A top-sliced answer

Question: Please provide an estimate of the officer-time, and therefore the cost to council taxpayers, of dealing with the Sticker tortoises over the past three years."

Answer:

We do not hold this data as we do not record time taken against tasks. The Council's Legal Services Team state that 12 hours and 54 minutes were spent between 13 July 2010 and the date of this request and their costs total £812.06. However, this cost is not directly invoiced to the Public Health and Protection Service; it is paid for via a top-slicing of service budgets in respect of legal advice and support throughout the year.

Cornwall's Angry Brigade on the march

Late on Tuesday Cornwall Council issued this statement, following the talkathon about who should be the returning officer for elections to chose a Devon and Cornwall Police Commissioner.

"They (the council) also agreed to send a strong cross party delegation to the Home Secretary to assert stronger Cornish representation in governance, opposition to Devonwall, assessment of case for Cornish Commissioner and police force, principle of democratic governance and accountability."

Councillors Andrew Wallis, Dick Cole and Jude Robinson have also blogged about this. I've asked the council to let me know the details of the "strong cross party delegation" - and the budget for the trip - because I'm quite confident it will be one of the most entertaining meetings of Theresa May's year.

Tortoise latest - are we nearly there yet?

As the rumpus over Sticker's tortoise sanctuary races towards the courts, I thought I'd helpfully draw readers' attention to this letter from Prime Minister David Cameron, sent to St Austell and Newquay MP Stephen Gilbert a couple of months ago.


Mr Cameron repeats the line which Defra has been telling me forever - that responsibility for all the definitions and interpretations of the 1981 Zoo Licensing Act rest with the local authority. Increasingly, I detect signs that Cornwall Council is seeking to hide behind its expert advice. So I phoned the principal expert, Peter Scott, a veterinary consultant. He confirmed that he sent the council a "mind map" which probably led to its current interpretation of the law. Like the council, he believes the legislation is flawed. But he was very interested to hear about David Cameron's letter, so I've sent him a copy.

I don't know if the Prime Minister is an expert on wildlife law or not. Probably not. But he is the Prime Minister. Incidentally, the council is due any day now to answer my Freedom of Information question about how much officer-time (and therefore cost to the public) has been spent in pursuit of Sticker's tortoises.

STOP PRESS: Peter Scott emails to say that the Prime Minister is not necessarily giving Cornwall Council the green light to interpret the legislation at it sees fit. He says Mr Cameron's observations are "not the same as interpreting whether its a zoo, or what is domesticated. The LA decide based on the legal definitions or guidance. A tortoise is clearly a wild animal, yes - often kept domestically. This is supported by the fact that many need registration under CITES - which domesticated species do not." He goes on to say: "My advice is register as a zoo and stop trying to fudge the definition because they are a worthy cause - which nobody disputes."

STOP STOP PRESS: Defra emails with admiral brevity (and clarity?): ""Local councils are responsible for administering the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 and for interpreting its provisions."

STOP STOP STOP PRESS: It seems this hare got running (see what I did there?) when the campaign group Born Free lodged a formal complaint about the tortoise sanctuary with the council. I hope to get Born Free on BBC Radio Cornwall in the next few days.

How to cut off your nose to spite your face

I wasn't at County Hall for yesterday's meeting of Cornwall Council, and eagerly await the recording of proceedings on the council's excellent webcasting service. I am particularly intrigued by the reports I've heard about whether or not the council's chief executive Kevin Lavery should be the returning officer for elections to chose a Devon and Cornwall Police Commissioner next year.

Apparently the idea of a Cornwall Council official getting his hands dirty by supervising elections which include people from Devon so outraged members that they would prefer the elections to be supervised from outside the county. The council appears to have ignored the fact that these are elections for the Devon & Cornwall Police Commissioner (the clue is in the title.)

Councillor Jude Robinson has blogged on this and I hope to have more to say once I've seen the webcast.

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.