BLOGS
October 3 Shaken faith
The announcement that the DfT has actually made serious errors in the bidding process for the West Coast franchise not only casts doubt on the department’s ability to judge other bids accurately, it could shake the public’s faith in Government and the civil service.
The scale of the error is huge: it means millions of pounds will have to be paid back to the companies that bid for the line, and years and years of cost and effort put into reaching the right decision, on “robust” calculations, have all been wasted.
Until the independent reviews report back, the future remains up in the air, and the operator of the West Coast line from December 9 is as yet unknown.
It’s a diffi cult start for Patrick McLoughlin, especially after the Government so adamantly rejected Virgin’s case for a judicial review.
It’s
even worse for (trained accountant) Justine Greening, reshuffl ed out of the job just a few
weeks ago.
And the results of the reviews could highlight deeper problems still, so the full extent of the debacle is still to be clarifi ed.
September 25 Early years
The announcement of new funding for children’s free nursery places in deprived areas will be welcomed by many families and has the potential to signifi cantly affect these children’s life chances.
Clegg is right to highlight a child’s formative years as vital for their healthy development into a productive member of adult society.
Funding must be targeted at these years – years where Government can truly make a difference – to support families to keep working, whilst offering their children the best start in life.
In terms of education,
employment, public health and even the formation of healthy relationships, success can
be
drawn back to the origins of a good childhood.
The debate over relaxing planning laws this week highlights a
But local government tends to better recognise that development has costs, too, and also that developers will do anything to maximise profi ts, hence the historically strict terms and payments imposed as conditions. The Government thinks such agreements, many signed in better economic times, are holding back otherwise viable construction projects. Everyone know the construction sector needs a boost, and the Government claims that its direct funding will ensure a net increase in affordable homes: is this relaxation a win-win?
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September 7 Affordability
September 17 Claimant concerns
Whilst most people are in agreement that people on benefi ts should be encouraged to learn to budget and adjust to a payment cycle which is more similar to the working world, there are signifi cant concerns about the Government’s ability to deliver this, and the impact this will have on claimants.
People will undoubtedly need more support if they are to be expected to manage their benefi ts effectively and pay their own landlords.
And some have suggested the plan itself needs more time for development to be truly successful. Universal Credit could be the move towards a more streamlined, easy to manage way to provide welfare – or it could ‘backfi re’, as the Social Market Foundation has warned, and serve to harm the very people it seeks to support.
fundamental divide in the way that national and local government see development.
For national government, development is a potential route to growth, therefore any barriers to more of it should be stripped away – whether this involves local objections to inappropriate development, or agreements on the number of affordable homes that need to be built as part of a wider project. Construction jobs, plus an increase in the supply of housing, is therefore win-win.
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