County Borough Research Articles

The British Courts and Compulsory ADR—How Did That Happen?

On 29 November 2023, the Court of Appeal held in James Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, that the courts of England and Wales are entitled lawfully to order parties to engage in non-court-based dispute resolution processes. This important decision should not come as a surprise. This article will argue by reference to case law, judicial commentary and the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) that this decision is the most recent expression of an impulse the courts have long maintained: that a case can be dealt with justly by moving (by various means) litigants away from the judgment seat to one of negotiated, consensual outcomes. The decision corrects an anomaly within the CPR that obliges parties to further the overriding objective by considering alternative dispute resolution but deprives the court of a particular remedy to enforce that obligation. This article will trace the roots of the Court of Appeal decision and identify to what extent it is the natural progression in judicial thinking, and it truly breaks new ground. Keywords: ADR; justice; civil justice; court reforms; overriding objective; Halsey; CPR; Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil; Article 6; arbitration agreements.

“Story-Mapping” Within a Local Festival Environment: A Method to Encourage Regenerative Tourism

Limited research has been conducted on the benefits of utilizing festival spaces for methodologies involving storytelling and narrative inquiry for use in other (related) areas of investigation (e.g., tourism). This article introduces a method, “story-mapping,” for the collection of locals’ stories during a combined arts festival. The intention was to capture place-focused data from community stakeholders from the case study destination, Bridgend County Borough, South Wales. Locals were encouraged to tell stories about the area, including specific grassroots elements using a map as a visual prompt. The process was designed to empower and involve the local community in defining and sharing a “sense of place” as part of a paradigm shift towards regenerative tourism. Utilizing “story-mapping” in the festival space proved effective but also presented some challenges. The article evaluates the method through the lens of narrative inquiry and makes recommendations for future researchers wishing to utilize this approach.

Bilingual Statutory Interpretation and the United Kingdom: Domestic Law and International Experiences

Abstract This article explores the emerging need for bilingual statutory interpretation within the United Kingdom and explains the significance of the High Court and Court of Appeal judgments in R (on behalf of Driver) v Rhondda Cynon Tâf County Borough Council both in terms of the process of statutory interpretation and with regard to its potential impact on the future of England and Wales as a unified jurisdiction. It draws upon the UK’s approaches to multilingual obligations under international law, and on comparative experiences of multilingualism within a domestic legal system.

Multiagency approaches to preventing sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI): a review and analysis of UK policies

BackgroundRecent reviews of sudden unexpected deaths in infancy (SUDI) in England recommend a multiagency working (MAW) approach to prevention but lack clear guidance around how this might be implemented.AimsIn England,...

Jesus and the Bulldozer: Religion, Suburbanization, and Urban Renewal in a New Jersey Camp Meeting Community

The history of suburbanization in New Jersey is a well-established topic in the scholarly literature. Since the middle decades of the nineteenth century, the state’s northeastern and southwestern areas have become dense with suburban communities tied, culturally and economically, to New York City or Philadelphia. By the early twentieth century, these areas were a mix of middle-class white enclaves, Black towns, immigrant and working-class communities, agricultural hamlets, and industrial suburbs. However, in the late nineteenth century, some suburbs emerged as religious retreats. This article explores how suburbanization and, by the 1960s, urban renewal, transformed the Gloucester County borough of Pitman’s landscape. Founded in 1871 as a Methodist camp meeting resort, the history of Pitman demonstrates ways that religion complemented suburbanization, and suburbanization, amid religious decline and secularization, reshaped the religious landscape of one South Jersey community.

Building the youth music industry in South Wales, 1996–2020

This article shines a light on the tailored and targeted popular music provision provided by Sonig, Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council’s (RCTCBC) long-standing music industry programme. Over a twenty-year period, Sonig has successfully engaged with young people in disenfranchised areas of South Wales, many of whom have never experienced a way of accessing the music industry. Through workshops, masterclasses, performance opportunities, mentoring, networking and signposting career pathways, Sonig has become a new gateway for young talent. Creating these pathways is key to an equality of access and furthermore, enabling young people to reach their creative potential, through developing confidence, self-esteem and raising their aspirations. This article tracks the history of Sonig and provides a focus on how its constant evolution has positively intervened in the lives of many young people living in Wales.

George Morton Reynolds

After public health posts in Luton, Great Yarmouth, and Norwich, George Morton Reynolds was appointed as medical officer of health and chief welfare officer for the County Borough of Dudley...

A local perspective: the women’s movement and citizenship, Croydon 1890s–1939

ABSTRACT This article will explore the lives of women active in local politics and associational life in Croydon County Borough between the 1890s and 1939. It will argue that a local perspective can reveal the personal, social and political networks that facilitated women’s more expansive public roles. It will note the circumstances which enabled them to assert their citizenship rights and duties and consider how women’s activism developed in the Borough after 1918. It will argue for the importance of context, spatial and chronological, in the formation of political identities and the on-going resonance of these influences in shaping the local women’s movement.

