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Housing and Planning Bill | Committee Stage
Callum Smith
This briefing is intended to update Northern Housing Consortium (NHC) members on the progress of the Housing and Planning Bill 2015 (henceforth 'the Bill'), following the completion of the House of Commons Second Reading.
About the Bill
Introducing the Bill at Second Reading, Greg Clark MP, said "every Parliament that is elected has a responsibility to the future and to do all that it can to ensure that the lives of the next generation are better than those of past generations. Nowhere is that more important than in ensuring that the next generation have the homes they need."
Much of the Government's Bill sets out the commitments made in the Conservative Party manifesto notably the pay to stay measure, the voluntary right to buy extension to housing association tenants, Starter Homes, new regulations in the private rented sector and a rogue landlords database; measures around the sale of vacant high value local authority housing and changes to the planning system in England.
About Committee Stage
The Committee Stage of a Bill is designed to enable a line by line read through of the Bill. The members of a Bill Committee are drawn from across the political parties in the House of Commons but the Government will always have a majority in the Committee. It serves as an opportunity for the Government and the Opposition to put amendments to the Bill and for the Committee to vote of their inclusion or exclusion.
Timeline of a Bill
First Reading – where the Bill is introduced either in the House of Commons or the House of Lords, but no debate takes place
Second Reading – where the general principles of the Bill are discussed and debated.
Committee Stage – where detailed, line by line examination of the Bill takes place and amendments can be introduced and voted on, usually conducted by a small group of MPs or Lords that are representative of the political make-up of either the House of Lords or the House of Commons, or by a Committee of the Whole House
Report Stage – where a debate is conducted on the floor of either the House of Commons or House of Lords with any MP or Lord allowed contributing to proceedings. Report Stage allows the changes introduced at Committee Stage (amendments) to be reported to the whole House and gives all MPs or Lords the chance to introduce their own amendments to the Bill.
Third Reading – a short debate and final vote on the Bill before it proceeds to either the House of Lords (if the Bill is introduced in the House of Commons) or the House of Commons (if the Bill in introduced in the House of Lords) where the process then begins again in the respective House. Amendments can be introduced and they are often amendments that reflect debates had at Report Stage.
This briefing does not attempt to cover every clause and amendment in the Bill, rather it is intended as a summary of the main clauses and amendments we feel will be of interest to the NHC membership.
Starter Homes (Affordability)
One of the main amendments put forward by the Opposition in the early stages of the Committee concerned the affordability of Starter Homes. The policy announced posited a discount "of at least 20% of the market value". The Opposition's amendment, moved by Roberta Blackman-Woods MP, suggested that the 20% should not start part of the Bill and that the price "should be no higher than is affordable to a household receiving the median local household income, with affordability to be determined by the local authority"
Acknowledging that this was a probing amendment, Dr Blackman-Woods asked "why a discount of 20% below market value is to be set to encourage people to buy starter homes, instead of a sensible multiplier of median household income in the area concerned, which would allow affordability to be determined on a regional or local basis, set by the local authority". She noted that the current policy, for 20% discounts, would mean that many of these homes would remain unaffordable citing evidence from Shelter about their unaffordability (which you can read here)
Amendment 67 proposed by Roberta Blackman-Woods sought 'restrictions on resales and letting at open market value relating to first time buyer starter homes' with Dr Blackman-Woods asked "why has the Minister rejected the outcome of his own consultation exercise? Why should the discounts not be applied in perpetuity? As we know, the Government plan for a starter home is that it could be resold or let at open market value five years after the initial sale."
Brandon Lewis, the Housing Minister, addressed the amendments made by the Opposition noting the Government "have set out the key parameters: a starter home is available to first-time buyers under 40, at a minimum discount of 20% of market value, and subject to a price cap. A starter home is a new build property or a new conversion.". Addressing concerns raised by Shelter on affordability, he challenged "whether first-time buyers actually access the market at the average house price" pointed out that Shelter's research was based on median house prices in each region.
On the issue of applying a 20% discount in perpetuity, Mr Lewis noted that this would cause problems accessing financing from mortgage lenders because "neither the mortgage company nor the property owner can ever realise 100% of the property's value, which means that, at the point of taking out the mortgage, someone is effectively taking out a 100% mortgage." He said that discounts in perpetuity would act as a disincentive to those buying as they will not benefit from the uplift in value "in the same way someone who acquires their home through right to buy".
Mr Lewis expanded on the research and thinking behind the 20% discount highlighting that "we have examined affordability of homes for those who are currently in the private rented sector. If they were to buy in the lower quartile of the first-time buyer market, outside of London, up to 64% of households currently renting privately would be able to secure a mortgage on a typical starter home, compared with just 50% who could buy a similar property now at full market value." Mr Lewis continued that these figures "demonstrate that starter homes at a 20% discount will provide a genuine opportunity for home ownership for many more households"
Speaking to an amendment that would introduce a local connection test criteria to the allocation of starter homes to those under 40, Dr Blackman-Woods said "the criteria would ensure that, in the first instance, starter homes would be made available to first-time buyers who are under the age of 40 and who are, crucially, living or working in the local area."
In his response, Mr Lewis said "[the Government] will be seeking views shortly on whether local planning authorities should have the flexibility to introduce a local connection test for starter homes being developed through that route where there is a clear justification for such a test as part of our forthcoming consultation on changes to national planning policy to support starter home delivery." This is something the NHC will keep track of and solicit member's views on.
Right to Buy: Exempted Properties
The Opposition proposed an amendment, which picked up on a lot of concerns the NHC have heard, that would exempt supported housing for older people, supported housing units, key worker housing, units in regeneration schemes, rural settlements, homes built for charitable purposes, cooperative housing, ALMOs and almhouses from the Right to Buy provisions in the Bill.
Speaking to the amendment, Gareth Thomas, Labour MP for Harrow West, noted his concerns about "the lack of information about right to buy" currently available and that the NHF voluntary agreement said "the Government and the National Housing Federation and its members would work together on the implementation of an agreement and an operational document would be published. To date I can find no evidence of that operational document having been published". He asked the Minister for clarification of this.
He noted that he proposed the amendment because "we do not know whether sheltered and specialist housing are excluded, or whether in the context of amendment 146 other forms of housing will be excluded in line with the original offer document". Kevin Hollinrake, MP for Thirsk and Malton, in an intervention, said "that the agreement allows housing associations to protect the affordable homes they own that would be difficult to replace, for example, specialist housing or homes in rural areas" and asked Mr Thomas if that did not allay his concerns.
Mr Thomas noted that "the National Housing Federation committed that, where a property was excluded from a sale but a tenant wanted to buy it, housing associations would have to offer an alternative property for sale" but expressed concerns raised by some specialist providers who failed to see why a portable discount should be given to people who are in the most suitable housing for them at the current time with the support that they need.
Responding, Brandon Lewis noted "we have spent [most] of the time listening to the Opposition speaking against home ownership. They want to stop people having the chance to own their own home and have tabled amendments to that effect". Addressing the exemptions sought, Mr Lewis said "we have negotiated with the sector, and housing associations have discretion about whether to sell those types of properties. I think that that is a reasonable and proportionate response to concerns about the loss of such properties, and it ensures that it is housing associations themselves that make decisions about what is better for their organisation and, most importantly, for the communities and tenants they work with and support."
Intervening on the Minister, Roberta Blackman-Woods asked "will the Minister explain to the Committee why it is not a controlling mechanism to force housing associations to sell right-to-buy stock when they do not wish to do so, but it is a controlling mechanism to try to include important exemptions, across the whole sector, in the Bill?" Mr Lewis responded that "she and the Labour party simply do not understand that the housing associations themselves want to extend the right to buy. This is a voluntary agreement that the sector put to the Government, which we accepted. The amendments suggest that Opposition Members do not trust housing associations to protect their own clients." The amendment was voted on and it was agreed the amendment would not stand part of the Bill.
Right to Buy: Compensation
Proposing her amendment that would ensure housing associations were fully compensated for right-to-buy sales with full value replacement taking into account the discount applied for right to buy and new build costs, Roberta Blackman-Woods said "housing associations say that they have concerns about whether they would be able to rebuild on a like-for-like basis homes lost through the right to buy, not only because of the provisions of the Bill but because of the impact on housing associations of the cuts to rents"
Responding, the Housing Minister said that the Government "have been very clear that we will compensate housing associations for the cost of the discount based on full market value as determined by the open market" and that the clauses relating to this in the Bill "are drafted in a way that ensures that the Secretary of State is able to pay in grant to the housing association the amount of the discount once it has been calculated appropriately". He reiterated that "as per the agreement, we will match up with our part of the deal to provide the full market value and cover the discount. Some housing associations have made it quite clear that they believe they will be able to build more than one extra home for every home sold."
