Council Cuts

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by MargaretR

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

It does help don't it Margaret, mind you it only took me nearly 4 years to pick it up

[RHFOY]

Originally Posted by Neil

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.

i have no idea what Neil does and dont need to or want too, (knowing too much about folk can change the way you answer from a respect point imho) Neil works for a large operation Neil was offered all these perks when he more than likely was offered his position... Neil is ambitious im sure, his chosen career offers more perks than most as he prob- has to deal with and make difficult decisions daily... is it neil whos wrong or the system.... i have only met two employees in 19yrs who a, have rejected a pay rise and b, given me a bonus back... my question is this?? how many people om here would have turned down the night out and given the tickets back???? and b, people who go the extra mile or 2 deserve great rewards from their bosses, as all workers are the reason why all busineses ARE SUCCESFULL.. the owner,md or chairman are the ideas people and the drivers, the people make it happen!!! p.s. hope you had a great evening :-)

[cashman]

Originally Posted by RHFOY

i have no idea what Neil does and dont need to or want too, (knowing too much about folk can change the way you answer from a respect point imho) Neil works for a large operation Neil was offered all these perks when he more than likely was offered his position... Neil is ambitious im sure, his chosen career offers more perks than most as he prob- has to deal with and make difficult decisions daily... is it neil whos wrong or the system.... i have only met two employees in 19yrs who a, have rejected a pay rise and b, given me a bonus back... my question is this?? how many people om here would have turned down the night out and given the tickets back???? and b, people who go the extra mile or 2 deserve great rewards from their bosses, as all workers are the reason why all busineses ARE SUCCESFULL.. the owner,md or chairman are the ideas people and the drivers, the people make it happen!!! p.s. hope you had a great evening :-)

i have been on such do's in me time, i have also refused some of em, to me its horses fer courses, whatever ya fancy if its offered.

[RHFOY]

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. 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.

some good points imho, untill councils are given back to independent communities nothing changes, what do you believe is the solution to some off the points you raise???? i

[RHFOY]

the workers or middle management know how and what to do, as i said with the Police we all assume that anybody that works for the goverment or the Police are faceless people who dont give a damm... they would love to be more open and frank !!! but guess what when it suits the objector it gets thrown back in their face... take vince cable yday, he opened up and told a fellow human his real thoughts and what a shock that sneaky reporter grassed him and threw it back in is face.... and now people are out to oust him, you are on an hiding to nothing when you tell the truth so best to carry on lieing then you dont get in trouble???? i would rather tell the truth even though it gets you in trouble at times,sadly even with the courts !!!

[RHFOY]

Originally Posted by lancsdave

I reckon the army of hand gritters the council employs will be first to be cut

army now there is an idea im sure those people would love to get out in the community and help clear the paths and roads for the elderly,,but no they rather let them fall anf hurt themselves and spend a fortune off taxpayers money mending them at the hospital . penny wise pound foolish.

[Acrylic-bob]

Originally Posted by RHFOY

some good points imho, untill councils are given back to independent communities nothing changes, what do you believe is the solution to some off the points you raise???? i

In my humble opinion, Local Councils are far too big and attempt to do far too much. I would much rather see them stick to providing basic services: street cleaning, planning, etc. The danger in attempting to be all things to all people is that one inevitably ends up giving superficial service rather than truly excellent service because one has spread ones resources too thinly.

The current shape of Accrington, both physical and social, is largely the legacy of our Victorian forebears. Constructed largely by entrepreneurs, charities and industrialists with minimal interference from the borough council of the day. I do not believe that it would be a bad thing to relax many of the controls that councils have accrued over the intervening years and once more give those who have the drive, vision and money the opportunity to take a more hands-on role in reshaping the borough to make it a place that welcomes business and enterprise. Freed of the dead hand of beurocracy the town would once again flourish and the petty tyrants who infest the party political system would have to look elswhere to get their ego's stroked.

[RHFOY]

Originally Posted by Acrylic-bob

In my humble opinion, Local Councils are far too big and attempt to do far too much. I would much rather see them stick to providing basic services: street cleaning, planning, etc. The danger in attempting to be all things to all people is that one inevitably ends up giving superficial service rather than truly excellent service because one has spread ones resources too thinly.

The current shape of Accrington, both physical and social, is largely the legacy of our Victorian forebears. Constructed largely by entrepreneurs, charities and industrialists with minimal interference from the borough council of the day. I do not believe that it would be a bad thing to relax many of the controls that councils have accrued over the intervening years and once more give those who have the drive, vision and money the opportunity to take a more hands-on role in reshaping the borough to make it a place that welcomes business and enterprise. Freed of the dead hand of beurocracy the town would once again flourish and the petty tyrants who infest the party political system would have to look elswhere to get their ego's stroked.

i couldnt agree more!!! i was going to suggest a similar idea but refrained from doing as i didnt want the forum to think who does he think he is???, i have met some very good people who work at the councils and these good people get supressed and their ideas are usually stolen for their bosses own agenda. one major diff - with a private council rather than a public scale one, you dont pamper to the pc brigade and you have more freedom off speech plus you can have the crack and send emails without the quangos suspending you on long term PAID LEAVE !!!, plus the people in the community realy know whats needed and in private enterprise staff suggestions are a big success story, i would be a failure without them

[Acrylic-bob]

If I were swinging the axe, and oh, how I would relish the opportunity, Among the first swathe of the fallen would be counted Lollipop Ladies and.. persons.

