Top Gear

Well done to Launceston Lib Dem councillor Alex Folkes for his dogged pursuit of this story, which I'm sure will ruffle a few feathers at County Hall. The £30,465 taxpayers appear to have forked out for the Audi A5 (0-60 in 6.4 seconds) sits uncomfortably alongside cuts to services and worsened conditions for Cornwall Council staff. The council tells me it disputes Alex's claims about its mileage guidelines but cannot yet comment on why a fire brigade manager would need such a high-spec vehicle at public expense.

STOP PRESS: From County Hall:

"With reference to the specification of vehicles provided for the use of senior officers in Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service, as with vehicles provided for senior officers in other emergency services, the vehicles need to be able to accommodate specialist communications and fire fighting equipment as officers may be called upon to attend major incidents. As CFRS covers a large geographical area, these officers may need to travel considerable distances to reach such an incident. The service also has cross border responsibilities with neighbouring authorities in Devon and so senior officers may need to be able to travel quickly to a scene outside Cornwall."

Question Time

This appears to be the only question from a member of the public to make it to the agenda for next week's meeting of Cornwall Council:

Non-Payment of Council Tax on Time

It is very disappointing that a number of Councillors who decide how this money is spent have set a bad example, as well as incurring unnecessary additional costs to the Council.
Does Cllr Robertson believe that the voters of Cornwall have a right to know the names of those Councillors who have let the people of Cornwall down?

Mr Harris
St Austell

Safe in their hands

RCHT.xls
My thanks to the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust for sending me this document, which details the range of services available to you if you don't have time for that "free at the point of delivery" stuff which politicians spout when they want your vote.

It's a menu-with-prices, offering pretty much everything from botox injections for £193, amenity beds for £75/day (£97 if you want en-suite) all the way through to major inpatient treatment for several thousand pounds. The RCHT is now touting for business from private patients on its website.

The 2010 RCHT accounts show income generated for the Trust from private patients was £660,000, which of course was re-invested in the National Health Service. And of course there is nothing new about the relationship between the private healthcare sector and the NHS. But have a look at the Excel file - I think it's fascinating what you can get from the NHS (more easily) if you can afford it.

The news factory returns

Only a few more days to go. The summer holidays will be over, the kids back at school and normal service will be resumed at County Hall. This means members of the always-entertaining Miscellaneous Licensing Committee can get back to doing what they do best - debating the rights and wrongs of sex shops.

Proposals for a shop in Truro to deal in "personal products for adults" come back for consideration next Wednesday. A key part of the licensing process is the arrangement of any window displays.

One objector to the granting of a licence claims that such shops "arouse the interest of voyeurs and those given to depraved or licentious interests." Another points out that if you go upstairs on a double-decker bus and ride around Truro for long enough, you'll eventually drive past the shop and be level with the first-floor windows - and possibly be able to see everything.

No wonder August seemed so dull.

Senior Service en vacance?

South East Cornwall MP Sheryll Murray on BBC Radio Cornwall last week: "....the Royal Navy broke up for their summer holidays..."

Something to hide?

Much discussion on Cornwall Council's backbenches about the psychology of beards. I'm grateful to The Chronicle of Higher Education for this:

"A recent study in the Journal of Marketing Communications apparently found that men with beards were deemed more credible than those who were clean-shaven. The study showed participants pictures of men endorsing certain products. In some photos, the men were clean-shaven. In others, the same men had beards. Participants thought the men with beards had greater expertise and were significantly more trustworthy when they were endorsing products like cell phones and toothpaste. But, oddly, men with beards were slightly less effective than smooth-cheeked fellows in underwear advertisements."

Date set for incinerator legal challenge

Sometime in the week beginning 10th October, listed for one day.
STOP PRESS: Now two days, October 11 and 12.