Wednesday 26th August 2015

[rebeccariots2]

The one underneath is really cute too, cat and kitten on a slide.

That's made me grin. Such silly simple things can be so entertaining.

It's two kittens isn't it? As soon as mum gets the first one up another one slides down. One goes down backwards all the way and the other goes forwards before going backwards.

No - having now reinspected - it's one! It is a tinker job. My powers of observation are not as duff as I thought.

Edited to put the 'not' in.

My powers of typing are, however, crap.

[tinyclanger2]

are the kittens white and gold or ....

[rebeccariots2]

Sorry Hugo. We're on kittens. It's silly hour.

[utopiandreams]

Remember I mentioned the number of people that had disappeared from records after JSA sanction, well I was mistaken 1 in 5, not the 2 I had thought. 500,000 sanctioned JSA claimants have disappeared (http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/2 ... isappeared)

I presume that this was Professor David Stuckler's research, Sanctions linked to drop in benefits but few return to work report (http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2015-01-21-san ... k-report-0)as it dates back prior to the Select Committee hearing that he attended although this states that after 2011, an estimated 43% of people who received sanctions went on to leave the JSA altogether.

Yet still the msm said little... and prior to an election too.

[ephemerid]

Sorry Hugo. We're on kittens. It's silly hour.

You may not apologise - ever, or to anyone - for kittens.

Or silliness.

What is really good is this - Natalie McGarry, the new MSP for the area which includes Easterhouse, has formally invited IDS to go back to see how all the folks there are getting along.

He has yet to respond.

How silly is that?

After all, if they're all busy working he can say his reforms are working, can't he?
If they are still mired in their worklessness, he can be lynched.

Looks like a win-win to me.

[TechnicalEphemera]

Sorry Hugo. We're on kittens. It's silly hour.

You may not apologise - ever, or to anyone - for kittens.

Or silliness.

What is really good is this - Natalie McGarry, the new MSP for the area which includes Easterhouse, has formally invited IDS to go back to see how all the folks there are getting along.

He has yet to respond.

How silly is that?

After all, if they're all busy working he can say his reforms are working, can't he?
If they are still mired in their worklessness, he can be lynched.

Looks like a win-win to me.

IDS will somehow find a way to avoid her no doubt. Besides which he creates his own reality. IDS land where sanctions are a holiday and everybody loves workfare. Edited to add - where a modern day Jesus can cure the terminally ill with a simple test.

[utopiandreams]

Sorry it's not kittens but once they were. My lads pushed a mottled white kitten my way, which was problematic being as I used to mainly wear black, there is a small kitten-sized black one too now. I brush them daily primarily because of the white hairs but tortoise always comes for his brush too (the soft bristle side). He also comes when I call him, 'Tut, tut, tut'. Did I say I live in a shit hole... I do clean up after it, honest I do.

[RogerOThornhill]

Some good thoughts on what an actual leftwing economic programme might look like (not Corbynomics)

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/49454d12 ... z3jwceDTzq" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For the benefit of those without a sub, a quick precis would be useful otherwise we'll not know what it says.

[LadyCentauria]

@AAW: Happy Birthday, m'dear! Hope you're having a super day with much fun, pampering, and cake

[TechnicalEphemera]

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015 ... emy-corbyn

And by Labour he means tax payers. So not actually Labour, but he has handed Osborne a fine stick with which to beat the party.

In fact while his basic argument hospitals should be helped to escape bad PFI deals is correct, PFI was not itself a particularly bad idea if done well. The SNP and the current government use them and they are required to get some investment off balance sheet for a variety of reasons. But in Corbyn's world PFI is always bad and it was all Labours fault (nothing to do with John Major).

[Willow904]

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015 ... emy-corbyn

And by Labour he means tax payers. So not actually Labour, but he has handed Osborne a fine stick with which to beat the party.

In fact while his basic argument hospitals should be helped to escape bad PFI deals is correct, PFI was not itself a particularly bad idea if done well. The SNP and the current government use them and they are required to get some investment off balance sheet for a variety of reasons. But in Corbyn's world PFI is always bad and it was all Labours fault (nothing to do with John Major).

The cost of PFI is always presented without any reference to the cost of ongoing building maintenance that would otherwise fall to NHS trusts, which is a bit of a bugbear of mine. As you say, there were some bad deals, but PFI in and of itself isn't necessarily always a problem. It's like saying it's always wrong to rent rather than buy a house, but council house tenants who have enjoyed reasonable rents their whole lives without ever having to find the lump sums to fix roofs or leaking pipes might not agree.

