Flood defences 'lack maintenance'

Homes and businesses in England may be at risk of flooding because the Environment Agency is not doing enough, a watchdog has said.

The National Audit Office (NAO) said the agency had not met its target of maintaining 63% of the country's flood defences in peak condition.

MPs called on the agency to explain why less than half of England's high risk defences were found in peak condition.

The watchdog found large regional differences in the proportion of defences in high risk areas which were at peak condition - from 18% in the South West to 60% in the South.

There were also big differences in the money spent on maintaining the defences.

The NAO report said the agency had taken on greater responsibility for flood risk in England, including the management of important rivers.

The agency had protected more people by improving the standard of flood protection for 100,000 homes between 2003/04 and 2005/06, the watchdog said.

However, it said since 2001 the general condition of defences had not improved significantly.

The all-party committee of MPs, the Public Accounts Committee, said more money should go towards "protecting towns and cities, rather than empty fields".

The Environment Agency has estimated that it would need an extra £150m a year to bring all flood defence systems up to their peak condition.

MPs must be challenged to explain where this much-need extra investment is going to come from, before they can offer any justification for an intention to approve the EU budget deal and vote billions of pounds extra a year to a wasteful body like the EU.

Elderly people's lives 'worsen'

More than one-fifth of elderly people feel they are living in poverty, a Help the Aged survey has suggested - according to the BBC.

Of 1,095 adults questioned, 28% said their quality of life had got worse in the last 12 months, while 93% said their lives had not improved.

The charity said the findings were "outrageous" and called for a clear commitment to end pensioner poverty.

Around half of over 65-year-olds fail to claim the benefits they are entitled to, the survey also found.

Help the Aged said that its report, Spotlight on older people in the UK, brought to light issues faced by vulnerable older people, including poverty, neglect and ageism.

A total of 13% of those surveyed said they were lonely and rarely left the house.

The study, the second annual report from Help the Aged, suggested 21% of elderly people lived in poverty and rising fuel bills made life a daily struggle.

It includes testimonies from a woman in her late seventies who says her quality of life is nil, a woman aged 87 who says she never leaves the house, and an old man who thinks a tin of soup is a luxury to eke out over two days.

Paul Cann, director of policy at the charity, said: "Far from being people's twilight years, this report shows the reality of growing older in the UK is much darker.

"It is absolutely outrageous that people's lives are getting worse or not improving as they get older."

The charity said with the number of people aged 65 years and older set to rise by nearly 60% in the next 25 years, there was no excuse for the government or anyone else to be oblivious of the issues.

Burton: MP's vow over post office axe

Uttoxeter's MP says she will do "everything in her power" to make sure vital Post Office services are not lost, reports the Burton Mail.

Labour's Janet Dean also accused Tory MP hopeful Andrew Griffiths of "scaremongering" after he claimed four Post Offices would be axed in East Staffordshire.

Mrs Dean spoke out as the Government confirmed 2,500 branches will close in the next 18 months in an effort to plug a deficit now running at £4 million a week.

Mrs Dean said: "There are no local quotas - we do not know how many, if any, will be closed in Burton or Uttoxeter. It's scaremongering.

"Mr Griffiths is clearly going on the average. He has taken the figure of 2,500 and divided it by the number of constituencies. If there are closures announced, and people object, I will try to ensure they stay open or there are alternatives in place.

"I will do everything in my power to stand up for the people and speak out on their behalf.

However, will that "everything" include voting against the blatant waste of extra billions that the government wants to hand over to the EU - which could be used to increase subsidies to struggling local post offices instead?

MPs like Janet Dean can't get away with the hypocrisy of claiming to be standing up for public services in local newspapers, but when safely back in Westminster voting billions of pounds away to an audit-failing organisation like the EU without any justification.

Loss-making but 'lifeline' post offices need subsidies to survive. If there's not enough money to maintain a proper network, MPs who vote to waste public cash must accept the blame.

Redhill: Call for Prime Minister to safeguard hospital

Cuts to hospitals across the area are putting dangerous pressure on East Surrey Hospital, says a former paramedic who is campaigning to save services - reports the Surrey Mirror.

Ken Callanan spoke to the Mirror after delivering a 112,754-strong petition to 10 Downing Street on Saturday.

The petition urges Prime Minister Tony Blair to safeguard the county's accident and emergency (A&E) departments,maternity and paediatric units.

And Mr Callanan said that East Surrey Hospital, in Redhill, was being put under huge strain by Government cuts at other hospitals, particularly after Crawley Hospital's A&E was downgraded.

He said: "My main concern from the point of view of East Surrey is that the hospital is under a lot of extra pressure because it has to treat people who previously would have been treated at Crawley Hospital.

"I have had phone calls and e-mails from nursing staff and a doctor from East Surrey who say that since the A&E at Crawley was downgraded and the maternity unit was transferred [last year] it has put a lot of pressure on them. It's very unfair on staff at East Surrey."

A&E services at that hospital, The Royal Surrey,in Guildford, St Peter's at Chertsey, and Frimley Park are all under review.

