Monday, 23 November 2020
Wednesday, 30 September 2020
Saturday, 26 September 2020
Monday, 21 September 2020
Norfolk Against Holiday Hunger - 21st September 2020
My comments today during a debate about Holiday Hunger and Child Poverty:
"Councillor Fisher’s comments today are sadly all too similar to those of Councillor Borrett’s recent remarks about holiday hunger – for many these views are of course shocking but they are also very worrying. They’re worrying because senior Conservative Councillors with the responsibility for health and children really should be better informed and more concerned about the impact to people’s long-term health from hunger and malnutrition. Of course, parents and guardians have a hugely significant role in looking after and providing for their children but so too do we all as Councillors, particularly with our role as corporate parents, and indeed we have a role as private individuals. Councillor Borrett claimed recently of course that the benefits system is there for those that are in “genuine” need – the implication of course being that every person needing to access foodbanks, or asking for additional support cannot be in genuine need. Those of us that are active in our communities and regularly deal with casework know all too well that the benefits system is nowhere near perfect, people fall through the cracks, and that the support often provided is nowhere near sufficient for people to live a decent quality of life and one that promotes longer-term health benefits. In my own division, more people use Thetford Foodbank who are in employment, than not. So extreme are the issues around in work poverty and low wages. Cabinet members really ought to get out there and at least try to understand the issues that exist and engage more positively with groups such as the Norfolk Against Holiday Hunger who had the temerity to ask for his support. They will quickly realise there is a very clear link between poverty, malnutrition and health more widely and that by addressing such issues earlier, there would be longer-term positive impact on people’s health, and likely to in fact reduce the cost of health provision in our county"
Thursday, 17 September 2020
North Coast 500 - September 2020
I’d heard about the North Coast 500 or Scotland’s Route 66 as it is sometimes referred to a few years ago. I believe it officially started in 2015. My partner and I had intended to go abroad this year although thankfully hadn’t booked anything. My brother and his partner had booked somewhere abroad but thankfully got a full refund when Covid struck. None of us fancied jumping on a plane, even when lockdown restrictions eased which was probably just as well as countries were popping on and off the quarantine list on a regular basis.
Discussions during lockdown revealed that we all wanted to do the North Coast 500 sometime and this year might be the best opportunity. We had all figured that being in one car together travelling around a remote area must surely be one of the most ‘COVID secure’ holidays possible currently?
We planned the trip for September hoping the worst of covid had passed, children back at school (on the whole) and the weather still relatively nice.
Here’s our experience and itinerary;
Our typed out, detailed and laminated itinerary!
We spent three sessions in advance planning the trip. Food and alcohol helped fuel them! We started with planning the start and end points and booking up these hotels, then in the second session we booked up everything in between. It was good fun looking through all the different accommodation options. We decided early on that camping wasn't really for us. For the final session we listed all of the things we wanted to see and do along the route and started to think about excursions and food reservations. This all proved to be good fun on its own and we all got the opportunity to say what we absolutely wanted to do - the red lines and what was just nice to do if we had time.
This all culminated in an itinerary being produced which one of our group typed up, including researching all necessary postcodes for destinations, calculating miles between stops and other possible stops if time allowed (thank-you Leah!). This saved so much time and we maximised the benefit from the route as we got to see and do so much. No time wasted searching for postcodes as we went and considering the poor phone signal in many locations this was definitely a good idea. The itinerary also helped to maximise the route benefits as we were seeing things as we went and didn't have to double back or waste travel miles. My old English teacher would be proud; "If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail!".
By the time we have finished discussing our trip we had a comprehensive plan. Two copies were printed and laminated. Yes, we may have OCD but it helped! Several places we arrived at had no slots for food etc but we had reservations so no problem. Not for every stop, but where we knew there were limited options - eg Applecross, always pre book here!