I think Corbyn is getting in a muddle here when he really needn't. It is the marketisation of the NHS which has created discrete NHS trusts that have to be independently financially viable that is at the heart of the PFI issue. His suggestion for PFI debt to be centralised is worth discussion in the wider context of how the NHS is run. Breaking it down into distinct competing bits seems to wipe out some of the inherent advantages of a national organisation and the economies of scale that implies.

Edited to add that having seen the cost of a spa building commissioned by my local council balloon, followed by expensive litigation on both sides resulting in hefty extra levies on local taxpayers in their council tax to pay for it all, I can understand the desire to find a way to get new municipal buildings built in a way that forces those who design and build them to take more responsibility for costs. Taxpayers are all too often viewed by private sector contractors as a cash cow that will forever keep on giving and up charges extortionately accordingly.

[Tubby Isaacs]

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015 ... emy-corbyn

And by Labour he means tax payers. So not actually Labour, but he has handed Osborne a fine stick with which to beat the party.

In fact while his basic argument hospitals should be helped to escape bad PFI deals is correct, PFI was not itself a particularly bad idea if done well. The SNP and the current government use them and they are required to get some investment off balance sheet for a variety of reasons. But in Corbyn's world PFI is always bad and it was all Labours fault (nothing to do with John Major).

Yep. And the 1997 Manifesto of the Tories promised much more PFI.

Northumberland Council were NOC, not Labour, when they renegotiated. AFIK, there was all party support.

[SpinningHugo]

1. Some good data on the non-voter myth

http://www.ncpolitics.uk/2015/08/does-h ... bour.html/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Higher turnout doesn't help Labour (there is quite a lot more on this),

2. PFI.

I tend to agree with Corbyn. It was almost always a bad deal, created by a desire to get debts off balance sheet. And, to be fair, Corbyn is not suggesting just tearing up the contracts (which I thought he might). He also confesses that the problem was almost all created under Labour, which was also true.

[AngryAsWell]

@AAW: Happy Birthday, m'dear! Hope you're having a super day with much fun, pampering, and cake

Why thank you kind Lady !
Just got back from a fabulous Indian meal, soft spices, nothing too pungent. Have eaten so much even my sloppy, comfy house trousers are tight! No room for cake or the delicious coconut ice made for me by my granddaughter. What a disgrace I am!
(It was yum though....)

[rebeccariots2]

Happy Birthday AAW.

Sounds like a lovely meal.

The cake and coconut ice will still be delicious tomorrow when your trousers have got a bit more give.

[AngryAsWell]

Happy Birthday AAW.

Sounds like a lovely meal.

The cake and coconut ice will still be delicious tomorrow when your trousers have got a bit more give.

It was lovely and they brought a bottle of sparkling wine over (on the house) when they realised it was a birthday-treat-outing and then liquors at the end of the meal which made it all even nicer

[TechnicalEphemera]

1. Some good data on the non-voter myth

http://www.ncpolitics.uk/2015/08/does-h ... bour.html/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Higher turnout doesn't help Labour (there is quite a lot more on this),

2. PFI.

I tend to agree with Corbyn. It was almost always a bad deal, created by a desire to get debts off balance sheet. And, to be fair, Corbyn is not suggesting just tearing up the contracts (which I thought he might). He also confesses that the problem was almost all created under Labour, which was also true.

Interesting article. On PFI of course if you are able to borrow money as the government it is the best way to do it. But Labour were operating in an environment where it was not possible to do that. In which case the options are PFI or don't build it. Similarly most of these deals were done under Labour - because they rebuilt the NHS. Within those parameters not all PFI deals were bad.

[ohsocynical]

How did we manage to miss your birthday AngryAsWell?

In which case a double Happy Returns.

[RogerOThornhill]

I would imagine that the only reason that PFI deals done a decade or more ago are now seen as a 'bad deal' is that they were created when interest rates used in the calculation were significantly higher than they are now.

I also imagine that the people who drafted the ones post-2010 are exactly the same as the people who drafted them pre-2010. I only add this since there are some people (not on here) who think that politicians drafted the contracts when in fact they wouldn't do anything apart from signing them off once complete.

[AngryAsWell]

How did we miss your birthday? In which case double Happy Returns.

