New Govt taking away our right to know how badly Council is performing

[Cyclone]

I’m beginning to despise this Government more as each day passes.

Be honest, you've despised them since they beat the labour party. You're a sore looser.

Their latest idea is to take away the monitoring of performance of all Councils across the country.

 

So if you’ve commented in the past on threads about for example; how much Rent has been calculated, or the level of Council Tax arrears, or the performance of bin collection, or the standard of the Benefit service, or the number of empty Council properties, or the performance of Social Services, then I’m afraid from here on in your access to this information will be removed.

 

Of course, the real reason why they are doing this is that they don’t want to publicise the anticipated reduction in the quality of the service and have us question it.

 

How long before we see further removals of our right to see information about Public Services.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/politics/10406010.stm

 

Presumably such monitoring has an associated cost. You've criticised every cost cutting measure they've introduced so far, despite it being your preferred party which left us in a state where we have to cut costs drastically.

[Cyclone]

I'm not at all, I want really good Public Services and I want to be told when I am and am not getting them.

 

And I'd like the Christmas fairy to deliver me a Ferrari. But my finances won't support that.

We have to live in the real world of what we can afford, not the make believe world of printing money and demanding things that we can't have.

[Ms Macbeth]

Be honest, you've despised them since they beat the labour party. You're a sore looser.

 

Presumably such monitoring has an associated cost. You've criticised every cost cutting measure they've introduced so far, despite it being your preferred party which left us in a state where we have to cut costs drastically.

 

It certainly does. I've worked in a department in local government which produced information to show how good or bad we were at meeting government targets. That department (and others like it) has expanded noticeably over the last few years, and I'm not convinced that the quality of services has improved to a level that would make the extra costs worthwhile.

 

I'd suggest that those are the departments that might be reduced in size with little or no pain to the public. Don't get me wrong, local authorities do need to be accountable - and they need to listen to the people they serve - but do we need to have access to innumerable targets? How many people actually scrutinise their local council websites or publications to check how well they are doing? We know if our children aren't being educated or our bins aren't being emptied.

[llamatron]

Be honest, you've despised them since they beat the labour party. You're a sore looser.

 

Presumably such monitoring has an associated cost. You've criticised every cost cutting measure they've introduced so far, despite it being your preferred party which left us in a state where we have to cut costs drastically.

 

you are quite clearly wrong:rant::loopy:It was at least 3 months before the election that the threads reached maximum flux:D

[llamatron]

I'm not at all, I want really good Public Services and I want to be told when I am and am not getting them.

 

cant you decide that for yourself based on your experiences rather than statistics manipulated to tell you whatever you want to hear

[forumer]

I guess you'll be quite happy that we don't know how well or badly we are doing.

 

I know myself how well/badly the Council is doing by using their services and keeping myself up to date with local news. I don't need some overpaid bureaucrat in a taxpayer funded quango to tell me.

 

Typical Labour numpty idea.

[wednesday1]

The reason the ConDems are doing this is obvious. As they hammer the councils over the coming years it simply is not in their interests for public to find out just how badly their cuts impact on the services they provide.

[Xt500]

The reason the ConDems are doing this is obvious. As they hammer the councils over the coming years it simply is not in their interests for public to find out just how badly their cuts impact on the services they provide.

 

It wouldnt be simply cutting unessercary costs now would it?Maybe you would like your bins to go to once a month instead?

[wednesday1]

It wouldnt be simply cutting unessercary costs now would it?Maybe you would like your bins to go to once a month instead?

 

 

WTH???

[vwkittie]

I can rate the performance of bin collection by going outside and seeing if the bin has been emptied or not to be honest.