more likely to be welcomed by local areas and delivered.

Currently, reforms to the planning system are currently included in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, but CCN says they should be removed from that bill and reshaped proposals included in the recently announced Planning and Infrastructure Bill.

If that bill comes forward, CCN says it should include a power in the bill to introduce strategic planning in county areas, where desired.

Strategic planning has not been a formal part of the planning system since the late 2010s, and currently the only informal tool to encourage those councils to work together is the ‘Duty to Co-operate’ – which the previous government was looking to scrap, meaning there would be no mechanism to encourage local councils to work together.

Today’s report includes the following recommendations:
- The government should review strategic planning arrangements and introduce new powers to empower counties through strategic planning any forthcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill, where desired. This would give parity to county areas and would see effective cross-boundary working to deliver strategic infrastructure and unlock growth.
- When the government puts forward reforms to the developer contributions system – which could include the previously proposed Infrastructure Levy – it should ensure that county councils should have a statutory duty in the contributions systems, working with district and borough to set rates and negotiate contributions, enabling more of this funding to be spent on vital infrastructure
- Any future capital funding for infrastructure projects should be amalgamated into a single pot, rather than local authorities bidding on individual pots.
- Government must move away from an overly city-focused approach to climate change, and ensure that county areas receive a fair share of funding and policy focus. As part of this, the £1.6bn for electric vehicle infrastructure must be targeted largely at improving the situation in county areas, where there is only one publicly-available charger for every 16 miles on average.
Cllr Roger Gough, Planning and Infrastructure Spokesperson for the County Councils Network said:

“We welcome the prospect of the government bringing forward new proposals to reform the planning system in a forthcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill. Over a number of years there has been far too much focus on headline housebuilding numbers, rather than on planning as a whole, and on the infrastructure that is needed to make developments viable in the long-term.

“The new bill should contain a power to re-introduce strategic planning into the system, which would be a win-win for a government looking to build more homes and generate economic growth. By giving county councils a renewed role to work collaboratively with district councils in their area, we can come together to plan for houses in the right areas, backed by the necessary infrastructure, and ensure that investment zones get off the ground quickly.

“The County Councils Network has long argued for a collaborative model of strategic planning and form reforms to the developer contributions system. Taken together, these easily implementable reforms could yield significant results in creating better communities and unlocking development.”
October 22, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : County Leaders welcome reports that the government is considering delaying new reforms [October 2022]

The press release issued by Devon County Council on 21 October 2022.

Even just a few days are a long time in Politics it seems, so we’re watching this space closely, but earlier this week we heard that the Government is considering delaying the introduction of its new social care reforms.

On the face of it, we think that’s a good thing. We agree with the reforms – they’re to enable more people to receive financial support for adult social care, which is good – but it is the Government’s duty to ensure they are fully costed and adequately funded.

If Government doesn’t it will mean councils will have to find millions of pounds of money from cuts in public services to pay for the reforms. We and lots of councils are concerned that the impact of introducing the Government’s reforms without adequate funding will therefore be very heavy on residents and communities.

All this comes on top of already severe pressure on social care. Here in Devon we are taking urgent action to bring an overspend in adult social care of £5.6 million in this financial year under control, and face a forecast overspend of between £30 million to £40 million over the next 10 years. Inflation is adding to those pressures and forecast to add £3.6 billion to the cost of providing social care in England’s counties next year.

That’s why we’ve been backing a call from the County Councils Network for the Government to postpone the introduction of these new reforms, which are due to come in next October.

Right now, councils do not have enough money, nor is there sufficient workforce capacity within social care, to implement the changes that the reforms will bring.

On seeing reports that the Government is now thinking of delaying the introduction of the reforms, County leaders across the country this week welcomed the news, but warned that the funding, promised by Government for social care, must be retained by councils and reprioritised, and not used as ‘savings’ as part of the Government’s Medium-Term Fiscal Plan.

Councillor James McInnes, our Cabinet Member with responsibility for adult social care, said today:

“With all that’s happening at Westminster, we’ll have to see what comes out of it, but if reports that the government is considering delaying the introduction of these reforms become fact, then that’s good news.

“The consequence otherwise is that the extra pressures that the reforms will bring, on a social care system right now that is not properly funded and that does not have sufficient workforce capacity to meet demand, could worsen current services, leaving people waiting longer for care and impacting on the quality of that care.

“Even looking ahead to twelve months-time, it’s difficult to see what will have changed significantly in terms of workforce supply and local government finances that would make these reforms deliverable without fundamental changes to the Government’s plans.”