Well, technically its still my birthday, so thank you very much for the double wishes

[ohsocynical]

I caught a snippet about PFI a while back. Evidently a few hospitals have been able to pay off the debt, but from what I heard some of the contracts [most?] are written in such a way it can't be done, so they're basically trapped.

[Tubby Isaacs]

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015 ... emy-corbyn

And by Labour he means tax payers. So not actually Labour, but he has handed Osborne a fine stick with which to beat the party.

In fact while his basic argument hospitals should be helped to escape bad PFI deals is correct, PFI was not itself a particularly bad idea if done well. The SNP and the current government use them and they are required to get some investment off balance sheet for a variety of reasons. But in Corbyn's world PFI is always bad and it was all Labours fault (nothing to do with John Major).

The cost of PFI is always presented without any reference to the cost of ongoing building maintenance that would otherwise fall to NHS trusts, which is a bit of a bugbear of mine. As you say, there were some bad deals, but PFI in and of itself isn't necessarily always a problem. It's like saying it's always wrong to rent rather than buy a house, but council house tenants who have enjoyed reasonable rents their whole lives without ever having to find the lump sums to fix roofs or leaking pipes might not agree.

I think Corbyn is getting in a muddle here when he really needn't. It is the marketisation of the NHS which has created discrete NHS trusts that have to be independently financially viable that is at the heart of the PFI issue. His suggestion for PFI debt to be centralised is worth discussion in the wider context of how the NHS is run. Breaking it down into distinct competing bits seems to wipe out some of the inherent advantages of a national organisation and the economies of scale that implies.

Yep. Reducing the risk of building costs overunning would have been a big attraction, and also (though Brown couldn't admit it) being able to outsource a load of services as part of the original deal.

[SpinningHugo]

1. Some good data on the non-voter myth

http://www.ncpolitics.uk/2015/08/does-h ... bour.html/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Higher turnout doesn't help Labour (there is quite a lot more on this),

2. PFI.

I tend to agree with Corbyn. It was almost always a bad deal, created by a desire to get debts off balance sheet. And, to be fair, Corbyn is not suggesting just tearing up the contracts (which I thought he might). He also confesses that the problem was almost all created under Labour, which was also true.

Interesting article. On PFI of course if you are able to borrow money as the government it is the best way to do it. But Labour were operating in an environment where it was not possible to do that. In which case the options are PFI or don't build it. Similarly most of these deals were done under Labour - because they rebuilt the NHS. Within those parameters not all PFI deals were bad.

It was possible to do.

We chose not to do it.

I am a passionate defender of Labour 1997-2010, and think the Corbyn 'revolution' is a complete disaster, but PFI was not Labour's finest hour.

[Tubby Isaacs]

I would imagine that the only reason that PFI deals done a decade or more ago are now seen as a 'bad deal' is that they were created when interest rates used in the calculation were significantly higher than they are now.

I also imagine that the people who drafted the ones post-2010 are exactly the same as the people who drafted them pre-2010. I only add this since there are some people (not on here) who think that politicians drafted the contracts when in fact they wouldn't do anything apart from signing them off once complete.

Wouldn't there be some reference to the Bank rate?

I think concern about PFI goes back a fair way, to before the cuts in interest rates.

[Tonibel]

I write as someone who retired from the Nhs over ten years ago, and NHS Wales has always been more resistant to PFI anyway so I may well be wrong, but I thought one of the main objections to it was that the contracts covered not only building projects but also maintenance, cleaning, catering etc, which meant these jobs being hived off to the private contractors.
I'm sure I remember reading some research to the effect that infection increased on wards because cleaners were moved from ward to ward, and hospital to hospital, and no longer felt the same responsibility to do as good a job as previously.
I resigned from the Labour party after 1997 when it was clear they were going to continue with this stupid policy. I have yet to be convinced it was not stupid.

[RogerOThornhill]

I would imagine that the only reason that PFI deals done a decade or more ago are now seen as a 'bad deal' is that they were created when interest rates used in the calculation were significantly higher than they are now.

I also imagine that the people who drafted the ones post-2010 are exactly the same as the people who drafted them pre-2010. I only add this since there are some people (not on here) who think that politicians drafted the contracts when in fact they wouldn't do anything apart from signing them off once complete.

Wouldn't there be some reference to the Bank rate?

