The Good News as the Cabinet meeting started was that they bowed to pressure and reason and withdrew the proposal to consult on moving Cragg Vale school down to Calder High school. Not a good idea at all – the government seems likely to give the Council a substantial grant to do remedial work on Cragg Vale school building but the Council appeared to want to use some of it on Calder High school building (also in a bad state of repair needing a lot of work doing to it). But Cragg Vale school is a small, rural, community school that parents have chosen to educated their child. And that’s it, I’m pleased to say, Not quite the end of the story because it’s important that the work is done and the money spent on the school.

The Bad News was that charging for testing private water supplies was called “esoteric” by the (Labour) Cabinet member. Not for those 1,863 households that are dependent on it (including us). I reminded him that it’s stuff of life for us and that we have to pay for it all ourselves but they’ve gone ahead and increased the charges anyway (and reserved the right, apparently, for the Director to change the charges if need be).

A number of items were recommended to Council for approval including the Medium Term Financial Strategy. Exempt items included the Council’s scheme to enable children in care to “stay put” in their foster placements after they officially leave care at 18.