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Things are only going to get harder.
I am inclined towards the view that people having to sell their houses to pay for their care is no bad thing. What matters more in the care.
This is a tough situation, one where no-one will be happy because everyone will want the best care possible at no cost, but that's not realistic. General direction taxation (income tax) is the fairest and best way to pay for all things because it is levied according to ability to pay.
Showing posts with label council. Show all posts
Showing posts with label council. Show all posts
Thursday, 18 February 2010
Monday, 23 November 2009
council bureaucracy
I'm not fan of bureaucracy of any kind. Can't stand it. I don't like filling in forms or people not being able to think without the due process.
However, there are important performance reasons in favour of bureaucracy that i accept even if i don't like them.
When I saw the headline "Needless bureaucracy is costing councils in England £4.5bn a year" i assumed it was the TaxPayers Alliance or some simular mentalist group. But it's not.
One of their criticisms, which I don't think is a good one, is that there are more staff. That's not necessarily a bad thing to have staff, and it kinda helps out delivering the service. Also, some of these workers are very poorly paid so helping them do their jobs is to be welcomed.
"Complying with centrally-imposed "data burdens", such as performance indicators, was wasting £400m a year"
a necessary evil to prevent 'postcode lotteries'.
In all, it would be nice if bureaucracy was cut coz i don't like it
However, there are important performance reasons in favour of bureaucracy that i accept even if i don't like them.
When I saw the headline "Needless bureaucracy is costing councils in England £4.5bn a year" i assumed it was the TaxPayers Alliance or some simular mentalist group. But it's not.
One of their criticisms, which I don't think is a good one, is that there are more staff. That's not necessarily a bad thing to have staff, and it kinda helps out delivering the service. Also, some of these workers are very poorly paid so helping them do their jobs is to be welcomed.
"Complying with centrally-imposed "data burdens", such as performance indicators, was wasting £400m a year"
a necessary evil to prevent 'postcode lotteries'.
In all, it would be nice if bureaucracy was cut coz i don't like it
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Councils and charges
The piece i'm refering to is written by a Labour councillor, so should be taken with the right amount of salt.
But the point is valid:
Shadow Secretary of State for Local Government Caroline Spelman has been attacking the Labour government for forcing councils to charge more for services. Isn't that the same Tory party who have been going on about how wonderful Barnet council is, that's the one where they charge for services. Not only that, it's not just a 2 tier approach, it's a sliding scale: want a service good and quick? Pay more and you get it.
That to me is wrong because quality and speed of service should not come down to ability to pay, it should be on the basis of need.
But the point is valid:
Shadow Secretary of State for Local Government Caroline Spelman has been attacking the Labour government for forcing councils to charge more for services. Isn't that the same Tory party who have been going on about how wonderful Barnet council is, that's the one where they charge for services. Not only that, it's not just a 2 tier approach, it's a sliding scale: want a service good and quick? Pay more and you get it.
That to me is wrong because quality and speed of service should not come down to ability to pay, it should be on the basis of need.
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