Politics

Political round-up Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher Government staff massively underperforming

The House of Commons has risen for the Summer Recess and on its return in September there will be a new Prime Minister. Let us hope that there is no crisis which requires Parliament to be recalled before then and that our civil servants use the interregnum to improve their performance in the delivery of key public services. My constituents should not have to tolerate the current chaos caused by record numbers of taxpayerfunded employees massively underperforming. As a believer in the use of Parliamentary questions as a means of holding the Government to account, the answers are sometimes revealing. One such example is this answer. ‘As of 30 June 2022, 275 patients in National Health Service hospitals in Dorset had waited for discharge for more than seven days following completion of hospital care’. This is a scandalous waste of NHS resources. The bed blocking creates the need for ambulances to be used as ‘de facto’ hospital beds. Their crews are then unable to respond to 999 calls. This misuse of hospital beds also results in the need for major surgery cases to be cancelled. Despite all the talk of social care being integrated with health care, Dorset still seems to be in the dark ages. Is it any wonder that productivity in the NHS is still falling? The NHS is not alone in underperforming. Passport and immigration services and the administration of driving tests and issuance of driving licences are other examples. So also is the record backlog of cases awaiting trial. Delays in Land Searches, applications for Powers of Attorney and the grant of Probate are also frequently the subject of complaints. Constituents should not be having to contact their MPs in order to obtain levels of service which used to be taken for granted.

n There is much talk about the impact of Net Zero on individuals but what about businesses? ReidSteel is the largest private sector employer in Christchurch. It manufactures and supplies steel structures in the UK and across the world. It is dependent upon the UK having a strong domestic steel industry and has high regard for the excellent quality of British steel. But, like most serious businesses, ReidSteel needs long term regulatory certainty. When I intervened in the debate about a two-year extension of tariffs on some imports of steel I pointed out that it would be wrong for the Government to require British steel to comply with the Net Zero targets if the consequence is that their steel becomes too expensive for exporters such as ReidSteel to be able to compete in global markets. Let us hope that the new Prime Minister takes some action to address this.

Christchurch & East Dorset CHRIS CHOPE MP

We must nurture our wonderful rivers

As national government is paralysed by the Conservative leadership contest, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on how our town and parish councils are getting on. Most of them toil away generating little attention nor controversy, completing the essential work of the upkeep of our towns and villages. Small allowances are available to councillors, although the hours most spend on parish or town activity would leave them at an hourly rate far below the minimum wage. They have an important role of statutory consultee on planning matters, but the decisions on what gets built and where are ultimately taken by the unitary authority in Dorchester. This often causes much consternation! Town and parish councils also set policy, in a limited fashion. My Labour colleagues on Blandford town council are proposing a ‘motion for the ocean’ and I hope by the time this column is published, it will have been approved. The motion declares an urgent need for ocean recovery to help meet net zero targets. But crucially, it recognises that inland communities like those in the Stour and Avon valleys have an important role to play in ocean recovery as the custodians of the rivers, waterways and tributaries that run through our towns and villages on the way to the sea. There’s a call to support ocean recovery by embedding the protection and recovery of the River Stour in the Neighbourhood Plan as soon as possible. The motion also acknowledges the important role the River Stour has in our community in creating a shared sense of place and identity. The key point, to me, was the call to grow something called ‘ocean literacy and marine citizenship’ in Blandford Forum, through: Ensuring primary school-aged children in Blandford Forum are encouraged to engage with the River Stour first-hand Promoting sustainable and equitable access to the River Stour through physical and digital experiences for all residents Embedding an understanding of the ‘source to sea’ approach and how all people, wherever they live, impact and are impacted by ocean health. Town councils may not have policy control over drainage (that’s Dorset) or single use plastics (that’s Westminster). But through adopting such clear goals and educating our children on the same, the quality of our waterways and oceans can be improved. We can also reconnect with our landscape in the process. Our waterways may not be the thoroughfares for trade and transport they once were, but they are still a resource to be nurtured and cherished.