We left Thetford (Norfolk) on the Friday night with two of our party working that day until 4pm, that was the earliest we could leave so we aimed to get as far North as we could so opted for Newcastle. The Saturday morning gave us an opportunity to visit the Angel of the North. On the Saturday we made the rest of the journey up to Inverness which was to be our North Coast 500 starting point.
Angel Of The North
We visited the Culloden Battlefield and walked around Inverness. Sadly Inverness Castle was closed but we had a good walk around the city. We stayed in the Kingsmills Hotel in Inverness - it has a pool so we took advantage of that - again because of Covid we had to reserve our slot in the pool and ended up having it to ourselves - hurrah. We ate in the hotel restaurant which was very tasty, but a bit pricey.
Culloden Battlefield
On the Sunday we set off for Ullapool on the West Coast, but went via the Loch Ness exhibition centre which was on our list. Various stops occurred at Drumnadrochit, Urquhart Castle and Eilan Donan Castle. From here we then went over to Applecross via Bealach Na Ba - a very narrow, winding road which at its highest point is more than 2,000 feet above sea level. This is a must do in my opinion. However, you need to be confident at driving and prepared to take it slowly. We went across on a Sunday, and it was beautiful weather so it was inevitably packed!
Eilan Donan Castle
Travelling Across Bealach Na Ba
We had lunch at the Applecross Inn which tasted amazing! Definitely worth the trip across the winding road. Fortunately we had a reservation as they were fully booked at there are limited options for food elsewhere here. We then took the coastal route up through Torrington and Shieldag as we made our way to Ullapool. This was a nice drive and we made a number of impromptu stops along the way - mainly for cows in the road and a random sheep, that just sat in the middle of the road without a care!
The other thing we recorded on the itinerary was the check in and out times for the different hotels. They varied quite significantly. The sat nav told us that our arrival at the hotel on Sunday night was going to be past the latest check-in time so we managed to message ahead. The latest check in at Ullapool was 7pm and we got there at 6.50pm so in the end it wasn't an issue but it meant we didn't have to panic that we wouldn't get into the hotel. We maximised our day for sure. Ullapool is a nice little town - sadly no excursions running when we went but we had a nice walk round. We stayed at Harbour House which I would definitely recommend. There’s a big lounge area that you can sit in during the evening - which we did with some shop bought drinks and snacks and we played cards! (a pack of playing cards is a must for the trip). Breakfast was included too and very nice (always handy to stock up on extra tea bags or milk, or pieces of fruit if you they are available).
Blackwater Falls near Ullapool
Corrieshalloch Gorge
From Ullapool we went to the Corrieshalloch Gorge which I would say is a must visit. It's quite a short walk and the view over the gorge from the viewing platform is great (and like so many of the stops on our route, it was free!). We took an unplanned stop at Blackwater Falls which was also great. We visited Lochinver Harbour which was rather grey and dull on the day - it may have just been the weather but I wouldn’t rush back here. The Old Man of Stoer was next and a bit of a trek and when we got as far as you can go by car we realised there was a long walk ahead which we probably didn’t have time for so that got knocked on the head. This was the first place we visited where we saw signs made by residents saying "North Coast 500 - Go Home!" - so it seems not everyone is pleased with the extra visitors to the area. On the Monday night we had booked to stay at Loch Shin Luxury Pods - £90 for the night split between 4 of us. Bargain! We wish we had done more pods! We stopped at Ullapool Tesco before we left for drinks and food to take with us so it was a cheap night food wise as well.
Loch Shin Luxury Pods
On the Tuesday we went from Loch Shin back to Kylesku - the bridge there is definitely a good photo opportunity as it is stunning. We then went up the coast to Oldshoremore Beach and on to Smoo Cave - another must do! The boat tour wasn’t running but it was still great to walk into the cave. From here we went to Durness Beach. We went to look at Castle Varrich but again, we got as close as you can in the car but it was getting dark and then you have to walk to it so it would have dark before we got there you can tell we didn't overly like the loads of walking, that said, we did manage 120,000 steps in the 9 days!)
