Prisons are a grim necessity of society. They fulfil two very important functions: first, to punish criminals for their wrongdoing, and second, to remove dangerous, threatening people from society.
There is always a danger that prisons will become universities of crime, where those incarcerated for smaller offenses learn from their cellmates worse and higher forms of illicit and illegal behaviours. Re-offending is a huge problem for both the victims of crime and the taxpayer, who foots the bill for further trials and incarceration.
Rehabilitation is not a matter of ‘touch-feely liberalism’ but an essential component of any sensible justice system. The government’s new plans for prisoners should help save £15 billion of public money, by helping to train prisoners to find further employment once their sentences are finished.
Currently only 17% of prisoners are in PAYE employment within a year of their release. Soon, governors will be put in control of their prisoners’ education, with the aim of tailoring training to prisoners needs as well as to meet local labour market requirements.
At Justice questions recently, I asked what assessment the ministry had made of participation in sporting activity on re-offending. The reply from the minister revealed a strong correlation between sport or physical activity and wellbeing; both amongst current prisoners and amongst ex-offenders. A well-rounded approach to help rehabilitation and stop reoffending is at the very heart of the government’s plans for prisoners.
Regular readers of this site will have seen that I have been actively engaged with the various ideas and issues around local rail services.
The return of regular services to Gainsborough Central later this year is a good example of steps in the right direction. I am committed to pressing the case for direct rail links from the Humber south bank to London. This could include a stop at Market Rasen and I will be pressing my case with the Transport Secretary, now that the East Coast service is being brought back into public ownership and as progress is made to re-franchise the East Coast Main Line.
I have also been very interested in suggestions from the local branch of Railfuture about a rail-based part and ride scheme, centred on Lincoln. This could lead to the return of a station at Langworth or the addition of a station at Cherry Willingham.
The list of criticisms that can be levelled at Tony Blair’s premiership are considerable. Amongst them is the case of Abdul-Hakim Belhaj and Fatima Bouchar.
The government was inherently complicit in the two individuals being kidnapped by agents of the Gaddafi regime and forcibly taken to Libya. Mr. Belhaj was imprisoned and tortured. It later emerged that it was British Intelligence that had tipped Gaddafi’s regime off to their location.
The Prime Minister, Theresa May, has quite rightly, issued a full apology to Mr. Belhaj and his wife. Hopefully going some way to make amends for this travesty. I pointed out in the House that it was Mr. Blair who should be issuing an apology, but I doubt any will be forthcoming.
I was privileged to attend the recent awards for the county’s ‘snow-heroes’. Local people really stepped up during the bad weather we experience over the winter months. Some drivers were stuck on the A46 for a whole day, whilst other trekked in severe conditions to make sure that vulnerable people and animals were looked after.
Police, fire and rescue personnel, ambulance workers, nurses, carers, emergency service workers and members of the public performed brilliantly during the crisis. It was totally right that their efforts should be recognised at the Lincolnshire Resilience Forums’ awards.
Spotted an error? Please notify us by selecting that text and pressing Ctrl+Enter.
Sir Edward Leigh has been the Member of Parliament for Gainsborough since 1983.
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.
This week there have been 1,940 positive cases of COVID-19 and 116 deaths in Greater Lincolnshire, as the region moves towards tier 3 restrictions next week.
Some 396 coronavirus cases and 27 COVID-related deaths were reported in Greater Lincolnshire on Friday.
The government’s COVID-19 dashboard recorded 286 new cases in Lincolnshire, 65 in North Lincolnshire and 45 in North East Lincolnshire, bringing the total number of cases in North East Lincolnshire to over 5,000 since the start of the pandemic.
It also registered 19 deaths in Lincolnshire, six in North Lincolnshire and two in North East Lincolnshire. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals as well as residents in hospitals outside the county. Deaths have now surpassed 800 since the pandemic began in Greater Lincolnshire.
NHS England also reported 13 new hospital deaths on Friday. Seven were at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust, five at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust and one in Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals. This takes the total number of hospital deaths in the county to 513.
On Friday, national cases increased by 16,022 to 1,589,301, while deaths rose by 521 to 57,551.
Lincolnshire cases up to November 27 (November 26 incomplete).
