asperity Posted May 10, 2011 Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 Wherhas the The centre-right Policy Exchange wouldn't Got it in one Wolfie. Everyone has their own agenda, but some agendas are more obvious than others Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted May 16, 2011 Report Share Posted May 16, 2011 Well the BBC ran a prog tonight, in which a Preston Street had to manage without Council services for 6 weeks - didn't leave much hope for the "big society" either! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted May 16, 2011 Report Share Posted May 16, 2011 We're doomed. But to look on the bright side the younger ones amongst us are doomed for a bit longer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inky pete Posted May 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2011 Well the BBC ran a prog tonight, in which a Preston Street had to manage without Council services for 6 weeks - didn't leave much hope for the "big society" either! Did they each get refunded 6 weeks worth of council tax plus central government support grant? You can pay for an awful lot of your own bin emptying with that sort of rebate! We went six weeks without the bins emptied over Xmas because of a wee bit of snow (which only really fell at the beginning but which the council never bothered to clear or grit), we've had our bus service cut back so much no-one knows if we actually still have one, the police are never to be seen in the village (except when they're charging ridiculous fees to close a few roads during the May Queen or other festivals), and now many of the local primary school kids have been told they won't be able to go to a Warrington high school as of right. What council services????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted May 17, 2011 Report Share Posted May 17, 2011 They were all given the equivelent Council tax rebate to spend individually or as a group, they held weekly meetings to decide what to do etc - it frankly turned into a shambles - especially when the single Mum asked for her housing benefit out of the pot, and money for taxis and school meals for the kid, and Uni fees for the other kid. Then another woman asked for money for care allowance for looking after her father who didn't actually live in the street. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inky pete Posted May 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2011 They were all given the equivelent Council tax rebate But not the central government support grant money? That would have just about doubled the amount of money in the pot. Plus, Housing Benefit and Care allowance are paid by central government - not out of Council Tax. Fact is, since Council Tax from affluent areas is currently used to subsidise less affluent ones - then an affluent area would do very nicely indeed if given the opportunity to opt out of local council control. So whether or not this programme shows success or failure depends entirely on the particular street chosen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted May 17, 2011 Report Share Posted May 17, 2011 True, and it was a fairly "well off" street - but on the basis of your scenario - every "well off" area would need to wall themselves off and employ all the redundant coppers as security guards, to safeguard their lifestyles! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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