Right to Buy: Type and Tenure of Replacement Properties
The Opposition proposed an amendment that would ensure that any new property built as a like-for-like replacement for one sold under the Right to Buy would be "of the same tenure as the original stock, located in the same local authority area and in line with assessed local housing need. We understand that the agreement is voluntary, and we understand what discretion means, but we want to discuss whether the Bill requires additional safeguards."
Responding to this, the Housing Minister said this "would require housing associations to adhere to strict rules when replacing property sold under the voluntary right to buy and, indeed, building those extra homes we all want, including rules on how much can be spent and the type, tenure and location of the properties. That strikes me as the worst kind of command and control, "Westminster knows best" approach." He continued that "We have ensured through the deal with the sector that decisions are made at the most appropriate level by professional organisations that we trust. Nationally, we have ensured that for every home sold under the deal, one extra new home will be built, thereby doubling housing supply. What type of home and where it should be are decisions that will and should be taken by housing associations in the light of local conditions and need, which are covered in local plans. That is what true localism means"
Right to Buy: Ten Year Moratorium on Buy to Let Conversion
Introducing her amendment, Dr Blackman-Woods said "the amendment seeks to address some of the concerns about houses subject to the right to buy soon being turned into private rented properties" and quoted a report from the Communities and Local Government Committee which noted "a considerable proportion of RTB stock has now been 'recycled' into the private rented sector, especially in recent years. The pace of growth of private renting in the RTB resale sector may affect the demographics, dynamics and stability of some neighbourhoods." She also noted that such practices lead to higher housing benefit expenditure and equals additional costs to local authorities of £3.2m.
Responding, Brandon Lewis noted that the Government "are alive to the concerns about the fact that more and more homes are being bought as buy to lets, which is why … in the spending review the Chancellor introduced a new rate of stamp duty that is 3% higher for the purchase of buy to lets." He said that "tenants who bought their home under the voluntary right-to-buy scheme used the freedom available to all other home owners, including those who used the existing right-to-buy scheme under previous Governments, both Labour and Conservative. That scheme contains no restriction on letting, so it would be unfair to impose one on housing association tenants. A restriction on reselling or letting their home would limit their ability to move for work or family reasons". With this, the amendment was withdrawn.
Right to Buy: Portability
Introducing a set of amendments regarding portability of the right to buy discount, Dr Blackman-Woods said that "the amendment is designed to ensure that the portability provisions that go alongside the so-called voluntary agreement with housing associations have been properly thought through, so that offers made can be delivered by the housing associations within a reasonable timescale." She continued that "the issue of portability is very much on the minds of housing associations, as evidenced by their contributions to the Communities and Local Government Committee's inquiry into right to buy"
The amendment's thrust as a probing amendment was clear. Dr Blackman-Woods asked "if a housing association's stock is very limited because a lot of its stock is exempt from the right to buy provisions, it might be difficult for that housing association to offer portability." She went on to note "that prompts a number of questions for the Minister. Will there be exemptions from the portability policy? Will housing associations always have to offer full portability? How many offers of portability will housing associations have to make, and in what circumstances? What is the timescale? Are there any restrictions that will enable the scheme to be more workable for housing associations with limited stock? For example, will the scheme expire after a certain period? Is there a different test of the reasonableness of an offer if a housing association has very limited stock?"
She also referred to one amendment that homes offered under portability would be (a) a similar size, (b) of similar or better quality, (c) in the same area which the property with the portable discount is sold and (d) subject to an appeal mechanism.
In his remarks, Mr Lewis noted the amendments "would limit the portability of discounts offered under the voluntary right to buy to cases where this was practical in terms of availability of suitable properties for sale and of the vacancy timescales" and the other amendment in the group would "require properties offered with a portable discount to be in an area agreed with the tenant, of a similar size and quality, and for there to be an appeal mechanism. From the comments made before we broke to vote, it was clear that the Opposition were trying to put into legislation arrangements that we have negotiated in a voluntary deal with the sector"
Responding to Ms Blackman-Woods's amendments, Mr Lewis answered that "housing associations have made it clear that they agree, as part of the deal, that where a housing association exercises its discretion not to sell a home, the housing association will provide an alternative from its own stock" On the topic of the appeal process, he noted that "housing associations have agreed in the deal that there will be a proposal for an appeal mechanism where a tenant is not happy with the alternative property on offer".
On the topic of a home of similar size, he noted that the amendment "seeks to limit the type of property that can be offered to tenants under portability arrangements and again seems to limit the opportunities of tenants to own their own home. What about tenants who have an expanding family and need larger accommodation, or are looking to downsize as the family moves away, or to make home ownership more affordable? We do not agree with the Opposition's insistence on imposing unfair and unnecessary restrictions on them"
In her closing remarks, Dr Blackman-Woods said "I am not sure that we have much more light on how portability will operate in practice. Perhaps the Minister would reflect on that in the coming weeks and we will get some more information from housing associations" and withdrew her amendment.
High Value Council Properties
High Value Council Property: Local Authority Payments
In proposing her amendment, Dr Blackman-Woods noted that the policy of making councils sell their high value properties to fund the expanded Right to Buy scheme "is seen out in the real world largely as the forced sale of council housing." She began by saying "[the Opposition] have many concerns about how such homes will be replaced, and about how the Government will estimate the income that they will require local authorities to pay."
She continued that "We already know that the Minister has no definite information about the number of high-value housing units that will become vacant in the coming years. We know that because we do not know how much high-value housing there is. It is difficult to determine how much high-value housing will become vacant if we do not know how much high-value housing there is in the first place."
She questioned whether "the numbers of vacant properties that come forward will be much more limited than the Minister has perhaps estimated" and noted that this would mean "that payments to the Secretary of State may in fact be higher than the total grant paid in that year to private registered providers in respect of right-to-buy discounts"
In summarising her remarks, she noted that "Savills, the property adviser, estimates that the Government are likely to raise only £3.2 billion a year from 5,500 council home sales. Savills says that that is well below the projection made by the Conservative party of £4.5 billion in receipts a year from 15,000 sales. As we can see, that is quite a discrepancy in terms not only of the numbers of homes that will become available under the clause, but of the amount of money that will be raised"
Responding, Mr Lewis said "We have made it clear from the outset with the publication of our manifesto that two intentions underpin the sale of high-value assets. The first is to ensure that local authorities make more efficient use of their stock, and that in doing so they free up resources to deliver additional homes. The second is to support home ownership through the use of a proportion of the receipt in funding the discount for the right to buy for housing association tenants."
On the practicalities of the valuation of local authority stock, he said that the Government "are engaging with local authorities and are in the process of updating data that will be used to help inform the high value threshold. That in itself will also determine how much individual councils will need to pay. That data collection includes information on the vacant possession market value of the stock that each local authority holds. We are also updating the market value survey."
HVCP: Housing to be taken into Account
In her amendment regarding the kind of housing to be taken into account, Dr Blackman-Woods said "the amendment seeks to elicit, if possible, some information from the Minister about how stock transfers will be dealt with. We are keen to know, when there is a large voluntary transfer of council stock to a housing association, at what stage those properties will no longer be deemed to be council housing and therefore subject to the forced sale of high-value stock. If they are deemed to be council stock, how long will that be for? The amendment seeks to probe whether the Minister has any thoughts whatever on this. Is a five-year period reasonable? Should it be lower or higher than five years? Should it be there at all?"
In his response, the Housing Minister said "it is right that the Secretary of State should be able to continue to take into account housing stock that has been subject to transfer when determining the payment to be made by local authorities. We need to ensure that local authorities do not attempt to avoid selling their vacant high-value housing by selling it to a new provider. When there is a need for more housing, it is vital that we unlock the value of vacant high-value houses in order to fund the building of the additional homes we can give people the chance to live in"
He concluded that "However, I reassure the hon. Lady that I will consider, on a case-by-case basis, the implications that the chapter will have for possible stock transfers".
Reducing Social Housing Regulation
Responding to a probing amendment from the Opposition about how he intends to reduce social housing regulation, the Housing Minister said "I intend to introduce a package of measures on Report. The ONS announced the reclassification decision on 30 October, which has not yet given us the time to carefully work through a package in time for the Committee. In making these changes, I also want the regulatory system to continue to ensure the good governance and financial viability of the sector, thereby retaining confidence for lenders. At the same time, the changes will free housing associations to manage their businesses and stock more efficiently."
