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Post by northwestman on Jan 10, 2021 13:13:38 GMT 1
www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/jun/23/hancock-tried-to-block-plan-to-build-400-homes-in-newmarketImpressive amount of effort expended by Hancock to oppose a plan to build houses in his constituency, even after a High Court case had thrown out Sajid Javid's attempt to block the development. He wrote to Brandon Lewis, Sajid Javid, James Brokenshire, and finally Robert Jenrick. Jenrick clearly didn't then feel confident enough to go against yet another inspector's recommendation, so went ahead and approved the development. Hancock's opposition to the development came as senior figures in horse racing leading the opposition made financial donations to him.
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Post by northwestman on Feb 2, 2021 13:46:08 GMT 1
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9212289/Tory-MPs-blast-ministers-cladding-crisis-wake-Grenfell-inferno.htmlTory MPs yesterday accused ministers of ‘incompetence’ in their response to the cladding crisis in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster. Politicians from all parties rounded on the Government during a landmark Commons debate last night – and warned more leaseholders will go bankrupt if urgent action is not taken. A Labour motion calling on ministers to provide immediate funding to fix unsafe homes and spare leaseholders the crippling financial burden passed by 263 votes to zero. Labour is also calling on the Government to establish a taskforce to examine the extent of dangerous cladding in England. The Government avoided a rebellion during last night’s vote by ordering Tory MPs to abstain. But it did not escape fierce criticism from Conservative backbenchers, who said its attempts to fix the crisis had made matters worse for leaseholders. The fact that Robert Jenrick could not even be bothered to attend shows, tragically, that this issue still does not have the priority it deserves within Government.
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Post by staffordshrew on Feb 2, 2021 18:53:53 GMT 1
Jenrick should have been too embarassed to attend!
Tory backbencher fury was noted - the housing ministry will now consult with the treasury to stave off a possible Tory revolt.
They need to get this done!
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Post by northwestman on Feb 10, 2021 14:15:48 GMT 1
www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/cladding-fund-remove-robert-jenrick-grenfell-tower-b919260.htmlHousing Secretary Robert Jenrick has announced up to £3.5 billion worth of grants to strip cladding, nearly four years after the Grenfell Tower fire exposed the crisis. The scandal left hundreds of thousands of leaseholders across the country facing huge bills to remove dangerous cladding from their homes – unable to sell or mortgage. Mr Jenrick unveiled a five-point plan to “end the cladding scandal” and provide reassurance to homeowners. It includes £3.5 billion to remove unsafe cladding from buildings over 18 metres on top of the £1.6 billion safety fund that leaseholders can currently apply for. The Government will also provide a loan scheme to ensure that leaseholders in buildings between 11 and 18 metres do not pay more than £50 a month for unsafe cladding removal. The loans are expected to spark fury from Tory backbenchers and campaigners who have warned it is not fair to make leaseholders foot the bill, with some already facing facing financial ruin.
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Post by mattmw on Feb 10, 2021 14:19:46 GMT 1
The cladding issue seems very similar to the Government approach to Covid. React too late; announce big funds to address the issue, then blame other bodies for not delivering the strategy correctly
Really needs a task force with real teeth and accountability to solve the issue long term. Announcement today is a sticking plaster on a major wound
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Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2021 14:25:48 GMT 1
If I’ve got this right, the reason it’s taken so long to even begin to address the issue is due to Remoaners and the pandemic.
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Post by northwestman on Feb 10, 2021 19:00:47 GMT 1
www.theguardian.com/society/2021/feb/10/jenrick-announces-billions-to-fix-cladding-on-high-risesThe government is facing a backlash from its own MPs after announcing a £3.5bn fund to fix dangerous cladding on high-rise buildings in England, with the offer of loans to leaseholders to fix similar problems in shorter buildings. Stephen McPartland, a Conservative backbencher who has worked closely on efforts to secure funds for leaseholders, said he listened to the Commons announcement by Robert Jenrick, the housing secretary, “with my head in my hands”. The Stevenage MP called for Downing Street to take over the policy, saying the announced scheme did not apparently cover fire-related costs other than cladding, while the loan scheme appeared unworkable.
