Not gone yet

The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency updates on Schmallenberg: since last month, two cattle farms in Devon and one in Cornwall have joined the list; the number of sheep farms affected is now seven in Devon (up one) and two in Cornwall (also up one.)
AHVLA says:

"The decline in the numbers of reporting farms is in line with all EU Member States, where the sheep reports have declined as lambing in 'at risk' sheep (those at a critical time of gestation when infection can impact on the foetus) draws to an end. This is also in line with Defra's own predictions considering UK farming practices and estimated time of infection occurring in the UK. We continue to expect to see cases in cattle into early summer."

Crime and punishment

I'm hoping to get a story on Good Morning Devon shortly about police collecting DNA samples from children. I think you'll be able to hear it if you listen to Matt Woodley on BBC Radio Devon from 6am on Thursday.

What I've found out so far is that in Devon and Cornwall, you're more likely to have your DNA sample taken by the police than you are to be a victim of crime (69/1,000 compared with 62/1,000) and that in a three year period, Devon and Cornwall police arrested more than 14,300 juveniles. More than 20 of those arrests involved children as young as 10.

Because the vast majority of those juveniles are never charged with an offence - but dealt with by way of caution or reprimand - they are, in the eyes of the law, innocent. Yet their DNA sample will stay on an Interpol database until those children have reached the age of 100.

I hadn't appreciated until now that local police forces are free to interpret their own policies on DNA. This could become even more interesting when we get to the Police Commissioner elections in November.

Starting to get bored now...

Last word (for now) on the pasty tax to Nick Clegg, who offered this view of his party's supporters in Cornwall while appearing on BBC TV this weekend.

Pasty munchers set to march

So who voted in favour of the pasty tax?

Looking forward to studying Hansard in the morning to find out which MPs voted for what in the great pasty tax debate this evening. I know that all six of Cornwall's MPs, and Torbay's Adrian Sanders, voted against the tax. I think one of Devon's Conservative MPs also voted against, as did Labour. The coalition government nevertheless pushed it through with a majority of 35. I'll report the official voting record when I have it.

UPDATE: Here it is: the overnight Hansard details, blow by blow, the battle to scrap the pasty tax. In addition to all six Cornish MPs, four Devon MPs - Gary Streeter (Cons), Adrian Sanders (Lib Dem), Alison Seabeck (Lab) and Ben Bradshaw (Lab) voted against the coalition government. Six of Devon's Tory MPs voted in favour of the pasty tax: Sarah Woolaston, Hugo Swire, Mel Stride, Neil Parish, Oliver Colville and Anne Marie Morris. I can find no record of Nick Harvey (Lib Dem) or Geoffrey Cox (Con) so assume they were absent.

Numbers that violate reason

Since 2005, according to Devon and Cornwall police:

• There were a total of 3,237 crimes of rape recorded. Figure based on entered date.


• There were a total of 2,273 arrests for offences of rape recorded. Figure based on arrest date.


• There were a total of 309 arrests where a charge was recorded for offences of rape recorded. Figure based on arrest date.

Time on their hands

Someone at Torbay Council might know more about this, but thanks to a FoI answer we all now know that the number of calls made from inside the Town Hall to the speaking clock between October 2010 and March 2011 was 66, at a cost of £5.87. That's roughly one call every three days. Pip! Pip! Pip!