Pay to Stay
Pay to Stay – Exemptions
Amendments proposed by the Opposition around exemptions for the pay to stay measures contained within the Bill sought to exclude over 65s; the disabled, those in seasonal employment, those in receipt of ESA, carers, those in supported housing and those in receipt of housing benefit from the proposals. Roberta Blackman-Woods noted that the Opposition's position is very much that the system in place at the moment, with a national framework for rent setting that gives discretion to housing associations and local authorities to charge higher rents should they wish to, and to set rents at a level that makes sense for them, including for tenants with an income of more than £60,000, is the right approach."
She continued that "this part of the Bill sets up a whole new bureaucracy and a whole new quango, and greatly adds to the administrative burdens on not only housing associations but local authorities, which is extraordinary given that they are having their budgets cut so substantially". She strongly criticised the centralising aspects of the Bill lamenting that it gave unprecedented powers to the Secretary of State over rent setting policies.
Dr Blackman-Woods noted that people were still waiting for "regulations from the Secretary of State to find out how income will be taken into account, so we are not even sure at the moment what time period the £30,000 threshold will apply to".
In his remarks on the Bill, Stuart Jackson, Conservative MP for Peterborough, noted that "Until recently … Peterborough had the second lowest house price increase—Nottingham had the lowest. The point is that the difference between market and social rent is negligible, to all intents and purposes". In an intervention, Peter Dowd, Labour MP for Bootle, remarked that "if the difference between the two markets is so negligible, what is the point of putting such significant administrative burdens on local authorities, whose budgets have been cut so dramatically—by up to 50%? What is the point of or rationale for the proposal?". Noting concerns from some Opposition MPs about fundamental changes to areas, Mr Jackson said that, as a result of the policy, he hoped that "a mix of shared equity, social rent, starter homes and owner-occupation will happen across the country organically as a result of the process."
Matthew Pennycook, Labour MP for Greenwich and Woolwich, said in his remarks that references to "taxpayer subsidised housing" were "erroneous" as "since the abolition of housing revenue account subsidy and the move to self-financing in April 2012, housing revenue accounts have brought in an overall surplus to the Exchequer. Councils and HRAs can set lower rents because of the subsidy gained in previous years"
Responding for the Government, Marcus Jones MP, said that "[the Government] are giving careful thought to how the policy should treat certain benefits, including the state pension, housing benefit, and employment and support allowance. With regard to carers, as I said before, exemptions can be made and we will consider carers carefully. We recognise that, in certain circumstances, exemptions may well be needed, and we are thinking through that process carefully. We will provide more detail as we approach the making of the regulations and will continue to engage with the sector as we develop the policy."
Pay to Stay – Tapers
Reiterating that the amendments to do with tapers were probing amendments, Dr Blackman-Woods they "are intended to elicit more information about how the Government think rents should be set and what degree of prescription the Secretary of State will exercise through regulations on how rents should apply in practice". She noted that there were still no details of the scheme published and that the Opposition were "working in the dark because so little information is available".
In an intervention, Maria Caulfield, Conservative MP for Lewes, said "a nurse on a starting salary earns £21,000, and it is not fair that they have to pay private market rents if they are in the private rented sector, yet in social housing, people with a household income of £30,000 are paying a subsidised rent that is much lower. We should be helping key workers such as nurses, policemen and teachers. The system is currently not fair." Dr Blackman-Woods responded "It is extraordinary to suggest that the way of dealing with private sector rents that are too high is to make rents much higher in the social sector whether or not people can afford them. If the hon. Member for Lewes thinks that households with an income of £30,000 can pay double their current rent, she has not been reading some of the cases that have been sent"
Referring to the mechanics of the taper, the Opposition spokesperson quoted from a briefing received by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation which said "the threshold at which 'high income' is reached will be…important." It also says that its research shows "that this proposed threshold may be too blunt to accurately reflect the differing needs of households. Each year, we ask members of the public to help us define a Minimum Income Standard, showing how much money people need, so that they can buy things that members of the public think that everyone in the UK should be able to afford. The results of this exercise for 2015 show that a couple with two children would need to earn at least £20,000 each to achieve a basic standard of living." She noted that the policy, as it stood, was significantly less than that.
Responding for the Government, Marcus Jones noted that any tapers based on local conditions would be "complex" and "confusing for tenants" before stating that "out approach is clear, consistent and based on a set of simple principles". He added that the Government would bring forward further detail of how the taper system will work "at later stages of the Bill". Continuing his remarks on the amendments proposed, he said that the Government had no plans to base the pay to stay system on the condition of properties as proposed by the Opposition's probing amendment.
Referring to the amendments made by the Opposition regarding the taper system as "laudable", Mr Jones noted that the wishes of the amendments were being delivered in the policy as proposed. He continued that "affordable housing should, wherever possible, be provided alongside market housing. However, where that affordable housing is occupied by households on higher incomes, it is not in the interest of cohesive communities that they should continue to benefit from reduced rents. Amendment 206 seeks to ensure that rents are set at an affordable level. For that reason, we have consulted on graduated and tapered approaches"
Pay to Stay – Notice Period
The Opposition's next amendment would introduce a notice period for tenants deemed to have a high income to enable them to relocate or move into other employment to increase their income. Commenting on this, Roberta Blackman-Woods said "we think that without a notice period, because tenants will not have budgeted for a huge increase in rent, they will find themselves increasingly in debt, and if we are not careful that indebtedness could lead to families becoming homeless"
In his response, Marcus Jones MP, said that "the policy should be communicated effectively to all tenants and landlords, and we will clearly set out how the process for rent setting will work. It is very likely that guidance will be a feature, as provided for under the powers in the Bill. The policy is not due to be implemented until 1 April 2017 and engagement with landlords and tenants in the run-up to that date will be a key feature of our plans."
Pay to Stay – Meaning of High Income
Speaking about the 'grave concerns' about how high incomes will be determined, Dr Blackman-Woods said that "outside Parliament, or outside a section of Parliament, it is hard to find anyone at all who thinks that the new minimum income set by the Chancellor is in fact a high income.". She said that it was 'ludicrous' and "makes no sense to most people to have "high income" determined by the minimum level of income in the country"
One suggestion from the Opposition sought to tie high incomes to the higher quartile of incomes or relate the definition to what is happening to earnings locally. Speaking more widely about the impact of the policy, she said "the lack of a cost-benefit analysis of the scheme is very unhelpful, because we would otherwise have those figures. We would know how much money is likely to be spent on housing benefit, how much it would take to administer the scheme and whether it was worth putting so many families through this extraordinarily damaging series of events"
In his response, Marcus Jones raised the recent data from the English Housing Survey that showed that median household income is £26,000 which is substantially below the prudent threshold set by the Government, He added that "using household income is the fairest way of defining high-income social tenants, as it ensures that those who contribute financially to a household also contribute financially to a fairer rent. However, we intend to take a proportionate approach by specifying that only the income of the two main breadwinners will be taken into account."
Local Authority Payments
Referring to the "really problematic" provisions within the Housing and Planning Bill around payments to be made by local authorities, Dr Blackman-Woods noted that "as yet, the Government have made no estimate of the amount of day-to-day income. They are not able to furnish us with any estimates of the income to be raised or the expenditure necessary to make the scheme function, but … somehow, on some basis that we do not know at the moment, there will be an estimate of rental income. Presumably, local housing authorities will then make a payment to the Secretary of State in respect of any estimated increase"
In his response, Marcus Jones said that the Government "[were] aware of the views that external rental income should be retained by local authorities, although that is not the approach that we will take, as the money has been clearly identified as a contribution towards the national deficit reduction programme. We have of course proposed allowing local authorities to retain a proportion of the money received to cover administration of the scheme. We are considering consulting on the responses on this question, but we are still minded to make this allowance a feature of policy."
On the issue of local authorities paying out increases in rental income rather than an estimated amount, the Under-Secretary noted that he was "well aware of local authorities' strong preference for an approach based on actual increases in rental income." He assured Opposition members that "the preference of Government is also to base payments on actual increases."
The next stage of the Bill is Third Reading whereby MPs from all parties can debate the changes (if any) made to a Bill at Committee Stage and propose further amendments.
If you have any questions or feedback about this briefing, or would like to work with NHC on the Housing and Planning Bill 2015 as it progresses through the House of Commons, please email callum.smith@northern-consortium.org.uk.
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© Northern Housing Consortium 2015
Housing and Planning Bill – Second Reading Delivering Social Value In Harder Times


