Ben Houchen touts Reform UK merger for 'sensible' party
PLUS: Care inspection backlog must be resolved
Hello and welcome to The Teesside Lead issue number 48.
Starting with the bad news - there is no Leigh Jones this week, who has been struck down with illness. I’m sure you’ll all join us in sending Tees Valley Combined Authority’s favourite investigative journalist your best wishes. Get well soon, Leigh!
The good news is that today’s edition is completely free in its entirety! And even in Leigh’s absence, we’re able to bring you the latest on Lord Houchen.
Ben Houchen brings up merger with Reform to ensure ‘centre-right’ party leads UK
By Luke Beardsworth
Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen has thrown his weight behind calls for the Tories to avoid the threat of irrelevance by merging with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
Houchen was unclear on how he believes any combined effort between the blue and different shade of blue parties would look but instead focused the prospect of any ‘sensible’ centre-right party leading the country.
He told Politico: “I don’t know whether it’s a merger … [or] a pact of trust and confidence or whatever … But if we want to make sure that there is a sensible centre-right party leading this country, then there is going to have to be a coming together of Reform and the Conservative party in some way.
“What that looks like is slightly above my pay grade at the moment.”
Reform UK would not be unreasonable to ask what was in it for them to merge with the Tories.
In the 2024 general election, Reform came second in Hartlepool, Newton Aycliffe & Spennymoor, Middlesbrough and Thornaby East and Stockton North, though they were expected to perform much better in Hartlepool especially.
Since then, Reform has enjoyed a strong swing in the polls, benefitting from the post-election dip in the polls for Labour to a considerably greater level than the official opposition party - Houchen’s Conservative Party.
Farage seemingly knows this, refusing any coalition with any party at national level when he gave a speech in Dover on Thursday and promised a new Minister for Deportations.
He did, however, show a willingness to work with any party at local government level ahead of the 2025 local elections that remain too close to call.
Houchen’s call was not echoed by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch who has said she was “very clear that there will be no pact”.
That view was not necessarily shared by her defeated leadership rival Robert Jenrick who was recorded making resoundingly similar comments to Houchen where he said he wished to unite a coalition on the right ‘one way or another’ - which he probably didn’t mean to sound as ominous as that.
Jenrick’s team later insisted his comments had been about “voters and not parties”.
Care backlog on Teesside must be tackled
By Stuart Arnold
A care watchdog has acknowledged it needs to increase the rate of inspections it carries out of care homes after a backlog was identified on Teesside.
The Care Quality Commission, a statutory body, said it was “working hard to improve how we operate” after criticism of the organisation.
Another organisation, the nationally accredited Care Inspections UK, which carries out independent inspections in the care sector, said its analysis showed that, as of February 6 this year, 74 care homes across Teesside had not been fully inspected by the CQC since the start of the coronavirus outbreak in 2020.
It said more than half of care homes in Redcar and Cleveland (52%) fell into this category, followed by almost 46% in Middlesbrough and 43% in Stockton.
A CQC spokeswoman said 102 inspection reports had been published covering care homes in the region in the past four years, while in some instances inspections may have taken place, but the results were yet to be published.
In total there are 144 care homes on Teesside that were registered prior to the pandemic, plus a further 29 in neighbouring Darlington, which was also included for the purposes of the research.
Dr Kevin Groombridge, the chief executive of Care Inspections UK, said: “The evident backlog in care home inspections is a serious concern for all – how can we be certain that our parents and grandparents are receiving quality care if nobody is checking?
“Of course, the vast majority of adult social care settings and their staff work incredibly hard to ensure that our loved ones are well looked after, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t need for continued audit, inspection and scrutiny.”
Dr Groombridge said the CQC was “fundamentally flawed”, adding: “Not only is it monumentally behind, but its metrics are skewed.
“It bases its ratings on subjective and biased opinions, rather than evidence and data and leaves care home operators out in the cold, offering criticism without support.
“Even when it carries out an inspection, the CQC can take up to four months to complete its report.
“It’s simply not good enough.”
Sir Julian Hartley, who joined the CQC as chief executive in December, previously told MPs the body had “lost its way” and an IT system it had rolled out last year was not fit for purpose.
Sir Julian, a former chief executive of NHS Providers, the membership organisation for NHS trusts in England, also said inspection teams employed by the CQC were doing reliable work, but the ratings used could not always be trusted.
Most of its assessment reports include an overall rating and there are four given to health and social care services: outstanding, good, requires improvement, and inadequate.
The Government has also acknowledged the need for “radical reform” after an independent review identified significant internal failings at the CQC.
The CQC has pledged changes, including a clear and transparent programme of assessment and ratings, simpler and clearer reports and a quicker, more effective registration and assessment of providers.
Asked to comment on the picture on Teesside, the spokeswoman said: “Each and every person is entitled to safe, high-quality care and where this is not happening we will take action to protect people.
“While we know many people are accessing good, safe care, it’s clear that is not always the case for too many others.
“We know that we need to increase our rate of inspections to make sure that we update the ratings of providers, minimise the number of unrated services, and give the public confidence in quality of care.
“It’s essential that when people share concerns with us they’re acted on appropriately and we will continue to push for improvements on how CQC listens and acts on this information.
“We are working hard to improve how we operate – making sure we have the right structure, processes and technology in place to help us fulfil our vital role of helping people get good care and supporting providers to improve.”