BUSINESS NEWS: Skills workshop to boost future business prospects

UNDERSTANDING West Somerset employers’ skills and employment needs and providing good training opportunities to ensure competitive futures for local firms are some of the themes of a free workshop being held later this month.
The ‘Skills and Employment Workshop’ takes place at the Regional Rural Business Centre (pictured), off Junction 24 of the M5, on Monday, April 20, from 5 pm to 7 pm.
Businesses in West Somerset and Sedgemoor can discuss the upcoming training needs of workforces to help their businesses cope through the recession, and to capitalise on opportunities when the economic climate eventually changes.
The networking event has been jointly organised by West Somerset Council and Sedgemoor District Council to ensure local businesses are equipped for the future.
Councillor Michael Downes, West Somerset’s economic portfolio holder, said: “Fresh information in the face of the changing economic climate is needed so that we can, by working with other organisations, provide the skills and training local businesses want.
“By working with employers and skills providers to identify and address needs, we can help to put in place meaningful, targeted support and training.
“The evening is friendly and informal and all businesses are welcome, from the smallest to the largest local firms.
“Anybody can attend, in fact, who wants their business to grow and is willing to help us plan a better future for the local economy as a whole.”
Places at the workshop can be booked before April 15 by calling West Somerset economic regeneration officer Corinne Matthews on 01984 635287 or emailing cmatthews@westsomerset.gov.uk.
Anybody who cannot attend, but would still like to make the needs of their business known should contact Corinne Matthews to request a questionnaire.

Council secretly asks energy firms for £750,000 to help it decide nuclear planning applications

A SECRET district council plea for funding from companies planning to build new nuclear power stations at Hinkley Point has been branded ‘unethical’ by anti-nuclear campaigners.
Sedgemoor District Council wrote to British Energy and EDF asking for £750,000 to help the authority process planning applications which the two companies were expected to submit.
The letter was written last July by the council’s director of regeneration, Doug Bamsey, but has only just been made public following a Freedom of Information request.
Mr Bamsey said the council was willing to provide a ‘lead role and work with adjacent councils’ to provide strategic and co-ordinated responses to local issues.
He wrote: “It is, however, unable to bear the financial burden of this.
“I therefore request you consider making funds available to help us create an energy policy/planning officer who would be the key co-ordinating point, with admin capacity and a working fund for meeting rooms and so on.
“I estimate this to be in the order of approx £100,000 per annum over the next five years.”
He also asked for a further £200,000 to £250,000 over a two-year period to cover a technical and consultancy budget for issues such as legal, economic, and transport assessments.
Stop Hinkley co-ordinator Jim Duffy criticised Sedgemoor’s request as ‘secretive, misjudged, creating a conflict of interest, while also flouting Royal Institute planning standards’.
Mr Duffy said: “It is easy to imagine nuclear companies expecting a smoother passage for Hinkley C had they paid this premium.
"”Sedgemoor made a bad mistake here, not least in doing this behind the backs of its own and West Somerset councillors.”
David Taylor, of Stop Hinkley, said: “The very idea that you would ask an applicant to fund a planning officer who will be dealing with your case presents just about the clearest example of conflict of interests.”
Hinkley Point falls within West Somerset, where the financially-crippled district council would be responsible for processing planning applications.
However, West Somerset has for several years only been able to manage its planning department by using the services of a Sedgemoor officer under a partnership agreement.
A spokesman for West Somerset Council said it had been unaware of Sedgemoor’s request for financial contributions from the two energy firms.
Mr Bamsey said: “These are multi-billion pound proposals with multi-million pound studies. Our resources are very limited. We do not see it as necessarily right that local tax payers should pay for this huge project.”
He said since writing the letter, the Government had agreed to meet the costs as it would ultimately decide any future planning applications for nuclear power stations rather than local councils.
A statement from EDF, which has recently bought British Energy, said: “EDF Energy and British Energy have not entered into any agreements in relation to these proposals.
“EDF Energy and British Energy believe the planning process to assess new build projects must be robust, fair and open and serve the interests of the local community.”

