Who pays for Tour policing?

Since the tourism agency and the Government reached an agreement last month, in which Ministers agreed to provide £10m in funding, the impression has been one of an uneasy peace.

This, however, has now been interrupted by the intervention of North Yorkshire Police Commissioner Julia Mulligan, who complains that the cost of policing the event would leave her force with a bill of more than half-a-million pounds.

Of course, if her force was not consulted on policing costs, as Mrs Mulligan claims, she has a point. At a time when forces across the country are under intense pressure to cut their budgets, an unanticipated one-off cost like this is the last thing that is needed, particularly for a force such as North Yorkshire which has a much smaller budget than its more urban counterparts elsewhere in the region.

Indeed, bearing in mind the present austerity drive, it could be argued that, for an event such as this which should bring huge benefits to Britain, the Government should make extra money available to cover the general costs of policing.

However, bearing in mind the Government’s reluctance to underwrite an event which Ministers had wanted to be staged in Scotland rather than Yorkshire, it is unlikely that this will be forthcoming.

What is certain, however, is that, with the global spotlight firmly on Britain in the run-up to what should be a spectacular event bringing credit to the entire country, unseemly squabbling over costs simply cannot be allowed to continue to dominate the headlines.

Blight on the land

IT IS ironic that a project which in the long term is predicted to bring widespread economic benefit to the North is, for the moment, a cause of economic paralysis for many businesses.

However, because of the continuing uncertainties surrounding the high-speed rail project, and the enormous timescale envisaged for its planning and construction, this is the reality for those enterprises unfortunate enough to find themselves in the path of this mammoth scheme.

There is a world of difference between the grumbles of those householders in the South who are disgruntled at the very idea of a rail line coming anywhere near their properties and those in the direct path of HS2, facing the prospect of years of worry and financial uncertainty.

The many rural businesses affected cannot be expected to wait years while the fine details of the planning, design and construction of HS2 are worked out.

This is why there is merit in the suggestion by the Country Land and Business Association that a property bond scheme be introduced for those businesses on the proposed route from the Midlands to Leeds and Manchester, guaranteeing the value of those properties affected and allowing firms to operate with a far greater degree of financial certainty during the long wait for compulsory purchase.

In the long run, of course, there are grounds for the complete overhaul of the outdated scheme for compulsory purchase, to ensure much fairer deals for landowners caught in this type of situation. But the many businesses on the HS2 route that are already suffering from planning blight do not have the time to wait while such thorny matters are sorted out.

There is, quite simply, no time for any further delay. Businesses which were already fighting the after-effects of recession need as much help as possible if they are to continue operating and it is time that the Government provided this at least.

An unsure future

IN SPITE of pre-election promises to support the former Labour government’s Sure Start children’s centres, coalition Ministers have never been convinced of the scheme’s effectiveness in helping to give youngsters the best possible start in life.

The consequent uncertainty has seen funding for Sure Start gradually whittled away as local authorities search for more and more cuts, with the result that many centres have closed and a scheme originally open to all is becoming more and more confined to poorer children.

The conflicting evidence over how much good Sure Start actually does is one reason why the Commons Education Select Committee is conducting an inquiry into how effective the centres are in supporting parenting.

However, in spite of the lingering doubts, it is clear that, as representatives from this region told MPs yesterday, there are a great many cases in which Sure Start has been a big help in providing childcare, early years education and family support.

Indeed, the very fact that an expensive Labour scheme has survived for so long under continued scrutiny from Michael Gove’s Education Department suggests that its value cannot be ignored and that a government supposedly committed to nursery education must continue to back Sure Start.