Bits of Torah Truths, The Covenant – Repentance Series, Introduction Part 4, Is the Torah still Binding?
Studying the Scriptures in both the English and the Hebrew languages, the major premise that tends to come forth (from the Hebrew Scriptures) based upon the teachings in the Tanach and the Apostolic Writings is that the Torah is still binding and that Hashem, did not intend for Yeshua's appearance to render irrelevant the message of the Torah but is in fact a part of the message of the gospel which is to walk in righteousness, holiness, justice, and truth, and to seek the Lord God of Israel all the days of our lives. These instructions do remain valid for us today taking the peshat (simple) reading of the biblical texts in contrast to what modern theologies teach. Modern theologies would have us believe the Apostolic Writings supersede the Torah. The Apostolic Writings however are in fact a first century commentary on the Torah as a way of life. The majority of Christian denominations however subscribe to some version of replacement theology, that the church has replaced Israel, and that the New Covenant has replaced the Old.
Today we live in information overload, where there is unprecedented access to the Rabbinic texts, and to ideas which for the modern church goer are foreign. This explosion of information and accessibility to information has helped to facilitate this Jewish mode of appropriation and application of the Scriptures in our lives. Take for example, some 30 years ago, a non-Jewish non-academic student learning Talmud would have been difficult to fathom. Today however we find many followers learning about the weekly Torah portion from popular Web portals such as aish.com and chabad.org. For some believers who are trying to connect to the God of Israel and to Yeshua the Messiah, the answer is to live like a Jew. This approach comes as a consequence of studying God's Word and taking seriously the 5 books of Moshe and considering the following questions. "How does the church understand the application of Torah today?" Note how in Part 3 we looked at this in relation to the parallel to the pagan nations. Additional questions we can ask are, "Was the Torah something temporary until the coming of the Messiah Yeshua?" And "Why are these Scriptures not applicable today?" An example may be found in the book of Devarim / Deuteronomy 12:28? Modern translations are discordant on these questions. For example, Galatians 3:24 appears to state contradictory interpretations on the Greek text according to Paul while examining the various English translations New Living Translation (NLT) and the NIV as compared to the NASB.
Looking at these translations illustrates the significance on how important it is in choosing an English translation, because modern theology has deeply effected the biblical translators. The the NLT translation states that the law "was" our guardian "until" Christ came speaking of something that has passed. The NIV also states this in a similar way. The NASB however states the Law "has become" a tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. Note how according to the NASB the Torah is a means for guidance in righteous living, and for directing us to the Messiah and is to be lived out by faith. This leads us to conclude that the choice of translation of the bible has serious implications for our understanding the Scriptures in relation to our understanding on the application of Torah for our lives. The Messiah Yeshua opened up access to the Torah as it is to be performed by faith and not out of route to earn merit of our own accord. In regard to the validity of Torah for our lives today, take for example the following statements from the book of Deuteronomy.
This is the significance of the Torah, to keep us on the straight and narrow path, and to test what people say whether it is from the Lord God of Israel or not. Might this had been what happened when the early church left the study of the Torah and believed only in the signs and wonders of the God of Israel because of the power of the Name of Yeshua? Note in Matthew 7, Yeshua speaks of the power of the Name in the midst of a people who thought they were saved but in the end were workers of iniquity. Did the church's leaving the understanding of Scripture from a Torah perspective the natural by-product of the rabid anti-Semitism we see in history and even today? If we do not take a Torah perspective that was established from the beginning, an Israel centric understanding of Salvation that is brought by the God of Israel to all the nations of the earth (Isaiah 2), then what we find is the gradual development of replacement theology which leads to the natural conclusion of anti-Semitism!
The writer argued that "only the Christian could make sense of the Bible." The "carnal Jews," with their "earthly mind-set," had failed to recognize the hidden message of their own Scriptures, and as a result, had eternally forfeited their entitlement to the covenant promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
I have endeavored to show that the Jews…departed from God and lost God's favor… while the Christians succeeded to their place, deserving well of the Lord by faith, and coming out of all nations and from the whole world. We Christians when we pray, say "Our Father" because He has begun to be ours, and has ceased to be the Father of the Jews, who have forsaken Him.
Based upon these few sources, the anger and hatred of the Jewish rejection of Yeshua has led to a great animosity against the Torah and obedience to the commands. As a result of centuries of believing the Jews have departed from God and His favor, we find today a modern theology that has impacted the minds of many believers, such as the doctrine of Dispensationalism. If you take an objective view of the doctrine of dispensationalism and speak to many people concerning this doctrine, based upon my past experience, the consequences of a dispensationalist view may be summarized in the following way.
The faith of men previous to Yeshua was some how deficient.
Here again as we find in the English translations of the Scriptures, there is a discordance amongst denominations on the interpretations of dispensationalism. Dispensationalism is a religious interpretive system for the Bible. It considers Biblical history as divided deliberately by God into defined periods or ages to each of which God has allotted distinctive administrative principles. According to dispensationalist interpretation, each age of the plan of God is therefore administered in a certain way, and humanity is held responsible as a steward during each particular time frame he finds himself living in. Throughout Scripture, God revealed Himself and His truth to humanity in a different ways. Humanity is therefore held responsible to conform to that revelation. If humanity rebels and fails the test, the Lord God judges humanity and introduces a new period of probation under a new administration. Note the inherent "works based" interpretation on the consequences of God's judgment on mankind which leads to the "faith alone" theology.
One of the most important underlying theological concepts for dispensationalism is the idea of progressive revelation. While some non-dispensationalists start with progressive revelation in the New Testament and refer this revelation back into the Old Testament, dispensationalists begin with progressive revelation in the Old Testament and read forward in a historical sense. The most significant aspect of dispensationalist doctrine is that the Biblical covenants are associated with the dispensations under which the Biblical covenants are compared and contrasted. In addition to the comparison and contrast of the Biblical covenants, the promises of God that are found within the covenants, dispensationalism places a particular emphasis upon to whom these promises were written. This has resulted in certain fundamental dispensational beliefs, such as making a distinction between Israel and the Church, and causing the Torah to be irrelevant for the believer today.
All dispensationalists profess a definite distinction between Israel and the Church. For dispensationalists, Israel is an ethnic nation consisting of Hebrews (Israelites), beginning with Abraham and continuing in existence to the present, and is not a part of the Gentile church. Dispensationalists do not understand the Gentile church as being grafted into Israel per Paul's words in Romans 11. Dispensationalists also believe the Church consists of all saved individuals in this "present dispensation" of which started at the "birth of the Church" in Acts (Pentacost), this is a topic we discussed at length in Part 1 of this series in ration to the "birth of the church" theology. Dispensationalism teaches a distinction between Israel and the Church but this is not always mutually exclusive, in the sense that there is a recognized overlap between the two in relation to "Jewish Christians," those who are ethnically Jewish and also have faith in Yeshua the Messiah, but these Jews must also have left (turned their backs upon) the Torah and Judaism. Classical dispensationalists refer to the present day Church as a "parenthesis" or temporary interlude in the progression of Israel's prophetic history and so this theology introduces something distinctly different based upon the history of the Bible that is not Israel centric. Progressive dispensationalism on the other hand "softens" the Church-Israel distinction by seeing some Old Testament promises as expanded by the New Testament to include the Church. However, progressives never view this expansion as replacing promises to its original audience, Israel.
Another consequence of the thousands of years of anti-Torah theology have resulted in Covenant Theology. Covenant Theology is the alternative opinion to dispensationalism which presupposes that God has one people Israel and the promises to Israel made in the Old Testament were fulfilled by Jesus Christ, the new Israel, where the Church is the "New Israel" and has become the new object of Abraham's hope. Dispensationalists criticize Covenant Theology as being identical with what they term "Replacement Theology" or Supersessionism, the concept that the Church has replaced Israel. However, in Covenant Theology, the church is not a replacement for the nation of Israel, the church is known as the "spiritual Israel." Many dispensationalists also hold to this interpretation, and this comes out of modern theologies as "we are Israel now," or "we are Jerusalem." If you hear a preacher teaching that he is teaching a theology and not a biblical truth. Covenant Theologians distinguish between Israel of the flesh (ethnic Hebrews) and Israel of the Spirit (the universal Church), which began with Adam and Eve and matured largely within ethnic Israel. Jewish Christians are included in this spiritual Israel and they must have had "converted" which is understood as having left Torah and Judaism. Covenant Theologians on the other hand also accuse Dispensationalism of replacement theology. The position of Covenant Theology on the relationship of the physical and spiritual Israel have classically used Romans 2:28-29 as a proof text, however, this is not necessarily a correct interpretation on Romans 2, as we discussed in Part 2, that at the heart of every gentile believer should be the heart of a Torah observant Jew. Dispensationalism rejects the notion of supersessionism, and still considers the Jewish people as God's chosen people, and sees the modern State of Israel as resulting in the Israel who will receive the fulfillment of all God's Old Testament promises, eventually, one day in the future, etc.
While studying the book of Romans, the central theme discussed at length in Romans 9-11, which has been ignored throughout most of Church history, is that in these last days, God is raising up thoughtful, Spirit-directed Gentiles who are heeding the call of God and His desire for Gentiles to reach out to Jewish people with Love and Power from a Torah based perspective. Gentiles from other nations who have embraced the present Torah movement by the calling of God's Spirit are also passionate about Jewish things, such as the Jewish Roots of our faith in Yeshua, and reaching out to Jewish people with the Gospel message.
Midrash Tehillim 100, Part 1 continues saying, "Thus, also in the verse The voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that will say, Give thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for His mercy endures forever, and of them that will bring offerings of thanksgiving into the house of the Lord (Jeremiah 33:11), Give thanks to the Lord is an enjoining of prayers of thanksgiving; while them that will bring offerings of thanksgiving is an enjoining of thank offerings." The basic premise is that within the context of God's powerful work in our life, we are able to give praise to Him and His ways, we bear the testimony of God in our lives His enabling power to be free from sin, and our sacrifice is in the manner in which we live our lives. We live our lives according to His will, and not according to our own will. The application of the Torah for our lives is summarized by Sforno according to his commentary on Bereshit / Genesis 49:1 Part 1.
בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים, at the end of the period allocated to life on earth as we know it. Yaakov speaks of the arrival of the Messiah which will signify the end of the existence of the nations that oppose G'd and the Kingdom of G'd on earth. At that time the measure of sin that these nations accumulate will be full to overflowing, so that G'd will feel at liberty to bring about the appropriate retribution. [the concept is as old as Avraham, to whom G'd explained that realization of his offspring disinheriting the Canaanites will have to await the time when the measure of sin of these people will be full. (Genesis 15:16). Ed.] Our author, drawing on various prophecies of the Books of Prophets to support his interpretation of באחרית הימים, "the end of days," quotes Jeremiah 46:28 "for I will make an end to all the nations among which I have banished you; but I will not make an end of you!" He also quotes Bileam's prophecy in Numbers 24:14 detailed in verse 17, in which he prophesies the doom befalling all the nations pre-eminent in his time and describes Israel as triumphant at that time. He adds that his prophecy is not one the fulfillment of which is imminent, but that much time will elapse before it will be realised. Similar prophecies are not only found in Michah 4,1 but even in our chapter when blessing Yehudah in verse 10, Yaakov speaks of the time frame he has in mind as the one when Shiloh will arrive, the one to whom nations will pay homage.
Sforno states that in the end times, his reference to the end times is to that of the arrival of the Messiah, will bring the end of the existence of the nations. This interpretation inherently speaks of being joined with Israel in the sense that the nations are those who are "other" than Israel. The measure of the sin of the nations will be overflowing, and the Lord will bring retribution upon these ungodly peoples. (Look at the NT parallel in 2 Thessalonians 1) The point is that in this time period, only those who are left are those who had joined themselves with the Lord God of Israel and with His Messiah as Jeremiah 46:28 states "for I will make an end to all the nations among which I have banished you; but I will not make an end of you!" speaking of His people. Indeed the Lord is good and He is looking out for His people, and has a plan for His people from the beginning. The question is, do you want to be a part of that plan? If so, join yourself with Yeshua the Messiah and with the Lord God of Israel today!
Previous articleTehillim / Psalms 99, ספר תהילים צט, Part 2, Crediting Righteousness to Yourself?
Parashat Yitro, Seeking and Listening to Wise Counsel.


