S35_2o21

12 hours ago, sheffandy said:

Nothing left you say? Maybe they shouldn't have lobbed so much money painting rainbows allover the roads at hundreds of pounds a throw.  

Yes, definitely. Painting rainbows has certainly cost millions of pounds! 🤣🤪

Very good. I have a 'proper' dog, a Labrador. We do a mix of 'proper' walks of 2-4 miles, depending on how much time and energy we all have, and shorter walks sometimes including a frisbee/ball/fly-ball chucker thing, and also walks where we potter along and she sniffs away. She quite enjoys all types of walks which is the main thing. 

My view is that the chucking thing is in the knowledge that some other dog may well 'steal' this from my dog, and just to not worry about this kind of happening. Although the frisbee did cost a few quid so that would be annoying if that got nicked but not worth getting cross over. 

On 19/09/2022 at 08:49, Man in Crete said:

So after month 4 of the financial year scc have overspent by £21m against an overspend of £19m in month 1

they have robbed capital reserves which are now essentially empty and all they do is blame the govt

fact remains that there is a budget so keep within it ?

So basically, turning people away who need Social Care? That is what cuts in social care mean. People in the community who need help to wash themselves, get dressed, eat properly, take their medications. That is what Social care is. 

Hospitals are already struggling to discharge patients due to a lack of capacity in Social Care services. Parents are already struggling to care for their children with disabilities. People who have long term health conditions are already experiencing cuts in the level of care which is funded. 

On 15/08/2022 at 11:47, Foot and Mouth said:

I thought it was brilliantly written, and acted. Not everything has to go at a fast pace; real life doesn't. It was a good drama about normal people, normal life. I think that's what the writer was aiming for. Arguments over jacket spuds, loading the dishwasher, normal house, drive a normal car. It's everyday stuff. I don't think it'll even build up in the next episodes (there are only four) it'll just plod along telling it's story, as life does....and Pat? why all the negativity 95% of the time on the stuff you've watched, I can usually tell if I'm going to like somthing or not. If I don't I find something else or turn it off. 

I wanted to watch it because Nicola Walker is amazing (I think I might have to rewatch Unforgotten as it was that good) and I liked Sean Bean in the prison drama last year. 

We binged it a bit on the iPlayer. Ep1 & 2 took their time with scene setting. I did struggle a bit with it. At one point in Ep3, I couldn't watch anymore as Emma was heading in a direction I didn't like. However, some of the scenes were very poignant and the tone was amazing. The scenes with the daughter in Ep4 were brilliant, and we had a bit of a cheer when one of the characters got his comeuppance.  

27 minutes ago, The_DADDY said:

https://www.facebook.com/609632969065582/posts/pfbid0YTgVi6i3eXsPmk9m8Jg5UkrgjHxYBXC6LvHfsPyzCRv9yK7t3Vw4CJauuTXexQPkl/

 

GRANT SHAPPS: CYCLISTS SHOULD HAVE NUMBER PLATES, BE INSURED AND SUBJECT TO SPEED LIMITS 

 

Transport Secretary pledges tougher rules on bike riders as part of current legal review

 

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said that cyclists should be insured, carry licence plates on their bikes, and be subject to the same speed limits as motorists.

 

The Tory cabinet minister told the Mail that putting such measures in place would be considered as part of the current review that may see a causing death by dangerous cycling law introduced.

 

It’s less than a fortnight since Shapps, who was appointed Secretary of State for Transport by Boris Johnson in July 2019, outlined his plans to the Mail for that legislation – but his position set out in the same newspaper this evening, and said to have the support of Whitehall officials, goes way beyond that........

I suspect that this will come to nowt, just like lots of things this Gov say they are going to . This Gov seem to think that when they say something, it will magically happen. 

On 10/08/2022 at 14:34, Anna B said:

Because I'm not exactly sure of how it's going to work. I believe the committees are made up of all parties according to percentage of votes, (I'm assuming a bit like PR.) which I think is a good idea, and hopefully will break the coterie of less than 10  people who make all the decisions on everything.

However there are one or two dubious clauses which might be used to screw things up.

Our council is famous for infighting and taking their ball home if they don't get their own way, at the expense of the good people of Sheffield. Let's hope they behave themselves and work together for the betterment of the city. Heaven knows we're going to need it.

I'm hoping that the Committee system will help reach consensus on difficult issues. We're going to need it! £20m already predicted to be in deficit and we still have winter pressures to work through for Adult Social Care. 

