Lincolnshire County Council leader Martin Hill with his dog Boris
It has been yet another momentous year at the county council.
May saw the county council elections in which my Conservative group gained a clear majority.
While I was naturally pleased at this strong endorsement for the way we have managed local services, we have not rested on our laurels and have ambitious plans for the future.
We were elected on five key commitments:
Securing the best Brexit deal for Lincolnshire
Spending taxpayers’ money wisely
Keeping Lincolnshire moving
Good health and wellbeing – protecting the vulnerable
Promoting our communities – a good quality of life
As you can see, we are always looking for ways to improve the lives of Lincolnshire people.
With that in mind we have launched our Fairer Funding campaign. Councils across the county have received far less money than metropolitan urban areas.
We believe that supporting our communities across a sparsely populated rural area provides its own challenges and that we should be funded by central government accordingly.
We are actively lobbying alongside our MPs for the funding system to be reviewed.
I would like to thank everyone who has backed our campaign so far. Look out for updates on progress throughout the coming year.
I am pleased to say that after years of planning, the city’s biggest road project in decades, the £99 million Lincoln Eastern Bypass – from the A158 Wragby Road roundabout to the A15 at Bracebridge Heath – is now well under way.
Not only will this cut congestion it will also add an estimated £600 million to the local economy.
There are also plenty of other plans in the pipeline for other road improvements in the Lincoln area including the £4 million A46 Dunholme/ Welton roundabout and the £2 million Wragby Road/ Wolsey Way improvements.
We are also working on an outline business case for the North Hykeham Relief Road.
Better broadband is another major improvement we are actively supporting.
In the 21st century, it’s vital for any modern home or business.
The onlincolnshire partnership, led by Lincolnshire councils and BT, has been continuing the roll-out of superfast broadband.
The latest phase will see coverage of almost 97% of the county by the end of 2019.
More than 90% of the county can now sign up with an internet service provider and enjoy faster speeds.
Over the last few years, we have had major opportunities to celebrate Lincolnshire’s rich history, with the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta and then with the Charter of the Forest.
2018 will see us marking a different kind of history when we commemorate our aviation heritage as part of events to highlight the 100th year of the founding of the RAF.
Lincolnshire: Bastion in the Air, 1915-18, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund runs until April 30, 2020.
The project aims to promote the work carried out in constructing aircraft and defending British airspace during the First World War, which led to the formation of the RAF in 1918, and the continuing links between the county and the RAF.
There will be a series of travelling exhibitions throughout the county during the three-year period, as well as two major static exhibitions in 2018 at RAF Scampton and in The Collection Museum.
New Year’s resolutions
On a local level, as I have already mentioned, I am really hopeful that our Fairer Funding campaign will reap benefits for Lincolnshire.
On a national and international level, we all recognise that the Brexit negotiations have been tricky. But this makes it all the more important that our government sticks to its principles and continues to work hard to deliver the best outcome for all of us.
With that optimistic note, I would like to wish Happy New Year to all Lincolnshire Reporter readers!
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Councillor Martin Hill is the leader of Lincolnshire County Council.
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
Reflections 2017: Martin Hill – Fighting for a better deal for Lincolnshire
Reflections from the leader of Lincolnshire County Council.
By Martin HillLeader of Lincolnshire County Council
Martin Hill with his Patterdale terrier Boris
It has been yet another momentous year at the county council.
May saw the county council elections in which my Conservative group gained a clear majority.
While I was naturally pleased at this strong endorsement for the way we have managed local services, we have not rested on our laurels and have ambitious plans for the future.
We were elected on five key commitments:
Securing the best Brexit deal for Lincolnshire
Spending taxpayers’ money wisely
Keeping Lincolnshire moving
Good health and wellbeing – protecting the vulnerable
Promoting our communities – a good quality of life
As you can see, we are always looking for ways to improve the lives of Lincolnshire people.
With that in mind we have launched our Fairer Funding campaign. Councils across the county have received far less money than metropolitan urban areas.