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2019 Nuffield Scholars announced
The 2019 Nuffield scholars were announced on Tuesday 6th November at parliament by Hon Damien O'Connor Minister of Agriculture and Minister for Biosecurity, Food Safety, and Rural Communities. They are:
Ben Hancock
Ben was raised on his family's Wairarapa hill country sheep and beef cattle farm. He is now based in Wellington working for Beef + Lamb New Zealand as a senior analyst, still near the farm and often back home to work.
After working in research and conservation roles in New Zealand, USA and Panama, Ben completed his PhD investigating eco-system services. Ben worked for the Ministry for Primary Industries in biosecurity policy before joining Beef + Lamb New Zealand.
With New Zealand's agriculture export-focused, improving the diversity of markets can help to minimise volatility and maximise highest value outcomes. There are markets that have traditionally used sheep products that maybe under-utilised by New Zealand. Ben is interested in researching this during his scholarship.
Cam Henderson
Cam owns and operates a 750 cow dairy farm near Oxford, North Canterbury. With degrees in engineering and finance, he has worked in a range of dairy industry roles including time with Fonterra and DairyNZ.
Alongside overseeing farming operations, Cameron currently commits much of his time to the Waimakariri Zone Committee in setting local environmental limits and to representing farmers as North Canterbury Federated Farmers Provincial President.
"All farmers will benefit from adopting the latest innovative practices on the farm and encouraging others to do the same. The faster we can encourage farming to evolve, the less regulatory and public pressure we will have to endure". Finding the factors that increase the speed of innovation adoption among farmers is a key interest for Cameron.
A trainee in music, golf, snowboarding, flying and Te Reo, Cameron enjoys learning and giving anything a go.
Corrigan Sowman
Corrigan lives in the small rural community of Golden Bay with his wife Ruth Guthrie and their two sons Wylie (7) and Tim (5). He is a partner and manager of the family's dairy farming business alongside his parents and brother Sam. Corrigan is a graduate of Massey University with a Bachelor of Applied Science, was a former Consulting Officer with DairyNZ and Farm Consultant with FarmRight in Canterbury.
Alongside managing their 400ha dairy farming business, Corrigan has several off-farm roles. He is Chair and Independent Director of the South Island Dairy Development Centre (SIDDC) which operates the Lincoln University Dairy Farm. He is also Deputy Chair of the DairyNZ Dairy Environmental Leaders Forum, an initiative to foster and strengthen environmental stewardship and community leadership amongst New Zealand Dairy Farmers.
Farming practices that strengthen the integrity of the food produced is something Corrigan wants to better understand. "How can we give our farmers better market signals about the value they are creating in their production systems, especially inside a large cooperative?"
Hamish Marr
Hamish is a 41-year-old, 5th generation, an intensive arable farmer from Methven in the South Island. Hamish is married to Melanie and they have three daughters aged 8,5 and 3. Prior to a farming career, Hamish graduated Lincoln University with B COM Ag in 2000 and then spent 4 years with Ravensdown Fertiliser as a field officer based in Ashburton. With his brother and parents, they farm 500ha of arable crops specialising in small seeds.
Outside of farming and family, Hamish is involved in several industry organisations. He is also active within Federated farmers and represents the Herbage seed growers section in Mid Canterbury and within that on the management committee for the Seed Quality Merchants Association, a board that oversees the seed certification scheme on behalf of MPI. Hamish is also involved with the Foundation for Arable Research on the Mid Canterbury Arable Research Group and the Research and Development Advisory Committee. Outside of work he has become a council member on the Ashburton Scottish society representing the Ashburton Pipe Band.
Farmers over the years have become dependent on a vast array of synthetic agrichemicals as a means of controlling weeds, pests and diseases and as a result, increasing yields across the board but this is being challenged and Hamish hopes to study the regulation that is being introduced in Europe and the implications for NZ.
Hamish Murray
Hamish, wife Jessica, three children, Lucy (5) Margot (3) and Jonty (1) farm Bluff Station a 13000 ha High Country property in Marlborough. South Island NZ. He completed an agricultural degree at Lincoln University NZ, economics at Cambridge University (UK), and worked with the New Zealand Merino Company, before returning home to farm in 2008.
Hamish has been managing the farming operation including sheep, cattle and a recent diversification into beekeeping and honey production. He is also on the governance board for the Post Quake farming group helping with recovery from the November 16 Kaikoura Earthquake and a production science group for the New Zealand Merino Company.
Hamish has a real focus on people and relationships and is planning to investigate how the differences in environment, education and culture have shaped the values of our consumers and employees. Recognizing and understanding how these values have been formed and vary between culture and generations is key the success of our marketing efforts being a small export-led country. He aims to search out those organisations in our key export markets for wool, meat and honey which are engaging consumers and understand what is making them successful.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Laceby Village
DEAR RESIDENTS
OF LACEBY VILLAGE
Do we really need 100 more homes with 200 more cars driving through the village?
Laceby bypass opened at the start of 1963. Laceby was, at last, a peaceful village again.
IN AUGUST 1962, Sir Weston Cracroft Amcotts, then chairman of Lindsey County Council, fired a gun in the air to mark an important day in the history of Laceby.
It was the start of work on the village bypass. And for the village it heralded the end of traffic problems which had existed for more than 60 years, congestion being particularly bad on summer weekends. Even in the early 1890s there were problems, with a parish magazine recording the opening of the rectory gardens to local people so they could escape the thick dust being thrown up by cart traffic.
By 1938, the average number of vehicles which passed through the village was reported to total 3,300 a day. At weekends, counts of more than 1,000 an hour were recorded. Motorists found themselves caught up in a nightmare which was bad even by today's standards. For many years the road through Laceby was little more than a track. In 1920, it was taken over by Lindsey County Council from Grimsby District Council and was said to be in a sorry state being full of potholes. These were filled in and the authority decided to experiment with a new type of road covering – Tarmacadam. It was the first time that this had been used in the area. It was brought by rail to Grimsby and then laid out by contractors. But although an improvement, this was not the answer to Laceby's problems. Traffic continued to build up and was not helped by the road surface. In hot summer weather the tar would boil up, with the result that by the end of the summer the road would be smooth and shiny. By the 1950s traffic was increasing rapidly with an average of 8,700 vehicles a day by August 1961. Pre-war plans for a bypass were revised some 30 years after first drawings were made, the new road being further away from the village than had previously been envisaged. By 1958, preliminary work had been done and eventually the bypass opened at the start of 1963. Laceby was, at last, a peaceful village again.
Read more: http://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/Bygones-Peace-by... Follow us: @GrimsbyTel on Twitter | grimsbytel on Facebook
MORE HOMES; Opposing the proposed housing development,
MORE HOMES; Opposing the proposed housing development,
on land off Field Head Road, Laceby, are, from left, Jenny Griffiths, representing Charles Avenue and St Peter's Grove residents, Councillor David Hasthorpe, Conservative Wolds, and Brian Fragle, representing Field Head Road estate residents. Picture: Rick Byrne
LACEBY residents have raised concerns over how a proposed housing development is likely to impact on the village.
Brian Fragle, 68, of Elm Lane, got a letter through his door from Cofely about the potential site that aims to house over 150 homes on a plot of agricultural land.
But the letter was only distributed to certain affected households on Field Head Road, Yews Lane and Charles Avenue saying they had limited time to register their thoughts with North East Lincolnshire Council.
Therefore, Mr Fragle helped organise a community get-together where around 60 residents turned up to air their views – all were said to be against the development.
The parish council has already submitted their comments to the local authority in their role as a statutory consultee and have also made it clear that they do not support the application.
Mr Fragle said: "Most of the residents knew nothing about the development plans but they were determined to prevent it from going ahead.
The application is in two phases, 64 dwellings are planned on the Field Head Road end and 88 more on land adjoining Charles Avenue.
The construction is expected to be over a period of seven years, which brings about the issue of construction traffic before anyone even moves in.
Mr Fragle said key points mentioned in the meeting included:
Concerns about the maintenance of valuable agricultural land
Feelings that the village infrastructure cannot cope with this planning application, in addition to other developments in Laceby, namely 70 on Butt Lane and 100 on Blyth Way
Views that people have moved to Laceby to enjoy village life and don't wish to see it destroyed
Concerns that the increased traffic though the village and in particular Field Head Road will cause disruption and become dangerous.
Jenny Griffiths, of Charles Avenue, said: "It feels like the village could implode. I'm concerned for the quality of life of my neighbours and the added stress and congestion that will be on the village."
Councillor David Hasthorpe, who spent many years as a resident of Charles Avenue, said: "I'm supporting the residents. I know the area very well having grown up here back in the days when we were the new estate.
"The sheer amount of traffic that they will be trying to push through the bottleneck on Field Head Road is a recipe for disaster.
"Think about all the cars that will be coming through here and many of the new homes may have two vehicles too.
"With the queues that will no doubt develop with cars trying to get on to the dual carriageway, people will start going through the village instead which will cause problems.
"Does Laceby need 150 more houses on top of other sites? I think not."
Read more: http://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/Housing-plan-concerns/story-24083929-detail/story.html#ixzz3XzHYDHxl
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NEW HOMES: Developers presented a 3D plan
NEW HOMES: Developers presented a 3D plan
of a new 68-home development for Laceby to North East Lincolnshire Council's planning committee. Pictured are, from left: Richard Likupe, architect, Kevin Snape, director of Snape Properties Ltd, and Joe Snape, site manager.
LACEBY will be extended to the north by almost 70 new homes after plans for a new housing estate were passed.
The application from developer Snape Properties Ltd was approved by eight votes to two by North East Lincolnshire Council's Planning Committee.
The application includes 68 new homes on agricultural land that sits outside the village's settlement boundary. It includes a mix of detached, semi-detached and terraced houses as well as bungalows.
The developer has agreed to provide a new mini-roundabout on the corner of Butt Lane to provide better access, as well as to widen parts of the road.
A payment of £157,000 will also be paid to support primary schooling in Laceby.
The chamber was told that the land fell into the category of a "contingency" site as part of the plan to reach the borough's five year housing needs.
Architect Richard Likupe said the development would target the new workforce for the renewables sector on the Humber Bank.
He said feedback from local residents had been taken into account within the design
Councillor Philip Jackson (Con, Waltham) said he felt that transport infrastructure in Laceby had not kept up with the developments over the past ten to 15 years.
"We know road access is not particularly good and a number of the objections quite rightly raise the fact that there doesn't seem to be a strategic approach with regard to access," he said.
"My concern is that we are getting to a stage where we have an unsuitable highway network that is only being tinkered with."
Councillor Iain Colquhoun (Con, Waltham) also questioned the quality of access to the site.
He said: "It's not Butt Street or Butt Avenue; it's Butt Lane. Some people in this authority don't seem to pay much attention to the history in that this site has never been one that is easily opened up."
He criticised a "piecemeal approach" to traffic improvements.
And he questioned whether raised land being added at the west of the site would restrict noise from the nearby Sanscoe Kennels to the new houses.
"If it does go ahead we have to be prepared for a number of telephone calls," he said. "The owner of the kennels would be quite within their rights to say 'I told you so'."
Councillor Terry Thurogood (Lab, Croft Baker), said the new mini roundabout would help resolve a "longstanding issue".
But he warned: "It's an incursion into open countryside and one that we said we would restrict development on.
"But policies which were relevant back in 2003 need to be looked at again with regard to our housing needs."
Contact details for your Laceby Parish Councillors
None of these planning applications should be given the go ahead until some of Grimsby's eyesore's are built on:
None of these planning applications should be given the go ahead until some of Grimsby's eyesore's are built on:- this council only has money on its mind & not the wishes of the constituents. 10 people permitted to decide for a population of around 150'000. How long before Laceby, Ashby, Keelby, Waltham, Grimsby etc become one town??? We cannot continue sprawling into the countryside, this maybe agricultural land, however, it is STILL an unspoilt viewpoint of fields!
People of Lincolnshire, stand up & oppose these endless planning applications!!! This is YOUR home, dont let it become a concrete jungle!!!
Read more: http://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/70-new-homes-vil...
object now to planning application for 100 extra homes
Do we really need more cars driving down Laceby High Street adding to the already busy road?
Your Village Needs You NOW!!!!
VOTE AGAINST THIS DEVELOPMENT
Vote against Planning Applications for additional 100 houses in Butt Lane
Email the Prime Minister and Object to this Planning Application
https://email.number10.gov.uk/
Remember to Quote DM/335/14/OUT


