Notes from the North: Reform UK look shaky on care home plans, auditors get out the red pen at TVCA
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Reform UK in Lancashire believe they are the model council for Farage’s party – the blueprint that others can follow.
It’s hard to see the list of achievements – so far, we hasten to add – beyond not quite making front page of national newspapers with a scandal.
But their plans for 10 care facilities in the county have seen the mood start to turn a little bit. The Guardian described Reform UK in Lancashire as thin-skinned at the weekend, and that’s visible in all of their responses to opposition politicians doing what the opposition are meant to do and campaigning against their plans.
The Lancashire Lead unpicked the latest twist in those care plans this week.
Elsewhere, we have the latest on Tees Valley Combined Authority’s auditors and a pizza restaurant in Southport that has persistently been the target for vandals.
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Begun in early 2024, the Lead North publishes in Blackpool, Lancashire, Calderdale, Teesside and Southport. Each week our senior editor for The Lead North, Luke Beardsworth, highlight some of the stories we’ve been breaking exclusively, covering extensively and staying the course on to ensure communities have access to verified independent journalism. If you have any stories you think we should be covering, or tip-offs, you can contact luke@thelead.uk
Decision on future of at-risk care facilities in Lancashire delayed indefinitely
A decision on the future of 10 elderly care facilities has been delayed – and left open-ended – after Lancashire County Council announced it was going to take “extra time” to consider the results of a public consultation.
The authority launched what has proved to be a controversial review of five of its care homes and five day centres back in October, warning that the buildings were in “significantly poor condition”.
However, the move sparked a wave of protests from the families of residents and service users, who feared that the premises – in Chorley, Fylde Lancaster, Pendle, Hyndburn, West Lancashire and Wyre – could ultimately be closed. Petitions drawn up in support of the facilities generated thousands of signatures.
The county council has insisted throughout that no decisions have been taken – and that none would be until cabinet members considered the matter in February – with all options being on the table.
However, the authority has now said it will take longer than planned to come to a conclusion on the issue, after it received more than 1,600 responses to the consultation, which closed on 12 December.
Auditors blame Tees Valley Combined Authority “weaknesses” for inability to complete audit
Tees Valley Combined Authority’s auditors have said that concerns around governance and value for money at the authority remain, despite claims to the contrary.
In a recent meeting of TVCA’s Audit and Governance Committee, a draft report on the current state of the public body’s finances, written by auditors EY, was presented. They said significant improvements since their last recommendations around improving economy and value for money were had not yet been achieved.
“At this stage of the audit,” wrote EY, “we have identified weaknesses that have not enabled us to progress the audit as we initially planned due to the draft financial statements produced by the Authority not being of the required quality.”
The company is currently undertaking its audit of TVCA’s 2024/25 accounts. The accounts for 2023/24 had been disclaimed, meaning no opinion on whether they were accurate was able to be reached, and that has had a knock-on effect onto the latest period.
Unprovoked campaign of abuse left pizza shop owner and family terrified
The owner of a pizza restaurant which was targeted in a long running campaign of vandalism and criminal damage says his family were left terrified by the attacks.
Dan Johnstone saw his 600 Degrees shop smashed with a brick, hit with a hammer and repeatedly graffitied during a bizarre and unprovoked torrent of abuse from a man he had never even met.
Beyond this, his social media was targeted with hateful lies and false allegations and his vehicle’s tyres were slashed while it was parked outside his home with the obsessed culprit regularly travelling from Bolton to carry out the harassment.
Last month, 35-year-old Colin Cooper was jailed for 26 months for offences including stalking, witness intimidation and a total of nine counts of criminal damage. It was revealed in court he had also targeted two of his ex-landlords in similar campaigns.
Each attack at the Hillside pizzeria left Dan with a bill of three or even four figures to repair as well as lost trade during enforced closures. But there was also a significant mental toll.
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