County Hall spin doctors now costing council taxpayers £4 million

THE cost of spin doctoring by Somerset County Council in a bid to persuade the public how good a job it has been doing has almost doubled in a decade, according to a shock report by a local government watchdog.The Liberal Democrat-run authority is one of the highest spending councils in the country when it comes to its publicity budget.
The report compiled by the TaxPayers’ Alliance showed that in the same decade as the County Hall Lib Dems doubled council tax bills, they also increased their publicity spend by more than 96 per cent to a staggering £4.211 million.
Somerset’s huge publicity bill was one of the highest of any council in the country - in fact, only 10 other local authorities spent more, and they included large cities such as Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, and Bradford.
The survey covered the years from 1996-97, when Somerset spent £2,016 million on publicising itself, to 2006-07.
It also looked at what happened the following year, 2007-08, when Somerset spent slightly less with a total publicity cost of £3.957 million but was still well within the highest-spending 20 councils in the nation.
Councils are required by law to ‘keep a separate account of expenditure on publicity’, which is defined as ‘any communication, in whatever form, addressed to the public at large or to a section of the public’.
Despite this, West Somerset Council was unable to produce its spending on publicity in 1996-97 and claimed to have only spent £21,000 in 2006-07 and just £4,000 in 2007-08 while at the same time employing a public relations officer on a salary of more than £21,000.
Neighbouring Sedgemoor District Council was one of a minority of authorities which actually reduced its publicity expenditure from £500,000 a decade ago to £482,000 in 2006-07 and cut it further in 2007-08 to £422,000.
However, in Taunton Deane, the borough council increased its publicity spend by nearly four-and-a-half times in the 10 years to 2006-07 from £124,844 to £644,000, and spent another £664,000 in 2007-08.
Mid Devon District Council more than doubled its budget for publicity from £41,000 in 1996-97 to £103,000 in 2006-07 but failed to produce a total for 2007-08.
In North Devon, the district council could not say how much was spent in 1996-97 but revealed £306,000 went on publicity in 2006-07, a figure which increased by more than £40,000 in 12 months to £349,000 for 2007-08.
The TaxPayers’ Alliance obtained its figures from the annual accounts of the 450-plus local authorities in the UK.
It found overall councils had doubled their spending on publicity, creating a £430 million publicity machine, at the same time as doubling council tax.
The average council now spends almost £1 million a year of council taxpayers’ money on publicity for itself, compared to £429,887 in 1996-97.
TaxPayers’ Alliance chief executive Matthew Elliott said: “It is incredibly disappointing that, despite the economic downturn and the loss of millions in Icelandic Banks, local authorities are still spending nearly half a billion pounds a year on publicity.
“While we salute the 218 councils who have cut spending on publicity, the 224 councils who have increased spending should hang their heads in shame.
“In the middle of a recession, councils need to cut back on propaganda and spin doctors and deliver savings to taxpayers.”
Local Government Association spokesman Nicholas Mann said: “To suggest that councils are employing armies of spin doctors and wasting money on publicity machines is absurd beyond belief.
“People need to know how to access the £100 billion worth of vital services that councils provide every year.
“Young mums need to know when they can take their kids to the swimming pool.
“Elderly people need to know the benefits they are eligible for to get the money to see them through the week.
“Drivers need to know when the roads are dangerously icy.
“Which part of this would the Taxpayers’ Alliance like to see cut?
“Lumped into advertising figures are statutory notices that councils by law have to advertise for, such as job adverts or site notices for planning applications.
“The amount makes up 0.0043 per cent of councils’ total spend.”