I am regularly out and about delivering between 8am and 10am and the chaos these oblivious harridans cause to traffic flow is unbelievable. I really do not see the point of them, much less having two of them patrolling the same crossing (it is becoming more and more common), twice the expense for the same result - madness!

But then the bleating bleeding hearts will be sure to pipe up with the heart rending argument "but a child could be killed". What utter tosh. Children die every hour of everyday of the week and many of them manage it quite easily all by themselves with no interference from adults whatsoever; it is one of the things children do - get over it. If we must take steps to preserve the snot-nosed urchins the answer is surely not to wrap the little darlings up in cotton wool but to teach them how to cross a busy road safely on their own. What is the point of installing Zebra and Pelican crossings at enormous expense if the precious brats are not taught how to use the wretched things as intended?

[RHFOY]

Originally Posted by Acrylic-bob

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.

do i read this as you have suffered from an industrial related illness?? ie from asbestos???

[Acrylic-bob]

No, Neil had accused me of being rude for having the temerity to point out that Gayle was not perhaps the sharpest knife in the drawer. In the post you highlight I was being sarcastic, admittably not one of my most attractive traits.

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by Acrylic-bob

If I were swinging the axe, and oh, how I would relish the opportunity, Among the first swathe of the fallen would be counted Lollipop Ladies and.. persons.

I am regularly out and about delivering between 8am and 10am and the chaos these oblivious harridans cause to traffic flow is unbelievable. I really do not see the point of them, much less having two of them patrolling the same crossing (it is becoming more and more common), twice the expense for the same result - madness!

But then the bleating bleeding hearts will be sure to pipe up with the heart rending argument "but a child could be killed". What utter tosh. Children die every hour of everyday of the week and many of them manage it quite easily all by themselves with no interference from adults whatsoever; it is one of the things children do - get over it. If we must take steps to preserve the snot-nosed urchins the answer is surely not to wrap the little darlings up in cotton wool but to teach them how to cross a busy road safely on their own. What is the point of installing Zebra and Pelican crossings at enormous expense if the precious brats are not taught how to use the wretched things as intended?

Take it you have a down on Kids and lollypop ladies Bob

[Acrylic-bob]

Not especially, Jaysay. I just don't like to see money wasted on schemes that are of little practical benefit to society. God knows money is hard enough to come by, so why are we spending it on not teaching kids to cross the road safely on their own? I had to learn how to do it, my parents and my grandparents made sure of that. And, as a consequence, though I have lived and worked in Central London and Paris, I can happily report that I have never been run over by a car and killed. not once - result!

It used to be included under the general heading of "looking after your kids" and it was what responsible parents did, without having to think too much about it. It came along with other nuggets of sage advice such as 'Don't stick your fingers in the fire, you will get burned.' and 'Don't talk to strangers.'. That was of course before the Nanny State stepped in and decided that everyone needed cosseting from the harsh realities of modern existance. Weening people off this ridiculous and costly dependence on the State is going to be difficult, but a start must be made and I think that Lollypop persons are a very good place to start.

[gynn]

Originally Posted by Acrylic-bob

Weening people off this ridiculous and costly dependence on the State is going to be difficult, but a start must be made and I think that Lollypop persons are a very good place to start.

I agree to an extent, but what about the "blame" culture that seems endemic these days? Imagine the tabloid outcry against the local authority when the first child is killed in a spot that used to have a Lollypop person, and the subsequent inevitable prosecution for negligence! The Councils will end up paying out more in compensation than it would have cost to keep the Lollypop persons in the first place!

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by Acrylic-bob

Not especially, Jaysay. I just don't like to see money wasted on schemes that are of little practical benefit to society. God knows money is hard enough to come by, so why are we spending it on not teaching kids to cross the road safely on their own? I had to learn how to do it, my parents and my grandparents made sure of that. And, as a consequence, though I have lived and worked in Central London and Paris, I can happily report that I have never been run over by a car and killed. not once - result!

It used to be included under the general heading of "looking after your kids" and it was what responsible parents did, without having to think too much about it. It came along with other nuggets of sage advice such as 'Don't stick your fingers in the fire, you will get burned.' and 'Don't talk to strangers.'. That was of course before the Nanny State stepped in and decided that everyone needed cosseting from the harsh realities of modern existance. Weening people off this ridiculous and costly dependence on the State is going to be difficult, but a start must be made and I think that Lollypop persons are a very good place to start.

Don't really know how old you are Bob, but I'm in my 65 year and here was a lollipop man at the end of Haworth St, and Moscow Mill St. when I was a kid