Smoo Cave
Kylesku Bridge
We stayed at Borgie Lodge Hotel on the Tuesday night - amazing! Stay here one night if you can. The food is amazing - more akin to a fancy restaurant than a hotel in my opinion. It was also very reasonably priced and the rooms were very comfy. When we arrived we were given a tour of the hotel which included a bar area, lounge and dining room. Again in the evening we played cards in the lounge!
Wednesday was a busy day - Bettyhill, Strathy Point, Dunnet Head, John O'Groats, Duncansby Head and Duncansby Stacks.
Strathy Point
John O'Groats
The highlight this day was definitely Strathy Point - fortunately we had time to walk to this one and even though it was incredibly windy, we walked down towards the lighthouse and the view was amazing. We encountered another sign from local residents asking if our trip was absolutely essential with covid concerns etc.
Another cheap hotel Wednesday night. The four of us sharing a family room at the Castle View B&B so £120 split between 4 with breakfast included. It was cheap and very basic - fine for a bed for the night but wouldn't want to stay for several days.
Whaligoe Steps
On the Thursday we did Sinclair Castle which was also very enjoyable and then onto Whaligoe Steps - make sure you do this! We particularly enjoyed it as we saw Dolphins this day!! We also visited Dunrobin Castle on Thursday which is stunning and we paid the £12 per person entrance fee. Even though the official Falconry display had finished we managed to watch the instructor training some of the new birds. Unfortunately on the Thursday our car was hit by a campervan! It was parked up off the road so not sure how they managed to hit it but thankfully they admitted fault and the car was still roadworthy so we could continue our trip - all part of the adventure I guess!
On Thursday night we had splashed out and booked two executive rooms at the Mansfield Castle Hotel - yep, an actual castle. I ended up in the room that Princess Anne had tea in - ooo err! The room and the bathroom were a real treat.
Sinclair Castle
On Friday we checked out Durnoch Beach and then headed off to Edinburgh. Our North Coast 500 route had finished and to make our way home we booked a night in Edinburgh on Friday night and then a night in York on Saturday night to get us closer back to Norfolk rather than one mammoth trip from Inverness all the way back down.
Recommended Fuel Stops - Inverness, Ullapool and Wick.
Must Dos: Kylesku Bridge, Smoo Cave, Whaligoe Steps, Strathy Point, Sinclair Castle
Recommended Hotels / Accommodation: Borgie Lodge in Borgie, Loch Shin Luxury Pods, Harbour House in Ullapool
Tuesday, 28 July 2020
Councillor Update - 28th July 2020 Full Council
Report from Councillor Terry Jermy (District & County)
Tuesday 28th July 2020 – Thetford Town Council
Norfolk County Council
· I have participated in a virtual meeting of the Corporate Select Committee on 13th July and the Corporate Asset Management Strategy Working Group on the 30th June 2020 and 15th July 2020. I also attended the Full Council meeting on 20th July 2020 and spoke in the debate about Food Poverty. This provided me with an opportunity to highlight the work of the food Out Friday initiative that I have been involved in. Just before the end of the school term I was pleased to visit Diamond Academy and pass on £500 worth of vouchers for the school to distribute to families. Diamond Academy prioritised the support for families that often fall under the radar, which included families that had previously been in receipt of free school meals, but became ineligible by working themselves out of the benefits system, but resting just above meant they were often more disadvantaged. The recognition and support was very well received.
· On the 1st July 2020 I completed the Council’s training in relation to Corporate Parenting.
· I submitted written questions to the Norfolk County Council Cabinet meeting on 6th July 2020 in relation to the former Cosy Carpets building and the ongoing legal dispute about this.
Breckland Council
· As a Breckland Council representative I participated in the virtual meeting of the Greater Thetford Partnership Board on 8th July 2020 and met on a 1-2-1 basis with the new Greater Thetford Partnership Manager. I spoke about the need to not ‘re-invent the wheel’ and use existing data, consultant reports and studies to ensure the Board delivers a number of quick wins. I’ve encouraged the Board and the new Partnership Manager to focus on walking and cycling improvements locally given the comprehensive walking and cycling report and positive messages (and funding!) from Government on this aspect.