Christmas and New Year closures for local councils

WEST Somerset Council staff will this year be working right up until Christmas Eve afternoon.
The council’s new offices in Williton will not be closed for the Christmas and New Year period until1 pm on Wednesday, December 24.
The offices will reopen at 8.30 am on Monday, January 5.
In Minehead, the Customer Centre, in Summerland Road, will also close at the same time on December 24 but will reopen half-an-hour later, at 9 am on January 5.
The new Visitor Information and Interpretation Centre on Minehead seafront will be closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and also from January 1 to 4 inclusive, reopening at 10 am on January 5.
During the closure times, information on refuse collections, stray dogs, and an emergency helpline will be available by calling 01643 703704 and on the council’s website at http://www.westsomersetonline.gov.uk/.
Planning applications and building regulations applications submitted to the council by hand, post, or email during the closure dates will be dealt with as if received on January 5.
Council spokeswoman Stacey Beaumont said: “There will be no building regulations site inspections during the Christmas break.
“The council will accept a photographic record of works that will be covered over.
“However, if no such photographs can be shown to the building control surveyor, then the council reserves the right to ask for the works to be exposed for inspection.
“People needing statutory building control notification are advised to submit this in writing by post, by hand, or by email to buildingcontrol@westsomerset.gov.uk.
“This will provide people with evidence that they have fulfilled their obligations under the Building Act 1984.2

• In Taunton Deane, the borough council’s Deane House offices, in Taunton, will close entirely to the public at 12.30 pm on December 24, with the banking hall kiosk closing slightly earlier.
  Card payments and service requests can still be made via the council’s website at http://www.tauntondeane.gov.uk/.
  Deane House will open again as usual on Friday, January 2.
  The council’s customer contact centre will also be open between 9 am and 5 pm from Monday, December 29, to Wednesday, December 31, but will only be able to offer a limited service.
  Resumption of the normal telephone service - from 8 am to 6 pm Monday to Friday - will be from January 2.
  
• In Sedgemoor, the district council offices in Bridgwater will shut down at the end of a ‘normal’ working day on Christmas Eve and will reopen on January 5.
  Sedgemoor residents have been advised in the event of a ‘general’ emergency to call 0800 9176520 and for a ‘council housing’ emergency to call 0800 585360.

Councillors debate pioneering project for shared services

A COUNTYWIDE initiative widely seen as hailing the end of West Somerset Council as a standalone local authority is to be discussed by district councillors next week.
Pioneer Somerset was created by the county’s five district councils to work more closely with the county council following a failed attempt by Somerset’s Liberal Democrat councillors to axe the districts.
The bid by the county council to create a single, unitary council running all local government services in Somerset was thrown out by the Government after a public referendum showed more than 80 per cent of people opposed it.
Since then, the six councils have been forced to look at ways of sharing the delivery of their services in order to produce £20 million efficiency savings under Pioneer Somerset branding.
It means that tiny West Somerset - already having to get by without its own chief executive, planning manager, solicitor, or treasurer – is likely to increasingly have its services delivered by neighbouring authorities.
West Somerset councillors will be the first to debate a joint update on the scheme when a report is presented to the scrutiny committee on Monday.
The next steps of the programme will then be discussed during the coming weeks by all the other councils involved - Taunton Deane , South Somerset, Sedgemoor, Mendip, and the county council.
The programme will move into ‘phase two’ with a focus on delivering in three key areas - shared services, customer access, and managerial leadership, by working with a broad range of partners.
Shared services options include street cleaning, a county-wide approach to regeneration projects including major planning applications, developing economic and tourism opportunities across Somerset, communication and consultation, rural development, and improving housing opportunities for local people.
Pioneer Somerset has so far seen joint legal services between West Somerset and Mendip councils.
It is also producing proposals for a county-wide parking partnership to share patrolling and enforcement.
The county, through the Building Schools for the Future programme, is working with Sedgemoor on proposals to provide cost-effective wet and dry leisure facilities, including a possible new pool.
Taunton Deane and Sedgemoor have been working on a pilot project to provide joint street cleaning and gardening, and South Somerset and the county council have created joint area committees for issues at all levels of local government to be discussed at one meetinge.

