Pasty Tax summit

This afternoon I attended the 'pasty tax summit' organised by John Endacott of the accountants firm Francis Clark in Truro. He had brought together VAT and tax experts, pasty manufacturers and politicians to look for a way forward in the debate about the imposition of VAT on pasties.

The manufacturers told us that they thought the imposition of the pasty tax would lead to a loss in sales of 15-20% and this would have a consequent knock-on effect on jobs and the amount of money in the Cornish economy. Firms which had been planning to open new shops said that this measure would automatically end those plans and others have said that they will have to close shops. They said that this is simply the straw that will break the camel's back with rising raw material and fuel costs already making their life difficult.

There was a general perception that the Chancellor didn't realise what he was doing when he announced the pasty tax. He didn't fully understand the implications (the Office for Budget Responsibility papers are confused as to the impact) and clearly never expected to stir the hornets nest that he has.

Steve Gilbert, the Lib Dem MP for St Austell and Newquay, was present and he set out the options from a parliamentary perspective. Whilst there is a debate called by Labour for next week, this will be on such a wide range of issues that he does not expect it to be a proper study of the pasty tax issues. Steve, together with Dan Rogerson and Andrew George, is also asking the Speaker for a full debate on the pasty tax. Tory MP George Eustice has put forward his own idea for a 40 degree re-definition of 'ambient temperature', but the manufacturers pointed out that the only likely effect of this would be to give everyone food poisoning.

Among the manufacturers, the clear mood is that we will continue to fight this unfair proposal which will damage jobs and businesses. We hope that the Chancellor will see that he has made a mistake and will 'clarify' the proposal so that savouries sold out of the oven in bakeries remain VAT free. As things stand, the proposals are totally unworkable.

The next stage is a meeting with Treasury Ministers which Dan Rogerson MP is organising. But as a first step in the concerted campaign, this was hugely positive.

After the meeting, Steve recorded this short message:



Image shows Mark Muncey of the Cornish Pasty Association, John Endacott of Francis Clark accountants and Steve Gilbert MP.

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Another waste update ('I'm alright Jack' edition) - UPDATED

Residents across Cornwall are still experiencing big problems with the new waste contract as I blogged last Thursday. In Launceston, our first major test comes tomorrow as that is the day when the majority of households have their first combined waste and recycling collection under the new scheme.

Elsewhere the situation doesn't look too rosy. One colleague sent me the picture on the left of what happened when Cory piled a load of bags for collection and then forgot to collect them. When she tried to call the waste company the person who answered said he was too busy to talk and put the phone down on her. Other colleagues report similar problems in their areas too.

The response from the administration has been very disappointing. Whilst we always knew that there would be teething troubles - as there can be with any new project - the portfolio holder simply tweeted to say that everything had worked fine in his area and the Leader of the Independents boasted that he got a problem in his patch dealt with straightaway. I'm very glad that the problems aren't occurring everywhere, but there has to be seen to be a lot more action to rectify the problems which have occurred.

UPDATE - This picture and the video below were taken on the Ridgegrove Estate this morning. Utterly disgusting.



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Mid and West Cornwall shortlisted for new archive and record centre

A while ago I blogged about the prospects for the new archive and records office for Cornwall and suggested that North and East Cornwall need not apply.

Well 36 applications were made, including excellent bids from the East. But the shortlist excludes these and has taken forward two bids from West Cornwall and one from mid-Cornwall - Hayle, Redruth and St Austell.

I asked a council officer about how people from North Cornwall would be able to use a centre in Hayle and was told "Hayle has a railway station, go by train." It seems that this officer had failed to take account of the fact that, although Hayle is pretty well served by public transport, North Cornwall has no stations and a poor bus network.

Best wishes to all three of the remaining bids, but this is another opportunity for investment in the East missed.

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An open letter to Tim Farron on the surveillance society

This morning, an open letter to Lib Dem Party President Tim Farron was published on Lib Dem Voice and I was one of the signatories. It was on the subject of the Home Secretary's reported plans to introduce more government snooping on personal emails and the surveillance society.