The potential use of mine water for a district heating scheme at Caerau, Upper Llynfi valley, South Wales, UK

The feasibility of recovering heat energy from mine water contained within an abandoned coal mine in South Wales is assessed for a proposed district heating scheme. The study area is the village of Caerau, in the Upper Llynfi valley, Bridgend County Borough, South Wales, UK, comprising around 750 residential houses, a primary school and 17 commercial properties. This paper describes an archival geological and mining desk study focused on Caerau colliery, consideration of regional mine linkages, geographical information system (GIS) techniques used to create a 3D initial conceptual geological mine model of Caerau workings, permitting and licencing requirements, community engagement activities undertaken and the findings of a single exploratory borehole. The borehole intersected a void space in flooded mine workings around the horizon of the Six Foot seam at a depth of 224 m below ground level, as predicted by the conceptual mine model. The rest water level within the borehole lies at 92 m below ground level and the measured in situ temperature of the mine water at the base of the borehole was 20.3°C. An unexpectedly high and sustained geothermal gradient of c. 53°C km −1 was calculated from repeated measured temperature profiles. Thematic collection: This article is part of the Keeping lessons alive in engineering geology collection available at https://www.lyellcollection.org/cc/keeping-lessons-alive-in-engineering-geology

Offline: The UK's child health emergency

Offline: The UK's child health emergency

Prevalence of fragility fractures according to quality and outcomes framework (qof) of the general medical services (gms) contract and quality initiatives to improve osteoporosis care in the general practice within caerphilly county borough, wales, UK: a feasibility study

Prevalence of fragility fractures according to quality and outcomes framework (qof) of the general medical services (gms) contract and quality initiatives to improve osteoporosis care in the general practice within caerphilly county borough, wales, UK: a feasibility study

Low perceived control over health is associated with lower treatment uptake in a high mortality population of Bolivian forager-farmers

Indigenous people worldwide suffer from higher rates of morbidity and mortality than neighboring populations. In addition to having limited access to public health infrastructure, indigenous people may also have priorities and health perceptions that deter them from seeking adequate modern healthcare. Here we propose that living in a harsh and unpredictable environment reduces motivation to pursue deliberate, costly action to improve health outcomes. We assess whether variation in Health Locus of Control (HLC), a psychological construct designed to capture self-efficacy with respect to health, explains variation in treatment uptake behavior among Tsimane Amerindians (N = 690; age range: 40–89 years; 55.8% female; data collection: 2008–2012), a high mortality and morbidity indigenous population in the Bolivian Amazon, Beni Department. Comparisons with two industrialized populations in Japan (Miyagi prefecture; e0 = 76.6 years) and the United Kingdom (Caerphilly county borough; e0 = 81.2 years) confirm that Tsimane (e0 = 54.1 years) have a more externalized HLC. Multilevel level models were used to investigate whether HLC predicts treatment uptake, and mediates the relationship between modernization and treatment uptake. External HLC scores were predictive of treatment outcomes: Powerful others scores were positively associated with probability of receiving modern treatment (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.33), while Chance scores were negatively associated with probability of receiving modern treatment (adjusted OR = 0.76). We found no effects, however, of Internal HLC or educational capital on treatment uptake. Overall, our findings indicate that health-related decision-making is influenced more by a psychological orientation affecting self-efficacy, shaped in part by perceptions of environmental unpredictability and harshness, than by limited knowledge, education or other indicators of modernization.

Collaborating across health and social care: joint funding an adult protection Coordinator post in Caerphilly, UK

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to improve the consistency and quality of the response to vulnerable adults who experience abuse and neglect within NHS, independent healthcare and social care settings is noted by practitioners, agencies and patients. Health and social care policy frameworks promote principles of service improvement and consistency, along with a focus on outcomes and resource effectiveness and interagency collaboration. The Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) coordinator role carries the responsibility of coordinating a response to individual referrals of abuse and neglect as described as part of the Designated Lead Manager role in the Wales Interim POVA Policy and Procedures for the POVA from abuse (Wales Adult Protection Coordinators Group, 2013). Design/methodology/approach – This paper will explore the benefits realised through a registered nurse being seconded from the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board into a newly created joint adult protection Health Coordinator post within the Caerphilly County Borough Council social services department POVA team. Findings – This is the first example of such partnership working in adult protection in Wales and has provided a number of benefits in relation to: providing adult protection advice; coordinating the response to referrals of vulnerable adult abuse and neglect within health and social care settings; carrying out or buddying others to complete adult protection investigations; facilitating the two day non-criminal POVA investigation training course and, awareness raising within the local Health Board. The development of a student nurse placement in the social services POVA team cements the multiagency collaborative approach that this development sought to achieve. Originality/value – The need to improve the consistency and quality of the response to vulnerable adults who experience abuse and neglect within NHS, independent healthcare and social care settings is noted by practitioners, agencies and patients.