text:
Public vs. Private
Private to Public and Public to Private
P.O. asks from Antioch, TN on April 26, 2011
Have you ever had to take your child out of private school and place them into public school for a certain reason or vice versa, take them from public and place them in private. What were your reasons for doing so, the pros and cons of each, your experiences, advice and recommendations. Thank you.
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answers from Sacramento on April 26, 2011
We had to go from an excellent private school to public school for financial reasons this year. I am trying to learn to love the public schools, but it's very hard. My children are literally numbers there. (No joke, I was shocked/appalled when I realized they have to write their "number" on their papers instead of their names! WTH?) I just don't feel like anyone cares if my kids succeed or not at the public school. The red-hot second I'm financially able, they're going back to private school. The level of education is immensely better, the environment is better (supportive parents, happy teachers, no discipline issues), and my kids were happier.
answers from San Francisco on April 26, 2011
I was in public school from k-8th grade and from 3rd to 8th was bussed to the best schools in the district. I went to a college-prep Catholic high school. I really loved the Catholic high school. Academically it was very challenging (though the top public high school that I would have gone to was and still is a top school in the state). What was different about the Catholic school was that I felt there were a lot of people who cared about me personally rather than simply as an academic achiever (which is how I got best from the worst to the best public school). While my high school was religious, many of the students were not Catholic or even Christian. I do not think this was a hardship for any of them...at least I never heard any of my non-Christian friends complain.
My two children now attend a very small, k-8 Catholic school and I love it. 15-18 kids per class, the families know each other, beautiful campus in the country and tuition that is low enough that we can afford it and that also allows for socio-economic diversity at the school.
Good luck making your decision.
L.K.
answers from Kansas City on April 26, 2011
Our son was in a public system through 5th grade, our daughter just kindergarten. We put them in a private school when they were starting 6th and 1st for a variety of reasons.
1) Our son had had problems off and on since 1st grade. Not a discipline problem, but lacked focus. We knew he would need small class sizes and more structure than what we were currently getting and doubted we would see in a public system.
2) We were looking at moving within the Kansas City area, but looking all over the city on both sides of the state line. Every time we liked a house my mother in law would ask what the schools were like. *Kansas City, Missouri public schools are some of the worst in the nation. We thought if we put the kids in a private school then it didn't matter where we ended up.
As it turned out we ended up on the Kansas side in one of the best school districts. By then we had already made the decision and said we'd give it at least a year. We've been there 10 years and it is the BEST decision we made and we wish we would have done it sooner! We wonder if our son would have had a different school experience if he would have had the same educational foundation our daughter did.
While our initial reasons were because of what I listed above, we found out it was really so much more, at least in our case.
Yes, our son did need more structure, which he got. Our daughter, who started in the private school in 1st grade would be very content to be a wall-flower and the smaller environment pulls her out of her shell. She is a sophomore this year and will be considered a lifer when she graduates which is a huge honor!
Our school does tend to teach 1-2 grade levels above the area public schools. I know this for 2 reasons. When our son started there in the 6th grade, he was a little behind. I asked his English teacher at the time if we needed to get a tutor and she said, no. When he got it, he got it! Plus, she was teaching these 6th graders what she used to each 8th graders in one of the area districts.
Another example is when my daughter was in 6th grade. She had a little boy in her class whose mother taught 8th grade science in another local district. Her son was learning the exact same thing she was teaching. Our science teacher helped that district set up their cirriculum. (spelling?)
They start with Spanish in pre-school. They actually switched to Spanish a few years ago, but my daughter started with French when she started there in 1st grade. She took French 1st through 5th. Switched to Spanish in 6th and picked French up again last year as a freshman now taking both.
In a smaller environment, in my opinion and from my experience, everyone from the board of trustees down to the janitors are accountable for what goes on! We get a directory every year where home numbers are listed and we are encouraged to call and communicate. And everyone really cares about the kids. I still get teachers who ask about my son who graduated 3 years ago.
Since it is a school that goes from pre-school through 12th grade, there is interaction between the little kids and big kids. The big kids know that they are role models and act accordingly. There are buddy-days once a month. A Spring Luncheon where graduating seniors adopt a kindergartner.
When I was in high school our college counselor was worthless. I still don't understand how he had a job! But our college counselor knows the kids! It's not about getting every kid into an Ivy League school. It's about getting every kid into a school that is a good fit for them.
Obviously, I could (have) gone on and on. Feel free to send me a private message if you want more specifics. *I kept my politically opinions out of here. ;)
answers from Eau Claire on April 26, 2011
My kids aren't old enough for school yet, but when I was younger my parents pulled me out of public school and put me into private in 5th grade. I Loved private school, in our area the private school is much better then the public schools IMO. I was getting into trouble in school til I went to the private school. I loved how the classes were so close, we were like one big family in a sense. I plan to send my girls to school there when it comes time. I transitioned easily into high school, as did my younger sister who went to private school from pre-school thru 8th.
I guess it really depends on the school, but I thought mine was great and I had experienced both so I'm judging from experience.
answers from Harrisburg on April 27, 2011
I see you're in Harrisburg...my kids were in a private school in Harrisburg. We moved my son to public school in the middle of 5th grade due to a problem we had with the school's administration. It was an incredibly hard decision for us and we certainly agonized over it. It's now 3 years later, and most days we're sure we've made the right decision. There are certainly pros and cons both places. The private school was small and our son is now @ finishing up middle school in CV school district...and will be moving to the huge high school next year. We've found most of the teachers in CV to be very approachable and very caring about the students. I think one key to making public school a success is being involved. I'm there every time they'll let me...whether it's to chaperone a field trip, or a party or whatever. The teachers and principal and front office staff know my name and face.
We moved our daughter from the same private school after her 3rd grade year. Her brother had been in public school for 1/2 a year and we let her choose.
There are many more opportunities in the public school than in the private one we left. My son made it to the regional spelling bee last year and was on the regional finals on tv. Both our kids are in the gifted program @ school, which gives them more academic opportunities. They have language choices now that they would never have had in their private school. My daughter is taking Algebra as a 6th grader (because math is her strong suit and she welcomes the challenge and it's available!) Next year in HS, my son will be taking an AP course + several honors classes as a freshman. He would not have had those opportunities in his previous school either. My daughter is in the band, and both were in the spring musical at their school. My son has participated in some sports.
If you ask our kids, they like the public school better. I'm not sure it's for the right reasons. They like it better b/c there are no uniforms and there's a hot lunch every day. We like being part of the community. When they were in private school, their school was 25 minutes away and some of their friends were on the other side of the school. One of my son's closest friends lived in Palmyra and it was difficult for us to get them together. Now the kids can hop on their bikes and get to their friends' houses or it's a short drive. Their private school was a religious one, and I personally miss the Bible and moral teaching they got there. That's certainly not happening in the public school. However, that's our job as parents to teach them - not really the school's.
It's a tough choice and you may find what works for one child may not work for another. Our son is more outgoing than our daughter and we were initially concerned about the class size in public school, but both our kids have transitioned well. I suppose it also depends on what district you live in. I haven't heard good things about Harrisburg city schools, but I know some of the suburban Harrisburg districts have good reputations.
If you have any more specific questions, please feel free to PM me.
answers from Pittsburgh on April 26, 2011
I haven't had to do this with our son, but did it as a child - was in private school until 6th grade (my parents were uber religious and thought this to be the only acceptable education), then public until 10th grade (because my father lost his job and private was no longer affordable), then private again for 1 year (because we moved to another state and there was a new private school opening up with all sorts of discounts) and public til the end (because the discounts ran out, haha).
Personally, I loved the public schools way more. With private: we had to get up an hour earlier because of the bussing situation, none of my friends in school were the same friends on my block, I always seemed to be getting in trouble and paddled (one time for making faces, but turns out I was squinting and needed glasses). Now, I'm sure things have changed drastically (not as much corporal punishment) and there are more private schools close to home where kids can have the same friends in school as in their neighborhoods. But, for me, public was where I excelled.
answers from Washington DC on April 26, 2011
We did public to private when the girls were starting 1st and 4th. For money reasons when we moved we did private to public in NC. THen I took two out of school altogether and now homeschool.
Pros for private
In the private school my girls did well.
They made very good friends and were accepted right away.
They had a smaller teacher to child ratio. In the 1st grade there was a teacher, an aide and a student teacher who was actually around 40.
The 2 5th and 2 4th grade classes shared the same aide.
THE teachers called me at home and the 1st and 2nd grade teachers called to talk to my daughter
They got a huge dose of grammar
Much better history education
more field trips
Bible and prayers in school and conservative christian education
organization of entire district preK through high school
I was encouraged to be part of the class family and help celebrate holidays and birthdays
Lots of healthy competition
math was too slow for my older daughter
had to drive the girls to the school, no bus
pros for public
no cost except for orchestra and swim team
higher math classes for my now junior
cons for pubic
class size, my kindergartner had a class of 25 with no aide
curriculum, my 8th grader was to read The Color Purple, in 9th required reading was The Bluest Eye, not appropriate
I was not allowed into the classroom even though my daughter was throwing up every day and peeing her pants
Teachers not calling me or letting me know there was a problem until report cards came out, in all public schools in 4 states
No birthdays, no Christmas, no Hannukkah, no Thanksgiving, no homemade goodies, no end of year bash, no academic awards, NO celebrations, hence no smiling
No discipline, or teachers using my child as the good example and she having to sit with the really rotten child to help him be a better citizen
Children treated as a number, they were given a number and that was used to check out books, buy lunch, call home from the office
My very anxious daughter was moved twice in 3rd and twice in 4th, not my doing, they decided she should be in dfferent classrooms, she had stomache aches and accidents daily in 4th grade.
Now I homeschool two of them and life is good.
If money weren't an option they would go to the Christian school, these two are not as far ahead as my older daughter and Calculus as a senior is fine for them.
answers from Allentown on April 27, 2011
I have not had to switch from one to the other as of yet. My 5 yo went to a private school for K because it was peanut/treenut free and she has a severe peanut allergy. However they don't have a 1st grade or above that is peanut/treenut free. So I have been researching other private schools as well as public and I can tell you what I have found out. The public school where you attend was a slight bit more open to trying to accommodate my daughter's allergy but not willing to go all the way. The public school had an okay curriculum, but nothing spectacular. They are free however, but there is no religious teaching at all. the private school was not as willing to accommodate an allergy and they are expensive. They had a better curriculum, but not so great a difference that I was impressed. The plus for me was they teach religion. Neither of these turned out to be good options for us. I then explored online public schools and homeschooling. Online public schools have a much better curriculum than either private or regular public schools, they are free and they provide everything for free(all materials as well as a computer and various other supplies), but even though they have online teachers you need to supervise the school work in the younger grades and they do not offer religious studies. However this option is great if money is tight and you want a great education for your kids. And then homeschooling, which has the best curricula of all as you can tailor it exactly to your child's needs, however again it can be expensive and/or it can require much more time. I have decided to go with either homeschooling or online public school, but I am leaning toward homeschooling in the younger grades and possibly going to an online school as the kids get older. I think the transition from private to homeschooling will be a bit easier than going to online public since I can make our school to be like the private school she went to. Anyway, those are just my thoughts, I am sure I might be able to offer more once we actually make the change next year.
I haven't done it yet, but there will be a time in the future when I have too, my 10 year old son, has been in private since kindergarten, he now is in 4th grade. The school as it stands right now is only up to 6th grade, but if the enrollment increases, can go up to 8th ( which I am really hoping for), anyways, if not, I will have to take him out by 6th grade, so he can have a year to adapt and make new friends, think it would be to tramatic, just to throw him into a jr high that is really big and not knowing anyone...
S.T.
i put my older one in private school because he was getting lost in the shuffle in middle school. his grades were fine and his teachers liked him, but i didn't like what i was seeing in terms of his attitude toward learning in general, and that his poor harassed overburdened teachers had a hard time remembering who this nice no-hassle kid was.
private school was a waste of time (no reflection on all private schools, just this one.) once again they really liked him (he's a likable fellow) but the work was so dumbed down that it was a cakewalk for him. i suspect they wanted parents to be ecstatic over the 'improvement' in grades that most kids got when they transferred in (so many kids went there due to problems) so they just barely bothered to challenge the kids at all.
so i got bottlenecked into homeschooling, which terrified me at first. best decision we ever made. i only wish i'd started it earlier.
khairete
G.B.
answers from Oklahoma City on April 29, 2011
Friends kids were in a private Christian school. The public school was so far behind that is was nearly a whole grade. My friends son didn't want to do any of the work because he had done it nearly 2 years before. It is really hard when they go from one to the other. It can't be back and forth. One change from one to the other is enough.
Catholic Versus Public School https://www.mamapedia.com/article/catholic-versus-public-school
Which School Would You Choose??? https://www.mamapedia.com/article/which-school-would-you-choose
Private Vs. Public Schools What Are the Differences? https://www.mamapedia.com/article/private-vs-public-schools-what-are-the-differences
Private or Publc School https://www.mamapedia.com/article/private-or-publc-school
Public or Private? https://www.mamapedia.com/article/public-or-private
Private vs Public https://www.mamapedia.com/article/private-vs-public
Public vs Private Schools https://www.mamapedia.com/article/public-vs-private-schools