· I attended the Breckland Council Cabinet meeting on 13th July 2020 and spoke in relation to the Council’s finances and the near ¾ million pound overspend in the last financial year, primarily in relation to housing and homelessness. I asked what the longer-term plan was to ensure we did not have to rely on hotels and B&Bs to house homeless residents.
· I attended the Breckland Council Scrutiny meeting on 16th July 2020 and spoke in relation to covid19 and the Council’s response to this and general support for businesses – I have asked that the Council do more to support local businesses and have requested a future agenda item to look at a local procurement policy.
· I attended Breckland Full Council meeting on the 22nd July 2020 and tabled a written question in relation to the Breckland Local Plan. No members of the opposition sit on this committee and only committee members are permitted to speak which is causing some consternation. I asked the Leader to write to the Secretary of State to ask why Thetford was turned down for Government funding (Towns Fund) despite it scoring higher in the assessment stage that other areas that were allocated funding.
· I completed a Ward Walkabout with Councillor Chris Harvey on 9th July, 13th July and 17th July. We currently have 35 pieces of casework submitted, primarily related to street scene related issues; fly-tips, broken street furniture, obsolete signage and general maintenance issues.
General Point: All County and District meetings are being held virtually and broadcast live, with recordings available to watch at your leisure. I would encourage people to watch the meetings if you are able as they are currently far more accessible than normal.
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Thursday, 23 July 2020
Thetford misses out on Government funding
Question to the Leader; Last year Breckland Council submitted two funding applications to the Government’s Towns Fund to provide much needed support for both Thetford and Dereham Town Centres. Sadly, both those applications were unsuccessful. Yesterday, the National Audit Office published a report into the Governments decision making process, criticising how bids were selected, the report revealed the scores for all bids that were submitted, the Thetford application scored more highly than both the Norwich and Ipswich bids which were awarded funding and the Dereham bid scored more highly that Norwich.
It has been noted that 2/3rds of the successful applications were in Tory marginal parliamentary seats ahead of last year’s general election.
Will the Leader commit to writing to the Secretary of state to see why our Breckland towns were overlooked for this funding, despite their high scores in the assessment process?
Breckland Full Council - 22nd July 2020
Here's the link to watch the whole of Breckland Council's Full Council meeting yesterday. New (probably temporary) arrangements mean that Council meetings are being conducted online so whereas you would normally have to drive to Dereham on a weekday morning, now you can watch the meeting from the comfort of your own home, and you can even watch it after the event and pause it as it is saved on Youtube. Yesterday's meeting is well worth a watch. The meeting was dominated by discussions about the Local Plan Working Group which discusses and coordinates policies relating to house building across the District for the next two decades. The 'Group' is made up of Councillors purely from the Conservative group. They refuse to allow any opposition members to participate and they are not even allowed to speak at their meetings. What have they got to fear? a more open and transparent process developing the local plan is surely better for our District and surely having maximum and buy in and support from all members of the Council, utilising all skills and talents, would be advantageous? Guess not! Labour Councillors raised questions on support for businesses and people that are furloughed, plus, the Thetford bus services, and asked the Leader to enquire why Thetford has missed out on millions of pounds worth of funding despite a report revealing that Thetford scored more highly than both Norwich and Ipswich who did receive funding! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-55bIpwRTY8&fbclid=IwAR3vXciHoxtbuq97u_SNJhJ9C8Y8D32EO9Se81LHjXlu3drUkMxWIKPwCO4
Monday, 20 July 2020
Food Poverty Speech At Norfolk County Council - 20th July 2020
My speech to Norfolk County Council today on Food Poverty - I've posted the text of the full motion at the bottom;
Thank-you Chairman. I am pleased to speak in support of this motion. The issue of food poverty is very real, it existed before covid19, it was exacerbated during covid19 and it will no doubt continue to be an issue moving forward.
