An investigation has been launched George Osborne’s expenses.

The Shadow Chancellor has been accused of ‘flipping’ his designated second home from London to his Cheshire farmhouse. 

It is alleged this occurred when he took out a £450,000 mortgage on the property, which was nearly £5,000 more than the price of the house.

A Labour Party activist has claimed that he made expenses claims to cover interest payments on the whole debt.  The activist was apparently so angry that he wrote to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner. 

An investigation by the Commissioner John Lyon will now follow, and his decision to investigate will be a blow to David Cameron’s closest ally. 

The planned investigation came as Mr Lyon rejected complaints about Chancellor Alistair Darling’s repeated ‘flipping’ of his second home to make claims on several properties. 

If Mr Lyon launches a full inquiry it would affect Mr Osborne’s career until a verdict is reached, and it would also cause discontent on the Tory backbenches over the harsh treatment meted out to MPs outside Mr Cameron’s inner circle over their expenses claims. 

Although several members of the Shadow Cabinet, including Mr Osborne, have paid money back to the Commons fees office, senior MPs complain that they have been treated more leniently than others.

Mr Lyon was asked to carry out an investigation by Laurie Burton, the chairman of the local Labour Party in Mr Osborne’s constituency in Tatton, and after consulting the Commons standards and privileges committee, which was led by George Young, he replied

“I have accepted your complaint and am inviting his comments.” 

In a letter, Mr Lyon said he would look into a claim that “Mr Osborne claimed for mortgage payments that were not necessarily incurred, contrary to the rules of the House”. 

Mr Lyon said he had put the claims to Mr Osborne, adding:

“When I receive his response, I will consider how best to proceed.” 

The Commissioner dismissed another complaint that the Shadow Chancellor avoided paying capital gains tax when he ‘flipped’ his second home.

“This is a matter for HMRC (HM Revenue and Customs)”, he wrote. 

Spokesperson for the Treasury in the House of Lords, Lord Oakeshott said the allegations against Mr Osborne suggested he was “not fit to be Chancellor”. 

“George Osborne should know that you can’t tell the taxman one story and the fees office another,” he said. “We asked him to come clean and pay the taxpayer back weeks ago but he did nothing.

“This is a real test of David Cameron’s leadership - he needs to make his Shadow Chancellor pay back the tax he’s dodged. It looks like Cameron has either got one rule for the Notting Hill set and another for the knights of the shires, or that George Osborne is simply too close to chop.” 

A spokesman for Mr Osborne said he was ‘relaxed’ because he had done nothing wrong.

Does this mean anything to you:

“The promise of reform which the Green Paper heralds holds much for the public and Service alike; local policing, customised to local need with authentic answerability, strengthened accountabilities at force level through reforms to police authorities and HMIC, performance management at the service of localities with targets and plans tailored to local needs, the end of centrally-engineered one size fits all initiatives, an intelligent approach to cutting red tape through redesign of processes and cultures, a renewed emphasis on strategic development so as to better equip our service to meet the amorphous challenges of managing cross force harms, risks and opportunities.”

Me neither!  I can only think that the writer did it as a joke!

This 102 word sentence is part of a response to the Government’s Green Paper on policing from the the Association of Chief Police Officers.

Marie Claire, spokeswoman for the Plain English Campaign, which lobbies for better and clearer use of words, said whoever drafted the paper should “hang their head in shame”.

She said:

“What excuse is there for this single sentence? It is 102 words long. I fell asleep halfway through and consequently did not have cause to ponder upon the meanings of “centrally-engineered one size fits all initiatives” or “amorphous challenges” - that is wrestling with a jellyfish, right?

“This is ridiculous. What are ACPO doing? Who are they trying to kid? I have got qualifications, I understand language, but I cannot understand this.

“By using this sort of language they are doing their own police officers a discredit.”

She said the sentence has been entered in this December’s Golden Bull competition and stands a good chance of winning the prize.

Does anyone have any other examples of “Golden Bull”? 

Over 500 people have offered their views on parks and open spaces.

People have been lining up to say what makes them proud about the region’s parks.

Environmental improvement officers have been quizzing park users across the region on their views of facilities on offer, and more than 500 people have already completed GreenStat questionnaires at People’s Park, Weelsby Woods, Cleethorpes Country Park and other green venues in the area.