The second of four next-generation GOES weather satellites, the stars of an $11 billion program to upgrade America's weather observation and forecasting infrastructure, was boosted into space Thursday by a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket.
The newest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite -- GOES-S -- lifted off from pad 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 5:02 p.m. EST (GMT-5), the opening of a two-hour window.
The towering 197-foot-tall rocket's Russian-built RD-180 first stage engine and four strap-on solid-fuel boosters ignited with a rush of fire, quickly pushing the Atlas 5 away from pad 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station atop 3.2 million pounds of thrust.
Arcing away to the east, the rocket put on a spectacular afternoon show for area residents and tourists, smoothly accelerating as it consumed its liquid oxygen and kerosene propellants and lost weight.
The strap-on boosters were jettisoned just under two minutes into flight and the RD-180 shut down as planned two-and-a-half minutes later. The rocket's Centaur second stage, powered by a hydrogen-fueled Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10C engine, then took over, driving the spacecraft into space.
Two more firings were needed over the next three hours to finish the job before the newest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite -- GOES-S -- could be released into an elliptical orbit with a high point of nearly 22,000 miles and a low point of 5,100 miles.
An on-board thruster will be used to put the weather station into a circular orbit 22,300 miles above the equator.
At that altitude, satellites take 24 hours to complete one orbit and appear stationary in the sky. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, positions its GOES weather stations for views of the eastern, central and western United States, providing hemispheric coverage.
GOES-16, originally GOES-R, is positioned above the equator at 75 degrees west longitude -- the GOES-East slot -- and covers the Eastern United States and the Atlantic Ocean all the way to western Africa.
GOES-S will be renamed GOES-17 after tests and checkout. It then will be maneuvered into the GOES-West position 22,300 miles above the equator at 137 degrees west longitude.
From there, it will provide fast, multi-spectral images of weather patterns affecting the Pacific Ocean as far west as New Zealand, including Hawaii, Alaska, Mexico, Central America and, of course, the western United States.
"The new satellite will augment observations over the Pacific Ocean and around mountain ranges where radar coverage is limited or blocked," said Joe Pica, a National Weather Service manager.
"Marine forecasts will improve with GOES-S high-resolution imagery as we see features in the atmosphere and ocean that previous instruments did not allow. Combining these images with rapid updates every 30 seconds will help us predict storm systems more accurately and in real time."
Together, the new satellites represent "a quantum leap" above previous space-based weather stations, forecasters say.
"Coupled with the use of our (Japanese) partners' advanced Himawari satellite, we are able to cover more than half of the planet with the most sophisticated weather forecast technology and observations ever flown in space," said Stephen Volz, director for satellite and information services at NOAA.
GOES-16 proved its value during a dramatic hurricane season in 2017, "proving to be a game-changer with much more refined, higher quality data for faster, more accurate weather forecasts, warnings and alerts," Volz said.
And that translates into lives saved.
NOAA is spending $11 billion to buy the GOES-R, S, T and U satellites, their rockets and launch services, along with major upgrades to ground systems and data analysis infrastructure. Each satellite is valued at around $500 million, not counting development costs.
The new satellites, known collectively as the GOES-R series, will be phased in over several years, taking over from three older-generation GOES spacecraft currently in orbit. GOES-T is expected to launch in the 2020 timeframe and GOES-U will follow suit around 2024.
Built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, the new GOES satellites feature an advanced high-resolution camera, a sensitive magnetometer, an ultraviolet X-ray sensor to measure solar radiation, an ultraviolet imager to constantly monitor the sun and sensors to measure charged particles from the sun that can affect communications and navigation.
The satellite also is equipped with a lightning mapper that can snap photos of lightning fields in the western hemisphere about 200 times a second.
"When it ... becomes operational later this year, GOES-S will see the west in true high-definition, and along with the remaining satellites in our GOES-R series, will extend the life of NOAA's geostationary satellite constellation through 2036," said Tim Walsh, acting director of NOAA's GOES-R program.
"These satellites are giving us the ability to look at storms as often as every 30 seconds, allowing forecasters to see storms as they're developing instead of as they've already happened."