We believe that supporting our communities across a sparsely populated rural area provides its own challenges and that we should be funded by central government accordingly.
We are actively lobbying alongside our MPs for the funding system to be reviewed.
I would like to thank everyone who has backed our campaign so far. Look out for updates on progress throughout the coming year.
I am pleased to say that after years of planning, the city’s biggest road project in decades, the £99 million Lincoln Eastern Bypass – from the A158 Wragby Road roundabout to the A15 at Bracebridge Heath – is now well under way.
Not only will this cut congestion it will also add an estimated £600 million to the local economy.
There are also plenty of other plans in the pipeline for other road improvements in the Lincoln area including the £4 million A46 Dunholme/ Welton roundabout and the £2 million Wragby Road/ Wolsey Way improvements.
We are also working on an outline business case for the North Hykeham Relief Road.
Better broadband is another major improvement we are actively supporting.
In the 21st century, it’s vital for any modern home or business.
The onlincolnshire partnership, led by Lincolnshire councils and BT, has been continuing the roll-out of superfast broadband.
The latest phase will see coverage of almost 97% of the county by the end of 2019.
More than 90% of the county can now sign up with an internet service provider and enjoy faster speeds.
Over the last few years, we have had major opportunities to celebrate Lincolnshire’s rich history, with the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta and then with the Charter of the Forest.
2018 will see us marking a different kind of history when we commemorate our aviation heritage as part of events to highlight the 100th year of the founding of the RAF.
Lincolnshire: Bastion in the Air, 1915-18, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund runs until April 30, 2020.
The project aims to promote the work carried out in constructing aircraft and defending British airspace during the First World War, which led to the formation of the RAF in 1918, and the continuing links between the county and the RAF.
There will be a series of travelling exhibitions throughout the county during the three-year period, as well as two major static exhibitions in 2018 at RAF Scampton and in The Collection Museum.
New Year’s resolutions
On a local level, as I have already mentioned, I am really hopeful that our Fairer Funding campaign will reap benefits for Lincolnshire.
On a national and international level, we all recognise that the Brexit negotiations have been tricky. But this makes it all the more important that our government sticks to its principles and continues to work hard to deliver the best outcome for all of us.
With that optimistic note, I would like to wish Happy New Year to all readers of The Lincolnite!
Martin Hill OBE is the Conservative Leader of Lincolnshire County Council. A former farmer, Martin was elected to Lincolnshire County Council in 1993, representing Folkingham Rural. He became council leader in 2005 and was later awarded an OBE for services to Lincolnshire. Martin lives in a former pub at Kirby Underwood with wife Janice and their irrepressible Patterdale Terrier, Boris.
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
A nursery in Scunthorpe has been ‘named and shamed’ by the government for failing to pay the minimum wage to nine workers.
Little Tots Nursery (Scunthorpe) Ltd on Oswald Road failed to pay £2,754.06 to nine workers, with the average arrears per worker at the nursery being £306.01.
The nursery is one of 191 businesses being named for breaking minimum wage law. Following investigations by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, a total of £2.1 million was found to be owed to more than 34,000 workers. This is despite the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage increasing in April this year.
There was no answer all morning when The Lincolnite tried to contact the nursery, as well as no response via email. The nursery’s Facebook page was online earlier in the morning, but appears to have since been taken down as it is no longer available.
The latest Ofsted inspection, in 2019, rated Little Tots Nursery as ‘good’.
The breaches of the 191 businesses took place between 2011 and 2018. The government said the named employers have since been made to pay back what they owed, and were fined an additional £3.2 million in total, to show it is never acceptable to underpay workers.
Employers who pay workers less than the minimum wage have to pay back arreas of wages to the worker at the current minimum wage rates.
The employers can also face hefty financial penalties of up to 200% of arrears – capped at £20,000 per worker – which are paid to the government.
It is stated in the report that ‘whilst not all minimum wage underpayments are intentional, it has always been the responsibly of all employers to abide by the law’.