October 22, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Sir Chris Whitty among senior figures appointed to Active Travel England advisory panel [October 2022]

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 22 October 2022.

England’s Chief Medical Officer, Sir Chris Whitty, is one of 4 senior figures to become part of a new advisory panel, Active Travel England, today (22 October 2022).

Working alongside West Midlands’ Mayor, Andy Street, Chair of the Office of Rail and Road, Declan Collier and Arup’s Global Transport Leader, Isabel Dedring, Whitty will support Active Travel England’s aim to make walking, wheeling and cycling the first choice for everyday trips.

National Active Travel Commissioner, Chris Boardman, said:

Active travel is a key part of achieving so many of the government’s top priorities, so we want to link up with those agendas from the very start. Providing low-cost, healthy travel options to get to schools, shops and workplaces will revitalise high streets across the country and help us decarbonise at the same time. Active Travel England was created to deliver healthy, sustainable transport growth, and I’m delighted we now have such incredible experts to help us get the job done.

Active Travel Minister, Baroness Vere, added:

This new advisory panel will be key to supporting the government’s ambition to get more people walking, wheeling and cycling by transforming active travel infrastructure across the country.

Better infrastructure will not only improve connections to employment, education and local services but improve our mental and physical wellbeing and help to level up the country. I look forward to working with Sir Chris, Andy, Declan and Isabel to achieve this.

The advisory panel will meet quarterly with a mix of online and in-person meetings. The appointments have been made on a voluntary basis, with expenses paid where applicable. The first meeting with take place in late October.

England’s Chief Medical Officer, Sir Chris Whitty, said:

Exercise improves health and Active Travel England’s mission is shared by the health service. We all want to see more people incorporating active travel into their day as a way to keep mentally and physically fit.

Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, added:

Active Travel England will be best placed to succeed as a delivery agency if it closely collaborates with local Mayors as well as both Combined and Local Authorities. That’s why I’m looking forward to helping ensure that ATE can make a real and rapid difference across England. Enabling more local trips to be taken on foot or on wheels can improve the journey experience, encourage a healthier lifestyle and help us to tackle the climate emergency. Increasing walking and cycling uptake is central to our vision to establish a truly integrated transport network here in the West Midlands and can support local economic growth by breathing new life into our high streets.

Arup’s Global Transport Leader and former Deputy Mayor of London, Isabel Dedring, said:

Delivering a step change in active travel requires focus and determination, but it also requires attention to detail, meaningful engagement with communities and their real needs, and integration with the wider transport network. The UK is seen as a leader in many aspects of progressive transport policy and has a fantastic chance through Active Travel England to retain its position as a leader in this rapidly developing area.

Chair of the Office of Rail and Road, Declan Collier, said:

Making local trips, either on foot or on two wheels, is a great way to boost physical health and also mental wellbeing. For those wanting to do their walking or cycling further afield, England’s rail and road networks will get you there. I look forward to getting started and working together with the other panel members to bring about positive change in people’s lives.

October 22, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Cost of Living Summit – Cornwall unites to turn words into action [October 2022]
The press release issued by Cornwall Council on 15 October 2022.

Organisations across Cornwall are turning words into action following the Cost of Living Summit hosted by Cornwall Council last month.

Seven working groups have been set up with each responsible for effecting real change for people who are struggling to make ends meet during the current crisis.

They will be led by the likes of Cornwall Council, Citizens Advice, the local NHS, the voluntary sector and Cornwall business groups.

Actions to be taken by each group, which were agreed at a meeting of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Leadership Board on September 30, include:

Our community response:
- Support the delivery of community hubs offering winter support across Cornwall. Led by Volunteer Cornwall, this is already underway.
- Review funding for the voluntary sector to focus on more long-term sustainable funding.
Maximising people’s income:
- Develop our understanding of the barriers and issues within the welfare system that specifically affect Cornwall and work with partners to alleviate those.
- Explore options to run a basic income pilot scheme across Cornwall, using evidence from other areas.
Preventing and reducing people’s debt:
- Support the use of the Low-Income Family Tracker (LIFT) to identify residents who may be eligible for additional welfare benefits and support them to claim their entitlement.
- Review debt collection practices (e.g. council tax, NHS prescriptions fees, bank charges and loans from financial institutions) to help prevent and reduce people’s debt.
Energy efficiency and fuel poverty:
- Support bids for new capital investment into Cornwall’s housing stock to reduce carbon and improve energy efficiency of homes (all tenures) and build on existing practice.
- Support Cornwall Council Public Health’s role to co-ordinate Winter Wellbeing activities to ensure Cornwall’s residents and organisations are aware of current help and initiatives.
Support housing security:
- Work with Registered Providers to understand the potential to suspend evictions (as during the pandemic) for rent arrears.
- Consider a rent cap on social housing rental increases in April.
Access to food:
- Create a Cornwall Food Strategy, and Food Security approach using learning from the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact approach.
- Identify land and support communities with an ambition to establish growing schemes.
Communications:
- Campaign to reduce the number of people with unclaimed benefits, help with anxiety caused by money worries, and encourage residents to ask for help before they get into debt, among other aims.
The summit, called Turning the Tide on the Cost of Living, took place at the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus on September 5.

It saw the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Leadership Board meet with representatives from local communities, charities and businesses to share experiences and discuss how best to help people navigate the crisis.

Participants included Cornwall Independent Poverty Forum, Citizen’s Advice Cornwall, Voluntary Sector Forum, Volunteer Cornwall, Disability Cornwall, End Hunger Cornwall, Department of Work and Pensions, Kernow Credit Union, Cornwall Council, NHS and Independent Food Aid Network/Trussell Trust.

Linda Taylor, Chair of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Leadership Board, said:

“At the summit we listened and talked, and now we are turning those words into action with the formation of seven workstreams, each with concrete plans and goals.

“The cost of living crisis continues to take its toll on our residents and only by working together to pool resources, share learnings and plan ahead can we offer them the best and most robust support, both in the short and long term.

“The workstreams will feed into an overarching strategic group and I look forward to hearing about their progress in the coming weeks and months. I am sure each will play an important role in making a real difference to people’s lives.”
October 22, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Mebyon Kernow comment on shambles at Westminster [October 2022]

The press release issued by Mebyon Kernow on 20 October 2022.

In July, MK Deputy Leader Cllr Loveday Jenkin described the chaos at Westminster as “beyond satire.” Commenting on the period around the resignation of Boris Johnson, she hit out at the truly dysfunctional nature of the Westminster political system, noting that the Conservative Party was at war with itself while it was not dealing with the cost of living crisis.

But the shambolic mega-chaos of the last few weeks has been simply unbelievable – and even further beyond parody! The mini-budget did massive damage to the UK economy and the prospects of millions of households, we have had the unedifying spectacle of Tory infighting along with the resignation of a second Prime Minister in little more than three months.

To repeat what Cllr Jenkin said in July. The over-centralised Westminster system is not working, and the ongoing political games in London will do nothing to improve the lives of people in Cornwall.

Many people are rightly calling for a General Election, but it is correct that MK also makes it clear that the UK needs significant political reform, which should include meaningful devolution to give the people of Cornwall more control over their own destiny.

October 22, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Dick Cole celebrates 25 years as Mebyon Kernow leader [October 2022]

The press release issued by Mebyon Kernow on 13 October 2022.

This month marks the 25th anniversary of Dick Cole’s election as the leader of Mebyon Kernow – the Party for Cornwall. He was voted into the role at MK’s 1997 Annual Conference, held on 4th October in Fraddon Village Hall.

It is also nearly 30 years since Dick first became an officer for MK, as he was elected as MK’s Press and Campaigns Officer on 20th November 1992.

Speaking on behalf of MK’s ruling National Executive, Cllr Loveday Jenkin said:

“Dick is fantastic champion for Cornwall. Throughout his adult life, he has worked so hard for a democratic future for Cornwall, devolution through a National Assembly or Cornish Parliament, progressive policies to build a fairer and more socially just nation, greater protections for Cornish identity and culture, and so much more.

“His drive and dedication, as MK’s principal spokesperson and an active elected councillor, is remarkable, and it is an extraordinary achievement that he has had the commitment and energy to serve as the leader of Mebyon Kernow for a quarter of a century.”

Further information:

It is believed that Dick Cole is the second longest-serving leader of a political party in the United Kingdom. Only Arthur Scargill of the Socialist Labour Party, founded in 1996, has served longer.

Educated at Indian Queens Primary School and Newquay Treviglas School, Dick left school in 1983 and worked for five years as a farm worker / gardener. He joined MK in 1988, at the age of 21, just before he went to study archaeology and history at St David’s University College, Lampeter.

