mudhook

The Association of Public Health Observatories (APHO) have published the 2008 health profiles today. You can read the report for Cornwall and for each of its six districts here .

For Cornwall as a whole the APHO report is generally good news. For example, in five of the districts there is a smaller proportion of people living in the most deprived fifth of areas of England than the average for England; and in every district men and women have a higher life expectancy at birth than the average for England.

The APHO report gives information for each district too and although here the news is generally good of course there are difficult spheres where it is less rosy compared to the averages for England. For example, look at the figures in Penwith for index-of-multiple-deprivation, child poverty, and educational achievement.

There is much here to be pleased about. Not complacent, but recognising a record of progress. Cornwall, again, isn’t at the bottom.

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Source: Association of Public Health Observatories website article Welcome to health profiles

After the spats about how to spell the Cornish language, spoken fluently by about three hundred people, there is positive news. No, not the agreement last month on a spelling system - the arguments still continue - but six books written by Will Coleman in Cornish for young children. Every year three pupil in Cornwall will get a free copy of one of the books which are about an imagined village and its people and animals.

The books were commissioned by the Cornish Language Partnership (CLP), a body of various language interests and the county and district councils in Cornwall, funded by the British government, the EU, and Cornwall county council.

Look, I’m not a Cornish nationalist and I don’t share the heady linguistic visions of some, I don’t believe for one moment that Cornwall will become bilingual, but I welcome this positive move to introduce some of the language to young people. It stands in stark and magnificent contrast to the unhappy nonsenses that have bedevilled and apparently still bedevil the language. Coleman and the CLP deserve warm congratulations on a constructive move.

There’s an accumulation of information about dismaying homophobic abuse in schools. Last year Stonewall published a report and now the Association of teachers and lecturers (ATL) has put out a similar one and has a position paper.

Today’s Guardian has three letters which I think are realistically positive about possibilities.

The Stonewall and ATL reports are distressing. The ATL suggests that too many teachers do not challenge homophobic language and bullying and says that “homophobia remains a pervasive and persistent problem within our society, including schools and colleges.”

Schools and colleges need to understand that homophobic language and behaviour are unacceptable. As unacceptable as racism and religious bigotry. It isn’t enough for a school to have a policy against homophobia; it must effectively deal with homophobia and challenge it thoroughly and continually. Ecrasez-l’infame, homophobic behaviour and language.

I think we must assume that some schools in Cornwall have a homophobic problem too. In the light of the Stonewall and ATL reports the Cornwall education authority should explain how schools here are dealing effectively with such language and behaviour.

I know it’s hammering the point and I’ve held off putting up this post but here goes. There are two pieces of data to mull over.

A parliamentary answer about the percentage increase in education spending in local education authorities from 1997/98 to 2005/06 shows Cornwall at 96th out of 149, that is ninety five authorities received higher percentage increases than Cornwall and fifty three lower (Hansard 12 December 2007 columns 722W-725W).

The dedicated schools grant for 2008/09 from central government shows that Cornwall has higher perpupil funding than ten other education authorities in England and that eighty seven education authorities, including Cornwall, have perpupil funding less than the average for England. These figures are similar to those for 2007/08 that last year I put here .

Cornwall is not at the top of the funding tables but once more the claim by grievancers that Cornwall is singularly unfairly treated in education by central government is shown to be wrong; Cornwall is not the most poorly treated authority and is not singled out by central government for unique low funding. The complaint based on comparative grounds, on what other authorities receive, fails.

Of course none of these figures prove that Cornwall, or any local education authority, is receiving a fair and adequate share of education spending given its circumstances. That requires different arguments and the grievancers do not make in convincing detail any such arguments. Look at all the deprivation and poverty data I have put on this blog and ask yourself whether the data suggest strongly that Cornwall as a whole is singularly impoverished and should therefore receive as a whole more education spending comparative to other places. However, it may well be that schools in the seriously deprived areas of Cornwall should receive more funding and teachers. Does it make sense to see Cornwall as a whole in terms of education funding?

The other day Colin Breed, the Liberal Democrat MP for Southeast Cornwall, initiated an important short debate about the transport problems of post-16 students in his and other rural constituencies. Read it in Hansard 14 January 2008, column 762 onwards.

Breed made a very telling case for more equality of access to further education for rural students in Cornwall, what that meant and the part public transport and its costs play in it. Discussing the practicalities he wittily said, “Waiting for buses is often seen as an act of faith.” While he spoke in detail about his constituency, he also sensibly included rural areas generally.

Of course life in a rural area has it ups and downs and public transport is one of the downs. It is impossibly uneconomic to provide public transport in rural England approaching the level found in large urban areas; and how far government should tax people in cities to subsidise chosen life in villages is debatable. I don’t think the urban/rural playing field can ever be level; both have desirable and undesirable points and the desiderata vary from person to person but on the whole it is not further education students who have chosen one place to live rather than the other. Whether free public transport for students in rural areas is economic is an issue to be considered; I hope it proves viable.

