Council Cuts

[MargaretR]

I have only once eaten at a town hall event.
It was when I paid (£12 if I recall) to hear a series of 3 lectures, of which Germaine Greer was the 'headline act'.
Scones, cream and jam (along with tea or coffee) were included in the price.

I don't know who the caterer was, but I don't recommend them.
The scones were so underbaked that they stuck to the teeth like glue.
I had to make a special journey to the washroom to try to clear the gunge from my mouth (wasn't successful until I brushed them when I got home).

Maybe the organisers wanted 'no questions' at the end, so they ensured the audience had their upper and lower jaws firmly sealed

[Neil]

Originally Posted by Acrylic-bob

Sad to see that Gayle has still not managed to get her pretty head around the nature and source of public money.

Sad to see that you are still as rude as ever

[Neil]

Originally Posted by Ken Moss

those perks don't come with other jobs so I don't see any reason why we should have them

I think that depends on who you work for. At my place lunches and such are provided sometimes depending on the meeting or activity taking place.

Last night was our Christmas party, a couple of thousand of us at a private party in London with as much food and drink as you wanted. Train down and back and overnight accommodation all paid for.
A couple of X Factor contestants were singing announced by the x factor voice chap, I still don't know who Shayne Ward is but even I knew it was Westlife when they came on stage at 9.

The company probably see it as a big thank you for its staff who go the extra mile to make it one of the best, if not the best in its field.

[gynn]

Originally Posted by Neil

The company probably see it as a big thank you for its staff who go the extra mile to make it one of the best, if not the best in its field.

....and to celebrate the profits generated by the staff working for the company. They plough back a very small proportion of those profits into the Xmas party.

In the Public Sector, there are no such profits, so by definition every pound spent on a ham sandwich in Scaitcliffe House is a pound that can't be spent emptying Acrylic Bob's bin.

[Acrylic-bob]

And if it was just ham sandwiches that Scaitcliffe Towers were squandering money on, that would be bad enough. How much taxpayers money is wasted paying for non-jobs? How much is wasted paying for Agency Staff to cover for not-really-sick, sick leave? How much is wasted paying for jobs that overlap or are duplicated? How much is wasted on paper and printing costs and pointless self-advertising projects. I do not need to be constantly reminded at every turn that HBC is an excellent council, according to some faceless and unaccountable quango. I would rather see the evidence on the streets. I just want them to get on with the job and empty the bluddy bins! Is that asking too much?

I don't need grandiose regeneration schemes that cost millions which we haven't got nor are ever likley to have. This council, sadly, are not alone in proving that when it comes to anything more complicated than emptying the bins or keeping the streets clean they invariably make an arse of things and you end up with a situation that is worse than the one they were trying to remedy - take a walk along Broadway. Come to think of it, they are no great shakes with the bin emptying or the street cleaning either.

[Acrylic-bob]

Originally Posted by Neil

Sad to see that you are still as rude as ever

I do my best not to disappoint my devoted readership. You have no idea just how hard it is finding all that spleen to ventilate. A martyr to my cause is what I am. It's me that deserves a medal, not Britcliffe.

[Neil]

Originally Posted by Acrylic-bob

And if it was just ham sandwiches that Scaitcliffe Towers were squandering money on, that would be bad enough. How much taxpayers money is wasted paying for non-jobs? How much is wasted paying for Agency Staff to cover for not-really-sick, sick leave? How much is wasted paying for jobs that overlap or are duplicated? How much is wasted on paper and printing costs and pointless self-advertising projects........ blah blah blah.......more blah blah blah.....

Instead of just ranting why not put in a FOI request and find out?

[Tealeaf]

Originally Posted by Neil

Last night was our Christmas party, a couple of thousand of us at a private party in London with as much food and drink as you wanted. Train down and back and overnight accommodation all paid for.
A couple of X Factor contestants were singing announced by the x factor voice chap, I still don't know who Shayne Ward is but even I knew it was Westlife when they came on stage at 9.

The company probably see it as a big thank you for its staff who go the extra mile to make it one of the best, if not the best in its field.

Eh? You're having a laugh! Are you seriously saying that your company decided to reward you for all your year's hard work by shipping you down to London and then subjecting you to hours of acoustic torture of X factor crap?

You should have told them straight away to stick their little jaunt up where the sun don't shine and asked for the money instead.

[Acrylic-bob]

Originally Posted by Neil

Instead of just ranting why not put in a FOI request and find out?

Because I suspect, no, I know, that the answers would stun even me into silence.

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by Acrylic-bob

Because I suspect, no, I know, that the answers would stun even me into silence.

Bloody hell that would be sumat Bob

[Neil]

Originally Posted by Tealeaf

Eh? You're having a laugh! Are you seriously saying that your company decided to reward you for all your year's hard work by shipping you down to London and then subjecting you to hours of acoustic torture of X factor crap?

You should have told them straight away to stick their little jaunt up where the sun don't shine and asked for the money instead.

I could of nipped out and had a pint with you instead

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by Neil

I could of nipped out and had a pint with you instead

And that would hve been better than any X Factor Neil

[RHFOY]

Originally Posted by Ken Moss

I'm on a committee known as Overview and Scrutiny: Resources which looks at how the council spends its money and in six months I am appalled and the vast swathes of waste I see everywhere in the name of ticking the right boxes.

There is a very detailed list of the spending from each department, something which is about the size of five phone books and used to get sent out to councillors as a matter of course in years gone by. I have requested a copy, I feel fairly confident I could whittle out 18%.

Whether anyone listens at Britcliffe HQ is another matter, it'll all probably be due to 13 years of Labour rule when the chips are down.

since 1979 when i was learning about goverments its the same old boom and bust then blame everybody else bar themselves... do you not think the time has come to have 2 goverment parties 1 for the working class and 1 for middle and upper??? i am not educated enough yet to fully understand the ramifications(spellcheck) off this... but in my 31 years off contributing to the treasury its the same old rhetoric year on year...

[RHFOY]

[quote=MargaretR;869159]I have only once eaten at a town hall event.
It was when I paid (£12 if I recall) to hear a series of 3 lectures, of which Germaine Greer was the 'headline act'.
Scones, cream and jam (along with tea or coffee) were included in the price.

I don't know who the caterer was, but I don't recommend them.
The scones were so underbaked that they stuck to the teeth like glue.
I had to make a special journey to the washroom to try to clear the gunge from my mouth (wasn't successful until I brushed them when I got

[MargaretR]

Now you have learnt to google
..step two - learn how to use the quote facility