LEGAL CORNER
The power of the Dart By Owen Hill, Consultant Solicitor Can you imagine the amount of
potential energy at play when the gravitational pull of the moon causes up to a five metre rise and fall in the tidal height of the Dart four times a day and
365 days a year? Me neither, but I am pretty sure that if we could harness the energy then it would make a difference to us all. I have been working with my friends at the Totnes
Renewable energy society to try and bring all sorts of local renewable energy sources to the community in a viable investment package - and have finally succeeded. You may already know that, with a team of Msc research students from Plymouth university, we measured the tidal flow in the deep channel of the Dart near the Anchor stone in the hope that we might be able to tether a passive turbine that would generate electricity as the tide silently washed back and forth. We found that the average tidal flow over the cycle of the monthly cycle of the moon was two metres
A caring Act
By Marinella Hollies, Associate Solicitor The Care Bill received Royal Assent
on 14 May 2014, becoming the Care Act 2014. Care minister Norman Lamb said the Act, ‘represents the most significant reform of care and support in more than 60 years’.
Care and support is something that nearly everyone in
this country will be involved with at some point in their lives. Many more of us will need care in the future so it is important for us to have a system that can keep up with the demands of a growing ageing population. The Care Act has the potential to do some very interesting things within adult social care. • For the first time adult social care law has been brought
into a single Act, replacing disparate and sometimes outdated laws • Local authorities have a duty to promote a person’s well-
being, which is comprehensively described in a ‘well-being principle’ covering different aspects of life • The Act introduces a national minimum threshold for
getting care and support, which all local authorities must adhere to, aiming to end the post-code lottery of the current system. Assessment is divided into three stages. Firstly, identifying
the needs; secondly, deciding whether they are eligible social care needs, and lastly, the care planning stage. Thus if you need care, the cost of your unmet care needs is assessed. You are given a personal budget with which you are expected to pay for a commissioned package of care or a direct payment enabling you to organise your own care. This might also involve the carer being provided with local authority funds
to meet their own needs, in relation to the care that they are or will be providing themselves. There are capital limits on when the local authority will fund care costs and they will complete a financial assessment to determine who should meet these costs. once the care assessment has been completed it will
only be reviewed if your circumstances change or you ask for a review and the local authority agrees that a review is appropriate. The view of the Alzheimer’s society is that: “The new
Care Act 2014 represents a step in the right direction, giving people living with dementia and their carers a better understanding of what they are entitled to and a positive change in the way people are cared for.” However, this does not solve a bigger problem which is funding. The Alzheimer’s society continues; “The cap on funding will help people financially but more needs to be done to make sure eligibility criteria doesn’t prevent people accessing vital services early.” The key to making lives better for those who need help will
depend in part upon the ability to negotiate the legislation and take advantage of the positive changes. Advocates will play an increasingly important role in the
application and assessment process, given that a duty is imposed on councils to fund the employment of an advocate where necessary for those who would struggle without such help. Wollen Michelmore LLP has skilled and experienced
lawyers who can help you or your loved one through the process to achieve the best possible outcome.
101
a second but that current technology requires an average speed of three metres a second to be viable. Damn (pun intended). so we then looked at the possibility of utilising the power
in the run-off of fresh water into the river and bingo - we have two projects on the Dart (and one on the Teign) that are now secured by legal agreements with the relevant landowners and statutory authorities, courtesy of yours truly. They use the Ancient Greek principle that you can see
in action on a small scale at the wonderful River Dart Country Park. go see and be amazed at the simplicity of the Archimedes screw that peacefully turns as water flows over the installation. If you believe that we cannot carry on with fossil fuels forever and want to help bring projects like this to fruition - please visit
www.tresoc.co.uk and take a tour. If you want expert legal advice on your renewable energy
project then please come to see me in our newly refurbished offices overlooking the Boat Float in Dartmouth.
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