Challenging power, fighting for justice
1. Court fines and justice delays. We revealed how criminals owe courts in Kent more than £22 million, with £3m more imposed in fines last year than collected. This also showed the coalition government’s failed criminal courts charge, which lasted nine months and led to 50 magistrates resigning, was entirely counter-productive. The same FOI revealed the true pressures faced by courts with more than 7,000 cases left to be dealt with at the end of 2015/16. 2. Mental health cuts An FOI in 2015 revealed £8 million had been cut from mental health services in Kent. A total of £1.3m was slashed from community team budgets in one year alone. We asked following a number of suicides. Since then we have continued to report on inquests into the deaths of Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust patients whose treatment has been criticised by many grieving families, as well as coroners. 3. Hospice jobs shock With government funding only contributing enough to cover 16% of the Heart of Kent Hospice’s annual expenses we revealed how redundancies were on the cards. However, we’re supporting its Get Behind campaign, hoping to raise £600,000 to safeguard services. More at hokh.org 4. Londoners getting priority at new flats In October, while reporting on the plight of some Maidstone residents being threatened with eviction from their flats in Pudding Lane, we discovered two London Boroughs, Newham and Waltham Forest, had jointly taken out a lease on a newly converted block of flats on the opposite side of the road to house their homeless.
It was cheaper for them to pay for the luxury apartments in Star House than to purchase the cheapest accommodation in the capital. 5. On your bike, inspector When the council’s Local Plan was under public scrutiny in Maidstone Town Hall, there was a lot of disbelief the area’s roads could cope with traffic from 18,600 new homes. The government planning inspector, Phillip Mellor agreed with the council’s suggestion more people could shift onto public transport, or by cycling, and that increased parking charges would discourage motorists.
However, a casual question from our reporter revealed the inspector himself was travelling to the hearings by car instead of walking. 6. Planning contradictions The most recent example from Maidstone council is the controversy over proposed industrial development at Woodcut Farm, near Hollingbourne.
Many councillors want to oppose development there, but although there are many reasons it could be argued why the industrial park would be unsuitable, they have been undermined by the council’s own Local Plan policy, which was approved for submission to the government inspector by a vote of the whole council – with an allocation for commercial development at Woodcut Farm included. 7. Hospital errors led to death of grandmother An inquest heard how a catalogue of errors and missed opportunities led to the death of Edna Thompson from thirst at Maidstone Hospital.
But the true extent of the failings in the care of the 85-year-old were first exposed by our reporter after concerns were raised with by family members. We followed this up with several stories, including how failings in the coroner’s service caused unnecessary suffering and delays for the family in their quest for answers. 8. Dementia Friends The KM newsroom is proud to say it can now be called an office of dementia friends. The training, provided by the Alzheimer’s Society, helped us understand how best to act towards someone who has it and we’ve all pledged to support the initiative in our own time. We feel it is important to delve into the issues behind what we’re reporting and try to help.