Councils staging joint forum for private landlords

A FIRST joint private landlords forum is being held by West Somerset Council and Sedgemoor District Council next week.
The forum will be staged in Bridgwater in the Sedgemoor Suite of Bridgwater and Albion Rugby Club, on Tuesday, October 14.
It takes place between 6 pm and 8 pm and a buffet and refreshments will be served. The rugby club has free parking available.
The forum will be chaired by Christian Trevelyan, the partnership manager for private sector housing.
A presentation on energy performance certificates will be made by Tim Kennedy, of the National Landlords Association, while members of Sedgemoor council’s benefits team will talk on local housing allowances.
The forum also provides landlords with an opportunity to discuss any particular issues which may affect them.
Anybody who wants to attend the event or any future landlords forums should contact Esther Tomkinson on 0845 241 7243 or e-mail esther.tomkinson@sedgemoor.gov.uk.

Schools to receive food safety whodunnit computer games

WAS it Mucky Maureen with the mouse droppings or Grimy Gran’s grubby hands which led to the stomach-churning events in town?
That is what pupils of junior schools in West Somerset, Taunton Deane, and Sedgemoor will be challenged to discover when they take delivery of FoodO - a fun and interactive way to learn about food safety.
The game was thought up by environmental health boffins at Taunton Deane Borough Council.
It is part of a computer-based teaching pack which is going out to all junior schools in Somerset to support curriculum work with seven to 11-year-olds.
FoodO is based on the evergreen board game Cluedo but the lead piping and revolver have been replaced with some real nasties such as dirty utensils or contaminated meat that can lead to food poisoning.
Colonel Mustard, Miss Scarlet, and Professor Plum have given way to characters such as Slimy Simon, Mucky Maureen, Snotty Sarah, and other dubious personalities with less-than hygienic habits.
The aim of the game is for players to find out how and where a case of food poisoning happened - and who was responsible.
The action moves from supermarket to corner shop or butcher to snack van.
Children must find out the cause and the culprit.
From the ‘germ’ of the idea, FoodO was developed with funding from the Food Standards Agency, while the Healthy Schools team at Somerset County Council has helped with piloting, advertising, and distributing the resource.
The board game version, which was given to all Taunton Deane primary schools three years ago, has now been developed still further into a PC-based version.
Youngsters are given plenty of clues before tackling the FoodO challenge as the resource pack includes a narrated slideshow telling the pupils how food poisoning is caused and how it can be prevented, and a quiz to make sure they have absorbed the information.
Thanks to high-tech wizardry, the whole package - including information and teaching aids - is contained on one PC memory stick.
Councillor Mel Mullins, the Deane council’s executive councillor for environmental services, said: “The original board game we launched three years ago was popular with the children and successful in getting the food safety message across, and the PC version is a natural progression of this.
“I am delighted that we have been able to secure funding and help to take the message further afield in an exciting and innovative way.”
The game will be sent out to the schools shortly after they return from the summer holidays.

Plastic and cardboard recycling starts - but not for us

PLASTIC bottle and cardboard recycling collections are being launched next week by the Somerset Waste Partnership – but West Somerset will miss out on the new service.
The partnership is trialling the much called-for service only in parts of Mendip, Taunton Deane, and Sedgemoor.
The Wiveliscombe and Bishops Lydeard areas also miss out on the Taunton Deane trials.
Those residents who are involved in the pilot rounds, which run until March of next year, will receive a new green box for cardboard and plastic bottles which has been designed to stack neatly on their existing green box used recycle paper, glass, food and drinks cans, foil, clothes, shoes, and car batteries.
The pilot service has been named Sort It Plus, and a series of roadshows to explain it will be held in the Taunton area on May 15 and 16.
Somerset county councillor and waste partnership chairman, Councillor Nigel Woollcombe-Adams, said: “The Sort It Plus trials will build on the success of current recycling collections in Somerset, by testing new service options and new collection vehicle designs.
“It is important local residents covered by the trials understand the new system, so all will be sent a service leaflet to explain the trial arrangements and we will hold roadshows to answer questions face to face.”
Taunton Deane Borough Council environmental services portfolio holder, Councillor Melvyn Mullins, said: “A lot of people ask about adding plastic bottles and cardboard to our kerbside recycling collections and the trials will influence the collection system introduced across Taunton Deane.”
The new service involves the collection of cardboard and plastic in addition to the existing collection service which comprises:

• Weekly collections of food waste
• Continued recycling collections for paper, glass, cans, foil, clothes, shoes, and car batteries
• Fortnightly collections for refuse
• Optional charged composting collections for garden waste

The Somerset Waste Partnership provides waste and recycling services on behalf of all local authorities in Somerset: Mendip, South Somerset, Sedgemoor and West Somerset District Councils, Taunton Deane Borough Council and Somerset County Council.