The full text of the letter is as follows:

Dear Tim,

We understand that the leaked policy on RIPA internet surveillance is now being reviewed more thoroughly, rather than rushed into the Queen’s speech. As such we would like you, as our president, to convey the following thoughts to appropriate Liberal Democrat ministers.

The Home Secretary wrote in the Sun on Tuesday that “Only suspected terrorists, paedophiles or serious criminals will be investigated.” This is akin to saying “if you’ve done nothing wrong, you’ve got nothing to worry about.” If the hacking scandal and ongoing Leveson inquiry has taught us anything, it is that argument is demonstrably false.

At first hacking was tolerated by the public when it was only celebrities and politicians who were victims. It was only after it was exposed that private individuals were hacked that there was public outrage. Even the Queen’s own police protection sold information about her to the News of the World. If our head of state cannot be safeguarded from corrupt police officers, what chance has the rest of us got?

This is our fear over these leaked proposals; we believe that extending universal, rather than targeted internet surveillance powers to the police, exposes innocent citizens to corrupt sections of authority. We agree with Julian Huppert MP when he argues that the police should only be allowed to access private internet usage when they have obtained a “named, specific and time-limited warrant” from a judge or minister.

In a February 2011 interview with the Guardian Nick Clegg said: “You should not trust government – full stop. The natural inclination of government is to hoard power and information; to accrue power to itself in the name of the public good.” And later: Clegg says the restoration of liberty is ongoing, and urges campaigners to “hold the government’s feet to the fire”. We are attempting to do just that with this letter.

Surely an important part of our party’s mission is to defend and protect the civil rights of our fellow citizens, and if we fail, our party’s liberal identity will be put at grave risk. We urge our ministers to heed our call – block these illiberal proposals and lead the charge for reform of RIPA to ensure our citizens enjoy the fair, free and open society we seek to build and safeguard.

I'm delighted that Tim has responded. You can see his thoughts here.

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The continuing trouble with waste

The new waste contract continues to give problems for Cornwall Council. As well as hugely long phone queues, there are numerous stories of missed collections and bags and boxes being left half-emptied.

As with any new contract, there are bound to be teething troubles in the first weeks. The test will be how quickly these mistakes are rectified and whether there are any still on-going after the first month.

I know that the Council has massively increased the number of staff on duty in the call centre to deal with queries, but if the waiting time is still 25 minutes or more in some cases then they clearly haven't got enough. And, whilst it is good that the new contract sees waste continue to be collected on bank holidays, it doesn't help that the call centre will be closed tomorrow and Monday.

I've had a few calls about problems in the Launceston area, but thankfully not as many as have come from other areas. If you have any concerns over the new system, please email me or call and I will pass them on directly to be dealt with.

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Poor communications letting Cornwall Council down over waste

Cornwall Council's new waste collection contract is a major undertaking and will involve significant changes to most homes across the area. But, as if the changes weren't hard enough, they are being further let down by some pretty poor communications.

- I have had numerous complaints that people are left hanging on the phone for 15 minutes or more if they try to call either the dedicated waste line or the council's main number.

- I am told that many homes have yet to receive their new recycling bags and boxes even though their neighbours have. The Council has made it clear that some areas will not be delivered until the end of April, but if a resident sees that their neighbours have their boxes, they can only assume they have been missed - hence the calls to the Council.

- The website is still hiding the collection checker halfway down the front page. And even if you do find it, some people are finding that their postcodes are returned as 'not applicable'.

- Despite promises by the council that the old bags and sacks could be used until the end of April, residents have complained that recycling waste that is being put out in the old disposable sacks is not being collected, leaving bottles, tin cans and paper on local pavements and gardens.

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Police seek info on Race Hill collision

Police are appealing for witnesses to a collision in Launceston on Friday 30th March 2012.

The collision took place at Race Hill near the Tesco superstore at 3.45pm and involved a young boy on a skateboard and a blue five series BMW car. The boy, aged 14, was taken by air ambulance to Derriford for treatment for head injuries, which were later described as minor.

Police are keen to hear from anyone who saw the collision or either the teenager or car shortly before the incident. Police are particularly keen to hear from a woman who was driving a burgundy car and stopped at the scene.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 quoting reference 517 30th March 2012.

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