text:
package org.apache.batik.css.engine.value.svg;

import org.apache.batik.css.engine.CSSEngine;
import org.apache.batik.css.engine.value.AbstractValueManager;
import org.apache.batik.css.engine.value.FloatValue;
import org.apache.batik.css.engine.value.Value;
import org.apache.batik.css.engine.value.ValueManager;
import org.apache.batik.util.SVGTypes;

import org.w3c.css.sac.LexicalUnit;
import org.w3c.dom.DOMException;
import org.w3c.dom.css.CSSPrimitiveValue;

/**
 * This class provides a manager for the '*-opacity' property values.
 *
 * @author Stephane Hillion
 * @version $Id$
 */
public class OpacityManager extends AbstractValueManager {

    /**
     * Whether the managed property is inherited.
     */
    protected boolean inherited;

    /**
     * The managed property name.
     */
    protected String property;

    /**
     * Creates a new OpacityManager.
     */
    public OpacityManager(String prop, boolean inherit) {
        property = prop;
        inherited = inherit;
    }

    /**
     * Implements {@link ValueManager#isInheritedProperty()}.
     */
    public boolean isInheritedProperty() {
	return inherited;
    }

    /**
     * Implements {@link ValueManager#isAnimatableProperty()}.
     */
    public boolean isAnimatableProperty() {
        return true;
    }

    /**
     * Implements {@link ValueManager#isAdditiveProperty()}.
     */
    public boolean isAdditiveProperty() {
        return true;
    }

    /**
     * Implements {@link ValueManager#getPropertyType()}.
     */
    public int getPropertyType() {
        return SVGTypes.TYPE_NUMBER_OR_INHERIT;
    }

    /**
     * Implements {@link ValueManager#getPropertyName()}.
     */
    public String getPropertyName() {
	return property;
    }

    /**
     * Implements {@link ValueManager#getDefaultValue()}.
     */
    public Value getDefaultValue() {
        return SVGValueConstants.NUMBER_1;
    }

    /**
     * Implements {@link ValueManager#createValue(LexicalUnit,CSSEngine)}.
     */
    public Value createValue(LexicalUnit lu, CSSEngine engine)
        throws DOMException {
	switch (lu.getLexicalUnitType()) {
	case LexicalUnit.SAC_INHERIT:
	    return SVGValueConstants.INHERIT_VALUE;

        case LexicalUnit.SAC_INTEGER:
            return new FloatValue(CSSPrimitiveValue.CSS_NUMBER,
                                  lu.getIntegerValue());

        case LexicalUnit.SAC_REAL:
            return new FloatValue(CSSPrimitiveValue.CSS_NUMBER,
                                  lu.getFloatValue());
        }
        throw createInvalidLexicalUnitDOMException(lu.getLexicalUnitType());
    }

    /**
     * Implements {@link ValueManager#createFloatValue(short,float)}.
     */
    public Value createFloatValue(short type, float floatValue)
        throws DOMException {
	if (type == CSSPrimitiveValue.CSS_NUMBER) {
	    return new FloatValue(type, floatValue);
	}
        throw createInvalidFloatTypeDOMException(type);
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
The Dermatologist
Conferences - Symposiums
Treatments / Therapies
PRP - Plasma
Scarlet - Fractional – RF
Needle Shaping
Thread-Lift
Fractional CO2
Localized Fat Deposits (Localized adiposity)
Carboxytheraphy
Clinical Dermatology
Sun protective clothing
Home / Treatment / Body treatments / Needle Shaping
LIFTING FROM THE FUTURE WITH NEEDLE SHAPING
Skin tightening is one of the most difficult anti-aging treatments. Sagging skin begins to appear after the age of 30-35. The skin begins to lose its elasticity, while collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid reduce, causing the skin to hang loosely and resulting in formation of wrinkles. Sagging becomes noticeable and visible after the age of 40. Of course, aging always depends on a person's life quality, smoking, stress, obesity, diet and exercise.
Non-surgical skin tightening procedures have been growing in popularity and are set to be the hottest anti-aging skincare trends, as they do not require anesthesia, stitches, operation, leave from work or a high cost. The most popular of them are PLEXR non-surgical blepharoplasty, non-surgical lifting with needle shaping and O.F.F. micro-lipolysis. Skin tightening is achieved through the needle shaping technique.
What is needle shaping? This procedure is a microsurgical technique that helps to increase the volume of lips, cheekbones, and other areas of volume loss in the face, without injecting of any substances. It has spectacular results in skin tightening in difficult body areas, such as the arms, inner thighs, knees, buttocks (along with a butt lift).
What do we need? Tiny acupuncture needles and a device called Vibrance. The device produces three types of electric current, which increases its effectiveness. During the procedure the patient does not feel any discomfort, except when applied in very sensitive body areas.
How is the technique performed? Acupuncture needles are placed in the face or body on the area being treated. Treatment means production of collagen and wrinkle filling or skin tightening without the help of any extra material, namely hyaluronic acid or threads. With the use of this technique we can make autologous threads; that is, threads made of our own collagen.
How it acts: With the help of acupuncture needles, collagen and elastin fibers can be wrapped, thus creating more tissue volume.
How it can be explained:
Our skin has several properties. One of these is viscosity or, in other words, viscoelasticity.
This means we can stretch it without tearing. For example, 10 cm of skin can be stretched to 15 cm of skin with no distortion. One such example is a pregnant woman whose belly skin, during pregnancy, expands to accommodate the fetus. In the case of needle shaping, we have a fiber micro transplant. Thus, we also have an increase in volume and formation of new collagen. The results are visible from the very first session.
A side effect is bruising in patients taking anticoagulants or fish oils. 4-6 sessions within 1-1.5 year to obtain a sustainable result and 1-2 sessions per year for maintenance will be required.
A: Leoforos Andrea Papandreou 61, Mastabas, Heraklion 713 05
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