Councillor Steve Hocknell, portfolio holder for culture, leisure and healthier communities, said: “The information will help us to determine patterns of use at our parks, tell us what’s good, if the facilities provided meet the public’s needs and how we can improve.

“There’s still time to fill in the questionnaire online to have your say on our parks’ future.”

Everyone can have their say on North East Lincolnshire parks by logging on to www.nelincs.gov.uk/leisure/parks, or by calling (01472) 324739.

If you have any opinions on Freshney Park, Kingston Woods, or Capes Recreation Ground in our ward you can make sure that NELC knows about them by filling in the questionnaire, and naturally I would like to hear from you too through the comments button on this blog

Will you be Quids In? That’s the question North East Lincolnshire Council is asking its residents as it launches a major campaign to make sure that everyone in the borough receives the benefits they are entitled to.

The Quids In campaign started on Monday, June 22, and aims to provide eligible households with extra cash towards rent and council tax.

Cindy Laherty, benefits and payments manager, said:

“We realise in this current economic downturn that households need every penny they can get to make ends meet. The sad reality is that many residents are not aware that they are entitled to extra help towards paying their rent or council tax. The money is there waiting to be claimed. Even if you or your partner work you might still be entitled to help.

“Although we are in the early stages of the campaign we have already committed almost £100,000 in extra benefit over the past couple of months, and this is making a real difference to the lives of members of our community. These are benefits that will be paid this year and roll over into future years.

“There is potentially hundreds of thousands of pounds which still remain unclaimed, so don’t delay, phone the Quids In hotline today and find out whether you are eligible for extra cash.”

Mr S of Grimsby claims £62.14 per week, he said: “We were very pleased to have the council’s help to get support with our rent and council tax.  Without it we would find it very difficult to pay our way. 

“It is a much appreciated and I would encourage other people to get in touch with the council’s Quids In hotline to seek help with their finances.”

Mrs H of Cleethorpes claims £16.32 per week, she said: “I never realised I was entitled to any help with my council tax but the benefits team sorted it out for me and now I don’t pay council tax at all.”

To contact the Quids In team phone the hotline on (01472) 324999 or email quidsin@nelincs.gov.uk”>quidsin@nelincs.gov.uk

Alternatively, you can visit the Quids In stand in Freshney Place on the following dates: Thursday, July 9, Friday, July 17, Monday, July 20, Saturday, August 1, Sunday, August 8. The team will also be visiting children’s centres and supermarkets across the borough

Doctors are concerned that children as young as eight are being brought into hospitals unconscious after getting drunk on cheap cider, spirits and alcopops.

The British Medical Association’s annual conference heard that the problem of binge-drinking is now so serious that some hospitals which used to treat one intoxicated child a month are now treating several under-age drinkers every Friday and Saturday night.

The doctors warnings are supported by figures which suggest that a child under 12 is admitted to Accident and Emergency departments through alcohol misuse roughly every forty eight hours.

More than  4,500 hospital admissions of children under the age of 16 were caused by alcohol consumption last year, 181 involving under-12s.

Doctors have noted that drink-related problems have become “much, much greater” over the last ten years, and have called for a minimum price for each unit of alcohol, clearer labelling of alcoholic content and a ban on the advertising of beers, wines and spirits.

The latest Accident and Emergency figures, obtained by the Liberal Democrats, show that 1,426 admissions for children under 12 were caused by alcohol consumption since 2002.  Last year there were 4,441 emergency hospital admissions of young people aged 12 to 15 and 7,766 admissions of 16 and 17-year olds due to alcohol which were increases of 12% and 66% respectively.

Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary, Norman Lamb said the figures were “shocking new evidence of the scale of the alcohol crisis facing this country”.

“The Government cannot continue to ignore the fact that thousands of children are drinking so much that they end up in A&E,”

Norman Lamb said:

“Unless we invest in treatment services, put an end to alcohol being sold at pocket-money prices and start educating our children then these figures are only set to get worse.” 

Council leaders say that the cost of disposing of unnecessary packaging should fall on retailers and manufacturers to help save consumers’ money.