Over the past few weeks I have supported a survey of Thetford schools which revealed that 100% of those that responded were concerned about ‘holiday hunger’ and children not being able to access sufficient food during the Summer break.
I also know through talking with teachers that there are significant issues in Norfolk with children being able to access regular and nutritious meals and that malnutrition is a major concern which inevitably impacts upon the education of children in our county.
It’s a sad indictment of our country today that schools are concerned about children being hungry during school holidays and that we’re continuing to see people’s basic needs not being met. I am obviously pleased that the Government u-turned on the decision to not provide additional support during the summer holidays. However, this only affects those families in receipt of free school meals. There are many more families just above this threshold who are struggling financially due to Covid19 and the financial uncertainty. I would hope that we would all agree that No child in Norfolk should be left hungry.
A report by the Children’s Society estimated there to be over 20,000 children in Norfolk living in poverty but less than half of them were in receipt of free school meals. There are likely to be more than 10,000 children missing out and no doubt their health and wellbeing impacted as a result.
This week I have been to my old junior school in Thetford and provided them with £500 worth of gift vouchers as part of the County Labour Group’s Food Out Friday initiative - vouchers which the school distributed to families that do not receive free school meals but where they are aware of issues and challenges and where additional support is needed. It’s important I feel, to trust the teachers and the schools who know those children and their families best and trust the families to make responsible decisions. In addition to the practicable and immediate support I was able to collate together an information sheet detailing various other forms of support across Thetford and Norfolk so that families could be signposted to more sustainable and longer-term forms of help. A significant number of these support services are provided by charitable organisations and rely on the goodwill of others which is why as this motion requests, that we publicly thank volunteers in our county who make such a vital contribution and provide practical support to voluntary and community groups.
This sort of support should not be necessary but if it is necessary, it should not be limited to one area in isolated examples. We should not have to rely on the goodwill of volunteers at foodbanks and schools being creative with their budgets. I believe we need greater support from this Council and the Government to address food poverty and make absolutely certain that there is no hungry child in Norfolk.
Food Poverty
Norfolk has experienced the profound multiple impacts of Covid-19 since the onset of the pandemic. Evidence shows that this impact has not been shared evenly, with those in the county’s most deprived communities suffering hardest. One very visible
example of this has been the rocketing use of foodbanks which have multiplied and provided critical support to those facing the difficulties of food crisis. As the city now begins to emerge from the pandemic special focus to provide support for those most at risk from hunger should be considered.
Council resolves to:
Ask the leader of the council to;
a) publicly thank the volunteers, groups, organisations and partners who have worked so tirelessly to provide emergency food, support of other provisions across the county, acknowledging the vital difference this has made.
b) write to the Secretary of State at the Department for Work and
Pensions and the county's Members of Parliament to request, with
specific reference to alleviating child poverty, that child benefit is
immediately raised by £15.00 per week, per child as an alternative to parents using the current inefficient, ineffective and often inaccessible voucher service.
(1) acknowledge the impact of a decade of deliberate structural austerity in driving people into hunger through the weakening of social security and other systemic measures which have fuelled poverty across Norfolk,
(2) use the powers available to ensure that the recovery of the county economy must address the root drivers of poverty with special reference to creating new, inclusive and sustainable growth, tackling endemic low pay and working with the newly formed Good Economy Commission; and
(3) Consider and implement the agreed Recovery Plan, working with partners, to enhance and develop strong and sustainable food networks to better provide support to those most at risk of hunger.
(4) Request that the Local Resilience Forum takes responsibility for continued of monitoring of and support for food banks in Norfolk and that continued food supply through any second spike of Covid-19 and the exit from the European Union forms a key part of the Emergency Plan
(5) Ensure all schools and colleges are informed of foodbank provision across the county before the end of this term 95
(6) Ensure that volunteers from the newly emerged foodbanks can access safeguarding training
Thursday, 28 May 2020
Tuesday, 21 January 2020
Norfolk County Council Speech - Monday 20th January 2020, Train System in Norfolk Motion
My speech at Norfolk County Council today re Norfolk’s railway system, thanks to everyone that commented on the thread last week
Thank-you Chair.