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Post by northwestman on Feb 10, 2021 19:13:15 GMT 1
www.theguardian.com/money/2021/feb/10/it-feels-like-a-betrayal-building-safety-funding-falls-short-for-manyAcross the country, leaseholders awaited Robert Jenrick’s solution to the building safety crisis with hope. For those in buildings more than 18 metres tall with combustible cladding yet to be fixed, the news of £3.5bn in new grant funding was welcome. But for hundreds of thousands of others in unsellable homes in lower-rise blocks with the same cladding, there was disappointment at the offer of loans. And for people with other non-cladding fire safety problems, there was nothing. Smoke and mirrors!
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Post by Flixton_shrew on Feb 10, 2021 22:26:18 GMT 1
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Post by northwestman on Feb 11, 2021 11:27:23 GMT 1
'The Prime Minister's spokesman claimed it was a good use of taxpayers' money, because the PM's team of vanity photographers were a "government resource" and " document the work of the Government as well as the work inside No10." He insisted the photographers were paid by the public to capture "not just the work of the Prime Minister but the whole of the cabinet." Asked what contribution Dilyn makes to government work, the spokesman did not answer. Neither he nor Larry the cat are thought to be members of the cabinet. Pressed on what work the animals did for the Government, the spokesman said: "I point you back to what I have already said."'   |
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Post by northwestman on Feb 24, 2021 15:15:56 GMT 1
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9295157/Millionaire-minister-Robert-Jenrick-forced-repay-122-expenses-double-claim.htmlMillionaire minister Robert Jenrick has been forced to pay back more than £100 he claimed for driving between his constituency and Westminster after it emerged he took the train and claimed for both. The Communities Secretary launched the Government's £3.6billion towns fund in Newark in September 2019 - and it was later to receive millions from the scheme. But he later claimed £122.40 for a 272-mile round trip up the M1 from London, at the same time as claiming for a £159 rail ticket. 'Administrative error' apparently.
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Post by staffordshrew on Feb 24, 2021 15:22:30 GMT 1
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9295157/Millionaire-minister-Robert-Jenrick-forced-repay-122-expenses-double-claim.htmlMillionaire minister Robert Jenrick has been forced to pay back more than £100 he claimed for driving between his constituency and Westminster after it emerged he took the train and claimed for both. The Communities Secretary launched the Government's £3.6billion towns fund in Newark in September 2019 - and it was later to receive millions from the scheme. But he later claimed £122.40 for a 272-mile round trip up the M1 from London, at the same time as claiming for a £159 rail ticket. 'Administrative error' apparently. I would have probably got the sack for that, there was a box to sign to verify any claim. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2021 10:02:31 GMT 1
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9295157/Millionaire-minister-Robert-Jenrick-forced-repay-122-expenses-double-claim.htmlMillionaire minister Robert Jenrick has been forced to pay back more than £100 he claimed for driving between his constituency and Westminster after it emerged he took the train and claimed for both. The Communities Secretary launched the Government's £3.6billion towns fund in Newark in September 2019 - and it was later to receive millions from the scheme. But he later claimed £122.40 for a 272-mile round trip up the M1 from London, at the same time as claiming for a £159 rail ticket. 'Administrative error' apparently. Why did it take a 5 month investigation to sort this out? Surely if IPSA had just spoken to him about it could have been sorted in ten minutes. How many man hours has this wasted? |
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Post by northwestman on Feb 25, 2021 16:47:26 GMT 1
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9295157/Millionaire-minister-Robert-Jenrick-forced-repay-122-expenses-double-claim.htmlMillionaire minister Robert Jenrick has been forced to pay back more than £100 he claimed for driving between his constituency and Westminster after it emerged he took the train and claimed for both. The Communities Secretary launched the Government's £3.6billion towns fund in Newark in September 2019 - and it was later to receive millions from the scheme. But he later claimed £122.40 for a 272-mile round trip up the M1 from London, at the same time as claiming for a £159 rail ticket. 'Administrative error' apparently. Why did it take a 5 month investigation to sort this out? Surely if IPSA had just spoken to him about it could have been sorted in ten minutes. How many man hours has this wasted? The watchdog took five months to investigate what had happened and the complaint even ended up on the desk of the body’s chief executive. IPSA said after “numerous” emails to Mr Jenrick’s office there was still an “element of doubt” so it then launched another probe into his travel expenses. Typical Jenrick in not bothering to adequately reply to IPSA's e-mails. |