At a major conference on the future of waste, it was revealed that councils are paying an estimated £100m to dispose of packaging, and producers should be picking up more of this cost.  Councils say that making retailers and manufacturers pay the bill for disposing of unnecessary packaging would give them a real incentive to use less, and help save money for shoppers.

Town halls pay £40 in tax for every tonne of rubbish they put in the ground and will soon be forced to pay a fine for everything they landfill above set targets.  They say that if retailers use more recycled packaging it would help councils to promote recycling to residents, and it will also raise extra income to help to keep council tax down.

Cllr Paul Bettison, Chairman of the Local Government Association Environment Board, said:

”At a time when we’re in recession and shoppers are feeling the pinch, we have to move on from a world that tolerates costly shrink wrap on tins of baked beans. Families are fed up with having to carry so much packaging home from the shops.

“Just last week one big supermarket was advertising its budget range with colourful pictures of carrots and pears in unnecessary plastic bags.  Much of this packaging exists purely so that retailers can put their logos everywhere but it is shoppers who pay the price at the till and when they throw it away.

”If retailers and manufacturers start paying the true price for their unnecessary packaging, they’ll have a real incentive to get rid of it altogether.  Better labelling of whether packaging is recyclable would make things easier for shoppers who want to do the right thing for the environment and help keep their council tax down.

”Boosting the market for recycled materials will mean councils can investment more on improving recycling and offering more consistent services so that people can recycle more of their rubbish.

“Hard pressed families don’t want to see their money going towards paying for packaging and landfill taxes.  If retailers create unnecessary rubbish, they should help shoppers by paying for it to be recycled.”

Responding to the publication of the Place Survey, which supplies information on people’s opinions about where they live, Cllr Margaret Eaton, Chairman of the Local Government Association, said:

“This survey shows that the vast majority of residents are happy with services which their councils provide. From bin collections to libraries and parks to doorstep recycling, people have overwhelmingly indicated that they enjoy and appreciate these vital services which they use every day, but councils are failing to get the credit for this success. They need to keep working at letting people know that the services they so clearly prize are paid for by their council tax.

“Town halls are in constant contact with their residents and have been busy in the eight months since this research was carried out. However, the government’s long delay in releasing this information makes it less useful than it might otherwise have been. This delay is unsatisfactory and the LGA will be raising this with the government. Councils conduct their own surveys and regularly talk to residents and businesses to make sure the way they use taxpayers’ money reflects what local people want, and will continue to do so. Authorities come into contact with the people they serve every single day and the people themselves can make their views known at the ballot box.“

You can read the full CLG release here

Democratically elected town hall leaders have launched a campaign calling for a radical overhaul of the unelected quango state to ensure that taxpayers get value for money and can see where their taxes are being spent.

A campaign, has been launched by the Local Government Association at its Annual Conference in Harrogate.  The campaign will identify areas where taxpayers’ money is being wasted and where local people are being denied a say on decisions that affect them.  The campaign will also aim to identify things that quangos are doing well and set out ways that these can be used by other quangos.

There are 791 quangos in England and Wales that spend £43.2bn every year, which equals £2,000 for every household, but there is a serious lack of public scrutiny of where and how this money is spent. 

Cllr Margaret Eaton, Chairman of the LGA, said:

“It is time for a radical overhaul of the quango state that gives taxpayers more direct influence through the ballot box over how their money is spent by government at all levels.

“People have the right to see where their money is being spent and they are losing confidence in the way the political world can be removed from them and their everyday lives.

“In the coming months we’ll be taking a close look at how quangos work, whether they provide people with value for money and whether they are genuinely open and transparent. I am confident that some quangos will pass with flying colours, whilst others may have some work to do to come up to scratch.

“This isn’t about bashing quangos – we want to highlight some of the things that they are doing well and see where this can be taken up across the board.”

Households throughout the UK could save over £600m a year if we sent as little of our rubbish into the ground as other countries in Europe, new figures reveal.

Analysis by the Local Government Association compares the proportion of rubbish being thrown into the ground by people in 10 European countries. It finds that per person, the UK is throwing nearly twice as much rubbish in the ground than the French and a staggering 19 times more per person than the Dutch.