The government response to Colin Breed was large but somewhat vague on promises. We shall see.

I hope that this is an issue which all those concerned with life in Cornwall will engage with. We shall see.

I shall post here continuing good news for Cornwall, developments which will positively help the people of Cornwall and the local economy and everyday lives. Everyone who wants the people of Cornwall to succeed in the modern world will welcome them. This post covers 2007 from July onwards. Vorsprung Cornwall 1 covers February-June 2007 onwards.

*December 2007: Newquay Airport continues to expand its services. Ryanair are increasing their flights to London Stanstead and flights to Spain, from March 2008 Skybus will be operating two additional routes, and in summer 2008 Flybe will be operating five new routes.

These expansions will help the airport, create jobs, and help the Cornwall economy. Welcome them.

* 26 November 2007: A parliamentary answer has revealed that the proportion of 16-18 year olds in Cornwall who are not in education, employment, or training (NEETS) is 6.1 percent of the Cornwall age group. This is much lower than in many places; for example the figure for Hackney is 13.1 percent, for Liverpool 13.2, for Birmingham 11.4, and for Plymouth 7.4. Cornwall is in the bottom third of the figures, where bottom is best. This is good news about young people in Cornwall though 6.1 is still too high.

Read the details in Hansard 26 November 2007, columns 141W-144W. Similar information is given in Hansard 21 November 2007, columns 958W-964W.

Addendum February 2008: Hansard 25 February 2008, columns 1284W-1290W gives NEETS figures for 16 and 17 year olds. At December 2007 the figure for Cornwall was 5.5 percent of the age group; this puts Cornwall at the 64th percentile of the 149 local authorities.

* 7 November 2007: Starting in September next year Cornwall, along with thirteen other local authorities, will begin to offer fifteen hours of free early education to all three and four year olds for thirty eight weeks of the year. This is to help to give every child a good start in life and to help parents work out a life/work balance. The scheme will be funded by the government. Details are in Hansard for 7 November 2007, columns 3WS-4WS.

* 2 November 2007: today is the official opening of the new heart centre at Derriford Hospital, Pymouth. There’s an account of it in the Western Morning News.

Yes, I know Plymouth isn’t Cornwall but patients from east Cornwall use the hospital and the heart centre will be used by people from all over Cornwall. This cardiothoracic unit is very good news for people in Cornwall who no longer have to travel as far as London for treatment such as a heart bypass.

* 25 October 2007: the future of Newquay airport is assured after investment of around £44 million has been agreed to change it from an RAF to a wholly civil airport. This involves money from the EU, British government, and the regional development agency. The airport is important to Cornwall’s economic development. Read more here.

* 10 September 2007: Kerrier district council has deservedly been named by the government as a champion for homelessness. It will share with other councils its expertise and good, successful practice in reducing the use of temporary accommodation and in helping people to avoid homelessness. See here for more details.

*From September 8-22 St Ives, Cornwall is holding its annual festival. Music, poetry, painting, film, talks, everything to enjoy in the arts from Cornwall and the wider world. Not a time to be gloomy about this place.

* From 6th to 12th August Newquay is hosting its annual rip curl boardmasters (RCB) surf contest. Okay, Cornwall isn’t Hawaii but one estimate is that surfing brings £40 million into the Cornwall economy and this RCB contest attracts thousands of visitors each day. The rip curl boardmasters is actually a surfing, skateboarding, and music festival/competition. See here for vigorous details. Oh, and there is a bikini competition too.

Cornwall: a fun, energetic place for talented people and great for unenergetic spectators.

* August 2007- a regeneration of the centre of St Austell is going ahead. The cost will be £75 million, of which £31.5 million will be from the south west of England regional development agency (SWRDA) and the rest from the developers, David McLean Developers.

The regeneration will be mainly retail and includes new shops, cafes, a cinema, and an underground car park, but also seventy flats.

For several years now St Austell has been the forgotten town of Cornwall with an uninspiring town centre. Things can only get better.

Details are here and here.

* July 2007 - A group restoring the Steeple nature reserve on Worvas Hill, St Ives was given £36 000 by the heritage lottery fund. The money will help to fund restoration, improvements, tree planting, and educational work.

* An architecturally impressive new art gallery has opened in Penzance in July. St Ives has its Tate and now Penzance has its Exchange. See details and pictures here in the Daily Telegraph for 21 July.

* Marks and Spencer opened a new store on 19 July at the shopping site by the roundabout on the eastern outskirts of Hayle. As well as shirts and skirts and the usual M and S things, it will sell food and has a cafe, and has created nearly a hundred jobs. This is very good news for Hayle and western Cornwall. There are other shops on the site (Next, Boots) though I’m not sure if there’s enough car parking there. On the adjacent site there are other shops selling fabric, tiles, cars, etc; it’s all a good shopping area now.