Meanwhile, Lincolnshire health bosses are in discussions with the government about a new COVID-19 testing centre in Skegness. East Lindsey has the fourth highest infection rate in England. The exact location has not yet been confirmed for the testing centre.
In national news, the UK’s R number has fallen to between 0.9 and 1 according to scientists. This means for every 10 people with coronavirus, they will go on to infect between nine and 10 people, suggesting the rate of infection is slowing nationally.
In Lincolnshire, the infection rate has already dropped on Thursday’s figures.
The region’s infection rates are dropping. | Data: GOV UK / Table: The Lincolnite
Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire for Friday, November 27
25,427 cases (up 396)
15,770 in Lincolnshire (up 286)
4,619 in North Lincolnshire (up 65)
5,038 in North East Lincolnshire (up 45)
825 deaths (up 27)
541 from Lincolnshire (up 19)
142 from North Lincolnshire (up six)
142 from North East Lincolnshire (up two)
of which 513 hospital deaths (up 13)
271 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (up five)
11 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (up one)
1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
230 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (up seven)
1,589,301 UK cases, 57,551 deaths
DATA SOURCE — FIGURES CORRECT AT THE TIME OF the latest update. postcode data includes deaths not in healthcare facilities or in hospitals outside authority boundaries.
Lincolnshire County Council’s director of public health Professor Derek Ward said the government had used data from the peak of the county’s coronavirus infection between November 17-19 to make its decision, but that the latest figures already showed a massive improvement.
Professor Ward said people followed the rules, despite the peak in cases in the middle of November.
The government uses five key indicators make its decision and Professor Ward was confident the downward trend would continue.
The region’s infection rates are dropping. | Data: GOV UK / Table: The Lincolnite
Case detection rates in all age groups
Up to November 24, Lincolnshire’s infection rate was 232, compared to the England average of 209, said Professor Derek Ward.
Between November 17-19, the infection rate peaked at 308 — a difference of 76.
This is the figure that has been used the longest in determining the rate of coronavirus spread.
To improve this, Professor Ward said the usual messages of hands, face and space applied.
“It’s about trying to make sure people don’t catch COVID in the first place,” he said.
“So make sure you wash your hands for 20 seconds, make sure if you’re going into an enclosed space, or indeed, if you feel you’re walking through a busy street, that you’re covering the face, and keep at least two metres at all times from anybody outside your household.”
Case detection rates in the over 60s
For this more specific number, the current figure is 326 per 100,000 population, up from 281 in mid-November.
“The reason that’s important is because we know this is a disease that targets older people,” said Professor Ward.
“Older people are more likely to have a more severe form of the disease and they are therefore more likely to need NHS or hospital treatment, and more likely to die from it.”
In addition to hands, face and space, the key thing was for anyone who has symptoms to get a test “immediately”.
A map of Lincolnshire showing the seven-day coronavirus rates as of November 25. | Map: GOV UK
He said anecdotal evidence showed younger people might not get tested despite mild symptoms, but were then visiting relatives and possibly passing it on.
“Anybody who has any symptoms, no matter how mild, you must immediately isolate, don’t go for one last shop, don’t go for one last visit to your mum or dad.
“You can do a lot of stuff remotely, you can do it online, you can book shopping.
“There’s also support out there for anyone struggling,” he said.
The rate at which cases are rising or falling
This is a new indicator and health bosses did not have specific information to compare with government, however, Professor Ward said “overall our rates are clearly reducing.”
“‘It’s more a direction of travel than an actual figure,” said Professor Ward.
“Between November 17-19 we had the highest rates, and it’s been on a downward trajectory since then.”
He said he was expecting the trend to continue, especially considering the typical two-three week delay for the impact of the latest lockdown.
Positivity rate (positive cases as a percentage of tests taken)
Lincolnshire’s current positivity rate is 8.4%, down from around 12% at the most recent peak.
Around 25,000 tests have been carried out a week since early October, meaning around 2,100 positive tests a week compared to 3,000 previously.
However, health bosses do not want people to stop getting tests, in fact they want more to do so.
The criteria looks at percentage of positive tests rather than number carried out. Hence, if more people get tested and come back negative the positivity rate goes down.
| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
“The key thing that I want the people to do is if they’ve got any symptoms, no matter how mild, isolate themselves, get themselves a test,” said Professor Ward.
