taxman Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Following on from this story about a Mum who is contemplating putting her child into care due to lack of respite care, and bearing in mind this story about weekly bin collections where do you think council priorities should lie? Councils up and down the country have received cuts to their budgets. Central Government has provided money for short breaks and respite care but it hasn't been ringfenced and councils can spend it however they see fit. So how should they spend it? And should central government be able to force councils to spend the money on specific things, or would that destroy local democracy? I've included a small poll, but it's not really a serious one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucifer Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 The removal of rubbish is more important because of the problem of disease which could ultimately affect a number of people. Unfortunately the responsibility for a disabled child is the parents problem, having said that both my children were without any physical or mental disabilities but both gave us problems of other natures which were extremely stressfull. We all have problems of a different nature and we have to cope as best we can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlebasher Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Although harsh, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxman Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 Wow. I only included a poll for a bit of a laugh because I thought the question was such a no brainer. I foolishly assumed that people would value the health and wellbeing of disabled children and their parents over the inconvenience of only getting their dustbins emptied every two weeks instead of one. 87.5% see the bins as more important so far. Oh well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swfcgal Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Just out of curiosity, I would be intrigued to find out whether the people who have voted for the bins have disabled children? Caring for a disabled child is extremely hard and I see my in laws struggle on a daily basis caring for my severely autistic brother in law. Granted he attends a school but the respite he does get (a couple of hours every other Sunday) not only gives my in laws a break, but is something my brother in law looks forward to and enjoys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afilsdesigne Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Not sure it's quite as easy as that as the council have an obligation to do both and a lot more besides. The real question is just what can be cut without too much impact? For example, I would argue that the highest paid council employee (£184,585 according to the Star today) could and indeed should take a minimum pay cut of £100,000 and everyone below him/her be scaled pro rata. That would save a huge amount of money. On top of that, you could probably cut one if not two complete layers of management with no discernable impact. Then look to share offices, resources, move to cheaper premises, flexible working pattens and all before you have even started to talk about cutting a single front line job. Then there are all the diversity officers and goodness knows how many other non jobs to clear out. I'm sure others will have loads of ideas about specific non jobs that have been created that are just a waste of precious money. I like the Singapore model of tiny government, low taxes and high personal responsibility. The results achieved since the sixties are simply amazing and could, given a complete change of approach, work here too. However, the secret to everything is the creation of millions of new jobs that pay a living wage. How we do that under the current regime is challenging if not impossible and that spells trouble for all of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alchresearch Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I voted for the children. If you can't cope with a fortnightly bin collection then maybe there's something you're doing wrong - perhaps not doing your bit in recycling? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vwkittie Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I'm voting for the children because I honestly wouldn't care if my bin got emptied every two weeks instead of one. It's my recycling bin that gets full up quickly with all the drinks bottles not the regular bin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espadrille Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Following on from this story about a Mum who is contemplating putting her child into care due to lack of respite care, and bearing in mind this story about weekly bin collections where do you think council priorities should lie? Councils up and down the country have received cuts to their budgets. Central Government has provided money for short breaks and respite care but it hasn't been ringfenced and councils can spend it however they see fit. So how should they spend it? And should central government be able to force councils to spend the money on specific things, or would that destroy local democracy? I've included a small poll, but it's not really a serious one. I cant answer the poll as it doesn't have an option to say , "It shouldnt necessarily be either/or", and it implies that Councils would take decisions flippantly , which they certainly do not. Sheffield Council do provide short breaks for families of disabled children. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espadrille Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Following on from this story about a Mum who is contemplating putting her child into care due to lack of respite care, and bearing in mind this story about weekly bin collections where do you think council priorities should lie? Councils up and down the country have received cuts to their budgets. Central Government has provided money for short breaks and respite care but it hasn't been ringfenced and councils can spend it however they see fit. So how should they spend it? And should central government be able to force councils to spend the money on specific things, or would that destroy local democracy? I've included a small poll, but it's not really a serious one. My personal opinion is that the people of the individual community should have their say on how they want their communities to run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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