Now, it's 'fat cat' council pensions in the watchdog's spotlight

PENSIONS for local council staff are costing every West Somerset resident a total of £62, a startling new report by local authority watchdogs the Taxpayers’ Alliance has revealed.
Information obtained by the alliance using the Freedom of Information Act shows Somerset County Council increased the money it spent on pensions for staff from £20.64 million in 2005-06 to £24.332 million in 2006-07 - a huge 17.9 per hike in just one year.
The Liberal Democrat-run county’s pensions bill alone was £47 for each person in West Somerset.
On top of this, each resident was forking out another £15 for pensions at cash-crisis West Somerset Council, although its spend actually fell by 13.5 per cent from £615,000 in 2005-06 to £532,000 in 2006-07.
The news comes just two months after The Post reported a Taxpayers’ Alliance investigation which showed the number of County Hall ‘fat cat’ officers earning more than £50,000 a year had skyrocketed by 1,200 per cent from just nine in 1997 to a staggering 111 by last year – costing each West Somerset resident £13.64.
The cost of pensions at neighbouring Taunton Deane Borough Council rose by a huge 46.6 per cent from £1.66 million in 2005-06 to £2,434 million in 2006-07, which amounted to £23 per person.
Sedgemoor District Council increased its pensions funding by 23.2 per cent from £1.6 million to £1.973 million between 2005-06/07, costing each resident £18.
Nationally, the average council now spends more than £10 million on employer pension payments - a 13 per cent increase on the average amount spent in 2005-06.
In 2006-07, local authorities across the country spent a total of £4.6 billion on employer contributions to the Local Government Pension Scheme and unfunded payments and added years benefits to local government employees, teachers and fire
Fighters - representing 21 per cent of council tax revenue or £1 in every £5 of council tax.
TaxPayers’ Alliance chairman Andrew Allum said: “It is unacceptable that ordinary families and pensioners who struggle to pay inflated council tax bills see so much of their money spent on gold-plated council pensions that have all but disappeared in the wider economy.
“With pension costs jumping 13 per cent in one year, the problem is clearly getting worse and requires urgent attention.
“Councils should start correcting their own behaviour immediately, and the Government must face down union pressure and reform the outdated local government pensions scheme as soon as possible.”
Mr Allum said urgent reform of public sector pensions was ‘clearly essential’ in order to reduce the bill to taxpayers, free up money for services, and avoid a serious crisis in public sector pension funding in the future.
He said at present many councils added extra years to an officer’s pension to allow them to retire early.
“In other words, it is possible for certain council employees to retire at age 55 and immediately draw on a pension as if they had retired at age 60,” he said.
Mr Allum said added years benefits was a practice which should cease immediately.
He said at the same time as increasing their spending on pensions for staff, many local authorities were raising council tax and at the same time cutting services such as rubbish collections or care for the elderly.
Local Government Association deputy chief executive John Ransford said: “The TaxPayers’ Alliance appears to be condemning lollipop ladies, bin men, street cleaners, and librarians for getting a pension worthy of the years of service they have given helping local people.
“Councils provide more than 800 different services for local residents and these cannot be delivered by robots or machines.
“The Local Government Pension Scheme recently underwent a radical overhaul, which provides greater value for money to the taxpayer while at the same time recognising the invaluable work that council staff do to make the lives of local people better.
“According to the Treasury, councils are the most efficient and effective part of the public sector, and the independent Audit Commission has recently said that councils are delivering better services than ever before.”