The report said employers had underpaid workers in the following ways:
47% wrongly deducted pay from workers’ wages, including for uniform and expenses
30% failed to pay workers for all the time they had worked, such as when they worked overtime
19% paid the incorrect apprenticeship rate
Business Minister Paul Scully said: “Our minimum wage laws are there to ensure a fair day’s work gets a fair day’s pay – it is unacceptable for any company to come up short.
“All employers, including those on this list, need to pay workers properly.
“This government will continue to protect workers’ rights vigilantly, and employers that short-change workers won’t get off lightly.”
The full list of employers named and shamed by the government on Thursday can be found here.
The 20-year-old man who beheaded one of the sculptures on the Lincoln Imp Trail in an act of drunken foolery has apologised, and been ordered to pay more than £2,000 for the damages in court.
Bradley Pennell, 20, of Ogilvy Drive in Bottesford, Scunthorpe, was charged with criminal damage on July 21, when the Community Imp on Guildhall Street in Lincoln was found broken in two in the early hours of the morning.
He appeared remorseful at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court on Thursday morning as he entered a guilty plea.
The court heard how Pennell had penned hand-written letters to the nine-year-old schoolgirl who designed the imp, as well as the artist who painted it, apologising for his behaviour.
A 20-year-old suspect has now been arrested and charged with the damage.
He is an avid go-kart driver, winning British championships, and cited worries that the incident may affect sponsorships and his future career.
Bradley had been on a night out in Lincoln with his friends on Tuesday, July 20 when they were spotted on CCTV at Guildhall Street at around 3.40am on Wednesday morning.
The court heard Pennell’s friend took his phone out and began to film him as he jumped on the platform where the sculpture stands, before rocking it back and forth and shaking the imp until it came apart.
The Community Imp, designed by freelance artist Sian Bristow and a local primary school girl, had been made to celebrate key workers for their efforts during the coronavirus pandemic.
The imp can be seen split in half and has now been moved from its spot by organisers of the trail, Lincoln BIG.
Police tracked the movements of Pennell on CCTV back to his hotel room, where he was arrested by officers shortly after the incident.
The damage costs have been estimated at around £4,500, without considering the funds that could be raised for St Barnabas Hospice when the imp goes to auction on Lincolnshire Day, October 1, at the end of the imp trail.
Mark McNeil, in mitigation, described Bradley as a “responsible and sensible” person with no previous convictions, who acted out of character while “heavily under the influence” of alcohol.
“This incident has not been taken lightly, one drunken act shouldn’t reflect the character of this man”, Mr McNeil told the court.
Pennell was ordered to pay compensation of £2,250 for the damage to the imp, and was given a conditional discharge after an early guilty plea. There will be no surcharge or court costs as part of the sentencing.
Sarah Loftus, chief executive of Lincoln BIG, organisers of the imp trail, told The Lincolnite: “I am pleased this individual has been held to account and we look forward to getting the imp repaired and put back out on the trail for people to enjoy.”
A teenage boy has been accused of making hoax and abusive 999 calls to Lincolnshire Police.
Lincolnshire Police received a 999 call at 7.45pm on August 1 of someone making an allegation that an armed man was following them.
The call handler immediately checked CCTV of that location and saw nothing. When prompting for more information the caller laughed and the call taker was sworn at, police say.
In a second 999 call made at 4.35am on August 2, the caller did not make any request for help, and instead is accused of making abusive comments to the call taker.
Lincolnshire Police said: “A 13-year-old boy has been reported for improper use of public communications network. We would like to remind people that 999 is there to help people when they are most in need.
“Every call we get that is not a genuine emergency means that’s one less call we can handle which could save someone’s life, prevent a serious incident, or bring an offender to justice, to name a few examples.”
Lincoln Police posted on social media saying they will ‘always seek to take firm action against those who chose to abuse such an important system’.
Lincoln Police posted a statement about the incidents. | Photo: Lincoln Police
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