I am passionate about public transport in Norfolk and I am frustrated that the services that we all need and want to see being delivered are still so far away.
In many ways, we’re fortunate in Thetford that we have a train station, increasingly people want to travel by train whether its commuting to Norwich or Cambridge or elsewhere for work, or, off to the coast for the day or other leisure related trips. Recently however, Thetford ranked first in Norfolk on the rail -performance tracking site ‘On Time Trains’ for delayed services, with just 15% of services on time – ranking within the bottom 100 out of 2,621 stations across the UK.
In anticipation of speaking today I asked residents in Thetford about the train service and how it was impacting them. There were more than 50 replies on social media.
As Thetford resident Glenn pointed out, it’s bad enough that there are delays, but in Thetford’s case, after 1.30pm weekdays there’s no waiting room and no toilet available, and nothing at all on Sundays. Recently I travelled to Leeds by train, my train was an hour late, I spent the whole hour on the platform wishing I’d had just driven as the cost would have worked out roughly the same given the price of the train ticket.
Another Thetford resident, Hilary, said She would like to use the trains more for environmental reasons, but they are just too expensive. And Ellie said; “I used the trains last year when I started working at Norwich Hospital. I got the earliest train as the later one was always delayed, then had to get 2 buses when I got to the city – the whole journey took 2 hours.
Whilst issues with trains in my part of the County is proving frustrating, I do sympathise with residents in North Norfolk who have been experiencing almost daily problems with the Norwich to Sheringham route with bus replacements services now more frequent than trains itself it seems.
No part of the rail system in Norfolk is immune from the problems. West Norfolk has had investment delayed and yet, like everywhere else passengers face fare rises and disruption.
Tha main focus has been to the east of the county and given the huge investment in new rolling stock that’s hardly surprising. But much of that rolling stock is idle because of problems, put simply, because of compatibility issues. Ever tried to load a new app on an old computer? It just can’t handle it and likewise we have known for years the infrastructure along the Great Eastern line was inadequate.
The report by Atkins (a top UK and international consulting authority on transport) produced ten years ago for EEDA and councils down the line including Norfolk, Norwich and Shaping Norfolk’s Future that preceded the LEP made it clear that investment on rolling stock and the infrastructure the trains used was essential if we were to gain the £3.7 billion in benefits to businesses and commuters in the East of England. Yes, £3.7bn over the 60 year projections used, and that used 2002 prices. We’re talking big numbers and long term benefit.
Of course in the past ten years climate change has climbed the agenda and the substantial reduction in car journeys a much improved rail service would lead to has gained in significance too.
Currently rail investment is agreed in five year periods called control periods.
Sadly, although there is a considerable amount being invested in some aspects of the service in the current control period that runs until 2024 much pf it is at the London end to facilitate Crossrail. Critical infrastructure improvements like the swing bridge at Trowse is not mentioned and along with other projects there is no time to mention has no priority and no timescale. Even if it made it into 2024-29 it could mean up to a decade before we see the speed, reliability, frequency, environmental and economic benefit that could result. Without it the few Norwich in 90 services will continue to be cancelled, new rolling stock won’t meet their potential, there can be no increases in services and bottleneck delayes will continue.
Last week, after the motion was tabled, the consultation on the Norfolk Rail Prospectus was launched.
In the light of that it is premature to press this motion today. Instead let me put on the agenda front and centre the need for Norfolk to have a reliable, frequent, fast, affordable rail service serving as many parts of the county as we can. So far there has been little attention drawn to this consultation so I hope this motion will encourage members to think carefully about what rail can mean to the county and encourage the public to respond to the consultation.
Having drawn councils attention to the issue I withdraw the motion but hope we can return to something similar after the consultation to get Norfolk behind coming together to fight for the rail system we need.'
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