“The reason [government] are interested in this is that it’s a good indicator of two things. One, are you doing enough tests and two, are you targeting them?
“It’s really just giving us an indication of are we doing enough tests. If it’s going up, and it’s going up quite quickly, that’s when there’s a concern that we’re seeing an increase in actual community based infections.
“It’s coming down in Lincolnshire.”
Pressure on the NHS
United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust bosses have confirmed they currently have 233 COVID patients and are using 74% of their hospital capacity.
The number has been steadily rising over the past month or so — on October 23 it has some 80 patients.
A ULHT spokesperson: “To help keep the pressure off of Lincolnshire’s hospitals so we can continue to deliver the best care to our patients, we would ask the public to please follow the latest government guidelines.”
However, bosses say the key message is that the NHS remains open and that people should continue to attend if they need it or if they have an appoointment booked.
Boston Pilgrim Hospital and Lincoln County Hospital.
The trust has not yet had to close its COVID-free site in Grantham, which other areas have chosen to do.
Professor Ward said there was no intention to discourage people from using their facilities.
“If people need the NHS, it is there for them whether it’s a very life-threatening 999 condition, or whether you just need a bit of advice and support, in which case NHS 111 online is your first port of call.
“Everything is still still open and available. Just consider whether you need it and if you’re not sure, check online or give them a ring.”
In conclusion, what can people do differently to help?
“I’m not sure it is doing anything differently,” said Professor Ward.
“It’s more of the same because we are seeing the benefits of people in Lincolnshire sticking by the rules.
“We just want them to keep doing that — it comes back to the same messages hands, face, space, minimise travelling if you can, work from home and minimise your contact with other people.
“That’s how we’ll bring the rates right down and then hopefully, we’ll be in a different position in the middle of December.”
The new tier allocations will be reviewed every two weeks from December 2.
A woman was found dead by Louth Canal on Friday morning, but the death is not being treated as suspicious.
Lincolnshire Police were called to the canal on Cowslip Lane, along with other emergency services, at 7.36am on November 27, where the body of a woman was found.
The woman is understood to be in her 50s and from the Louth area, according to Grimsby Live.
A police cordon was put in place in the area around Cowslip Lane between Louth and Keddington village.
A Lincolnshire Police spokeswoman said: “The body of a woman was found this morning. There are no suspicious circumstances and a file will be prepared for the coroner.”
If you or someone you know has been affected by this story, help is available through the Samaritans charity.
It was originally destined for display in London but it will now be on a 10ft plinth on St Peter’s Hill Green in the Lincolnshire town.
The £100,000 unveiling event, said documents, will be used to promote “inspirational women of South Kesteven” — including the first female police officer Edith Smith and Duke of Wellington friend and advisor Harriet Arbuthnot.
“The statue is expected to attract many visitors to the area which will increase Grantham and South Kesteven’s status as a destination for tourism with the associated benefits that brings,” said the report.
“An increase in visitor numbers to the area will boost the local economy and benefit our local shops and businesses.
“The interest from visitors to the area will support Grantham Museum and enable them to develop their permanent Margaret Thatcher exhibition which already attracts thousands of people each year.”
Sculptor Douglas Jennings applying the finishing touches to the stature when it was created.
The costs of holding “an event of this scale” said officers were “balanced agains the potential benefit of commemorating one of the most famous people to have come from Grantham, and the opportunity for the statue and unveiling event to attract global attention”.
They said not holding an event would be a missed opportunity due to the attention expected.
Once unveiled the council will take on ownership and maintenance of the statue.
The statue was approved in February 2019, despite concerns she would be targeted by “politically-motivated” vandals.
Recommendations at the time said it should be placed on a “sufficiently high plinth” and in easy view, in a bid to avoid it being attacked.
According to reports the statue would be placed on a 3.2 metre high plinth, making it over 6.4 metres tall in total.
| Photo: Getty Images
Margaret Thatcher (nee Roberts) was born and raised in Grantham and attended Kesteven and Grantham Girls’ School, before gaining a scholarship to study at Oxford University.
Her father Alfred, a grocer, was mayor from 1945 to 1946. She entered the House of Lords in 1992. She was Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990.
Plans to build the statue on Parliament Square, in London, were previously rejected by Westminster Council due to the fear of it being targeted by protestors.
Whatsapp