The Communities First (ComFi) study: protocol for a prospective controlled quasi-experimental study to evaluate the impact of area-wide regeneration on mental health and social cohesion in deprived communities

IntroductionRecent systematic reviews have highlighted the dearth of evidence on the effectiveness of regeneration on health and health inequalities. ‘Communities First’ is an area-wide regeneration scheme to improve the lives...

Residence coding in the Hospital In-Patient Enquiry (HIPE) system: significantly worse than anticipated

Analysis was conducted of the patient residence geocoding of all E-code (external cause) discharges on the Hospital In-Patient Enquiry system for the calendar year 1996 from Limerick's two acute hospitals (one public, one private). The results indicate a substantial level of error, even at county and county borough level. Some 21 percent of the 1383 patients attributed to Limerick County Borough were wrongly assigned to this area. Only marginal differences were reported between the public and private hospitals, with the private hospital managing a slightly higher accuracy rate. The implications of this finding are significant for any analysis of spatial patterns of health care use. Particular care needs to be taken in relation to HIPE patient residence coding relating to any of the county boroughs in Ireland. A software geocoding engine urgently needs to be introduced into the HIPE system capable of geocoding patient addresses at least to district electoral division (ded)/ward level, and ideally to point location.

The impact of office-based care on hospitalizations for ambulatory care sensitive conditions.

The aim of the study was to quantify the impact of specific medical services in the ambulatory sector (SA) on hospitalizations for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs), in order to be able to assess whether and under what conditions specific ambulatory treatments could serve to lower the hospitalization rate. The analysis is based on administrative data showing the complete provision of medical services in the ambulatory sector in Germany and data from other sources. The data were provided by the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, the Federal Statistical Agency, the Federal Office of Construction and Regional Planning, and the Federal Insurance Agency. The impact of an increase in specific medical services on hospitalizations for ACSCs was estimated using linear spatial models at the level of the 413 German counties and county boroughs for the years 2007 and 2008. To allow for an undistorted estimation of the coefficients, SA and physician density were instrumented using a two-stage 'least squares' approach. The SA and the rate of hospitalizations for ACSCs were age-standardized. In the models, a well-defined set of covariates was controlled for. According to the models, an additional <euro> spent on ACSC treatment decreases the rate of hospitalizations for ACSCs for women and men up to an annual Uniform Value Scale For Doctors' Fees point value of approximately 6,891 and 5,735, respectively. The correlation is not linear but, as suspected, exhibits diminishing marginal returns. Our models suggest that additional medical services reduce the rate of hospitalizations for ACSCs but that this correlation depends on the absolute level of office-based services in a county, all covariates being held equal. Ceteris paribus counties with a very high volume of services exhibit 'flat-of-the-curve medicine', while counties with a very low current level of specific medical services benefit most from an increase in those specific services.

Risk of post-traumatic stress disorder following traumatic events in a community sample

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is typically associated with high-risk population groups, but the risk of PTSD that is associated with trauma experienced in the community, and effect of changes in diagnostic criteria in DSM-5 on prevalence in the general population, is unknown. Cross-sectional analysis of population-based data from 4558 adults aged 25-83 years resident in Caerphilly county borough, Wales, UK. Exposure to different traumatic events was assessed using categorisation of free-text descriptions of trauma. PTSD caseness was determined using items assessing Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV (DSM-IV) and DSM-5 A criteria and the Traumatic Screening Questionnaire. Of the 4558 participants, 1971 (47.0%) reported a traumatic event. The most common DSM-IV A1 qualifying trauma was life-threatening illnesses and injuries (13.6%). The highest risk of PTSD was associated with assaultive violence [34.1%]. The prevalence of PTSD using DSM-IV A criteria was 14.3% (95% confidence interval [CI]=12.8, 15.9%). Using DSM-5 A criteria reduced the prevalence to 8.0 (95% CI=6.9, 9.4%), primarily due to exclusion of DSM-IV A1 qualifying events, such as life-threatening illnesses. Nearly one-half of a general community sample had experienced a traumatic event and of these around one in seven was a DSM-IV case of PTSD. Although the majority of research has concentrated on combat, rape and assaultive violence, life threatening illness is a more common cause of PTSD in the community. Removal of this traumatic event in DSM-5 could reduce the number of cases of PTSD by around 6.0%.