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Post by northwestman on Mar 18, 2021 12:08:42 GMT 1
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Post by DiglisShrew on Mar 18, 2021 13:55:59 GMT 1
Minister knowingly misleading - nothing new there then !! |
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Post by northwestman on Apr 9, 2021 17:33:11 GMT 1
bylinetimes.com/2021/04/06/pork-barrel-prosecution-jenrick-faces-legal-challenge-over-tory-marginal-spending-splurge/Robert Jenrick, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, is facing legal action over his pork-barrel politics distribution of public money under the Government’s Towns Fund and the Levelling Up Fund. The Good Law Project, a non-profit campaigning organisation, has sent a pre-action legal letter accusing the Government of favouring areas with Conservative MPs, and towns in marginal seats, rather than distributing money based on deprivation – which is the ostensible intention of the two schemes. The ministry has until 4pm next Monday to reply or face legal action. The analysis by the Good Law Project mirrors investigations by Byline Times into the distribution of both pots of money – showing that nearly all of the first tranche of funding went to towns in marginal seats that the Conservative Party either won at the 2019 General Election or has come close to winning. The second tranche of money under the Levelling Up Fund was also targeted at councils like Crawley and Milton Keynes which the Conservatives hope to win in the local elections in May, and the areas covered by the mayors of the West Midlands and the Tees Valley – both currently held by Conservative candidates hoping to retain their positions next month. The Good Law Project’s letter to Jenrick cites two areas with severe deprivation run by the Labour Party – the City of Salford and Barnsley in Yorkshire – which will be getting no money at all under the Levelling Up Fund.
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Post by northwestman on Apr 14, 2021 14:01:51 GMT 1
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Post by northwestman on Apr 29, 2021 14:37:04 GMT 1
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/apr/29/leaseholders-horrified-after-final-vote-on-10bn-fire-safety-costsHomeowners have reacted with “horror” after parliament finally voted against protecting them from post-Grenfell fire safety costs that could run to £10bn. Campaigners for hundreds of thousands of people trapped with devastating bills to make their homes safe said Wednesday night’s vote in the House of Lords against protecting them “pulls the rug from under a generation of leaseholders”. It comes after weeks of debates in parliament in which the government rejected calls from Labour and about 30 rebel Tory MPs for them to meet the cost and recoup the money from property developers. Many homeowners say they now face financial ruin and warn that the decision to make them pay places lives at risk. Labour estimates the crisis has left 1.3m flats unmortgageable. Thousands of blocks of flats were found to have serious fire defects after the Grenfell fire on 14 June 2017, including having similar cladding, but also missing fire breaks in wall cavities and combustible balconies. Many developers have been refusing to pay to fix the faults, leaving residents facing bills running into the tens of thousands each and additional running costs for fire wardens to patrol buildings. Living with the fear of financial ruin and of fire has caused a mental health crisis among many. In February, the prime minister, Boris Johnson, told parliament: “No leaseholder should have to pay for the unaffordable costs of fixing safety defects that they didn’t cause and are no fault of their own.” Campaigners say he has now broken that promise. MPs have calculated that the total bill could reach £15bn, but so far the government has promised only £5bn to fund cladding repairs on buildings over 18 metres tall. It has offered loans on repairs on shorter properties, which it argues are less of a risk, but leaseholders say this leaves them with the same financial burden. The government has estimated the cost to leaseholders of the legislation, which will now pass through the Commons on Thursday, could be up to £75,000 for each leaseholder. Grenfell United, the bereaved families and survivors group, said: “We’re deeply disappointed that ministers have broken their promises to leaseholders who have done absolutely nothing wrong. The government’s position on this is indefensible. “It’s a grave injustice that many innocent leaseholders will be financially ruined over fire safety issues that were not of their own making, while the government is letting those responsible continue to get off scot free. This is of course on Robert Jenrick's watch. Property developers, owners and builders being given priority over tenants.
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Post by northwestman on Apr 29, 2021 14:38:34 GMT 1
"In February, the prime minister, Boris Johnson, told parliament: “No leaseholder should have to pay for the unaffordable costs of fixing safety defects that they didn’t cause and are no fault of their own.” Campaigners say he has now broken that promise".
No surprise there then!