I think concern about PFI goes back a fair way, to before the cuts in interest rates.

1. Not sure. Maybe so.
2. Oh probably. It was always a Treasury-driven thing anyway - both parties have campaigned against it in opposition but then used it in government.

As far as i recall, not every contract ended up outside the national debt numbers but I forget what the distinction was now.

[Tubby Isaacs]

There's something called IFRIC 12 which is relevant here, but I don't understand how exactly.

[utopiandreams]

Oh Yeah, something else on sanctions from 28 Jan, this time that counters something I'm pretty sure Cameron himself has said at the dispatch box., Benefit Sanctions Wrongly Leaving Landlords with Mounting Rent Arrears (http://news.rla.org.uk/benefit-sanctions-rent-arrears/).

The problem could so easily be resolved, if DWP’s information about the sanctions could be improved to reflect the fact it’s only a sanction and not termination of the JSA award. In that case, applying the HB regulation provisions, no suspension would be applied to the HB award, eliminating all the associated problems for tenant and landlord. There is the question of whether the DWP need ever contact Councils in this situation at all.

Again this is pre the election, they really do have it in for tenants don't they, what with this, the Bedroon Tax, Right-to -Buy and now whatever tax changes they're applying to landlords, no matter what one thinks of their number, increased rents or fewer available without an accompanying growth of public sector housing. Buy-to-let: Why tax relief change for landlords is bad news for all (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/budg ... lords.html)

Jennet Siebris, the head of residential research at the property group CBRE, agreed that this policy will cause landlords to pass the increase in tax on to their tenants in their monthly rent.

Edit: corrected things to thinks - no wonder it didn't make sense.
Edit: ... and a comma
Postscript: regarding Cameron's dispatch box statement, he may have been referring to what should, not what often happens in practice.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Here you go.

http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/0807pfi.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Interesting bit catches my eye.

The Conservative Government introduced PFI in the early 1990s. In the 1994 Autumn
Statement, they announced that PFI should be considered for any public sector project
– the ‘universal testing rule’

[utopiandreams]

@TechnicalEphemera

I agree that PFI is not bad in itself compared to tenants' self maintenance and repair leases, but that depends on what such maintenance entails and/or the negotiated price of PFI. Ownership is still far better for major public sector projects I'd have thought plus another thing that people are rarely aware. Take a lease for example, the tenant is still liable should they cease trading (unless a limited company), although I wonder what the PFI effect on hospitals being in deficit when or if the private sector take over. Perhaps Robert shall know but I'm guessing the tax-payer is still liable even if hospital provision is lost.

Postscript: it seems I should have refreshed before posting as there are some interesting replies.
Edit: inserted although & PFI for clarity

[utopiandreams]

@Tonibel

Yeah, I agree regarding cleaning and catering; the hospital environment is a special case.

[LadyCentauria]

I write as someone who retired from the Nhs over ten years ago, and NHS Wales has always been more resistant to PFI anyway so I may well be wrong, but I thought one of the main objections to it was that the contracts covered not only building projects but also maintenance, cleaning, catering etc, which meant these jobs being hived off to the private contractors.
I'm sure I remember reading some research to the effect that infection increased on wards because cleaners were moved from ward to ward, and hospital to hospital, and no longer felt the same responsibility to do as good a job as previously.
I resigned from the Labour party after 1997 when it was clear they were going to continue with this stupid policy. I have yet to be convinced it was not stupid.

I'm sure I remember reading the same about research into hospital-acquired-infections. I think, though, that the outsourcing of cleaners etc., started before PFI - or, at least, was not necessarily dependent on it; ie., cleaning was outsourced even in non-PFI-built hospitals. I'm sure it was happening under the Major government at QMH Roehampton - @ephe might be able to confirm that. I certainly remember nursing-staff (and doctors/surgeons) being deeply pissed off that the newly outsourced cleaners frequently refused to clean somewhere, or clean something again, when they were asked because, "I don't work for you", or, "You'll have to talk to my supervisor." Oh, and that they'd use the same luke-warm or cold bucket of dirty water to swish around the floors of more than one ward and still not clean under beds, chairs, desks, etc.,

[utopiandreams]

@LadyCentauria

I may be wrong but have the feeling that hospital cleaning was outsourced under Maggie. Wasn't Major a Health Secretary during her period at the helm? Not that I'm saying it was he that introduced it, even so many such drives are pushed from Nos. 10 & 11, are they not? At least that's who I blame for most things nowadays, not that I'd object to a far greater cull. There are no lesser charlatans I can think of.