In the UK, councils are charged £40 in tax for every tonne of rubbish they throw in the ground. At current rates this costs £620m a year or £30 for every household in the country. The figures show that if we matched the Germans, by only throwing one per cent of our rubbish into the ground, householders would save £609m and pay just 53p a year each in landfill tax. If Brits were beating the Dutch, we would pay just £1.60 a year and triumphing over the French would cut landfill taxes by £12 a year.

Councils say that the tax they pay on throwing rubbish in the ground goes straight into Whitehall coffers and there is no evidence they are getting it back. If the money was returned in a clear and transparent way, town hall bosses say they could improve recycling services across the country and push the UK up Europe’s landfill league table.

Cllr Paul Bettison, Chairman of the Local Government Association Environment Board, said:

”When it comes to throwing less rubbish in the ground Brits are languishing in the lower leagues. If councils knew they were getting landfill tax back, they could build the recycling facilities that would help this country compete with our European rivals. Being the recycling champions of Europe could save council taxpayers across the country a staggering £609m.

“As well as being bad for the environment, throwing rubbish in the ground threatens to hit council taxpayers in the pocket unless we cut back. Councils and council taxpayers could soon face further fines of £150 for every tonne of rubbish that is landfilled above a set amount.

“It’s more important than ever that people recycle as much as possible and councils are working with residents to make this happen. Despite numerous requests, the Government won’t show how landfill tax is being given back to councils. This cash could be used to keep council tax down and build the waste and recycling facilities this country needs.

”Local people deserve great credit for boosting our recycling rate in recent years. If it wasn’t for the hard work of UK households, we’d be throwing even more rubbish in the ground. It’s time the Government showed everyone where landfill tax is going and helped the UK become the recycling champions of Europe.”

The number of young people who are not education or training (NEET) is likely to rise to more than one million by the end of the summer, according to a new report published today.The report, ‘Hidden talents: re-engaging young people’, by the Local Government Association (LGA), working with the Centre for Social Justice, describes the disproportionate effect that the recession has had on young people, who have been hit particularly hard by the recent increases in unemployment.

The LGA says the system for encouraging young people into jobs and training is disjointed and doesn’t focus enough on the needs of the individual. The policy framework must be also be much more coherent if the needs of the nation’s youth are to be met.

Council leaders are calling for urgent short term action to prevent the number of (NEETs) rising throughout the recession. In the longer term, much earlier intervention is needed to prevent even more people facing long term unemployment in the coming decades.

The report shows that:

• The number of young people who are NEET has risen from 743,000 in 2005 to 935,000 today and is expected to top one million by September.
• The number of young people who are NEET has risen by 72,000 between the last quarter in 2008 and the first quarter in 2009
• Young people between 18 and 24 have seen the biggestpercentage increase in unemployment rates in recent months, rising by just under 4% to 16.1%.

The report discusses possible improvements to the public sector’s approach, including:

• Much earlier intervention to identify young people who are at risk of dropping out and becoming NEETs.
• Councils being allowed to fund employment or training projects for young people against projected future benefit savings
• The unhelpful distinction between 16-18 year olds and 19-24 year olds be dropped to bring about a more coherent way of dealing with NEETs

Cllr Margaret Eaton, Chairman of the LGA, said:

“It is deeply worrying that the nation seems set on a course to have a million young people not in any form of education or work. That’s a million young people stuck in a rut, not able to get on and do something productive with their lives and not contributing to the economy. Too many promising young people, with their whole lives ahead of them, are at risk of falling through the cracks.

“Young people have been hit particularly hard by the recession. They have difficulty getting their foot on the career ladder at a time when companies aren’t recruiting and they can be the first to go when cuts are made. We are facing a long term problem that is being made even worse by the recession.

“The billion pounds set aside in the Budget to create jobs for young people will help, but it won’t be enough to solve the problem by a long shot. The system for encouraging young people into work is confusing, incoherent and disjointed.

“A mish mash of government departments, national agencies, voluntary organisations and local authorities all working to different targets and agendas muddy the water and prevent a coherent approach to dealing with the issue.

“In the short term, councils should be freed up to run job and training programmes funded on the basis of future savings from benefits once young people are contributing to the economy. In the longer term, we need a much simpler system that intervenes much earlier to spot children at risk of dropping out of the system. If we are to stop this problem continuing in the decades that come, a much more far-sighted approach needs to be taken today.”