As the implications of last week’s Comprehensive Spending Review become clearer, and the debate shifts away from national policies to local delivery, and thus cuts in services, local government, the citizens and the media in Lincolnshire have a tricky task ahead to balance the need for fiscal prudence against the inevitable impact on jobs and communities.
One of the problems across the county could, curiously enough, be the fact that politically Lincolnshire is now almost entirely Blue. With the loss of the City Council in 2007 and then Gillian Merron’s defeat this year, Labour has no power base, hence a very limited electoral mandate. So local authorities will have to be careful how they approach the need for spending cuts.
React too quickly and local politicians could be seen as acting with a hasty zeal for cutting rather than making a measured response to new budget restraints; a risk Lincolnshire County Council ran when within minutes of George Osborne finishing his speech they announced that 35 management jobs are to go.
The media has a similar problem: do they reflect the political complexion of their county (and, in the main, of their owners) or do they mirror the anxieties of readers, viewers and listeners as the cuts bite?
Look at the public’s comments online over the weekend and what is clear is that the level of understanding about the depth of cuts and the effects that they might have, never mind political appreciation of the underlying issues, is still pretty poor and needs to be addressed.
So the challenge for the press and the citizens’ governance will be to find the mean line between political loyalties and economic realities. Not for nothing is there an old Eastern curse “may you live in interesting times”.
— Peter Smith is a retired government PR professional, now lecturing in journalism, communicaitons and politics at the University of Lincoln.
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Peter Smith is a retired government PR professional, now lecturing in journalism, communications and politics at the University of Lincoln.
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A 22-year-old man from Scunthorpe has been given a life sentence in prison in connection with the murder of a 20-year-old man.
Peter Balog, 22, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a requirement to serve a minimum of 21 years before he can become eligible for release, after Abdullah Balouchi, 20, was murdered on Peel Street in Hull on October 7, 2020.
Balog initially pleaded not guilty, but changed his plea to guilty after two weeks of the trial.
Abdirahman Aadan, 18, of Pendril Street, Hull, will be kept at her majesty’s pleasure for a minimum of 17 years, due to being 17-years-old at the time of conviction, after also being found guilty of murder.
Two other men, Khalid and Mohamed Aadan, 19 and 20 respectively, both of Pendrill Street, Hull, were found guilty of manslaughter and will serve 10 years detention in a young offenders institute.
Both have a requirement to serve a minimum of two thirds of that period before consideration can be given to the remaining time served in the community under license.
20-year-old Abdullah Balouchi was murdered on Peel Street in Hull on October 7, 2020. | Photo: Humberside Police
The investigation into Abdullah’s murder will continue, as police say there are still outstanding suspects.
Humberside Police have vowed to not rest until all individuals have been brought to justice.
Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Superintendent, Robert Clark said: “Whilst these convictions and lengthy sentences will not bring back Abdullah, I hope they will provide the Balouchi family with some sense of closure as they continue to grieve for their loved one.”
“I just, again, want to thank them for their strength, courage and dignity during what has been a very painful and difficult time, one that no family should have to endure.”
“Abdullah’s murder was a senseless act bringing the most violent of crime onto the streets of Hull, effecting not only the Abdullah’s family and friends but also this close knit community.
“We continue to work closely in the area around Spring Bank to unite people and make sure that it is a safe place for everyone to live and work.”
Health and safety teams in Lincoln are currently investigating after an Asian supermarket in the city was seen delivering unrefrigerated meat to its premises.
A van was seen parked up outside Asia Supermarket on St Mark Street on Tuesday, with multiple animal carcasses in the back to be delivered to the shop.
An eyewitness saw the food uncovered in the back of the van before being wheeled into the shop in a trolley.
Questions have been asked about the refrigeration of the goods, and the hygiene of how it was transported to the supermarket.
Asia Supermarket is located on St Mark Street in Lincoln. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
City of Lincoln Council’s inspectors have confirmed that an investigation is now underway after a complaint was issued to them on Tuesday afternoon.
Louise Harding, Food, Health and Safety Team Leader at City of Lincoln Council, said: “We have been made aware of the incident and have begun an investigation.”
The owners of the supermarket have claimed that their original refrigerated van had broken down, and all relevant checks were taken before storing the food in the chiller room.
A spokesperson for Asia Supermarket told The Lincolnite: “Our refrigerator van broke down and we could not leave the meat in that van. Because of this we used another van to bring the meat to the supermarket, as it was not far from the shop.
“All the goods were delivered in a different van, and all the temperature checks were done before being taken into the chiller room.”
A GP surgery in Stamford has responded to concerns of patient care, access to appointments and practice management detailed in a damning report recently published by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Lakeside Healthcare Stamford was given an overall rating of ‘Inadequate’ and placed into special measures after an inspection by CQC on June 7 and 8 this year. Lakeside Healthcare at Stamford was created in 2017 following the merger of St Mary’s Medical Centre, Sheepmarket Surgery and The Little Surgery.
The practice was rated as ‘Inadequate’ in categories of Safe, Effective, Responsive, and Well-led, while it scored ‘Requires Improvement’ under the category of ‘Caring’.
The findings were published in a report on August 2, including that three breaches of regulation were found. Lakeside Stamford issued a response on its website the same day, saying that “swift action is being taken”.
CQC found that the practice was not providing care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm. Patients were also not always receiving effective care and treatment that met their needs.
It was acknowledged in the report that staff most dealt with patients with kindness and respect, and involved them in decisions about their care. However, patients commented that their care had been impacted upon by poor access to appointments.
The report added that the way the practice was being led and managed did not promote the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care. The practice said it has now appointed a Practice Manager and is recruiting an Operations and Compliance Manager to work alongside the new Patient Services Manager.
Within the report CQC listed a number of things the provider must do, including to establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care, and employees receiving the appropriate support, training, supervision, and appraisal necessary to enable them to carry out the duties.
Regarding placing the service into special measures, CQC said: “Services placed in special measures will be inspected again within six months. If insufficient improvements have been made such that there remains a rating of inadequate for any population group, key question or overall, we will take action in line with our enforcement procedures to begin the process of preventing the provider from operating the service.
“This will lead to cancelling their registration or to varying the terms of their registration within six months if they do not improve.
“Where necessary, another inspection will be conducted within a further six months, and if there is not enough improvement we will move to close the service by adopting our proposal to remove this location or cancel the provider’s registration.”
The practice said: “The GP partners, staff and executive team acknowledge issues around patient care, access to appointments and practice management, which were being addressed prior to the inspection.
“The Stamford team, with considerable input and support from Lakeside Central team, is focusing its efforts on addressing the CQC’s concerns and listening to patient feedback while continuing to provide day-to-day services for the community.”
The GP surgery had previously been rated as ‘Good’ for providing safe services after a focused follow-up inspection back in August 2019, but the most recent visit this year flagged up a number of concerns.
The practice added: “Lakeside Stamford has, and will continue to remain in close contact with the NHS Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group and other partners while these strategies are embedded.
“The new PPG committee is working collaboratively with the Transformation Manager and has been fully informed of the outcome of the inspection at an early stage to ensure that the patient voice is a valued part of any change.
“Lakeside Stamford is very proud of its team, which has worked throughout a very difficult 18 months to provide GP services and ensure that patients received their vaccines in a timely and efficient manner.
“The outcome of the inspection in June, which is one of the first to have taken place since the pandemic, has been devastating for all staff at Lakeside. However we remain positive about working to restore confidence in the quality of care we provide to the community of Stamford and beyond.”
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