On 10/08/2022 at 11:59, hackey lad said:

Good that you can defend this Council whenever They waste our money. Good that you can defend them no matter what 

What exactly have the Council wasted their money now? Or is this that you don't agree with what the Council decides to spend it's money on? A lot of the unpopular initiaitives (the Pinstone Street closure, the planters in Crookes and Nether Edge) have been funded from pots of Government money.

21 hours ago, dave_the_m said:

There are many things the Blair/Brown government did which I didn't approve of. On the other hand:

 

At the time of the world-wide financial crash in 2008, the UK national debt was lower as a percentage of GDP than when Labour came into power. At that point, the UK had experienced the longest ever period of economic growth. Also we saw during that time: the biggest redistribution of wealth from the rich to the poor since the Atlee Government; a 6% real-terms year on year growth in NHS funding; huge investment in education; constitutional reforms such as devolved Scottish and Welsh assemblies, removing most hereditary peers from the House of Laws, the Human Rights Act, civil partnerships, and of course the Good Friday Agreement.

 

After the financial crash, the government stopped banks going under. This would have meant that  literally overnight, millions of people could no longer get access to the cash in their bank account or pay bills etc. The recovery plan the G20 followed was largely the work of Gordon Brown. By the time Labour lost the election in 2010, the economy was back in growth, and had it been let continue to grow for a few years, the deficit would have been reduced and the national debt shrunk back down to pre-2008 levels as a percentage of GDP.

 

Instead, the Tories got in, cut everything, strangled the economic recovery, and we got 10 years of austerity.

^^ times a million. In the early days of the Cameron Government, Local Authorities bore a high proportion of the public sector cuts. Presumably, the minister at the time (Eric Pickles I believe), wished to curry favour with the PM.

It is convenient to slash a budget for a local authority, and then blame said local authority for making cuts to services. Ditto NHS England, CCG's/ICBs across the country, the Education sector, DWP, the Prison service etc etc. Responsibility with no accountability is the motto of this government. 

On 04/08/2022 at 11:42, bassett one said:

all the conservitive areas claim they are better off ,is that true?

In today's paper, referencing the Government's formula for determining how much Local Authorities receive: Rishi Sunak admits taking money from deprived areas | Conservative leadership | The Guardian

8 minutes ago, bassett one said:

all the conservitive areas claim they are better off ,is that true?

Which areas exactly? Some Councils have been bailed out. I seem to remember Woking BC threatened to hold a referendum to increase Council tax by a considerable amount, the Government bailed them out so this didn't have to take place. 

Some areas of the Country are able to raise more revenue via Council tax. Sheffield, and other urban areas, have a large proportion of 'Band A' properties, which affects the amount of Council Tax revenue which can be raised. Governments also change the formula which determines the amount of Government grant each authority receives. Also, LA's where property values are higher, are likely to be spending less on providing Adult Social Care- well at least until the Government changes come in to affect- because home owners will have to fund their own care. 

On 02/08/2022 at 20:19, hackey lad said:

This council should be put in special measures 

What exactly would that achieve?

Do you honestly think that Government departments are any better at 'delivering' services? Why do you think government outsources so many functions? 

2 minutes ago, dave_the_m said:

Because in 2010 We got a Tory government which was ideologically committed to cutting government spending. They cut most things by around 25-33%, including central government support of local councils. And this support makes up a large proportion of council spending, because ....

 

Prior to the poll tax we had council rates, which meant that - roughly speaking - if you lived in a house worth 50 times more than your neighbour's house, you paid 50 times more in rates than your neighbour. With the poll tax this was reduced to a flat rate per household. When that blew up in their faces, the Tories replaced it with the Council Tax. That was loosely based on your house price, but with the proviso that a person living in the most expensive house would never pay more than 3 times that of someone living in the poorest house.  So rich people don't (proportionately) pay much, and if councils want to increase their spending, any increase in tax comes disproportionately from the poor. And in their rush to get the Council Tax up and running, central government basically committed to paying a larger proportion of council costs from central taxation, so that the new bills coming out wouldn't invoke the level of civil unrest caused by the Poll Tax.

In answer to post #19, this. Council Tax accounts for about 30% of the income for Council.

Tory Council's have been bailed out by the government throughout the previous decade:  https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/nov/29/tory-run-northamptonshire-county-council-bailed-out-by-government

15 minutes ago, harvey19 said:

A lot of old people are having to pay for their care.

Why has there been a change in government funding ?

Adult Social Care has always been subject to a Financial Assessment. if an individual has over a certain amount of capital and income, then the Council won't fund it. The Government has changed the threshold for this, there will be a financial impact on all Councils. It was one of Boris's big announcements last year. 

Also, people are generally living longer and with more complex health and care needs. 

Government funding to Local Authorities has been slashed since 2010. 