Mr Callanan fears more A&E departments, maternity and paediatric units could shut or be downgraded.

Cornwall: Fire crews use coffin to highlight closure risks

A symbolic black coffin was carried through the streets of Truro as a stark warning that people will die if cuts are made to the fire service in Falmouth and Camborne - reports the Falmouth Packet.

The shocking imagery was used as part of a protest march involving hundreds of fire fighters, who were campaigning against proposals to cut 24-hour fire cover at the Falmouth and Camborne stations.

Firemen from Falmouth and Camborne were joined by colleagues from across the south west, as far as Gloucestershire, Somerset and the West Midlands, as well as members of the public in the march from Union Place to Lemon Quay last Thursday (May 31).

Many were carrying placards and posters drawing attention to the proposed closures by Cornwall county council.

The council wants to end overnight staffing at Camborne and Falmouth, the county's only stations that are manned around the clock, in order to balance a budget shortfall across the whole of the council.

However, removing the full-time overnight fire fighters from the stations would increase the time taken for the engine to reach a fire by dangerous levels - possibly up to seven or eight minutes longer.

The plans have been opposed by the Fire Brigades' Union, which led the rally through Truro. The union has said the move would lead to an increased likelihood of injuries.

Sean Taylor, Fire Brigade Union representative for the fire headquarters in Truro, said: "The bottom line is that council tax payers, when they dial 999 and ask for a fire engine all they want is for a fire engine to turn up with qualified firemen onboard.

"With what the county council are proposing that won't be guaranteed. If you take fire engines out the equation lives are going to be lost" he added.

The march took place on the same day as members of the county council's scrutiny committee met to discuss the draft Fire Brigade Service Plan 2007/2010, which is aimed at ensuring that every council service uses its resources effectively. The plan includes the proposals to cut the 24-hour cover.

Chief fire officer Matt Littmoden said: "One of the objectives included in the plan is changing the emergency cover provision at Falmouth and Camborne fire stations. Fire fighters would no longer be on station 24 hours a day. Full time fire fighters would be at the station during the day and at night time retained fire fighters would provide the emergency cover. I have had to recommend this objective because I had to make savings.

"The downgrading of Falmouth and Camborne is purely a consequence of the budget and it is the least worst option" he added.

Hertfordshire: Fire service 'at breaking point'

A leading firefighter has warned resources in Hertfordshire are now at "breaking point" following cuts and closures across the county - reports the Watford Observer.

Tony Smith, secretary of Herts Fire Brigade Union, has spoken out against Hertfordshire County Council's decision to close Radlett and Bovingdon fire stations last year and warned more cuts to the service would leave it dangerously short.

He said: "Our chief says there are going to be more cuts coming. The cracks are starting to show because the cuts have been too deep and it is time to bring back those two stations and invest something in the service."

Figures released by the county council this week show on top of fires within the county border, Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue services attended 852 incidents in neighbouring counties between July and December last year.

Crews from neighbouring counties were called into Hertfordshire 171 times.

However, the county council maintains the number of call-outs is decreasing with crews in Hertfordshire attending 15,971 incidents in 2001/2, compared to 12,460 call-outs last year.

However, on Tuesday a petition containing a signature from almost every resident in Radlett was delivered to the county council demanding the village station reopen.

Stephen Oakes-Monger, of Park Road, Radlett spent two months knocking on every door in Radlett collecting almost 7,000 signatures.

The 48-year-old said: "It is an overwhelming condemnation of the county council's decision to close the fire station."

In the past two months there have been four fires in Radlett. And in March, an aerial ladder platform had to be called from Luton to attend a fire in The Heath, but took so long that the blaze was out before it arrived.

It is also alleged that, on at least one occasion, crews coming from across the county could not find their way to the fires in the village.

Deadly NHS bug 'underestimated'

The BBC is reporting that thousands of cases of the hospital bug Clostridium difficile have remained hidden due to a requirement to only report cases affecting people over 65 years old.

A government suveillance scheme has required hospitals to submit numbers of cases of C difficile in people over 65 since 2004. But only since April this year must cases among all patients be included in the reports.

MP Grant Shapps obtained data from 171 NHS trusts in England, which showed there have been an extra 26,000 cases on top of the 176,450 infections reported.

C difficile is linked to twice as many deaths as MRSA, and, unlike the so-called superbug, C difficile infection rates are still on the rise. In 2006 they rose by 8% on the previous year to 55,000 infections.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "There is no room for complacency.

"We are clear - one avoidable infection is one too many and we are determined to ensure that the NHS has in place good hygiene and clinical procedures

How determined exactly? Are sufficient funds being invested to provide better cleaning procedures - and could it be more if the government weren't instead planning to waste billions of pounds extra on the EU?

The government might think it can get away with such poor judgement of priorities with public money. But how will MPs who vote to approve this unjustified increase in payments to the EU explain their choice to local voters who have been affected by this dangerous bug?

Especially if it's clear that more could have been done to prevent deaths, had more resources been made available.