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Post by northwestman on Apr 29, 2021 15:54:49 GMT 1
www.theguardian.com/society/2021/apr/29/no-one-cares-for-us-building-safety-crisis-victims-weigh-voting-optionsThe fallout from parliament’s decision to leave hundreds of thousands of leaseholders facing bills to fix fire safety defects looks likely to affect the way people vote in next week’s local elections. The Conservative party, which – aside from around 30 rebels – opposed attempts to protect more leaseholders, and Labour, which abstained in a crucial Lords vote despite challenging the government in the Commons, look set to lose some support. “We have elections next week and we can’t vote through the Tories, and Labour have stuffed us through the back door. Who do I vote for? No one cares for us. It’s heartbreaking.”
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Post by northwestman on Apr 30, 2021 9:55:55 GMT 1
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Post by northwestman on May 4, 2021 20:00:47 GMT 1
www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/boris-johnsons-aide-advised-planning-24030830Boris Johnson's former top aide Eddie Lister was involved in discussions on a massive shake-up of planning laws despite being employed by two major property firms, it is claimed. Industry insiders told the Mirror that the senior aide, who stepped down as No 10 came under pressure over conflicts of interest, had been advising on the proposals. One development industry insider said: “Eddie was involved in the evolution of planning policy that was announced in Jenrick's white paper. “It was a wholly untenable position in light of the conflicts of interest.”
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Post by northwestman on May 7, 2021 13:52:21 GMT 1
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9553339/Blaze-rips-tower-block-flat-Grenfell-style-cladding-100-firefighters-battle-flames.htmlA blaze has ripped through a London tower block which still has Grenfell-style cladding nearly four years after the tragedy, despite multiple warnings from locals. Housing Minister Robert Jenrick was accused of a 'betrayal of homeowners' back in February when he confirmed they will get billions of pounds of taxpayers cash to replace dangerous cladding - but only if they live in the tallest buildings. The cabinet minister unveiled the long-awaited £5billion scheme for victims of the cladding scandal that emerged in the wake of the 2017 Grenfell Tower disaster. But he revealed that only buildings above 18m tall - or six storeys - would have the cost of replacing the outside of the building covered by the Government. The 19-storey tower block in east London is therefore covered by this, but there was outrage from campaigners as it emerged people living in shorter buildings will have to pay for the repairs themselves using a 'long-term, low-interest' loan scheme that will cap their costs at £50 a month. But the loan will remain with the property rather that the leaseholder, raising fears it will affect their ability to later sell it. Additionally they and hundreds of thousands of people in the high-rise blocks will still be left to pay for other defects they did not cause. Many of the firms which applied the cladding have gone bust since Grenfell and will not have to pay a contribution.
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Post by staffordshrew on May 7, 2021 14:10:02 GMT 1
It's about time parliament took control of this scandal and got the cladding changed before Jenrick ends up with "bodies piled high".
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Post by Mortgagehound on May 8, 2021 18:49:58 GMT 1
Staged photographs, you mean like Mr Stammers attempts at selecting wallpaper at John Lewis |
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Post by staffordshrew on May 8, 2021 23:33:00 GMT 1
Staged photographs, you mean like Mr Stammers attempts at selecting wallpaper at John Lewis Not quite, Mr Starmer doesn't have tax payer funded photographers, that misuse of public funds is down solely to Mr Johnson & co. |
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Post by Mortgagehound on May 10, 2021 14:20:00 GMT 1
Staged photographs, you mean like Mr Stammers attempts at selecting wallpaper at John Lewis Not quite, Mr Starmer doesn't have tax payer funded photographers, that misuse of public funds is down solely to Mr Johnson & co. That may not be the case as we don't know who took the photograph in John Lewis. If it was Stammers office staff then I believe they are paid from the public purse in which case the comparison to Boris is as broad as long |
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Post by staffordshrew on May 10, 2021 14:49:46 GMT 1
Not quite, Mr Starmer doesn't have tax payer funded photographers, that misuse of public funds is down solely to Mr Johnson & co. That may not be the case as we don't know who took the photograph in John Lewis. If it was Stammers office staff then I believe they are paid from the public purse in which case the comparison to Boris is as broad as long One of Starmer's office staff may have been told to take a snap, but Boris actually employs a photographer at public expense.
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Post by servernaside on May 10, 2021 18:18:19 GMT 1
That may not be the case as we don't know who took the photograph in John Lewis. If it was Stammers office staff then I believe they are paid from the public purse in which case the comparison to Boris is as broad as long One of Starmer's office staff may have been told to take a snap, but Boris actually employs a photographer at public expense.
He's the PM ffs why shouldn't he have an official photographer? Are you paying for him personally? |
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