38 minutes ago, ukdobby said:

Have they wasted it all on the stupid plant pots around crookes  and walkley?

I watched the Finance Committee last week, and the potential deficit is c£20million. So, no, a few planters are not the issue. 

I guess services will be cut further. Less care hours provided to adults & children. Other contracts will be reviewed and cut where they can. There'll be less Council officers so less people to do as much work. 

I know the Government have changed the funding for Adult Care & I don't know if that is part of the reason for the overspend. 

On 28/07/2022 at 10:23, Man in Crete said:

Good luck with that ! The operator of the cafe In Norfolk park retired in early June and since then the council can’t find the money to open the centre in the park toilets at weekends. Apparently it’s now nearly 2 months since the closure and the council are just about ready to issue tenders to interested operators…. 2 months after knowing about the retirement much longer

summer will be over before the cafe and toilets reopen so meanwhile having spent £250k on the playgrounds to attract children if they or their parents want a poo / change nappies etc there’s nowhere to go other than use a bush. 
my overall point being don’t expect financial help from this council cos they say they have no cash for anything sensible!
 

The Council won't have much money apart from for it's statutory duties, which will be Social Care for Adults, children and other vulnerable adults. 

On 23/07/2022 at 01:13, El Cid said:

I see parents putting their whole lives into their children, what comes next?

My life as a parent is not yet over. But what then?

I have a male friend, who I see does similar, putting his whole life into his children. If you are a couple, that's fine, you have each other. But what about the singletons?

I have a friend who is a single parent. She has poured her whole life in to her children. They are all now rapidly growing up, and I do worry about how she will cope when they are all older. I think the children will always need her, I think she'll work through it but it will be difficult. 

We are in Chapeltown and have standard fibre broadband with Vodaphone. Both myself and my partner are predominantly home working, and have very few BB related issues. 

On the local Facebook Forum, there is a a local social dog walking group. Might be a good way of meeting people & getting to know the good places to walk the dog? We have a young dog & there are lots of local walks to do in the area. 

Hope you get settled wherever you decide to move to. 

19 hours ago, Anna B said:

Ever since the banking crisis, and beyond, the world of politics seems to have been in turmoil.

 

IMO the Brexit vote was more about people's dissatisfaction with politics. Before that the number of people bothering to vote had been going down and down. 

Since that vote, everything has been difficult. There's been nothing but in-fighting in both camps. Conservatives have had 5 different leaders and Labour have had as many, all with different ideas on how to proceed.  We've also had 4 elections and it looks like we might be in for another one. The number of parties standing has also grown splitting the vote every which way. It's now possible to get elected to govern with less than a third of the population's vote.

 

The house of commons is so old and antiquated, and full of quirky traditions and privileges, it's no longer a satisfactory place of work. It's about to shut down for years for repairs, and the government needs to relocate elsewhere, though nobody seems to know how or where.  

 

Isn't this an opportunity to take a long hard look at our political system, and the civil service which supports it, and make some changes? The world is changing, it's moving faster, new problem's arise almost daily.

 

Why do we refuse to move with the times and make the necessary improvements? 

 

I'd propose PR, and a coalition of parties to move on long term problems.

 

 

 

 

 

I agree. I'm not sure I know enough about PR and coalitions to comment further on that though.

Our political system has (partly?) enabled party politics to become more and more ideological based, at the detriment of a long-term view of what the Country actually needs. Plus the media is very bias in parts. My view is that the population has been gaslighted to believe that politicians are either corrupt or acting in everyone's interest! 

On 06/07/2022 at 13:16, Pawel_B said:

Thanks scottf could you justify your opinion please? 
Hmm, we have around £1000pm to spend. I think the biggest issue is to get any viewing at all! We send around ~150 applications in last 4 weeks and secured only 2 viewings. Market is insane ATM. 

With your budget, you have got a range of areas you could consider. 

As with many large Cities, the areas in Sheffield vary considerably in terms of housing types, access to open space, quality of transport links to the City Centre and Meadowhall, quality of district centres and schools. Depending on the kind of lifestyle you currently have and what you want to have here, I would make sure that the area you choose to look at considers this. 

Anecdotally, demand for property rental is crazy at the moment. 

13 hours ago, El Cid said:

I think glasses and dentistry should be subsidised by the government, instead of the TV licence and child care.

 

Don't really understand why this is an either/or question.

Dentists can deliver services under contract with the NHS- this is becoming more rare over time though. 