Neighbourhood green space, physical function and participation in physical activities among elderly men: the Caerphilly Prospective study

BackgroundThe built environment in which older people live plays an important role in promoting or inhibiting physical activity. Most work on this complex relationship between physical activity and the environment has excluded people with reduced physical function or ignored the difference between groups with different levels of physical function. This study aims to explore the role of neighbourhood green space in determining levels of participation in physical activity among elderly men with different levels of lower extremity physical function.MethodUsing data collected from the Caerphilly Prospective Study (CaPS) and green space data collected from high resolution Landmap true colour aerial photography, we first investigated the effect of the quantity of neighbourhood green space and the variation in neighbourhood vegetation on participation in physical activity for 1,010 men aged 66 and over in Caerphilly county borough, Wales, UK. Second, we explored whether neighbourhood green space affects groups with different levels of lower extremity physical function in different ways.ResultsIncreasing percentage of green space within a 400 meters radius buffer around the home was significantly associated with more participation in physical activity after adjusting for lower extremity physical function, psychological distress, general health, car ownership, age group, marital status, social class, education level and other environmental factors (OR = 1.21, 95% CI 1.05, 1.41). A statistically significant interaction between the variation in neighbourhood vegetation and lower extremity physical function was observed (OR = 1.92, 95% CI 1.12, 3.28).ConclusionElderly men living in neighbourhoods with more green space have higher levels of participation in regular physical activity. The association between variation in neighbourhood vegetation and regular physical activity varied according to lower extremity physical function. Subjects reporting poor lower extremity physical function living in neighbourhoods with more homogeneous vegetation (i.e. low variation) were more likely to participate in regular physical activity than those living in neighbourhoods with less homogeneous vegetation (i.e. high variation). Good lower extremity physical function reduced the adverse effect of high variation vegetation on participation in regular physical activity. This provides a basis for the future development of novel interventions that aim to increase levels of physical activity in later life, and has implications for planning policy to design, preserve, facilitate and encourage the use of green space near home.

Identifying probable suicide clusters in wales using national mortality data.

BackgroundUp to 2% of suicides in young people may occur in clusters i.e., close together in time and space. In early 2008 unprecedented attention was given by national and international news media to a suspected suicide cluster among young people living in Bridgend, Wales. This paper investigates the strength of statistical evidence for this apparent cluster, its size, and temporal and geographical limits.Methods and findingsThe analysis is based on official mortality statistics for Wales for 2000–2009 provided by the UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS). Temporo-spatial analysis was performed using Space Time Permutation Scan Statistics with SaTScan v9.1 for suicide deaths aged 15 and over, with a sub-group analysis focussing on cases aged 15–34 years. These analyses were conducted for deaths coded by ONS as: (i) suicide or of undetermined intent (probable suicides) and (ii) for a combination of suicide, undetermined, and accidental poisoning and hanging (possible suicides). The temporo-spatial analysis did not identify any clusters of suicide or undetermined intent deaths (probable suicides). However, analysis of all deaths by suicide, undetermined intent, accidental poisoning and accidental hanging (possible suicides) identified a temporo-spatial cluster (p = 0.029) involving 10 deaths amongst 15–34 year olds centred on the County Borough of Bridgend for the period 27th December 2007 to 19th February 2008. Less than 1% of possible suicides in younger people in Wales in the ten year period were identified as being cluster-related.ConclusionsThere was a possible suicide cluster in young people in Bridgend between December 2007 and February 2008. This cluster was smaller, shorter in duration, and predominantly later than the phenomenon that was reported in national and international print media. Further investigation of factors leading to the onset and termination of this series of deaths, in particular the role of the media, is required.

Cohort Profile: The Caerphilly Health and Social Needs Electronic Cohort Study (E-CATALyST)

The Caerphilly Health and Social Needs study was established to inform and support collaborative multiagency working on reducing inequalities in health and to investigate neighbourhood influences on mental health. Initially, we collated a robust small-area multiagency dataset of contextual health determinants and outcomes from routine sources and sharing of data between the National Health Service and Caerphilly county borough council. These data were widely used in local joint planning to improve health and reduce health inequalities. Secondly, we carried out a baseline population questionnaire survey, collecting data from 10 892 (60.6%) respondents aged 18-74 years on a wide range of socio-economic, lifestyle, health and housing factors and perceptions of the local neighbourhood, including access to services, social cohesion and neighbourhood quality. We carried out wave 2 of the survey after 7 years with responses from 4558 (50.2%) participants to the same range of questions. We developed the study into an electronic cohort, linking all 17 979 sampled participants aged 18-74 years to mortality and hospital admission records with 10-year follow-up and full recording of migration both within and out of the borough. Readers with an interest in collaborative use of the data should contact Professor David Fone, Principal Investigator.