He became MK’s Press and Campaigns Officer in 1992, initially sharing the role with long-standing MK councillor Colin Lawry. Five years later in 1997, Dick became the tenth leader of the Party.

He has contested a total of 15 elections as an official MK candidate. These include ten council elections and four Westminster contests. He also topped the MK list in the 2009 elections to the European Parliament, when MK secured over 15,000 votes.

He was elected to serve his home parish of St Enoder on Restormel Borough Council in 1999, and served on the authority until it was abolished in 2009. During this time, he balanced his civic duties with his work with the Cornwall Archaeological Unit (Cornwall County Council).

When the unitary authority was created in 2009, Dick stood down from his employment, which would have prevented him serving on the new council. Last year, following the reduction in the number of councillors on Cornwall Council, he was elected to serve the larger St Dennis and St Enoder division. Dick presently leads the six-strong Mebyon Kernow / Green Group on the Council. In addition to his council duties, he works part-time for the Cornwall Heritage Trust.

During the last 25 years, he has been involved in a wide range of campaigns. These have included more powers to Cornwall through a National Assembly or Parliament, opposition to the centralisation of local government into a single unitary authority, Cornish control over housing and planning, fair funding for Cornwall’s public services, etc.

A life-long advocate for greater self-government for Cornwall, Dick wrote the Declaration for a Cornish Assembly, which was launched by MK in 2000, signed by over 50,000 people and presented to 10 Downing Street in December 2001. He is presently leading the work on a revised self-government policy document for MK. Dick was also the founding vice-chairman of the cross-party Cornish Constitutional Convention, and one of the spokespeople for the Keep Cornwall Whole campaign group which campaigned against the imposition of a “Devonwall” parliamentary constituency.

He also chairs the working group on the unitary authority tasked to ensure that the national minority status of the Cornish is respected by central government and all public bodies.

As a councillor, Dick has raised funds for a range of projects including new community buildings, new play equipment and environmental improvements in his local area. He has also played a leading role in a range of prominent planning battles and chairs the China Clay Area Community Network.

In addition, he has been a member of St Enoder Parish Council since 1999 and he is a trustee of two local charities. Dick is also the chairman of both the St Piran Trust and the ClayTAWC social enterprise at St Dennis.

In 2017, he was named third on Cornwall Live’s “Cornish List” of the top 50 people who “lead the way in campaigning on Cornish issues” and “flying the black and white flag for Cornwall.”

In 2019, Dick was honoured with a bardship of Gorsedh Kernow, in recognition of his work to protect the cultural and geographical integrity of Cornwall. His bardic name is Gwythyas an Tir (Guardian of the Land).

This year, the university in Lampeter, where Dick studied – now known as University of Wales: Trinity St Davids) – has marked its 200th anniversary. As part of the bicentenary celebrations, the university produced biographies of 200 notable graduates; one of the 200 was Dick Cole.

October 22, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Chief Constable’s warning cannot be ignored – Nesbitt [October 2022]

The press release issued by the Ulster Unionists on 21 October 2022.

The Ulster Unionist Party’s Policing Board Representative, Mike Nesbitt MLA, has described the Chief Constable’s warning – delivered in a letter to Party Leaders – of up to 1,000 fewer officers being available over the next three years, as something that no political leader can ignore and a matter of public safety.

Mike Nesbitt MLA said:

“I welcome the Chief Constable’s letter as the latest step in a staged response to what can only be described as a Police budget crisis.

“The letter to the Party Leaders obviously includes the Justice Minister Naomi Long. Surely she can no longer hide behind the excuse that this is an operational matter, given how the Prison Service made it clear that she has engaged in debate on operational decisions regarding staffing levels in the Prison Service.

“Once again people need to understand that if the Police don’t recruit, they don’t stand still they go backwards, because hundreds of officers leave every year for very justifiable reasons including retirement.

“Furthermore, the Director General of the Prison Service recently stated there was a headcount figure below which the Service is unable to keep people safe. This must inevitably also apply to the Police Service.

“My primary concern is that senior officers and staff at the PSNI are now looking actively at cutting services. It is no longer a question of reducing a team of ten officers down to nine or even eight, but redeploying all ten to cover gaps elsewhere and no longer delivering the original service at all.

“When the Chief Constable talks of the prospect of having up to 1,000 fewer officers available over the next three years ‘taking officer headcount closer to 6,000 than the 7,500 commitment made in the New Decade New Approach Agreement’ then this is a warning that no political leader can ignore. It is a matter of public safety.”

October 22, 2022