On 07/05/2022 at 15:26, Kidorry said:

Had a text from the garage where I bought my car from saying I need to change my cam belt because the car is 5 years old. It has only done 21k. When I phoned them they said it should be changed every 5 years. To do the job they want £489-00. I rang a local garage and they said they could do it but they have not got the special tool that is needed for a skoda. He said to buy this tool it would cost about 2k. Is this a rip off or not?

We have a 2017 Seat Leon (VAG group car, so may be similar to a Skoda). It's due it's MOT & service next month. I have a feeling the cambelt is due to be changed but need to check with Seat (no info in the handbook). Steadfast in Chapeltown have quoted me £320. Don't know if this helps or not..

I agree with this wholeheartedly: Like a phone dropped in the North Sea, Vardy v Rooney is full of absolute gold | Marina Hyde | The Guardian

1 hour ago, Waldo said:

I get the impression it’s all very petty and egos have been offended. It’s just making them both look immature, over privileged and petty,

 

I keep thinking, all the money they’re spending on lawyers, they could actually have done some good with it.

It's quite bizaare. It is the ultimate way of washing the dirty linen in public. Neither of them are going to come away from this looking very positive!

59 minutes ago, trastrick said:

 

As for programming, with the bottomless pit of taxpayer funding, they distort the market, by their ability to outbid the private companies for the best available resources of celebrities, and production resources, so it's obvious they'll produce something of value to everyone.

It's not a bottomless pit of taxpayer funding. The licence fee is capped by Government. Over the years, the BBC has not been able to outbid rivals for sports contents- e.g. Football, Formula 1 (there are other examples, I'm not a massive follower of sports in general).

The BBC has had to cut it's cloth accordingly which may actually enable them to develop programmes from scratch, e.g. Great British Bake Off. 

#43

You're comparing an entertainment company to a countries transport infrastructure? You may not own a car...ever took a taxi or bus? What do they drive on?

A strange comparison, but you're entitled to your opinion.

(Sorry, don't know how to quote from multiple posts). I would argue with the span of content, the BBC is akin to part of the infrastructure. 

https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/johnsons-4fleas-household-spray-600ml?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=google_shopping&cm_mmc=Google-_-CPC-_- google_shopping-_-google_shopping&ita=1976&ito=google_shopping&istCompanyId=7255ccad-a1fc-4729-af31-478f79e5071c&istFeedId=385e6b9a-8b03-4076-a8bb-e4737df8549c&istItemId=itxmxrqrm&istBid=tzwt&cq_src=google_ads&cq_cmp=8972193099&cq_term=&cq_plac=&cq_net=g&cq_plt=gp&gclid=CjwKCAjwo8-SBhAlEiwAopc9Ww8SZpesb1B7TZFC33Py3AuIvnVzcg6IdMYqXk-ooHh4GyCxG18ESRoCgxUQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

This one worked for me when I had a bad flea infestation. One tin did a 3 bedroom house. It stank and you need to ventilate the room. It kills the fleas at all stages- it's an insect growth repellent.

https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/johnsons-household-flea-spray-400ml?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=google_shopping&cm_mmc=Google-_-CPC-_- google_shopping-_-google_shopping&ita=1976&ito=google_shopping&istCompanyId=7255ccad-a1fc-4729-af31-478f79e5071c&istFeedId=385e6b9a-8b03-4076-a8bb-e4737df8549c&istItemId=itxmxxlql&istBid=tzwt&cq_src=google_ads&cq_cmp=8972193099&cq_term=&cq_plac=&cq_net=g&cq_plt=gp&gclid=CjwKCAjwo8-SBhAlEiwAopc9W9OJLNQyN56i3HicouIW4ibxFF7DuMUMdFaiLNCBGPjknkaJN-5ZqRoCdjIQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

This one is cheaper but you'll need to do repeat treatments- say every 2-3 weeks as it only kills the fleas at certain lifestages.

Good Luck! I have only had one bad flea infestation but it was pretty difficult to get it under control. 

On 21/08/2021 at 18:52, cuttsie said:

Our dog is my best pal , we go every where together, he sleeps at my feet and is there with a nuzzle and a wagging tail if I am down in the dumps .

 

However he has one fault , A fault that causes visitors to flee and us to cover our noooasers with a  pillow , He farts , He farts for England, he can stink out a room be it at the pub or in a aero hanger , the smell is awful like old cabbage mixed with rotting fish skin .

 

So any advise please , How do we stop him letting them go , we have tried funny shaped dishes to slow his eating down , tablets from the vets , starving and spraying him wi scent but now't works he just carries on through thick and thin , I might have to move out .

Have you tried changing his food? Luckily the only thing that makes my lass (17 month old Lab) fart excessively is doggy ice cream, which is easily avoided.. She is on James Wellbeloved kibble and meat.