* July 2007 - A fast computer network which links all the hospitals and doctors’ surgeries in Cornwall and Scillies has been launched.
This enables information to be shared among medicos speedily; for example, doctors will be able to see patients’ xrays from hospitals in their surgeries.

This technology is clearly a beneficial way of meeting the medical difficulties of a spread-out rural county.

See here for details from PublicTechnology.net.

I thought it would be useful to put up a collection of website addresses for various data involving Cornwall. I have tried over the past months to show that Cornwall is not terra oppressa, sunk in universal poverty, neglected and treated unfairly by the British government. Judge for yourself. I have reduced some long urls to tinyurls.

Free school meals
HANSARD (primary) 4 July 2006 column 1021W, (secondary) 12 July 2006 column 1861W
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmhn0607.htm

GVA per head (ONS December 2006)
http://tinyurl.com/2449pu

GDP per head (Eurostat February 2007)
http://tinyurl.com/3cjqdy

Average pay(ONS April 2006)
www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=13101 (ASHE 2006, Table 7.1a)

Indices of deprivation
http://tinyurl.com/2b6m5s

Education funding (Dedicated schools grant)
www.teachernet.gov.uk/docbank/index.cfm?id=9405

Health profiles Cornwall districts
www.communityhealthprofiles.info/

17 March 1337 charter
www.statutelaw.gov.uk

1858 Cornwall submarine mines act
www.statutelaw.gov.uk

The 2007 health profiles have just been published by the Association of public health observatories (APHO) and the department of health. Read the profiles for Cornwall and the separate profiles for its six districts (Caradon, Carrick, Kerrier, Penwith, North Cornwall, Restormel) here.

For Cornwall they throw up interesting figures which show we are not the most suffering place in the land.

For example (in all these figures the England average includes Cornwall):

The percentage of residents dependent on means-tested benefits in 2003 in Cornwall 11.8, in England 12.9

The percentage of children in low-income households in 2001 in Cornwall 19.4, in England 21.3

The percentage getting five GCSEs A*-C in 2005/06 in Cornwall 57.3, in England 57.5

The rate of violent crime for 1000 of population in 2005/06 in Cornwall 12.0, in England 19.8.

Life expectancy in Cornwall for males and females is higher than England as a whole; death rates for cancer, heart disease, and strokes are lower in Cornwall than the average for England.

However, Cornwall has higher rates than England for (a) people claiming benefits for mental health problems and (b) admission to hospital for alcohol specific conditions.

The figures vary across and within districts in Cornwall. For example in Penwith 15.2 percent of residents are dependent on means-tested benefits and 24.8 percent of children are in low-income households, both higher and worse than the England average; in Caradon 9.5 percent and 15.3 percent, both lower and better than the England average.

These profiles do not support the Victim Cornwall agenda. They show some parts of the county in health and social deprivation in some spheres and other parts of Cornwall far from it. The profiles undermine attempts to present Cornwall as a uniform place and as a place suffering uniquely at the hands of an uncaring national government and its agencies. It clearly is neither. Will we read anything of these profiles from nationalists or the county’s MPs?

Look again at the posts Is Cornwall poor? and Free school meals in Cornwall, and Victim Cornwall. The evidence shows places of deprivation but that we are definitely not suffering, victim Cornwall.

Liberal Democrats in Cornwall, as represented by an item on Matthew Taylor’s website, have complained that the per pupil dedicated schools grant (DSG) for 2007/08 for Cornwall is about £300 less than the average for England. Yes it is, this is true.

What the Liberal Democrats do not say is that the per pupil funding is below the average for England in eighty seven England education authorities, including Cornwall.

And what they do not say is that fourteen of those eighty seven education authorities in England have per pupil funding below the Cornwall figure.

See for yourself at this official site.

Of course MPs and local parties should speak up robustly for their area but I think it is wrong not to put the Cornwall figure in context, that is, wrong not to mention the eighty seven authorities and those fourteen. Anyone reading the Liberal Democrat comments might well mistakenly think that Cornwall was being uniquely singled out for unfair treatment in DSG education funding. The uncontexted comments will feed the nationalist victim agenda.

What the Liberal Democrats do not say either is where the money should come from to give Cornwall more (and the other below-average authorities?). They should name the authorities or services it should be taken off; or give us the location of the Liberal Democrat money tree.

Islington
As part of the Liberal Democrat education complaint, there is a comment that Islington gets more per pupil than Cornwall. Yes it does, this is true.

Islington is mentioned because of its connection with Tony Blair.

Can the difference be justified? The figures for free school meals are a handy indication of poverty. In Cornwall 11.1 percent of primary pupils and 9.8 percent of secondary pupils are eligible for free school meals; in Islington the figures are 42.8 percent and 43.0 percent (January 2005). In the county/boroughs index of multiple deprivation for 2004, the latest available, Islington is the 4th most deprived in England, Cornwall and Scilly is the 61st most deprived (rank of average ranks). That’s why the blanket funding is different and that’s what the MPs should point out.

I thought the Liberal Democrat party supported proportionate help for the poor but apparently not.