Postscript: did I ever mention that my late wife contracted MRSA after brain surgery? They didn't even tell me, we only found out when she was put in isolation rather than ICU. My daughter who suffers from eczema had a somewhat poor reaction too. Having said that I believe it wasn't uncommon on the skin amongst the wider population.

Edit: lot's of silly mistakes mainly typos corrected one at a time

[utopiandreams]

I'm not a one to endorse sueing the NHS for damages but did enquire given her condition as I wanted the best available provision for her once paralysed. Even so most doctors repeatedly spoke of her recovery, it was only one staff nurse I think that gave me an honest prognosis. When I looked into it it would have taken a minimum of three years and I really didn't think she'd have that long, so left it. It was never about the money and certainly not for myself. As it was she suffered a miserable year in a shitty care home whilst I tried to get her home, where she had wanted to be all along. My office was cleared for her return and ultimately equipped, nevertheless insufficent care was available. Derbyshire is one of the better counties in that regard I believe but their budget was spent, so it was looking like the next tax year. If only I'd been rich or adequate provision had been available.

[HindleA]

In the end it was beautiful.No pain,sickness,just slow sleepy passage.Surrounded by her loved ones at home.On her late dad's birthday.A shooting star to be seen in commemeration.If it had to be it couldn't have be better.I am of course inconsolable but take solace from that.

[LadyCentauria]

@utopiandreams: You might well be correct that it happened under Maggie. My sense of past-time is not exactly accurate. He wasn't Health Secretary but was Under-Sec. of State and then Sec. of State for Social Security around the time that the DHSS was split into Dept. of Health and Dept. of Social Security. After that, he did Treasury Sec., Foreign & Commonwealth, then Chancellor, before taking over as Leader/PM., so he could have had a hand in the out-sourcing.

I didn't know that your late wife had contracted MRSA on top of everything else that happened to her. MRSA is carried by the wider population who, of course, bring it into hospitals with them. It's one of the reasons that hygiene is of even greater importance in hospitals than elsewhere, given that the patients are likely to have less resistance to infection – and why it is important to wash hands (etc.,) with soap & water rather than simply relying on the now-ubiquitous hand-gels, when visiting, working there, or being a patient.

[LadyCentauria]

In the end it was beautiful.No pain,sickness,just slow sleepy passage.Surrounded by her loved ones at home.On her late dad's birthday.A shooting star to be seen in commemeration.If it had to be it couldn't have be better.I am of course inconsolable but take solace from that.

Dearest HindleA. I join my tears to yours and also my gladness that she simply slipped quietly away in the company of those she loved (as my father did, earlier this year.) I would hold you all if I were there.

All honour to the memory of Mrs. HindleA.
Love

[Hobiejoe]

In the end it was beautiful.No pain,sickness,just slow sleepy passage.Surrounded by her loved ones at home.On her late dad's birthday.A shooting star to be seen in commemeration.If it had to be it couldn't have be better.I am of course inconsolable but take solace from that.

Consolation can wait. In fact consolation can take a running jump. All we can offer now is empathy, the most powerful yet subtlest emotion. You aren't alone in your grief.

[Tizme1]

In the end it was beautiful.No pain,sickness,just slow sleepy passage.Surrounded by her loved ones at home.On her late dad's birthday.A shooting star to be seen in commemeration.If it had to be it couldn't have be better.I am of course inconsolable but take solace from that.

Love to you and yours. There are no words I can say to ease things. I have lit a candle for Mrs A. Peace be with you.

[AngryAsWell]

In the end it was beautiful.No pain,sickness,just slow sleepy passage.Surrounded by her loved ones at home.On her late dad's birthday.A shooting star to be seen in commemeration.If it had to be it couldn't have be better.I am of course inconsolable but take solace from that.

Others are so much better with words than I, but my heart and thoughts are with you.
Love and healing to you, may you take condolence, eventually, in the memories you both shared.

[HindleA]

Commemoration,he self corrects.Thanks all.

[ephemerid]

In the end it was beautiful.No pain,sickness,just slow sleepy passage.Surrounded by her loved ones at home.On her late dad's birthday.A shooting star to be seen in commemeration.If it had to be it couldn't have be better.I am of course inconsolable but take solace from that.

Sending you metta.