Dorset Labour GREG WILLIAMS

Kindness, not cash, makes the world go round

by Lorraine Gibson

When Nahla Summers’ partner died suddenly while taking part in a charity cycle ride, the depth of her grief left her bereft. Just a few weeks later, while standing on a beach alone and utterly forlorn, a stranger approached and started talking to her. “I had (finally) made it out of the house and the guy had obviously seen that I was extremely sad, he came over and just started talking to me,” says Nahla whose name is Arabic for honey bee. “10 minutes he gave me, talking positively about the horses that were being trained on the beach and that was the catalyst for coming out of the grief.” This unexpected kindness, a few minutes of uplifting chat with someone who suspected that she was at a low ebb, made her realise that that was what life needed to be about. Kindness. From then on, Nahla had a sense of purpose, she embarked on a personal crusade to spread and encourage similar caring acts wherever she went and eventually founded Sunshine People, a movement designed to highlight the changes in our society and the need to stay connected through compassion. “It has never been as important in our education and leadership with the shift towards technology to keep human connection at the forefront of our conversations,” she says. To drive the endeavour, she completes an awareness-raising challenge every year, asking people to show their support, not by donating money to a charity but by doing an act of kindness for a stranger instead. Nahla’s formative challenges were small, getting her friends and family to complete kindly acts, but soon they evolved into a wave of kindness stories that are now changing hearts and minds, literally altering how some people see the world, and it has inspired her to do more - read as: making her challenges evermore demanding. In 2018, she cycled 3,000 miles across America from San Diego, California, to St Augustine, Florida, on a bike she’d bought just six weeks prior and having not owned a bike in 20 years. In 2019, she walked from Swanage to Gretna Green, visiting schools en route, promoting kindness through speaking, workshops and Sunshine People events. She promotes the ties that goodness, a higher emotional intelligence and wellbeing has on society from the bottom up. In 2020, Nahla covered an astonishing 5,007 miles on a stand-up bike called an ElliptiGO, breaking a World Record in the process for the furthest distance completed in a single journey. It took her through all the UK’s 69 cities and resulted in the creation of the biggest Strava Art (the name for the pattern made when a route is recorded on a digital map) ever across England - it spelled out the word ‘KINDNESS’ (naturally), pictured left. As she travelled the world promoting her mantra of kindness, Nahla herself became an accidental recipient of good deeds and wrote A Culture Of Kindness, a book that demonstrates the theory and how every leader and organisation can make positive change to their environments. Now known as the Queen of Random Acts of Kindness, Nahla says: “It’s never too late to ‘sponsor’ me by doing an act of kindness for a stranger (or if you are a young person, kindness to a family member), then tell us about it on our website’s event page. “Share your act of kindness and then make a comment about it. Kindness costs nothing and the effects are far greater.” As well as her own project, she puts her money - or her kindness -where her mouth is by supporting several social movements for societal positive change, including Urban Confessional, a free listening movement, Just1Bag, a litter picking group, and Crisp Packet, a project supporting homeless people. Sunshine People is growing all the time, with youth workshops, merchandise for spreading the message and to remind people of one of our most precious actions. There’s a corporate programme to support workplace improvements and to continue to build an ambassador program. As Nahla’s kindness message expands, so too, do her challenges. “This year, I will be doing my second world record attempt by completing the furthest distance in 24 hours on an Elliptical cycle. Next year I will be going back to America and then on to New Zealand the following year with new challenges.” Inspired by her success, she’s addressing workplaces and has come up with what sounds like a practical and straightforward means of helping to fulfil the educational need for kindness. Using the 10 minutes that the kind stranger gave her on that fortuitous day at the beach, she’s developed the same length messages that don’t interfere with existing school schedules. She explains: “I have a number of things based on an assembly program designed for schools - not funded by schools but by local businesses wishing to raise the emotional health of young people.” For more kindness vibes, visit: sunshinepeople. org.uk/school assembly program and acultureof kindness.co.uk.